CORAZON!

yup.
so,
it was valentine's day.
and it was not the worst one i've ever had.
somewhat surprisingly,
even without the close quarters company of a certain special someone,
and without the only-slightly-less close-quarters
constant communication with my coworker,
i STILL managed to be surrounded by positive people,
with positive vibes,
and that Positive Mental Attitude.
mmmhmmm.
lucky lucky.
i think it must've been the cake, honestly.
everybody who is any good likes cake.
i wish it was because i was well-dressed for success,
but i'm convinced it was all the cake's doing, and not the fresh threads.
aww.
i was decked out from head to toe in a seasonally-appropriate situationally-suited
site-specific red, white, and pink fit of valentine finery,
complete with bow tie, OBVI,
because i am both romantic and dapper, and also NOT an A*-hole.
rules is rules.
you dress nice on valentine's day, duders.
show a little sentimental softness for one day.
jeez.
anyway,
i had a chocolate brownie doing it's best impersonation of a cake,
and it was covered in chocolate ganache,
and it had sprankles all over it.
yup.
you know what i'm about,
and now i know what brings all of y'all to the studio.
(nobody was getting tattooed, just spanning time and eating cake, but still....)
check it:

HEARTS ON HEARTS ON HEARTS!!!
neighbors,
i just loooooove to celebrate stuff.
and i love love.
and i love cake.
so this is pretty much a convergence of the expert elements.
y'see that frosting?
yeah.
that's the messy whirlwind of wand mixer prepared swirls.
whatever, man. it worked, barely, and it looks good, so that must mean it IS good.
is that how that works?
i think that's a thing.
ANYway,
you guys want to know how to make some of this for yourselves?
well, i'm just gonna list the process for you,
and if you wanna, you can follow along at home-
-
*
BROWNIE HEART CAKE!!
-
in a small saucepot,
warm  up, all together:
1 stick vegan butter equivalent(i think the earth balance stuff is numero uno for this);
1 cup dark brown sugar;
1/2 cup chocolate chips;
1 cup non-dairy milk;
1 tsp vanilla.
while that's melting, slowly, over low heat,
fire your oven right on up to 375℉.
grease and flour a cake pan, more specifically a heart one, bro.
in a medium mixing bowl,
toss together:
1/4 cup tapioca flour/starch/whatever you call it;
1/3 cup cocoa;
2 cups flour;
1 tsp ea. bakey powpow and soda;
1/2 tsp salt;
-
add the wet to the dry, and pour it into the pan and put the pan into the oven.
c'mon.
that's where you're going to bake it for 35-45 minutes,
and then, y'gotta let it cool out of it's pan for long enough
to keep the ganache from getting too runny and slipping off.
that's a thing.
and the ganache?
damn, duders. that's actually too easy:
-
1/2 cup chocolate chips;
3 T non-dairy milk;
3 T powdered sugar;
2 tsp vanilla;
1 non-stick pan on low heat, and lots of stirring.
boom.
instant supersexxxy luscious frosty boomfire.
y'like those valentiney dots on dots, a.k.a. spranks?
you dooooo?
tight. i do too.
and of course, when it was actually cooled enough to manhandle,
that double frosty frosting flavor was mandatory:
too much is the right amount;
and besides understating things is a great way to be misunderstood.
i repeat myself a lot.
i want to make sure you know what i mean, man.
***********
not everybody is terrible.
that's something it took me years to discover,
and i'm glad i finally stopped being completely closed-off long enough
to let a few people in.
my valentine's crew was a surprising set of folks who are all really frickin' good ones.
i know i'm lucky.
yeah.
not everybody is terrible.
however,
everybody is when they're drinking alcohol.
unpopular that opinion may be, but it's not any less true.
even just a little bit diminishes your ability to uncover your best self.
that's real.
and while i guess i get why it happens-
not everyone thinks they can be accepted for their inner infinite nature-
which is true, but also pretty much totally fine.
i mean it.
not everybody has to like you.
and not everyone can find a path towards resolution of their problems,
so they seek escape 'em rather than repair or reroute or reflect.
i don't remember...does that solve anything?
oh, right.....it doesn't.
...
personally, i believe we get a choice.
and the choice is between what is easy, and what is dope.
the harder way, every day, kids, is the path to strong bodies and minds.
i choose to be the person i want to be.
or, at the barest minimum, to clear-headedly soul-searchingly strive
to become that worthy warrior poetic ideal.
why the F* would i want anything less?
i know, i repeat myself a lot.
i know, most of you could give a sh!t.
i know i'm not changing many minds.
i know, it has nothing to do with cake.
but, well,
it's MY blog, brothers and sisters,
and this is what i had on my mind.
truth tellers can never stop,
and moreover, they mustn't.
it's ALL really happening,
and i'm pursuing that hard-headed open-minded heavy-handed strongarm
sojourn for true stories told truly.
this is it;
never quiet, never soft.....