On the night of the fifth anniversary of my father’s demise in mid-June, Luc and I wandered over to the bench which bears a memorial plaque for him. I, naturally, was feeling mournful, but it surely was an attractive night and we determined to take a seat down for a bit. As we sat down, in excellent unison, the bench groaned and creaked, earlier than squeaking and crying out in ache and eventually disintegrating beneath us. All in sluggish movement. We ended up on our backs, toes within the air with appears of imprecise alarm on our faces. The alarm morphed rapidly into hysterical laughter, and I felt as if my father and his legendary sense of humour had reappeared and had been laughing with us; he would have completely cherished it and, though unplanned and random, it was an exquisite approach to keep in mind him!
Yesterday I discovered a bit chook perched on a bookcase upstairs; I confirmed him the open window, however he returned resolutely to his adoptive bookcase. When he was nonetheless there a number of hours later, little question ensconced in a gripping page-turner, I slid a baking tray underneath him and took him downstairs. He nonetheless appeared to lack the resolve to fly away, so I provided him a cup of espresso (in actuality it was water earlier than anybody studies me to the RSPB), and I we had a bit chat, which clearly bored him sufficient to encourage him to take to the air. It was one other very candy second.
These coconut slices make superb power bar, with out being too candy. They’re very transportable so I exploit them once I know I could be in a scenario once I have to eat a bit one thing on the transfer. The almonds and coconut are good sources of protein, and in addition calcium, copper, iron, potassium, sodium, manganese, B nutritional vitamins, zinc, copper, and iron.
Recipe for chocolate coconut slices (makes 20)
- 2 eggs
- 75g cane sugar
- 125g coconut oil, melted
- Chopped almonds
- 100g raisins
- 125g flour (I used spelt flour)
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 50g dessicated coconut
- 2 tablespoons rum (non-compulsory)
- Vanilla essence
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Put together a baking tray by protecting with greaseproof paper. Beat the eggs and sugar collectively till pale, and regularly add the coconut oil on the finish. Mix the almonds, raisins, flour, salt, cocoa powder and coconut in a separate bowl and regularly add to the egg/sugar/oil combination to acquire a thick paste. Lastly stir within the rum and vanilla essence. Unfold over the greaseproof paper on the baking tray and bake for half-hour. Lower into squares whereas nonetheless heat. Retains in an hermetic tin for a number of weeks, or could also be frozen.
