Week Twenty One

There's a theme to this weeks photographs... A library theme! These photos are so boring, I don't even really want to post them, but I'm determined to follow this challenge through to the end. I'm terribly sorry, I promise it'll get more exciting again once I'm finished with exams. I hope your week was much more exciting than mine!

Monday - A last hurrah before the fear took hold and we all moved into the library.

Tuesday - A shot down the shelves in the library.

Wednesday - The next floor up in the library.

Thursday - Huddling under the arches of the quad waiting for the rain to go off. So I could get back to the library. Is there a pattern forming here?

Friday - My desk in the library!

Saturday - Queuing to get into the library at 9am. 

 Sunday - I may still be stuck in the library, but hey, at least I have tasty snacks!

Brain Saving Revision Cookies

Revision is torture. Fact. Nothing can make revision better. Fiction. These cookies can make revision better. You can sneak them into the library with you, and, just when your brain is starting to melt from all the thinking, you can take a little break, peruse your twitter feed and chow down. It isn't just revision though. I'd even risk saying that these cookies can make whichever horrible situation you can think of better. 

I know I've talked about cookies before, and yes, I foolishly thought they were the best, but these guys up the game considerably. The old cookies only beat these guys in the dough - you can eat it raw because there's no egg. But cooked - these have more texture, more bite, but are still soft and gooey in the middle. They're a little hug in a pocket sized package. And even better? They're made from an incredibly simple recipe, and take no time at all to whip up. So you don't feel toooooo guilty for leaving the desk.

Brain Saving Revision Cookies

170g Room Temperature Unsalted Butter

150g Caster Sugar

50g Granulated Sugar

1 Large Egg

250g Self-Raising Flour

1tsp Baking Powder

150g Chocolate

150g Raisins

Makes around 15 cookies.

1. Beat the sugar until soft and fluffy. Don't skip this step, really really don't. It's so tempting, but it matters so much! Then add the sugar, and then the egg. Finally add the flour and baking powder.

2. Chop your chocolate into large chunks and mix into the cookie dough, along with the raisins.

3. Wrap the cookie dough in cling film and put in the fridge for at least an hour. This is another step that you really can't miss out! Please, please, please. Promise me you won't miss it out!

4. Whilst it's chilling, you can go back to your desk get a little bit more work done. You can even leave it chilling for three days or so. It doesn't mind, it'll still be good to go when you get back to it, as long as you wrapped the cling film nice and tight. When you're ready, scoop out hunks of the dough and place it on a lined baking tray. 

5. Bake in an oven preheated to 200°C for 6-10 minutes. This really depends on your oven, but basically just don't leave the kitchen while they're cooking. It isn't worth it, they turn so quickly, and burning them is devastating. They need taking out when they don't really look done, and are just starting to go a little bit brown around the edges. It's an art, not a science. You'll know when they're done. They'll be really gooey for five minutes or so, and it's best just to let them sit there and firm up, if you possibly can.

6. They'll keep in an airtight container for a few days. But if you're anything like me, they won't be around that long.

Pitmedden Gardens

After handing in our final piece of coursework last week, we felt like we deserved a day off before the revision for finals started. When we opened the curtains on Friday to discover glorious sunshine, we thought we'd take a drive to Pitmedden Gardens, just North of Aberdeen.

A glorious expanse of beautifully manicured grass and hedges greets you as you pass through the gates, and it's easy to see why these Oystercatchers chose to set up shop and nest in the gardens. Who wouldn't want to nest in the birdy equivalent of the Ritz?

Unfortunately that meant we couldn't get too close to the flowering beds, but I managed to find a few wall creepers to test out the close up capabilities of my new camera on. Thus far, I'm pretty impressed! When I've given it a proper work out I'll pop up a full post on it I think.

The gardens are accompanied by the original outbuildings and cottages, which you can still have a good nose around today. You can take your time, they're full to the brim of gardening and farming machinery, personal belongings and home furnishings, and it's a lovely way to while away an afternoon.

Taking full advantage of the sunshine, we made friends with some bunnies and tucked into a picnic - the first picnic of the year! We even managed to remember to take a photograph of ourselves, a true miracle.

How have you been enjoying the sunshine? I'm writing this post from the library in a little revision break, and I'd love to live vicariously through you!

Pitmedden Gardens are open 10 - 5:30pm daily, May - September. You can find more information here.

Week Twenty

Monday - Ben baked! I was supremely impressed by this banana bread.

Tuesday - The box I kept my pencils in had suffered a bit from the damp, and when I was relocating them I couldn't help but notice how lovely they all looked together.

Wednesday - Impromptu Pizza Express following a tough day and some surprise good news.

Thursday - Finally submitted my last piece of coursework - a monstrous 19 page management plan.

Friday - We took advantage of the sunshine, chose to have a day off before revision started and found this pretty stone pattern on the paths at Pitmedden Garden.

Saturday - A new recipe, coming your way later this week!

Sunday - Pebbles and driftwood we found at the beach.

I am truly astounded I've managed to take a different photo for each day of this week, a week which has mainly been spent slumped at a desk in the library. Sadly the next two weeks are going to be spent in a similar fashion - hopefully I'll be able to find some inspiration and not just give you a tour of the library...

What did you get up to this week? Also, I'd love to be pointed in the way of some other 365 photo projects. I was following a few at the start of the year, but they've all trailed off into nothingness. I'd really like to have a nose at some others, if you can recommend any that would be great!

Week Nineteen

A little bit late, but better late than never! I'm currently eating, breathing and sleeping whilst thinking about Blakiston's Fish Owls and not much else - I hope you're having a more exciting week than I am!

Monday - Early morning matcha to kick start the day! Remember you can enter to win a Modern Matcha Kit here! 

Tuesday - Issue 10 of Au Science Magazine landed on my doorstep. Loudly. In 10 boxes.  

Wednesday - I've got a new toy, I've got a new toy! More on this when I start using it.

Thursday - Last lecture! Celebratory song from lecturer dressed as a non-charismatic animal. We have a thing about flagship species in our class. Who needs a panda when you can have a blob fish anyway?

Friday - Fancy nibbles at a fancy evening celebrating the Universities donors.

Saturday - Cranberry and white chocolate cookies. This is the only photograph I took, I didn't blog the recipe because I didn't think it was going to work. Sods law it did, so I'll have to remake to share with you, they were delicious! 

Sunday - A view across the Firth of Forth, killing time in the car waiting for my train back up North.

Crunchy Carrot Cake

Let's talk carrot cake. Squidgy and sweet with the odd crunch of pecan, complemented by cool cream cheese icing, in my opinion it's a cake you can't really beat. My version isn't overly spiced, there's just a hint of mixed spice. No one wants to be overwhelmed by spice. No one wants to be overwhelmed by words either, so lets get on with the recipe.

Crunchy Carrot Cake

150g Butter, melted

150g Soft Light Brown Sugar

3 Eggs

200g Self Raising Flour

1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

1tsp Mixed Spice

200g Carrots, peeled

100g Pecans + extra to decorate

Cream Cheese Icing

600g Icing Sugar

100g Butter

300g Full Fat Cream Cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grate the carrots and set aside. Mix the melted butter with the brown sugar and then add the eggs. Add the flour, then gently stir in the chopped pecans. Finally, pad the carrots with kitchen roll until they're quite dry and stir in. Split evenly between two round cake tins (approx 10"). Bake for around thirty minutes, or until golden on top and a knife comes out clean.

2. Remove the cakes from the tin and leave to cool. Mix up the icing ingredients to form a smooth white icing. Spread a thick layer on the top of both cakes then place one on top of the other.

3. Decorate with pecans to give it an extra oomph, in both look and taste.

Enjoy with a cup of tea... maybe even a cup of matcha tea! Don't forget you can enter a giveaway here to win a free Modern Matcha Kit.