A clear out.

Sometimes a good throwing out session can be good for the soul.

To say we had a tidy out is a bit of an over exageration, but I sorted through some things in the box room we never go in. I think a lot of things in there hadn't moved since the day we moved in. There was poems my friends wrote at my 16th birthday party, postcards from when I was about 7 upwards, coursework from school, photos from gigs I went to in my teens, all sorts. I found these that I had on my wall from being a tween

The one about singing encouraged me for years as I am decidedly average when it comes to singing. I would love to be a fantastic singer, but I'm not . I think they are good things to remember whatever age I may be.

Throwing some of the things away seemed like a good step forward. I was reminded I'm not the person now that I was when I was a teenager, and that the people I knew aren't the same any more either.

Now just got to have a good clear out of every other room in the house.

Baking and making

If you have 2 minutes spare and you like chocolate cake or pudding then I absolutely have to recommend this recipe. Oh it is delicious, and there was enough to feed 2 of us, you'll need a big mug though!

Following on from my last comment about the yogurt making I've done two batches now and it is so easy and tasty. I put a 1l box of uht full fat milk in the slowcooker on low for about 3 hours, might have been a bit less. Then I turned the slowcooker off and did nothing for about 2 1/2 hours. Next I measured out 1/4 of a cup of live yogurt, mixed it with some of the milk from out the slowcooker, then mixed the whole lot together back in the big slowcooker pot. Then I just covered the whole lot in towels and coats to keep it warm, and went to bed. When I got up in the morning, the yogurt was ready! It's a bit thinner then normal, but it is great for making smoothies or curries, both of which I have a lot of.

My next slowcooker triumph this week was coconut and cardamon rice pudding. I measured out 100g of short grain rice and put it in the slow cooker with a 400g tin of coconut milk. I filled the empty can twice with full fat milk and put that in the pot, then I took the seeds out of 5 cardamon pods, ground them up and put those in the slow cooker too. Turned it on and left for a couple of hours, then just sweetened to taste and eat. It would probably be good after indian food as the flavours are that sort of thing, but I would eat it whenever.

And to top off my kitchen accomplishments this week I have also made some pear and rhubarb jam and a birthday cake.

I'm feeling quite pleased with little self.

Crunchy

My husband is cooking lentils while I read up about making yogurt. Sometimes, just occasionally, the stereotype fits.