Bakemas Day 4 - Marmalade Tarts

Hi Guys!

Today's post is slightly Christmassy, but it could be used all year round. It is also a nice alternative for those who do not like mince pies, myself included.

Ingredients

Pastry

225g Plain Flour
100g Butter
A pinch of salt
2-3 tbsp water

Steps

Step 1

Rub the butter and flour together until it looks like fine breadcrumbs.

Step 2

Stir in the salt and then add 2-3 tbsp of water and mix to make a firm dough.

Step 3

Knead slightly on a lightly floured surface.

Step 4

Roll out to around 3mm thick and use a cutter to make 12. Place them in a muffin tin.

Step 5

Leave them in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Step 6

Add a tablespoon of marmalade to each tart. Place then in the oven for 15-20 minutes (mine took 15).

Thanks for Stopping By! :)

Bakemas Day 3 - Shortbread Mittens

Hi Guys!

Today's recipe is a little bit more Christmassy! This is a basic shortbread recipe from Mary Berry's Baking Bible. It makes around

Ingredients

175g Plain Flour
75g Caster Sugar
100g Butter

Steps

Step 1

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius (140 fan oven) and grease baking trays.

Step 2

Mix the flour and sugar together.

Step 3

Rub in the butter to the flour mixture until it forms a dough.

Step 4

Roll the dough out onto a floured surface and use a mitten cutter (mine's from Sainsbury's, a similar is here) and transfer onto a baking tray.

Step 5

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes then allow to cool.

Step 6 

Roll out ready to roll icing and cut using the mitten cutter.

Step 7

When the biscuits are fully cooled, place the icing mittens over the top. Make sure to position them so as much of the biscuit is covered as possible and decorate as desired.

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Bakemas Day 2 - America Style Pancakes

Hi Guys!

Todays post is something that can be made all times of the year, but would be great for a christmas day when you are opening your presents.

This is a Jamie Oliver recipe and can be found here.

Ingredients

3 Large Eggs
115g Plain Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
140ml Milk
1 Pinch of Salt

Step 1

Separate the eggs. Put the whites into one bowl and the yolks into another.

Step 2

Add the flour, baking powder and milk to the bowl of yolks and mix until it is smooth. Fold into the batter.

Step 3

Whisk the whites with the salt until it is thick and smooth.

Step 4

Put a non-stick pan on a medium heat (I put mine on 4 out of 9). Pour some of the batter into the pan using a ladle and fry for a couple of minutes. Then flip and wait until both sides look golden in colour.

Step 5

Serve with whatever topping you choose. I used sugar.

Step 6

You could stop there or you could use christmas cutters and create different shaped pancakes.

Step 7 

Serve and enjoy!

Thanks for Stopping By! :)

Bakemas Day 1 - Melt in the Middle Chocolate Muffins

Hi Guys!

I decided that I would put up a baking blogpost everyday this week. Firstly I thought I would share this recipe with you all. I remember that at around this time of year when I was younger with my mum. Therefore I thought this would be a good place to start.

This recipe is part of a Children's Cookbook that my grandma got me when I was younger.

Ingredients

125g Soft Margarine
125g Caster Sugar
3 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
5 tbsp Milk
200g Self-raising Flour
15g Cocoa Powder
75g Milk/Dark Chocolate
(I recommend using Dairy Milk as it melts better than the chocolate I used)

Steps

Step 1

Set oven to 190 degrees celsius (170 Fan oven)/ Gas Mark 5 and put the paper cases into a muffin tin.

Step 2

Beat margarine and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy.

Step 3

Beat eggs, vanilla extract and milk together in a jug using a fork.

Step 4

Sift the flour and cocoa powder together.

Step 5

Beat a little of the egg mixture into the margarine mixture and then add a little of the cocoa mixture. Keep doing this until all of it has been mixed in.

Step 6

Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until half-full.

Step 7

Place a square of chocolate into each muffin case.

Step 8

Spoon the rest of the mixture into the paper cases.

Step 9

Bake the muffins for 15-18 minutes until well risen and the tops are cracked.

Step 10

Allow to cool and enjoy!

Thanks for Stopping By! :)

Semester 1 Done!

Hi Guys!

I can't believe it! I've made it to the end of semester one. It has been the longest 13 weeks of my life, but it is finally the Christmas break. Moving to university is probably the hardest and most stressful thing I have ever done. However there were also good moments too. I thought I would share my experience of the first term at university with you today.

Freshers Week

Oh my God! This was without a doubt the worst week of my entire life! It felt like it lasted about 3 weeks and was extremely isolating. As I hadn't really met anybody yet I found this week really hard. I am not the type of person to go out to meet people. I feel anxious at just the thought of going to the SU or going on a night out. As a result it was really hard as it felt as if everyone else was out there having fun and was stuck inside ready bloody Ovid! This week was the week where my anxiety rocketed as well and it was at a higher level than it ever had been before. Therefore I spend the week crying down the phone to my mum, watching boxsets to take my mind off things and worrying about everything! And I mean everything. Things that I wouldn't have even considered before were now a massive deal, especially when it comes to health and safety, which to be honest hasn't gone away. My highlight of this week however was the welcome week lectures as this was the only time I was really speaking to any other humans. However I wasn't worried, because I knew I would meet people as soon as my lessons begun.

First Week

Facebook is the greatest invention for people who are anxious and don't want to walk into things knowing nobody. I met two of my friends through a group chat and this made it a lot less nerve-racking. However that does not mean that I wasn't completely terrified. I met up with one of my friends before the first lecture and afterwards we had a two hour break before our next session and we literally spent the whole time talking! Which is something I never thought I would be able to do. It turned out that we had so much in common and now she is one of my best friends. In the afternoon I met up with another friend and we walked to our session together. I was really scared as the Quad at uni is the hardest thing to navigate!

Next Few Weeks

Over the next few weeks I developed more friendships and, although the personal side of things was going really badly, my friends really helped me to get through. My first assignment was due in at the end of October and this wasn't as hard to complete as I thought and I ended up with a 2:1 which I was really proud of. The hardest thing was reading the texts and making sure that I coped when I was at my accommodation. To be honest my mind has tried to block out most of how I felt when I was in my accommodation, but I remember feeling really alone and having real problems with anxiety. I felt really bad every time my mum or dad visited as when they left I would just cry.

Going Home for the First Time

This was something that I was really looking forward to it. I surprised my dad by not telling him (unfortunately couldn't keep it from my mum). His reaction was pretty unenthusiastic, but I know he missed me really. I had a really good weekend seeing my sister and her family and seeing how much my little nephew (who was about a month old) had grown. However when it came to going back to uni I was just dreading it. The thought that I was be alone again was overwhelming and I felt awful when my mum drove me back. I literally cried more than ever before when she left me.

Going Home More Frequently

Now I tend to go home every weekend. Some people think that is excessive, but it is better for me. People had warned me against it, saying that it would make things harder, but in actual fact for me it makes me feel better. I makes the week slightly more bearable if I know I am going home at the weekend. I just felt that I needed the extra support from my family and I should have to justify that to others. If they don't like it, they can keep their opinions to themselves. It also helps to motivate me to do more in the week as it means that I don't have to do much when I'm at home so I can just enjoy the weekend.

Visiting Wellbeing

At the end of October I visited wellbeing for the first time. It was really hard to pluck up the courage and it took about 3 days before I finally went. However it did make me feel slightly better and it was good to know that someone from the university knew how I was feeling. The woman I saw gave me some advice and referred to a mental health adviser to help with my anxiety. I went to a few session and this is when I was truly able to tell someone that I wanted to leave. I took about a month before my feelings were realised and I felt so relieved.

Reading Week

I went home at both weekends, but stayed at uni in the week. I don't regret doing this in terms of the work and reading I got done as I wouldn't have done anything at home. However it was probably the hardest week since freshers as I didn't really see anyone as most people either went home, were sleeping or were just too busy. As a result I felt more isolated again. Plus the fact that I was still really confused about leaving, didn't make be feel any better. I didn't get as much assessment work done as I had expected to do as I was feeling so down and did procrastinate slightly throughout this week. By the end of the week I had pretty made my mind up to leave. However on a more positive note, I saw one of my friends out of uni at the end of the week and this was really fun. We listened to Christmas songs and just talked for hours! Which was great and really took my mind off things!

Preparations to leave

I told the mental health adviser I wanted to leave and together we put a plan together of all the people I had to see. As a result I felt slightly more positive as finally my decision was being taken seriously. Over the next week I spoke to so many people about why I wanted to leave to the point that if one more person said "have you got a plan?" I was gonna scream!

Reconsidering

After I told my tutor and my friends I felt a lot better. They were all so supportive and I felt a lot happier. By near to the end of week 11 I felt myself begin to reconsider leaving. I was really enjoying the academic side of things and as a result found myself not wanting to leave. I told my head of programme and at the moment I am trying to work a way to stay. Also at the end of the week I went out was all my friends for cake to celebrate the end of the semester which was great fun!

All in all it has felt like a never ending rollercoaster!

Thanks for Stopping By! :)

Christmas Tag!

Hi Guys!

Seen as it is now December I am now allowed to do my first christmassy blogpost. This one is a tag to get you all in the Christmas sprit.

1. When do you start getting excited?

When I was little pretty much as soon as my birthday at the start of May had gone, I was excited for Christmas. Nowadays I start to get excited start to mid November. This year feels a bit surreal as I am not at home until the 11th December, so it doesn't really feel like Christmas is anywhere near.

2. Do you still have advent calendars?

No, I haven't had one in about four year, I just seemed to stop getting them. Also it would be quite annoying to have to transport it from York to home when I go home for christmas!

3. What are your favourite Christmas films?

Love Actually and Bridget Jones Diary (if that counts!)

4. Do you have any funny Christmas memories?

I always remember that when I was younger we used to go to my Auntie's on Christmas Day. It was such good fun! I didn't used to like Turkey so I would have breaded chicken that my Mum used to shape like a christmas tree or girls and boys using cookie cutters. I used to think it was the best thing ever and in sort of still think it is!

5. Talk us through your typical Christmas?

I usually wake up about 7:30-8:00am and I go and wake my parents up. Then I wait for what feels like hours whilst they wake up! Then I go down to say Merry Christmas to Poppy my dog. Then we open our presents and eat croissants. After that we get ready and go visit my sister and her family. We have Christmas dinner about 4pm. Then we just chill and watch some Christmas shows and films on the TV.

6. What do you eat for Christmas dinner?

Me and dad don't really like Turkey (I know, shock horror!) so we tend to have a really nice piece of beef. We have that with mashed potatoes, Roast potatoes, broccoli, carrots, Yorkshire puddings, gravy and the best bit is definitely pig in blankets!
For dessert we tend to have profiteroles with ice cream or maybe some Yule log.

7. Do you have any Christmas traditions?

As most of my family live far away from us, we tend to go and see my mum's side before Christmas and my dad's side in January. Also we always see my sister at her house on Christmas Day and she comes for dinner on New Years Day.

8.  Which are your favourite Christmas songs?

I not really that fussy with Christmas songs. I am currently listening to Michael Buble's Christmas album for the first time whilst I write this and I am really enjoying it, but all the usual hits I like. Out of the modern ones, I probably like Fairytale of New York or Michael Buble's White Christmas the best.

9. What is the favourite Christmas Present you've ever received?

It was really hard to pin down one thing as I have received some great presents over the years. However probably one of my favourites was a Baby Born Changing Table that I got when I was about 6. It was great as it could be a changing table and a playpen. But I do remember my dad not being too happy when putting it together as I think it was a bit of a pain!

10. Real or fake Christmas tree?

Until I was about 12 or 13 we always used the same fake tree, but then that fell apart so we decided to get a real one. I have to say I prefer a real one as it is lovely going down to choose it and then we eat sausage sandwiches together. It is great and I really look forward to doing it each year.

Thanks For Stopping By! :)

November 2015 Books

Hi Guys!

Today I have all the texts I have read during November. Again I have had a lot to read for my course, but I have also tried to read more for pleasure this month. Next months should have more reading for pleasure as I have finished all my semester one texts.


1. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

This is a book that I first read last year and at first I found it really boring! However when I study it, I quite enjoy the different interpretations. I'm going to do a 2,000 word assignment about the effect of the monster's voice which is a really good question for me. The narrative structure and Shelley's wonderful ability to create empathy for the monster despite how many people he kills.


2. Hero - Directed by Zhang Yimou

This is technically a film, but I did study it as part of my literature course. Therefore I thought I would include it. I don't really like this, but I appreciate the techniques that were used. Particularly I like the use of different colours in the different scenes to convey the mood.

3. Twelfth Night - William Shakespeare

This is a text that I have always wanted to study this right since GCSE all those years ago. It wasn't what I was expecting, but then I wasn't quite sure what to expect. It is one of Shakespeare's comedies, but I have to say I preferred The Taming of the Shrew that I studied two years ago. I found that more comic than this. However this is the last of Shakespeare's comedies so maybe he was moving more towards tragedy as in many ways it is more of a comic tragedy.

4. If I Stay - Gayle Forman

Whenever I describe this to people they always think it's really depressing and it is. It is basically about a girl called Mia who is in a car accident and has to choose between life and death. However in some ways the mood is lifted throughout the book as Mia tells stories about her family and her childhood, which makes you understand how much she has truly lost. I really enjoyed the film when it came out and I have to say it stuck quite well to the book, which is something that I love. There's nothing worse than reading a book and then watching the film and then being disappointed that the director has left huge chunks out. Or even worse have added things (yes I am referring to the Kenneth Branagh version of Frankenstein). Also I got this on audiobook which meant I could listen to it on the go.

7. Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka

This one was a strange one! It is essentially about a man who turns into a cockroach. However it definitely has a deeper meaning. My feeling is that it is about shell shock as it was produced in 1915, during the First World War.

5. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro 

Firstly he definitely wins the award for the hardest author's name to pronounce that I have seen so far! Secondly this book is amazing. I watched the film when it came out in 2010 and at the time I hadn't studied literature so I didn't spend all the film analysing it and therefore read it at face value. I recently watched the film again and I looked at it completely different. It made me realise that the 13 year old that watched this really had no idea what was going on really. I spend all the film analysing everything, which was really great. It stuck really well to the book which was great! It is dark, but not unimaginable. I got into the story to a certain extent and this was great. I think that if I hadn't already chosen to Frankenstein to do for my assignment, then it would have been a toss up between this and the next book I'm going to mention.

6. Room - Emma Donoghue

I absolutely love this book! It is the last book I'm going to study this semester, but it was more like reading for pleasure. It was the first book for ages that I have got into so much that I did not want to put it down. It is twice as long as Never Let Me Go, but I finished this about 3 days before finishing Never Let Me Go. It is a story of a mother and son who are locked in a room. It would have been really especially as it is a true story. However being from a 5 year old's perspective it is lighter and slightly comic as he doesn't truly understand the world. This lifts the mood making it a more enjoyable read.

8. Studying English Literature - Tory Young

This is a small textbook which is designed for students starting an English Literature degree. Parts it is a bit like she's teaching you how to suck eggs. But it is good for knowing about the differences in university and is brilliant for people like me who do not have any close family members who have been to university.

9. Bliss - Katherine Mansfield

I have to do a presentation on this short story in less than two weeks! Eek! I didn't mind it. It has a lot of good imagery and metaphors, which is what we have chosen to do our presentation on. I have to do about class, which I don't mind.

10. Escape from New York - Zadie Smith

This is the first of four other texts that I had to read that other presentation groups are doing. I don't have to properly study these, but I do have to have read them. This one is based on 9/11 and is quite interesting and slightly confusing. I quite enjoyed it.

11. Inglan is a Bitch - Linton Kwesi-Johnson 

This was an interesting piece of performance poetry which is criticising Thatcher's Britain. I love the fact that the poem is written phonetically so it emphasises the Jamaican accent. If you are going to read this I would suggest you watching him perform it as it is unnatural how calm he is!

12. The Machine Stops - E.M. Forster

This one was a strange one and it was very intense. You could imagine it being real life. I was surprised it was written as early as 1909 as I would have guessed that it was much more modern by how much it is related to real life. It is very accurate to what is happening right now.

13. A Jury of her Peers - Susan Glaspell

It is quite a good read. It is all about the inequality of woman at the time of production. It is very much a feminist text and I kind of wished that I had picked this text.

Thanks For Stopping By! :)