For my last birthday, the one where I became I-don’t-always-remember-how-old, Lauren gave me The Hummingbird Bakery recipe book. Suzy came to tea last night and so I thought it was about time I delved into the fattening pages of the book and made brownies for our dessert. As they’re somewhat too squodgy to put in an envelope and post, Lauren and the rest of you will have to be satisfied with either licking your computer screens, or making your own from the recipe below. I hope you all like chocolate and sugar, because they’re pretty much the only ingredients.

You will need:

200g dark chocolate
175g unsalted butter
325g caster sugar
130g plain flour
3 eggs

Preheat the oven to 170ºC / 325ºF / Gas 3.

Weigh and roughly chop the chocolate. Though now in handy bite-size pieces, do not eat it.
 

Weigh the butter or margarine. Definitely don’t eat it if it’s margarine.
 

Put the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water …
 

… and melt together until smooth.
 

Remove the chocolate from the heat.
 

Weigh the sugar, knock out the big lumps and …
 

… stir into the chocolate until well combined.
 

Weigh the flour. Hope that you have enough, because it’s been snowing for a few days now, which means that people have turned into survivalists and are emptying supermarket shelves of every product as fast as they can.
 

Add the flour to the chocolate mixture and stir until well incorporated.
 

Finally, stir in the eggs …
 

… and transfer it all to a bigger bowl in order to be able to stir the mixture until it is thick and smooth with enough venom without throwing it across the counter.
 

Pour the mixture into a 33 x 23x 5 cm baking tray, lined with greaseproof paper. I used magic Cake Release instead of lining the tray, because it’s magic.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes, or until flaky on the top, but still soft in the centre. Be careful not to overcook, otherwise the edges will become hard and crunchy.
 

Leave to cool completely before slicing. Take great care to eat all the rubble that is inevitably created in the slicing process. Share some with others for manners, but not too much.
 

Eat.

A swanky hand-crafted makeup pouch and a little mirror were my gifts from Lauren this year. That woman is totally showing us all up with all her handmade cards, classy gift wrapping and seamstress skills.

Lauren turned up this morning bearing birthday salutations and gifts. Gifts that required super-human strength to extricate them from the packaging, but which smelled very nice. I’m not sure what’s happened the rest of the day. With a bit of rain and wintery darkness outside I tend to switch off, even during the week, thinking that evening has come at half past three in the afternoon. And so just now I was to be found snoozing on a bean bag with The Simpsons on TV playing to an inattentive audience.

The plan for tonight involves a shower before snoozing in front of watching “Erin Brockovich” on TV and continuing to reknit the hat I wasn’t 100% happy with. And maybe rearranging that sentence so that the preposition isn’t at the end. Of course this is all somewhat dependent on the lethargy lifting … and I’m just not sure it can be bothered.

A day out at the zoo with Lauren. We saw all sorts and so once I have been through the hundreds of photos no doubt I’ll be flooding my stream with all kinds of crazy animals.

Thanks for another amazing week, you guys and gals. I’m currently incredibly behind on going through the pool, but I’ll catch up soon! Then I’ve got to make the traditional mosaic. Do you realise how many of us there were this time?!

(and don’t you just love how Lauren and I simultaneously wrote pretty much the same thing under our respective photos? Except she offers moderation in posting and I do not)

She had just two tips:

1. Don’t climb the steps to the top of the cathedral. You will die.

2. Go to the chocolate museum.

On account of the two previous days’ walking climbing to the top of anything really wasn’t on the cards on day 3. Hell, standing up at all was negotiable. The Olds and I wandered around the streets, looked at stuff, took a boat ride (photos to follow) and then Mum and I went to the chocolate museum while Dad stayed outside to enjoy the much more manly pleasures of a 50s car show.

Inside the museum are displays about the history of cocoa farming and chocolate production, blah blah blah, and then you get to a production line where Lindt chocolates are being made and packed. Chocolatiers sit within perspex walls packing the mechanically wrapped chocolates that roll towards them on the conveyor belt, or making truffles, which they give to the kids behind you to taste, but not to you. But no fear, I didn’t go without tasting the good stuff as there is a huge chocolate fountain at which chocolate-dipped wafers are handed out. And I got two.

Click for the set

A day out at the zoo with Lauren. We saw all sorts and so once I have been through the hundreds of photos no doubt I’ll be flooding my stream with all kinds of crazy animals.

Thanks for another amazing 7 Days week, you guys and gals. I’m currently incredibly behind on going through the pool, but I’ll catch up soon! Then I’ve got to make the traditional mosaic. Do you realise how many of us there were this time?!

(and don’t you just love how Lauren and I simultaneously wrote pretty the much same thing under our respective photos? Except she offers moderation in posting of photos and I do not)

* I thinned out my carrots. I thought I’d try transplanting the thinnings elsewhere to give myself a little extra carrotage. The floppy pile of carroty uselessness I’m now left with tells me that this was not possible.

* Sam had her hen night last Saturday, which was a fine affair in London. We had lesson in how to make shots and cocktails before dinner and dancing. Let it be noted that I pour a mean B52. Let it also be noted that drinking a glass of champagne on a fairly empty stomach makes it difficult to get up the stairs to the bar to have the lesson. Then drinking a shot, a cocktail and various “sips” of other people’s cocktails makes it even more difficult to get back down the stairs for the meal. Should this happen, allow Lauren to order for you.

* I rang the police the other day. Very exciting. You park your car for sale so that it’s blocking most of the footpath – the footpath that leads to the primary school – and I will soooo tell on you, sucker.

9.10 – Have a shower, wash my hair and shave things that are wild and woolly. Cut myself about three times to celebrate. But at least I smell nice and citrusy.

9.40 – Time for a pop tart. Chocolate. There are no other flavours. I wonder what I’m going to wear today? And should I consider wearing something more than just two towels before Lauren gets here to help with the food?

10.08 – The towels are gone, clothes are on. Lauren’s 8 minutes late. And to think I got dressed for her.

10.30 – It’s Lauren here! only 30 mins late :§ a girl has to get her beauty sleep (and judging by the state of me this morning, i’ve not had nearly enough!). the kitchen smells amazing, and i think i’m going to find it hard not to sample all the dishes that are covered up for later! maybe inviting me to help wasn’t such a good idea…….;)

10.56 – back again, after kneading the dough for the yummy picnic bread. i’m hungry already! the kitchen is a hive of activity, with various quiches, flans and breads being prepared. yum!

11.28 – am getting the hang of this blogging lark – it’s jolly good fun. have even added my own category to Dreamdust (see below), although to be honest, i really don’t know why this hadn’t been added a long time ago…

13.06 – we’ve just finished all the making and shaping, and the guests are due to arrive any minute. hopefully time to get some make-up on and make myself look reasonably presentable before they do! Sarah is just putting the finishing touches to the vegetable balls, which need to be baked for a while, and i’ve just finished the goats cheese pate, which is chilling in the fridge. hopefully not long before we can tuck in! ;)

13.11 – I suppose I should write something here too, seeing as this was my idea! My hair needs straightening, it’s five feet wide at the minute. My T-shirt is covered in, well, everything and so are my jeans. A few guests are here, but I could do with making myself pretty before everyone else arrives. What else needs doing? Surely we can’t turn off the oven yet?

13.40 – Lauren again. think Sarah has gone to make herself look pretty (maybe i can pinch some food when she’s not looking ;). there are some guests here, and drinks are being served. weather is warm but cloudy, although the sun is trying her best. couldn’t expect blazing sunshine really, it is Wimbledon week after all…

15.30 – not much blogging in the last couple of hours, because the food was served! its gone down a storm, with many guests coming back to the house for seconds! John and Sam’s niece Darcie has had us in stitches by pulling faces up against the conservatory window, leaving a nice big wet face print (and some bread and crisp crumbs!).

15.33 – Uff, I always overestimate how much I can eat. Dave’s just put me in a headlock, so I shall have to go and give him a kick. I should also get some more use out of the big lens I rented for today. Maybe I can just clonk Dave over the head with it.

17.06 – ……too stuffed to write……..need a nap……

17.56 – Can’t keep my eyes open. Suzy will be here soon to help herself to the leftovers. Maybe I’ll have a little nap.

18.56 – Lauren here again. have had a fabulous day, the party was a great success as usual, and the food went down a treat. it’s been lovely to be involved in the preparation for the day, and to be a guest blogger on Dreamdust. looking forward to the next time aleady. i’m off now, going to sleep off the *huge* lunch that i ate. look out for Sarah’s pictures on flickr, especially those taken with the mammoth lense ;)