Race Relations
I had a berry fun hobby of collecting Strawberry Shortcake dolls when I was a little girl. They were so berry darn cute with their different colored hair that was said to smell like each of their dessert names: Strawberry Shortcake, Lemon Meringue, Huckleberry Pie, etc. Truth be told, though, each of their heads just smelled berry faintly of Froot Loops.
One year at Christmas, my collection was nearly complete, save for one doll: Orange Blossom.
For a child in 1982, this was a very diverse doll, yet diversity was not my strength at four years old. My mom likes to tell the story of when I opened Orange Blossom at Christmas, and immediately started screaming, chucking her across the living room and saying, “I hate her, I hate her, I hate her!!!” I think my mom likes to remind me of this story because I’ve gone a little too far left of her on the political spectrum, and it reminds her of a time when she was the open minded one.
Fast forward to this weekend when Gigi spent the night with my parents. My mom called Saturday morning to ask if it would be okay if they bought Gigi a Barbie. She knows I have mixed feelings about the blond alien. Speaking of Lindsey Lohan, the catalyst for the Barbie purchase was the viewing of the Lindsey Lohan/Tyra Banks Disney movie, Life Size, in which Tyra plays a Barbie-type doll that comes to life. She really stretched her acting chops on that one!
I okayed the purchase and washed my hands of the situation until my mom called from Toys R Us and began rating the “skankiness” of each doll available. I suddenly became less concerned with the damage to my child’s self-image by buying a grotesque representation of the female form and more concerned with the fact that my mom was playing pimp to plastic prostitutes and shouting “skanky” into her cell phone in the middle of a crowded toy store.
Still, Gigi returned home with her new friend.
Her name is “Michelle,” though she looks nothing like our First Lady.
Though I was thrilled that “Michelle” has rounder hips and more character in her features than her blonde counterpart, she obviously has been spending way too much time at the Mac counter and hasn’t learned the makeup application rules of “subtle eye/dramatic lip” OR “bold eye/neutral lip.” Her streetwalker makeup was the one reservation I had about Gigi bringing her new “sister” to church, yet along she came to sit in our pew, accompany Gigi to the front of the sanctuary for the Children’s Message, and yes, even to take communion. Strangely, I felt PROUD that Gigi’s love saw no color.
So in honor of diversity everywhere, including our first Black president, our new Miss America crowned last night and the first worshipper of color in our church today, “Michelle,” I present to you a vegan desert of harmonious race relations:
Peanut Butter Blondies with Chocolate Ganache
Makes 12 blondies
Blondies:
- 3/4 c. natural peanut butter
- 1/3 c. Earth Balance, softened
- 1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 c. unsweetened almond or soy milk (vanilla or plain)
- 1/2 c. packed organic brown sugar
- 2/3 c. organic sugar OR 2/3 c. NuNaturals Stevia Baking Blend
- 1/2 t. vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 c. whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 t. baking powder
- 1/2 t. baking soda
- 1/2 t. salt
Chocolate Ganache
- 3/4 c. vegan chocolate chips
- 1/3 pkg. (~4 oz.) extra firm silken tofu
- 1/2 t. vanilla extract
- splash of almond or soy milk, if needed
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together peanut butter and Earth Balance. Add in brown sugar, white sugar or stevia, vanilla, applesauce and milk and beat until fluffy.
In a smaller bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Add a little at a time to the peanut butter mixture until incorporated.
Spread mixture in the bottom of an 8×8 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt chocolate chips in the microwave or in a double boiler.
Cream melted chocolate with tofu, vanilla and milk, if needed.
Let blondies cool entirely before spreading with the chocolate ganache and cutting into squares. Keep refrigerated.
“Ebony…and ivory, live together in perfect harmony!!!”
The only reason I might possibly throw this doll across the room is in the hopes of chipping some of her berry heavy makeup off.
Last picture = priceless.
And also appropriate for Black History Month! haha
Most days, I’m most likely to be found imitating Lulu’s lovely spatula shot from this post… I’ll never stop doing that.
as a woman of colour I support this post! lol..that makeup is killing me dead though..more Wet & Wild then MAC methinks;)
brilliant post. and my av barbie as a kid was my african american doll..she was the prettiest in my eyes and i never left her anywhere. Pretty sure the blondies are the greats recipe ever seen…im coming over to have one soon. oh and to play barbies with gigi.
At least she has sweet hair! The make up is pretty atrocious.
I think the scariest dolls are BRATZ. Really, who’d want a doll with a stupid name like that…never mind that they look like hookers.
We just watched Parent Trap in our apartment tonight. Ohhhhhh when Lindsay Lohan was such an innocent darling.
I’ve been meaning to make blondies for awhile now! You’re making me hungry/drooly at 1am!
you and pea daddy are such wonderful parents! gosh if only we could clone you two. gigi is simply gorgeous and lulu is beyond adorable. you are one lucky lady!
I have the opposite story from you. There is video of me when I was three or four on Christmas Day and I’m opening a present from my Aunt & Uncle – some doll that I REALLY wanted that stood on it’s tip toes and pushed around a stroller. I threw a FIT screaming, “But, I want the black one! I want the black one!” My mom then tries to console me by saying, “but you have so many other black dolls!” It was true. I was the original Angelina.
Those blondies look DELICIOUS!
I still remember the smell of those dolls. Those blondies look amazing!!!
Gigi’s choice in dolls illustrates what a wonderful job you guys are doing raising her!
The blondies look amazing. Definitely on the “to make” list.
That is some wild makeup…I LOVED Strawberry Shortcake dolls when I was little!
OMG I remember those dolls. I use to collect My Little Pony’s and the Polly Pockets. Funny how things chance. Polly Pocket was just about the size of a pea, but in no way did I correlate this to women desiring to maintain the unimaginable size of a pencil eraser. I think, at times, it can be taken too far. I don’t think we give our children enough credit. You raise some strong and beautiful girls, and they are totally capable of formulating their own worthy convictions.
Hope you have a wonderful Monday hun!
I loved Strawberry Shortcake dolls! I had Orange Blossom
I also had the babies Apricot and Apple Dumpling. I still have the dolls at my dad’s somewhere but i’m pretty sure they’re all naked.
I love reading your blog and remembering my childhood. My mom was as great of a mom as you were. Beware….you’ll never get rid of your girls!! I’m 34 and I still visit my mom and lay on her.
I meant to say as you ARE!!!!
Growing up I had all the Strawberry Shortcake dolls. Why did it never occur to me that Orange Blossom was a different race? I recognized it right away when I saw your post. Oh to have that childhood innocence again!
Do you think I could substitute carob chips for the chocolate? (Allergies…)
Yup, Jeannie, I don’t see why not! Or maybe add the carob chips directly to the blondie batter. YUM!
Your little anecdotes always crack me up! Thanks so much for sharing the blondies recipe – I have been looking for a good vegan choc. ganache recipe and yours is def. going to be attempted this weekend!!
HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I can’t believe your mom would bring up that amazingly embarrassing story from your past to counteract your political views of present! I hope gigi doesn’t find that makeup kit she got for christmas…
lol…when I was about four, my parents got me a BOY cabbage patch doll named PJ. I had the same “throwing across the room/I hate him!” reaction. I guess some little kids just hate anything different from what they are.
Yeah, only little kids do that, right?
The blondies look delicious!
I am trying that tofu trick for some carrot cake vegan muffins which are literally in the oven RIGHT now!
The blondies look amazing. And yes, her make-up is a little intense
OMG I wanted Orange Blossom SO BADLY when I was younger, mostly because my sister hated the strawberry shortcake dolls. I wanted all of them, she wanted my Rainbow Brite Sprites. The first Barbie I remember picking out was the Beach Beauty Barbie, and I chose the “Hawaiian” looking one with the hair down to her feet.
oh barbies…to believe i once collected/played with them…but back then my favorites were jasmine and aladdin.
and i want those pb bars. in my rotation of baked goods…cause i mean, how could i not, it’s raining which = baking and duh, you made them.
Sometimes I am really so thankful I have boys! But I do miss the sweet smell of my frootloop Strawberry Shortcake dolls!
I just want to have some of the ganache! In a bowl with a spoon please.
Love it! Those bars look so good and the chocolate ganache takes them over the top! I wasn’t allowed to have barbies growing up either…amazingly I grew up un-stunted :> I’m glad she likes her new doll.
That is, quite possibly, the most blessed union I have ever seen. I need to make those
For what it’s worth, I used to watch and like that and other silly Disney Movies that weren’t promoting much and I (would like to think) I turned out fine with appreciation of others differences. What matters most is just the example set by the people the child looks up to, and clearly gigi and lulu have great parents in their lives to keep them level-headed
I know I’ve said this before, but this is definitely one of my favorite posts. You always write so well and really had me chuckling the whole time. It was so cute about Gigi bringing Michelle to church and then tying in the whole ebony/ivory thing with the blondies, which, by the way, look incredible. I’m definitely saving this recipe…I need to hit the grocery store anyway so silken tofu, unsweetened applesauce and a few other ingredients will be on my list!
That eye shadow is insane. I love it! I’m going to try to get mine like that and see how it goes over at the kindergarten I substitute at. (lol)
What is on her shirt? A hamster face? Amazing!
I think it’s fantastic that Gigi took Michelle to communion.
MamaPea! I love your blog – you never cease to bring a smile to my face!
I am going to have to make these the first chance that i have! The first picture looks delicious! If it makes you feel any better about Gigi or Lulu’s toys having any influence over them, know that it’s not so much toys that have a lasting effect so much so as your father telling you the squirrels making noise in the attic are really your brother Danny whom they stuck up there years ago! haha… Thanks Dad!
Cute post! I love the idea of using that ganache/icing. I could use that to top all sorts of goodies.
gigi is my homegirl. the fact she sees no color and doesn’t know what ugly means, makes me think she must have one hella of a mama!
my first barbie was a black barbie. i didn’t care much because i didn’t look like the blond barbie either.
and now gigi can practice taming someone else’s curls.
delicious looking dessert. drooling.
“Strawberry Shortcake, wouldn’t you know?” You’ve got that theme song in my head big time right now! Man, I loved that show.
“Michelle’s” chola look does leave a little to be desired, although as a doll she’s a case where it would actually be entirely fair to retouch her eyebrows with Sharpie.
I always liked the brunette barbies better growing up (maybe because I AM brunette) but I remember that my favorite barbie was a hawaiian barbie with jet black hair and an olive complexion. I was never a fan of the normal blond bombshell…
very interesting backstory to this post, I must say. and I think it says a lot more than any of us can realize that Gigi picked “Michelle” rather than some blond, stick thin Barbie…psshhh who needs her?
And may i just say, those blondies look to die for!
What great looking blondies
YUM!
hehe and I actually saw “Life Size” for the first time the other day as it was the midday feel good movie?!
What a great post this is.
I am not a fan of Barbie myself, so I can relate. As a child I was OBSESSED with them. I had many. And for some reason I thought I would grow up and look just like them, despite obvious familial evidence to the contrary. I have a sinking feeling, though, that my future daughter will be just as girly and Barbie focused as I was.
BODA weight loss
I actually just bought my 4 year old Strawberry Shortcake that came with a spraying daisy in a pool. I also got her Lemon Mirangue. (sp?) Oh my goodness, they both smelled like I remembered them as a kid. I had a lot of them, but I don’t remember Orange Blossom!
Those blondies look good.
I can’t stand the fakeness of Barbie but I give in to buy them for my cousins when it is on their wish list.
Those blondies look amazing!! This post cracked me up! Gigi is well on her way to understanding that God doesn’t see the color of a person’s skin! It’s amazing that your daughter is so much wiser than some people I know!
oh my god – i totally remember WATCHING the movie life size. that’s so crazy!
I love that you made ganache out of tofu!!
I love that Gigi is the way she is. And I love that you quoted a Paul McCartney tune, of course! And I love the look of those blondies. I’ll be waiting for my batch to arrive in the mail.
Those blondies look delicious.
One question, though. I’ve seen this come up in a number of vegan recipes, but I, the curious non-vegan, am completely in the dark-what is Earth Balance?
Kara, Earth Balance is the most delicious vegan butter substitute in the entire world. Lulu tries to eat it straight from the tub with her finger. It’s made of a blend of oils (canola, soybean, olive) and it is unbelievable. You can find it at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and most natural foods stores.
Ohhhh my oh my, those look to die for! Great lookin recipe, if you have leftovers I would be happy to take them off your hands!
haha i love this post. My first baby doll that I got to pick out was also black, my parents were a little shocked by the choice, but I think I didn’t even notice the skin color difference, I probably just saw that the baby had brown curly hair like me. Also those blondies sound amazing I will have to make them soon!
I LOVE Michelle!! Makeup and all. And wish that I could buy about 100 of them for the little girls the non-profit agency I work for serves.
I have to say that most homemade brownie/blondie recipes are terribly disappointing, but this one is AMAZING! I made the ganache and couldn’t believe how delish it was. Thanks so much for a great recipe!