Oh, who am I kidding? This is a treat for anytime you want to indulge in something nummy-tasting that’s semi-good for you!
See, I’m a chocolate hound. Like, seriously, when is something better withoutchocolate on or in it! And that includes…ummm…never mind… That’s a topic for another post! 😉
Where was I? Oh, right…As someone who likes to follow a mindful, healthy lifestyle, chocolate kinda doesn’t really fit. Not that I haven’t ignored “the rules” completely and indulged! But when there’s a special holiday, a real reason to indulge, then what’s a girl to do?
Scouring the internet, I found a recipe for a double chocolate cookie that is sooo delicious, I don’t miss the fact there isn’t any gluten in it at all! The secret is in the cocoa powder. It acts just like flour in binding the cookie dough together, and is so amazing, I don’t know that I’d make any other of its kind from now on!
Want the recipe? Well, since I didn’t develop it myself, I’m going to have to send you to Rachel over at bakerita.com. You’ll find the link to the Paleo Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies here. If you whip up a batch, let me know how you like it, ‘kay?
(And, yeah, for the record, a single girl can like Valentine’s Day! Even if it’s only for the chocolate… 😉 )
Eating Paleo means I feel pretty even-keeled and functioning at optimum — at least, on more days than not. But it also means watching carb intake so as not to be pushed over the edge and into the realm of tired all the time. Having said that, there are days when I crave something so yummy/decadent I can’t stand it. What to do?
Since I’ve yet to find a Paleo bakery around my neck of the woods, I’m forced to bake my own stuff. And, yeah, on occasion I consciously choose to have something I shouldn’t, and moderate that throughout the course of my day. I had one of those days not too long ago. I wanted cake, darn it! Not just any cake, but cake with a rich chocolate filling and lots of frosting. (Note: I know chocolate isn’t Paleo, but I’m willing to bet a cavewoman would have loved it!)
Anyway, I came up with something that made my mainly-Paleo-eating-heart sing with joy! (Corny, but true.)
It started with a recipe for a chocolate custard thingy (technical term) that I thought would work. In addition to that, I made a grain-free cake, whipped up some heavy cream “frosting”, and put it all together. The results were fantastic!! 🙂
Making the chocolate fillingWhipping the creamNow it’s all about the assembly!I thought some coconut flakes would be a perfect addition – yum!And voila! Just in time for breakfast! 🙂
Frankly, life’s too short. Every now and then, you gotta eat cake!
On a gorgeous Pacific Northwest day, I came out of my writing cave, and met up with Lily Santana and Jessa Slade.Â
Lunch with my fab writing friends, Jessa Slade and Lily Santana!
Our meeting place: The mother ship, that beacon of brick and mortar that draws writers and readers into it, sucking hours of life away in continuous bliss – Powell’s Books. At least, that’s where we were the first three hours.
Over coffee, lunch, and drinking chocolates, we shared our writing process, what makes us excited about writing, and the importance of chocolate.
And so I give you our nuggets of wisdom:
– Chocolate, we all agreed, stimulates creativity, so for writers, this is a must. (That one was easy!) Which was why Jessa and Lily later decided we deserved lots of it for each chapter we completed. Lily suggested 160 ozs. per book (8 ozs. per chapter x 20 chapters). Personally, I go through waaay more than that! (Life’s short. Books take a long time to produce. Why have limits?)
Chocolate bliss!
– Writing is hard. You know that saying we writers have heard over and over? About how splitting a vein open is easier than writing? Personally, I think that’s true. Yet we pound away at the computer, we agonize over sentence structure, we give up sleep, and we help our process along with a lot of chocolate (see the first nugget above). And in spite of the relatively low return (unless you happen to like rejection), we do it over and over again.
Jessa said, “If you can be happy doing something else, do that. . .. Then again, happy is overrated.”
Lily said, “What I like and don’t like about writing is the the same thing: it requires a level of focus I don’t find anywhere else.”
– Why do we write? Lily admitted, “I love the feeling of falling in love.”
Jessa was blatantly honest. (Would you expect anything else?) “I like hot guys.”
I write because I can’t seem to quit. It’s an addiction, this driving need to commit words to paper in some form that makes a reader smile. Besides, in this crazy world, where life sometimes spirals out of control, I’m a sucker for a happily-ever-after.
– In choosing story structure, Lily builds around a scene that comes to her. She has to know the hero first (like I do!), what makes him tick, and why. The heroine comes next because, as she stated with a grin, “I’m always the heroine.”
Chocolate-induced happiness!
For Jessa, she starts with an idea. “But that’s a bad thing. Why? Starting with an idea can lead to preaching, whereas starting with a character or situation has story implicit in it and gives you a stronger start.”
– Bestseller lists. What author doesn’t dream of hitting the bestseller lists? When she does, Lily said, “I’m buying a waterfront home for my family to enjoy.”
After careful thought, Jessa piped in with “a lake front home, a mountain home, a beach home. All with housekeepers!”
Me? I’ll take a custom-made pair of Christian Louboutin shoes. Oh, and what Jessa said. But I’d like a cook and a gardener, too! 😉
After wandering through Powell’s Books, eating lunch al fresco, and consuming the perfect drinking chocolate at Cacao Drink Chocolate, I felt refreshed, reconnected, and strangely validated as a writer. Then again, books, food, chocolate, and the company of fabulously supportive writer friends will do it every time!
chocolate on or in it! And that includes…ummm…never mind… That’s a topic for another post! 😉
