The Accidental Stepford

Stepford - n. a married person who submits to their partner's will and is preoccupied by domestic concerns.
The debris of my pre-work snack.

The debris of my pre-work snack.

Lemon Drizzle Cake with a Lemon Curd Filling

I made a lemon drizzle cake for the Mr’s birthday a couple of weeks back, but have been slow to post it on here because it was a bit of a disappointment. Firstly it didn’t rise very much (which was undoubtedly my fault), and secondly it was just so extremely lemon-y. Far too lemon-y in fact. And we both like lemon deserts… Anyway, I have copied it out below and I’m sure an able baker can rectify it to make it more enjoyable.

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Ingredients:

  • For the lemon drizzle: the juice of 4 lemons; 75g caster sugar
  • For the sponge: 200g caster sugar; 200g unsalted butter, the zest of 2 lemons; 3 large eggs (beaten); 200g self-raising flour
  • For the filling: lemon curd

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 20cm springform cake tin with butter, then add a small amount of flour, turn the cake tin to coat sides and bottom and shake out any excess.
  2. For the lemon drizzle, in a bowl, mix together the lemon juice and sugar until the mixture is well combined and the sugar has melted. Set aside.
  3. For the sponge, beat the sugar, butter, and lemon zest in a mixing bowl until fluffy.
  4. Gradually add the eggs, whisking after each addition until the egg is completely incorporated into the mix before adding the next. Carefully fold in the flour.
  5. Pour the cake mix into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 30-40 mins, or until the sponge has risen and is cooked through.
  6. Remove it from its case and prick the top several times. Pour over the lemon drizzle mixture to soak the cake, then set aside to cool.
  7. When the sponge has cooled, cut it in half and spread the lower half with the lemon curd, and reassemble.

What I am Reading at the Moment

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Having finally waded my way through all 90 pages of The Prince, it’s finally time for me to start reading something else. I would like to say that my slow progress through Machiavelli’s text was due to busyness but since I didn’t start working until last Monday there really is no excuse… still I read it, digested it, vaguely remember some of his key concepts, and now have the delicious satisfaction of knowing that I have indeed read it.

Now I shall be reading Saturday by Ian McEwan. I have only ever read one other book by McEwan, Enduring Love, which I enjoyed, so I’m looking forward to trying another one. The Mr’s father leant me his copy of Saturday so I guess I really will need to crack on with i! I will update you with my thoughts/ ramblings on it if I have any once I have finished it.

Black Millionaire’s Shortbread

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The Mr asked me to make a biscuit-y treat that he could bring into the office on his birthday last week. He had mentioned millionaire’s shortbread a few days earlier, and so I thought I’d take a risk and make it. I made ‘Black Millionaire’s Shortbread’ which uses treacle and golden syrup instead of caramel, which results in a really rich end result.

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Ingredients:

  • For the base: 125g plain flour, 2 tbsp cocoa, ¼ tsp baking powder, 75g muscovado sugar, 100g unsalted butter (softened)
  • For the topping: 175g muscovado sugar, 2 tbsp cornflour, 1 tsp ground allspice, 75g treacle, 75g golden syrup, 150g unsalted butter, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 200g dark chocolate, 25ml sunflower oil

Method:

  1. Make the base by sifting the flour, cocoa and baking powder into a bowl. Add the sugar and butter, and rub until the mixture turns into a buttery dough.
  2. Press the dough evenly into the base of a 20cm square tin lined with foil and bake at 170C (150C fan assisted) for 30 mins.
  3. Stir the sugar, cornflour, allspice and syrups in a deep saucepan over a low heat until dissolved and smooth. Add the butter and vanilla extract, bring to a boil and simmer for three to four minutes until a drizzle dropped into cold water can be squeezed into a soft ball between your fingers.
  4. Remove from the heat, let the bubbles subside, then pour over the base. Leave for three to four hours to cool.
  5. Gently melt the chocolate with the oil and spread over the top.
I love Autumn.

I love Autumn.

Halloween Biscuits

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The Mr was determined that we go full throtle this Halloween, so last Monday we carved a pumpkin (see the post below) and yesterday we baked Halloween biscuits. We used a recipe from the BBC website, but cut the dough into circles as we didn’t have “Halloween-style biscuit cutters” because we are not that tacky (yet). We then proceeded to decorate our biscuits and swiftly realised that we both suck at using icing. The biscuits in the photo are our best attempts and I’m sure anyone reading this will struggle to identify what half of them are supposed to be of. The recipe says the mix should make 6-8 biscuits, we doubled it thinking that the aforementioned estimate was stingy, and ended up with over 30… the Mr then mentioned how he only really wanted “one or two”. I was not pleased. 

The recipe below is the one given on the BBC website. The quantities seem at times a bit random, so I would strongly suggest using it as a guide and just winging it. Happy Halloween!

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Ingredients:

  • 100g unsalted butter
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 275g plain flour
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 400g icing sugar (say what?!)
  • 3-4 tbsp water
  • 2-3 drops of food colourings

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 190C. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
  2. Beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl until combined.
  3. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract, a little at a time, until well combined.
  4. Stir in the flour until the mixture comes together as a dough.
  5. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 1cm.
  6. Using Halloween style biscuit cutters, cut biscuits out of the dough and carefully place onto the baking tray.
  7. Bake the biscuits for 8-10 minutes, or until pale golden-brown. Set aside to harden for 5 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.
  8. For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a large mixing bowl and stir in enough water to create a smooth mixture. Stir in the food colouring.
  9. Carefully spread the icing onto the biscuits using a knife and set aside until the icing hardens.

(Source: BBC)

The Mr and I carved this on Monday. We are super keen for Halloween.

The Mr and I carved this on Monday. We are super keen for Halloween.

Lessons on gay history cut homophobic bullying in north London school

From yesterday’s Guardian newspaper:

A north London school which has developed lessons on gay historical figures who suffered persecution claims to have succeeded in “more or less eliminating homophobic bullying” in its classrooms and playgrounds over the last five years.

The life story of the wartime code-breaker Alan Turing is among those being used to tackle homophobia. Authors Oscar Wilde and James Baldwin and artist Andy Warhol also feature.

Now Stoke Newington secondary plans to share the lessons with hundreds of primary and secondary school teachers. By the summer, it will have trained more than a hundred teachers in how to “educate and celebrate” being gay.

Turing, a mathematician who cracked German codes in the second world war, was prosecuted in 1952 for his homosexuality, which was then a crime. He was forced to decide between prison and taking female hormones to reduce his libido, and chose the latter. An inquest into his death – two years after his prosecution – returned a verdict of suicide.

Last year, Gordon Brown offered a posthumous government apology for the way Turing had been treated for being gay.

Elly Barnes, a music teacher, devised the lesson plans and training course with the help of colleagues. Her concern began when she heard a pupil say their “pen was so gay” when it snapped in two. Barnes’s aim is to “eradicate homophobia from all schools” by giving staff the confidence and resources required to tackle the prejudice.

Earlier this month, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission published a report, How Fair is Britain?, which found two-thirds of lesbian, gay and transgender students had suffered homophobic bullying, and 17% had received death threats.

Nearly half of secondary school teachers in England believe homophobic bullying is common. Only one in six believes their school is active in promoting the rights of gay pupils, the commission found.

“Many schools haven’t even begun to deal with homophobia,” Barnes said. “Some still think being gay is illegal in parts of the country.”

She believes one problem is that teachers dread taking lessons on homosexuality. “Many are scared of celebrating LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] as they are worried pupils will judge them and will assume they are gay. In fact, to them, we are just a blob giving them information. Over the five years, I’ve only had three pupils ask whether I am gay.”

A week ago, a group of 10 and 11 year olds trooped into Barnes’s classroom and she played them a clip from the film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, which is about three drag queens travelling across the Australian outback. The pupils appeared happy to discuss transvestites and transsexuals.

“There is a man at my auntie’s work who wears a skirt and has really hairy legs,” said one. “Criss-cross is where you like both men and women,” offered another.

Florence, aged 12, told the class about the first wedding she went to. “It was a gay wedding and they were called Andrew and Eric, and I wanted to be a bridesmaid, but I had only known them for two years.”

Josiah, aged 11, said: “The pope opposes homosexuality, but I don’t know why, as I think everyone should have free will.”

Occasionally, the lessons do not go to plan. One of Barnes’s colleagues, Anna Gluckstein, was teaching about Turing when a boy at the back of the class got up and chanted “batty man, batty man” – a Jamaican term for a gay man.

A poll of 1,145 pupils in 2007 by the charity Stonewall found 65% of lesbian, gay and bisexual students had experienced homophobic bullying. Some 98% said the word “gay” was used as a synonym for “rubbish”.

“By looking at famous LGBT people in history, we’ve changed opinions and we have had a number of pupils come out,” Barnes said. “We have also changed the language used in the school. I used to hear the word gay used all the time as a derogatory term. Now we hardly hear it.”

(Source: Guardian)

Miso Broth with Noodles and Vegetables

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Tonight I made miso broth with noodles and an assortment of vegetables. I had considered making a Thai curry, but whilst flicking through my cookery books I came across this recipe and it looked so straightforward and tasty (which it is) that I had to give it a bash.

The recipe is from Maria Elia’s The Modern Vegetarian and it’s incredibly simple. I chose to go with asparagus, broccoli and mushrooms, but you could easily use a variety of other vegetables. I also used miso powder (one of those instant miso soup packets) but Elia suggests using miso paste, the powder worked just fine, so don’t be concerned if you can’t find one or the other.

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Maria Elia’s Miso Broth with Noodles and Vegetables

Ingredients:

  • 250g noodles
  • 3cm fresh ginger, peeled and finely sliced
  • 4 tablespoons yellow, red or white miso / 1 litre of miso powder in water
  • 4 spears of asparagus. sliced into 3cm pieces
  • 100g of mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • One broccoli, cut into florets (discard the rest)
  • 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 4 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped
  • A dash of Thai sweet chilli sauce

Method:

  1. Put 1 litre of water and the ginger in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and stir in the miso [Or use 1 litre of water combined miso powder].
  2. Add the asparagus, mushrooms and broccoli and simmer for 3 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, cook the noodles according the packet instructions.
  4. Add the spring onion, coriander, Thai sweet chilli sauce and soy sauce to the broth. Cook for a further minute or so until the vegetables are to your liking.
  5. Divide the noodles between bowls and top with the vegetables and broth. Serve immediately.