64 square inches of brownies

I made these, but there's no photo.  The brownies are all gone. Testimony to this recipe from Mary. It's for an 8" pan -- Years back, when our kids were at home she gave me my standby brownie recipe for a bigger pan. This one has icing made with a tablespoon of honey. I swear I could taste it.

Best Brownies


Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.

In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.

To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Frost brownies while they are still warm.


Source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-brownies/detail.aspx

Meow

Meow
9 1/2" x 7"

Patrice told me I could learn to draw and this is how it turned out.

Sail in show

Sail
22" x 22"
paint, paper, lace, cotton and silk fabric, stitch

My art quilt Sail is in the Thomasville Artist Collective quarterly show titled Wave. I'm in good company. See all the art at Grassroots Coffee, 118 S. Broad St., Thomasville, Georgia (just up Route 319 from Tallahassee). 

Steak salad

I needed more iron, so we started eating beef on Sunday. 

This is what we eat: Steak, salad, potatoes.

Sunday Steak Dinner

Some kind of steak, maybe strip or sirloin, not too much. Cut it into strips. Marinate. 

Here's the marinade recipe for one pound of beef. I make 1/3 of it. I've thought of making a whole recipe to have some for later, but I'm sure it's best fresh.

Marinade

1 C. bottled Italian dressing (I use Good Seasons.)

2 T. fresh lemon juice

2 T. Parmesan cheese

4 minced garlic cloves

1 T. Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce

Marinade makings

Use about 1/3 of this to marinate the meat; the rest will be salad dressing. Marinate 30 minutes to 4 hours. (I'm pretty sure overnight would also be fine.)

Just before we eat I put the steak into a hot iron skillet and cook it until it's still slightly pink inside. Toss some salad greens with the rest of the marinade and put the meat on top. 

We like this with little potatoes that have boiled until just soft, then smashed and drizzled with olive oil. Cook in a 425° oven until browned -- about 30 minutes. 

Prettier on a plate: fig cake

Fig cake with almonds on top
It looks homely here -- I bake it in a skillet -- but it gets pretty on a plate

I decided to use figs in my pear cake recipe. Then I couldn't find that recipe. The possibility that the delicious, easy, adaptable cake would never again be made in my kitchen made me wild. I guess I've collected so many recipes that I get lost trekking through them. I did find it, finally. Once you try this cake you too will never want to lose it; it's great with apples, pears, berries, and now I know it is best of all with figs. This time I added 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom and topped it with toasted slivered almonds and a sprinkle of sugar.

Patricia Wells' pear (or fig) cake

 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, for buttering the cake pan 

2 or 3 large ripe pears (for a total weight of 1 1/2 pounds) peeled, quartered and cured, with each quarter cut into 4 slices 

7 tablespoons (3 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature 

1/2 cup sugar 

2 large eggs, at room temperature 

3/4 cup sifted cake flour 

2 tablespoons pear brandy or eau de vie (I skip this and add a teaspoon of vanilla.)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Butter the inside of a 10 1/2-inch springform cake pan or a tart pan with a removable bottom. Sprinkle with one teaspoon of vanilla sugar.

3. Arrange the pear slices in a circle just inside the outer edge of the pan, slightly overlapping them. Fill in the interior ring with remaining overlapping slices. Sprinkle with one tablespoon of pear brandy. (I skip the brandy and it tastes fine.)

4. In a medum-sized bowl, cream the butter and the remaining sugar with an electric mixer. Add the eggs, one by one, mixing until well blended. Add the flour and mix just until the ingredients are combined. Mix in the remaining one tablespoon of pear brandy.

5. Spoon the batter over the pears in a thin layer. Do not be concerned if the batter does not completely cover the pears, because it will spread out as it bakes.

6. Bake until the cake is firm and nicely browned, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool. To serve, unmold the cake and serve it as is, or with a dollop of whipped creme fraiche.

Yield: Eight servings.

Quilt artist Gina Phillips

Here's a fabric and thread artist who is new to me -- but Gina Phillips of New Orleans is making a name for herself.  What I love most in this video is her remark about how putting her art in a frame would make it "lose some of its energy, some of its power..." It's a rebuttal to those who say (I've wondered myself...) that "When you put a frame on a quilt it becomes art."

Gina Phillips - Artist from Jason Berry on Vimeo.

Fig jam

I love our beautiful fig tree, and have finally come to peace with its abundance. I used to leave a lot out there for the birds, but I've recently discovered how peaceful it is to pick figs in the cool morning.  We have them for breakfast, sliced and mixed with lemon zest and sugar. My old recipe for fig jam was a chore  -- chopping up lemons and also each little fig. Here's an easier recipe. It's on the stove now. I'm making a smaller amount. It's easy to adjust. 

Fig Jam from Cooks.com

6 qt. boiling water
6 qt. fresh figs
Sugar
1 qt. water
8 slices lemon

Pour boiling water over figs; let stand 15 minutes. Drain and thoroughly rinse in cold water. Pat dry; remove stems Crush and measure figs, place in a large Dutch oven. Add 1/2 cup sugar for each cup of crushed figs. Add 1 quart water. Bring to a rapid boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 3 hours or until thickened, stirring occasionally.Ladle jam into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Add a slice of lemon to each jar. Cover at once with metal lids and screw on bands. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Yields 8 1/2 pints.