Bird Baths and Brownies...
I haven’t been writing as much over the past few months mainly because my mum was visiting from Australia. During her stay we had a great time scouring charity shops for treasures, visiting the lovely town of Faversham several times and of course cooking up many delights in the kitchen.
My mum is a master of organization! I, however am the complete opposite – although I do have ‘a system’ (it usually doesn’t work very well and results in mega tantrums). Anyway, while she was here she very kindly took it upon herself to sort through and organize my collection of recipes. There were clippings from newspapers and magazines as well as print outs from websites stuffed and stacked in various cupboards and shelves in my kitchen. It took a full 2 days (and 3 bottles of Pinot Grigio) but she did it and the result is;
• I can actually find the recipes I am looking for
• I rediscovered some long lost recipes I had always wanted to try
One of these rediscovered recipes is a Jamie Oliver one, snipped years ago from a magazine. It’s for chocolate brownies, something I enjoy eating but have never made. Well this past weekend I gave them a go and they are absolutely scrummy! However they are definitely NOT low in fat. I doubled the recipe so my husband could take some into work and let me just say that when you see a whole pack of butter disappearing into your brownie mix you know you’re in trouble!
So to balance things out (in my own mind anyway) I have been putting extra time into my garden. Over the past few days there has been a lot of pruning, re-potting and general sorting out. I was actually just enjoying one of these brownies in the garden (with a large mug of tea) as a reward for assembling my newly acquired bird bath. It was bought from the RSPB and I also become a member at the same time. Wildlife is very important to me and I love watching all the life going on in and around my little garden.
In fact I think I may have another brownie and watch to see if any birds decide its bath time!
And Thank You MUM for all your love, help and support!
Here is the original Jamie Oliver recipe:
Chocolate Brownies (Serves 4)
Ingredients
• 100g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
• 125g butter
• 4 large organic eggs
• 300g caster sugar
• 100g self raising flour
• Pinch of salt
• 125g shelled walnuts
• Icing sugar, for dusting
Directions
• Preheat the oven to 190C (375F, gas mark 5)
• Grease a 20x20cm baking tin with a little butter, then cut a square of greaseproof paper to fit neatly in the bottom
• Melt the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat and set aside
• Mix the eggs, sugar, flour and salt together in a bowl. Add the melted chocolate and butter mixture. Sprinkle in the walnuts. Stir and fold together being careful not to over-mix
• Spread evenly into the cake tin and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 15 – 18 minutes, or until a crust has formed but they are still a bit wobbly (you don’t want them to be really cooked through like a cake)
• Allow the brownies to cool slightly and then cut into squares. Serve with icing sugar dusted over the top
Jamie’s top tip: If you don’t like walnuts, try the recipe with dried cherries, apricots or pecan nuts.
Luna Note: As I doubled the recipe I used 125g of walnuts and 100g of dried cranberries. It was a great combination!
If you are interested in the RSBP then please visit their website to find out the many ways you can help protect our natural world.
