Lisa Bakes: Gnarly witches fingers

After I'd made the Spooky Pumpkin and walnut bread, I still had lots of pumpkin and baking supplies. So I decided to try my hand at some more baking.

All in all I made three batches and found that speed when moulding the fingers into shape was key. The first batch expanded the most, whereas the next two batches came out much better as I hadn't handled them as much. Mr. Ree and a few friends were more than happy to provide some quality control.

I'd also made pumpkin and cinnamon cookies which were really yummy. Nothing beats a fresh squidgy cookie!

We went out to a Halloween party last night and brought both cookies along with us. They seemed to go down well and it wasn't long before they started disappearing! (Which is the best compliment in my book!) If you'd like to try making your own witch finger biscuits, I've attached the recipe below. Happy baking! :)

The fruits of my labour!

Gnarly Witches Fingers

Ingredients

• 225g (8 oz) butter, softened
• 125g (4 1/2 oz) icing sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 350g (12 oz) plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 100g (4 oz) whole almonds

Method

1. Combine the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat together with an electric mixer. Then gradually add the flour, baking powder and salt, continually beating; chill for 20 to 30 minutes. (The longer the better really!)
2. Preheat oven to 160C. 
3. Lightly grease baking trays.
4. Remove dough from fridge in small amounts. Scoop 1 heaping teaspoon at a time onto a piece of greaseproof paper. Use the paper to roll the dough into a thin finger-shaped biscuit. Press one almond into one end of each biscuit to give the appearance of a long fingernail. 
5. Squeeze biscuit near the tip and again near the centre of each to give the impression of knuckles. You can also cut into the dough with a sharp knife at the same points to help give a more finger-like appearance. Arrange the shaped biscuits on the baking trays.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until the biscuits are slightly golden in colour, 20 to 25 minutes.

Lisa Bakes: Spooky Pumpkin and Walnut bread

Whatever it is about the Autumn and Winter time, I just love all things cosy. All the foodie people I know say to use seasonal fruit and vegetables where possible so with Halloween, there's an abundance of pumpkins! When better to try my hand at making pumpkin bread?

So with cautious optimism, I took to the kitchen after trekking through the baking aisle in Tesco for supplies. Also, baking question - are baking powder and baking soda the same or is there a difference?

Ready to be whipped together to make some tasty bread!

For this recipe, I needed to make pumpkin puree. I had read a few different ways online and opted for the microwave method, which was the same way I cook potatoes, so no new territory there! I used about half of a small cooking pumpkin for this recipe which made about twice the puree I needed, so in future I'd probably only need a quarter of the pumpkin.

I chopped them into roughly the same size, put them and some water (about 1/4 of the dish) into a pyrex dish, covered and microwaved it for 11 minutes. Before stirring and microwaving for a further 5 minutes. The skin came away fairly easily from the the pumpkin and then it was just a case of mashing away!

My Mum always taught me to put all the ingredients to one side of the main mixing bowl, and then once the ingredients go in, to move them to the other side of the bowl. It makes it easier to check what has gone in the mixture at a glance.

I mixed the dry ingredients together, then added all the liquid ingredients. When I was mixing, it seemed to be a bit runny. But maybe this is normal?

Mm.. Er.. Squidgy!

Ready for its maiden voyage to the oven!

I lubed up a baking tin with a knob of butter, poured the mixture in and hoped for the best.

And it started to rise!

And then it rose some more! I was actually worried it was going to reach the top of the oven. Note to self: move oven tray down.

The smell of the bread baking filled the apartment and it created a wonderful festive ambience. But I wasn't done yet!

The first time I took the bread out to check if it was baked, it seemed a little squidgy so I popped it back in to oven. I didn't want it to be overbaked or burnt.

From watching programmes like the Great British Bake Off, I remember they would leave bread to cool on a wire rack. I had to settle for a steamer. Well, it has holes in it and should allow air to circulate. Needs must and all that jazz!

 
Then the best part of any baking adventure - tasting what you've made! It got a big thumbs up from Mr. Ree and the spices really made it tingle the tastebuds. It was moist and the top had a lovely sweet crunch to it from the brown sugar. Next time I might add a bit more walnut though, but that's just me! Although I had inadvertently bought walnut halves which required a bit more chopping, but it was worth it. Next time I'll be buying walnuts of the chopped variety!

All in all, I came out fairly unscathed from this recipe. It wasn't difficult to make either. Definitely one to try again!

Fancy giving it a go yourself? Here's the recipe. Good luck and happy baking! :)

Pumpkin and Walnut Bread

Ingredients

• 200g plain flour
• 2 eggs        
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda        
• 1tsp salt
• 1 tsp of nutmeg    
• 250g pumpkin puree    
• 1 tbsp brown sugar        
• 75ml water
• 30g chopped walnuts    
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon    
• 300g caster sugar

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Put sugar, bicarbonate of soda, salt and spices into a large bowl. Stir to blend.
3. Add pumpkin puree, water, oil, eggs and walnuts. Beat until well combined.
4. Pour mixture into greased bread tin.
5. Sprinkle brown sugar on top.
5. Bake for 50-60 mins. Skewer with knife/skewer through centre of loaf. Once it comes out clear, it's done!
6. Take it out of the tin and leave to cool. How you enjoy it is completely up to you! :)

The mad month of October

If your family is anything like mine, it seems that certain months of the year tend to have everything happen at the one time. April for example has two family birthdays and a wedding anniversary. It looks like October will be our new busy month!

October is home to my birthday, our pending wedding date, Mr. Ree's favourite holiday, Halloween, and the month that he proposed. 

It got me thinking about all this wedding related madness. Recently friends of ours got married and the one piece of advice they gave us was not to leave things to the last minute. Get everything sorted, booked and done as early as you can. I thought we were doing pretty well sorting out the venue, photographer and videographer. But I haven't even looked at flowers, bridesmaid dresses, hair, make-up etc. So much planning goes into a wedding, and the devil is in the detail!

Anyone who knows me, will know that I'm the most 'un-bridey' woman ever. I never dreamt of my wedding day, sighed over Cinderella's horse and carriage or acted out wedding ceremonies with friends. So our aim for the day was to keep things simple, fun and very 'us'. 

One thing I've already learned is to play your cards close to your chest. Some people have an idea of what a wedding should be about. But ultimately  it's down to the bride and groom. What they want their day to be about, to celebrate their love and celebrate with their nearest and dearest. If people plan to spend the day bitching about the centrepieces or silly trivial things then that's their issue. I plan to be having as much fun as possible with my new husband and enjoy the day we've planned. 

Ultimately, that's what any couple wants on their wedding day. 

Third speed engaged!

This year is officially flying by!

Next month will be pumpkin carving season, there are Christmas trees and festive decorations already for sale in some stores!

Any Sims fan will know what I'm talking about when I talk about the fast forward function on the Sims clock...

Third speed engaged surely?!

Think it's important to remember to kick back every now and again. I've taken my own advice and have bought a new tea pot and some exotic teas, it's a lazy Sunday must!

Perhaps I'm just 'feathering the new nest' a little bit, but I've become a little overenthusiastic about homeware goods. Although I'll buy myself and Mr. Ree the odd treat, I can't resist oh-so-subtly side stepping into the homeware department of any store I'm in.

I really want these Scrabble cushions..

IKEA is my mothership. There, I said it! There are soft furnishings and little bits and pieces to make the place homey. Anywhere I live will never be immaculate, manicured or kept like a show house, but I've always tried to make it feel like a home.

Adding this to the Christmas list!

 Let's be honest, home is where you relax. It's your haven from whatever is going on outside and it's a reflection on yourself. I'm currently surrounded by DVDs, photos, comic books and candles, all things that we both love. Life is already manic enough, it's so important to fit time into relax. If you can't relax at home, where else can you? 

Time is flying by!

What a busy few weeks! I've been so busy out living I haven't had time to blog about it!

So as you know, we've recently moved to 'The Big Smoke' and to be honest, I'm settling in much quicker than I thought I would.

Work has been keeping me busy, but you know what they say: 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, and Jill a dull girl!' It's been great being able to catch up with friends, have cocktails after work, dinner plans and lots of catch ups.

I thought I'd miss the green fields of the country, but city living is so fast moving. You get caught up in the hustle and bustle! You're never short of things to do, which is so refreshing! In one week, we went to the cinema, IKEA (Mm... feeding IKEA addiction!), had dinner with a friend, cocktails and snacked on sushi for lunch.

Time is hurtling by at breakneck speed, so much so that it's only recently hit me that in just over a year's time, I'll be a married woman! I haven't had time to suss out flowers, bridesmaid dresses or booking hair and make up trials. It's all taken a back seat in the toing and froing of moving boxes, going to work and having a social life! I guess it's like anything, it's all a balancing act, so let's give this juggling a try!

Does anyone else think of this music when juggling is mentioned?

Apartment Hunting

As I've mentioned, we have been hunting for a new place to live.

I am an out and proud culchie, oh yes! I even have a membership card somewhere..

Himself has lived in the city before, so paired with his insider's knowledge and my enthusiasm and love of property websites, off we went!

We didn't have a kajillion* euro to spend on a big swanky pad, but we just wanted somewhere safe and clean for just us two.

It has been.. eventful!

One place we went to was about the size of shed, had holes in the ceiling and the landlord did the electrics himself. To quote, "Snip here and snip there, sure it was all grand!" OK, no.

After searching for a few weeks and coming up against a few dead ends, we found somewhere! It's not big, but not tiny! We even have a little balcony and a BATH! Oh it's the simple things in life like having the choice between a bath or a shower that can make my day!

Yet we came away from the apartment hunt with a few lessons learned, so here are my tips:

1. Photographs can be ridiculously deceptive, seriously. With the art of lenses and angles, a cupboard can look 'spacious and modern'.

OK, so maybe not this bad, but you get the idea!

2. In Dublin, (and in other cities too I'd imagine) you have to move fast. Very fast!

3. You have a lot more stuff than you think you do. Uh-huh, you see those cupboards and those bookcases? They all hold stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. Think you have enough boxes? Get more! And plenty of bin bags. But don't cheap out on them! One of the worst first impressions you can give is letting your new neighbours see you pick clothes up off the road and stuffing them into a torn black bag... Trust me.

4. Go with your gut, if you don't like it and you can't put your finger on why then leave it.

5. Accept help from family and friends. They'll forgive you if the place looks like a tip, understand that you can't find anything. They accept that you'll probably be chaos personified, wearing a bin bag and crying because you can't find the kettle or the Christmas tree ornaments. If they didn't care, they wouldn't be there. Hm.. that rhymes. Could put that on a t-shirt.

6. Remain calm. Even if there is a flat tyre, or something goes missing. You'll get there. Rome wasn't built in a day, and some moves take more than one trip!

*Might not be real amount

Deep breaths!

Yesterday I wrote about having a daily treat, something small, doesn't have to cost a lot. Well, today I decided to get a pack of Maynards Sours (om nom nom!) I figured I'd veg in front of the TV, having a slurpy mange to myself.

I went down to the kitchen to feed the dog, at the regular time, schedule is key etc. The moment I walked in, I knew something was up. There was something in the air, something that I could sense.

GUILT!

The dog was in his bed and was looking sheepishly up at me. I checked his bed, he was lying on top of a bag of sweets, not the sour jellies. "Phew!" I thought, but then another thought slapped me right in the face...

You left them in the same place, and he got one of the bags!


I rushed to the spot where I had left them, no sweeties. Checked his bed, checked the floor, checked all the rooms downstairs. Then the stairs itself.

Niente.

Surely I would have heard him snacking upstairs? Better safe than sorry, I investigated all the rooms, no sour jellies, not even a granule of sugar.

A new thought struck, if I was a dog and I'd eaten something and wanted to hide the evidence, where would I put it? Think like a dog, walk a mile in someone else's footprints (paw prints?!) So off I went thinking to myself "Think like a dog", I went straight out to the garden, and there it was, or wasn't!

Oh it was a sweetie massacre! Not only had he eaten each and every one of the sweets, but he had shredded the bag too to cover his tracks.

Don't let that goofy expression fool you, he's a food thief!

I could practically taste them, but I was just too late. I marched back inside muttering to myself, think Joe Pesci's character in Home Alone and you're about there. Oh and the dog knew he was in the doghouse, metaphorically. We don't actually have a dog house for him, he sleeps inside, spoiled dog. And this is the thanks I get? Hmph.

At least he has good taste in sweets, the bugger!

Damn you procrastination...

I have so much that I should be doing. Namely tidying, cleaning and generally being organised. I wish I had the type of organised whirlwind days, you know the type of day where motivation is at an all-time high? I aim to bring out my inner Domestic Goddess meets Wonder Woman. Domestic Woman? Hm.. No. Wonder Goddess ™! Ah yes, that's the one!

So a hybrid modern woman between this:

Disclaimer: I can't fly, and the last time I used a lasso, I looked like a Macrame disaster.

And this:

Although I can't imagine myself being overjoyed at staying at my reflection in shiny kitchenware, nor do I drive a funky vintage car. And I really do appreciate the mod cons like a dishwasher, washing machine, tumbledrier et al.


I'm what one would call an avid list maker, I make lists for my lists, and yes... I own and use a Filofax. So perhaps if I make a list of all the things I have to do, I'll morph into 'Wonder Goddess'™, whizz around getting everything done and have time to sit and relax with a cuppa whilst saying to a bewildered onlooker "Oh, the entire house clean, laundry, shopping , fire lit and bills to be sorted? All done, sure it only took me a little while!". Instead of the general response my brain seems to opt for "Oh sod it, you can do it tomorrow."

Perhaps 'Wonder Goddess'™ won't be around all the time, but when she is, that lady knows how to get shit done!