Southwest-Style Brownies

Today I decided to make some brownies using a package mix I'd bought some time before. It called for a few additional ingredients, an egg, some water, and some oil. I pulled out the carton of Eggbeaters I was using for eggs, which I had got about the same time I got the brownie mix, perhaps a month previously. Out of habit I gave it a sniff as I opened it, and discovered a very strange smell that I couldn't place.

My first thought was that it had gone bad in the time it had been sitting in the fridge, but it didn't smell like you would expect something that'd gone bad to smell. I was trying to find the expiration date on the carton when I found the answer to my conundrum: this wasn't regular Eggbeaters, it was "Southwestern Style" Eggbeaters! Featuring red and green bell peppers, onions, and a mix of spices for a tasty breakfast!

Instantly, I realized that what I'd been smelling had been the vegetables, which my mind couldn't place because it wasn't expecting them (a nice demonstration of how we see what we're looking for – or don't smell what we're not expecting, in this case). Since it was my only source of eggs, however, I went ahead and added a cup to my brownie mix in a quest to see what I would get out of it.

I now have what may be the world's first batch of Southwestern Style brownies (or "Breakfast Brownies" as my roommate Jonathan came up with), which really confuse your tongue. Generally they taste like brownies, but every so often you get a taste of something that definitely isn't chocolate-y, and there's a lingering spiciness left after you eat one. Quite interesting, though probably not something I'll make on purpose again.