medical curiosity

now as a complete contrast to my pretty healthy dinner of spinach and ricotta cannelloni, i made my favourite recipe for brownies taken from a copy of Good Taste magazine that i stole last year from a housemate i didn’t particularly like

these brownies are pretty easy to make but should be avoided completely if you are in any way limiting the sugar or fat content of your diet. however if you are looking to increase the deliciousness content i heartily recommend
i made double the mixture but this was slightly problematic as it would’ve worked better with 2 smaller tins, but i only had 1 large one available. this resulted in a very undercooked and thin batch of brownies. also i used self-raising flour simply because i didn’t have any plain and it was essentially fine (apart from a little over spillage from the pan in the oven…)

while i made these i listened to the fantastic album ‘Hideaway’ by The Weepies, definitely check them out if you enjoy sweet, folksy music with male and female vocals and harmonies. my favourite track from the album is ‘Wish I Could Forget’ which is a song to listen to in the sunshine

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Brownies (makes about 12)

ingredients

• 150g/5oz dark chocolate, chopped (i used button melts)
• 100g/3.5oz butter, chopped
• 1 cup caster sugar
• ½ cup plain flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 3 tbps peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)

method

• preheat oven to 160˚C/320˚F
• grease and line a small brownie pan, make sure you line it with baking paper otherwise you are never gonna get this sucka out

• put the chocolate and the butter in a heatproof bowl and sit in on a small saucepan half full of water, over a high heat on the stove

• keep stirring until it becomes lovely and smooth, then set the bowl aside (the original recipe stipulates using a metal spoon)

• in another large bowl, put in the sugar, flour and cocoa and stir to combine (i accidentally added the eggs at this stage, but it didn’t make a big difference)

• then pour in the melted chocolate mixture and the eggs and stir until just combined

• pour everything into your pan

• smooth it out all nice

• then put in teaspoon-sized blobs of peanut butter over the top of the mixture

• using a flat-bladed knife make swirls in the mixture

• pop this in the oven for 40min (the original recipe stated the brownies are done when crumbs cling to a skewer inserted into the middle of the brownies but this thing is so rich that you sort of have to play this by ear. this does harden up a little once it cools down)
• when they’re done, take out and let the pan cool right down before attempting to take the brownies out

• don’t forget to clean up!

yesterday i started my second day of hospital orientation at 8am, lined up some supernumary shifts next week in the places i want to work (ICU, kids ward & emergency) and then at 2:30pm was poached for an afternoon shift in ICU until 9:30pm

i have to say that ‘Intensive Care Unit’ is a bit of a misnomer, it is as intense as any HDU (High Dependency Unit) i have ever worked in. they can support a ventilated patient for 1-2 days but anyone who is actually sick needs to be flown out. last night i was looking after 2 ladies in with cardiac issues who were both exceptionally stable. it is a huge change for me to be working with adults again, i don’t have to worry about juggling multiple feed times and nappy change times, or worry about who is labouring in delivery suite. but i do have to remember that a heart rate of 140 in an adult is not okay.

today i dyed my hair a vague shade of ginger, wore a nice dress and washed my sheets

ps. gg Obama