We went down to Eileen’s home for dinner. The roasted chicken from Wednesday, was turned into chicken soup.

Eileen baked a loaf of bread to accompany the meal. We spread butter across thick slabs of steaming bread. The crust was nice and crispy and the center soft and light.

I split a bottle of PT Stout with Eileen while papa drank pinot grigio.

Between the good soup and pleasant conversation the evening went by in good spirits. I cleaned my plate down to the last grain of rice.

I should mention, we first filled our bowls with as much cooked rice as we wanted and then ladled the piping hot soup on top.

After dinner we had brownies. I inquired about the preparation and Eileen graciously provided me with her mothers recipe and some of her own refinements she had made.

Eileen’s Brownie recipe:

• 1 Tbs Vanilla
• 2 cups of Walnuts (optional)
• Beat the eggs and sugar throughly to fold in air. The more air the smoother the brownies will turn out. Add the vanilla during this step.
• Melt the butter and chocolate together in a double boiler or a ceramic bowl suspended in a pot of hot water.
• When your eggs are nice and fluffy, add the flour and the melted chocolate.
• Bake at 350° for 1 hours

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