Brown Envelopes

Hello folks (if there's anyone out there still reading *waves*)
I'm back, after a long absence. Hopefully I'll be back into blogging more regularly now (and working through the pile of photos and recipes for posting that have built up).

It's been a difficult couple of months. Some days I'm on top of the tiger, some days the tiger is on top of me (well, most mornings there's a cat with delusions of grandeur bouncing on my bladder and demanding to be fed, but that doesn't count). MikeyFox & I were both made redundant in February, so have been making the most of our time doing DIY, redecorating & repairs around the house & garden, including planting trees, creating a herb garden & building a house & fenced off run for the chickens we'll be getting this weekend.

So to celebrate my return to blogging, it's a brown envelope giveaway!
Brown envelopes usually contain bad news or bills, but not mine. Mine contain seeds, and maybe even tea, stickers or chocolates!

So if you'd like a brown envelope, get in touch. My email address is littleblackfox@hotmail.com
If there's anything you can't grow, or if you don't have much space, let me know (so I don't send you a Jurassic kale or monsterous South American vegetable). If you want something in particular (hardy tomato, weird pumpkin, giant South American vegetable...) let me know, I have all sorts. If you just fancy a surprise, that's great too.
I don't expect anything in return, nor will I pass on your details to anyone and this offer will not bite you in the arse.
You can send me something back if you like, but you don't have to :)

Anyway, enough about me. How have you been?

Seasons Greetings

Whatever you celebrate this time of year, may you be surrounded by love & laughter, good food & fine company.
Enjoy the little things, they're what make's it all worthwhile, my friends.

Black Fox Cake

Hello, blog. Sorry for the disappearing act.
Things are a little unsettled here at the Shack in the Marshlands. Have been for a while. No one is sick, and there have been no disasters, don't worry about that. There's only so many months of herbal teas & Putting A Brave face On It before you have to come to your senses and get help. So tomorrow there will be a long talk with my doctor, and words like 'medication', 'tremors', 'therapist' & 'serotonin' will be used.

Until then, there is cake. This cake in particular is inspired by the untitled poem by Stephen Crane

In the desert

I saw a creature, naked, bestial,

who, squatting upon the ground,

Held his heart in his hands,

And ate of it.

I said, "Is it good, friend?"

"It is bitter -- bitter," he answered;

"But I like it

Because it is bitter,

And because it is my heart."

This isn't your regular chocolate cake. It's a damp cake, almost like a brownie. It isn't sweet & crumbly, but dense & firm to the tooth, with the earthiness of beetroot & the intense bitterness of cocoa.

200g raw beetroot, finely grated
3 eggs
150g demerara sugar
150g ground almonds
130g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
250ml yoghurt
2tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/G3. grease a springform cake tin & dust with a little cocoa powder.
Whisk the eggs & sugar in a large bowl until light & fluffy. Add the beetroot & yoghurt. Mix in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder & almonds. If the mix looks too dry add a splash of milk. scrape into the cake tin & spread out level. Bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer poked into the middle comes out clean (albeit stained purple). this is a dense, fudgy cake, so don't expect it to rise much. Remove from oven & leave to cool a little before removing from the tin.
Serve with a dollop of cream, a splash of cream, or if you can find some, a scoop of peanut ice cream.