Baubles, Birthdays and Brownies

Double celebrations today - obviously it's countdown to Christmas and the decorations are up. Also it's my daughter's 21st birthday this week which called for a family roast dinner followed by Bailey's tiramisu and birthday brownies.

It was a new recipe and worked a treat so whether you're celebrating Christmas, birthdays or just feel in the mood for a sweet treat, give them a go.

- Melt 185g butter & 185g dark chocolate together

- Separately whisk 3 eggs with 270g caster sugar until light & fluffy

- Whisk both mixtures together

- Sieve 85g plain flour & 50g Cocoa powder into the above mixture 

- Pour into a tray & sprinkle with 100g milk chocolate pieces

- Bake at 170 oC for approximately half an hour

- Leave to cool before cutting, sprinkling with sieved icing sugar (or sparkly golden stars!)

The Merry Month of May!

Bread and cheese; no not a sandwich, nor a ploughmans, a pizza or a fancy foccacia. I'm talking about the young leaves and leaf buds of the native hawthorn. My father grew up in the then rural village of Robin Hood, near Wakefield in Yorkshire and he and his family and friends would refer to this hedgerow delicacy as a little bit of bread and cheese. 

I have done some research and it turns out that this was quite a common practice amongst country folk who would enjoy this slice of greenery, especially in times of poverty and famine throughout history. It is said to have a nutty taste although, as part of my research, I have tried a few pieces and, to be honest, they taste like leaves to me.

May celebrations go back a long way and the hawthorn has been quite central, symbolising fertility, new life and the start of the growing season. It is meant to be good for the heart when the dried berries and dried blossom are used in herbal remedies and good for affairs of the heart when the wood is turned into a talisman, wand or charm ball.

The rhyme "Here we go gathering nuts in May" probably refers to the "knots" of hawthorn blossom which were used to decorate the May-time celebrations. Maypole dancing was a favourite and I remember my sister doing it in the 1960s at a local park on quite a grand scale whilst my grandma made the dresses for the May Queen and her attendants. From the hawthorn being a sign of good luck and fertility it changed through time to become a tree of misfortune, abstinence and chastity. There would be no weddings held in May and the May Queen was a symbol of purity and innocence.

The hawthorn tree has many other names, the most common being the May Tree. Folklore has always held the tree in high regard and it is still to be respected today. There are stories of sewers and traffic having to be diverted around old hawthorn trees rather than them being cut down. The saying "Ne'er cast a clout til May be out" is probably a reference to the hawthorn blossom being out rather than the month of May ending.

So May has arrived but, as yet, the blossom here in Yorkshire has not. Whilst we wait we can always enjoy a little bit of bread and butter; for poor country folk and vegetarians everywhere.