Chocolate

It has been a busy day. I’ve had visitors coming and going so often my neighbors are probably wondering what is going on. Three have come to pick up sewn masks from me, finding me sitting on the front porch and a plastic bag containing their masks hooked over the railing for them to pick up.  We enjoyed some face to face conversation while sufficiently distanced for COVID-19 safety. Another friend picked up a bag of books and CDs in the same way, another one of my Garage Sale Giveaways. I’m not counting on having a garage sale this year, but have items I want to part with, so I offer them free for folks to pick up.

  Waiting for a friend to pick up the blue bag and for a bit of female companionship

Between those visits, I’ve done some laundry, made some Apple Grape and Celery Salad, fixed and enjoyed lunch with Dave, and listened to the governor’s news conference while cutting out more mask pieces and cleaning some of the hardwood in my room. Dave has been on a conference call doing some training this afternoon and he will be using my desk for an on-line church meeting tonight. It’s nearly dinner time and I needed a quick, easy topic for a post, especially since I skipped writing yesterday.

So I chose chocolate – and my sons. Son Kyle has been raving about some brownies he enjoyed at a friend’s house in February. He secured the recipe and waited for the perfect time to try it himself. That time came on Mother’s Day Weekend. On Saturday, he baked up a batch of rich chocolaty brownies that were every bit as good as he described, well worth using 3 of our 4 eggs. Whether he intended it or not, I accepted them as a Mother’s Day gift. He has given me permission to share the recipe.

He had baked these and done the dishes when we returned from Oglebay

On Sunday evening, I received a text message from son Eric telling me to check my e-mail for a Mother’s Day treat. He and Amanda decided to send a gift card for Ghirardelli chocolate, knowing that I enjoy a piece of dark chocolate now and then (mostly now) and that it’s hard to find better than Ghirardelli.

OK, my time is running out, so here’s the brownie recipe:

DEEP DISH BROWNIES

3/4 cup melted butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 3 eggs, 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt

Blend butter, sugar & vanilla. Add eggs and beat well. Combine dry ingredients and add to wet mixture, blending well. Pour into greased 9X9 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.