Pancake Day Party

Spring is Here!

The display at Jamie Oliver's Recipease in Brighton.

Valentine's Lunch

Dinner is a bit too expensive on Valentine's Day.

And it's a bit cliche and I'm not sure if I like it to be honest.

Tomorrow Matthew is taking me out for lunch, instead. Cheaper, nicer, a lovely walk during the daylight hours and a cosy up on the sofa watching When Harry Met Sally or something to similar effect with a bottle of something sparkly and some chocolates.

Sweet and simple and something which will make me very happy!

Easy Brownies

To me, there is nothing better than being able to whip up something tasty with things that are in the cupboard. Especially on these cold February nights.

I love cooking and baking and I during my time at university I would often spend a day making treats and take them along to wherever I was working at the time to hand out to my colleagues. Mainly because I liked seeing people happy, but also a little bit because there was no way I could eat everything I had made without ending up the size of a small whale.

The only problem with cooking and baking (but mostly baking) is that you have to go out and buy things specifically. Mini marshmallows dent the bank a fair bit, and I don’t like spending a lot more on making treats, than if I had just bought them out of a packet.

That is why this recipe for brownies is just perfect. No good quality organic chocolate required. I usually double it, as the recipe is for brownie ‘thins’ and I like mine good and chunky. But you can choose to make as much or as little as you like. And everything is a classic ‘store cupboard’ ingredient. Which also means that if you’re sat watching telly in your Pjs and fancy some brownies - you don’t even have to get dressed to go to the shops.

115g butter
200g caster sugar
40g cocoa powder
2 eggs
50g self-raising flour
60g walnuts – or as many or as few as you bleeding well like

Melt the butter over a medium heat. Add the cocoa power. Stir in the sugar. Beat in the eggs. Fold in the flour. Add walnuts. Pour into deep baking tray. Put into pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

It actually couldn’t be easier. And my mother-in-law told me they were the best brownies she’s ever eaten. So not only are they the easiest brownies in the world, they are also the cheapest and very very tasty!

I even have some top tips – buy a pack of any old butter. Cheap stuff. Stuff that you wouldn’t normally put on your sandwiches – and use that to bake with. It saves you a few pennies and you get to keep the better butter for when you really want to taste it.

And whack some tin foil in your baking tray so you can lift them out easier and minimise the washing up!

Midnight treat? Sorted.