The official transcript excerpt from Jack's trial just arrived and I leafed through it before bringing it up to John. I made a few mistakes in my trial notes, mostly omissions. But, the transcriptionist also made some mistakes. Her spelling is sometimes very spotty – for example, she habitually misuses the word, “creator” for the word, “crater.” I suspect her spell-check is to blame – that she is writing “crator.” Since the transcript is an official document, if it were needed for a legal appeal, I would have a problem with all of the errors, but, since its sole purpose is for John to fact-check a few parts of the trail, I supposed it is acceptable.Or at least readable, if you use common sense to fill in the problem areas.
I have perfected my GF brownie recipe and am very proud of it. I like them best frozen – they are still perfectly chewy and I can pretend that I’m going to ration my consumption!
Best Gluten-free Brownies
Use a new or dedicated coffee grinder to grind whole, sliced, or slivered almonds to a fine powder (a used grinder will give a coffee flavor to the flour and an almond flavor to your coffee). Store any extra almond flour in the freezer (the oils will go rancid in the cupboard).The occasional bit of intact almond is a pleasant surprise in the finished brownie but the nut doesn't flavor the finished product. They are rich, very chocolatey, chewy, and don't dribble crumbs everywhere. And they aren't slimy, like some other GF recipes that use xanthum gum. This is a brownie that can be enjoyed by everyone, but you might not want to share!
Preheat the oven to 350⁰.
Preheat the oven to 350⁰.
Melt and set aside
½ pound minus 2 tablespoons (real) butter
½ pound unsweetened chocolate – I use Trader Joe’s.
Beat together for 20 minutes
5 large eggs
3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons real vanilla (I'm still using the big bottle I picked up in Mexico)
Add butter and chocolate to liquid mixture. Mix gently to preserve the air bubbles in the liquid mixture.
Add
1 ½ cups almond flour
1 teaspoon (or a little less) xanthan gum
Mix gently but thoroughly. Pour into a well-buttered sheet-cake pan. Smooth out the top.
Bake in preheated oven at 350⁰ for 30 minutes. Do not overbake! A toothpick inserted will NOT come out clean! Cool, cut, enjoy.
Hello, I just wanted to say that your posts truly resonate with me. I have a son with Aspergers who shares the same love of chemistry as your Jack. I read the trial saga with great interest. I love that Jack was very clear in defending his interests and defining that the fact that they were intellectual not violent interests. As a kid with Aspergers I know my son will run into misunderstandings both big and small. I only hope that he can remain as clear headed in his explanations as your Jack. I do not know if this ever happens to Jack but many on the spectrum panic easily. If there are things that he, you or John did that you feel helped him not be a panic-y person I am sure it would be of great interest to many readers. Bravo to you, Jack and John on handling a very difficult situation well.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gillian. I don't know what we did, specifically, to help Jack not be panicky when horrid things happen; I think I just exposed him to as much different stuff as possible when he was little. It helped that he rehearsed a lot of what he thought he might be asked in the trial. It also helped that the A.D.A. was an idiot.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I've done something that scares me, I tried to imagine the worst that can happen and, since I've got a very vivid imagination, it rarely does. The raid and its aftermath were exceptions!