Chocolate-Chip Fudge Brownies: A Recipe Resurrected

I have probably owned only a few dozen cookbooks over the years and many of those have disappeared in our many upheavals of packing and moving.

I tend to use over and over the recipes which epitomize the best of those I've tested.

I use recipes only for baked goods, sometimes substituting or tweeking ingredients.

Recipes are clipped and taped into the front of cookbooks, written out on the end papers, scribbled on file cards.  More recently I've transcribed favorites to my PC.

Last week while searching for an oatmeal cookie recipe for Gina, I discovered this brownie recipe written in the front of a cookbook which I don't often use at this time.

I suspect that I copied it from a magazine--possibly Family Circle.

I stirred it up as a dessert offering when G. invited us to supper--and the brownies are even better than I remembered. I baked another batch this evening for sharing at a church fellowship lunch.

Chocolate Chip Fudge Brownies

Preheat oven to 325.

Grease a 13x9 glass baking pan.

[I used cooking spray.]

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

3 Tblsps water

1 10oz pkg semis sweet choc chips [about 1 1/2 cups]*

2 tsp. vanilla

3 large eggs

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

In a heavy saucepan, combine the butter, sugar and water.

Stir over medium heat, until the mixture comes just to a boil.

Remove from heat, add the chocolate and vanilla, stirring gently until the chocolate is melted.

The mixture will be smooth and shiny.

Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring in well with a wooden spoon or a whisk after each, until incorporated.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt.

Fold into batter, pour into prepared pan and spread smooth.

Baking directions suggest 30-35 minutes.

In my oven 30 minutes is sufficient, and I watch carefully during the last five minutes.

Remove from oven and cool in pan before cutting.

* I've been adding one square of bitter baker's chocolate with the semi-sweet chocolate chips.  I like the added richness and flavor.

These brownies are worthy of the term "decadent!"

[I've no idea how these measurements translate to whatever system of numbers might be that is used in UK recipes.

I have several English recipes I wish I could rework to US measure.]

Autumn Afternoons

The rains which moved through early in September left our summer-parched world greening and refreshed.  The grass which had been shriveled and brown sprang back to exuberant life.

Grandson D. volunteered to mow the lawn the day before J. was due to return from his Wyoming stay.

I left the over-due book keeping which has so vexed me and quickly used a boxed mix to bake a pan of brownies, timed to be ready for D. when the mowing and raking were finished.

Energized by chocolate and sugar, D. looked about for another task.

The sun was beautifully warm--not hot, and the dooryard smelt sweetly of freshly cut grass.

I eyed the makeshift trellis standing lop-sided against the bricked wall of the porch storage cupboard.

It was contrived by Mr. Rogers, the former resident, a rather splendid example in its day of making do.

Several metal posts were jammed into the ground and chicken wire had been lashed in place with a variety of ties to support two clematis vines--and rather oddly--a grapevine.

The grapevine had clambered up into the porch eaves, wrapped itself about the nandina shrubs, trailed across the clematis, threatening to throttle everything in sight.

D. and I yanked out much of it in late July--which didn't do anything good for the chicken wire support.

During the drought weeks the clematis vines  shriveled after producing seed pods.

I removed the flat stones at the base of the trellis and D. began yanking on the metal posts--which obliged by bending instead of coming straight out!

After considerable effort to remove the old support, D. fetched a post hole digger and began preparing a place to set in the sleek new black trellis which M. bought for me at auction in the spring.

We found that the stump of the grapevine had to be wrenched out to allow room to set the new trellis.

I suspect that in the process we damaged some of the clematis roots.

In the spring there was a tangle of flowering vine as well as seedlings that had sprouted and never been tied into the chicken wire frame.

I can only hope we'll have new seedlings come spring which can be properly trained.

I pulled off the rusty chicken wire with its clinging bits of dried vine and seed heads, and bundled it out of the way on the grass.

Willis, helpful cat that he is, immediately came to investigate and wormed his way inside the heap of wire.

We have noted that Willis's tweedy coat provides him with excellent camouflage.

As he trails us around the yard and garden he manages to disappear and reappear rather like Alice's Cheshire Cat.

Early twilight was falling by the time the new trellis was carefully leveled and fresh dirt compacted around the legs. I gathered up the old wire, collected tools, while D. trundled the wheelbarrow to the garage.

"Meme," he shouted, "Look at this!"

Peering into the gloom of the garage I didn't at first see where he pointed.

There it was--a mantis.

This is one of the best of the photos which D. took.

On his return J. immediately expressed a wish for apple pie.

I didn't get to making pie on Thursday, but began to assemble ingredients on Friday afternoon after J. D. and I did errands in town.

"Shall I run home and get dad's apple peeler?" suggested D.

I remembered suddenly that I own one--even knew where it was!

This is a lovely gadget which can be used to peel and core apples and set to slice them as well.

The depth of the peel is even adjustable.

The peeled and cored apples sometimes need a bit of trimming--the device being designed with a perfectly symetrical fruit in mind.

J. trimmed while D. ran the peeler and I rolled pastry.

D. sampled a long swirl of peel.

They were still happily churning out sliced apples when I ran out of pastry.

D. decided that the extra apples could be heaped into his pie!

Not hard to see which pie D.planned to take home!

Pebbles was delighted to have a tea-time treat of apple peels and cores which disappeared

 in several greedy gulps.

Willis, who has a distinct preference for male company spawls with D. on the sun-warmed drive.

Who knows whether this venture onto the garage roof was D.'s idea or the

inspiration of the brilliant Willis.

D. came inside for the camera while I was washing up the pie-making dishes.

Willis parades across the woodshed roof.

Safely on the ground Willis prowls through the rough grass at the edge of Mr. Rogers' old rasied bed.

Does he wonder at the disappearance of the sunflowers which grew there in the summer?

I suspect he is simply content to busybody and oversee all that takes place on a sunny autumn afternoon!

My Favorite Things [Answering a Challenge]

Leanne gave us a tour of her home last week and issued a challenge for her readers to do the same.

Bovey Belle posted her response here.

I haven't seen those of other readers, but have prepared a photographic gathering of my own favorite things.

Most of the photos were taken during the past few days especially for this post, for others I sorted through my photo archives.

The marriage certificate of my g-grandfather and his second wife, the lady I knew as Grandma Eliza.

They were married in 1892. I was just past my 5th birthday when she passed away.

I treasure items which have been handed down in my family.

I found the framed certificate leaning against a bedroom wall in my parents' home after my Mother had to go into a nursing care home.

The glass was shattered; I picked out the shards, wrapped the piece in an old blanket and took it with me to Wyoming where I had a frame shop install protective glass.

The certificate is currently resting on a chest of drawers which I stripped, sanded and

painted in this dark red.

Refinishing furniture is an activity which I have enjoyed in the past.



A friend in Vermont helped to administer the estate of a beloved elderly lady of our church.

Esther Jane had lived very frugally and never thought of selling the vintage items which had been lifelong furnishings of her home.

I was living in Wyoming when EJL passed away.  I sent funds, hoping that my friend could bid in this oil painting. It depicts a part of EJL's dooryard.

I was told by the framer that it wasn't proper to use a mat with an oil painting--but I wanted the rust-red border so I defied convention.

This painting was created for me by a friend who has since made a name for herself in the artistic community of Brandon, Vermont.

She worked from a photo of my beloved Katy-did Cat.

Several years ago I found an on-line source for reproduction maps of various towns in New England and upstate New York.

This is the town of Hague, NY where my mother's ancestors settled in the late 1700's. Several of my cousins still live there.  With their help I was able to verify the location of several family homes labeled on the 1876 original.  I also have a map of my own Vermont hometown [where my parents were born, lived and died] and one of the central Vermont hamlet J. thinks of as "home."

I placed tiny dots of red ink at each family homesite before having the maps framed.

They hang in the hallway of our home.

Family tradition has it that g-grandmother Eliza pieced these quilt blocks from salvaged segments of aprons, "house dresses" and shirts. Her hand stitching is neat and precise.

The quilt top languished in my mother's dresser drawer for years until I backed it with muslin and tied it as a surprise birthday gift for her.

She loved the quilt--and loved using it folded at the foot of her bed.  As often as one of the cats muddied it, the quilt went into the wash. The old materials softened and frayed. The pink-checked sashing gave way.

Mother washed it one last time and put the tattered treasure aside with the note, in her now shaky handwriting, that the quilt was to be saved for me.

I rescued the best of the blocks and hand quilted them to squares of an old white sheet. I added the setting triangles of washed muslin.  J.'s cousin Lorraine, an artist and needlewoman, suggested the type of framing.

My son and daughter each have a framed block; my girl cousins and several other descendents of our g-grandparents also have finished blocks.

A double panel of the quilt blocks. Reflections on the glass make for a less than sharp photo.

J.'s sister-in-law took these photos [and many more] when the family went on pack trips into the mountains..

I chose a number of them, scanned, cropped and printed them on photo paper, then framed them as my Christmas gift for J. in 2010.

This rocking chair belonged to my Grampa Mac.

I grew up next door to his farm and remember how many evenings he spent in this chair, twitching the radio dial from one station to another. After his death and that of my uncle, my mother gave me the rocker.

The woven splint areas were in bad shape and I used it for several years by folding a blanket into a pad.

J. learned that a friend could create a replacement for the damaged seat and back..  He had this done as my Christmas gift one year. The cushion is a favorite one which I made.

The making of this appliqued quilt happily occupied my evenings for most of a Wyoming winter.

A friend at the quilt shop where I worked taught me to do hand applique.

A new friend in Kentucky brought me the quilt rack.

It is topped with some old wooden spindles, ceramic cats from my collection and a reproduction lantern.

As a child I loved to bring home wildflowers, interesting rocks, bits of moss, bird nests.

My Grampa Mac placed an old table on his front porch where my ever-changing found items could be displayed.  I still bring in fallen bird nests. This one belonged to a pair of cardinals.

The bits of petrified wood were picked up on a Wyoming camping trip.

Vintage kitchen collectables parade along the top of kitchen cupboards.

Some, such as the wooden bowl, came from my g-grandparents' house.  Others have been purchased at flea markets and antique shops.

More kitchen and farm utensils.  I like stoneware jugs.

The old torch came from Grampa Mac's shed.

I bought the large round tin as it reminded me of one which reposed in his kitchen cupboard.

I am a tea drinker and have a collection of teapots in various sizes and shapes.

The center beauty was made for me by a dear Wyoming friend.

She and her Mom collaborated to give me the two flanking Fiesta ware pots.

It is thanks to the same two generous women that I have my Fiesta dishes.

Louise spent much of her working life at the Homer Laughlin factory.

When she retired she had lifetime privileges to buy Fiesta at factory prices.

I would tell her what I could spend and she surprised me with an assortment of the colorful pieces.

It is no secret that I adore cats.

Over the years friends and family have given me cat-related gifts.

Here are some of my cat mugs.

I have a collection of jugs and pitchers.

The one in the center was a thank-you gift from a dear friend.

I fed her family cats while she and her husband were in Quebec.

The handsome jug was purchased there.

On the right is the tall "chocolate pot" with an Oriental scene.  It belonged to my grandmother.

I have wondered if it was a wedding gift to her and Grampa Mac--or maybe something she brought from her family home.

More cat mugs, a bone china rose mug [found in a charity shop] and an overflow of Fiesta mugs.

I have always used scented soaps and lotions.

At one time I enjoyed some rather sophisticated perfumes, but have returned to my first simpler loves such as lavender and rose.

I began making quilts in 1980.

My skills were honed by my job in a Wyoming quilt shop and membership in a quilt group which thrived on

"show and tell."

 Log Cabin Star created in Robyn Pandolph's Folk Art Christmas fabrics.

This quilt, like so many I have made, was given to someone special.

Sampler quilt made as a wedding gift.

I enjoyed the challenge of fitting all the elements together.

This one was made in beautiful batik fabrics and machine quilted by a woman with wonderful design skills.

It was displayed and sold at the quilt shop.

A scrappy 9-patch quilt made for a benefit "silent auction."

Music has always been an important part of my life.

An evening of song shared with good friends in our Wyoming home.

You will spot J. and me at the left of the photo.

I can belt out a solid harmony to gospel, bluegrass or country tunes!

Genealogy is one of my passions.

While family lore interested me from childhood, it is only in the past decade that I have been serious about collecting data and assembling it to share.

One of the first photos taken with my first digital camera: the tiny graveyard in Bolton, NY where many of my maternal kin were laid to rest.

J. with his dear Pebbles horse in her Wyoming pasture.

Animals are a special part of our lives.

Teasel, aka "Momma's Darling"

asleep on an Autumn Leaves quilt in our Wyoming bedroom.

Sweet Eggnog kitty on a quilt which now lives with my sister.

When haven't I been sewing something?

I learned to do dressmaking and tailoring quite skillfully before I grew tired of fussing and fitting and turned  to piecing quilts.

Here is a quilt in progress--the last one made in our Wyoming home before the sewing machine was packed up for the move to Kentucky.

Two more cherished vintage items: my Dad's shaving brush and Grampa Mac's shaving mug.

He used a straight razor with a yellowed ivory handle.

I learned to make bread when I was 18. I love to bake, especially bread and pastry,

These photos have gone up in rather random order as I sorted through my archives.

I have a number of Grampa Mac's diaries. His entries are brief--notes on the weather, farm work, rare trips to town, and in later years, always the mention when my sisters and I trotted next door

to spend time with him.

Canning and preserving food is an extension of my dedication to gardening.

I'm glad to be living again where we can grow and put up good food.

A view of my Vermont garden taken in the mid-90's.

I seem to remember I had levered that huge rock in the background to that spot and was awaiting the help of a strong male to heave it out of the garden!

The lower veg garden. 2011

The new planting of herbs at the side of the house.

Gardening is not merely something I DO--its a large part of WHO I AM!

I don't think I've forgotten any of the felines who have lived with me since earliest childhood.

Cats: dear, funny, intelligent, interesting, exasperating.

Teasel investigates some of my stash of quilt fabric.

Music is a vital force in my life, and I am thankful for the gift of music which is a legacy

of my Mother's family.

Have I mentioned books?

My books have not all been unpacked at once in one house for nearly a decade.

At present most of them are in horrible tipples here and there.

Here are a few of them in a slightly tidier mode in the Wyoming house.

I hope some of you have persevered through this lengthy tour of my favorite things.

I hope others will take up Leanne's challenge to portray how our homes tell something of our personal stories.