Monday, July 21, 2008

Brownies!

Today's Wonder of the World is...Brownies! All kinds!
Like this stack of chocolaty heaven.

Flickr photo by Bender Works
Oh good gracious, that photo is waking up the chocolate monster within me!
MUST. DIVERT. ATTENTION. NOW!!!

Let's look at another type of brownie, all right?
Like this one, from my 1971 Brownie handbook.

Aren't those girls cute? And they all have the same haircut!
That Brownie uniform was the whole reason I started Girl Scouts. Though I don't think I ever wore gloves with mine. Gloves would have gotten in the way when I was licking my fingers while eating all those Girl Scout cookies.

Uh oh. Now I'm thinking Thin Mints.
Sorry, I have chocolate on the brain.

Let's look at a Brownie from Folk and Fairy Tales by Peter Christen Asbjornsen, a Norwegian naturalist and folklorist. (He's one of the authors of Three Billy Goats Gruff!)

Flickr photo by puzzlemaster
The caption reads, "The brownie flings the crockery."
What a naughty brownie! Who would have thought that there was such a thing as a bad brownie?!

And how about this kind?

Flickr photo by mHudson
It's Brownie, the old mascot from the Cleveland Browns! Apparently he's back in style with their new management, though I couldn't seem to get a straight answer about just who is the mascot of the Cleveland Browns. Is it a dog? A brownie? The letters CB?

Oh dear. I feel a rant coming on. Remember the mascot post, and how my children's high school mascot is now the letter R? Go HERE to relive the drama.
Or not.

Brownies are supposed to be helpful, for goodness sake, not flinging crockery.

Arthur Stillwell would stick up for Brownies, because apparently they helped him out a lot! He's the founder of Port Arthur, Texas, and he claimed that brownies told him where to put the city.

Hmm.
Not to be critical, but maybe he should have named it Port Brownie, Texas.
Just a thought.


So what else do Brownies do, when they're not planning out cities?
I looked it up in my old handbook, just to refresh my memory, and that's when I started to feel a little like flinging crockery.
Well, not really.
I'm not an angry person.
But look! The handbook said we should look at what our mothers do, to see how we can be helpful. And this is what Mothers do, apparently.

And if we're really quiet and don't interrupt his manly work, I suppose we can watch what daddies do too.

Hey. Wasn't this in 1971? Hadn't we learned things by then about what girls can do and boys can do? Then why isn't that daddy sitting criss-cross-applesauce and watching his daughter complete the circuit? I'm glad we've moved on since then.

I need to calm down and go eat a brownie.
And remind myself of how much I loved scouts! And how much it taught me!
Like when I earned my photography badge.

I guess they didn't cover centering.
Or maybe I was being an artist, making some kind of statement about being kept behind a gate, in the playground of life.

Or maybe not.
Hey! I just thought of another kind of Brownie!
This one!

Flickr photo by BENDER Works
And that gives me a great excuse to show you this AMAZING art that I just discovered on Etsy!
Look!

Isn't Elmer Wonder-full?
It's by the artist at Artsy's Shop, HERE. (Thanks, Artsy, for the photos!)
Go visit! Browse around! You won't believe the cool things you'll see!
Some are so whimsically wonderful that you may want to tattoo them to your arm!


See what I mean?

I love those mixer pups!
And they're making me think of mixing up some chocolaty goodness!
Like this.

Another Etsy wonder! This clever artist used brownie boxes and other food boxes and made them into postcards!
See the back?

Aren't those fun?
Go HERE to see the whole stack.

I can't stand it any more. I must go feed the chocolate monster within me.
Are you in a Brownie mood?
If so, feel free to use this recipe if you don't have a mix. I warn you, if you eat them as you sneak into your bedroom, (not that I would) you'll leave a Hansel and Gretel trail behind you. Very crumbly delicious!

Killer Brownies
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 oz semisweet chocolate
1/2 lb. unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Melt chocolate and butter together and cool. Mix eggs and sugar. Add flour to chocolate and butter and stir well. Add rest and mix well.
Grease a 9x13 pan and add batter.
Bake for 25 minutes or so at 350 until done.

I need to change the name. "Killer" scares me.
Maybe The Moist Delicious Brownies In The World!


Have a Wonder-full Monday, y'all!
Love, Becky

26 comments:

Susan Sandmore said...

You are cruel! I can't stand it--now I NEED a brownie!

I have an old book (I guess it's a "chapter book") about Brownies (of the scout variety) with illustrations very much like those in your handbook pictures. I bet it was the same artist, because it's probably from the same year. It made me want to be a Brownie so badly, but I never was. And these days I never see them in uniform--just the sash. So there goes having my daughter live out my Brownie dreams for me. Ah, well.

Suzie said...

I got kicked out of the Brownies for fighting. Well more like getting beaten up. I think I liked it. I remember making a pencile box out of tin foil that was fun.

Loving Her Beautiful said...

Hi, Rebecca,
Thanks for your recent note on my blog -- I'm glad you enjoyed it!Those brownies look to die for! And I love the "Escaping" print, but agree with you about his eye...
Blessings, BILL

Anonymous said...

Now I need chocolate. My children will thank you later.
I was a Brownie and a Girl Scout, but I wasn't into it. Our leader was very crafty and I was only in it for the camping.
Wendy

Susan said...

I was a Brownie long enough to get the uniform. I loved it. I had a Betsy McCall doll in a Brownie uniform. That tells you something, huh?

catbishop said...

Thanks so much for featuring my art and etsy shop Becky.

I think I will have to make brownies today...

:) Cat

Rosemary said...

Great post Rebecca!
Hope you had a wonderful weekend.
I'm sure now, everyone will be making brownies today!!
Have a great day!
Rosemary

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Aw Susan, what a sad story. First Annie, and now this! I'm sure you could find a sort of vampy adult Brownie version available around Halloween. (It seems to be the thing these days at Party stores.) Except that might be a little icky. Still, if you're desperate...

Suzie, you crack me up. Or maybe I shouldn't laugh--that sounds awful. At least you got a good craft out of it. The craft I remember best is the sit-upon. I loved that thing.

Hey, loving her beautiful!
You are quite welcome!

Hey Wendy. I know what you mean about the camping. I don't remember us camping except at GS Camp. That was fun. I wouldn't have any idea how to make a banana boat if not for that!

Susan, glad you're with me on the uniform thing. Didn't you love that orange tie? And the beanie! How I loved that beanie!!! There was a song about the beanie. Now I'm going to have to look it up.

Cat, I am happy to feature your work. I really can't stop looking at it and want some for my own! My birthday is coming up...I'll have to hint to Todd!

Hey Rosemary! I hope you're right! The more people besides me taking in brownie calories during swimsuit season, the better!

Fete et Fleur said...

Confession time! BROWNIES are my absolute favorite. I just wanted to dive into that chocolate bowl!

Nancy ;~)

Kristin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kristin said...

aww, well first off, I now wish I was a girl scout(when I was younger), looks like so much fun, and the uniforms are so cute..but now i want to go make brownie's..hehe I loved how you incorperatede EVERYTHING brownie in this blog..haha very cute!!

July 21, 2008 2:34 PM

Unknown said...

Oh, LOL! I just baked a chocolate cake! While not a brownie, I'm afraid it will have to do. I'm just going to have to have chocolate cake instead, what a coincidence anyway. I was a brownie girl scout. My leader was one of the other girls' mom. I quit because she favored this girl ridiculously and the girl was not a polite or kind gal so I felt it did not live up to the Brownie standards...oh, well. I sure love girl scout cookies, tho!

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Nancy, I know! I did too! Brownie batter is so delicious!

Kristin, I hope your brownies turn out great!

T.chic, chocolate cake sounds good too! And yes, girl scout cookies are the best. Thin mints are my favorite, but I also like the peanut butter ones. Yum.

Jennifer R. Hubbard said...

This blog is always fun, but it seems extra hilarious today. And it induced a strange craving for chocolate ...

Anonymous said...

Must. Go. Eat. Brownies. Now.

CC said...

I thought I was about to die until you put that recipe at the end. Must make those now! Wait, I should probably make dinner first. Then brownies!

I love you (but my thighs don't)

Anonymous said...

What creations! I have to admit I was 'thrown out' of the brownies for poking a sticky marshmallow stick into a fellow brownies hair! The more she yanked on the stick the the 'stucker' it got and the screaming! One of my first felonies,had more at a younger age, when I was a 'wee-one'..I got thrown in the back of a PO car for tossing someones firewood down the river! Then in HS I was thrown out of 'home-eck!' for pouring Karo syrup into teachers chair! Wicked!

Melissa @ The Inspired Room said...

Oh, I am refusing to look at those edible brownies and moving right on to the fact that we were both Brownies, back in the day. I don't remember a handbook though!

Thanks for the walk down Brownie Memory lane!

Happiness to you!

Melissa

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Hey Jenn and Green Girl! I hope the chocolate was good!

Cc, I love you too! And why not have a brownie as an appetizer? It's summer! (That's my excuse for everything these days!)

Couture! You naughty little brownie you! A marshmallow-y stick in the hair! Oh my! Not to mention your other shenanigans! I'd never guess you were once such a vandal!

Melissa, give in to the Dark (chocolate) Side!
You'll thank me later! And to jog your memory, the handbook was orange, just like our Brownie ties.

Doreen Frost said...

What a great post!!! Of course...now I want chocolate..thanks a lot!!!

Great recipe..I think I will have to try that tomorrow.

Take care,
Doreen

Cindy said...

Becks! LOL. I love it. Yes, I want a Brownie now too...may favorite snack...specially with vanilla ice cream! And I always wanted to be a Brownie when I was little. LOL.
Great post.

c

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Doreen, with the intricate work you've been doing (Miss Milkweed) you deserve a brownie! Or five!

Cindy, brownies with ice cream is a great idea! I've also enjoyed them layered with chocolate pudding and whipped cream, and topped with a grated candy bar. Ooh. Now I feel a little full.

Tara said...

Ahhh now I need chocolate! LOL I remember being a brownie in the girl scouts and we didn't even fling crockery.

Tara

CC said...

I had to make the brownies last night! And blogged about them today! :)

Also, meant to tell you that your comment about your Brownie photography badge was so funny I LOLed!

scrappysue said...

you are my NEW best friend - i LOVE brownies!!! i was a brownie back in the day when the uniforms WERE brown!

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