Joy #6

Browned Butter.... MMMMMM...
One thing I love about the holidays is  the food. I like to eat it, sure, but my very favorite part is the cooking. I love to cook. I love to try out new recipes (even though I can follow a recipe to save my life:) I like to make up my own recipes. I like the science involved, especially at christmas when I try out all kinds of candy. It's interesting how the same ingredients can make totally different things depending on the amount of heat you apply to them. I love that my kids are nerds like me and like that part of it too. I love the way it makes your house smell. I like that it gives you an excuse to do the dishes 20 times a day (my favorite time to talk to my kids is while we are doing dishes or folding laundry. That's when all the good stuff comes out:) But most of all I love to watch the faces of the people who you share your goodies with when they take the first bite. You can tell instantly whether they like it or not, and when it's especially delicious I love the eyes rolled back, deep breath, savor the taste-face. Today I made some browned butter brownies with salty whipped peanut butter frosting. Yum. I have been on a bit of a browned butter kick lately - it's a fall thing, I think, and these did not disappoint. I love the rich flavor of the brownies, and the salty meets sweet flavor of the frosting. MMMM, it makes me moan in pleasure at the very thought. And that brought me joy today.
And sharing the joy went right along with it. Just as I was putting the finishing touches on the brownies the maintenance guy stopped by to change the filter in my furnace. I don't know him very well, but his daughter has special needs and is in the same class as Ethan, so we have something in common. When he was done, I offered him a brownie and a glass of milk while we talked about our kids. It was great. He totally did the eye roll thing:) He raved about them, and I think both of us enjoyed finding someone who identifies with having a special needs child. I love making connections like that. And I love browned butter brownies.:)