Bow Ties

Today’s National Brownie Day. What better way to celebrate than with a fresh batch? You can add chocolate chips, chopped walnuts or frosting. Or gobble them up plain.

World’s Best Brownies

1/2 cup butter (plus extra for greasing)

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350F. Spread parchment in an 8-inch square pan. Brush paper liberally with butter or spray with cooking oil. Melt butter in a large saucepan. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat in cocoa, flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Don’t overbake! Cool 10 to 20 minutes, then remove brownies from pan (parchment and all) and slice. Serve warm with milk. Makes 16 small brownies or 9 huge ones. 

Four Windy Cities

Weeks ago one of my oldest and dearest friends sent me a folder full of sheet music with a letter listing the songs she wanted to be performed during her funeral. There were more than two dozen pieces – classical numbers, hymns, popular songs and show tunes – enough to fill a two-hour concert. I didn’t tell her she’d chosen too many songs, or that it was possible she’d outlive me. Instead I tucked the folder in my piano bench, out of sight and out of mind. Then the day after Thanksgiving she suddenly passed away, and the funeral she’d planned actually had to happen. I played the songs she chose as prelude and postlude music. Now that letter is one of my most prized possessions. In addition to listing her favorite songs, she’d written about how much our friendship has meant to her over the years. Today is Letter Writing Day. Is there someone who needs a note from you?

Ohio Star Variation

We woke to fresh snow Monday morning, and it put me in the mood to make cinnamon toast. The first step is to pull out a jelly roll pan and fill it with a single layer of whole wheat bread (I can usually fit eight or nine slices without overlapping). In a small bowl, cream together half a cup of butter at room temperature, half a cup of granulated sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a pinch of ground nutmeg. Divide this evenly among the bread slices, spreading the mixture to cover each slice edge to edge. Pop the pan into a 350F oven for ten minutes, and then turn on the broiler for a few minutes more for a crispy golden finish. (Whatever you do, don’t multi-task here. You’ll be crying over burnt toast.) Serve warm. I don’t know what I’d do with leftover cinnamon toast; I’ve never had any.

Windy City

I meant to post this Friday, December 1. But last week was especially stressful – the kind of week you’re relieved to be done with – and many of my good intentions ended up being nothing more than intentions. In keeping with the idea that it’s usually better to finish a task late than not at all, I’m posting this today: For the second consecutive year in a row, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is encouraging members and friends to “Light the World” with random acts of kindness. You can find an advent calendar full of enlightening ideas at  https://www.mormon.org/downloads . Yesterday’s hint was, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” We surprised a few neighbors with loaves of freshly baked banana bread. Today’s is, “Honor thy father and thy mother.” I haven’t yet decided what to do today, but I probably won’t post it. I suspect boasting about your own good deeds defeats the whole purpose.

Framed Star

“The Mormon people teach not only of Heaven and its attendant glories, but how to live so that their social and economic relations with each other are placed on a sound basis. If the people follow the teachings of this Church, nothing can stop their progress—it will be limitless. There have been great movements, started in the past, but they have died or been modified, before they reached maturity. If Mormonism is able to endure, unmodified, until it reaches the third and fourth generations, it is destined to become the greatest power the world has ever known.” – Leo Tolstoy

Four Spinning Squares Blocks

Easy Bolognese

1 pound sweet Italian bulk sausage

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped

1 carrot, coarsely chopped

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

8 fresh basil leaves, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage, onion, and garlic. Saute until onions are tender, about 8 minutes. Add celery and carrot and saute 5 more minutes. Add mushrooms, tomatoes, parsley and basil. Cover and cook over low heat until the sauce thickens – about half an hour. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over cooked spaghetti or spaghetti squash, topped with grated Parmesan.

Christmas Stockings

“The lovely thing about Christmas is that it’s compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.” – Garrison Keillor

“Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year.” – Victor Borge

“There are 17 more shopping days until Christmas. So, guys, that means 16 more days till we start shopping, right?” – Conan O’Brien

“Adults can take a simple holiday for children and screw it up. What began as a presentation of simple gifts to delight and surprise children around the Christmas tree has culminated in a woman unwrapping six shrimp forks from her dog, who drew her name.” – Erma Bombeck

“The worst gift is fruitcake. There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other.” – Johnny Carson

“I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph.” – Shirley Temple