Remembering Moms

Mother's Day, a day set aside to honor mothers, and motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in spring.
Today, take time to thank your mom for her influence on your life's journey.
If you are a motherless daughter today there are some ways to keep your mother's memory alive.

• Share stories and anecdotes about your mother.
• Wear your mother's favorite color -- piece of clothing, nail polish, etc.
• Remember your mother's best advice and wisest sayings, follow and share.
• Prepare your mother's favorite recipes, and keep her in your head and your heart as you are making the dishes and serving them.
• Write something -- a poem, a song, a recollection -- about your mother.
• Do an act of kindness to honor your mother.
• Give to a charity in memory of your mother.
  

Some may have considered my mother a chocoholic. There wasn't a piece of chocolate she didn't like. She was tiny and only weighed some 83 pounds. Her all time favorite chocolate dessert was French Silk Pie from Bakers Square and a stash of Dove bars could always be found in her freezer.

Then there wasn't a brownie she could not resist. I picked one of my favorite brownie rcipes to make this week in her honor. And its a pantry special, meaning hopefully having ingredients on hand..

Buttermilk Brownies
Cook's notes: Using coffee instead of water adds a depth of flavor to the brownies. Recipe from food.com
Brownie Ingredients:

• 2 sticks of softened butter
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (regular-type, dry)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water or 1 cup coffee
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1⁄2 tsp. salt
• 2 slightly beaten large eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 1⁄2 tsp. vanilla
• Optional 1 TB. Kahlua

Frosting Ingredients: 

• 1⁄4 cup butter
• 3 TB. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 TB. buttermilk
• 2 1⁄4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Optional 1 TB. Kahlua
• 1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped 

Brownie Directions:

• Grease a 13 x 9 pan.
• In a saucepan combine butter, cocoa, 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water or coffee.
• Bring to boil; stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside.
• In large mixing bowl, blend together flour, soda and salt.
• In small bowl combine buttermilk, eggs, Kahlua and vanilla; whisk lightly with a fork.
• Pour buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients; mix until smooth.
• Add cocoa mixture gradually with mixer on low setting.
• Mix until well blended (flour and buttermilk mixture will be thick and likely need to be scraped from sides of bowl to blend thoroughly). Fold in nuts if using.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 19- 20 minutes. Test with toothpick for doneness.
• Cool on a wire rack.

Frosting Directions: 

• In saucepan, mix 1/4 cup butter, 3 TB. cocoa and 3 TB. buttermilk.
• Whisk and stir until boiling (mixture will be slightly curdled); remove from heat.
• Beat in 2-1/4 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla and 1 TB. Kahlua if using. Add more buttermilk as needed for frosting consistency. . 
• Pour frosting over brownies and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.