They asked me that. Really, would I? Actually, I would, but on this occasion I didn't. The night before we had mint choc chip cakes and they had courgette in them. And the night before that we had blackcurrant and elderflower muffins and they had courgette in them. But the brownie? No, no, no. It did have beetroot in it though. Other half and I thought it was utterly delicious, the best brownie ever tasted. It had quite a bit of cocoa in it and wasn't as sweet as the ones I usually make, so although the littles ate them, they did say they preferred the milder sweeter ones.
I've got this cookery book on loan from the library and it is wonderful.
The cakes have grated vegetables in them instead of butter. Sounds slightly suspect, but honestly you can't tell and they really are divine, especially the chocolate brownies and the cherry cake. I hadn't used it for a while, but given the current courgette glut I thought I'd have a look for some recipes. And there are loads. I'm on a roll. I cannot be stopped.
On the subject of courgettes, I have discovered what the little rack in the fridge is for - it's a courgette rack. Genius.
We've had a nice weekend of wandering, bookshops, scooting and making things with cardboard. This is the Book Barn at Hallatrow.
There is row after row after row of books. Hundreds of thousands. Maybe a million. And a lovely little children's area so that mummy and daddy can browse in peace for a moment. The littlest found an old album called "Battle" and now plans to join the SAS.
We made another little trip to Clevedon. The boys like to scoot along the front and in the skate park. Two of my favourite trees are in Clevedon. This is a yew which is a few metres from the sea front and which has been beautifully shaped by the weather screaming up the Bristol Channel.
The other one is a lovely fig tree in the back garden of a cafe.
This year it's full of figs. I'm coming back when they're ripe. And I'm thinking of planting one in my front garden, which doesn't get much sun - almost none in fact - but I do love fig trees so much I can't seem to stop myself.
Hope everyone had a good bank holiday today. It was deliciously warm and sunny here. Long may it last.
That brownie looks delicious! It sounds like you had a lovely weekend. The tree looking like it's being blown over by the wind is amazing. Nature is amazing in general. Hope you're having a great day!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kari. Nature is amazing, how things adapt and survive. Hope you're having a good day too.
DeleteAmazing fig tree - hope ours doesn't grow so big
ReplyDeleteI think this one is just left to it's own devices. That's part of what I love about fig trees - they get forgotten, but they just get on with it. There used to be a lovely one right on the Centre of Bristol by the water. I don't think anyone except me (and fellow gardeners) even noticed it was there, but I loved it. I was so sad when they ripped it out when they were "improving" the Centre.
DeleteHa Ha! Your 'courgette rack' in the fridge looks a lot healthier than the equivalent in ours.
ReplyDeleteIt's scaring me a little though!
DeleteI'd be happy browsing in that book shop! It was dry but mainly overcast here yesterday.
ReplyDeleteWhy does everyone seem to grow far too many courgettes....! Flighty xx
I don't know, it's a mystery. You start out with just a couple of tiny seeds, and somewhere along the way it all turns ugly.
DeleteI love the response your brownies got...and they look so gorgeously yum!
ReplyDeleteNina x
They were good, even if I say it myself. I'm planning some more today, as I just happen to have more beetroot lying about the place.
DeleteWhere do I get one of those courgette racks from - definitely in need of one! So pleased to hear that I'm not the only one whose children are constantly suspicious of 'hidden' ingredients in cakes - I will of course be testing out the beetroot brownie idea on them soon... looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteIt came pre-installed in the fridge - clever no? I'm thinking cakes with vegetables in them are practically one of your five-a-day...
DeleteThe brownie looks delicious. I've heard of so many cake recipes with vegetables in them but I've never made them myself. That tree looks amazing, I'm always fascinated by how the wind sculptures trees.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jo. The tree is lovely, quite a landmark, people are often taking photos of it. I'd like to say something clever about bending and resilience, but it's a bit too early for me to string it together. But I think the picture maybe says it all.
DeleteThe brownie does look gorgeous. I tried making courgette cake once but I think I tried to be too clever and I changed the recipe - it didn't work out! But I am fascinated by the use of vegetables in cakes and so I'll try again.
ReplyDeleteThe yew tree is amazing - it really does have a story behind it, doesn't it?
When I've used my own courgettes I've had to squeeze them out once grated as they have a really high water content. So I grate them quite finely first, then squeeze quite thoroughly, and weigh them after squeezing, even though the recipe didn't suggest this. The cake are still really moist.
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