Friday Afternoon Tactile Graphics Experiments Suspended; Lentil Brownies Recipe Instead.

Tactile graphics experiments suspended

 The  Friendly Neighborhood Center for Extreme Computing is closed anyway so RantWoman's Friday afternoon tactile graphics experiments have much less of an audience. Then RantWoman read all about virus longevity and surfaces and permitted herself a spell of terror: what if she generates a bunch of tactile images but, instead of having them on hand for the curious, RantWoman were to have to throw them all away in the name of CoronaVirus eradication? RantWoman will now postpone thinking about that because The Friendly Neighborhood Center...is in no danger of reopening anytime soon.

a random report of workers testing positive
Amazon Employee at kent Fulfilment Center tests positive

But fear not: RantWoman does not need to try to make 2-dimensional tactile images of the #CoronaVirus. Instead RantWoman can look to blue (or other colors) plastic dog toys like the examples below.

Blue Plastic toy
corona virus er dog toy

Toy Coronaviruses in many colors

Turning ingredients into food. When in doubt make lentil brownies. 

So much for tactile virus analogs, now Tactile / Tactical #QuarantineCuisine cooking. RantWoman's other recent Friday afternoon activity: a phone call from a social worker. Does RantWoman have everything she needs...for two weeks? Ummm, what is it about the conversation that makes RantWoman surmise that the bus system may get shut down further? RantWoman can walk to get... and RantWoman actually might yet just buckle down and see how far she can go on what's in the house. Cat is well provided for. Some personal items stocked up a little bit. Celery? Lemons? Ummm. And now RantWoman has social worker's phone number....

Fresh Cocoa-Coconut Lentil...Muffins

So how about we start by making...Lentil Brownies? RantWoman has one recipe she likes (use the search bar to find it.)  But on RantWoman's phone the search engine went a different direction:

First stop, a recipe Caramel Lentil Brownies (Vegan / Gluten Free)

RantWoman decided the lentil coconut idea had some appeal. RantWoman did not have coconut milk she wanted to use or coconut sugar or for that matter maple syrup. RantWoman is not one to be deterred by such gaps in pantry contents, so RantWoman basically made up a new recipe, for Chocolate Coconut Lentil muffins.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
RantWoman decided to bake this in muffin tins because she could not find her 8x8" square pan as suggested by the original recipe.

2 cups cooked lentils
1 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup flax meal
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup coconut flakes.
1/2 cup of coconut oil.
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder.
1 tbsp vanilla.
1/2-1 cup of brown sugar or vegan sweetening. RantWoman knows brown sugar is not vegan; it's quarantine. There will be no vegans coming to dinner for this batch and whether RantWoman will make any repeat batches is up for question.
Optional for on top: dark chocolate chips

The original recipe says make everything smooth in a food processor. RantWoman currently does not have a food processor and stop and order a new kitchen appliance was not really on RantWoman's critical path for the day. So RantWoman boiled the lentils until they were beyond mush. Then she mixed in the other ingredients added enough water to keep the batter fluid long enough to scoop it into cupcake wrappers in her muffin tins and baked the muffins for 20-25 minutes..

Okay so RantWoman is very happy with the first round and will now consider some more careful tweaks if she makes another batch.