These gorgeous little beauties come courtesy of JonMc at Nigella.com. You will, if you are anything like me, look at the ingredients and think I have left flour out. I haven't. You will also think that without flour it just won't work. Trust me, it will. The weights and amounts are converted from the original recipe which called for American cups. For some reason my conversion of sugar turned out to be less than a website I looked at (I had 150g, they said 200g) but the amount below worked out fine. The lighting on the photo is rubbish, sorry, I should really stop making these things in the evening when there is no natural light. Enjoy them!
Ingredients: 240g peanut butter (smooth or crunchy - I used crunchy because I like cookies with bits in) 150g caster sugar 1 medium or large egg
Method:
Preheat oven to 180degC
Whisk the egg in a bowl until it is frothy
Stir in the peanut butter until smooth and amalgamated
Stir in the sugar until a dough forms (give it some elbow grease with a wooden spoon)
Using your hands, roll out balls of dough about the size of a walnut
Put them on a greased baking sheet and then press them lightly on the top with a fork
Bake in the oven for about 10 mins. As you can see from my picture I overcooked mine a bit and they had burnt edges. Still tasted fabulous though :)
If you are a regular Big Eejit Viewer you will know that this month I started a degree at Bristol Baptist College Centre for Youth Ministry. It's going great, but I am giving you all a little disclaimer because the workload this term is going to take some getting used to (it's insane) and blogging may not be top of the list! Especially food blogging (although I do have a blog in mind for a rather delicious dinner I made the other night). However this course is already testing some of my thoughts and beliefs and I did get stuck in a lift on my first day so I am sure there are bound to be occasions when I want to tell you what I think about something or relate some mishap I have suffered..... so fret not, all is not lost.
This post has also brought to mind Sophie, who is currently studying at culinary school (jealous!) - Sophie if you are reading do drop me a line and let me know how you are getting on! Save for your post on homosexuality (which, let's face it, is decidedly unrelated to food and cooking!) you have been very quiet of late!
Ok, I may be overstating things a little bit with that title. iTunes, whilst being pretty amazing, hasn't exactly changed my life on the same scale as Jesus, satnav, mobile phones, Sky+ and wireless internet. But it has changed my music-buying habits quite a bit. I like music. I like listening to music, I like singing along to music. I don't like buying music. I have a lot of friends (Nathan and Ben among others) who are those trendy types who listen to bands no-one has heard of, and talk about how deep and meaningful the lyrics are. I just like something I can crank up in the car and sing along to. I like music that tells the story clearly and doesn't require a degree to understand. So as a result a lot of my tastes stem from the "Now that's what I call music" school of mainstream, bland pop. And because of that I tend not to buy albums, because chances are there are only 4 songs I want to listen to on there, and those are the ones that were in the UK chart and played on Radio 2 from time to time. Hence why lovely iTunes has made life so much easier because then I can buy one or two songs without worrying about wasting my money. But pre-iTunes I took the Risk - sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. Therefore I judge the quality of the band or artist on whether or not I can listen to their album the whole way through without skipping any songs (Good Buy), or whether I only listen to tracks 4, 7 and 15 on repeat (Bad Buy). This is the list I have come up with, when I should really be working, of albums who have met the criteria of a Good Buy. I'm afraid I can't describe music and songs in the arty poetic way Nathan can, apologies for that, you'll just have to take my word for it. Feel free to criticise - I can take it. Also feel free to make suggestions of albums I really should listen to in order to lead a more fulfilling life...
Semisonic: Feeling Strangely Fine Way back in 1999, when I was a mere 18 years old, a song called Secret Smile was in the charts. It was an angsty sort of song all about love and secret things, and in that way you do when you are young and in love I thought it was My Life In Song. Then the guy I fancied sang it at a camp I was on in the summer and it became The Song of 1999. I got the album later that year and I listened to it non-stop for about 3 years after that. Setting aside Secret Smile which really didn't reflect my life as much as I liked to think it did (the guy who sang it on that camp is now married to my sister for a start), the rest is just fantastic, easy listening, slightly rocky-guitary stuff that I like. Closing Time, Never You Mind, and Gone to the Movies are particular favourites. The lead singer is kind of cute in that geeky, David Tennant kind of way too.
The Seahorses: Do it Yourself Going even further back in time now - 1997 so Wikipedia tells me - when I was 16 years old and making new friends in 6th Form. They told me all about this cool band called The Seahorses who would soon be coming to Exeter Great Hall to do a gig. And the guy from Stone Roses played the guitar. Eager to show my new friends that I was Cool and Trendy I agreed to go along with them. Wow. First gigs are always special and this one was no different, especially because it was seeing such a fantastic band. The tunes are catchy, slightly rocky, and the lyrics are easy to understand even if they are a little bizarre in places. Lead singer is cute as well (I sense a pattern forming here...)
Amy MacDonald: This is the Life I got this album a couple of years ago for Christmas. My step mum had seen her on BBC Breakfast and thought she sounded cool, so bought me the CD. Again, it's nice and easy guitar-y, folky stuff and she has a really lovely voice.
Snow Patrol: Eyes Open Another influence from the parents - I got this album after hearing it at my dad's house. He likes it because it has good beats you can air-drum to. I like it because I can play it loud :) Chasing Cars is my absolute favourite, a little over-played unfortunately thanks to Grays Anatomy. They're from Norn Iron too, which makes them even better ;) Robbie Williams: Greatest Hits I know I know. Greatest Hits albums are cheating. But this is my list so bite me. I have been a fan of Robbie since Take That broke up and he started a rivalry with Gary Barlow. I love *all*his songs right up until he released Escapology which was a bit too dark and sweary, and Rudebox which was just plain ridiculous. I am really looking forward to his new one, which is said to be a little more "Robbie". Anyway this greatest hits album is brilliant, each song reminds me of someone or something from my life depending on when it was released (e.g. Lazy Days - 1997 trip to Zimbabwe; Kids - first year of uni; Feel - karaoke with my step-mum....) And he's hot too.
Tim Hughes: Holding Nothing Back I tend not to buy Christian music that much to be honest. I have a couple of my brother-in-law's albums but that's only because he gives them to me for free ;) Anyway, when my cousin David got married back in July, one of the songs at his wedding was Everything by Tim Hughes. My grandma, who is 91 and totally amazing, freaked out a bit at the thought of David not having any traditional hymns at his wedding, just "that modern stuff". So my dad played her the song so she could hear how good it really was. I listened to the lyrics and promptly burst into tears at the thought of my "wee" cousin David getting married and being all grown up; but when I had composed myself enough to hear the rest of the album I thought I really must buy it. It has just the right balance of reflective songs, and rocky jump-up-and-down ones like this:
I went to bed at 9.30 tonight, thinking "Oooh it'll be nice to have an early night, ready to start the week all fresh as a daisy..." Mistake. I fell asleep for about half an hour before waking up again and now I am wide awake. I am also hungry, but I know it is a Bad Thing (regardless of what Nigella might tell us) to eat this late. Ho hum.
So I thought I would share with you, lovely blog readers, this brilliant video from the BBC. Every Saturday teatime for the past couple of weeks we have been treated to a programme called Walk on the Wild Side. The premise is simple - take some nature footage and do voiceovers for it. And it is that simplicity which makes it flipping HILARIOUS! I just love that people are clearly being paid to watch hours of this footage and think of ways to make it funny. They are geniuses! Anyway, this one in particular is my absolute favourite and in previous weeks has had me laughing out loud every time:
Then this evening, it got EVEN BETTER.......
French Marmot!!!
Ok so maybe this says a little too much about my sense of humour. But even if it just puts a smile on your face, I've done my job :)
Right, this blogging nonsense isn't going to get me off to sleep. I may have to succumb to a bowl of Cherios though.......
Just a quick post to direct you towards my friend Ruthie's blog. She is taking one photo per day for the next 365 days and blogging it. Brilliant idea, wish I had thought of it. Anyway it's here and it's fabulous. Enjoy!
I am developing a bit of an obsession with these little blighters. I was introduced to them at my friend Anna's birthday party and since them my life has never been the same. Find them in the pickle section of Asda (other supermarkets are available) and enjoy them in any of the following ways...
1. Filled with cream cheese and enjoyed as a party nibble - the way the tangy sharpness is soothed by the creamy cheese is just heavenly
2. Chopped up and sprinkled into cheesy pasta - just had this for my tea tonight!
3. Sliced and used as part of a quesedilla filling (make a "sandwich" out of 2 tortillas, toast in a non-stick frying pan, flipping over half way through)
4. Jazz up a pizza (Pollo ad Astra at Pizza Express has them)
5. Use as a side dish (a la Nigella's cous cous and poussins from Nigella Christmas)
I'm 28. I am a Children's Worker. I love Jesus, my job, crisps, shoes, and rugby. If you are reading this blog you clearly have nothing better to do with your time... ;)
