I had heard about people making brownies out of avocados before. But this year, I finally got around to making some myself. This is partly because I no longer eat (too much) refined sugar, and I wanted to see if I could make a good dessert without it.
Something the creative process has taught me is: the best creations come from limitations. This is because you’re forced to think outside the box, combining materials and ingredients you never would’ve tried otherwise. Someone somewhere wanted brownies one time, but wanted them without sugar or flour. They had avocados lying around and thought, “What if I put avocados and cocoa together? Could that actually work??” And that’s how this recipe came about.
Here is the recipe I used. I modified it to substitute the sugar for maple syrup, plus added a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg to give it a slight flavor kick. …I’ll just say, my very conventional, usually skeptical family very much approved of my batch and assigned me to be the Bringer of Brownies to the next party. (For context, I’m never asked to bring anything.)
I feel like I’m seeing this idea of unexpected combinations coming into play in other areas of my life. For example, I’m working on character concept art for a manufacturing company’s branding, and potentially doing children’s books for certain companies in the food and wellness industries. In non-work life, I’m seeing my new friendships cross generational and cultural borders. I’ve wondered, “Can I really be in relationships with people like this? What about…? Can this really work?” There are relational risks I’m taking to see if I can be combined with unexpected people to see what we can do together.
Maybe we all should keep an open mind and heart towards people, practices, and ways of thinking we’ve rejected before. Certain combinations might be unconventional, but they could end up being rich, delicious, and even sort of healthy. We just have to try it out to see what happens.
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