Author: thethingsnotsaid

#2 Great British Bake Off Training Session

Published by

The Sachertorte was another technical challenge on Series Two of GBBO and trying this out timed well with me needing to bake a cake for a friend who was moving into his new home, on his birthday.  I thought this would be homely but special. It needed to be gluten free so I exchanged the normal flour for a gluten free version.  As it’s a dense cake using almond meal already I didn’t think it would make any difference.  I’m pretty sure it didn’t.  I think the main thing I was hoping for was a smooth, flat top on the cake as in the actual technical challenge all the bakers got a ridge round the outside because the cake sunk in the middle and it meant when the ganache went on it looked lumpy. There were some little air bubbles and a few cracks but all in all a nice finish I thought. Now for the ganache.  Heat up cream and when you can see steam, take it off the heat and stir in the …

Take Today

Published by

It was once suggested to me that I was a “through time” person.  What this means is that I tend to focus on what is ahead.  I’m a planner, somewhat of a dreamer (but not in the staring out of a window in a daze sort of a way), someone who is listening to you (no honestly) but sometimes I have been known to be also thinking about my reply and likely to interrupt (yes that is awful of me and I’m trying to change). In contrast an “in time” person is someone who is totally involved in the here and now.  This person is unaware of time passing, they are fully invested in the conversation or activity they are in and they’ll worry about the next thing when it comes and slaps them across the face. Like a wise young four year old son continually warns me, “I’ve got good news and I have got bad news for you Mummy”.  The good news is that being a “through time” person I have a large capacity …

#1 Great British Bake Off Training Session

Published by

If you read my blog or know me even only slightly you will know that I have a growing love of baking.  And more specifically I love Great British Bake Off.  Confession: I actually have a relatively serious intension of applying to go on the show sometime in the future. So I figure it won’t harm to get my self “game ready” for that moment when the notion turns into  a completed application form.  And so begins my Great British Bake Off training, which I plan to document on my blog and will entitle as above so if you are not in the slightest bit interest in this subject matter you can click on by… There are a few parts to my training.  One simple thing I have pledged to do is try out hard recipes, ones that I would normally not bother with, like macarons, pastries, little fiddly things.  And every week I will bake at least one type of bread. This week I watched the Masterclasses of Series Two.  This has Mary Berry and Paul …

Bridget Jones, she is not.

Published by

Last week I went to see Trainwreck at the cinema. It is rude.  I mean, Amy Schumer rude.  It’s the sort of rude that means you shouldn’t see this with someone outside of your generation.  That is to say, don’t go with your mum or dad, certainly not your granny and I reckon watching it with someone who is young enough to be your child  (in my case 23 or under) would also be uncomfortable. It is funny.  Despite my comments above I would recommend it (unless you are in fact mine or Gareth’s parents), because the offensive, graphic parts are quick and not labouring the point.  They are just the right side of shocking and then they move on so you can enjoy the story. The story is essentially about Amy.  I’m pretty sure it’s about Amy Schumer herself.  She did write it so let’s assume there’s quite a bit in there that’s a reflection of her life.  In some ways the protagonist is a modern day Bridget Jones, still single when perhaps she …

Life is like a ‘signature bake’

Published by

In honour of the sixth series of The Great British Bake Off being aired back home at the moment, I have bought Series 1-5 on iTunes and am rather over-indulging on the highs and lows of this very wonderful BBC series. During one of my GBBO marathon sessions (don’t tell Gareth I think I watched an entire series in under 48 hours!) it dawned on me that life is very much like the baking of a signature bake.  Bear with me here, I know after the above confession you will be assuming my mind is now addled by the obsessive pursuit of the “perfect bake” and the highly sought after ” original combination of flavours”, but I honestly think there is something to be learnt from the experiences of our harangued amateur bakers. For any of you who don’t know what a ‘signature bake’ is (and frankly I’m saddened by your ignorance) this is the bake that each contestant in the GBBO is required to do at the beginning of each themed week.  So if it were “Cake Week” then all the …

Who picked who first?

Published by

I love coming home to this. Because I like to run.  I love being out in the open air, feeling physically strong and mentally free, having time to myself, seeing the world at my pace.  And all of that feels even better when I am wearing Sweaty Betty clothing. Since my first purchase from Sweaty Betty, this brand became a Lovemark for me.  They have my lifelong commitment.  I literally don’t wear any other brand of sportswear.  I can tell you all the reasons why, but this is not a sponsored blog. Oh go on then, it’s because they make sportswear pretty and feminine, their stuff always fits well, it’s 97% perfect quality and their customer service on the 3% that isn’t, makes up for it perfectly.  Put a different way, ‘they had me at hello’. The book, ‘Lovemarks – the future beyond brands’ by Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, goes into lots of depth on the subject and I’ll be honest I’ve only skim read it, but from what I gather his essential point is that …

Dreaming

Published by

I have a dream. And I think now is the right time to share it.  To make it official.  To put it out there. I’m quite sure it’s been there since I was born.  Because so many of our dreams are.  They just can take half a lifetime to be known.  Like it’s crazy to think that I was born with the eggs in my uterus that would one day be Minnie and Jackson but it’s true, I was born to have those two people. And I think I’m made to bake.  I have the Winney gene in me so I like sweetness.  My mother is a gifted ‘foody’ so I was raised on good puddings.  Ever since I had a kitchen I have baked. Once I have my Kitchen Aid I will begin my training for the Great British Bake Off and maybe one day I too will drop a soggy pie on the floor of that marquee. This dream though.  This is a big one.  It will change my world and I hope, somehow, it …

20 minute Spaghetti Bolognese

Published by

You know when you come in from picking up the children from school, they are grumpy, the laundry needs sorting, the house is a mess, your husband is coming in late from work and you want to cook something quick for dinner that there’s a good chance your children will eat?  When this is the situation for me, I turn to Italian recipes and Spaghetti Bolognese is definitely my go-to 20 minute recipe.  Carbonara would be just as quick but I’m trying to be dairy free, I can make a tasty dairy free lasagne but it’s not fast enough… Jamie Oliver is a personal hero of mine and I have his 30 minute recipe book, I’ve yet to get the 15 minute one but I’ve seen a few episodes of that series.  I think the concept is fab and I’m grateful he’s put time and thought to come up with the recipes.  However I do think he forgets the washing up and the fact that you have to grab things you need, wait for things …

Dairy and Sugar Free Chocolate Brownie

Published by

Recently I went on a three week “elimination diet”, not for weight loss, although I did lose a few kilos, which I’m not missing at all.  No this was in fact to help me know for sure what it is that I eat on a daily basis, that doesn’t agree with me.  After two years of casual experimentation I thought I should actually see what makes my digestive system become extremely anti-social.  I have been pretty sure that dairy is not my friend but what if there was something else like tomatoes, gluten (please Lord no) or something unexpected that I literally put in every meal, like garlic or olive oil. You remove A LOT of things; citrus fruits, gluten, dairy, tomatoes, bananas, beef, pork and lots more besides – for the full list I used, go to Cleanse Program. I ended up eating a lot of apples and kiwis, quinoa, salmon and rice cakes.  I missed bananas, beef and cooking only one meal for the family.  During the three weeks I found out almost all nuts are the enemy for …

Still Alice

Published by

I was warned before I watched this film so I think it’s only right that I should warn you too. You will need tissues, you will cry, it is sad. This is about a woman who I presume is in her fifties as they don’t give her exact age, only that she is young for her disease.  She is an academic, she has proven herself professionally and done it raising three successful children whilst married to an equally ambitious husband.  We enter her life when she has it all, a great career, strong marriage, loving family and her hair is ‘Julianne Moore fabulous’. But we cringe as she forgets what she wants to say at a presentation, worry as she forgets where she is on her daily jog and feel the anxiety with her when she begins tests with a neurologist who doesn’t say, I’m sure it’s nothing. I don’t think I am giving a spoiler here as it’s essentially the whole premise of the film – Alice has early on-set  Alzheimer’s.  She has a …