Black bean brownies

15 oz (1 1/2 cups) canned black beans, drained and thoroughly rinsed
2 Ibsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup quick oats
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup maple syrup, honey, or agave syrup
2 Tbsp sugar, equivalent amount of stevia, or increase the syrup/honey to 1/2 cup
1/4 cup coconut or vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2-2/3 cup chocolate chips (do not omit)
more chocolate chips may be added as desired for garnish

Thoroughly process all ingredients except chocolate chips in a good food processor (a blender will give a different result). Stir in chocolate chips and pour into a greased 8x8-inch pan; sprinkle with extra chocolate chips if desired. Cook at 350F 15-18 minutes; let cool at least 10 minutes before tasting. They will firm up a bit if refrigerated overnight.

From: Thurston County Food Bank

The long chatty bit
I recently had a chance to try these at a Food Bank event and picked up a copy of the recipe. They're denser and gooey-er than I like my brownies, more in the flourless, gluten-free line, but still pretty good. My first thought was that they'd make a good filling for something like Fig Newtons or date-filled cookies. I may come back to that idea sometime.

It also might be interesting to try rolling them into small balls that could be coated with cocoa powder to make a sort of truffle. I think they're sticky enough; or maybe they could be undercooked just a smidge... or, I wonder what effect, if any, pre-grinding the oats to a near-flour consistency or even using oat flour would have. Something to ponder.

Esperanta traduko: this post is also available in Esperanto, because Dana is a language geek.

Carrot Cake Oatmeal

50 g. finely grated carrot (approx 1 medium)
orange zest to taste (approx. 1/4-1/6th of an orange as a starting point)
1/2 cup (45 g) rolled oats
25 g currants, raisins, or chopped dates (any sweet dried fruit will work)
125 ml low-fat milk
1/2 tsp. cinnamon, to taste
1/2 tsp. ginger, to taste
a few drops vanilla

garnish:
yogurt (low-fat, high-protein if available)
shreds of carrot
honey if desired (you can use molasses if you're low on iron)

Combine all ingredients except garnish in a saucepan and stir well; heat gently 5 min. (do not boil) or just refrigerate overnight if you think about it in time. Taste before sweetening, all that carrot and dried fruit make it fairly sweet already. Allow to cool a little before garnishing with yogurt.

Adapted from the YouTube video Pre-Ride Nutrition : Emma's Carrot Cake Porridge by GCN (Global Cycling Network)
Measurements are UK, but not critical enough to worry about it.

The rest of the story
So, last summer I started learning to refurbish bikes for a local educational program. I've ridden for years just as a way to get around, and in 2015 finally reached my 15-year goal of going car-free and dumping the thing. This winter I got kind of sick again (as usual, I immediately recovered as soon as I stopped following doctors' orders, so no worries) and spent a lot of time sitting around watching videos... about bike maintenance, of course, but I also ran across other stuff, including the Global Cycling Network. One caveat: these videos are aimed at racers and other sorts who consider cycling at 15 mph leisurely and a quick 20-mile side trip inconsequential. Definitely not in my league -- my league is the one where 15 mph is strictly for downhill and 20 miles is a very long day. So even this cut-in-half recipe makes plenty for those of us who only have a five-mile commute.

Esperanta traduko: this post is also available in Esperanto, because Dana is a language geek.