[1] The heart is a lonely hunter.
[2] If you suspect your beau is cheating:
a) Stay away from phones.
b) Duet with his sailor suited seductress, and blow them both to smithereens in a boat*
[3] Prostitution is okay…in Fancy's case, it was her last chance. She didn't let her mama down.
[4] Don't sleep with men named John.
*Boom
Pancakes are a favourite in the bluebirdcage household. You can always count on them cropping up on weekends, and the occasional lazy-dinner night.
Whoever told you that baking fluffy pancakes is hard, just didn't want to share their dirty little secret - you can do this in under 10 minutes!
Fluffy American Pancakes for One
(makes 3 large pancakes - just the way we southern gals like 'em)
Ingredients:
1c Flour
1tbsp Sugar
Dash-o-salt
1tsp Baking Soda
1c Milk (I use Soya)
1/3c Berries (this week's choice: blueberries. It's like a flat blueberry muffin!)
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Then stir in the milk until the mixture becomes thick and smooth. Finally, gently fold in the berries.
Tip 1/3rd of the mix onto a heated pan (gas mark 6), and let it sit until the cake forms firm bubbles and firm sides - this will take a minute or two. Then flip the cake to cook on its' reverse side for another minute.
Plate up and lather them in butter, maple syrup, powdered sugar, or any other toppings you can think of!
Comet Sands - Andromeda
Real Estate - Easy
The Like - Wishing He Was Dead
Baxter Dury - Claire
KRS-One - Sound of Da Police
Side B:
Howler - 14 Days
Iwan Rheon - Sink
Sex Bob-Omb - Garbage Truck
The Like - Release Me
Hoping to hit up the Comet Sands gig on Friday with my dear friend Nino.
Download six of their home-spun gritty tracks here (for free!)
dance.
[1] Snail mail
In this electronic age where everything is instant, the art of letter writing has taken a back step (and perhaps faded away) from most of our lives.
Remember that tingle in your belly when you last received a friendly letter in your post box? The smudged ink on lined paper. The mini off-side sketches. The polaroid tucked safely into the envelope...
In a bid to keep this art form alive, I've gathered a few addresses from friends of old and will be breaking out the ol' pad and pen from time to time. Hooray for pen pals.
[2] Tidy desktop, tidy mind
A friend of mine jokingly said 'tidy desktop, tidy mind'. Joking aside, after gathering two-years worth of images & files, I've finally organised my beloved mac and feel all the better for it. Check out the tidiness:
phwoar!
I also took to my closet - a known land mine to my husband and all who set eyes on it. 5 bags to charity, 2 bags to eBay, and 1 bag to friends & family later, my closet is looking immaculate. It's funny the amount of 'must-have' free crap one gathers when working in fashion.
here's hoping it stays that way.
[3] All quiet on the baking front
Remember when I baked a lot? Two recipes every Sunday without fail; posting my own recipes on this little blog. (Me too, sigh...)
Somewhere in the midst of blown out mixer engines & working with a team who don't eat sweets (who else would I pawn the baked goods onto?), my baking motivation has failed me (and you, poor readers).
Well, Christmas graced me with this buttermilk steel beauty:
look at her go!
My amazing mom and pops took note that I've been pining over this sleek (but too expensive for my budget) piece of kitchen machinery for years, and surprised me with their want to purchase one for me.
Here's to turning over a new baking leaf.
And just to show you I'm still in the baking game…here's one of the little goodies I baked on Christmas Eve:
house of ginge
p.s. happy birthday Elvis.x
Practise, practise, practise is the theme of recent bakes. After an unexpected, but well received phone interview from a certain amazing baking programme (*cough* GBBO *cough*), I have decided it's time to perfect some of my otherwise not perfected baking areas.
Today's task:
Pie Crust!
225g Flour
1/2 tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
100g Butter (non-salted, cubed)
120ml Cold Water
Sift together the flour, sugar & salt, then pour into a food processor. Drop the butter cubes into the processor and pulse the contents in 3 second bursts until mixture forms small pebbles. Whilst still pulsing, slowly pour the cold water into the mixture. The contents should begin to loosely form a ball.
Remove the mixture from the processor and fully form it into a ball. Wrap the dough in cling film, and place it in the fridge for approx 40min to cool.
Liberally dust a clean countertop with flour, then roll out the dough into a thin layer and place it into a lightly buttered pie tin. Wrap with cling film, and pop it back in the fridge until needed (it's best to bake with a cold, or even a frozen, dough).
Classic Pecan Filling:
200g Pecan Halves (toasted)
3 Eggs
177ml Maple Syrup
3 tbsp Brown Sugar
2 tbsp Caster Sugar
Dash-o-Salt
1 tsp Vanilla
3 tbsp Butter (non-salted, melted)
100g Chocolate Pieces
Evenly arrange the pecans onto a baking sheet and toast them in the oven at 160C for approx 7 minutes. Remove to cool. (They should keep a golden hue, and will make a lovely sizzling noise.) When cooled, split the contents into two batches: batch 1 for the topping (try to pick out the prettiest pieces), and batch 2 for the inside of the pie (coarsely chop these little buggers with a sharp knife).
Chopped.
In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, maple syrup, brown & caster sugars, salt, vanilla, and melted butter until well combined. Fold in the chopped pecans and set aside.
Sprinkle the chocolate pieces onto the base of the pie crust, then blanket them with the wet mixture. Decorate the top of the pie with the remaining pecan halves, then pop in the oven at 180C for approx 60min.
A Bit o' the Old South.
*Tip: Rotating the pie every 20min or so will ensure even baking. And remember to closely monitor the crust & pecans so that they do not burn!
Verdict: The late night smells of pecan and chocolate swirled through the chilly October air and over to my neighbour's house, who in turn came right over for a slice. Dark chocolate and a twist of maple give this pie a bit of a sweet bite. And the crust turned out nice & crisp if I do say so myself - no soggy bottoms here...though I could have rolled it a bit thinner.
Until next time...(bread time!)
Hearts.
