It's Friday and I have the unexpected pleasure of 'working from home' today as the 6ttttttttttttttttttttttt [sorry, kitten exploring] office is in the middle of a power outage. That means no computers, no email (even from home) and no loos (the clincher in closing the office, of course). Happily there is every likelihood the situation will remain right through until Tuesday evening so the staff as a whole are 'working from home'.
Now, you may have noticed the judicious use of the inverted commas around the phrase 'working from home' and assumed that I was being tongue in cheek. I want to set the record straight andqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq [!!] and assure any work-related readers that I have achieved much in the way of useful task completion since 9am this morning...
I mean, I have made my bed.
I also added a Youtube video to the movement's website and sent an email to the global Snr pastors to let them know it's there!
I baked muffins
I finished my novel (the one I'm reading...)
I read email and deleted spam
I played with the kitten
I washed dishes
I showered etc., of course.
I have other work things to do and they will be done before the weekend is over. It just may be that I don't quite get 8 hours of work achievements under my belt before 5 pm today. Actually, given that 5pm is an hour and twenty minutes away, that's a pretty safe bet...
The point I'm meaning to make is that during the course of this rather relaxing afternoon I've been musing about my renewed motivation to spend time knocking up confections etc. in the kitchen.
Last night it was chocolate cake, and as a single girl with only a kitten to feed I made a half recipe so that it was actually chocolate cupcakes and mini cupcakes that slaked my appetite for sweetness at 10pm last night. (Yep - you read that right - 10pm!).
This morning I was hankering for corn and chilli muffins and after last night's up-late cooking session had left me completely disenchanted with my muffin/cupcake tins (because despite their non-stick appearance, they were resolutely sticky) I decided the only way to make muffins today was to get hold of silicone muffin pan liners the like of which I'd seen a week or two back when shopping for my dining room table. [I've used paper ones to no success either - still sticky due to rather low fat recipes.]
So, it became necessary to go to [gasp] the mall.
I sucked up my disdain at having to go to that plebian retail wasteland and duly made my purchase. And, as I write, I am happily munching away on my mini chilli corn muffins thrilled with my silicone muffin liners, (though I have to ask, how come when muffin trays hold either 6 or 12 muffin tins to the liners come in packs of 10? )
The thing is, before I moved I was really lacking motivation to do anything like baking or cooking. Too much effort. But my Christmas list had muffin tins and pastry brushes on it and these days wandering round a homewares store is fun AND inspirational! I've seen all sorts of things I'd like to have! I'm even thinking of upgrading my perfectly adequate kettle and toaster to stainless steel because they look nicer and will match the blender I'm planning to buy...
It seems as though having a place of my own has really given me the opportunity to nest. It's kind of weird because it's hardly as if Flick was any kind of impediment to that. And well, Chino may be a nuisance winding in and out of my feet hoping that a piece of bacon will fall to the ground while I'm cooking.
He's no impediment either.
The Recipes - Just in case you're interested...
Chocolate Cake (the easiest cake in the world... and oh so good)
125g butter
2dsp golden syrup
2c flour )
3tbs cocoa )Sift Well
2 1/2 tsp )
2 eggs
1c sugar
1tsp vanilla essence )
1 1/3 c -1 1/2c milk ) Mix Together
2tsp Baking Soda )
Prehead the oven to 180degC
Grease cake tin (20-24cm 5cm deep)
Melt butter and syrup gently in a saucepan and remove from the heat.
Add all other ingredients to the pot and mix thoroughly with an electric beater.
Pour into tin and bake for 20-25 minutes or until skewer poked into center of cake comes out clean.
Cool in the tin b4 turning out onto a rack.
Ice and serve!
Corn and Chilli Muffins.
This kind of a made up recipe - it started out as corn muffins and just took on a life of its own.
I'll give you the basic recipe and then fill you in on my mods.
1 egg
2Tbs melted margarine or butter
1 1/4c sour milk (add 1tsp of lemon juice to each cup of milk and leave to sit for 1 minute before using)
2Tbs sugar
1c whole corn, drained (I used fresh, frozen will also do)
2tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2c flour
Lightly oil a muffin tin (no need with silicon pan liners) and preheat the oven to 200degC. The recipe makes 12 muffins.
Put the first 5 ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until just mixed.
Fill the muffin tins 2/3 full and bake for 15-20min.
Variations
Today I added in to the dry mix.
2 short rashers of bacon finely chopped
Green and Red Capsicum finely chopped (about one fifth of a capsicum of each)
dried chilli flakes to taste (I like 'em spicy so put in about 2 tsp)
fresh grated Parmesan cheese, probably about 4 tbps (use half if using dried Parmesan from a jar)
a pinch of salt.
add this to the flour mix and add in the wet mix until just combined, you may need a little extra flour so it isn't too goopy... see how you go!
Enjoy!
You must of read my mind across the Tasman with your sidekick powers.