This evening I heard a news reporter on television say Minnesotans are embracing the cold temperatures. Are you kidding me?
I’m a Minnesotan. Tuesday morning the thermometer here showed 35 degrees below zero. It doesn’t warm up much during the day. And tonight it’s expected to be 25 below. Do I embrace this? No. I deal with it.
When the temperature drops to way, way below zero I can hunker down in my home office and work in my flannel jammies with a big pot of hot dark coffee at my side. All seems quite normal until midday. My body begins to react to the frigid temps. The cravings begin. My brain sends a signal. It’s time to start eating if I want to stay warm. I want sugar. I want carbs. I need fat. And they're all so easy to get. A kitchen full of food is just steps away.
Like a mad woman, I dug through the freezer until I found a box of Thin Mints left from last year’s stash of Girl Scout cookies. I ripped open the two foil packages inside the box and before I knew it, I’d eaten all of those crispy little fat- and sugar-laden rounds.
On one trip to the kitchen, a lonely brownie was staring at me through its cloak of clear plastic. I'd been ignoring it all day. But this time, it was calling my name so loudly, I had to eat it to get rid of the annoyance. There!
Alas, I find that one is not enough. I want more. I make more. Fudge brownies on a frigid day. Big chunks of walnuts for buttery crunch and an extra punch of chocolate with chips of the dark stuff dotting the top of each brownie. So satisfying. Another brownie passes my lips. I immediately feel a sense of warmth.
This afternoon I bundled up for a drive into town. I hadn’t stepped foot out of the house since Sunday. I may not have ventured out today if I wasn’t out of coffee beans.
I huffed and puffed as I pulled on my Uggs. All the cookies, buttered popcorn, brownies and M&M’s I’d been eating while house-bound had already expanded my waist just enough to make it hard to bend over and hard to breathe. As I buttoned my floor-length coat, wrapped a scarf several times around my neck and pulled on my thick mittens, I almost changed my mind. Maybe I should just stay home. But then I realized what I’d feel like in the morning waking up with a sugar-high, carb-low and no caffeine. Borrowing is not an option. My neighbors are in Texas for the winter, probably sipping mojitos in the warm sunshine. I had no choice.
My car whined during the bumpy eight-mile drive to town. The tires had frozen into a flattened shape while sitting idle for days.
I came home with two pounds of coffee beans, several loaves of bread, English muffins, pasta, chips and nuts. It’s what a body needs when it’s trying to stay warm.
So much for the New Year plan to eat light and healthful. I can only deal with one thing at a time. Right now, it’s all about survival. But, it better warm up soon, or my clothes won’t fit.
Cori's Fudge Brownies
Here is Cori's recipe. And the best news? It makes a big 9- x 13-inch pan full of luscious chocolate -- just right for a cold-weather, carb-loading, fat-filled, sugar-saturated day like today. Thanks for sharing, Cori.
2 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (Cori likes Drosti brand)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
walnut halves
chocolate chips or chunks
Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and sugar together into a large bowl. In another bowl, mix eggs, oil and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients in one bowl. Stir to mix. Do not beat. Do not overmix. Spread batter in greased 9- x 13-inch pan. Press walnut halves and chocolate chips onto top of batter. Bake for 28 minutes in preheated 350-degree oven.
Sue Doeden is a popular cooking instructor, food writer and integrative nutrition health coach. She is the host of Good Food, Good Life 365 on Lakeland Public Television. Her own hives full of hardworking bees and her love of honey led to the creation of her recently published cookbook, Homemade with Honey.