12.3.12

Wanderlust & Brownies


Remember how I said I had really exciting news? Well it’s finally official:

I am taking a leave of absence from school to travel around Europe all by myself for a whole year.

I am actually bursting with excitement. It’s hard to focus on anything else except planning and fantasizing!


So far, I have an internship in London this summer working for a small theater company doing arts administration-type stuff. From there, I will travel to Paris in mid-September where I’m hoping to find some kind of au pair position, then on to Spain, Italy and Greece. I’ll be getting a student Eurail pass, so who knows where else I could end up on the way to these main destinations!

I’m still deep in the process of organizing all of this and getting tickets and such, but it’s coming along really well! I’ve been considering the possibility of taking a year to travel for a while and next year just felt like the right time. I’m one of those people who gets antsy when I stay in one place doing the same thing for too long. I need a big change in my life, so I am taking a leap of faith and pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I’m terrified, obviously, but also ecstatic.


Making plans and doing research has been so much fun, but also so time consuming. However, I am a firm believer that no matter how crazy things get, you should always leave a chunk of time in your schedule for chocolate. In this case, chocolate, cinnamon and pear brownies. Trust me, these are 100% worth the procrastination.


Pear Cinnamon Brownies 

makes about 9 brownies

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup applesauce
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
optional: 1 cup chocolate chips
1 pear, cored and sliced vertically

1. Preheat your oven to 350º and grease an 8x8 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, applesauce, water, oil and vanilla. Stir in the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon and chocolate chips (if you're using them. Unfortunately I couldn't due to the fact that my friends ate my whole bag during a study session the other night. Thanks, guys). 
3. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Place the pear slices on top in a pleasing arrangement and bake for about 45 minutes-1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. Unless, like me, you enjoy eating them hot, gooey and messy :)


I brought these as a treat for the performers in the dance I'm choreographing- the pan was clean within minutes :)



I'll keep you updated on the progress of my travel plans! Let me know if any of you experienced travelers have any handy tips, tricks or resources I should know about!

33 comments:

  1. You should definitely try some WWOOF-ing while you're in europe!
    http://www.wwoof.org/

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    1. Yeah I have been looking into WWOOF-ing! Have you ever done it? I would love to hear about some personal experiences. Thanks!

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    2. How exciting for you, Ruby! I'm not much of a world traveler, but one of my favorite stops in Paris was Pere Lachaise cemetery. Fascinating and beautiful. So many famous folks buried there. And it's free!
      Your cinnamon brownies have my mouth watering. I'm going to have to try them!

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    3. Thank you, David!

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    4. That's the spirit! Everyone should push themselves out of their comfort zone once in a while...its so hard to do but its the only thing that truly makes us grow! Are you planning on blogging your way round Europe?

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    5. Thanks! It's true! And I would love to be able to blog about my travels as I go- it depends on how much computer access I will have. I'll try my hardest to share my adventures with all of my lovely readers :)

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  2. Hi Ruby, My daughter, who's about your age, has been spending the year in Paris. She plans to Woof somewhere in France this summer. She's had a great year so far, with lots of fabulous weekends away (to Italy, Spain, Denmark, Switzerland...and more!) I can put you in touch with her , if you want. Her name is Mia Kleven and you can see her pix on facebook. If you friend her, I'm sure she'll friend you back (and if you don't hear from her, tell her you talked to her Mom!) I love your recipes and blog, btw. I'm vegan, too.
    Elisa Kleven

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    1. That would be wonderful to get in touch with her! Feel free for you or her to send me an email- you can find it on my "about me" page. Thank you so much, Elisa!

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    2. Anonymous12.3.12

      Ruby so cool, I'm experiencing nervousness for you!! Talia hasn't said a word to me - have you told her?? I'd try the brownies but I'm doing weight watchers right now so I'd have to eat a sliver and give the rest away OK I could do that but I'm not gonna too selfish heh. I posting this anonymous out of blog ignorance but you know who i am ...

      Elisa so surprising to see your name here - (well kind of anyway) I read Ernst to my kindergartners every year and keep fantasizing about trying to do some artwork on dark paper with tiny dots of color with them after. :-) Who knew the fudgey pie was vegan??

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  3. I so want these brownies! Also, that is such exciting news about going to Europe for a whole year! wowee!!. It will be an adventure indeed and I hope you continue to blog so us in the US can live vicariously through you and your travels :-) Plus it will be interesting to see the European vegan eats.

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    1. Thank you! Eating vegan in Europe will definitely be a challenge, but I'm excited to see how it goes! I will try my best to blog through it all :)

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  4. Wow, great news. Calla has some friends who WOOF in Italy. Interested? I'll get the info to you. (Calla lives in Berlin, has been for last year and a half). I join the hope that we'll be hearing of your travels here! And food, of course...

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    1. Thanks Debra! I would definitely be interested. I'll take any information I can get!

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  5. These brownies look so good-- especially the one with the chocolate oozing out of the center of the pear. With this blog, I think it would be so great if you could find work in kitchens all over Europe-- instead of woof-ing it could be wook-ing?

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  6. Ack! Traveling will be the best choice you ever make. I studied abroad in London last spring and spent the summer backpacking. I had already visited much of Western Europe so I decided to be adventurous and go to Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Best decision ever. There is much less tourism and so much beautiful nature to be seen! I went alone too so don't worry, you make friends in hostels and it will be the most independent and liberating thing you can possibly do.

    I am sure you are getting lots of recommendations and help with this, but if you ever want more--feel free to pick my brain. I also kept a blog from then (which I am still trying to update haha) so if you want ideas of places to visit--
    http://mollyinlondontown.blogspot.com/

    (btw-- the brownies look incredible...I am putting them on my post-Lent list!)

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    1. Thank you so much, Molly! I will probably be doing mostly Western Europe, as I've already seen a couple places in the East, but I may still have some questions for you! Your blog looks great, thanks for the recommendations!

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  7. That's SO exciting!! My dad was born in England, and my grandpa even has a British accent. I have family all over Europe! I can't wait to hear about all your adventures when you get back!

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    1. Very cool! It would be a little more convenient if I had family in Europe... but I guess I really will be having the whole traveling solo experience. I can't wait to have and share my adventures either!

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  8. Ooooooh, these look so good! And congrats on your year abroad! I did something similar before college, though I went with a group instead of on my own. I highly recommend Prague. It's an amazing city, so you have to at least stop there briefly. It's absolutely beautiful.

    By the way, I tagged you in a "getting to know you" game on my blog! You can check it out here: http://theinventivevegetarian.blogspot.com/2012/03/getting-to-know-you.html

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    1. Thanks Elana! I have actually been to Prague once before- it was breath-taking. I definitely want to go back at some point, possibly on this trip!

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  9. Anonymous14.3.12

    Ruby, I spent four months traveling Europe by myself. My favorites were:

    * the Aran Isles off coast of western Ireland
    * Edinburgh
    * Lisbon
    * Prague
    * Cinque Terre in Italy
    * Hostels in Swiss mountains

    Good luck. Chris Davis

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  10. Anonymous14.3.12

    I just learned what Woofing is! I might be a little behind the times but you certainly are not, Ruby. I just heard of your plans to travel and already you have an internship in London and an au pair situation in Paris. Ooh lala. You know where we live and it ain´t so far from gay Paree´. You are always welcome here. Sofia will be studying in Bergen next year. I´m sure she would love a visit if central Norway doesn´t tempt you. Great photos by the way and I love anything chocolate.
    Annie M.

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    1. Thanks Annie! I will definitely let you know if I head to Norway, it would be great to see you all.

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  11. WOW RUBY!!!! What a lot of great feedback from folks!! And beautiful delicious-looking brownies! I can't wait to hear more and more......

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  12. I've lived abroad a bit, and cannot recommend enough Southeastern Europe- Sarajevo was my home base, but Slovenia and Croatia are both beautiful- and not impossible to find vegan food. Slovenia especially is super central for traveling to Western Europe.

    As for aupairing, I've had good luck with aupairworld.net (and have had friends who had used it as well).

    If I can help at all, let me know!
    Good luck!

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    1. Thank you so much for the advice! I will definitely check out aupairworld.net.

      I hadn't even thought about Southeastern Europe, but those sound like great places to check out. There is so much to see, and luckily a good amount of time!

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  13. To start, these brownies look freaking delicious and I want to make them ASAP.

    To end, you are going to have the absolute best time of your life. I agree with David, you have to visit Pere Lachaise in Paris. And since I studied abroad in Germany I have to put the word in that you should definitely visit. I studied abroad in a very student-centric city called Freiburg. It's one of the most sustainable cities in the world, tons of progressive students & you'll find some great vegan food options. You'll have a wonderful time anywhere you go though, especially London & Paris. I'm so excited for you :)

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    1. Thank you so much, Kelley! I hadn't thought much about Germany, but Freiburg sounds like somewhere I should check out :) I will definitely look into it!

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  14. Hi! Are these brownies more cakey or fudgey?

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    1. These are definitely more on the fudge-y side of brownies. The applesauce makes them dense!

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  15. Anonymous28.7.12

    I just tried this recipe! It was fantabulous! I added a little more applesauce to make them more moist. Yummy!! Thank you so much, I love your blog, and your trip sounds very exciting. :)

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    1. Yay I'm so glad you enjoyed them! Thank you so much :)

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  16. The food in those photos looks amazing, I am literally getting hungry right now...

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