Doctoral study and Snacks

I have been completely snowed under lately. I mentioned during the year last year that if it doesn't have to do with my doctorate then I struggled to think about it but I didn't realise how bad that was going to get. Now, one month out from my hand-in I am completely under-water. I'm working on this thing 7 days a week and the fact that I could work this weekend while watching television because the work I was doing was mindless admin type of stuff. It was a huge treat! So that gives you a flavour of where things are.

                                                                 Video property of Sigur Ros

I'm not complaining however as I am feeling increasingly excited to see an end to all this and as I've been reminded several times - if getting a doctorate was easy, it wouldn't mean as much. So if and when I get this it will mean a helluva lot to me.

So I thought that I would bring you some of the interesting or delicious snacks that I have been enjoying. There are two options - the first is a bit more involved but can be put together in an hour and the second is super simple and can be completed within a 15 minute study break.

On Sunday night I burned out at 6pm and called it a night on the study. All day I had been craving tortilla chips but by 6pm the local shop was closed, because Britain, but my craving had to be satiated and I decided to make my own. This was no small undertaking as we didn't even have any tortillas. So these are completely made from scratch. The dough comes together in a few minutes and then needs to be rested. You may want to rush this but I would highly recommend it because once I rested the dough I choose to fold it over a few times and although this does not make for very soft tortillas it made for fantastic chips.

Handmade tortilla Chips

150g plain flour
180g strong wholemeal flour
3 tbsp golden flax seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp olive oil and more for frying/baking + coconut oil
230ml water

1. Mix together the flours, salt, baking powder and flax seeds

2. Add the olive oil and half the water and mix to cobine

3. Slowly add more water bit by bit until the dough is fully combined but not excessively wet.

4. Knead the dough for 5 minutes

5. Divide into 8 balls and allow to sit for 15 minutes

6. Fold in on itself a few times and then roll as flat as possible between two sheets of parchment.

7. Heat a frying pan or griddle with a very small amount of coconut or another high smoke point oil and then fry the tortillas for a few minutes on each side until browned in spots.

8. Allow to cool on a wire rack

9. Once cool, spray the tortillas with a drop of coconut or olive oil and spread it around so that each side has a very very small amount of oil on it. Then sprinkle with salt before slicing into triangles.

10. Bake on 180' for about 10 minutes until crisp.

11. Serve with vegetables and hummus

These tortilla chips were so so delicious. They are quite filling and so much better than any commercial brands I have had.

So the second snack is much easier and all you need is

200g nuts
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp agave nectar

1 - Preheat your oven to 180'

2 - Line a baking tray with tin foil

3 - Pour out the nuts and roast for 10 minutes

4 - As the nuts are baking mix together the agave nectar and spices in a large glass or metal bowl

5 - Pour the warm nuts into the bowl and mix until all the nuts are covered in a tiny amount of the mixture

6 - Pour back out onto the tin foil and allow to cool

These are so simple and so so delicious! Even if you don't make the tortilla chips, if you like nuts and you like spice then these are a must.

Now....back to the writing. Talk to you soon

Apple cinnamon Granola

It's finally autumn/fall and I am so happy about it. A while back I made a homemade granola for Mother's day and it was a beautiful summer treat but granola is a year round so why not make this more spicy and autumnal?

This mound of golden deliciousness is full of all sorts of wonderful natural flavours that evoke those seasonal senses.

Ingredients

1 cup organic rolled oats
1 cup irish quick oats
3 tbsp flax seeds
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup almonds (activated by soaking overnight)
1/4 cup hazelnuts (activated by soaking)
1/2 cup dried apple rings
4 slices of candied lemon rind
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of all spice
pinch of nutmeg
generous pinch of salt


3 tbsp almond oil
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp almond butter

1. Preheat the oven to 130'C. Chop the apple rings and lemon rinds into small pieces.

2. Cover the apple and lemon pieces in the spices and mix well.

3. Mix together the oats, seeds and apple/lemon pieces together

4. In a small saucepan mix together the almond oil, honey and almond butter and heat gently until boiling.

5. Pour 90% over the oats and mix thoroughly.

6. Line a baking sheet in tinfoil and spread out the mixture.

7. Bake on for 20 minutes, keeping a close eye on them.

8. Pour the nuts into the end of the almond oil/honey mixture and mix until all the nuts are covered.

9. Mix the nuts into the rest of the granola and bake for a final 10 minutes.

10. Serve with yoghurt and fruit of your choice (I choose fresh apple, sprinkled with more cinnamon)

This granola tastes amazing!! I am so pleased with how it turned out, the lemon rind gives a zingy freshness which compliments the spicy apple perfectly and all the delicious nuts and seeds provide even more texture and crunch. So if you are looking for a taste of autumn that doesn't involve pumkin I would definitely recommend this. Til next week, enjoy =)

A little sweetness, a healthy treat

Since my last post I have not been very good at updating. It is probably due to the lack of sugar in my life right now. Last week I even started a 'Better Call Saul,' review and just left it sitting open on my laptop all day, without adding to it. I'm not sure if that says more about my sugar deprivation or about the show. If I'm honest I'm not sold on that show yet, emphasis on the yet! It has potential in my opinion but it seems to be a slow builder. In case you are wondering, since we are talking Netflix, I am about 8 episodes into season 3 of 'House of Cards' and will be doing a review when we're done. (Yes I dedicated a whole day to it this weekend, no judgement!!)

Anyway so this weekend I also found myself craving sugar and sweets and buying things like 'crackers' that are really biscuits and decided to just go ahead and make something nice. So I present to you the delicious hazelnut macaroons -

Study snacks

I have to start this post with an apology. I sincerely intended to post last week and was travelling home for my birthday so it made the perfect opportunity. I brought my big camera and even baking bits necessary for a really beautiful cake to blog about. However sometimes ironically living life gets in the way of blogging about one's life and I returned after the trip with a grand total of 2 photos. This is ridiculous and I'll explain why. There was so much to blog about. I celebrated with my family at a Michelin star restaurant, where the food came under glass service covers filled with special smoke to enhance the experience. Everything was beautiful and decadent but the setting was too sophisticated for me to pull out a huge camera, or even my phone.

Following this I prepared my cake and made it into the beautiful basket of roses that I imagined but unfortunately time constraints meant that as soon as i had completed the cake I had to work on my own appearance and the party was beginning in 45mins. So no pictures yet again. I have just one photo that a friend took as I was blowing out the candles, which I may add to this in a little bit with permission.

Healthy Mother's Day Breakfast ideas

So this coming weekend is Mother's Day in the states, not here - here it's in March. However I always remember Mother's Day in the states because it's usually the same weekend as my birthday. So since it's my birthday week I decided to make myself some delicious breakfasts and then thought - wouldn't this make an interesting idea for mother's day breakfast in bed too. So you might say to me, but Cat - Mother's Day is a treat it doesn't need to be healthy and if you want something naughty for your mum I would suggest this cinnamon and nuts twist. However, what if your mother is a fitness fanatic, or what if the mother in your life is your wife who has recently given birth and is working on the baby weight, wouldn't it be nice to be able to provide a delicious special treat that won't hurt her wasit-line or cholesterol.

A not completely healthy snack

I apologize for the lack of post last week but I was on a wonderful trip in the Spanish mountains. A week of glorious views and trees dripping with delicious oranges, lemons and avocados is enough to inspire any baker so you might be surprised that my first recipe upon returning is rather simple but still inspired by my trip.