Sunshine, 21 degrees, my kind of spring day. Just a shame that we are both sporting ear/nose/throat/chest infections and are feeling way too feeble to do anything outdoors. This is what happens when you have a trip back to the UK – the place is clearly to be avoided on health grounds.
Anyway, this afternoon Linda and I are going to see our lovely hairdresser friend John, and we all know what that involves: yes, that would be cake. Continue reading “Mojito muffins”
When I was raking through the fridge for forgotten and unloved veggies to go into our diet day minestrone, I came across a few courgettes that were looking well past their sell-by date. One went into the soup, but that left two more, so I was trying to think of something slightly different to make with them. (I’m sure you must all think that dinner at our place entirely revolves around using up tired fruit and veg, and that you’re all hoping to goodness you never get invited. Not true, honest Guv, but I just hate throwing things away.) Continue reading “Courgette (zucchini), ginger and lemon muffins”
You may think I make an awful lot of muffins. You would be right. They are such useful items to take on a walk or to the beach – more robust than slices of cake, which will inevitably break up or get squashed in your backpack or beach bag. They are also much easier to serve and eat when you are out and about – and everyone gets their own individual little bundle of goodness, so no potential for squabbling in the ranks. Continue reading “Cocoa-banana muffins”
I’ve just spent a fascinating five minutes watching another giant hornet (or it might be the same one – brown head, brown wings, yellow striped jumper, six engines…) trying to take off with a cat biscuit that one of our mob left in their dish outside on the terrace. Our cat biscuits are about the size of a British penny, so that gives you an idea just how big these pesky beasts are. The locals call them donkey bees – not sure why that is – maybe because of their penchant for carrying things around. Anyway, he was having trouble getting enough lift, so he solved this by nibbling all around the edges of the biscuit to make it a bit smaller – hey presto, we have lift off. He’s probably got a very fully tummy though, so I’m not sure whether he’ll make it safely to his destination with his prize. Continue reading “The Sacrifice (and raspberry ripple muffins)”
We are off to New Zealand to visit Robin’s son and daughter-in-law in two weeks time. It will be just coming in to spring there and I can’t wait for cooler weather, so that I don’t have to have crazy hair all the time. We had some chores to do in town this morning (involving two trips to the local municipality and one to the tax office – opposite ends of town and it’s market day, so no possibility of driving between the two and finding a parking space). When I left home, I looked like a relatively normal person (as normal as you can be when you step out into a swamp that is over 40 centigrade and 70% humidity, that is). When we arrived at the municipality offices for the second time, having crossed town on foot twice now, I caught a glimpse of myself in the full length mirror window and wondered how I’d managed to get past security without being detained for my own safety. Continue reading “Sticky fig & orange muffins”
We have guests arriving at our rental cottage this evening – they have stayed with us before, so at least when they arrive in the middle of the night, they know where they are aiming for.
Guests are pretty thin on the ground this year – the threat of terrorism after the recent bombs in Istanbul, the refugee situation and the little spat between our government and Russia means that many tourists are choosing to holiday elsewhere. Continue reading “Banana maple walnut muffins”
Today is the first day of Şeker Bayramı, the ‘sugar feast’ which follows the holy month of Ramazan, when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. Today will be a day of family celebrations with everyone contributing special dishes and plenty of sweet treats for the children.
I’ve baked chocolate chip muffins – mini versions to offer to children who are going door to door looking for sweet gifts, and normal-sized treats for our friend the almond seller in town and for Zerrin, our lovely housekeeper who helps us with our rental cottage in the next village. Obviously one or two may have to be sampled for quality control purposes, but we are having a 5:2 day today, so that will have to wait until tomorrow. (*brushes away incriminating chocolate crumbs from keyboard*) Continue reading “Double chocolate & cinnamon muffins”
We’re back in Turkey after a very swift visit to France, with a night in Amsterdam thrown in on the way home.
We managed to miss the floods and the strikes, and were treated to even better weather than they were having back here – hah!
I thought I’d better leave France while my bottom would still fit inside an aeroplane seat – those croissants and pains aux raisins are just TOO dangerous for comfort. It is so hard to believe that something so deliciously light is so calorie-laden. At least our pool is now warm enough for swimming, so 2km for me today – half already done, half to do when I’ve finished writing this. Continue reading “The easiest muffins in the world”
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