felinedream

…you sit down to write something and come up with this:

Manifestations of the setting sun

Slip like ice cream down her throat.

Mouth open wide to consume the world

As he fragments before her eyes.

Lying in a metaphor they awake

And watch sand trickle through glass.

In other literary news, it’s the time of year when I get to order some new books for the library at work. I’m so happy that I managed to get some graphic novels that I took a picture.

After a much needed trip to the park this afternoon, I settled to do a spot of baking while the kids tidied the living room (this was their choice, they didn’t want to help me). However, a quick root around the fridge and cupboards found me with very few useable ingredients. Luckily I had a couple of basic things and some cocoa, so managed to knock these up. I’m not sure where the recipe came from, it’s very likely to be a Nigella though. They are so simple and surprisingly tasty. You could eat them on their own with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, but I quite like the idea of crumbling them over some vanilla ice cream or dipping them in some melted chocolate and leaving it to set.

Ingredients

250g butter

150g caster sugar

300g self raising flour

30g cocoa

1. Preheat oven to 170c.

2. Cream butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.

3. Sieve flour and cocoa together, into butter mix.

4. Mix together.

5. Form dough into walnut sized balls (I made mine a bit bigger) and place on greased baking tray.

6. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn oven down to 150c and bake for another 10-15 minutes. You know they’re ready to come out of the oven because the top is firm (not hard).

I made about 20 biscuits from this mixture, but I did eat a chunk of it raw (it was yummy).

I’ve done nothing in the way of baking and crafting this week because I’ve been away on an intensive training course (I look really busy in the photo, don’t I?). Hopefully I’ll manage to do a wee bit of baking with the kids this weekend. So, just so that you know I’m still here, I’ve pinched this from the lovely Emma at paddymade.wordpress.com.

“Let’s Play”

Let’s Play rules: IT’S HARDER THAN IT LOOKS! COPY, ERASE MY ANSWERS, ENTER YOURS, POST IT ON YOUR BLOG, FACEBOOK, ETC. USE THE 1ST LETTER OF YOUR LAST NAME TO ANSWER EACH OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. THEY HAVE TO BE REAL PLACES, NAMES, AND THINGS. NOTHING MADE UP! TRY TO USE DIFFERENT ANSWERS IF THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU HAD THE SAME 1ST INITIAL.

Have Fun!!

1. What is your last name? McRoberts
2. A 4 Letter Word? Mule
3. A Boy’s Name? Marcus
4. A Girl’s name? Megan
5. An Occupation? Mechanic
6. A Color? Magenta
7. Something you wear? Moccasins
8. A Beverage? Midori
9. A Food? Moussaka
10. Something found in the bathroom? Mess
11. A place? Milngavie
12. A Reason for being late? Missed the bus
13. Things you shout? Mum!

Tag. You’re it.

In an attempt to keep Brodie entertained this afternoon I attempted to locate a cookie recipe so that we could do a spot of baking. I found this one on the internet, I think it’s from Rachel Allan, and figured it looked simple enough to tackle with the help of a 2 year old. What we ended up with were not what I would call cookies (I like soft fudgy cookies) but very moreish biscuits which bear a slight resemblance to shortbread.

Ingredients

225g butter, softened

110g caster sugar

275g plain flour

• Preheat oven to 170c
• Cream butter.
• Add sugar and beat until soft and fluffy.
• Sieve flour into the bowl.
• Mix until dough is formed.

At this point I split the dough into 4. I left one batch plain, added some cinnamon to another, almond essence to another and white chocolate buttons to the final one.

• Roll dough into walnut sized balls.
• Flatten slightly with the back of a fork.
• Bake for 13-15 minutes.
• Leave on wire rack to cool.

Both husband and daughter enjoyed these, which is a feat in itself. We ate them warm, which I highly recommend.

So, today was Forest School. The weather was beautiful, sunny but slightly windy. This meant that we got the fire started quickly but burnt through our whole supply of wood. We were cooked a yummy lunch of square sausage sandwiches and we enjoyed cups of hot chocolate by the roaring fire.

And now to the point of my post. Today, I made the mallet you see pictured above. Not impressed? Before I made the mallet, I felled a tree in order to get the wood. After I’d cut the tree down I removed the branches from the trunk and then, using my hands, measured the length of trunk I would need to cut to make the mallet. In the centre of the length of wood I used a saw to make a cut about a couple of cm deep. From here I took a Billhook and mallet and used them to split the wood and create a handle. I wasn’t able to get the handle thin enough using the billhook so I then took a knife and whittled the handle until it was smooth and thin enough for me to hold comfortably.

Just a quick one because today was busy, busy. It started with Dev’s tennis lesson at 9.30, we then ditched his swimming lesson at 11.30 (due to his ear infection) and made a quick detour to Starbuck’s where we met friends for coffee. By the time we got back we were starving but luckily I’d prepared lunch, a Croque Monsieur Bake, last night. After 25 minutes in the oven we had cheesy, ham, mustardy, goodness.

Hubby dearest then decided to rearrange/spring clean the living room so I stuck the children in front of some Charlie and Lola while I whipped up a Damp Lemon and Almond Cake.

The kids and I then destroyed the bedroom by indulging in some painting and crafty type stuff. I was most impressed with the Toilet Roll People they made.

I had so much fun today, which makes up for the fact that I should have been studying in preparation for a meeting with my tutor on Tuesday and the handing in of an essay tomorrow.

I’ve been flicking through Nigella’s book (again) and when Devin saw the picture of pancakes he decided that they were what he wanted for dinner.

Ingredients

225g plain flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 eggs, beaten

30g butter, melted and then cooled

300ml milk

I put all the dry ingredients into a bowl and made a well in the centre. I then poured the milk, egg and butter into the well and mixed them together. I left the mix for about 20 minutes and then heated up the frying pan before melting a wee bit of butter in it. I poured a little mixture in the centre of the pan, waited until it started to bubble and flipped the pancake over. It took about 30 seconds for the other side to cook after that. I think I got about 8 or 9 pancakes out of this mixture, which we ate warm, smothered in maple syrup.

Not only was this a tasty, easy to make recipe but I loved the fact that the kids sat with me in the kitchen, ready to grab hot pancakes as they came out of the pan.

Following on from yesterday’s post here is the Lemon Syrup Cake (once again from Nigella Lawson’s bank of highly fattening but truly yummy recipes) I made. I was really impressed with how easy this was to make and so glad it turned out well. I took it into work with me today and it as devoured by my colleagues. In fact one person didn’t believe I’d made it myself.

Cake:
125g unsalted butter
175g caster sugar
2 large eggs
Zest of 1 lemon
175g self-raising flour
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons milk

Syrup:
Juice of 1 and 1/2 lemons (about 4 tablespoons)
100g of icing sugar

23 x 13 x 7 cm loaf tin, buttered and lined, preheat the oven to 180 degrees or gas mark 4.

Method:

• Cream the butter and sugar.
• Add eggs and lemon zest, beat in well.
• Add the sieved flour and salt, folding in gently but thoroughly.
• Add the milk, mix in.
• Spoon into loaf tin and put cake in oven for 45 mins, or until golden and a cake tester comes out clean.
• About 10 minutes before cake is due to come out of the oven, dissolve the sugar in the lemon juice, over a low heat.
• As soon as you take the cake out, puncture holes all over the top and pour the syrup on to let it soak in. Make sure there are lots of holes in the top so it doesn’t all go down the sides.
• Wait until it’s completely cold to take it out of the tin (otherwise it will crumble into syrupy mush).

It just dawned on me that my kids will feature prominently in this blog so I really ought to introduce them; my son Devin (6) and daughter Brodie (2). They are really keen on all things crafty and, despite today’s reluctance, Dev loves to help me out in the kitchen.

Last night I had to rush up to the local hospital with my 6 year old son. He has a history of ear problems and had grommets fitted in September. This time there was smelly gunk and blood coming out of his ear. Doctor dismissed it as an ear infection and gave him antibiotics but I’m keeping him off school (and therefore me off Forest School) today just to be on the safe side. I had planned for us to do some baking together to pass the time, but when it came to it he decided that he’d much rather play the Wii while I baked. I started with Nigella’s Snickers and Peanut-Butter Muffins (which are featured in this post) and moved onto her Lemon Syrup Cake (which I’ll blog about when it’s cooled, out of the tin and ready to photograph).