Daydreaming about Europe and life drama

This week I feel slightly insane or maybe "all over the place" is a better way to describe it. We had a busy weekend, I had very little time to work and now I'm running behind trying to catch up which is so not ideal considering my week ahead. I guess it doesn't help that I've spent forever looking at pictures that remind me of Paris- but it does mean that you get to see these pictures (tell me i'm not crazy, tell me they want to make you go to Paris RIGHT NOW).

 

This weekend I baked the entire weekend. We had friends over on Saturday for tea (and then happily they stayed for lunch) so I baked (being the wonderful domestic goddess that I am) Cinnabons (a recipe from my best friend) which were sensational and everyone was super impressed (because no one really thought that Cinnabons could be made) and I also made brownies which turned out to be pretty crud. This is my brownie problem, everything is fine until I put them in the oven for the "required amount of time" then after this time, when I take them out, the top is black and the brownie underneath is still sloshing around in the pan. So how on earth do I cook the mixture through without burning the top (and in the "required time")? I made Cinnabons again on Sunday so now I'm all Cinnaboned out- and my kitchen smells like cinnamon which is never a bad thing.

   

I promised a biscuit recipe a while ago and so here it is: 

[recipe for the most amazing vanilla biscuits ever] 

Ingredients 

200g butter, softened 

1 cup (200g) castor sugar 

1 egg, lightly beaten 

3 cups (420g) flour 

1 tsp (5ml) vanilla essence 

-Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Grease a baking tray 

-In a bowl with an electric mixer cream the butter and castor sugar. Add the egg flour and vanilla essence. Mix until combined. 

-Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour before using. 

-Dust the work surface with flour and roll out the cookie dough to the preferred thickness. 

-Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. 

-Decorate with royal icing 

Royal icing 

Ingredients 

2 egg whites 

21/2 cups (350g) icing sugar sifted 

juice of 1/2 a lemon 

-In a bowl with an electric mixer beat the egg whites, icing sugar and lemon juice together 

-Start on low speed and increase the speed as the mixture gets smoother 

-If the mixture is too dry add more egg white 

I hope it brings you much eating happiness

   

I knew this week would feel bitty and odd- Graham left for a conference yesterday and I'm leaving for Cape Town tomorrow to apply for my French Visa (party time) and then we're racing back to Durban to be here for a show on Friday night. On top of this my delightful lecturers have saved all the enormous tests for next week and the following week (I have a test the day before we leave for Europe- apparently I won't be studying for that one). Argh it's all a bit overwhelming at the moment.

   

In other happier news- it's Spring! Spring sounds like it should be a really nice season but in reality it's pretty crud. In Cape Town Spring isn't very different from winter and in Durban Spring seems to be the ONLY time in the year that the wind blows like mad (In case anyone is wondering- Autumn definitely wins for the best season of the year) I'm tired of this "cold" Durban weather and impatiently wait for Summer every single day (will take this statement back when I'm dying in the summer heat wave).

 

Did I mention it's 2 and a bit weeks to Paris and Amsterdam?

yuletide time*

decembertime! one of the things i love most about this time of year are the advent calendars. they are guilt-free chocolates for every day until christmas- and they taste amazing- so i had my first one today*

[this song has been in my head for days]
Santa baby, slip a sable under the tree, for me
I've been an awful good girl
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa baby, an out-of-space convertible too, light blue
I'll wait up for you dear
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Think of all the fun I've missed
Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed
Next year I could be oh so good
If you'd check off my Christmas list

happy december

how to bake vanilla biscuits

saturday mornings [when they are like this morning] are the most beautiful mornings in the week* today is the most perfect summer day, so perfect infact that i have no idea what to do with it.

one thing i have made up my mind to do today is to bake. just normal vanilla biscuits. i dont think its healthy to be as excited as i am about baking biscuits.

and this is my recipe:
1 egg
2 tsp milk
125g butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup plain flour
1 1/2 cups self raising flour

Vanilla Biscuits Method:
In a bowl sift the plain flour and set aside. In another bowl sift the self raising flour and salt. Cream butter and add sugar gradually and beat until light and fluffy. Then add the well beaten egg, vanilla and milk. Add sifted dry ingredients except the plain flour then gradually work in the plain flour until dough is firm enough to handle. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour. Roll out dough to 3mm thickness on lightly floured board and cut with floured 5cm biscuit cutter. Put the Vanilla Biscuits on lightly greased oven trays and sprinkle with sugar or hundreds and thousands. Bake the Vanilla Biscuits in moderate oven for 10 minutes.

lastnight i dreamt about Turkey. and its amazing hot, spicy air and the people and well just everything. I feel upset when i think that im not there, right now. however today is a sort-of turkish day and you should enjoy it while it lasts*
x

wednesday

so, today i woke up feeling distinctly english, you know those days?? where youre just like i want to live somewhere or be some one else, just for today? it was one of those days. I needed to find a field and take my tea and my Thomas Hardy with me but alas i have an EVIL maths final i need to study for so my english plans fell through. these are a few of my english inspirations

ah lovely lovely. off to study maths :)