Recipe 1 & 2 - moderate fail

The first brownie recipe I tried was from the 1932 American Woman Cookbook, and since I didn't know how much powdered baking chocolate equalled 4 bars, I used some high cacao eating chocolate and guessed.  They didn't turn out much like brownies, but the locusts where DH works raved.  Then I made Alton Brown's plain old brownies recipe.  He gave a frosting  recipe, but I thought it was optional.  Silly me.  The locusts prefer a sweeter brownie and needed the frosting.  DH brought home leftovers!

Now, Lisa's Chocolate Horsepower Brownies (with cherries) are cooling on the counter.  This has been the most satisfactory recipe so far.  Good quantity, clear directions, and lots of variations.  They smell divine!!

I have been quite remiss in my photos of the year of seasons.  But here is old Adam's Apple tree, sprouting for all it's worth.  Amazing the persistence of life!  I know that arborists use a variety of methods on trees.  cutting the top off and letting it re-sprout is called pollarding.  the poll is the top of the head, so I can see where this term comes from.  Then there's the practice of coppicing, where a tree is cut down, and all the shoots that spring up around the stump are encouraged.  You get long, straight, strong poles this way, suitable for hoe handles and bean trellises and cricket bats.  Things you never wanted to know - right?

Knitting continues, though I don't deserve that it should. I'm working on a sweater. took it to work, and forgot it.  And I had to have something for the May meeting of the Portland Purls, so I quickly grabbed some oddballs and began a perfectly mindless triangle.  I ran out of yarn here, and discovered that it makes a nifty  little scarf.


 

Well that was so much fun that I made another.  Green is not my color, but they'll go in the box for the orphans.  Quick and cozy.  Would you buy a used car from this shifty character?  Hell, would you accept a drink of water from her?  She doesn't look trustworthy to  me.