Crumpets

It's been a while, hasn't it?! I have been busy doing all sorts of things, not least decorating the Girl's bedroom a calming shade of duck egg blue:

Just before that, I also won my local Embroiderers' Guild branch "purple" competition with my purple circle, inspired by aboriginal designs, and completed at the very last minute (as usual, but I may have hit upon a system to stop myself doing that again...it's early days...)

But there's more! The second most exciting thing: my sourdough experiments are working! I've got my pot of starter (nicknamed "bubbles") on the go, and I've dabbled and experimented, and yes, I think I'm there. I've made round things, lumpy things, dubious things where I tried using ordinary flour instead of bread flour, and I'm now experimenting with one of those silicon rugby-ball shaped devices from a certain kitchenware company based in Cumbria. It's all working so well we've bought a new toaster, and I've gone from eschewing all things wheaty* to eating sandwiches and toast like the good ol' days.

Here are a couple of loaves on their final rise:

and out of the oven:

But the eagle-eyed readers will notice I said second-most-exciting! Because the FIRST most exciting thing, the biggest and most important triumph of recent weeks, has been the discovery that all that excess starter that you are told to "discard" can be kept in a tub in the fridge, and then - miracle of miracles - become CRUMPETS!!! Who knew?!

Crumpet rings warming up on the griddle:

Pot of saved starter, being sticky:

Crumpet rings duly filled and cooking gently, with some already out of their rings:

Some crumpets are now ready to be flipped over:

Those that weren't eaten straight away are cooling:

And the best thing is, it is SO easy! A teaspoon of salt and sugar, a dash of bicarb, and Bob's your uncle. Nice.

* I have a (possibly half-baked!) idea that my family history of bowel cancer may be linked to diet. There's a lot of dubious science out there on the "dangers" of gluten, but there does seem to be a consensus that wheat has changed in the last 50 years, and food sensitivities, particularly to gluten, are on the increase. The family risk for cancer may be just chance or bad luck but it is definitely something to ponder. "People" say fermented and soaked grains, especially old varieties of wheat like spelt, are supposed to be kinder to our bodies. Sourdough is a fermented food, so also good for general gut health. Apparently. Worth a go? Tastes good, crumpets as by-product - can't go wrong!

Bun overload

This week, I have mostly been baking.

Making things for Easter. 

Simnel muffins (also known round here as muffins of death since the incident with the Whippet, three muffins and the V.E.T on a previous Easter Sunday) - and the usual bread, as per this recipe here. 

I make this bread at least once a week - well, Mr G makes the dough in the evening, and I shape and bake in the morning. We always make two small ones - one to eat and one to freeze. You can make one large loaf, but I find it unwieldy. A small loaf is just right for making Mr G's cheese sandwiches, giving the Girl her daily Nutella fix, and for me to have the first end slice of fresh crust with salty butter.

Yes, they are different sizes - the first batch were large muffins as per original recipe, and the second batch were fairy cake size - a bit more manageable to eat (although some would argue that the large ones are perfectly do-able) and twice as many for the same effort!

I also made HCBs

and none of that flour and water glue nonsense here, proper pastry crosses thank you very much.

I hasten to add, a lot of this is for the freezer! I'm having a bit of a holiday next week, and so this is me getting ahead.

As well as the baking, I've been working on making some little sketchbooks (inspired by the books at the show last week). Hopefully they'll be bursting with work to show you when I next check in - ha! - watch this space! (Is that self-doubt, or do I just know myself too well?!)

Zoolangerie

Well, we did it.  We're still married, we're still talking to each other.  We even got it over and done with before lunch.

We went to Ikea and survived!  I was prepared to drive there all by myself, but over breakfast Mr Gonecycling made a surprise offer of company in return for my navigating skills (I am, after all, the Chief Nagivator around here....).  He kept his ipod plugged in all the way around, but swore he could still hear me whenever I asked him something, and didn't get cross once, well, maybe once, but that was on the way home when we got stuck in traffic at East Grinstead...

We even got a Viggo anglepoise desk lamp!...well, it isn't a Viggo really - that's the Whippet - but we always reckon he could be something from Ikea, and what better for a whippet than an anglepoise lamp?

Note the foil...

Which chair?  Hmmm.  Wooden chair is better height.

But I like the pink ones.  We have a spare cushion.  Done.

There's more foil here...hiding under the table.

Only two tables after all - I had a final measure before we went, and I'm glad I did - three would have been a squeeze!

And then the view from the window, over the "pond" to the back door.

So I'm all set!  Well, nearly - just need some sunshine now.  That or a heater.  It's too cold in there!  It's all insulated, but the insulation seems to be keeping the cold in.

But I think our success with the little house has messed with our heads.  It all started when I made some bread rolls for the Girl's packed lunches.  I'm not sure what happened, but they came out of the oven all pointing the same way...

They looked like little creatures, gazing up at the moon...

I thought they looked like mice

or maybe snails

frogs?

Mr G thought they were more like little owls...

but the Girl reckoned they could be Whales...

Who needs a boulangerie when we've got our own zoolangerie!

Creative courgettes

First up, cake.  Obviously

Same recipe I use for carrot cake traybake, but with courgettes....it was squared off and the end bit cut into pieces to freeze for the Girl's lunchbox this week...she was most upset when she realised the icing doesn't freeze...

Next in line, courgette muffins

Yuk.  They are a bit spongy.  Think I'll try courgette scones instead next time.  These are now in the freezer for the Whippet's teatimes this week (thanks Mum!)

And then for lunch on Saturday (and Sunday and Monday and just about squeaking into Tuesday...it seems to keep well....) courgette cluster bread, which had bigger clusters than I thought...



We even had stuffed courgettes for dinner on Friday.  Girl was sceptical, but decided it was quite nice actually.  Oh yes, and I sneaked a tiny one into last night's dinner - but as I'd already confessed to the fennel I thought I'd keep quite about the courgette....

And I've been creative on other fronts too

Preparing a year's worth of samples for teaching - deadline in 12 days.  Yes I can.

So much to do, so little time to blog

A coupla weeks ago when I was under enormous pressure to create, starting a blog was so irresistible I just couldn't wait...since then of course, I haven't posted a thing.

I have finished the invitations:



But I haven't stuck them onto cards yet...

I have also made bread and bread rolls, several times, to my own tweaked recipe. It usually looks a little better than the finished result here, but on this occasion I had left the dough too long on its second rising and it went a bit lopsided: