brownies... black bean style.

when siobhan was born, i was 16. when i moved to kitchener, she was almost 4 years old. so, i was there all throughout her baby and toddler years. she was a really good baby... never climbed up and over everything... never ran around like a wild child... usually pretty happy to have people around, and books read. well... alex, the toddler i've been watching is the complete opposite. he is one busy little boy. spending most of his time running. yesterday.... alex and i were running around my house... when he smashed into my legs, and then whacked his face on the floor. there was blood. in the end everything was ok... and the mom wasn't mad at me for breaking her baby.

since purchasing my pretty little food processor... i've been looking forward to baking black bean brownies! partially because i thought it would be cool to try out... and partially because i miss eating brownies. or any sugary snacky tasty food in general. yesterday, i told siobhan that all i wanted to eat was a doughnut and french fries between two big pieces of soft chewy bread. according to siobhan, it didn't sound very appealing. i searched for a recipe that included ingredients that i already had at home. the first recipe that i wanted to make required agave nectar... unfortunately i don't have any yet (for sure buying some tomorrow!). i found another recipe, to give me an idea of what i needed... of course i tweaked it a bit.

this is what the recipe ended up being... it's doubled from the original recipe. fitting perfectly into my pyrex cake dish...

2 cans of beans (i used 1 can of navy, and 1 can of black... rinse them!)

6 eggs

6 tbsps becel oil

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tbsp stevia (or 1 cup splenda/sugar)

you can use either a food processor or a blender. blend the beans first... till smooth. then add in eggs and oil. blend again. then add in cocoa and sugar. blend once more. at this point, i threw in a handful of cashews and cocoa nibs... for a bit of crunch. pulsing it, to break down the nuts a bit. pour into a greased pan. and into the oven... 350F for 25 minutes.

after trying the brownies, my mom and i decided that they needed an icing! so... i used about 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate, 2 tbsps of sour cream, and 1 tbsp of peanut butter. into the microwave for 1 minute... and then spread it all over the warm brownies. it made them pretty tasty! i figure the wee bit of chocolate on the brownie is ok... as long as i don't only eat the icing and not the rest of the brownie!!

dinner tonight was soooo good too... asparagus, roasted sweet potatoes, and parmesan crusted baked chicken. super good. and lots of leftovers. love it!