National Baked Goods Day (and a mincemeat flapjack recipe)

16Dec09

National cup cake day passed me by.  Of course not being American, or living in America, probably explains this – in fact I wouldn’t have known at all were it not for Sameer. A day to celebrate delectable cup cakes sounds like a lovely idea, although I personally think it should be  a ‘national baked goods day’ which means I can eat and bake a whole host of amazing cakes, flapjacks and biscuits. I can’t just limit myself to cupcakes.

When I can use my christmas mixing bowl baking is even more fun.

At the weekend me and my housemate were getting into the Christmas spirit by making mince pies; true to form we jazzed up the mincemeat with some extra brandy, treacle and lots of mixed spice – just so it tasted extra christmassy. We ran out of pastry long before we had used all the mincemeat and didn’t want to make another batch so we decided to cook a mincemeat flapjack, which amazingly was enjoyed more than the mince pies by our friends. So just in case there is anyone else who misjudged the mincemeat to pastry quantities, and doesn’t want to waste time making a fiddly ‘use your extra mincemeat recipe’ here what we did (with no weights or measures).

Christmas Mincemeat Flapjacks:

1. Take any left over mincemeat and spice it up by adding lots of brandy (a cheapish one is fine as you’ll be cooking this), a lot more mixed spice then you think is decent, a spoonful of golden treacle and a spoonful of brown sugar.
2. Zest and juice an orange and add into the mincemeat. (If it doesn’t smell christmassy add more mixed spice and orange zest).
3. In a large saucepan melt butter/ margarine with dark brown sugar. Stir so it doesn’t burn.
4. When the butter is melted start adding handfuls of porridge oats and spoonfuls of the mincemeat. You will have added enough oats when most of the butter has been absorbed.
5. Transfer into an oven proof dish and bake at about 190c for 20 minutes, until it’s bubbling but still soft. If you use a large tin and the flapjack isn’t very deep you might want to bake it for less; alternatively, if you like hard flapjack (ours was very much the eat with a spoon variety) you might want to bake it for longer.
6. Serve with cream.

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Tags: baking, christmas, cooking, flap jacks, friends, housemate, mince pies, mincemeat, recipe

Christmas Time

15Dec09

But maybe a little bit wistful that I haven't found that someone to share it with.

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Tags: love, excited, christmas, wistful, reindeer, christmas tree

Student Life: Surrounded by people who can pick up a guitar and make beautiful music.

08Dec09

Or at least, instruments that are easy to pick up and play and look amazing whilst doing so.

Instead, I play the oboe. An instrument which you have to warm up, and as Eddie Izzard so eloquently phrases it, playing the oboe is like trying to blow in a weasel.

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Tags: amazing, eddie izzard, guitar, music, oboe, sing, student life, weasel, wish

Everyone’s a teacher

02Dec09

we just don't know what lessons people are listening to.

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Tags: everyone, lessons, life, teachers

Thank you

27Nov09

 

I have a lot to be thankful, and say thank you, for.

 

 

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Tags: thank you, thankful, thanksgiving

Student life: buying cheap cigarettes to help (smoker) friends with final year stress

15Nov09

 

....especially when I spent time with you. All I want to do is hold your hand and share a cigarette.

 

 

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Tags: cigarette, friends, friendship, kenya, love, smoking, student, student life

Favourite Days

13Nov09

 

Trees loosing their rainbow leaves, heaped up and jumped on by passing friends.

 

 

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Tags: autumn, fall, favourite days, friends, leaves

Holiday Romance

10Nov09

 

we were just getting to know each other

 

 

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Tags: friends, holiday, love, romance, sea, sunset, trip

Bonfire Night

07Nov09

 

We watched the fireworks, an explosion of colour, and drew hearts in the sky with our sparklers.

 

 

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Tags: bonfire night, colour, explosions, fireworks, love, sparkler

Lectures are eye opening

27Oct09

 

With units including 'Death and Dying' and 'Sexual Violence' it's an eye opening semester.

Part of my work for a lecture next week involved watching a video on rape; including some shocking footage from Thames Valley Police from 1982 dealing with a rape victim.

 

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Tags: death and dying, eye opening, lectures, police, rape, sexual violence, student, Thames Valley Police, video