Thursday, The Boss’s Chair, The Cup.

I was a bit like a zombie all day yesterday and my right leg was hurting quite a bit, I’m still disappointed they didn’t do both legs though. One bit of good news, Matt’s chair fell apart on Tuesday and the guy who came to repair it could not get it apart so had to take it away. He brought it back again yesterday and its as good as new, not only that, he didn’t charge an arm and a leg for it, we were delighted, Matt in particular as he hated not having his recliner – and he says I’m spoilt. Mind you he did get me some chocolate chip cookies like I requested.

Today I can shower. Apparently the bandage I am wearing is waterproof but they didn’t want me to wet it the first day. I still have to take it easy for a day or two yet and I am not sure if I will be bowling on Monday or not. Luckily our bowling balls are only about 3 lbs. unlike 10 pin where they are great big heavy things. I can only manage an 8 pounder with difficulty and I think they are meant for kids, the drilled holes are certainly not that big. I regret I didn’t have a very good night, I guess Wednesday night I was still doped to the eyeballs I had no trouble sleeping at all.

Personally I am disgusted with what happened in Vancouver after the Stanley Cup game the other day. Makes one ashamed to be Canadian. Not that I understand any of it, how can you get so upset about a game??? Even so, it is disgusting so much damage was caused by all the rioting. They need something serious to worry about.

So far no cards from Matt’s kids for Father’s Day. Tut tut.

Its that time of year when people who have been growing zucchini or courgettes have way too many of them. On my list of cooking friends, this was posted from the BBC.

Chocolate Courgette Cake

Ingredients

350g self-raising flour

50g cocoa powder

1 tsp mixed spice

175ml extra-virgin olive oil

375g golden caster sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

500ml grated courgettes (measure by volume in a measuring jug, but it's about 2 medium courgettes; if using 1 overgrown one, peel first and take out seeds)

140g toasted hazelnuts , roughly chopped

FOR THE ICING

200g dark chocolate , chopped

100ml double cream

1. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, mixed spice and 1 tsp salt. In another bowl, combine the olive oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla essence and grated courgette. Mix the dry and wet mixture until just combined, then fold in the toasted hazelnuts. Line a 24cm cake tin with greaseproof paper, then pour in your mixture. Bake for about 40-50 mins, or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool.
2. To make the icing, place the chocolate in a bowl and bring cream to the boil in a saucepan. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until completely smooth and melted. Leave the icing to cool slightly and thicken, then spread it over the cake so it's covered and the icing starts to drip down the sides. Serve with a cup of tea or enjoy as a pud with a spoonful of something creamy.

Baking with courgettes

Courgettes can hold quite a lot of water, which can affect the finished texture of your cake. If your grated courgettes seem watery, place them into a clean cloth and wring out some of the liquid into a bowl. Then add the courgettes to the cake mixture as normal. The timing for cakes containing courgette can depend on the water content of your courgettes, so return the cake to the oven for another 10 mins if it needs it. Simply test with a skewer and make sure it comes out clean.