Taking care of yourself

I haven't posted in a few weeks and I have been thinking about the blog and meaning to post each week but it has been so intensely busy with doctorate stuff that every time I came to write it seems that my attitude is mostly stressed or negative and honestly that's just not the side of me that I post on here. That's not to say that this is not the real me but TVandCookies is a place for the happier, more relaxed side of life and I guess doctoral stress is just about the antithesis of that, well for me anyway.

With all the increased stress around the place it's all to easy to fall into patterns of over-working, or more often-than-not underworking while over stressing. During all of this self-care seems to fall by the wayside. There are so many demands on us these days and far too often I find myself running around meeting everyone else's needs and completely ignoring my own.  Can you get these pages to me by....? We can meet on....? You will make that appointment, right? You know the demands, they come from every direction. Meanwhile the little voice that tells me what I need gets quiter and quieter until it's on mute.

Unfortunately it can't stay that way for long, without issues. So this week I have been trying to listen to that little voice and give myself what I need; rest, exercise, sleep, healthy food and most importantly nutritious treats. Balance my friends is the key to life and I believe this completely!

So these Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are my latest attempt at getting that delicious american bakery taste, and they are close, so close. They are morish, crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside and definitely a comfort food worth having. I have been enjoying them with a lovely cup of tea and a couple of minutes of me time (read watching Bake-off; Creme de la creme ;).

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

115g/ Half cup of Butter
146g/2/3 Cup pack brown sugar
67g/1/3 Cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1tsp baking soda +2 tsp hot water
128g/1 cup Bread Flour
85g/ 1 cup Old fashioned oats
85g/ 1 cup quick oats
75g/ 1/2 cup sultanas or raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp all spice
1 tsp black treacle (optional)

1. Beat together the butter and sugar until smooth

2. Add the eggs and vanilla and alternate in part of the flour

3. In a small bowl add the hot water to the baking soda, then add to the dough and beat

4. Add the spices and treacle and beat

5. Now add the oats and the sultanas or raisins and beat to combine.

6. Chill the dough for 30 minutes in the fridge

7. Preheat the oven to 180'.

8. Scoop out balls of dough and space well apart on a lined baking sheet.

9. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheet.

10. Then enjoy a taste of home baked goodness and a few minutes of only listening to your needs.

I hope you enjoyed the post. This coming week I will be doing something a bit different. I will be trying a week without dairy. As part of this I will be tweeting daily and adding to a post each day that will go up next Monday. Wish me luck.....

Gifting food to beat the January blues

It has come to that time of the year again. Christmas is over and the post-Christmas blues are settling over the land. It doesn't help that the weather is still miserable. As a foodie and a blogger my least favourite aspect of this time of year is the annual January diet that everyone is on after the festivities just past. There is a general feeling that one must forgo all sweets and treats and as someone who likes to bake and share treats I  intensely dislike it. So how can you continue to bake and share these goodies with friends and family at this time of year. How about a moderation approach in the form of some for now, some for later?!

What am I talking about? Let me show you...

The gift in the back in a frozen roll of the cookie dough for these delicious peanut-butter chocolate chip cookies. So you can gift a friend, or yourself, with a few cookies to eat now and a frozen dough to bake at a later date (2-3 months if wrapped properly). If gifting to a friend it's important to write the date and some cooking instructions on your wrapping. I double wrapped the dough in cling film and then followed up with greaseproof paper with a little red ribbon for decoration.

So now let me tell you about this cookie recipe. These peanut-butter chocolate chip cookies have organic peanut-butter and 70% dark chocolate chips. So while they couldn't be considered healthy they are not half as unhealthy as store bought cookie dough.

Peanut-butter chocolate chip cookies

150g Unsalted Butter
70g Organic Peanut Butter
140g Muscovado sugar
140g Caster sugar
340g Bread flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 egg + one egg yolk
30ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g 70% Dark Chocolate chips

1. Melt together the butter and peanut butter in a saucepan

2. Pour in a bowl with the sugars and beat together.

3. In seperate bowls beat together the eggs, milk and vanilla extract and in another bowl the flour,
    soda and salt.

4. Alternate additions of the egg and the flour mixtures and beat to combine. This should form a
    thick dough, with a somewhat fudgy consistency.

5. When the dough is cool add the chocolate chips.

6. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least an hour and up to 5 days. For the part that you are giving away frozen, pour onto cling-film without chilling and roll into a cylinder. At the very least, double wrap in cling-film and freeze. Then to present wrap in grease-proof paper and perhaps add a bow.

7. To bake the cookies, preheat your oven to 180'C and roll chucks of the dough into balls, spaced well apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or 15 minute from frozen. Remove from the oven and pat down with the back of a spatula. This will keep the cookies deliciously gooey on the inside while crispy on the outside. Let the cookies cool on the baking tray to finish cooking. Then enjoy some now, knowing you, or your friend has more for later.

Happy January!