Pretzels!

When the Tanya Bakes cookbook came through my door last week I was really excited to see what amazing recipes it contained. I have to say it did not disappoint, it is full of simple easy to follow recipes that are just normal! The number of times I look through cookbooks and find I would literally only want to use one or two recipe is really annoying. But I think I will definitely be using most of these recipe and I can't wait to go through them!

I thought I would start with a recipe from bread section (mainly because I opened the kitchen cupboard and realised I only had bread flour, oops!). I decided to start with pretzels as they are something I have never baked before.



Ingredients:

















500g strong white bread flour
1x 7g sachet fast-action yeast
50g caster sugar
1 tsp salt
300ml warm milk
80g melted butter
20g bicarbonate of soda
1 egg, beaten

To decorate:

1 tbsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp golden caster sugar (i didn't have golden so just used normal)

Step 1

Put flour, yeast, sugar and salt into a large bowl or mixer.

Step 2

In a separate bowl, mix together the milk and melted butter and slowly pour into the dry ingredients.

Step 3

Before kneading

After kneading

Bring together to form a dough. Kneed for ten minutes then place into a greased bowl and cover with cling film. Place in a warm place for an hour, until the dough has doubled in size.

Step 4

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius / 400 Fahrenheit / gas mark 6.

Step 5

Split the dough equally into 12 pieces. Roll out each into a long, thin sausage shape of about 40cm long.

Step 6

To shape, cross the ends of the dough twice, then bring the strands down and press into the dough.

Step 7

Boil a full kettle of water and then pour it into a large saucepan. Add the bicarbonate of soda and mix until dissolved. Dunk each pretzel into the water for ten seconds, then remove it with a slotted spoon and place each on a baking tray.

Step 8

Brush with beaten egg. Mix together the cinnamon and caster sugar and sprinkle on the pretzels. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden.

Thanks for Stopping By! :)

(Disclaimer: this is not my recipe, it is from Tanya Bakes).

Top 5 TV Series!

I have to say that when it came to choosing my top 5 TV series it was very tough. I love to binge watch a good series and often re-watch them many times. However, I finally managed to narrow it down. I have also just realised that they are all BBC series.  So in no particular order...

Downton Abbey

I love a good historical drama and Downton Abbey is definitely one of my favourites. It tells the story of an aristocratic family and their servants from 1912 to 1926. It covers a variety of issues and tells many people's stories. I have to say that I enjoyed the first two series the most, but I do enjoy the programme as a whole.

Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes

I had to put these together as the fit together with Ashes to Ashes being the spin off to Life on Mars. They are both equally as good. Life on Mars is about Sam Tyler, a police officer who goes into a coma after being hit by a car. He finds himself having to adjust to a 1970s world of policing. Ashes to Ashes is a similar story apart from it tells the story of Alex Drake who was shot in 2008 and is transported to 1980s London as she fights to survive the coma she is in. I don't really know why I love this series so much, but I think it reminds me of being younger. I started to watch this series when I was around 12 and it was the first TV series that I was obsessed with. I honestly have lost count of the number of times I have watched it.

Gavin & Stacey

This series is so light hearted and I love the comedy in it. It tells the story of Gavin, a boy from Essex, and Stacey, a girl from Barry in Wales. It is good series to laugh along to and it's a good series to distract you, so it's a good series for procrastinating!

The White Queen

I told you I liked a historical drama! The White Queen is all about the War of the Roses especially in Edward IV's reigns. It is all about Betrayal, court politics and rivalry. Having studied this at A-level it was good to understand it and see it in a dramatic form.

Outnumbered

Finally, Outnumbered is a comedy about a family from London and follows them as they grow up across the five series. I like the fact that it was semi-improvised as it seems that the scenes are forced. It makes it seem more real.

Thanks For Stopping By! :)

June 2016 Books

I have enjoyed reading throughout this month. I have read a lot of young adult fiction this month, which is a genre that I particularly enjoy.

Geek Girl: All That Glitters - Holly Smale
25th May - 1st June

This is probably my favourite book in the Geek Girl series so far. I like how it focuses more on the home side of Harriet's life. Also I loved the twist and found that it was completely unexpected. I also loved the introduction of new character which helped to inject something new into the series.

The Baby - Lisa Drakeford
2nd June - 2nd June

I have to say that this book is different to anything I have ever read before. It is such an easy read, being only 6 chapters long and just over 200 pages. Therefore it could probably be read in a single sitting. I found that I liked all the characters, especially Ben. But the twist towards the end was expected as I had already worked it out, so it wasn't much of a surprise.

Four - Veronica Roth
3rd June - 4th June

This was a lovely addition to the divergent series. It tells stories from Tobias's point of view and also gives some short stories about Tobias's life before meeting Tris at the start of the series. It's also great to see a more in-depth view of how the government corruption started and began to develop.

Geek Girl: Head Over Heels - Holly Smale
4th June - 7th June

I really enjoyed this and now can't wait for the sixth book. I liked how the plot developed and how Harriet seemed to at last knowing what she was doing. I also liked how Harriet's newer friends merged into her older friendship group.

Everything Everything - Nicola Yoon
17th June - 18th June

I loved this book. I managed to read this book in one sitting, which for me is practically a miracle! It was completely addictive; once I'd started it I had to finish it. It tells the story of Maddy, a girl who has not left her house in 17 years due to an illness and it shows how much her life changes from meeting Noah, a teen that moves in next door. I liked the use of other items to help with the telling of the story, e.g. messages, emails etc.

The Sky is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson
19th June - 20th June

The book centres around Lennie who is trying to come to terms with the death of her twin sister at the same time as falling in love with Joe. I really liked how each chapter begun with a poem that Lennie had written. I think that these offered a deeper insight into how she was feeling and what she was thinking. At times, however, I found some of the twists in the plot quiet predictable, but overall I did enjoy reading this book.

Beautiful Broken Things - Sara Barnard
21st June - 24th June

I really liked this book, because it centred around the topic of friendship. Often young adult fiction tends to focus a lot on relationships and romance so this was a nice breath of fresh air. Also it was set in Brighton which is a place i've always wanted to visit. I loved how it showed how complex female friendships can be and also how the introduction of another person can destabilise even the most solid of friendships.

Thanks for Stopping By! :)

Reading Tips

A degree in English Literature brings along with it a heck of a lot of reading and over the past year I have developed a way to make sure that I am reading continuously. I thought today I would share with you my tips.

1. Set goals and deadlines

Even with book I am reading for pleasure I always set a deadline for how long I want the book to take. It helps to keep up the number of books getting read and helps motivate the speed of reading. This stops big gaps of not reading. In terms of uni reading it is good finish reading books in plenty of time for the lecture on them and deadlines mean that I have always read the text that is needed before the lecture.

2. Set a specific time to read each day

This changes depending on whether I am at uni or not. I like to read on my commute as I often cannot get wifi so I can't get distracted as easily. It also helps to pass the time and means that I feel as though I am doing something productive with my time. It's slightly harder for me when I am not at uni and that is why I choose to read at a specific day, which is normally before I go to bed. Again, it helps to keep up the amount I am reading.

3. Split the book equally over days

I choose how long I want the book to take to read and then split the book into an equal number of pages. Normally, depending on the number of pages, I split the book into 3-4 days if I am at home and 5 days if I am at uni.

4. Always read for pleasure

I believe it is important even during the busiest of times to read for pleasure. Even when assignments are on top of me I always find the time on my commute to read a good piece of young adult fiction to take my mind off it. I find that now I read so much for my course, I enjoy reading for pleasure so much more than I use to.

5. Read everything

Although I read a lot of books from the same genre, I try not to limit myself to always reading the same thing. If my degree has taught me anything, it is that I sometimes enjoy the books that I would never normally consider reading and as a result I enjoy them so much more because of that. For example Room by Emma Donoghue is a book with a very disturbing real life story. However, I found it such a fascinating read.

Thanks For Stopping By! :)

Father's Day Cupcakes!

It has become a bit of a tradition for me to bake something for every occasion; birthdays, christmas, holidays etc. So I decided to share the recipe I used to make my dad some cakes for Father's Day.

Ingredients

For cupcakes:

100g butter
100g caster sugar
100g self-raising flour
2 medium eggs

For icing:

50g butter
1tsp vanilla extract
125g icing sugar
Food colouring

Step 1

Preheat oven to 190 degrees (170 fan oven) and place cases into cupcake tin.

Step 2

Beat butter and sugar together for around 5 minutes.

Step 3

Gradually add flour and eggs to mixture until fully combined.

Step 4

Spoon the mixture into cake cases and place in oven for 10-12 minutes. Then remove from the oven and allow to cool while you make the icing.

Step 5

For the icing, beat butter and vanilla extract together. Then gradually add the icing sugar and finally add food colouring.

Step 6

Spoon the icing into a piping bag and pipe onto the top of the cakes.

Step 7

Add whatever topping you want. My dad loves snooker so I tried to make something that looks slightly like snooker balls.

Then enjoy!

Thanks For Stopping By! :)

Weekend in Southwold!

A few weeks ago I went with my family to Suffolk for the weekend. While I was there I took some photos of Southwold on my birthday.

We had a lovely walk with Poppy and went down to Gun Hill to have some breakfast. Of course Poppy, the attention seeker that she is, wanted to talk to everybody!

Then we took a walk down by the sea, which was lovely. Then later we went to have some food at the  Red Lion, a lovely pub in the centre of Southwold.

Also you would not believe how long it took to take this photo! Seriously, every time I went to take it, it would suddenly turn its head away!

All in all I had a lovely weekend there and can't wait to go again in the future.

Thanks for Stopping By! :)

May 2016 Books

Hi Guys!

This month I had a long period where I didn't read at all after I finished 1st year of uni, but then towards the end of the month I worked my way through re-reading the Gallagher Girl series by Ally Carter.

Geek Girl Picture Perfect - Holly Smale
2nd May - 4th May

The thing I enjoy about this series is that each book is equally as good as all the others. Also it is a nice easy read during a period where I was busy with assignments.

Insurgent - Veronica Roth
4th May - 8th May

It is the second in the divergent series. Like with the first book it is a lot better than the film as it includes a lot more detail.

Allegiant - Veronica Roth
9th May - 13th May

I enjoyed Insurgent so much that I start reading Allegiant straight after. It was different to the first two books as it alternated between Tris and Tobias's point of view. At times I did feel slightly confused about who was talking, but overall I enjoyed learning what Tobias was thinking. Also the ending shocked me a lot.

Gallagher Girl Series (Books 2-6)
26th May - 31st May

I re-read this series in just under a week and I have to say I think it is still by favourite young adult series that I've read. I missed out the first book in the series though as I don't enjoy it as much and don't think it fits as well with the rest of the series. However, I do still recommend reading it when reading the series the first time through.

Thanks for Stopping By! :)