Macrame

a man exploring the world on his bike

Cookies from The Cookie Monster! via the Kitchn

http://www.thekitchn.com/cookie-monsters-famous-cookie-dough-recipe-175725

Ingredients 3/4 cup unsalted butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking flour
1 teaspoon salt
Equipment
Medium-sized mixing bowl
Measuring cup and spoons
A fork

Instructions

1. Put 3/4 cup of butter or margarine (that's a stick and a half) into your mixing bowl.
2. Measure 1 cup of sugar.
3. Pour sugar over butter.
4. With fork, squash butter and sugar together until they are blended.
5. Crack shells of two eggs and pour eggs over mixture in bowl.
6. Measure 1 teaspoon vanilla and pour over mixture.
7. With fork, blend everything in the bowl together.
8. Measure 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and pour over mixture in bowl.
9. Measure 1 teaspoon baking powder and sprinkle over flour.
10. Measure 1 teaspoon of salt and sprinkle over flour and baking powder.
11. Mix everything together either with the fork or with your hands.
12. Put dough in icebox to chill (at least one hour)

There are no instructions for baking from this print, but a quick search for others' experiences with the recipe and recommendations say to roll out cookies 1/4 inch thick, sprinkle with sugar, and bake at 400 degrees.

flatbreads

ROTI
Serves 4
Ingredients
300g wholewheat flour
4 tsp rapeseed oil (or clarified butter)
300ml water
Half a tsp of salt
Plain flour for rolling
Method
Carefully sift the flour into a bowl. Add the oil and salt. Pour in the water and mix to form a soft dough.
On a floured surface, knead the dough well for a few minutes. Keep aside for half an hour and then knead again for a minute or two. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions.
Sprinkle a work surface liberally with flour and roll each portion out into a 15cm-diameter thin circle. Remove any excess flour and put aside. Heat a cast-iron griddle on a medium flame and slap the rolled circle on to the griddle. Cook lightly for 10 seconds or until one side browns and then flip the roti and cook the other side. If you like your rotis crispy, then toast quickly on an open flame with tongs. Serve hot and for a decadent touch, brush with butter before serving.
NAAN BREAD
Ingredients to make 4 naans
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
Half a tsp salt
2 tbsp yoghurt
80ml whole milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Topping: caramelised onions, nigella seeds, fresh coriander or mint. (If you prefer you could even add fresh herbs, finely chopped, in the dough mix.)
Method
Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. In another bowl mix together the milk with the vegetable oil.
Add the yoghurt to the sifted flour followed by the milk and oil. Mix everything together to make a soft, pliable dough. Turn out on the work surface and knead for five minutes until smooth. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with cling film and rest it for 20 minutes or so in a warm place.
Preheat your oven grill to medium and place a baking tray on the top shelf of the oven. Turn the dough out and divide into four portions. Roll out quite thinly to a teardrop shape. Top each naan with coriander leaves or your preferred choice of topping and pat lightly into the naan. Prick the naan with a fork to make sure it doesn't rise.
Remove the baking tray from the oven; place the bread on it and return to the oven to cook for three minutes or until speckled lightly brown. Smear with butter and serve warm.
Recipe by Maunika Gowardhan; for more Indian recipes go to cookinacurry.co.uk

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/rise-and-rise-of-flat-bread-how-to-bake-the-indian-way-7939605.html

bread starters

http://thepartisanbaker.com/starters/
step by step guide on making a sour dough starter
http://thepartisanbaker.com/starters/#Chapter%201

Tokyo City Promotion

http://www.tcp2010.com/

Tokyo City Promotion - exhibition in London on visiting Tokyo. Was brilliant. Really want to visit Tokyo now!!

Watched Tokyo magnitude 8.0 - well told tale - and now I want to watch the rest of it! The frustrations!

ideas for places to visit

backpacking ideas

London food shops with an international twist

London's best food shops according to Time Out. Some I know of, and verify the general wonderfulness, but most I don't, so must head out to discover...

Getting crafty! How to make...

newspaper basket (really want to make this one!)
magazine reed box
tawashi
waste paper basket
white paper flowers
paper daisies
paper flowers

I've been thinking about this for a while...

... and I would really like to work on an allotment. But I have a problem, well maybe a few...
1- Given my job, I move around a lot. Come August, I don't know where I'll be in the country (or whether I'll have a job. (eek!)) - I could theoritically work on one for only a year maybe...
2 - I don't know much about gardening - but I could learn
3 - I don't know of any local to me
4 - Not something I want to do alone.

Maybe, one day, I'll settle down in an area, that has an allotment, and discover one of my friends is also interested...
I can always dream...
But until that day...

allotment series- cookery

allotment blog

life on a london allotment

recipe: Rose Petal Macaroons

Rose Petal Macaroons

Ingredients:

150 g ground almonds
200 g sugar
2 egg whites
1 tsp rosewater
1 tsp scarlet food colouring
1 tbsp plain flour
20 crystallized rose petals for decoration

Method:

1. Cream ground almonds, caster sugar and egg whites.
2. Add flour, rosewater and colouring.
3. Allow mixture to firm in the fridge for an hour.
4. Flour work surface and hands and roll small amounts of mixture into truffle-sized balls.
5. Flatten balls into rounds and place on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.
6. Decorate the centre of each macaroon with a crystallized rose petal.
7. Bake 10-15 minutes in a warm oven (gas mark 3/160C).
8. Allow to cool and harden for 15 minutes.

I want to make some dandelion root coffee!!!

It sounds like fun, and with a potentially tasty result.
But I don't know anywhere nearby where I can get some dandelions which a dog hasn't used as a toilet.
Blah.
But if, one day, in the future, I happen upon a place with plenty of fresh (unlikely-to-be-peed-upon) dandelions, I shall be able to refer to these instructions.
mmmm...

oh, and a dandelion profile from the early 1900's for the interested.