Wild Side: April Poetry

Sometimes, when we're choosing a theme for our monthly poetry and we don't want to go with the quintessential representation for that month, we google things like "silly April celebrations". That's what happened this month and let me tell you, there were some really interesting subjects we could have gone with. Turns out that tomorrow is both Walk on Your Wild Side Day and Blame Someone Else Day. Quite honestly, this seems like a perfectly symbiotic pairing, but we needed to choose just one. There wasn't any lose here, both would be fun challenges. That said . . . I lost. Walk on Your Wild Side won out by one vote.

Actually I'm glad it did. This was fun.

Wild Side

Life is short, 
we hear them say.
Find your joy,
live for today.

But right and wrong,
we're raised with rules.
Walk on my wild side?
Do I have the tools?
   
Safety matters, 
manners too.
Don't play in traffic,
or talk about poo. 

Find my wild side,
do I dare?
Drive a race car?
Parachute through the air?

Wait . . . 

Maybe just start
with one baby step.
A trial run,
like "wild side" prep.

So . . .

Walk on my wild side,
it's my new goal.
That's it! Tonight
I lick the bowl!

Sorry, Mom.

Mandarin Brownie Parfait with Nutella Whipped Cream

Before you go, click on these links to more poetry from some of my friends: 

Maja of 12personalities12 shares Earned Wilderness. 

Dawn of Cognitive Script shares Walking Wild. 

 Diane of On The Border shares Really Wild.

Lydia of Cluttered Genius shares Wild Child. 

 Jenn of Sparkly Poetic Weirdo shares Wildly Cautious. 
Sarah of My Brand of Crazy shares The Wild Ride.

Mandarin Brownie Parfait with Nutella Whipped Cream        

                                    ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients (makes about 4):
1 can mandarin oranges, well drained
1 stick butter
2 1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 TBSP orange liqueur
2 eggs
3/4 cups flour
dash salt
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 TBSP powdered sugar
3 TBSP nutella

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 X 8 baking pan.
*Melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave until smooth when mixed. Mix in the sugar, then the orange liqueur. Whisk in the eggs, then add the flour and salt. Spread into prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven, cool completely and cut into about 16 pieces.
*Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and nutella. Beat until firm.
*Assemble the parfaits. Place a few mandarin oranges in serving dishes. Top with the brownie pieces, another layer of oranges and then dollop with the whipped cream.