Out With the New, In With the Old

There are two things that make me cranky.

1. Being hungry (don't mess with me!)
2. Not having a computer

After two weeks of having my new laptop, it's now broken. Yup.

That's what $400 will get you these days. A laptop that lasts two weeks.

Yesterday my laptop got very hot, and then it started locking up where I couldn't do anything. I would turn it off, turn it back on, and two minutes later it would lock up again. Now when I turn it on I can't do anything at all!

Today I was on the phone for 45 minutes talking to Compaq support, and now they're shipping me a new hard drive.

To install myself.

Did you read that correctly? To install MYSELF.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahah.

Do they really think I can install a hard drive myself?

What am I GOING TO DO?

Then I talked to Eric and he doesn't even think the hard drive is the problem. I have a feeling it's going to be a long time before I get my laptop fixed...



This is so frustrating and now I'm in a terrible mood. Now this is going to push back my blog changes even more. I'm thinking about cancelling the changes for the time being and maybe change everything in a few months.

OH, OH. Here's another problem: I have a dozen recipes typed up in my drafts on Blogger, but all of the pictures to the recipes are on my broken laptop.
I should have backed up. But who knew a brand new laptop could break so quickly?

Luckily, I had some pictures on my camera from these Almond Joy Brownie Wedges that I just made. Just made! You usually see recipes I baked one or two (or three!) weeks ago, but I made these yesterday. They're still in the kitchen if you want to come over and have a bite.



Eating an Almond Joy Brownie Wedge makes me feel better about all of my PC problems. For the time being.



I made up a really chocolatey brownie batter and placed half of it in a cake pan. Then I topped it with toasted coconut and salted almonds, and covered the coconut and almonds with the remaining brownie batter. The final touch was a sprinkling of Almond Joy Pieces. They're very tasty - have you tried them?

Gah I love coconut so much. Here's a fact you don't know. I smell like coconut. I wash my hair with coconut shampoo and I wear coconut lotion. And my breath smells like coconut brownies. You're welcome.


Almond Joy Brownie Wedges
Printable Recipe

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
2/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted
1/2 cup salted almonds
1/3 cup Almond Joy Pieces

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a (9-inch) cake pan with foil; coat foil with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder and salt. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together butter and sugar until well combined - about 1 minute. Whisk in eggs until well combined - about 1-2 minutes. Whisk in chocolate until combined. Whisk in flour mixture until just combined.

Scrap half of the batter into prepared pan; evenly sprinkle with coconut, and top with almonds. Evenly cover with remaining brownie batter. Sprinkle Almond Joy pieces on top. Bake 25-30 minutes or until well risen and crusty around the edges. Cool on a wire rack before slicing into wedges.

Makes 8 servings