I’m lighting the bat-signal

Due to various dietary requirements my mum can’t have very rich food. Sadly this includes fruit cake and mincemeat, so the winter festivities aren’t very cheerful for her. I’d love to make her a seasonal winter/solstice/Christmas cake very light on dried fruit and sugar but high on cheer. Does anyone have any suggestions? I wondered about Stollen but I’m not sure how “rich” it is.

Yours, in mild panic,

Amy.

ETA: she’s allergic to pork, is vegetarian and on a low-insoluble-fibre diet which means no nuts.

She’s more of a special snowflake than I am!

Mopping up

A few loose ends to tie up before heading into 2010 (can you believe it?! I remember when I was a child thinking that the 21st Century was so far away and now we’re done with the first decade of it!)

I made (with some difficulty due to illness) a pair of Dashing wrist-warmers for my brother

Here he is modelling them in a very professional style!

I used some very “inexpensive” acrylic/wool aran-weight yarn right up until 8 rounds before the end of the second mitt when I ran out! I quickly dived into my stash and came up with some acrylic camo-coloured DK-weight that 2Paw sent me a while back and made the best of it.

I’ve been reliably informed that Americans don’t “do” Christmas cake (the mind, it boggles) so I took some photos of it decorated and on of it sliced and ready to be eaten

Decorated.

I made a pile of snow balls from icing and made it look like Father Christmas was throwing one! The top was done to look like a snow drift and I create icicles to hang down the sides.

The cake itself is a Dundee cake (a light fruit cake with raisins, currants, mixed peel and cherries) covered with marzipan (almond paste) and royal icing.

As the year started, so shall it finish …

At 5:30 am on Boxing Day I woke up rather abruptly and then spent the next hour and a half desperately trying not to be “ill”.  I assumed I got a chill on Christmas Day, but it seems to be an inner ear infection.  I’m really dizzy and feeling quite sorry for myself.  I’m currently consuming fruit tea with ginger and honey in it every few hours and that really does seem to work to alleviate the symptoms for a while.  One thing I’ve discovered is that when I’m knitting and watching the TV I flick my eyes up and down a lot.  Can’t do that at the moment, so I’m either watching or knitting, not both. It’s driving me a bit loopy (who’d tell, I know) and I’ve manage to get a doctor’s appointment this very afternoon.

And onwards

The new year will bring me unfinished objects, more long-planned crafting projects and new yarn bought with my Christmas money.

Or Monday

OK, so last post I promised cake pictures on Saturday or Sunday, but Monday’s close, right?

Larger photos (Left/Right)

It was a basic all-in-one sponge mix with 3 oz wholemeal flour and 1 oz of cocoa powder which made it more like a brownie than a cake (yum).  The topping was a coffee-based fluffy-thingy (technical term) topped with walnuts.  I can not stand walnuts (I think it’s because they look like brains) but my mum loves them, so I endured!

I’ve not done a lot of knitting over the last few days, but I have kicked on with the Psychedelic Blanket.

Medium (500 x 335)/Original (1050 x 704)

Medium (500 x 266)/Original (1154 x 614)

I wanted to see how each of the "blocks" would look when it was all done and I really like the overall effect.

Oh, and I am chilling out.  A lot more.  About everything.  Mostly.

Powered by Qumana

Ginger and Chocolate Marble Muffins

I had 8 oz of fresh ginger to use pretty quickly and not all of it could go into jams and chutneys.  I needed a recipe stat, so I went for my good old standby of muffins.

I hope you enjoy, and if you’d like to share this recipe please share the link only and not the photos or the whole recipe.  Thank you.

Ginger and Chocolate Marble Muffins.

Ingredients:

Dry

• 8 oz/225 g plain flour
• 3 oz/85 g caster sugar
• 2 tsp* baking powder
• Pinch of salt

Wet

• 1/2 pint/240 ml of milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/8 pint/60 ml sunflower oil

Filling

• 2 oz/50 g fresh root ginger, peeled and very finely chopped
• 4 oz/ 100g good quality milk chocolate (I used Green & Black’s Milk Chocolate).

Method:

1. Grease, or line with paper muffin cases, a 12 muffin tin
2. Pre-heat oven to Gas Mark 7
3. Sift the flour, salt and baking power in to a bowl and mix in the sugar
4. Stir in the ginger to coat with flour (this helps prevent it sinking during baking)
5. Mix the wet ingredients together
6. Melt the chocolate slowly, either in the microwave, in a bowl over a pan of simmering water or in a double boiler
7. Add the wet to the dry and mix quickly into a batter.
8. Pour the chocolate into the batter and swirl gently through.  Do not mix too much, you want a marbled effect
9. Fill the muffin cases approximately 2/3rds full.
10. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until well risen and slightly golden.
11. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack
12. Eat!

* Note: this is a British teaspoon measure.  1 tsp = 5 ml.  Your local teaspoon measure may be (and probably is) different!

Powered by Qumana

Apple Spice Muffins (recipe)

As requested, here is the recipe for the Apple Spice Muffins.

Contains gluten, fruit and sugar (some people have problems with those kind of ingredients, so don’t say I didn’t warn you!) .

I work in pounds and ounces for cooking, but I’ve included metric and “American” for those what want. The terminology is all British, but I know that Americans use different terms for things, so feel free to add those in the comments if you know the difference.

Remember – use one set of units throughout (i.e. all Imperial, all metric or all American) otherwise the god-of-dodgy-cooking will rain burnt toast upon all your houses! Or it might not work all that well. You, know. Either.

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:

4 oz/110 g/1 cup Plain white flour

4 oz/110 g/1 cup plain wholemeal flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 oz/55 g/ 1/4 cup unrefined caster sugar

Wet Ingredients:

1/8 pint/60 ml/ 1/4 cup sunflower oil

1/2 pint/240 ml/1 cup semi-skimmed milk

1 medium-sized egg, beaten

4 or 5 small eating apples, peeled, cored and chopped into pieces.

2 tablespoons caster sugar

1 tablespoon mixed spice or allspice

Equipment:

Deep 12-cup muffin tin

Large mixing bowl

Measuring jug

Large whisk

Other usual cooking equipment (you know the ones!)

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven at Gas Mark 5/220 ° C/425 ° F and grease and/or line a 12-cup muffin tin.

Method:

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Mix the wet ingredients together in the jug.

Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry (don’t worry if the batter is lumpy, but try to stir all the flour in to the liquid).

Put 1 desertspoon of the muffin batter into each of the muffin cups, then add around two dessertspoons of the apple and spice mix to each. Top with the remaining batter, covering the apple.

Bake in a pre-heated oven for 20-30 minutes, or until risen and slightly golden brown.

Leave in the muffin tin for 1 minute before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

Eat and enjoy – they don’t keep very long, so there’s your excuse!