La Vie Quotidienne.

Beautiful, bold, yellow forsythia bringing spring back to my garden at last.

Nothing much going on around here this week just everyday life -  la vie quotidienne.

Tuesday dawned grey and misty but by midmorning developed into the kind of day that's good for mooching around the garden clearing away winter debris, that sort of thing.

One of my hydrangeas looking forlorn and unloved.

Once I get a pair of secateurs in my hand I do find it hard to stop, and so after cutting back the hydrangeas and allowing the fresh green shoots to show their faces to the sun, I tackled the wisteria which is already showing signs of rebirth.

Bright green shoots at last.

Sharing the garden with all the participants of Susans

Outdoor Wednesday @ A Southern Daydreamer.

After lunch I decided to make a sweet treat for our afternoon teatime and baked a batch of Lorraine Pascales cookies and cream fudge brownies.

Here's the recipe:
Equipment and preparation: You will need a 20cm/8in square baking tin.
Ingredients
165g/5½oz butter, plus extra for greasing
200g/7oz dark chocolate, grated or finely chopped
3 free-range eggs
2 free-range egg yolks
1 vanilla pod, seeds only (or alternatively 2 tsp vanilla extract)
165g/5½ oz soft light brown sugar
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
pinch salt
154g/5½oz pack chocolate biscuits, such as Oreos, broken into quarters
icing sugar, for dusting
Preparation method.
1.Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease a 20cm/8in square baking tin with butter, then line with baking paper with the paper overlapping the sides a little.
2.Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. When the butter has melted, remove the pan from the heat and add the grated (or chopped) chocolate. Leave to stand for a few minutes, or until the chocolate melts, and then stir together. Alternatively, you can put the chocolate and butter in a bowl and melt in the microwave in 25-second blasts, stirring well each time.
3.Whisk the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla together in a large bowl until the eggs begin to get light and fluffy. Add the sugar in two additions, whisking between each. Pour it around the side of the egg mix so as not to knock out the air that has been whisked in. Keep whisking until the mixture becomes stiffer. Once the egg mixture is ready, pour the chocolate into it - again around the sides so as not to knock the air out.
4.Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt and a third of the biscuits and stir until fully combined, then pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Scatter the remaining biscuits over the top, pressing them in slightly. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25–30 minutes. The middle should be very so slightly gooey. Leave the brownies to cool in the tin - the top will sink and crack a little.
5.Pull the brownies out using the overlapping paper and cut into squares.
Dust with icing sugar.

These are those most luscious brownies I've ever made, dense and fudgy and so full of  "chocolateyness" .
Word of warning!
When you cut them they will crumble a little around the edges and, if you're like me, you will find it hard to resist popping these little morsels into your mouth each time you pass by the plate.

I think the safest thing would be for me to take these straight over to

Miz Helen's for Full Plate Thursday

 and share the love!

Baking Bread with Lorraine Pascale.

Since the beginning of the year Monday evenings have found me sitting comfortably on the sofa in front of the TV, glass of wine to hand, whilst the BBC's new chef glamourous, former model Lorraine Pascale demonstrates how easy baking really is.
 "Baking is fun, it's easy, it's therapeutic, it's relaxing, it's a joy really," she said.
Her ideal meal would start with roasted camembert and garlic followed by a beef fillet baked in the oven with pepper and cognac. It would be finished off with some fondant fancies or a passion and lemon meringue pie. (BBC website)

I enjoy baking very much but normally my repertoire consists of cakes, pies and sweet treats and until Lorraine showed me how easy it was, I had never considered baking my own bread.
Too much kneading, proving, more kneading, and waiting around for the dough to rise.

First of all I downloaded the recipe for the
 "Doris Grant Loaf  
a no - need - to - knead bread adapted from a 1940's recipe by healthy eating evangelist Doris Grant, who believed white flour - and its lack of nutrients - was the enemy".
Click here to get the recipe for yourself.
LP was right, it was very easy to make - indeed.

Delicious served with Mr B's homemade winter vegetable soup.

Click here for details of all six episodes of Baking Made Easy by Lorraine Pascale.

Flushed with success, after baking the Doris Grant loaf, I ordered the BME book of 100 recipes, released to coincide with the TV series, at Amazon. Click here to buy the book now at half price!
Yesterday, I baked soda bread.
Click here for the recipe.

Perfect for a simple ploughmans lunch served with a small salad, cornichons, English cheddar cheese and of course, Branston pickle.
A nostalgic taste of England in rural Normandy.

(Apologies for lack of ploughmans pix, DH was hungry!)

Linking this post to Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage.

Full Plate Thursday Background Story

When we were young and just starting out in life sometimes we did not have a lot of money.

 Most of our friends were having to stretch the dollars at the end of the month just like us. My girlfriends and I decided that we would pool our food for some of the evening meals right before payday... the last week of the month. I have some of the fondest memories from those days. We would all bring our food together and we had some great food and great fellowship. We would get the food on the table and everything ready, someone would bless the food and then the hostess would say "come fill your plate".

Why not head over there and see how Miz Helen filled her plate last week and what's on the menu today.

Also joining in with Show & Tell Friday with Cindy @ My Romantic Home

and with

 Sherry and Home Sweet Home Friday @ The Charm of Home.

Thanks for hosting, ladies.