Friday, November 02, 2007

The day that never happenned - NaBloPoMo 2

Well today never really got off the ground. I appear to have caught whichever bug the Freshers have bought with them this year. A runny nose, a sore throat and a stinking miserable attitude to boot. This has thrown everything else off. Today I was supposed to read a bit, look at Christmas decorations, lunch with Rob Hunt, and then go to a lecture, read some more, watch fireworks and then make chocolate puddle pudding.

What actually happened is that I woke up feeling rubbish, went and saw the Christmas decorations, had lunch with Rob, felt crappy, napped for four hours, bought Tom some flowers, watched fireworks, read for a bit, made chocolate puddle pudding, watched StarGate, knitted and printed articles out to read over the weekend,

The fireworks at the Uni were amazing. There is a rumour that they spend £1 per student on them. Considering there are 24000 students at Southampton or something along those lines, that would be alot of money. I could actually feel the explosive force of the larger rockets in my stomach and my ears. There was music to accompany the display and to my delight it opened with the Star Wars theme. I am such a geek at heart.

Something beautiful happened yesterday. Sat watching Heros together, Tom picked up my as yet unwound ball of yarn and began to wind it, completely of his own volition! Hence me buying him flowers today. It my currently hormonal and womanly state it was enough to make me a little tearful. I taught him to knit last night as well, offering him the hoody I'm knitting with the question "Want to have a go?" and being pleasantly surprised with the answer of yes. He is one of those who learns by watching and soon picked it up. I left him to knit a row whilst I printed out journal articles and not one stitch was dropped. I'm so proud. I suppose this is the meaningful equivalent of me making him socks or gloves or something equally thoughtful.

Steph noted how knitters and the ubititquous 'geek' stereotype often seem to make good couples. I suppose all my past relationships have been so, but this is a first, this wanting to learn for himself and see how it works. It is fascinating after all, what with being full of maths and patterns.

Now it is late so I am going to leave you with the Chocolate puddle pudding recipe that was such a hit with Tom's housemates and was kindly emailed to me by my lovely sister Ellie. It's from the Hamlyn All Colour Cook Book. It has a crust, a spongy layer and then a puddle of chocolate in the middle. Yum!

Chocolate Puddle Pudding

ingredients

  • 250g/8oz plain chocolate, broken into pieces
  • 300ml/ 1/2 pint milk
  • 2 tablespoons of brandy (optional)
  • 50g/2oz unsalted butter, softened
  • 150g/5oz caster sugar
  • 2 eggs, separated
  • 25g/1oz self-raising flour
  • 25g/1oz cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
  • whipped cream, to serve

method

  1. Put the chocolate in a small saucepan with the milk and heat gently until tye chocolate has melted. Stir in the brandy, if using.
  2. Beat together the butter and the sugar until pale and creamy. Gradually beat in the egg yolks, flour, cocoa and melted chocolate mixture.
  3. Whisk the egg whites in separate bowl until they hold their shape. Using a large metal spoon, fold a quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold n the rest of the egg whites.
  4. Turn into a 1.5litre/2.5 pint pie dish and place the dish in a roasting tin. Pour boiling water into the tin to a depth of 2.5cm/1 inch, Bake in a preheated oven, 180ºC (350ºF), Gas Mark 4, for about 35 minutes until a crust has formed.
  5. Dust generously with cocoa powder and serve hot with whipped cream.
N.B. the crust will not be a crispy crust, more spongy.

Serves 5-6 (though it is very rich and will probably serve more a most people only have small servings)
Preparation time = 20 minutes
Cooking time = about 35 minutes
Oven temperature = 180ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4

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