So I woke up today thinking that I should probably write another blog post. I’ve been down the editing wormhole these past few days, as the final MS of Hills And Valleys has come back to me, so my posts and comments have been a bit all over the place.
Then I saw that the lovely Suzie at SuzieSpeaks had reblogged one of my posts, and that it had then been picked up and reblogged a further two times, which made me really happy – thanks, everyone! The post in question was a bit of a laugh, really, about writing a completely made-up author bio. However, Kristin over at The Pursuit of Another Adventure tried my bio generator using details of her actual life and the format still worked, so maybe I’m onto something.
Earlier this week, the gorgeous girl and I made some chocolate covered dried apricots. We make these fairly often, to be honest – they’re pretty easy to make and yet taste wonderfully decadent. Each batch we make is usually gone within twenty-four hours. I had thought I might write a blog post about making them – I’m not a chef or anything, and this isn’t really a ‘food’ blog, but I thought it might be fun. So we assembled our ingredients and started to take some photos. But they were kind of boring.
Then this happened, in an attempt to liven up the shots. (That’s BB-8, in case you were wondering – apparently he quite likes chocolate)
And then we decided it would be more fun to just make them and eat them, so we did. However, here’s the recipe, just in case you’re interested:
Chocolate covered dried apricots
You will need:
A small saucepan
A metal bowl (I’ve not tried ceramic, which may also work, but I think metal conducts the heat more efficiently)
A plate or tray lined with baking paper
Some water
A bar of good quality chocolate (I use Lindt or Green & Black, whichever is on special)
Some dried apricots
Method:
Fill the saucepan to about 2cm depth with water. Put it on to boil. While you’re waiting for that to happen, break the chocolate bar into small pieces and lay them in a single layer in the metal bowl. (Try not to eat too much of it). Once the water has come to the boil, remove the saucepan from the heat and place the metal bowl on top. It should be a tight fit, so no steam can escape. Then set a timer for five minutes. Make yourself a cuppa, read emails, play with Star Wars figurines, do whatever for five minutes.
When the timer goes off, remove the metal bowl from the saucepan (carefully, as it might be quite hot). Your chocolate will be all melted and runny. Yum! Then, using a spoon, drop your dried apricots into the chocolate and coat them on both sides, then remove and place them on the baking tray. Once you’ve used up all the chocolate, put the tray of coated apricots in the fridge for about half an hour to set. Then enjoy!
I think we might make another batch of these today, as we’re all set to watch the Eurovision final tonight and snacks are an essential part of the viewing experience. Steve from Steve Says is at the final in Sweden (lucky!) and Hugh over at Hugh’s News and Views has written a post listing his predictions for the winners tonight. I’m sure Twitter will be lots of fun as well, so am looking forward to a very entertaining night.
However you choose to spend your weekend, I hope it’s a wonderful one!
Helen Glynn Jones 
Interesting post and recipe 🙂
Thanks, Lucy – Happy weekend to you!
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Where did you find that BB-8 ? I have a ‘friend’ who just has to have one.
He came from the Disney store – part of a set with a Rey figurine. He’s die cast too, rather than plastic. Hope you can get one for your ‘friend’ 😉
Oh she’ll be most pleased!
Me too 😉
That sounds delicious. Thx for the shout out 😀
Thanks Kristin, and you’re very welcome!
PS They are super delicious 🙂
Yay! 🙂
Thanks for joining us at the Eurovision Twitter party last night, Helen. What a very entertaining night it was. I’m looking forward to hearing from Steve and seeing what he has to say about it.
I’m guessing all the chocolate covered apricots were eaten during the show last night?
Thank you for the mention as well. I only got four right! Still, there’s always next year 😀
It was great fun, Hugh, thanks for having me 🙂 Still a bit disappointed about the winning song, as I didn’t think it was the best.
Yes, many snacks were consumed – was it the same at your place? And you’re welcome for the mention, just spreading the Eurovision love 🙂
Yes, far too much was consumed, Helen. 😀
I’m with you about the winning song. How people voted for it I’ve no idea. I’m guessing it was because it was an anti-Russian song?
Yes, I think it was quite a political vote this year.
NOM NOM NOM. That is all!
Oh yes, they are seriously delicious 🙂
Hope you enjoyed the show Helen. I’m still too depressed to write a post about the final just yet 😦 🙂
I did enjoy it, Steve, though I bet not as much as you did (until the end). Are you depressed because it’s over, or because of the result, or both? Whatever the case, hope you feel better soon 🙂
Haha a bit of both
That’s a snack I could even make, I suspect! I didn’t see all of Eurovision, but everyone in this country was excited—Dami Im did so well! (Still not completely sure how Australia gets into Eurovision, but I’m sure glad we’re there!)
It’s a simple yet decadent snack – I remember seeing them in shops, in those opaque cellophane bags with a sticker and a silk ribbon, $8 for just a handful – so that’s why we decided to try and make them ourselves. I hope you do give them a try. And I must apologise, I’m a bit behind on your blog posts – I’m about to publish Hills and Valleys and have dropped behind on my follows.
I loved Eurovision, though I wasn’t that thrilled with the end result. I remarked to my husband that ‘Australia really ‘gets’ Eurovision,’ which is why I think they were chosen to participate. I thought Dani was the best singer in the competition, definitely. And, now that Justin Timberlake has made an appearance, I feel a US entry won’t be far behind. This will be a worldwide competition soon, I think. 🙂