Sharing the Love with BeBetsy's Pass the Plate

I got this note in the mail recently that made me really really happy. Yes, I got brownies delivered to me! I'm talkin' REAL HOMEMADE SINFULLY DELICIOUS BROWNIES. I'm usually the one making the sweet treats for others, but this time I was treated by my friend Jackie of Marin Mama Cooks as part of BeBetsy's Pass the Plate project. BeBetsy was inspired by Kitchenaid's Cook for the Cure® program that brings passionate cooks a way to support the fight against breast cancer through culinary fundraising with programs like this one. The plate is a beautiful 2012 plate designed and signed by famous French chef Jacque Pepin. Each time the plate is passed on from one foodie to another (it gets registered), Kitchenaid makes a donation to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.

I'm so excited to be a part of this effort for several reasons. Obviously, one of the benefits is that I get a big ol' plate of delicious brownies. I also get to connect even more so with some of my friends in the blogosphere. But this project reaches me on a personal level. My passion as a nurse has been in the care of patients with cancer. For years I worked in the hospital setting on an oncology unit and bone marrow transplant unit as well as in the clinics. The people I met through that journey were amazing and I will never forget what that experience taught me about the strength and grace of people, and about perspective, and about what really matters in life. Even more personal is that my Dad has battled colon cancer (and won!), and one of my dearest friends is still fighting the fight with her teenage son who has leukemia. Programs that support finding the cure and give support to people with cancer will always have a special place in my heart, so I'm glad to be a part of this. 

Getting brownies as part of this project is a bonus, and the fact that they came from one of my favorite food bloggers was like icing on the cake. Jackie is an amazing cook with a contagious smile whose spirit just makes me happy. So does her food! Her warm style and energy really jives with mine so we get on fabulously. You should visit Jackie and check out some of the delicious and healthy recipes she shares on her blog. Just the pictures alone make me want to try them all! I keep inviting myself over for dinner but it's kind of hard to just swing by when she's in San Francisco and I'm here in the Seattle area. :)

So, want to see what Jackie sent me? I really wish there was a smell app that I could insert here for you because just the intoxicating chocolatey aroma of these was driving me a little crazy as I was unwrapping them:

She sent us more than what you see pictured, but we kept eating the subject. 

See what I mean? I had to take that bite for the sake of the picture.  

I find there are two camps of brownie lovers. Some people like their brownies almost cake-like and "fluffier", while others like them dense and rich. I'm in the dense and rich camp and these fit the bill. They're so chocolatey dark and moist! They're amazing. But then again, I knew they would be. :) Here's the recipe to Marin Mama Cook's Robert's Absolute best Brownies.

I loved that Jackie chose to send me brownies because they brought back wonderful childhood memories of when my Gramma in Maine would send us her homemade brownies by mail every few months. She would wrap each piece individually with tin foil, and I still remember the anticipation and excitement of unwrapping each brownie from their little foil packages. My Gramma has since passed on, but she instilled in me two things - a love of brownies and a love of writing. I talk about her in my very first ever blog post and our letter writing to one another. Good times. :)

The next destination for this plate will be to another foodie blogger friend, Nichi at The Mandatory Mooch. Nichi is another gal that I really enjoy and connect with. She makes such fabulous looking sweet treats (since we're on a brownie roll, check out her Mallow Brownie Bars!) so whoever she gets to pass the plate to will be so lucky! Nichi is on a much deserved and needed tropical vacation right now but as soon as she's back, she gets a delivery of goodies sent to her by me! I can't wait. I'll write another post about what I send her when I do it. 

How fun is this? And all for a great cause!

This was going to be a super short blog post just to show you these brownies and why I got them, but as is the case with me, I end up remembering all sorts of stories as I'm writing and then I write them into the posts! No wonder they get so long. Oh well, that's just the way it goes here in Lilikoi Joyland. :)