The Bitch Can Bake

Life has been pretty slow around here lately. The grass is barely growing and the weather has been pretty terrible so work is patchy at best. This week I have managed to do 2 hours in two days so far. I am also house sitting in the evenings though which is lucky for my bank account but not quite a substitute for a real pay check.

The upside to lack of work though that I have energy to burn around the house and at the moment my new little fad seems to be baking. I've done sugar cookies, dog biscuits and cupcakes in the last 2 weeks as well as getting a bit more adventurous about making dinner.

What I really want to write about though is a new experimental recipe that I've been playing with. In my head I like to call it Lembas after the elven bread in the Lord of the Rings but I think Traveller's Biscuit is perhaps more accurate and lowers expectations!

The weird part in all this (if it wasn't weird enough that I try to bake fictional food) is that the idea originally came to me from making food for a dog. The dog biscuit recipe I have is so simple and lends itself so well to adaptations that I wondered if it could be made palatable for people. Turns out it can! Well palatable to me and Mum but we aren't fussy eaters.

Anyway! My plan was born from laziness really as I have been doing a lot of house sitting lately and I hate having to cook in kitchens I don't know, also it seems like a lot of effort for one person. So I decided I would make a meal in a biscuit, a 'complete and balanced diet' to keep me fuelled while I was away with minimum effort. Ta dah my travelling biscuits were born!

The basis of the recipe is oats and flour which I could say are my carbs, eggs and chorizo for protein. Carrot, leek and parsley for fibre and vitamins. Beef stock for flavour and salt and cheese for fat. Pretty well rounded huh.

Of course all the fresh ingredients can be swapped in or out or added to. The amounts change depending on what I have in the fridge at the time or what I fancy. My ultimate hope for these biscuits is that I can use them as exercise food, for long walks with the dog or perhaps even exploring by myself whether by foot or by car. They have a flexible consistency so don't crumb in the pocket and wouldn't break if accidentally sat on. They can last about a week with out needing to be in the fridge and taste alright hot or cold. They aren't a five star meal but they have everything necessary and if followed with a chocolate bar I reckon they could keep someone going all day. As a side bonus they are even safe for my furry friend if I feel he needs a snack.

So there you have it. The latest instalment of the weird things that I come with to fill time in the winter. What odd things do you do to while away the dark hours?

Pinterest Project

For me winter is a time for hot food, roaring wood fires and craft fads. The long evenings inside mean that I need to find something to occupy me but with my limited attention span my hobbies rarely last more than a season. Last year it was loom bands, the year before scrapbooks and knitting nancy, this year I've stumbled across crochet.

I find the best hobbies for me are ones that keep my hands occupied but don't require a lot of concentration because the tv is usually on and I find noise very distractive. I like to be able make things and have the satisfaction of looking back at them even if they are useless!

Considering I have only started to crochet this week I'm quite pleased with my progress. My first little play around with the wool produced these little balls which I made without a pattern or any idea what I was doing. The best part is that I don;t really know how they happened or what to use them for and when I tried to follow a pattern for a ball I couldn't get past the first row!

 After mucking about making swatches of random double stitch and single stitch I decided I had better try to actually make something so I turned to my old friend Pinterest for ideas. I came across a pattern for a phone cover which said it was suitable for beginners so off I went. It was easy enough and the only mistake I made was that I didn't really make it wide enough so although it fits my phone, it's a really really tight fit which isn't very convenient if I want to check it regularly. I did make it though and it hasn't fallen apart yet so I'm still pretty pleased!

 And of course I can always make another. I also have a couple of other little ideas that I want to try to crochet so I'll let you know how I go. Do you know any easy crochet patterns for me to try?