Well, it wasn't a monday but it was busy

Well, I left my desk for factory meetings at 8am and got back to my desk about 230pm. Though I did dash back for a quick grab of the cake I made but still lots of time on my feet trying to figure out a few issues. Ugh. Still don't know what the deal is but I love when people design things so they might statistically interfere with one another. This makes me insane. So, I got home and took a good 30min nap and then got on with the embroidery. Had toast for dinner since I had a huge lunch of potluck goodness and then we headed to kung fu. Had a good time, got to work with the husband and then it was home early cause class has now switched to 7 versus 730 which makes us get done and out of there well before 9pm. Yay! Got home and dinked around online, chased the cats around by crinkling plastic bags and then cleaned their Kitty-e-pan. Then it was time for bed where I continue in the odd HPL tale. Things just got "weird" and we shall see where they go.

I'm wearing my new raven t-shirt...its orange. Such fun. Hopefully I can get a few things accomplished this morning and all can be good and I can leave at 1230 or so...we shall see.

From Author Robin McKinley

Posted in her blog robinmckinley
From: Beat This! Cookbook, by Ann Hodgman, Chapters Publishing Ltd, Vermont, 1993.

Brownies

[She says this, but she doesn’t say it with enough emphasis:] These must be made at least 6 hours ahead of serving time.

1 c sugar
2 large room-temperature eggs
pinch salt
5 oz best-quality semisweet chocolate
3 oz best-quality unsweetened chocolate
½ c (1 stick) salted butter
¼ all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract [she doesn’t say this but I will: USE THE REAL THING, not yucky ‘flavouring’]
1 c miniature chocolate chips [because I’m a bit of a best-quality nut, not to mention a chocolate snob, hey, for the calories I want the most ecstatic chocolate experience possible, I chop up an extra bar of best-quality eating chocolate for this]

Preheat oven 375 degrees F. Butter [that’s VERY THOROUGHLY butter] an 8-inch-square pan.

In a large bowl, beat the sugar, eggs and salt for 15 minutes. [SIC. She means it.] This is much easier if you own a stand-up mixer and can roam around the kitchen straightening up while the mixture beats. If all you’ve got is a hand mixer, however, plan on having a book in your other hand. [You will learn to hold and turn the pages one handed. Trust me.] Just check the bowl once in a while to make sure the egg mixture isn’t migrating out onto your counter. [So, possibly, not a book by Robin McKinley. Too absorbing.]

Meanwhile, melt the semisweet and unsweetened chocolate and butter in a double boiler over a very low flame. When the mixture is about three-quarters melted, take it off the heat and stir till the chocolates and butter are completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Cool to lukewarm, don’t rush this!, and fold gently into the sugar-egg mixture. Fold in the flour, vanilla extract and finally the chocolate chips [or chopped whatever].

Spread the mixture in the prepared pan and set it in the middle of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes if you like your brownies custardy the way I do. If you like them a little drier, then bake them for 30 minutes. They’ll still be nice and creamy. [I find AT LEAST 30 minutes or they won’t come out of the pan. You could, of course, just bake them in an attractive pan, bring it to the table as is, and pass out spoons.] Cool on a rack for 6 hours [that's at least 6 hours] and cut into squares.

Stop the line, I want out of the factory...

Seriously,

4 effing mondays this week is ENOUGH, ENOUGH I TELL YOU!!!!

Ye gods and little fishes.

If I make it out of here by 4pm I'll be lucky.

EDIT 1pm Looks like probably 2pm, report came in, variance for the hardware is currently being written...ugh.