Brownies. Is there anything they can't do?

Today I decided to take Man some lunch on post. He isn't allowed to brown bag it (in more words than that, but that's what it comes down to) so the two little girls and I headed up there to spend a few minutes with him in the chow hall.

This morning I was quite torn about what I should take. Should I save my sanity and keep it simple? Should I just whip up some dinner for tomorrow night and take him a nice meal? Should I grab him some Burger King? The whole point was to save money and get some quality time, so Option A looked the most attractive.

But then I started to think about the flour and cocoa powder I got yesterday. About an hour before I headed up to post, I started some brownie mix. Ambitious much? Not me.

I halved the recipe and was just opening the box of cocoa powder when Pebbles decided to come over and help. The flour, sugar, baking powder and salt were all in by this point but I thought, cool -- I like the idea of raising little chefs who will some day take over my kitchen and cook me dinner every night. Come, little spawn, and I will teach you. Mwahaha.

Unfortunately, her vision of the brownies and mine did not see eye to eye and I caught her after three shakes of onion powder went into my heaping pile of future-delectable-ness. I took a moment to size up my as yet uncompleted mix, wondering if there was enough of everything else to hide the onion powder. My lips pursed, Pebbles watched me with amusement, Freida started to climb my leg, the clock ticked, and I decided to just go for it.

The mix got stirred up and I was just about to start cracking eggs when I realized that I had no vanilla. Oh, well, simple lunch it is, and a quick trip to the store for vanilla afterward.

This evening I made up a batch of brownies. No onion was detectable in the batter so I figured I was safe.

After they were done cooking, I took one mouth watering bite, savoring the rich texture and dark flavor, only to find that I halved everything in the recipe but the salt.

It seems that Pebbles and I did have a similar vision: we both considered this to be more of a savory dish. I look forward to many a semi-flop and many a swooning success with my sweet chefette by my side. At least we have sense of humor.

Man swears he could taste something wrong with the brownies above and beyond too much salt.

So, do I make the other half of the mix sans salt, stir it in, and hope the onion drowns further? Or should I just sack the whole thing and start over? Money is tight, folks, and cocoa powder is not cheap.

I'd never been in an Air Force dining hall before today. It looks like a Denny's except you go get your food from a cafeteria line and there are about three restaurant's worth of seating in several large rooms. I had a vision of long, low, unfinished wood tables and benches in a dimly-lit dining fly. Man informed me that that was the basic training version. It was odd to be in a room full of uniforms that are all about the same color (except the Marines, but I didn't see any there) and there I was, in a bright teal shirt and khaki's. The kids and I stood out, to say the least.