Quinoa Breakfast Brownies

My new favorite: quinoa breakfast brownies

We were treatless this week. Specifically, breakfast treatless. No Pear Polenta Muffins were hiding in the freezer. No Apple Cake with Cranberries. In fact, the only food items in the freezer were a solo bottle of organic vodka and a bag of frozen cranberries (does vodka count as food?). Which turned out to be a good thing. Because we had to bake. [Had to!] So we experimented (send smooches to Steve for initiating said experiment; if it were not for him, Dear Reader, you'd be looking at an archived recipe today).

As the breakfast treats were baking I started thinking (always dangerous). I started pondering (even more dangerous) why certain people believe they have things AFO. All Figured Out. And they'll tell you so, of course, spooning out advice in words that taste metallic. Like teeth fillings. They have all the neat little answers for you, judged and predigested, wrapped snug in tidy ribbons.

If only life were that simple.


Don't get me wrong. I'm not yearning for simple. I'm not six years old. I can handle complicated. I can chew for hours on ideas that are tough and wiggly and mysterious, and arrive at no final conclusion whatsoever. I can sleep on it and wake up with nothing but songs and dreams in my head that will color the day with glimpses of what might be possible. I don't need to hammer the challenging and mysterious into a mold I can easily grasp so I can feel more comfortable in the world, believing it is fixed. So I can stop asking questions. So I can say, I have the answer.

I am, in fact, okay hanging in the tension of opposites.

I don't need only good, only pretty, only nice, only light, only clean, only sweet, only happy. And isn't that a valuable thing? Because the last time I checked the world was a mash-up of good and bad, beautiful and ugly, gentle and cruel, luminous and dark and cool and filthy and calm and angry and laughable and profoundly, deeply sad. And often, really ironic.

So here's the thing.

The older I get, the more I learn, the less certain I am. Of anything. I don't have all the answers. I don't always know what is best or what is true. And what is right for me may not be right for you. And what may be right for me today may be wrong for me tomorrow. But one thing I do know?

There are places on this earth where you feel you belong. And places you will always feel like a stranger. An outsider. A tourist. There are places and people and days that grind you down. And harden you. And there are places and people and days that soften you. Soften your heart. And you know what?

I want that.

Quinoa Breakfast Brownies Recipe

Quinoa flakes give these breakfast treats a texture that is a cross between a blondie bar and a breakfast bar. We add mini dark chocolate chips to ours because we like the flavor combo of quinoa and chocolate. And if you like nuts, you could also add chopped pecans or walnuts.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 11x13-inch baking pan with lightly greased parchment.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients:

1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup Organic Quinoa Flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1 cup Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flakes
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 2/3 cups organic light brown sugar

In a large measuring cup blend:

2/3 cup light olive oil
3 tablespoons real maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon Authentic Foods Vanilla Powder

Combine the wet and dry ingredients with a sturdy wooden spoon until you get a sticky batter.

Make your egg replacement:

1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer
4 tablespoons warm water

Whip the egg replacer ingredients till foamy and frothy. [If you are adding eggs instead, beat two large free-range organic eggs; and omit the egg replacement formula.]

Add the egg replacer to the batter and combine well. The dough should be thick and rather sticky.

Add:

2 to 4 tablespoons of warm water, as needed to achieve a dough that sticks together when you pinch it- much like cookie dough.

Now add in:

1/2 cup golden raisins or chopped dried fruit
2/3 cup dairy-free chocolate chips or chopped nuts

Stir to combine. Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan, and using wet hands, smooth the surface evenly. Place the pan into the center of a pre-heated oven and bake until golden and set - about 22 to 30 minutes until the top is golden brown and the center if firm. Insert s thin knife to check if you are unsure to make certain the center has baked thoroughly.

Cool on a wire rack. Using a thin sharp knife, cut into squares; wrap them in foil; bag in a freezer storage bag. Freeze. Delicious slightly chilled.

Makes 15 to 18 brownies.

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