Today is Rosie Beaucoup’s birthday. She’s like, the best mother ever. So I thought I’d tell you a little story – one of my favourite Rosie Beaucoup stories. Some of you may have heard this before…
A couple of years ago, 2.0 and I went to visit the Beaucoups for a lovely meal. We sat around the dinner table catching up on recent happenings and goings-on. Rosie Beaucoup had been talking about a rabbit for days on end. “Oh, the rabbit is so cute.” And, “the rabbit kept me company when I was in the garden!” And, “that rabbit is probably eating all of my perennials…” So, when Rosie Beaucoup lead 2.0 and I out into the yard for a post-dinner wander, I wasn’t really surprised when she started running toward a rustling in the shrubs. She was looking for her bff (bunny friend forever). In fact, I kind of ran behind her. Because I really like bunnies. “There’s the rabbit,” Rosie Beaucoup yelled, and then pulled me by the arm toward the rustling.
Now, I can tell you that hind sight is 20/20. Looking back, when 2.0, Rosie Beaucoup and I were standing on the lawn, I can vaguely recall hearing the men next door talking loudly about a bear. But this didn’t really register with me until I was running from a bear. I had been running toward a bear, because Rosie Beaucoup was telling me to run toward a bunny. This was a big mistake. And this happened because my mother can’t tell the difference between a small, brown floofy bunny and a big, mother f*n black bear. So, though hind sight is 20/20, Rosie Beaucoup’s eyesight is not.
When Rosie Beaucoup yelled, “oh my God, that’s a bear,” I was, needless to say, scared sh*tless. Rosie Beaucoup, 2.0 and I were now about 20 feet from a very large black bear. When Rosie Beaucoup started to run, I followed. Because when Rosie Beaucoup runs, I run. I’m pretty sure I broke Usain Bolt’s 100 metre world record. You guessed it: I engaged Super Speed Mode. And when Rosie Beaucoup, 2.0 and I were safe inside the house, we watched the black bear dismantling the bird feeders from the kitchen window. That’s when I remembered the stories I’d heard of bears crashing through living room windows. But I didn’t mention this to The Beaucoups, because the bear looked like he was headed toward the back door. (To eat them.)
Obviously, I lived to tell the tale. We outran a bear, and would have wrestled it had it tried to eat Lucy 1.0 (the dog). And, yes, doofus, we know you aren’t supposed to run from a bear, but I’m betting you wouldn’t have plopped your arse down on the lawn either. There is nothing instinctual about laying down and letting a bear sniff you for a while.
After our run-in with the bear, when driving home, 2.0 seemed a little miffed.
2.0: You left me behind!
movita: What?
2.0: You ran inside of the house, and you and your mother never looked back to see if I was there. You left me with the bear!
movita: I knew you were there. You’re very fast and agile.
2.0: You didn’t know I was there! I could have tripped! The bear could have been eating me…
movita: No. I sensed you were there.
2.0: I just watched the back of both of you running as fast as you could. You didn’t look back. I know because I WAS BEHIND YOU.
movita: Oh, honey. No sense in us both being killed. It was fight or flight. I just ran. I was scared. And you know what they say… you don’t have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun the slowest person.
2.0: Not funny. I’m not speaking to you starting… now.
I resisted the urge to tell 2.0 that if Rosie Beaucoup had looked back, she wouldn’t have seen him anyway.
I know what you’re thinking: how is movita going to relate this story to brownies? Well, brownies are brown. So are many bears. Also, these brownies are my favourite brownies – they are one of the first things I ever learned to make, and Rosie Beaucoup gave me the recipe. They are fudgy and moist, and you can tweak them in about a million ways. I swirled peanut butter on top because bears like peanut butter almost as much as they like small, white women. You can swirl in lots of peanut butter, or just a little. Also, these brownies are so easy to make, that I’m betting a bear could make them. Provided that bear could convince you to let him into your kitchen.
Happy birthday, Rosie Beaucoup. Don’t forget your bear horn when you’re out in the garden today…
Peanut Butter Swirled Brownies
Yields one 8 x 8 inch baking pan.
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons margarine
- 6 tablespoons cocoa
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter (according to taste)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 x 8 inch baking pan.
In a saucepan, melt 1/2 cup margarine over medium heat. Stir in the cocoa and additional margarine (2 tablespoons). Remove from heat. Mix in the sugar. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla. Mix in the flour until well combined.
Spread batter evenly in the prepared baking pan. Drop spoonfuls of the peanut butter over top of the batter, and then use a butter knife to swirl. Just a few drags of the butter knife should do it – you don’t want to mix the peanut butter in – you want threads of peanut butter in your brownies.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.