Sarah's World: Day 128: Mealworm Brownies

I had an aging zucchini in my fridge, amongst a number of other veggies in dire need of some attention.

I mentioned to my sister that I needed to use them up and she quickly suggested:

"You should make me zucchini brownies!"

"Yeah, sure," I noncommittally replied. I don't think that either one of us really believed brownies were going to be made.

A few days later, to the surprise of us both, they WERE!

However, it wasn't without a few bumps along the way. As with most things in life.

Bump #1 .... I don't think I grated the zucchini fine enough

I used my food processor to grate the zucchini then put together the incredibly dry 'batter'.

When I added the zucchini, something looked seriously off about what I saw.
"Oh my gosh, this looks like worms in dirt! It looks like mealworms - the yuckiest kind!"

But I kept mixing, skeptical that the geriatric zucchini would add enough moisture to turn the cocoa/flour dirt into anything other than powder.

Not only was I questioning the size of my zucchini shreds at this point, but also my choice of using coconut oil - an oil that hardens in cooler temperatures.
"But it was hot in my apartment! Surely it will work ok?!?"

Bump #2 .... I don't think I can call this brownie batter

So, the zucchini did NOT have enough moisture to wet the mixture into a sludge or even a large clump! And I had no idea what effect the coconut oil was having, if any.

It was time to call in reinforcements - several tablespoons of milk!

I used unsweetened coconut milk for the job. Seemed perfect since I had already used the coconut oil. Better stick with the same flavor profile, right?

I shake up the carton and pour in my first tablespoon (glug, glug).

I step away from the kitchen for a moment and quickly return to add tablespoon #2.
Glug, glug - ewww!! What is that white stuff?! Is that some sort of mold?!

I really don't know. What I do know is that I now had tiny white globs of something floating at the top of my tablespoon.

Does coconut milk have 'pulp'?? Is that why you're suppose to shake it? I questioned hopefully.

Clearly I wasn't too disturbed by the mysterious forms because, not only did I not care enough to look up the answer, but I felt the only action needed was to scoop off the white globs and continue with the few remaining tablespoons.

That did the trick - the batter was nice and moist!

Bump #3 .... hmm, maybe just a few more minutes

Nope! Didn't need a few more minutes. I over baked them. Not too bad, but the edges were certainly on the drier side (just begging for ice cream!).

When all was said and done - and I got a good piece from the middle - the brownies turned out Great! They were pretty moist and definitely delicious.

So why share the little details about this baking (mis)adventure?

Because it's part of life.

In every single experience we have, things will turn out different than we expect. It could happen at a particular step along the way. It could be an ultimate outcome.

Whatever happens, no matter what it is, is neither 'good' nor 'bad'. It is our interpretation and perspective of the situation or experience that makes it so.

When we are able to take a break from judging situations as soon as they deviate from what we want, we give ourselves the opportunity to fully experience the moment.

Take my mealworm brownie batter. It really looked disgusting to me. And I did not think it was going to turn out well at all, especially since it was so dry and powdery.

Past Sarah might have gotten upset by the situation "[boo-hoo] I was just trying to do something nice for my sister (and my stomach) and it's not even working!"

But instead, I took in the situation objectively without judgement. And would you believe it? That allowed me to have fun in the situation I found myself!

What could have been a complaint was now a joke: