Day 21 - A recipe

Oh, now I do have some really nice recipes.

When pregnant with Elizabeth I was so turned off food, all cooking smells would just make me want to hurl!  Especially onions, the worse thing about cooking with onions was the chopping; the smell would linger on my fingers for days - I kid you not!  I had a nose like a blood hound, every smell was heightened; onions my particular enemy.  Anyway, I could cook things only once, the after smell was too much to bare doing again, so I got through many recipes and cold meals, only to be totally off all those cooked meals once the 'all-day' sickness had run its course.

I had to come up with new ways to eat good nutritious food, but in a bland way that I could actually eat.  It goes without saying that I was taking the antenatal multi vitamins, to fill in all the gaps that my diet was missing - I'd like to think that I did okay though. I was totally off the sweet things until the 3rd trimester, then I'd just want to eat lots of green fresh things and sweet chocolatey things.

One of my favourites was a vegetable bake - cram as much veggies, with mushrooms, chicken or some sort of protein into a baking dish and whack on a cheesy white sauce -  with more cheese on top and bake.  I'd put sprouts, broccoli, peas, courgette, sweetcorn, green beans, runner beans, then potato and sweet potato - not all in the one mind you, but I'd cook a few of them up and freeze them.  I'd make a big vat of white sauce using wholemeal flour - it seemed that I couldn't stand white things; pasta, bread, cakes...  still turns my tummy now.
Anyway, it was also summer here for the first half of my pregnancy, so I had a lot of non-smelly salads and bland stir fries.  I didn't much like meat either, a bit of chicken sometimes - I still don't eat a lot of it now - One thing I couldn't do without, and that is bacon!  Ah, the toe curling smells of crispy bacon!!

Anyway, I digress.  The recipe.  This is my favourite, sweet thing to make right now - the chocolate brownie.

I love making these, because they are so good to eat raw, while making them and once baked.  I must admit that I have never used melted chocolate in loo of milk or water before!!

Ingredients
250g unsalted butter
200g dark chocolate - 70% cocoa solids
75g roughly chopped walnuts
80g cocoa powder, sifted
65g plain wholemeal flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
360g caster sugar
4 large free-range eggs

Preheat oven to 180'C/350'F/gas mark 4
Line a 25cm square baking tin with grease proof paper
Melt butter and chocolate in bain-marie - once smooth add the walnuts
In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients together, then add to chocolate mixture - stir together well
Beat the eggs and mix until you have a silky consistency
Pour mixture into the lined baking tray and bake for 25 minutes

You don't want to over cook them, they should be slightly springy on the outside, but still gooey in the middle.  Allow to cool in the tray and then transfer to chopping board to cut into chunky squares.

Enjoy!  I do, but now I have to have a good excuse to make them - I was getting through far too much butter and that was a sickening thought to be honest....

Anyone have a birthday coming up?