Where has time gone?

I have been so busy with college recently, so I have not had time to do my weekly post about what I got up to. I could just about to my Writing Wednesday poems. Sometimes you get more than one. Don't get used to it. I say that a lot don't I then do it next week. How does that work?

I hear, you want me to give you a weekly post, right now. Well do you know, I'm going to do that right now.

I can't believe it's October. Where has September gone? Where has our Summer Holiday gone? Time flies by when you are having fun. Did you know that? So does that mean homework is fun? I will let you decide on that one!

First day at college

I can just about remember it. We didn't had much time to settle in before we started lesson. With two classes in one lesson. Very confusing, for trying to learn new names and too much faces. So much challenges to face in college. I thought college was great fun. Did you thought that? Well to your attention it is great fun after you overcome your challenges. At the moment after each challenge I have I'm faced with another. I remember last year I finished early so could go home do my homework and have so much time on my hands. I'm afraid this year I start late and guess what? I finish late in the evenings. So not much time on my hands.

I'm sure lectures are evil. So you are just about there with getting you never ending of homework and then you are given an assignment with your first two weeks. You hand your assignment in. And said to yourself 'least I can relax for a couple of weeks before another assignment is given in my hands.' NO, think again. What, it can't be. That's not fair. You can rebel as much as you want. Hand it in an assignment and another assignment has flown your way. 

That's college for you.

Parents have gone away for a weekend

What comes to your mind when a teenager parents have gone away for a weekend? Maybe it's the parties, house getting damaged, teenager gets drunk. I'm sorry to disappoint y'all. Mine was very tame. I worked, got home and studied and made dinner and make cakes Then study more and didn't get to sleep until midnight. 

I made a wonderful dish just by putting random things in the pan cooked it and put it in the oven. It worked and was very tasty.

Chicken hot pot

I fancied cooking something. But not to sure what. So I looked in the cupboards, fridge and even freezer. And this was the outcome. If you fancy making this dish then here is the recipe. I must say it was very tasty and easy to make but took a while so not good if you are busy in the evening. A great dish to make when you got time on your hands.

Ingredients

• 1 onion 
• 1 garlic
• 1 carrot
• 1 pepper
• 2-3 potatoes (enough to cover the casserole dish)
• 1-2  chicken breast 
• 1 vegetable cube
• 1 can of baked beans
• Splash of Worcestershire sauce

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan oven 200/Gas mark 6
2. Before you start the actual cooking. I find it helpful if I chop all the vegetables before hand. So dice the onion, carrot and use a garlic presser for garlic. Don't forget to slice the potatoes. Just mind you fingers. Make sure you have ten fingers left. How can you forget about the chicken? I cubed the chicken. 
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onions and garlic until they brown slightly. Put in the chicken. 
4. Until the chicken has gone white. You can put the vegetables in. Just wait until it has gone soft then. Meanwhile put the kettle on. I put extra in then I need so I can make a cup of tea.
5. Put the vegetable cube in the jug pour over 900 ml of water in the jug. If you fancy making a tea then you can make a cup of tea. Stir the vegetable cube until it has dissolved in the water. Then put that in the pan. Bring it to the pan.
6. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the veg are tender. Stir in the baked beans and a generous splash of Worcestershire sauce and heat through. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.
7. Then this fun bit comes in. Put the contents in the pan to the casserole dish. Place the sliced potatoes on top in layers and cook for 50 minutes. Test the potatoes with a fork to check that they are cooked. If not turn the oven down to 160°C fan oven/180/Gas mark 4 and cook for another 10 minutes.
8. Best of all enjoy.

Carrot cake

Carrot cake

I peeled an extra carrot. I couldn't bin that carrot it would be such as waste. Plus I had no dessert after my main meal. I know what to make, can you. Carrot cake. Yep carrot cake the best cake that is so tasty and doesn't take long to make either. One problem I didn't had a recipe to follow. Who needs a recipe anyway? If you want a recipe than you are in luck! 

Ingredients

• 175g dark brown soft sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 150ml sunflower oil
• 200g self-raising flour
• 2 teaspoons mixed spice
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon 
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
• 1 grated big carrot 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170 Fan/Gas Mark 5. Put 12 paper muffin cases in a muffin tin.
2. Whisk the sugar, eggs and oil together in a bowl for 2-3 minutes until pale and bubbly around the edges. Check that there is no sugar left undissolved.
3. Now sift the flour, mixed spice, cinnamon and bicarbonate of soda into the bowl, then fold all this in gently. Then add the grated carrot.
4. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until well risen and springy to the touch. 
6. Transfers to a wire rack to cool completely. 
7. Best of all enjoy.

If you asked people what their favourite cake was, carrot cake might just come our top, This cake is loved by everyone who tries it and has the added bonus of being pretty easy and cheap to make.

Dad cupcakes 

My attempt of making chocolate and orange cupcakes

My Dad birthday on the 20th September and wanted some cake to take into work. So me being me. Dived in going 'I will make a cake.' I'm looking through all the recipes book either in the house or on the internet sometimes in book stores to get an inspiration. But nothing was coming to me. It wasn't till the morning of making these cakes, I looked at orange and there was chocolate on the table. Why not put them together? I had a final look for recipes that was chocolate and orange cupcakes. I found one. So this isn't my own recipe this time, it's from Marks and Spencer book called 'scrumptious cupcakes perfect pick me-ups'  Since you are are eagering to cook this lovely cupcake, I'm not surprised since is one of your five a day!!

Ingredients 

For the cake

• 155g softened butter
• 115g golden caster sugar
• 1/2 grated orange ( I used about an whole orange)
• 2 eggs
• 115g self-raising flour
• 25g of plain dark chocolate (I used 35g dark chocolate)
• thin stirps candiced orange peel to decorate. I think you can just grate some oragnge and put it on top.

Topping

• 115g plain chocolate broken into pieces. (eat the fine bits, no one is watching you)
• 25g softened butter
• 1 tablespoon of golden syrup.

Method

For candied orange

1. Cut the top and bottom off each orange and score the skin into quarters. Remove the skin (peel and pith, the white part), and cut the skin into strips about ¼" wide. Wrap the oranges in plastic wrap to store for other use. Place the strips of peel in a large saucepan and cover with cold water.

For the cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Put 16 paper baking cases in 2 X 12-hole bun tins or put 16 double layer paper cases on a baking tray.
2. Put the butter, sugar and orange rind in a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs. Stift in the flour and, using a metal spoon, fold gently into the mixture with the orange juice and grafted chocolate. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases.
3. Bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until well risen and springy to the touch. Transfer to the touch. Transfer to a wire racks to cool completely.

For the topping

1. Break the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and add the butter and syrup. Set the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water and heat until melted. Remove from the heat and stir until smooth. Cool until the topping is thick enough to spread. Spread over the cupcakes and decorate each cupcake with a few strips of candied orange peel. Leave to set. 

If you got any candied orange pieces and chocolate, which didn't manage to get a way to your mouth. I know what y'all like. You can always dip in your orange to the chocolate just get prepared to get messy and wash up a messy plate. But you are rewared with a lovely snack with your tea or coffee. 

Poem

I deiced to write a poem to conclude this post. Since this post at the intention of talking about time then somehow got lots of recipes. So lests wrap up with a poem about time. 

Time

time is

the space in which we grow

   without awareness

   in our early years

structured by meals

   arrivals and departures

   light and dark

   hot and cold

   school   studies  play  adventures

   celebrations

and by waiting

   anxiously or not

for things to happen

time is

that feeling

that we may not have enough of it

in our later years

busy with jobs and family and travel

covering long distances in order to

achieve and educate and care

time is

what starts to rush by us

with increasing speed

in our final years

making us wonder

what it really means

that space 

by which we measure 

our lives 

   our universes

      our worlds

time is