I never thought I would start baking a batch of brownies by doing this:
The thing on the scale, in case you are wondering, is a massive sweet potato. Yep, that’s right. NOT exactly the normal starting ingredient for my delicious, oozy, chocolately brownies, and definitely not the way I thought I’d be kicking off World Baking Day.
But then, this year has been a bit different. Two dear friends have cancer, so do I, and my beloved neighbour from Brussels days has just died, much too young. Something is afoot. And, while I’ve never been one to knit my own lentils, I am finally beginning to realise I can’t go on living the way I always have. White sugar, white flour …. is it this which has done the dirty on us? It’s not possible to say, one way or the other. The only thing I know is that if you carry on in the same old way, you get the same old results. And I don’t like these results at all.
So I am making some changes. No sugar, no booze, lots of brown stuff, loads of veggies …. it probably sounds dreadful to you and I must admit it’s pretty daunting for me. But after being asked an awful lot of questions about alcohol units by oncologists, and after reading Anti-Cancer by Dr David Servan-Schreiber, I’m going to give it a whirl.
I was just wondering what on earth I was going to bake for World Baking Day when the Observer magazine dropped into my lap, with a lovely recipe by Ella Woodward. Child Two has been mentioning her for ages as a foodie guru and I felt I couldn’t turn down her serendipitous Sweet Potato Brownies.
After steaming the sweet potato (I know!!! Who’d have thought it?) you add dates, puree the lot, then add it to lots of cocoa powder, rice flour and ground almonds. Very straightforward, and the aroma in the kitchen is as gorgeous as it would be were there no vegetables in sight.
It’s not for everyone, I know, and if you’re having a more conventional World Baking Day, then may your cakes rise high and proud. We’re very happy here at DD Towers to be turning over a new, and healthy, actual leaf. Wish us luck with the eating part!
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