Scruffy's favourite chocolate brownies

Here's a recipe for a certain scruffy dogs favourite chocolate brownies. They were actually birthday brownies for my dad and don't worry she only got a tiny bit.

Ingredients
• 375 g soft unsalted butter
• 375 g best quality dark chocolate (I like the Lindt 85% stuff myself)
• 6 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 500 g caster sugar
• 225 g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 300 g chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Line your approx 33 x 23 x 5 1/2cm brownie pan with foil or baking paper.

Melt the butter and chocolate together in a large heavy based saucepan.

In a bowl beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla.

Measure the flour into another bowl and add the salt.

When the chocolate mixture has melted, let it cool a bit before beating in the eggs and sugar mixture, and then the nuts and flour.

Beat to combine and then scrape out of the saucepan into the lined brownie pan.

Bake for about 25 minutes.

When its's ready, the top should be dried to a paler brown speckle, but the middle still dark and dense and gooey.

Keep checking the brownies as they cook; remember that they will continue to cook as they cool.

The Magic of Mushrooms

This little discovery made me smile, so I hope it does that for you too. On a recent walk with scruffbag I came across a field filled with mushrooms. They hadn't been there the day before but suddenly, as if by magic they had appeared overnight. Glistening little white domes, littering the field as if sprinkled on from on high.

For some reason mushrooms alwasy make me smile, they seem such improbable things that don't quite look real. I suppose I remember them from kids cartoons, the Magic Roundabout and Chorlton and the Wheelies spring to mind. (I never bought into the toadies being evil in Chorlton by the way, always thought they were being manipulated by that witchy Fenella). Well anyway, I suppose for that reason they make me smile.

Mushrooms of course are rather lovely to eat too, big juicy portobello ones with garlic and butter and parsley. Or tiny button ones just fried in butterall dripping juices over buttery toast. Yummy. Far too risky to try eating these of course, good heavens knows whether they're the edible sort or the type which may have effects on me which whilst I'm sure would be pleasant may cause the neighbours to talk (and we can't have that now can we!).

Of course I had to scamper off (slightly confused scruffbag in tow to get the camera) and then (much to aforementioned dog's bemusement) happily snapping away lying in the mud.

So here they are, a little selection of my mushroom snaps. I hope they make you smile too x

>Mushroom, with an intersting cloud behind ;-)



Experimenting with colour saturation for a spacey effect :-)




Aaah mushrooms, easily pleased me!

Dubin and the supermassive Muse

There's always been something wonderful about Dublin for me, like going home. I suppose that's because in some ways it is. So a recent visit back was just what I needed to raise a smile. We stayed at Dylans, a lovely hotel no doubt but filled with staff who look like they should be on the cover of Vogue at the very least. Yes indeed a tad intimidating for someone like me, who frankly resembles something that's been dragged through a hedge backwards and slapped more than a few times with the ugly stick. Still, a couple of medicinal cocktails got me through the first evening.

The next day was spent happily wandering around the city with regular stops for Guiness (well a girl has to keep her iron levels topped up, lunch at the ever lovely O'Neills and of course a couple of hours listening to the Guitarman at the Temple Bar Inn.

It didn't really matter that it rained, because we were rewarded with a lovely rainbow.



Muse at the O2 were fantastic, an explosion of colour and sound filling the arena and an excellent set covering all my favourite tunes from the ever fabulous Supermassive Black Hole to Uprising. A truly excellent night.



Topped off with a chilli chocolate martini at the Morgan which has still got to be one of my favourite places for a cheeky cocktail or two.

Saturday was another day of wandering around, visits to Brown Thomas and Avoca to window shop. A visit to Bewleys off course and a trip the the National Gallery where my favourites were a portrait by James Hanley and the lovely works of Paul Henry capturing the beauty of Ireland.

This little entry in no way does justice to the wonderful Dublin, but I guess I'm feeling distinctly flat today, an overshaken bottle of lemonadey kind of week, lost my fizz.

xoxo