Baking - Part 1

 I enjoy baking but it's not something I do often (especially over the last year) as there's only two of us to eat the outcome. However I've recently started dabbling in bread making. I had succumbed to the sourdough trend but unfortunately my starter has recently expired and I'm yet to start a new one. We decided that we wanted bread for lunch last weekend so I dug out one of my baking books (Paul Hollywood's How To Bake if you want to know) and had a go at a white loaf.

Previous attempts at bread baking have left me with yeast scented bricks.

Pleased to report that it wasn't so this time.

Definitely a recipe I'll use again and I'm glad that I hadn't got round to throwing out the book as I'd planned.

More baking opportunities are coming up over the next few weeks so there'll be a few more posts aappearing. 

Feeling Fruity

My crafting this week seems to have developed a fruit theme (assuming you can call baking crafting). 

I have finally started a project using the RJR Farmer's Market fabric, which I've probably had longer than this blog.

I'd always intended on making something for a dining table for the but wasn't entirely sure about a design. I bit the bullet and cut them into 3.5inch squares which I will use to make a simple table runner (maybe two if I have enough squares).

I love the almost photographic nature of the print.

The other fruit I have been working with is the fruit for a Christmas cake, once again I'm using the Pink Which recipe ... HERE ...tried and tested and all that.

Ideally the fruit has to soak in brandy and sweetened orange juice for six weeks, being stirred daily for the first week - smells amazing! Last year I made my cake very last minute and only soaked the fruit for a couple of days, still tasted good though.

Boozy Weekend!

Unfortunately (!) none of the booze has, as yet, been consumed by me.

It has become apparent in recent days that Xmas is creeping nearer.  I adore Xmas but I hate the fact that the shops have already got seasonal food and advent calendars and such like in stock.  That said it hasn't prevented me preparing some Christmas treats.

During a run one lunchtime last week myself and a friend came across a Sloe bush (can't remember if its a Hawthorn or Blackthorn) and so Friday lunchtime saw us out with plastic bags picking sloes.  And so, after freezing them, Xmas treat experiment one commenced on Sunday afternoon.

And now I have my first ever bottles of sloe gin and sloe vodka doing whatever they do and being agitated daily for the first week.

Experiment two is my first ever attempt at making a Xmas cake.  And no simple fruit cake for me! I just couldn't resist this recipe on The Pink Whisk blog.

It smells lovely after just one day, if I remember rightly its got to soak for 6 weeks.  For this first week it needs stirring everyday.  It's going to take a lot of will power not to keep sampling the fruit!

Hopefully these treats will be successfully completed by Xmas Eve. 

Breakfast of Choice

For once not a post about craft, instead I thought I'd share with you the "recipe" for what I consider to be the most luscious breakfast ever (at the moment anyway).  You need about 20 hazlenuts, 2 teaspoons of runny honey and low (zero) fat greek yoghurt.  Put all the ingredientd in a bowl* (or if you're like me and are limited in those then a cup will do) and mix. Eat, enjoy and feel full till lunch.  This is a reallyu nice breakfast with the only warning being be a little stingy with the honey - this can get too sweet very easily.
I would take a photo but it just looks like lumpy yoghurt!

*If you're using a small, individual pot of greek yoghurt then you can miss out the bowl stage and just tip everything straight into the yoghurt.  It's best to give the yoghurt a quick stir first though.