Bank Holiday Monday the last bank holiday before the end of August one so this one used to signal in the summer?????? Rain nothing but rain today.
5th week after my ankle and ribs fracturing and there's healing going on but not pain-free yet and still wearing the brace on the right leg and not being able to sleep on the left.
SO.......... TREAT TIME!!!!!
After finishing the 11 day diet, I went back on it last Saturday and made it to day 9 before getting cravings and being really fed up and tearful, it was all too much. And that week I only ''lost'' 2 lbs so it wasn;t worth it, too soon I think to repeat such strange eating. Still I'm back in my faved jeans and other gear so it was a good thing to do.
Just to reflect on family life in the 2014's.... Eldest watching a film in the kitchen on Sky, youngest in her bedroom watching a film on her Kindle, Dad lying on sofa watching a violent ''boys'' flick in living room and moi at my computer in my wee den catching up on the Great Interior Design Challenge on i-player and doing a little crochet on my Noro waistcoat?!!!!
One dog on a bed with youngest upstairs and the other one at my side lying on a warm dressing gown that's awaiting some mending. All happily relaxing but little interaction going on.
I made a family meal for later and baked Brownies to cheer up all up. Later- after brownies- the girls went for a cycle ride and saw a stag!- I wish I'd gone too but I can't cycle yet due to the ankle so it was getting all excited visually with crochet photos on Pinterest for me.
This is what we're aiming at: gooy chocolatey gorgeousness and I always make two trays or about 12 thick chunky strips of these? The sprinkling of icing sugar at the end is optional.
You can also add a teaspoon of ginger or cinnamon to the mix to vary it a bit and of course nuts, but I don;t add any nuts into mine as I'm allergic to them.
You'll need a couple of mixing bowls, a pyrex or microwaveable bowl, two 20 cm square cake tins about 5 cm deep, some baking sheets,mixer and spatula and an oven pre-heated to 180 degrees Celsius.
Ingredients: for 12 medium to large brownies
- 6 eggs- use 3 whole and the whites of the other 3- my dogs eat the yolks as their treat.
- 60-85 g dark cocoa powder
- 4 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 4 teaspoons vanilla essence
- 180 g self-raising flour
- dash of salt
- 350 g castor sugar and another few heaped tablespoons for the apple sauce
- 3 large Bramley apples: peeled , cored and cubed
- butter for greasing the tins
- optional variations as mentioned above.
Line the tins with the baking sheets and grease lightly with oil spray or butter,
Mix the flour with the cocoa and the sugar in a large bowl and add the vanilla and oil.
Add a little water to the chopped cooking apples in a pyrex bowl- about a quarter up the side of the bowl compared to the top level of the apple pieces. Cover with clingfilm, pierce with a fork and microwave on high for 8 to 12 minuted depending on your microwave, the apple should come out as sauce.
Let cool down and add some heaped spoons of sugar if so desired.( optional- my girls like it added but the brownies are less sweet if you don;t add it)
Whisk the 3 eggs and 3 egg whites until very frothy and then whisk in 12 heaped table -spoons of the apple sauce.
Now mix and combine the flour/sugar mix with the eggs and apple and mix
very very thoroughly, trying not to lose too much of the air from the whisking. Divide into two and pour into the baking tins and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn out and slice into 12 ''bars''per tray.
Sprinkle with sieved icing sugar if desired before serving.
The MAGIC ingredient is the apple sauce which makes it really soft and moist and in parts really gooy.
This is left over apple sauce as I made extra, it's almost ready to go...
Into these tins.....
And out of the oven half an hour later...
Only my darlings could not wait even 15 minutes and sliced into the first tray while it was still HOT!
Of course you could serve it hot as a dessert with vanilla ice cream or home-made custard?
This was so very gooooood especially after my vegetable and protein diet ......
Soft and sweet and moist and ever so ever so chocolatey!
I didn't mash up the apples well enough and a few chunks have appeared, I don't mind and they don't affect the taste in any way.
BON APPETIT !!! Enjoy and can I say these always go down really well at charity bake- sales or school events as well....And they freeze well except our are always eaten long before I parcel them up for the freezer...
Dinner was shepherd's pie: look:
Chopped onions and mushrooms to fry with the lamb mince and rosemary.
Peeled, cubed and boiling the potatoes before mashing them with butter.
Boiling the carrots..
Layering the carrots over the mince and onions and before...
The mashed potato layer.... before the oven
And after the oven, ready to eat at our family meal.
