Happiness is a Brownie

I guess writing a blog is a bit like writing a book - you don't do it for the money. Sure you have people like J.K Rowlings and George R.R Martin  who have made an empire out of whatever they started out writing, but even they confessed that they started out because they wanted to write, not because they want to make tons of money. I mean as opposed to working in the banking industry where (I would say) the main attraction is the promise of money. The money for writers, if there is any to be made, may or may not come later.

And many writers, like many artists and composers, reach fame posthumously (e.g Tolken - ok now you know I read lots of fantasy novel series). So fame is also definitely not the reason for writing. And If I were to be famous, I would definitely like to still be alive to reap its rewards (minus the paparazzi in front of my house of course.)

I thought I would start a food blog and gain money from advertisers and go full time and write some more, take professional pictures, have an assistant,  get a publisher,  have a full-coloured cookbook...and then I realised... no.

I just want to write because I just want to write. Just like I want to play the piano just because I want to play the piano. And I want to bake brownies because I want to eat brownies.  Or plant pretty summery flowers even if they wither in winter. It may all seem directionless, ambitionless and a non-focused, unproductive way to live (says the voice in my head...*ok shut up now*), but it makes me happy. And happiness is a meandering path that leads to more moments of bliss and joy. And it radiates and perpetuates.

The above-mentioned brownies

So I guess what I am saying is this...writing a blog (and doing other seemingly non-productive things that do not shake the world or seem to make a big difference in my life or anyone's) is a way to create happiness.  Cheap and effective. And happiness has the ability to radiate outwards, such that when I am happy, my family is happy, and the people around me tend to be happier. Which is a ripple effect of positivity in its own right.

These 'happy moments' attitude have become all too rare nowadays  The measure of success that has been lauded and encouraged is how productive or busy one is (while looking good doing it.) Where statements like 'I wish I have time to...' or 'I'm so busy now I don't even have time to (insert your reason here)' are to be worn like badges of honour.

Ironically, a part of me still wants to be able to say those things. I grew up among high-achievers and self-motivated doers, who could juggle many things and excel in all them. I wanted to be like them, believed I was one of them. And I was caught in that flow too, and it still calls out to me sometimes. And I still feel that I should be doing more productive things to make big changes in the world.

But for now I choose to be happy in many little ways and make small changes. Happiness can also be found in doing seemingly meaningless things. Some people call it Zen and describe it differently. But you know, a rose by any other name smells the same. And by writing this, I just had my shot of happy moments.

So for happiness that radiates and perpetuates, I hope you find many ways to make yourself happy too.

And below is the recipe for the above-mentioned happiness-inducing brownies (with no additives)  that take scarcely 30 minutes from start to finish.

Happiness-inducing brownies (adapted, scarcely from Smitten Kitchen's My Favourite Brownies)

Ingredients

• 85 grams unsweetened chocolate, broken roughly
• 115 grams unsalted butter
• 265 grams granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 5 ml vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or 1/4 teaspoon table salt (about 2 grams)
• 85 grams all-purpose flour
• A handful of walnuts  broken into random pieces (more if you prefer) 

This is how we do it

Heat oven to 180 degrees. Line a baking pan with baking paper .

Break the chocolate into pieces. The smaller they are, the faster they will melt.
Add butter to the bowl and melt the chocolate with the butter either over a double boiler or for a minute thereabouts in the microwave.

Add the rest of the ingredients one a time, stirring as you do it. Make sure that you end up with a uniform sticky brown mass that smells delicious. Resist the urge to scoop out with the spoon and eat it like Nutella.

Bake it for 25-30 minutes or less if you like to under-bake your brownies. I find my oven usually bakes it in 23 minutes, when the toothpick I insert into the centre comes out clean.

If you are willing to wait, then wait for it to cool before you cut the brownie into pieces. But for me, I slide it out of my pan, wet a knife, and cut it into squares barely 5 minutes after it's out of the oven so that I can cram delicious warm chocolate fudgy forkfuls that melt in the mouth almost immediately. (I do not believe in delayed gratification you see).

That is really one example of good things coming in small packages.