Monday, 12 March 2012
Sunday, 11 March 2012
Life is what you make of it
This week I have made a realisation about life. The scariest thing about life is not what happens, but what could happen.
Let me explain what I mean. If you were to be made unemployed then you wouldn't be scared, you would be busy with sorting out what new jobs you can get, whether you can afford the rent so you have something to focus your attention on.
Whereas before that you would be worrying about if you are going to lose your job, whether it is something you need to worry about at all, where can you get a new job from. Essentially you have all the same questions but there is absolutely nothing you can do so much so that is a relief when you get the news, good or bad, so that you can actually do something to sort it all out.
The same thing can be applied to illness, exams or relationships. We may have an inkling about what will happen or plan what to do but it all comes back to this fear of the unknown. And as far as I know there is nothing to stop it apart from listening to the snowballing panic stricken thoughts your brain creates.
Photo: Sarah Faulwetter via Flickr
Let me explain what I mean. If you were to be made unemployed then you wouldn't be scared, you would be busy with sorting out what new jobs you can get, whether you can afford the rent so you have something to focus your attention on.
Whereas before that you would be worrying about if you are going to lose your job, whether it is something you need to worry about at all, where can you get a new job from. Essentially you have all the same questions but there is absolutely nothing you can do so much so that is a relief when you get the news, good or bad, so that you can actually do something to sort it all out.
The same thing can be applied to illness, exams or relationships. We may have an inkling about what will happen or plan what to do but it all comes back to this fear of the unknown. And as far as I know there is nothing to stop it apart from listening to the snowballing panic stricken thoughts your brain creates.
Photo: Sarah Faulwetter via Flickr
Saturday, 10 March 2012
Zelda
So not my own music this time but today I bought Zelda Spirit Tracks for my DS and spent most of the day listening to the soundtrack,
Friday, 9 March 2012
Chocolate chip whoopie pies
This is the first bake that I haven't been 100% completely happy about. It all started rather ominously as I made a trek in the rain to get the few ingredients I needed by somehow forgot the marshmallows for the marshmallow filling, meaning a second soggy trip was needed. Whilst I was baking I dropped the mixing bowl - thankfully just a tablespoon fell out - and the filling wouldn't set properly. Yet they still tasted amazing.
So this recipe is a combination of chocolate chip whoopie cakes and then the filling comes from a recipe for chocolate whoopie pies. Both recipes come from Love Food's Cake recipe book.
Start by measuring out 115g of butter and 150g of light brown sugar, beat them together until you make a pale, fluffy mixture. Then whisk in an egg. Measure out 250g of flour and then start adding the flour to the butter, sugar and egg mixture gradually. Then pour in 150ml of soured cream (or I used 150ml of milk with a few drops of lemon juice). Mix well and when smooth add in 85g (or a packet) of chocolate chips.
Then spoon out about 20 discs of the mixture in to baking trays, as my baking trays are quite small I did a few at a time. Then put in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes at gas mark 4.
As it is quite a short baking time I wait until they have finished baking until I make the filling. So once the cookie/cake discs are out then oven start melting a packet of marshmallows (around about 225g) and 4 tablespoons of milk. Once they have melted remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Then get 115g of vegetable fat, or butter, and mix with 55g of icing sugar and beat together with an electric whisk until you have a creamy mixture. Then add the marshmallow mix and beat it in until the mixture is fluffy. This is where it went a bit wrong and I ended up adding quite a lot of icing sugar. But if you have problems then put it in the fridge to harden up a bit before spreading onto the discs.
Once the discs are cool and the filling is hard enough to spread without it spilling everywhere then put them together. They are very sweet so you can only eat one at a time otherwise you feel sick, but it is worth it.
So this recipe is a combination of chocolate chip whoopie cakes and then the filling comes from a recipe for chocolate whoopie pies. Both recipes come from Love Food's Cake recipe book.
Start by measuring out 115g of butter and 150g of light brown sugar, beat them together until you make a pale, fluffy mixture. Then whisk in an egg. Measure out 250g of flour and then start adding the flour to the butter, sugar and egg mixture gradually. Then pour in 150ml of soured cream (or I used 150ml of milk with a few drops of lemon juice). Mix well and when smooth add in 85g (or a packet) of chocolate chips.
Then spoon out about 20 discs of the mixture in to baking trays, as my baking trays are quite small I did a few at a time. Then put in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes at gas mark 4.
As it is quite a short baking time I wait until they have finished baking until I make the filling. So once the cookie/cake discs are out then oven start melting a packet of marshmallows (around about 225g) and 4 tablespoons of milk. Once they have melted remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Then get 115g of vegetable fat, or butter, and mix with 55g of icing sugar and beat together with an electric whisk until you have a creamy mixture. Then add the marshmallow mix and beat it in until the mixture is fluffy. This is where it went a bit wrong and I ended up adding quite a lot of icing sugar. But if you have problems then put it in the fridge to harden up a bit before spreading onto the discs.
Once the discs are cool and the filling is hard enough to spread without it spilling everywhere then put them together. They are very sweet so you can only eat one at a time otherwise you feel sick, but it is worth it.
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Personal news
Today marks two years since I started going out with my boyfriend Jon. Now before this starts getting too personal and romantic here is a link to all the characters in Monty Python and the Holy Grail made 8bit.
Monday, 5 March 2012
Ducktor Who
This duck was given to me by my friend Michaela who was worried I wouldn't like it but look he is still pride of place in my bathroom.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)