Scribblings

Hazelnut and Chocolate Cake If you like 'fluffy' and/or light cakes - you'd better give this one a miss… This one's moist and chunky! Serves 8… (well about 4 in our case!)… Ingredients:- • • 140g (5oz) skinned Hazelnuts • • 3 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder • • 1 Tablespoon of Black & Green's Drinking Chocolate Powder (optional…I added this because I like my chocolate chocolatey!)... in any case an extra spoon of cocoa powder shouldn't do any harm! • • 60g (2 oz) Plain Flour • • 30g (1 oz) Self Raising Flour • • 185g (6 oz) Soft Brown Sugar • • 250g (9 oz) Unsalted Butter, softened • • 4 Eggs, separated • • icing sugar for dusting. Method:- Toast the Hazelnuts under a hot grill… turning/shaking etc., so that they 'toast' all round and don't burn. Leave them to cool, then put them in a food processor and blitz down to visible bits NOT too fine or they will become oily… You can instead chop them by hand with a sharp knife. Transfer to a bowl with the coco...

I found myself writing this piece of prose/poem about 'what comes next' back in 2008 after the passing of a friend's daughter... Vicky, a life cut tragically short. I'm not a religious person, but feel (and certainly after experiences since my dad passed on) that there is an energy... that those who 'no longer live here with us' can control and are capable of using when their mood - or the happenings here with us tell them that we need a reminder about them... a bit of spiritual guidance maybe... I sent it to Vicky's folks in the hope that it may be read at her funeral in New Zealand... I read it myself at Terry, a cousin's, funeral in Yorkshire and also sent it to a friend, Malcolm, down in Cornwall after his partner/soulmate, Teri passed on in 2010. If anyone wishes to 'adopt' this and to change the lines which are personal to those who have 'moved on', then I would be very pleased - especially if it provides comfort. Don't be fri...

(photo to come the next time I make it!) 5.5 oz Butter 6 oz Soft Brown Sugar 2 Tablespoons of Black Treacle 8 oz Plain Flour 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder 2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger 2 Teaspoons Bicarb 5 fl oz Milk 1 Beaten Egg 2 Apples (use Bramleys) peeled, chopped and sprinkled with lemon juice ( not essential - like... don't rush out to the shops if you don't have any). OVEN 160 • Use a 10" Round or 9" square tin Melt butter, sugar and treacle together and leave to cool.... Sieve flour, bicarb and baking powder, ginger...Stir in milk, egg and cooled liquid and apples. Spoon into tin... Cook for 1 Hour at 160... Knife test after 50 minutes You can serve this warm as a pudding with Creme Fraiche, Greek Yoghurt, Double Cream or Ice Cream... or, in my case, all 4! Well at least two!!

About 3 months ago I booked tickets for the London Feis in Finsbury Park, North London... It's rare I would go to something like this, some 50 acts over a two day period...It's what, financially, we would call (including a hotel for 2 nights) an arm and a leg job! Naturally I've been to a few good gigs - maybe peaking with Bruce Springsteen a couple of times in Paris and also him and the Killers at a lovely little festival in Brittany... the festival of the 'old cart' or something. I often think they could do with a bit of marketing help - but not a two day festival. But... I had been listening to www.lastfm.com which is my regular all day long music 'fix'...and they have this neat link for when people are on tour...you can check who's appearing where... And I was listening to Gaslight Anthem and clicked the 'on tour' button. Before I picked up on the Gaslight Anthem on 'last' I had never heard of them and so I didn't realise they w...