Toffee Pecan Brownies

I stumbled upon this yummy blog which is filled with loads of gorgeous recipes (thanks Jac!) and was extremely tempted to try this recipe. Brownies? Yes, but instead of the normal chocolate ones, these ones are of the sticky, gooey variety - Tofee Pecan Brownie. Even the thought of the name makes me drool...mmm...sticky...gooey...toffeeeeee...hehehehe..

OK, to be honest, I'm not really that big of a fan of these non-traditional brownies. Maybe it's because there was not enough chocolate in them but, my husband LOVED them so much. He finished almost the whole tray (of course, not in one day). I, on the other hand, would love to say it's really yummy but it would've been yummier with more chocolate (I like chocolate if you hadn't noticed). The brownie should have toffee layers within it but due to my laziness - I couldn't wait for the toffee to melt and thicken again, I just poured the toffee into the mixture straightaway. As expected, it didn't turn out as planned but one could probably still taste the brownies' all-round gooeyness. I serve them with vanilla ice cream and even more toffee syrup..... mmmmmm heaven...

So, this is the recipe which I copied from Tinned Tomatoes...


Toffee Pecan Brownies

100g/4oz dark chocolate, chopped
175g/6oz butter, diced
250g bag creamy toffees
5 tbsp double cream
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract(I don't have in stock at home)
350g/12oz/2 cups caster sugar
200g/7oz/2 cups  2 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g/4oz pecan nuts, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 180c/gas 4/fan oven 160c. 
Line a brownie pan with greaseproof paper.
Melt the chocolate with the butter.
Melt the toffees with the cream.
Lightly beat the eggs with the vanilla, stir into the melted chocolate with the sugar. Sieve in the flour and the baking powder, mixing lightly. Stir in the pecans. 
Pour half the mixture into the brownie pan and drizzle over ¾ of the toffee sauce. Spread over the rest of the brownie mixture.
Bake for 40-45 minutes until firm to the touch. Leave to cool.
Reheat the remaining sauce and spread over the brownie cake before cutting into squares.

Do give it a try.. and enjoy!

Spring is Here

It's been quite a while since I've been out to my back garden. Yup... this happens every time winter comes along and until God knows whenever. Well, "whenever" came along last weekend when I concluded that it was not that cold for me to go out and do some work on it. But then, something caught my attention...

Yes, spring is finally here...Alhamdulillah. There's still the continued freezing temperatures but, at least it's dry and bright. I have to start thinking of what to plant this year. Hmmm...I had a discussion with my beloved hubby so hopefully, when he has the time, he'll give me a hand with the digging and clearing the weeds (frustratingly, the only plant that seems to survive all year!). I'm telling you, it's not that easy to pull the weeds on your own.

I can't wait though. I've been thinking of planting some potatos, cucumbers and maybe more herbs.

Right beside the gorgeously bright daffodils, there's the parsley that I planted last summer. Amazingly, despite all the bad snowy weather, the parsley was still green and looked fresh as if nothing's happend weather-wise. Unfortunately, since taking this picture during the weekend, my kids had been begging me to play in the garden for the last few days and earlier today, just before I posted this entry, I went out and saw that my fresh green parsley was squashed and was not so fresh looking anymore. Hmmmpphhh...

Anyway, the good news is, in a few weeks time, my tulips (below) will start sprouting out and might bloom with some beautiful flowers too....if the kids don't get to them first. InshaAllah.

Hello Spring and so long Jack Frost!

The Kids' First Driving Licence

A few weeks ago, my husband got a pair of tickets for the Irish Motor Show at the RDS. I'm not a fan of cars but as it was free, I didn't mind going. Well, if you're interested on reading about the show, you can do so here.

Anyway, as expected, there wasn't anything of interest for me. I definitely won't be spending any money on tickets for the show next year or whenever it comes along next. But, there was one thing that I think made the show worth it - the activities for the kids at the show which made my kids so very happy.

Getting their First "Driving Licence"...

Getting on an enormous Garda (that's what they call the police over here in Ireland) motorbike...

Playing with pretend cars...

...and entering a colouring competition which we had hoped to win but unfortunately didn't, boohoo!

The kids had so much fun. It was such a shame that mummy and daddy didn't have as much fun.

Husayn Tells Me the Time

As I was preparing to go to bed one night, I overheard a conversation between Ameera and Husayn...

Husayn: Ameera, Mummy said she was going to buy me something when we go to the shops tomorrow.

Ameera: NoOOoO...she didn't say that Husayn. She said, we'll see. Doesn't actually mean that she'll buy you anything, you know.

Husayn: NO. When Mummy says we'll see to ME it always means YES! It's when she says it to YOU...she means No.

And on and on the argument went while I was listening from afar and smiling away, not wanting to interfere. Huh, Husayn certainly has no lack of self-confidence when it comes to all things Mummy-related! Don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. Hmmm...

Anyway, earlier this week, Husayn's teacher mentioned to me that the class learned some basics about telling the time, on an old-fashioned analogue clock, not the easy peasy digital variety, of course. So, here we go... 

Fabulous Scarf

Remember the mysterious scarf I received last month? Who was it from? Hehehe...owhhh...it's not from my secret admirer or a secret stalker or anything. I eventually found out that it was from my best friend, Farah all the way from Malaysia. She wanted to surprise me but she was the one that got surprised when I couldn't figure out who it was from. Haha! She said she was just too lazy busy to write anything in the package that she sent over but sent me this catalouge instead. The catalogue made me wonder...

Eh, takkan lah Aida Rahim nie nak kasi tudung kat aku kot?... Ahaks!

Seriously... hehehe.. it was nice of her (not Aida Rahim, of course) especially since she said that the style of tudung is in trend these days in Malaysia and for the likes of me who just can't keep up with the constantly changing fashions of hijab, I was ever so grateful to receive it. Thank you very much dear. Muahhh...muahhh...

I'd also like to add that the hijab is so nice and of good quality. The material is very comfortable to wear. I would highly recommend it to everyone who's out looking for new or different style and loves wearing fashionable hijab. And no, I am not just writing this because it was from a friend, it's the absolute truth.

My attempt at a kepala senget supermodel wannabe look..erkk!

My friend actually just started a business selling hijab from home. She's an authorised online dealer for Galeri Muslimah and the famous Aida Khalida's (formerly known as Aida Rahim, Aida Radzwill, etc.) scarf/shawl collection which is "unique, original and unmatched in quality". As one would expect from a quality fashion line, there are lots of different styles and colours to choose from. So, if anyone of you ladies out there are interested to have a look at more of these hijab, you can pop over to Fabulous Scarf.

No matter where you live, my friend will be more than happy to post it to you and if you have any questions feel free to ask her directly on her blog or if anyone is based in Dublin, you can always ask me (informal, tolong kengkawan representative) for any information.

So, once again, do take some time to visit Fabulous Scarf to see for yourself. Hopefully,  you won't regret it. There'll be more selections and new stock updates almost every day. Thanks for your time everyone!