Cure for a Silent House and Broken Heart

We have had a full house for the last 2 weeks.  Son3 was home for spring break and had a small surgery on his second day home.  It was not a fun way for him to spend his holiday, but it was necessary.  Since it was a tad more involved than we originally thought, he spent the entire 2 week break in various stages of recuperation.  5 days post op Son1 and his family came to visit also. Probably the best medicine for Son3 was not seeing his brother or K.K., but was spending lots of quality time with their beautiful daughter.  Truth be told, she was also the best medicine in the world for her great-grandparents, Son2, TheHub and me as well. The week was wonderful, but flew by as weeks tend to do.

Well, the most adorable 16 month old in the world is safely back at her home, and I am left with a very quiet house and a somewhat broken heart.  Now don't get me wrong, I am thrilled beyond measure that we had the week to spend with her.  I cherished the sound of her voice as she came downstairs yelling Aye-ee! (16 month old speak for Annie, though it will be just as fabulous if she continues calling me Aye-ee forever.  Since she is the first and only grandchild, she gets to set my grandmother name.)  I had the pleasure of watching her grow and change so much in one week, and can only imagine how different she will be when I get to see her in the 3-D world again.  Meanwhile I will be forever grateful to the Gods of Apple and their implementation of Facetime!  Bless you Steve Jobs and Co.

                                       
                                    The Most Adorable 16 Month Old In The World



I have been kind of on automatic pilot today, getting a few things back in place and doing a bit of cleaning.  We are debating on whether to clean the dining room table or not.  There are these wonderful baby smear marks where she ate.  (Lots and lots of smear.)  You don't need crazy detective skills to win the "Where Did Piper Sit?" game.  Still, I can't clean them__yet.

So now life resumes much as it always is. It is a bit boring, predictable and right now lonely.  Give me a few more days and I will be out of the blue funk I am in, but today the only way to survive it involves chocolate__decadent chocolate.  Since I am a rule follower, I am obeying the call of Pi Day, even though it was officially Saturday and it is now Monday. I am cutting myself some slack here since they were here Saturday and then we had to run to the lake house to check any possible storm damage from a Friday night storm. (There was none, yay!).  I intended to make it when we got home, but I fell asleep in the recliner. Now, 2 days later, I am celebrating Pi Day with gusto!

I am not sure there is anyone out there who has not had a crustless fudge pie with ice cream, but on the off chance someone has not, here is the official recipe. Also I am including the easier/cheaper way I usually make it. (Because I am a simpleton I generally use the K.I.S.S.* method of most things.)

Official Crustless Fudge Pie Recipe

preheat oven to 350 degrees

1 stick butter (1/2 cup) melted
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter with the chocolate.  Let sit for about 2 minutes to cool.  Add sugar, eggs, salt and vanilla. Pour into a greased 8 inch pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Serve alone, with whipped cream, or ice cream.

Easier Crustless Fudge Pie Recipe (The one I actually made)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1 cup melted butter
1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 beaten eggs
1/2 cup flour

Put the butter in a large pyrex bowl and melt the butter, either over boiling water or in a microwave. Stir in the cocoa until it is well blended.  Add the sugar and vanilla and mix well.  Stir in the beaten eggs until completely blended, then add the flour.  Mix well but do not over beat.  Pour into a 10 inch greased pie pan and bake for about 30 minutes. Serve warm either plain, with a dollop of whipped cream, or with ice cream.  From the picture you can tell our preferred ingestion method.

Using either recipe will give you a delicious pie.  It really just depends on what ingredients you have on hand and want to use. So the next time you are celebrating Pi Day or just want some pie, take a few minutes and make something delicious!