MAAP - The Not Much Happened Edition

Mom and I had a big presentation to give yesterday, so I ran out to the A&P at 9:00 in the morning. I may officially have a new shopping time! The store was almost devoid of other customers, so no one looked at me funny while I sang along to the music (which was rocking again). There was no newspaper guy! I was in and out in 30 minutes!! Yes, these are the things that excite me. Yes, I’m aware of how sad that is.

The only odd thing to happen was the lady in front of me on line was trying to buy a poinsettia. A potted poinsettia. 5 weeks before Christmas. She stared with one that had had its leaves spray painted with gold glitter paint. No, lady, no, just walk away from the sparkly houseplant. Then she left the line to get another one, leaving Ol’ Sparkler sitting at another register. She said something like “If I get back, I’ll just go in front of you, ok?” And I didn’t say anything to her face, but as soon as she was out of earshot I said “NO!” and unloaded my cart in under 30 seconds.

The cashier was well into my order when Miss Christmas Spirit came back with a poinsettia that looked like it had been splashed with bleach, proceeded to sigh loudly at the paltry selection of poinsettias AT THE GROCERY STORE, ask the cashier whether or not she’d started my order and then huff out of the store when the cashier responded that she had, leaving a trail of potted poinsettias in her path. Very strange lady, indeed.

And that was it, nothing much else happened. The end. (not a very exciting update, huh?)

In the meantime, I’m not likely to be posting much until after Thanksgiving. So have a wonderful holiday, eat too much, drink a lot (if you’re both old enough and so inclined), and hug your near and dear ones. Thanks you for reading this blog, it’s something I enjoy doing and am grateful that I have a chance to share with you all.

Loofa! Loofa! Loofa!

You know how much I adore method, right? Well, it seems that Eric Ryan (one of method's founders) has released this new little video, encouraging passage of the Household Product Labeling Acts. Much more talk about it here. First read about it here. OMG, this video is funny.

Best. Brownies. EVER.

Or, A Foodblogger I Am Not.

One of the things I just don’t understand (along with how inflation works and quantum physics) is why on earth people buy brownie mix in a box. (Blech, yuck, patooey!) especially since brownies from scratch are just NOT that hard, people.

Over the weekend, I made a batch of our family brownie recipe, which makes the best. Brownies. EVER. And because I am insane, I challenged myself to photograph the whole process and then write a blog post about it. And I admit, Pioneer Woman, I am not. But it was kind of fun taking all the pictures, except where I’d panic at every step thinking I’d forget to snap one. And the part where I got flour on my flash.

But this recipe is SO good, I simply had to share it with you all. Stop by sometime, and I’ll make them for you.

The Ingredients: (This makes a double recipe, because a single recipe gets eaten too fast to be worthwhile.)
1 cup butter; 4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate; 4 eggs; 2 cups sugar; 1 cup flour; ¼ tsp. salt; ½ tsp. baking powder; 2 tsp. vanilla. (For the adulterated version I made here, include 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips. You’ll be glad you did.)

Start by putting your butter into a microwave-safe dish. I have no idea why I always use these casserole dishes for this application, I just do. It’s part of my OCD. Or one of my endearing quirks. You decide.

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Next up, chop the chocolate into teeny pieces.

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Introduce the chocolate to the butter and pop ‘em in the microwave until they melt.

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“Hello, butter.” “Hello, chocolate.”

Meanwhile, crack the eggs into the bowl of your mixer. (And if you don’t have a mixer, use a fork. It seriously works just as well.)

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Beat ‘em up good so they’re nice and light and fluffy. Like this:

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Now add your sugar.

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And beat it until it comes together and turns light yellow. (Photographing it dripping off the beater is optional.)

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Sift your dry ingredients right into the bowl (why get another bowl dirty??). I use a mesh colander. I hate sifters. But do what makes you happy.

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Once that’s all combined in a luscious mess, add your vanilla. (Hint: I almost always cheat and add just a *bit* more vanilla than is technically necessary.)

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Once that’s all combined, remember that you have butter and chocolate melted together in the microwave. Stir them together…

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And then pour them into the bowl of batter, making sure you scrape every last molecule of chocolate out of the melting dish. Then mix it until you want to stick your face in it and eat the batter from a spoon. But maybe that’s just me.

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Really? Really.

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If you are a brownie purist, STOP READING. Pour this batter into a pan and follow the baking instructions below. But if you’re feeling a little… naughty, read on.

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Still with me? You won’t be sorry. Now it’s time to add the chocolate chips. They never quite melt all the way down so they provide a nice bite in the middle of the brownie. Just dump ‘em in the bowl and mix ‘em in.

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Pour the batter into an ungreased 9x13 pan.

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I would not recommend eating it at this stage, but totally understand if you do.

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Bake at 300 degrees (yes ONLY 300 degrees) for 40 minutes or so. Then start poking it with toothpicks until one comes out clean. I always underbake these ever so slightly, so they are SUPER fudgy and delicious. Let them cool for about 20 minutes and then you’re good to go.

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Oh my.

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Oh my, oh my.

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Make these now. They are so good. You know you want to.

And just to be clear, we’re all agreed - no more brownie box mixes (blech, yuck) right?? Right.

MMAAP - Inaugural Edition

Every Monday, I go to the supermarket and spend the entire trip narrating blog posts in my head. (Sad, I know.) So I had the idea of a semi-regular feature here at Filed Under Missylaneous: My Monday At A&P (MMAAP – which is pronounced just like “map” the way they say it on Dora the Explorer. “I’m the mmaP!”. Some weeks, it may be My Monday at Sam’s Club (MMASC). You’ve heard of Tuesdays With Morrie, right? Have you read it? Me either. But this is just like it. Man alive, are there a lot of really interesting characters at my A&P.


For example, this week, I didn’t even get as far as the produce aisle before I had to fight my way past the burly man trying to give away trial subscriptions to the newspaper. Seriously, this dude is there every other week. And he just will *not* take “no” for an answer. Which is his job. But still. Dude, I’m not trying your paper. I already subscribe. I’ve done this trial before. I’m about to take a trip to moon and you’d just have to hold the papers. The last time I read the paper my fingers fell off. Nothing works for this guy.

Or the lady who shuffled along, inexplicably remaining one aisle ahead of me, with her grocery cart splayed across the entire aisle - it expanded to fill available space. At a polite request to get by, I was greeted every time with a slack-jawed, glassy eyed stare, followed by a tug of her wool knit hat (on a 60-degree day!), a shrug of her winter coat-encased shoulders (SIXTY DEGREES!!) and the movement of her cart by about .00000001 inches. This happened from aisle 3 to aisle 14.

And then there’s the cast of characters up at the checkout lines. Like Marianne, the kvetchy, whiney, SLOW, checker who takes 50 years to ring up a carton of yogurt. She once engaged me in a 20-minute conversation on the price of diapers. When I was holding a baby who obviously needed a diaper change pretty soon. I actively avoid her line, even it means joining one that’s twice as long. I still get out of there faster, and without having to reach for the point-of-sale antacids by the register.

This week’s extra bonus? Blueberries were on sale! If you knew how many blueberries we go through in this house… Well, suffice it to say, it’s a LOT. And the music was ROCKING! I was singing my way through the store. I got a few weird looks, but it was a small price to pay for actually enjoying the grocery store. Almost makes up for the newspaper guy.

I know this is being posted on Wednesday, but I had to tell you about the haircut first. I’ll probably post these Monday afternoons from now on. Or at least on Tuesday mornings.

In Which Absolutely No One Cries

From First Haircut

Abby had her very first haircut on Saturday. I did my research (read: asked the girls in my troop where they go to get their hair done) and we took Abby to a salon at our local mall. With the promise of a Happy Meal for lunch, Abby settled warily into the chair.

Miss Veronica took excellent care of my baby, finding not one but TWO lollipops for her and being super gentle and kind the whole time. She washed, dried and trimmed Abby’s hair and then pulled it into 2 perfect pigtails.

She gave me lots of advice along the way, including that if I blowdry it a little bit after a bath, Abby’s hair is going to be easier to manage and style. Which was a “duh” moment, and I maybe kicked myself a little for not figuring that one out earlier. Even now, it’s way easier to get into a style, 4 days later. So I ran right out, bought a big circular brush and I’ll be experimenting after Abby’s next bath.

Although she never once cracked a smile, Abby sat very still and was a great customer. I’m so proud of my big girl.

(Sorry about the photo quality, I was using a different camera.)

And here’s where I confess something. It took *me* way too long to book this haircut appointment. I’ll be honest, I was a little intimidated about finding a salon where they know how to take care of Abby’s hair, but where I would feel comfortable. I was nervous about being the only white face in an “ethnic” salon. The good news? Turns out that the salon we chose has a majorly multi-ethnic clientele. There were people of all different skin colors and hair textures, and not one person looked at me us funny.

It’s humbling when I come up on these situations where I’m the one who feels uncomfortable. It serves as a good reminder that I am part of a multiracial family. And that means that to be the best parent for Abby, I’m not always going to be comfortable. Because let’s be really honest here. I’d never been in a black salon (or a Hispanic one, or pretty much anything but my hairdresser’s). If I hadn’t pushed myself to give this experience to Abby, *she* would have missed out due to *my* discomfort. And that’s just not ok.

20 Facebook Status Updates I Haven't Posted

From Filed Under Missylaneous

All day, I’ve had status updates going through my head. I haven’t actually posted them on Facebook, but I totally could have. They include:

1. Missy Goldwasser Carvin is thinking that shouldn’t have bought that industrial box of diapers. 2. Missy Goldwasser Carvin needs to stop making cookies. She also needs brown sugar.
3. Missy Goldwasser Carvin has too many good options for lunch. Curse you, good leftovers!
4. Missy Goldwasser Carvin really needs to get on top of her Christmas shopping.
5. Missy Goldwasser Carvin has not seen her motivation. If you could look for it under your couch cushions, she’d appreciate it.
6. Missy Goldwasser Carvin needs a Farmville harvester for her trees.
7. Missy Goldwasser Carvin needs to stop playing Farmville.
8. Missy Goldwasser Carvin needs to check on her Farmville farm.
9. Missy Goldwasser Carvin just created a THIRD Amazon account for the express purpose of Christmas lists. She feels this is excessive.
10. Missy Goldwasser Carvin loves dry erase markers. Just sayin’.
11. Missy Goldwasser Carvin really needs to clean her desk. Like whoa.
12. Missy Goldwasser Carvin likes speaking in the third person.
13. Missy Goldwasser Carvin Should really check her blog counter stats. And run the web reports. And… there’s something else, she’s sure.
14. Missy Goldwasser Carvin wonders why she is checking Facebook again if her Farmville pumpkins won’t be ready for several hours.
15. Missy Goldwasser Carvin just realized that she’s going to the theatre tonight! Which may impinge on Farmville crop harvesting.
16. Missy Goldwasser Carvin wonders how many girls will be at tomorrow’s meeting.
17. Missy Goldwasser Carvin could really go for some popcorn. And needs to add an air-popper to her Amazon wish list.
18. Missy Goldwasser Carvin wants to get back to her book.
19. Missy Goldwasser Carvin’s daughter may just be the cutest thing ever.
20. Missy Goldwasser Carvin is ready for a Thanksgiving break.

Of Princesses and Tea Parties

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Princess Abbalina Ballerina had a tea party last weekend. It was a simply lovely affair and all the ladies who attended dressed to the nines for the occasion.

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Queen Mama made a pot of hot cocoa to serve alongside the finger sandwiches and Nilla Wafers. Everyone used their best manners, even the dolls.

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Princess Abbalina set the table with the help of Lady Emily, who wore her fanciest purple scarf just for the party.

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The ladies sat quietly while King Brian took photographs, and even posed for one or two.

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In addition to setting such a lovely table, the Princess (in her finest blue Cinderella gown) learned the fine art of daintily dipping your Nilla Wafers in your cocoa.

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It was determined that the tea party was a rousing success and the Princess has declared that she shall have a Princess Tea Party for her birthday in a few months’ time. She is, in a word, smitten.