Thursday, April 23, 2009

zumast be joking* ...

And so it comes to pass that we have a new President. A man who was charged and tried (and, admittedly, acquitted) of rape. A man who was directly implicated by the presiding judge in the fraud trial of another high profile South African, but who had the charges against him dropped just weeks before these elections. A man who is a master at 'bird-talking' (apparently an Australian term - gotta love those forthright Aussies - for telling people what they want to hear). A man who inspires very little confidence all round.

So basically, no suprises.

But are we down-hearted? A little. Apprehensive? A lot.

Prone to baking when the world goes mad? You bet ya!

Husband says I'm not allowed to count these a-m-a-z-i-n-g chocolate brownies as one of my 100 things as they're the second batch I've made in little over a month (and I totally counted the first ones). 

But I am going to share the recipe, I am going to eat one every time I feel concerned about the future, I am going to urge you to bake your own and follow suit.

And I am going to hope we don't get too wet and miserable on our camping long weekend away. Leaving tomorrow. Back-to-back storms predicted. Are we apprehensive? No, we've got brownies!

Gulp.

Perfect Chocolate Brownies

150 g butter

350 g castor sugar

4 large eggs

5 ml vanilla essence

150 g plain flour

100 g cocoa powder

 a pinch of salt

100 g chopped macadamia nuts

50 g chopped glace cherries

2 slabs chopped chocolate Turkish Delight (praise the Lord yes)

Cream butter & sugar. Beat in eggs one by one, then add vanilla. Sift in flour, salt & cocoa powder and mix. Mix in nuts, cherries and chocolate. Gloop out into greased baking tray and bake in pre-heated oven (170 degrees C) for approx. 30 min. 

Keep an eye on them though 'cos as everyone knows, if it's not soft and squidgy in the centre it's not a brownie. Just cake. And while there's nothing wrong with cake. It's not a brownie. 'Nuff said.

*title totally ripped off from a recent tabloid headline. 'twas too good not to repeat. oi vey.

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20 comments:

Extranjera said...

Oh no.
Chocolate and Zuma.
Will this association now put me off chocolate? Or, worse yet make me associate Zuma with some gooey chocolate goodness? I already think he sounds like a refreshing pineapple soft drink, so I think I'm in trouble.
Note to self: Must not think of Zuma associated with any food unless we're talking raw pig belly or some such thing.

julochka said...

must locate turkish delight. even if i have to drive all the way into copenhagen.

i've been making some nigella brownies with white chocolate bits in them. they're heaven, but i want to try these.

i made mine for the parents' meeting the other day and only after i got there and they were sitting there, still warm on plates, did i realize I FORGOT TO PUT ANY FLOUR IN THEM! actually, it was quite ok, they were chewy, moist and quite possibly the best of the..ahem..four batches i've made lately. and we don't even have a zuma here, just an endless string of guys named rasmussen (must be a requirement for being prime minister of DK).

happy camping!
xox,
/j

julochka said...

get ready to be visited, dahling: http://julochka.blogspot.com/2009/04/blog-crush-ohfortheloveofblog.html

you're my new blog crush! :-)

xox,
/j

Molly said...

So funny, I woke in the night thinking about the big toady brown man/chocolate brownie association – I hadn’t even thought about it when writing the post!

Maybe he’s that horrible cheap kind of chocolate which looks all delicious but is actually grainy and yuk when you eat it ...

Molly said...

So funny, I woke in the night thinking about the big toady brown man/chocolate brownie association – I hadn’t even thought about it when writing the post!

Maybe he’s that horrible cheap kind of chocolate which looks all delicious but is actually grainy and yuk when you eat it ...

Sandra said...

I'm one of the visitors julochka warned you about. She is right, you should be visited! word verification says 'grand' hmmm

Optimistic Pessimist said...

Looks delicious. I'm going to try your recipe this weekend. thank!

julochka said...

cool, one of your followers is called "fake boobs are ok." i love it! :-)

Extranjera said...

Leaving you with an award - Honest Scrapper.
Rules are in my blog. Have fun!

And enjoy the camping!

eda said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
julochka said...

sorry about the chinese spam comment...but your followers are rising. :-)

hope you're far from the internet, living a REAL life.

xox,
/j

Sohail said...

Or maybe it's that horrible cheap kind of chocolate which looks all grainy and yuk and YOU never seem to buy it but keep wondering... "who the hell IS buying this chocolate... can't they see it's all grainy and yuk" :) ?

Great blog...

Extranjera said...

I wish more people could see that it IS all grainy and yuk and kind of corrupt too...

Cindy said...

Hi , if you love brownies I am there with you. I have become a new follower. Love your blog. Have a great time camping. I will pray for good weather.Take Care

Greg said...

Those brownies look delicious-slash-horribly fattening. :)

Unknown said...

They look great! I think you can put up with everything (including storms) when you have chocolate brownies! Plus camping in the rain can be fun if you have good company! Hope you enjoy!

SketchingInTheRain said...

deffinately trying those...
but what about cheesecake?
OR strawberry triffle!?!?
admittedly, brownies are probably the only thing that could tempt the Pope to say 'Oh, for the love of God, gimme gimme', and would clearly win in a war of the puddings...
I'm slightly worried about how i think... Anyways! nice blog!

CJ said...

Just found your blog today!very interesting.Am your follower mow :D

molly said...

so sorry to hear...
but will indulge in said brownies, while thinking of you and yours. just as soon as i translate grams into whatever crazy measuring system we use in this country! gads! what were we thinking?!

Lynne said...

woo hooo!! My son wrote the headline!
seriously. he did.

I liked it too