The Blizzard(s) of 2010. Oh, and Brownies for TWD.

After digging out from almost 30 inches of snow

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, we have another blizzard on the way, which is expected to dump another foot on top of what’s already there.  Heck, the neighborhood streets haven’t even been plowed yet!  So, I have some running about to do, and I’ll post pictures of the brownies and the blizzard (with puppies) later today.  I’ll also take a shot at explaining why this much snow is tough to handle, for you folks in Fargo and Minneapolis who live with this all the time!

***Update*** OK, I’m back!  First, let me thank Tanya of Chocolatechic chose Rick Katz’s Brownies for Julia, page 91 of Dorie’s book.  They are FABULOUS, even when I goofed up on the instructions a bit.  What I changed:  I cut the recipe in half (good thing I did because these brownies are awesome), and I added about 3/4 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts. They are dense, fudgy, and rich with a crackly crust. Unlike a lot of other bakers, mine were not gooey – they were cooked perfectly.  I used an 8-inch square pan, and baked them for about 37 minutes. My husband loved the addition of the nuts, and I have to say these are some of the best brownies I’ve ever had.

One caveat:  you have to refrigerate these a bit before you cut into them, or they will crumble into pieces.  Of course, if you want to work with that, you can do what Amanda did and cook these in a ramekin then serve them hot. With vanilla ice cream.  To which I would say, “Is this heaven?”  Be sure to check out Chocolatechic for the recipe.

Now, on to the snow, which continues to rage as I type this.  For those of you who don’t understand what all the snow hullabaloo is about, I’ll try to explain.  First, you have to admit that even if you live in an area that gets a lot of snow, if you get 30-50 inches of snow WITHIN FOUR DAYS, that’s a lot to deal with.  So, imagine an area that doesn’t get a lot of snow every winter getting walloped by these blizzards, when there were piles of snow in some areas left over from the December 19 storm!  Even National Guard humvees are getting stuck because they don’t have the clearance to maneuver through the deep snow, not to mention the four foot-plus drifts.

We don’t have enough plows to deal with this kind of snow.  Why?  Because they are an unnecessary expense in an area that would only need them every 7-10 years.  You don’t invest in multiple evening gowns unless you need them on a regular basis, right?  Same with expensive plows.

Next, there is a large population and road density around here.  Fairfax County, Virginia, for example, has over 9,000 square miles of residential roads.  In many cases, the large plows cannot get into the smaller residential roads, and the smaller plows cannot handle the weight and mass of this snowfall, so they are breaking down and getting stuck.

If you’re wondering why the federal government is shut down, I can point to two things:  the DC roads are impassable in many areas, and the Metro rail system is not running above ground.  A huge number of the 200,000-plus federal workforce commutes into DC on the metro system, which is running only below ground.  Once 8 inches or more of snow fall, the third rail, which powers the trains, does not function.  Therefore, the trains don’t run and people can’t get into the city from the ‘burbs where all the above ground stations are located.

And this snow is HEAVY.  There have been multiple roof collapses, including a middle school (brick building), a fire station (brick building – 18 firefighters asleep inside, but no one was injured), a historic church, an airplane hangar  . . . . etc.  There are wide spread power outages, and below-freezing temperatures.  Rescue crews cannot get down residential streets in their vehicles, so the local news is showing fire fighters and EMT crews wading through snow drifts in white-out conditions to rescue folks needing medical attention.

So, while this is lovely to look at it, the repercussions are pretty serious.  If you’re a praying person, I know a lot of folks around here would welcome a prayer.

I have to tell you that people have been wonderful – all the snow plow operators, emergency responders, etc. are working hard.  Many of them have not been home since last Friday.  And our neighbors have all  been pitching in, helping each other.  So, while things like this may bring out the worst in some folks, it really brings out the best in others.