Birthday dreams do come true.

We started out with a pancake breakfast.

I know I've posted this link before, but in case you missed it, these are the best pancakes ever.

We ended the day with brownies, of course. But not just any brownies. Rob requested S'mores Brownies, which I'd never made before. I made a graham-cracker crust, poured the batter on top, and then threw marshmallows on top the last few minutes of baking. I turned on the broiler to brown them up, and about a minute later the smoke alarms started going off. Yes, they were all on fire, and I wish that I'd had time to snap a photo. Luckily they were the jumbo marshmallows, and even after I scrapped off the burnt top, we had more than enough. They were way too rich for me, but everyone else gave them a thumbs-up, in spite of the messy factor. I'm going to have to play around with this recipe so that it's easier to cut and not so rich. But not for a while.

Anyway, all the hard work in the kitchen + a new iPad = definite proof that I love Rob the most.

Award-winning Brownies

Alright, I haven't actually won an award for these brownies, but after reading this column by Garrison Keillor, I was contemplating what might possibly qualify me to win an award, and I had to conclude that it would be for making excellent brownies. I haven't made brownies from a box in this century, and very few before that. When I was growning up it was simply because we didn't have brownie mixes on hand, but we did usually have flour, sugar, eggs, cocoa and vanilla. Now I'm just a brownie snob. I'm not even tempted by the boxed versions. I've posted some of our favorite recipes, but not this one:

The photo isn't great—I had just bitten into the very last one when I realized I still needed a picture for the recipe card.

This also led to a fun dinner conversation. When I asked everyone else what they'd win an award for, here's what they responded:

Rob: The Cheesy Mustache Award

Robbie: Reading

Joey: Video gamer

Ellie: Jumping rope

Ainsley: Eating all the brownies

How about you? What would your award be?

And the winner is...

Melissa. Let me know what kind and when.

Rob is pretty bitter about not being allowed to win. I might just have to have a brownie party and invite all of you. Rob, you can lick the bowl.

Here's the Martha Stewart Ultimate Brownie recipe I promised. For a long time I could handle the richness, but now I usually cut back a bit on the chocolate and sugar.

Ve haf a vinner!

I've been meaning to post this exciting news all week—Joey took first place in literature for Reflections. This kid thrives on positive reinforcement. He just lights up—I wish I could have caught his face when they announced it. But he's still pretty happy here:
I do feel a little bad that what is getting reinforced is a first draft, "this is due tomorrow so I'd better get it done"entry. Here's what he wrote:

Beautiful People
By Joey Marsh

Some people think that beauty is fancy clothes or make up, but I think beauty is happiness, kindness, and treating others the way you want to be treated. I think that someone beautiful would be helpful. For example my grandparents are beautiful. They may look old, and have wrinkles and white hair, but they are nice and happy and they treat others kindly and they are helpful. I think everyone on Earth can be beautiful if they are kind to each other.

Awww.

AND, guess who won these brownies?!

Yes, this might be an unprecedented two-winner week in the Marsh family. Hopefully our luck will extend to our teams tomorrow. Too bad we're not still living in Idaho, we could give the lottery a try. :) Thank you, Stacy Julian, the only person I know of who loves brownies as much as I do. If you haven't checked out her blog, go and be inspired.

I don't think I've ever won ANYTHING before, and it was so fun to see my name listed (although a little embarrassing because I left a pretty lame comment—couldn't I win when I had something witty to say? Um, don't answer that.)

Since I'm feeling the love, and I think all three of you reading this would agree that if I had an area of expertise, it would be brownies, I too am going to give away some homemade brownies. Just leave a comment, preferably a lame one. I'll draw one of them at random on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. You can even pick which recipe you'd like: St. George Brownies, Mint Brownies, Brownie Cake or Ultimate Brownies (which I haven't posted yet, but will if you pick them).

Tradition with a Twist

Last year I made Mint Brownies on St. Patrick's Day, and thought they'd be a fun green tradition. This year I took them to my Relief Society Birthday dinner, but as cupcakes. It's actually a combination of the Brownie Cake recipe and the Mint Brownie toppings—maybe I'll add the recipe tomorrow. Just trying to make Rob's food photo prediction come true.

Super-power Brownies

I've posted this recipe already, but since I've decided to change my format to 6x6" (so I can either make cards or put recipes in a smaller binder), I'm posting it again. 


I made these last night for Family Home Evening, and they served as inspiration for Robbie's homework assignment to write a short story. Check it out, it's awesome:

What if my mom’s brownies gave you powers? 

By Robbie Marsh 

“Brownies!” Joey shouted.
“Yippie!” I exclaimed. They were fresh out of the oven. I immediately asked for one. Joey wanted a brownie too. They had a mouth-watering smell, and they tasted scrumptious. All I could do was think of the taste. Just looking at these brownies makes you feel like you’re starving. I closed my eyes, thinking of the brownies. Why, they were so good, they could make you fly or…
The moment I thought of ‘fly’ I hit my head on something. I opened my eyes wondering were I was. I looked down. There, was the kitchen, all of it. Maybe I was imagining things, but it was a birds-eye view. I could see the oven, sink, stove, pantry, dishwasher, and best of all, the brownie platter. I could see Joey’s fingers sparkle a flash. I instantly knew it was lightning. I thought a moment, and my eyes grew wide. I had been thinking about what Joey just did. I wondered if I could fly at…BONK! I felt it immediately. The wall. Sizzle. It rushed past me. Another miss.
“Stop it Joey!” I called to him.
“No! I’m a super-villain now, and you can’t stop me from taking over the world!” he shouted back. He didn’t know yet. I had the element of surprise on my side. Sure, he can throw lightning. I just have to fly at the speed of light to save Mom and get back here. As soon as you can blink I’d accomplished this and had a plan.
“Why don’t you eat another brownie to become stronger Joey?” I asked
“Good point” he said. So he ate another brownie, and evilly laughed. He tried to hit me with lightning but he couldn’t. I took the last brownie so he wouldn’t get his power again. I lost mine. So if you ever ask for a brownie, make sure my Mom didn’t bake it.

Joey was initially quite upset at being cast as the super-villian, but since then he has embraced this role, and he really does want to rule the world. ;)

Brownie Cake

I'm not much of a cake fan, but love brownies, so it's no surprise that my favorite cake ever is called Brownie Cake. Thanks to Judy for introducing me to this recipe, and for giving me the Junior League cookbook as a wedding shower gift. My cookbook practically opens to this page (or the breakfast casserole page) since it's got splatters and smudges to prove that we love it.

No Green Eggs and Ham

We have no plans to ever eat an all-green meal for St. Patrick's, but this might be our new tradition for dessert.

St. George Brownies

Because our family cookbook wouldn't be complete without an entire section devoted to brownies, here's one of my favorite recipes. It's a basic fudgy version, no frosting, and just rich enough. Mmmm...