Tea Time Again: H.I.

What a weekend! We survived!

Big game on Sunday. Our son’s first football game – cancelled. Thanks Irene! I think it was just as well. To be honest, he was having second-thoughts about playing and said he was going to quit. I told him he could not quit. The team needed him. He is a first-string player. I did not want to stand in the rain to watch the game. I would have but I am glad I did not have to. Smile! Then he said I didn’t have to go. I told him, I was not going to miss a game. I also talked to him about practice and how it is different than the actual game. The games are fun. They are hard but they are fun. So now his first game will be Sunday, September 4. Three more practices to go before he hits the game field.

We were quite busy on Saturday. We all slept in – even the Big Guy! Then we went to the electrical store to look at lights. We mowed the lawn, cleaned gutters, and weeded the gardens. Our son was a big help. He asked to learn how to push mow. I let him push the mower a few times. Then he asked to help his father clean the gutters. He enjoyed getting up on the roof. He now wants to climb up there at night to lay there and watch the stars. Not sure that will happen. It would be just as enjoyable to spread a blanket down and lie on the ground and gaze at the stars. No fear of falling off a roof and getting injured. It was a beautiful, sunny day. We enjoyed the outdoors and had a nice dinner followed by a peaceful evening.

The rains came sometime in the wee morning hours. I heard the pitter-pitter of the rain drops. I heard swish-swish of the tree branches. We woke to a dark, wet morning. I wanted to crawl back into bed and stay there all day. It was a long day. I did get up. I did loads of laundry, I baked cookies, I made dinner, I cleaned, I sorted, and I read, knitted, puttered. I made dessert. Sunday was a long day. Irene came and went. We had a day of rain, rain and rain. Gusts of wind and lots of rain. No power outages. No downed trees. Our basement and garage stayed dry. We are thankful for that.

H.I. Hot Fudge Pudding Cake and Irene. What a mix, huh?

It was a perfect way to end the day. A keeper. Chocolately, fudgy, hot cake over vanilla ice cream. Yummy!

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
1 ¼ cup sugar, divided
1 cup flour
7 Tbsp. Hershey’s cocoa, divided
* (I used Wilbur's Breakfast Cocoa - it has a richer chocolate flavor)
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup milk
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 ¼ cup hot water

Heat oven to 350˚F. In a medium mixing bowl, combine ¾ cup sugar, flour, 3 Tbsp. cocoa, baking powder and salt. Blend in the milk, melted butter and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Pour the batter into a square 8x8x2-inch pan.