It's Gonna Be a Loud Weekend

Today the sun came out unexpectedly (to me anyway) and the sky had a beautiful blue that a few clouds could not diminish. In these days of rain and days which begin and end earlier in darkness, it is always a treat to see a blue sky.

Here it what it looked like this afternoon. There are low lying clouds that make the mountains disappear!

The City is preparing for a huge sporting event which will take place here on Friday. I have it on good authority that there was a buzz in the air downtown today much like during the Winter Olympics held in 2010.

Newly refurbished roof on BC place. At night, this big white dome on our city skyline is light up in colour.  My photo isn't that great as I took it quickly as I was walking to my acupuncture appointment.

This year's Grey Cup Festival takes place here in Vancouver from November 24-27, 2011 and the host football team is our very own BC Lions.  Downtown will be alive with free concerts and Festival activities from Friday, November 25 through Sunday, November 27th, and there are many different activities taking place for adults and children alike.  However the big event is obviously the  99th Grey Cup game on Sunday between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the BC Lions.

Photo credit: Grey Cup Festival Website - This is what the stadium looks like when a professional photographer takes a photo from the right location, with the right equipment.BC place is the building that looks like a tiara on the right (beyond the water).

I'll be staying away from downtown. 

Amongst other things, I don't like large and raucous crowds.  But I do hope our City puts on a good and safe event that will be remembered for years to come by those with the courage to head downtown and the funds to spend on those expensive Grey Cup tickets.

Chocolate Goodness

With the cold weather we had over the weekend, I craved hot tea and some sweet goodness. Internet surfing led me to this chocolatey concoction. It was good enough to share.

Ingredients:

Brownies
2/3 cup (125 mL) butter
2/3 cup (150 mL) milk chocolate chips (4oz/125g)
3/4 cup (175 mL) granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup (175 mL) flour (I used a mix of white and whole wheat flour)
3 -4 tbsp (30 mL) unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt (I actually omitted this)
2/3 cup (150 mL) milk chocolate chips (4oz/125g) (I omitted this too. I was low on choco chips).
Topping
1 cup (250 mL) miniature marshmallows
1/3 cup (75 mL) milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
2. Melt together butter and chocolate chips. Cool slightly. Whisk in sugar. Whisk in eggs, one at a time and then vanilla.
3. Stir in flour, cocoa powder, salt and chocolate chips. (I omitted the salt).
4. Pour  into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until just set (center will still be moist), sprinkle with marshmallows and chocolate chips during last 5 minutes of baking. Cool in pan on rack.

This was VERY tasty; especially good for chocolate lovers.

Notes:  I did not add the 2nd amount of chocolate chips called for. After I mixed up the batter, I realized that the original recipe was not going to produce enough batter my smallest pan. I then increased the egg (by 1), butter (by about 1/2), flour (by about 1/2, sugar (1/4 cup), and added and extra teaspoon of vanilla. The increased amounts are captured in the ingredient list above.

The end result is that the brownies were delicious but they were very soft. After sitting overnight the consistency was perfect.  I overcooked the marshmallows because I wanted to be sure the brownie mixture was fully cooked in the middle. I think next time I would wait for the brownie mixture to finish cooking and add the marshmallows for just long enough to barely melt, yet retain their shape.