Historically Hysterical

Pantry tea and gingerbread people

2010-11-26T08:34:00.007+11:00

My long awaited, dreaded, and inevitable return to blogging is here, and I shall make more of an effort to assault you with my bakings and ramblings from now on.

Having been in England for four months from April to August, I had little opportunity to bake, having no kitchen to speak of, or worthy of the name of kitchen. Mr A's mum eventually took pity on me and invited me over to bake, which was a glorious release and an apple pie and a cherry pie came forth in quick succession. Both were rave successes, especially the cherry pie which was made with fresh morello cherries, and therefore had a lovely tart quality to it. The cherry pie was repeated for Mr A's birthday and crumbles full of bramley apples and summer berries were also made. We went blackberry picking, and picked a tonne of blackberries as Mr A was working up the courage to propose...which he did, and I said yes....A celebratory apple and blackberry pie followed, though I have since learnt that you must put some cornflour in when baking with blackberries as the pie was almost drowned by the vast quantity of delicious crimson juice.

Since coming home things have been busy with with the thesis, work and friends. My dear friend Miss P got married and so in the lead up the the joyous occasion we had a pantry tea, which allowed me to get my bake on!!

Having been deprived of means and opportunity for so long I made:

Little lemon tarts
Almond macaroon/biscuits - intense little almondy diamonds that you left to dry out over night before baking and smothering in icing sugar
Caramalised onion and bacon quiches
Balsamic Caramalised onion, pumpkin and Parmesan tarts
and Pistachio Macaroons.

I have made these macaroons before, but the first time, whilst they turned out really well, something was wrong with the mixture as it was very liquid and wouldn't pipe. These, on the other hand were perfect. They are Nigella's recipe from "Domestic Goddess". The recipe makes way too much butter cream - so I have some stashed in the freezer to use for something else as it is intensely sweet if you used it all to fill the biscuits it would totally overwhelm them and everyone would get diabetes instantly.

For Miss P and Mr D's bomboniere's they lovingly made gingerbread brides and grooms to give to their guests. We were called in once all the hard work had been done to turn the little guys and girls into brides and grooms. It was great fun, especially when I got half way through a bride only to realise it was actually a groom! The whole thing made me want to run away and become a pastry chef...which part of me still wants to do, especially on the days when my thesis is driving me insane or I have had a particularly good day in the kitchen....

HH

Fruit Flan

2010-03-13T15:54:00.005+11:00

I love fruit flan. I always have. Between that and lemon/citrus tart, I can be a bit predictable. I am however, often, bitterly disappointed.

I have been meaning to make a fruit flan for years, and eventually cracked it for my anti-Valentines day dinner. (I am not anti as a general rule,but rather suffering from the tyranny of distance.)

Although I make short crust pastry all the time, I followed a recipe from a friends french cookbook. I think it included egg yolk to bind it and rather than rubbing the flour and butter between your fingers until it resembled breadcrumbs, you used the heel of your hand in a smooth pushing motion through the mixture on the bench to combine. Although dubious, it worked beautifully, and produced the most delicious tender pastry, which was a joy to work with and a joy to eat.

For the filling I made Nigella's creme patisserie, not feeling brave enough to make one I hadn't tried before. It turned out well, but I should have put the filled tart case in the fridge to set, as although thick, it wasn't set enough when I cut it.

For the fruit, I used strawberries and peaches. I had bought kiwi fruit but they were horribly bitter (and I don't seriously love them), and the peaches took up a lot more room than I anticipated.

All in all I was pleased with my efforts and it tasted amazing. I was quite heavy handed with the vanilla in the creme patisserie it went beautifully with the fruit and the pastry was just lovely. I am still working on making my tart cases look pretty as they always have a bit of rustic charm about them and I marvel at the pictures in the books of painstaking, near impossible precision and delicacy that the cases have. One day.

HH

Spiced Cake

2010-02-16T23:16:00.008+11:00

A while ago I saw a recipe for a delicious sounding,beautiful spiced pear cake at Kalofagas, a blog which I stumbled on through Foodycat's blog. The cake sounded so inviting I could almost smell the spiced aroma and the sweet delicate fragrance from the pears, and knew I had to make it. A few months passed and with an afternoon tea date upon me I thought it was the perfect time to give it a go.

I followed the recipe pretty much as it was, but not having any ground star anise, I added a whole one to the poaching liquid with very pleasing results. I made an executive decision that the temperature wasn't fan forced, so reduced it to 160'c, and it seemed to be right. I also decided that 1/2 a cup of butter was 125 g, which is probably close enough.

This cake has to be one of the nicest cakes I have had. The cake itself is tender and moist and deliciously spiced. The pears, which I think look so pretty when poached in a neutral liquid, looked stunning in the cake, and tasted amazing. We finished the cake off between the 4 of us, and I think we all could have gone another slice. It didn't need cream or any other accompaniment, but I think a bit of cream or creme fraiche combined with a little of the poaching liquid would have moved the cake from afternoon tea to dessert.

I wasn't done with the cake just yet. As figs were in season and encouraged by foodycat, I decided to try it out with figs.

As the figs wouldn't need poaching I made a little syrup with 1 cup of water and 1/4 cup of sugar, a star anise and a cinnamon stick to use for the 60 ml of poaching liquid needed in the cake. Four figs replaced the three pears, and it worked a charm. As the figs cooled, they collapsed a little, but still retained their shape within the cake. They were sweet and jammy, and had lost any of the, what I can only describe as 'planty' flavour that some figs have. We served it with a little vanilla cream, and it was wonderful.

(Not the best picture of the last piece, taken the next day before I scoffed it for breakfast.)

This cake, in both its pear and fig varieties is already a favourite and I can see it being a go-to cake for a long time to come.

HH

Muffins

2010-02-13T11:11:00.000+11:00

I have been baking quite a lot the last couple of weeks, partly for procrastination, partly for mental health, partly for my family who are all busy at the moment, and partly to have as a reward for if I happen to do some work.

I have made Nigella's Pear and Ginger Muffins, from Nigella express, many times before, and they are quick, easy and very delicious. The recipe makes a good base recipe for fruited muffins and I have been playing with it a bit of late, with excellent results.

The first was apple cinnamon muffins. Replacing the pear and ginger for apple and cinnamon gave the muffins a much more teacake taste and I also replaced the sour cream with Greek yogurt, as that is what I had, which added a lovely tang to the muffins. The total weight of fruit I used was 200g after it was peeled, cored and chopped, as 300g creates too much batter for the tins. I made two batches of these in the one week, and they remained moist and tender for 3 days after baking, after which time they were all gone.

My second foray was more seasonally inspired, after purchasing several punnets of fresh figs. After eating the figs with yogurt and honey, I thought that teamed up with yogurt and honey in a muffin, they would also be fabulous.

I went for fig and ginger muffins, the spice combination inspired by the fig and ginger pudding served atBadde Manors, a cafe which I go to very often. This time I replaced the caster sugar with brown sugar and again used Greek yogurt. I just tore the figs, letting the juices drip into the mixture. I added a little extra ginger which gave it a nice kick, though some crystallised ginger finely chopped might have been nice as well.

In both instances I forgot to top them with a bit of brown sugar, but I don't think they need it as they are quite sweet already.

HH

Sweet Potato and Roast Cashew Soup

2010-02-02T11:35:00.004+11:00

I have always wanted to make a really tasty spiced soup. I have tried before, but haven't got the balance right, generally shrinking away from making it too spicy at the cost of flavour. This recipe is care of Mr A's SIL, but where she got it from, I do not know. She made it for us the night we arrived in Adelaide and it was wonderful, spicy and welcoming. It claims to be a wonderfully filling African soup, and it is indeed wonderful.

500g Sweet potato sliced
1 litre vegetable stock
25g butter
1 tsp chopped red chillies (I couldn't get fresh so used flakes)
1 tbs chopped root ginger
1 tbs chopped garlic (about 4 or 5 cloves)
175 g carrots sliced (about 3 medium)
175 g onions, sliced (1 medium)
50 g plain flour
3 tbs soy sauce
175 ml coconut nut milk
A hand full of coriander, plus extra for garnish
Salt and white pepper
250 g Cashew nuts.

Put the sweet potatoes and vegetable stock in a pan and boil for 15 minutes (or until soft). Melt the butter in a large pan, add the chillies, ginger, carrots and onions and fry over moderate heat until soft. Mix in the flour with a wooden spoon.

Add the onion mix to the sweet potato and whiz with a stick blender until smooth (or put in the food processor, but that is too much washing up). Cook on a low heat for 15 minutes, adding half the soy sauce, all the coconut milk at some stage during this time and the coriander roughly chopped, and seasoning to taste at the last minute. (I only added a little pepper, as the cashews covered in soy sauce along with the soy were salty enough.

Preheat the oven to 200'c/180'c. Pour remaining soy sauce over the cashews in a shallow bowl, mix thoroughly until they are all coated. Bake for about 10 minutes, turning them occasionally to ensure they are browned evenly and don't stick together.

Serve the soup with a garnish of coriander leaves and the cashews sprinkled on top.

Serves 4

HH

Raspberry and Vanilla Meringue Layer Cake

2010-01-24T13:00:00.005+11:00

I have had a lovely, if somewhat jam packed three weeks with Mr A, and I was very sad to see him go on Friday. It was not a very culinary holiday, but that being said, I did not go hungry and had some excellent fish and chips (several times), a delicious spiced soup care of Mr A's sister-in-law which I intend to make, an excellent BLT on gorgeous sour dough bread at a very nice cafe in Cooma, yum cha at the Marigold in Sydney, a gorgeous peppery meat pie with mash potatoes mushy peas and gravy at The Lord Nelson.

Adelaide was beautiful, and the sunset we saw at Mount Lofty in the Adelaide Hills was gorgeous. We flew from Adelaide to Melbourne and after spending a day or so with Mr A's mum, we headed off to drive to Berridale. We took the scenic route, down through Gipsland and up the coast. It was beautiful, and really fascinating to see how the country changes. We visited lots of nautical things in Sydney, including the Maritime Musuem and Fort Denison, where Mr A, much to his excitement, got to fire the gun.

I did manage to get a little cooking in amongst all this travelling, though nothing really note worthy - except the dessert I made for the BBQ I held at my place so Mr A could meet some of my friends.

I had planned to make a pavlova, but as I didn't have a stash of egg whites, and didn't have time to make two desserts, one with egg whites and one with yolks (I was thinking a fruit flan). I combined the two and made a Meringue layer cake with creme patisserie filling. I based it on Nigella'sGooey Chocolate Stack from Domestic Goddess,which I have made before, but substituted chocolate for vanilla, adding a good bit of vanilla extract to the meringue mix before baking (and white wine vinegar instead of red wine vinegar) and some vanilla bean paste to the creme patisserie. The meringues were wonderful, chewy but crisp and the raspberries, which were inbetween each layer, as well as on top, cut through the sweetness. By the time I served it, the raspberries had bled quite a bit as they weren't defrosted when I assembled it, but it created a lovely raspberry sauce, which if anything, added to the overall deliciousness.

HH

Christmas Pavlova and the misadventure continues

2010-01-02T20:34:00.005+11:00

I was feeling very unmotivated for Christmas this year, and whilst several batches of mince pies did make me feel a bit more festive, nothing could persuade me to make a proper boiled pudding this year. Instead I resorted to an ice cream pudding and a pavlova. I normally use Nigella's pavolva recipe, but I went with Jamie this time after eating a delicious offering from this recipe. It was pretty damn good. The unsugared egg whites are beaten until stiff and then the sugar is added gradually, but not a painstaking teaspoonful-at-a-time like Nigella suggests. The egg whites and sugars are then beat for between 6 and 10 minutes until the sugar is dissolved. It only took an hour to cook and doesn't have to cool in the oven - bliss for when you have left things a bit late and don't have time to let it sit in the oven. It is also the most wonderful texture, the perfect balance of soft and crunchy. Wonderful. I decorated it with mango and passionfruit, though it would have benefited from strawberries or raspberries, but I couldn't justify paying for the strawberries and I forgot to get frozen raspberries. But with vanilla cream, it was lovely.

In other, non-baking, news, I am reunited with Mr A tomorrow. It is only for 3 weeks, but it is better than nothing after what has been a long 11 months! We are heading to Adelaide then Melbourne and home via Berridale (wherever that is). Hopefully it will all go well and be lovely.

In thesis news, well, perhaps we shouldn't talk about that.

HH

Melbourne

2009-12-28T09:53:00.005+11:00

This is a very delayed post of my now, not so recent, trip to Melbourne. The main purpose of which was to eat, drink and be merry; and that is pretty much all we did, that and walk, a lot!

First stop on our culinary adventure was Fifteen Melbourne. We went for lunch as we thought it would be a good way to kick things off, and indeed it was. After gingerly making our way down the steep stairs, we were shown through to the dining area, past the bar (where Toby was sitting having his lunch) to a lovely little table with an excellent view of the open kitchen (which was very calm and orderly, I must say). The waiter quickly asked us if we would like a drink, perhaps a gin and tonic, to get started, and as E and I were there with the distinct purpose of drinking a lot of gin, we were very pleased with his suggestion. Things improved when a different waitress came to ask us if we had any preference for our gin. We said we normally drank Tanqueray, and she suggested Hendricks with cucumber. After hearing its praises sung by Pips, we were very keen to try it, and it was amazing!! We couldn't get over it, so fragrant and crisp and delicious. We were truly in awe, and most definitely in love. After phwoaring over our gin for a bit we decided on the Express Lunch menu, which was two courses and a glass of wine for $35. The range was limited, but delicious all the same. We both went with the squid salad and parpadele with veal ragu. The squid salad was amazing; Beautifully cooked baby squid with a good hint of chili,and citrus with snowpea shoots and the most delicious fried capers, which were crispy little bursts of salty flavour, and were amazing. The ragu was lovely too, though the freshly made, perfectly cooked pasta was the star of the show. The nice mild red that we got as part of the lunch went perfectly with the ragu.

Breakfast the next morning was the next important stop as we found a gorgeous little Spanish cafe down a laneway off Flinders Lane and we ended up there every morning. The coffee was amazing, strong and sweet and the perfect temperature. I had sourdough toast rubbed with tomato and olive oil with a generous amount of delicious, smooth, jamon topped with parmesan. It was gorgeous. E had french toast made with brioche that came with a poached pear, maple syrup and cinnamon. It was gorgeous too, and I had it on our third visit and it lived up to my expectations. The second day we both had big breakfasts, which was huge (too much protein for me) but delicious all the same. It included delicious though quite spicy chorizo, bacon, two eggs, tomato, mushrooms and sour dough toast. After staggering out from that protein charged breakfast in search of juice, a little jazz band had set up at the end of the laneway, and we passed a good hour sitting over a coffee listening to them bust out some smooth tunes. It was really good, and left us wishing for such things in Sydney.

On Friday we wandered down the Southbank and were lured into a very stylish bar by the prospect of beer and by a Virginia Woolf quote by the menu. I can't remember what it was called for the life of me, but the wait staff were very attentive and lovely. We decided on some bar-type food, though this was pretty special bar food. We ordered goats cheese cigars which were the most delicate pastry filled with chived goats cheese. One end was dipped in what seemed to be dehydrated raspberries and it came with an olive caramel. It was beautiful and one of the most intriguing flavour combinations I have had. We also got some Wagu beef sliders (mini-burgers). This tender piece of wagu was served on a mini brioche bun with a pickle and blue cheese. They were very tasty indeed.

Dinner that night was much anticipated. We went to Comme a beautiful French restaurant, which I will say right away the food was delicious. Our table wasn't quite ready when we arrived so we waited in the bar with a gin and tonic, though sadly not Hendricks, and people watched for a bit. It was a lovely bar with nice, sensible, smart looking people, somewhere you would like to come for a few drinks and some of the very delicious sounding bar food. We were ushered in to the restaurant and eventually decided on our meals. I had the new seasons lamb with aubergine puree and garlic fondant and sauce ratatouille, though it is changed on the online menus slightly. It was delicious. There were two or three different cuts of lamb, all cooked perfectly, and the garlic and aubergine went wonderfully. The sauce was a very delicate , thin ratatouille with tiny pieces of capsicum, though it was a bit too capsicumy for me (I should have paid more attention when ordering. E ordered the Western plains rabbit, foie gras croquette, etuvee of courgette flower, crystal bay prawns, hazelnuts and tarragon. It looked amazing and E's reports were that it tasted fantastic. It included several different parts of the rabbit and was a beautiful well balanced dish. It was E's favourite of the trip. For dessert, although I was almost swayed by the poached peach, we both decided on the chocolate fondant with milk sorbet. We were happy to wait the 20 minutes for it to arrive and curiously watched what the other diners were getting. Due to a bit of a back log in the kitchen it took more than 20 minutes, and our lovely waiter couldn't have been more apologetic and came back several times to let us know the progress of the fondant and to assure us that it was worth the wait, and indeed it was. It was possibly one of the best desserts I have ever had, and certainly the best chocolate fondant. It was perfectly oozing in the middle, soft, tender, rich and delicious. The milk sorbet was the perfect accompaniment, and we did all but lick our plates clean.

Saturday night dinner would turn out to be the highlight for me and it was, I have to say, one of the best meals of my life. Gills Diner was our port of call, on what was a cold and rainy Melbourne evening. Set down a little alleyway, Gills is a charming little place with loads of character and a friendly, if noisy, atmosphere. We had an early booking, and although we were early were shown straight to our table. We were pleased to see that they had Hendricks, and quickly ordered some. Deciding what to eat was another question, as everything on the menu sounded delicious. We had heard that the meals were quite hearty so after a delicious selection of bread with excellent butter, we decided to start with a main. I decided on the pork, which was a roast Otway pork chop (clearly from a rack of pork) with a pumpkin and chorizo puree, a fennel and apple salad and asparagus. The pork was perfectly cooked. The meat was tender and juicy and the crackling was to die for. The pure was amazing, rich and smooth, and a generous amount. There was also a drizzle of heavily reduced cooking juices, which was perfect. The fennel and apple salad was finely chopped, like a coleslaw and the asparagus, which was white asparagus had been lightly battered and fried. It was a wonderful, tasty and perfectly balanced meal. E ordered a special, which was an eye fillet steak topped with an olive crust served with potatoes, cabbage, onion and bacon. Though full, we were sorely tempted by the dessert menu and decided on basil panacotta with strawberries and pistachioes. All I can say is wow! The panacotta was perfect, niether rubbery nor runny. It was a beautiful green and the flavour of basil was both distinct and subtle. The strawberry had been cooked and the syrup around was perfect with the panacotta. We were also persuaded into a dessert wine. We weren't sure which to choose and asked for one that would match the dessert, and we were not disappointed. The staff were lovely again and the whole experience was wonderful.

We finished off the evening with a trip to the Paris Cat jazz club where we saw Kimba and the Gin remedy - which was a fantastic show, if you like jazz and ever see her playing I can't recommend her strongly enough. Her band was wonderful, her husband was the lead guitarist and musical director, and was just amazing. All in all, it was a wonderful way to round off a wonderful day.

Our final culinary stop was Giuseppe Arnaldo & sons where we had a bit of an antipasto selection. We had some delicious Cacciatore salami, A ricotta basket with chili, lemon, mint and grilled bruschetta and aranchini made with spinach risotto. Again, Hendricks gin rounded off the meal.

We left Melbourne full and content and wishing that we could afford to eat and drink like this always.

HH

Caramel Slice

2009-11-18T22:54:00.005+11:00

It has been quite a hectic few weeks since I last posted including my annual review (which I survived), our Post Graduate Conference which I gave a paper at (again, survived the ordeal) and watching the entire first season of Trueblood in just over 24 hours. My supervisor goes on maternity leave in less than a month and I have a chapter due before then. Little does she know I am going to Melbourne, which may result in a small chapter and a large amount of gin.

I also, stupidly, started a diet. I realise now, that not only do I like food a lot, I don't like being told what to eat, at all, and that 115g of ham is a hell of a lot of ham. I have, unsurprisingly, strayed from said diet, but may reengage it at a later stage as I am to be bridesmaid for my friend whose impromptu engagement party was the recipient of Chocolate-Guinness Tirimasu and wouldn't mind being a bit thinner for the occasion.

Baking has been a bit quite as a result. I did make some choc-chip cookies which almost ended in disaster when I realised after I put half in the oven that I hadn't added the Bi-Carb to the mix. After quickly withdrawing them from the oven and adding them back into the mixture, I ended up with marble cookies as the chocolate had already started to melt.

My most recent endeavour is caramel slice which I made as a result of an open can of condensed milk and this recipie for Dulce de Leche. I decided I should turn it into something, rather than just eat it all in its rich, creamy glory straight from the dish.

Having never made caramel slice before, it was good to make and the delcious tray of caramelly goodness in the fridge makes me want to make it again. I just made a digestive biscuit base, added the caramel and a very thin layer of dark chocolate. The thinness of the chocolate contributed to the cracking, but I don't care as it tastes fantastic.

When good cakes go bad...

2009-10-25T21:31:00.009+11:00

I am insanely busy at the moment, thesis, tutoring, life in general, all hectic. Despite all this, I couldn't miss an opportunity to celebrate with my good friend and her boyfriend, who got engaged last week. This saw me rush home from work with slight detours at the shops to make a cake, have it cooled and iced all in 3 hours. I also wanted to get some marking done, eat lunch, and write a job application. It doesn't need saying that I got very few of those things done, and with mixed results.

I decided on Nigella's chocolate Guinness cake, which I have made numerous times, as it is easy and involves no beating of butter, sugar etc as it starts its life in a saucepan. Something went wrong in the baking process as it rose gloriously, and then sunk, terribly, so much so that no amount of icing could have filled the void. I thought I would turn it over and ice the bottom - sweet. No, it didn't come out of the tin well (I rushed it, I know, and it was a new tin, silly me) - it was ugly, ragged and sunken and it was an hour before I had to leave - no time for a new cake or baked goods.

Then I remembered trifle - the saviour of cakes gone bad. From trifle I turned my thoughts to tirimasu, as the cake has a cream cheese icing - and from there the decision was easy, and the result I must say delicious (possibly better than the original).

Chocolate-Guinness Tirimasu
1 Chocolate Guinness Cake
1 packet of cream cheese
250 ml or so of thickened cream
(though you easily could use 1 1/2 or double the amount of cream/cream cheese)
100 g Pure icing sugar
Splash of Brandy (or whatever is left in the bottom of the bottle from Christmas cooking)
Sweet Sherry to douse the cake
Cocoa for dusting
1 packet of Frozen Raspberries thawed slightly in the fridge

Cut the dishevelled cake into thin slices.

Beat together the cream, cream cheese, icing sugar and brandy with an electric beater until smooth and fluffy.

Add a layer of cake to a trifle/any bowl. Douse with sherry, as the cake is quite dense I think you can be quite heavy handed with this.

Add a layer of the cream cheese mixture.

Repeat with the cake, sherry and cream cheese. (If you do double the cream cheese, you could do another layer of cake as you will have some left over) Dust over a generous layer of cocoa.

Leave in the fridge to do its thing until you are ready to eat.

Top with raspberries before serving.

HH

Cheesecake

2009-10-07T15:13:00.005+11:00

I have spent my whole life thinking I didn't really like cheesecake, but secretly knowing that if I had a homemade one, that I would love it. The flavour combinations of cheesecakes always lure me in, I have spent hours looking at recipes, yet I have never made one...until now.

My little sister turned 16 last week, and as cheesecake is her favourite dessert I decided that it was the time to make it. She decided on Nigella's London Cheesecake, which I felt was a pretty good place to start.

My hand held mixer- which I borrowed several years ago from my grandma when our proper mixer died - was not happy with beating the cream cheese - making horrible screeching noises and casting off a nasty smell - but I persisted and eventually got to the lovely soft texture required. The rest went off without a hitch. After 50 minutes in the oven I added the layer of sour cream, vanilla and sugar as per the recipe. For whatever reason it didn't keep its lovely whiteness, but it was still lovely and added a nice touch.

The cheesecake was wonderful. Amazingly creamy, full of vanilla and just what I had been missing all these years! I shall be entering whole heartedly into the world of cheesecakes now, however, I may have to step it up at the gym to compensate!

HH

Profiteroles

2009-09-30T09:25:00.000+10:00

I hate having to start these posts with an apology for how slack I have been, though I have been very slack this past few months. Apologies.

Thesis work is moving at a moderate to slow pace, and despite my asking for continuous extensions, and consistently failing to get things in on the date we agreed on, my ever patient supervisor is yet to wash her hands of me. My most recent chapter was well received, and I am trying to think about the next one. There is a moderate degree of stress building however, as my supervisor is pregnant, which is wonderful, but will be on maternity leave the semester I was planning to submit. This is a problem. I am thinking I will defer first semester next year and either go to England for a bit, or tutor a lot, but mainly work hard and try to write up and then try to submit as soon as possible after June.

In the baking world, things have been much more interesting especially since I have entered the world of creme patisserie, and am not looking back. My first effort was Nigella's chocolate meringue layer cake, of which the filling is a deliciously rich chocolate creme patisserie, and the second foray was with profiteroles. Not being familiar with choux pastry either, I made the first batch unmanageably small as I thought that they would expand more than they did, and also thought I was using a recipe that my friend said made a lot. ( I worked out a week later that I was not). The second batch were much better, though I need to work on my piping technique. The vanilla creme patisserie was beautiful, and over all I was quite pleased with my efforts. When I have more time and energy, I will revisit this new and wonderful world. I think next I will make a fruit flan.... I do love them.

Poached Pears

2009-07-06T20:44:00.005+10:00

Since my last post nothing has been done on my thesis, which is a terrible thing. The stress of having too much to do prevents you from doing anything, which compounds the stress you already feel, which in a vicious cycle, makes you do even less.

On the upside, I enjoyed, immensely, my time house sitting, getting into the Balmain lifestyle, making friends with the Gourmet Grocer, watching too much of the food channel, drinking, and having people over for dinner almost every night. My bank balance will, I am sure, be suffering for this extravagance, seeing I am only working one day a week at the moment, but, what is money when good friends and good food are to be had.

The highlights of the two weeks were a curry made with ginger, chili, turmeric, coriander, cumin and cardamon and chicken, pumpkin, and eggplant; Roast beef, which made delicious sandwiches the next day; a beef, eggplant and zucchini tagine, made with Herbie's Moroccan spice mix. I added dates and then honey at the end, it really was lovely with just the right amount of heat and fragrant spice; Moussaka, made with beef and pork mince, a bottle of white wine, beef and chicken stock, plenty of garlic, onions etc...and apart from almost dropping it on the floor as I took it out of the oven, it was amazing.

I didn't deprive my guests of dessert, and after making some more crumble topping, I made apple crumble one night, followed by mixed berry crumble the next. The berry crumble was by far the winner. I just used frozen mixed berries, a splash of vanilla, and a little brown sugar, let that sit whilst I finished dinner, and then topped it with the crumble and baked.

The overall winner, however, was poached pears. I have never made them before, and I couldn't find a recipe that I liked. Jamie's recipe wanted me to bake them in the oven, I didn't have time for that. Nigella doesn't seem to have one in the books I have, briefly looking on the BBC site, I couldn't find one that I wanted. I had, however seen Valentine Warner on his show What to Eat nowpoaching some pears, so armed with that and Jamie's recipe I proceeded.

Poached Pears:

1 Bottle of red wine
4 pears (though I could have fitted 6 or even 8 at a push)
Around a cup of caster sugar
Rind of half a lemon in thick strips
Juice of the lemon
A couple of Star Anise
A couple of Cinnamon sticks
A xouple of good slugs of vanilla
Knob of butter
Creme Fraiche

Peel the pears (slightly better than I did)
Add all the remaining ingredients to a saucepan big enough for the pears. Bring to the boil. Add the pears and cook for about 20 minutes until the pears are tender, turning the pears a couple of times if they aren't covered in the liquid. (My pears were pretty soft do didn't need a great deal of cooking). Leave to cool slightly in the warm liquid.

Divide the creme fraiche amongst the bowls. Place the pears on top. Meanwhile, reduce some of the poaching liquid, adding a bit more sugar to help sweeten and thicken it. Once reduced, add a knob of butter to make it silky and glossy. Pour over the pears and put any remaining syrup in a jug to add as you eat.

The (almost) best part of poaching the pears, however was not the delicious deep red pears, it was the remaining, unreduced poaching liquid, which I reheated, added a little more sugar to, and poured into a tall glass with a couple of shots of cointreau. Delicious, citrusy, peary, spicy mulled wine.

HH

'In the shape of some fragmented journal'

2009-06-24T16:18:00.006+10:00

After a string of posts, I have once again become terribly slack in my blogging, and I do apologise, though I have had nothing of note to say. (perhaps I still don't).

I have finished my tutoring for this semester, all the marking is done, I just have to record the marks and haggle with my supervisor on the scaling. So this is excellent. I am now waiting, anxiously, to hear if I will be tutoring next semester. I hopefully will be doing a 20th C course, that I took when I was a first year, many moons a go. So fingers crossed.

Other points of interest were another trip to the Lord Nelson Pub where many pints were drunk, and where the pie with mushy peas (well peas that were mushed), mash and gravy was had. It was all very delicious, and Nelson enjoyed him self as well.

These pics are courtesy of my good friend Brennan

In other news, Mr A has booked his flights to Australia for a holiday in January next year. It is all very exciting and now we just have to work out our movements as he has family in Adelaide and Melbourne and go to see them before I spend a bit of time showing him round Sydney and its surrounds (and convincing him that he really wants to live here).

Finally, on the baking front, which was been relatively silent, I have made White Chocolate cheesecake cookies from Hungry and Frozen, as prompted by Foodycat. They are delicious, so creamy and tender and delicious, though I didn't enjoy them warm, patience in this case, is a virtue.

I shall try to be more diligent with the blogging, but seeing I have a chapter due in just over a week, perhaps it will have to wait. On the other hand, uni work tends to make me blog like fury, so you never know your luck!

HH

Speedy French Toast

2009-05-24T23:02:00.006+10:00

As I mentioned, Mr A is in Paris for the Bank holiday weekend, and I am very jealous. I have taken to using google translator to write in French to one of my friends, though she started it, and I have also indulged in my newly discovered love of French Toast.

I have actually been craving it, in one form or another since Foodycat posted her delcious sounding Torrijas almost a month a go! A month is a long time to be craving something, and when the something arrives, it has big shoes to fill!!

Though I am very busy marking, I needed some down time, as well a break from sitting at my desk which is killing my back/shoulder/neck for whatever reason. I decided that last night was the time for French Toast action.

Needing to be speedy, and without enough Sherry to make Torrijas, I hastened to Speedy Nigella (Nigella Express), for her Doughnut French Toast. I didn't use thick white bread, just a normal pan loaf, and forgot to half the number of eggs, as I was only serving me, but it worked a treat. I let the bread soak for 5 minutes total, not 5 minutes a side. Delicious. Egg, vanilla and sugar. A wonderful supper.

This, however, did not satisfy my craving.

Breakfast this morning, I needed more French toast. I wanted something different, more breakfast-y. My weapon of choice, Nigella's Orange French Toast. Again I halved the recipe, remembering to only use one egg, though for the amount of bread (two pan slices)I could have used two. Now this was fantastic! Marmalade, cinnamon, egg, oranges. It was almost like Spanish Macaroons in French toast form! This was a winner, enjoyed with lots of syrup and two cups of tea. I am picturing lazy Sundays making this in my dressing gown, reading the paper and relaxing. I hope Mr A likes marmalade! (If not, ah well, more for me!)

HH

Zucchinni and Mint Fritters

2009-05-23T17:24:00.003+10:00

In a break with tradition, my title is not a quote from Jane Austen, as I really don't have a lot to say that relates to Jane Austen, but am mainly posting because of the delicious lunch/dinner that I made myself today!

I am still in the throws of marking, though the end is nigh, sort of. Mr A is off to Paris for the Bank Holiday weekend, so I am very jealous and wish, more than ever, that I could be there too! Perhaps next year.

Back to food. I came home from work hungry as I normally do on a Saturday as I work 8-2.30 without lunch. I wanted something substantial but light at the same time, as well as being quick and easy, also making use of the zucchini's I had the the fridge. I picked up some goats cheese feta and some labneh on my way home, and decided that Zucchini and mint fritters were the order of the day. The recipe is based on one that a friend, P from mdw, posted ages ago and it has since been languishing in my "recipes I must try" folder. Today was its day.

4 small zucchini's (about 400g, grated
150 g feta, crumbled (or goats cheese, as I said I used goats cheese feta, so the best of both worlds)
Small handful grated Parmesan
Small handful of mint, finely chopped
Half an onion, grated finely
2 eggs
about 90 g plain flour
A generous amount of cracked black pepper

Combine grated zucchini with the cheeses, mint and black pepper.
Beat the eggs and add to the mix along with the flour. Mix well.

Heat oil in pan. Add heaped dessert spoon dollops of the mixture into the pan, flatten and cook about 2 minutes each side until golden.

Serve with labneh and more pepper, or they are great on their own. Freshly squeezed lemon would not go astray.
Makes 12-15 fritters.

HH

"My feelings will not be repressed"

2009-05-21T14:22:00.004+10:00

Three times in one week! I think this is a record for me!

I had my annual review this morning, and all my anxiety regarding it was relatively unfounded, and while it wasn't "wow! you are amazing" it was good and I will consider the comments of my reader. Some of the comments were a bit strange, but she suggested I needed to take a step back from the material and not get too caught up in the story. I think the story is the best part, and I can't help feeling for them, as I am feeling some very similar things myself at the moment as the long-distance thing continues. Obviously we are not at war, and Mr A isn't fighting or even in the Navy, but the similarities are there. I have also managed to convince them that I am on track to submit next year, which is good. Now I just have to convince myself!

In more exciting things, and continuing with the chocolate theme, I made some delicious muffins earlier in the week. I have decided that they are to be called "Chocolate Brownie Muffins" as I kind of made them up.

Following a basic Muffin recipe (Plain flour, bi-carb, 2 eggs, 125 ml oil) I added 100g dark brown sugar, a block of dark chocolate, melted, a tbs milk, a few oats and a packet of dark chocolate chips. Baked for 20 min and cooled in the tin. ( I tried to take one out earlier and it wasn't firm enough). They probably would have benefited from some walnuts, but very delicious and not too sweet.

HH

" doubt not that you are an adept in the science yourself"

2009-05-18T21:55:00.005+10:00

You will be amazed and astounded that I am keeping my promise of more regular blogging.

An overwhelming desire for chocolate and a curiosity at Just cook it'schocolate mousse, I decided to give chocolate mousse made out of only chocolate and water a go.

It worked....sort of. The chocolate didn't go grainy as the chocolate-hates-water theory suggests, but it didn't thicken either. I beat it for 40 minutes, once my arm died, with an electric beater. The texture changed, and it was full of air, so I put it in the fridge and it did get thicker. It was delicious and I will try it again for better success. I think it might have been due to my scales being unreliable and therefore getting the chocolate/water balance wrong. But still delicious and almost virtuous, it was half water after all!

HH

"A faithful promise! "

2009-05-17T18:50:00.004+10:00

I seem to open all my posts with a disclaimer about what a slack blogger I have been and promises to improve greatly in the near future. This hopefully will be true this time as Semester (thankfully) draws to a close.

Things have been busy and tiring lately, but good. I am enjoying tutoring for the most part, and (legitimately) got to talk about Nelson in class a few weeks ago. I stopped at pulling out my Nelson figurine and placing him on the desk next to my 'nothing says "hello, sailor" quite like ruby red lipstick' pencil case. I am hoping to maintain some semblance of sanity so that the students can't claim special consideration on the grounds that I am mad.

It is annual review time this week, so while I am nervous I had a pep talk from my supervisor on Thursday and I am hoping the positive reinforcement lasts until Thursday this week.

I have incidentally been spending a lot of time on the Internet, procrastinating, but also just to give me little breaks in between marking and the like. I have therefore been reading every one's blogs, and as such was inspired today by Foodycat's most recent post to make something delicious for dinner. Out of the ingredients in the recipe I only had Haloumi, which didn't stop me. I had zucchini as a replacement for sausages and eggplant and grape tomatoes for peppers. I laid them all on the tray with two cloves of sliced garlic, a little olive oil and a good crack of black pepper. I let it all roast away for 15 minutes or so and then ate (ashamedly most of it!) with a good squeeze of lemon. Lovely!

HH

"You think it a faithful portrait undoubtedly"

2009-04-23T16:04:00.006+10:00

I have been a bit silent of late, and I do apologise,the week "off" over Easter was greatly appreciated, though I could have done with two weeks. I am no where near where I want to be with my thesis work. Tutorials are going well however, and the feedback I have gotten from the students has been overwhelmingly positive, which is great.

Taking advantage of a lovely autumnal day we went to the Art Gallery to see the Archibalds. It was heaving with people, we had to wait in line for 10 minutes just to get tickets! The exhibition was good, though not overly profound. The highlight of the morning was seeing Bonita from Playschool in the crowd. That being said there were some very good portraits, particularly one of the little kid from Australia, that was stunning.

We then went to The Lord Nelson Pub for a pint (of real ale!!!) and lunch. We have been meaning to go here for about 5 years, and it didn't disappoint! I went for Fish and Chips and an Admiral's Ale, which was delicious, I am very much looking forward to going back there when I don't have to drive home and having several pints. It is a lovely pub though, and I am curious about the accommodation too. I am scheming for when Mr. A comes out to visit, it might be a nice place to stay for a weekend.

On the baking front, it has been also been a bit silent, or at least not worthy of photography. I did make some more choc-chip cookies, like the ones I made previously, but they turned out so different as I left out about 90 g of flour for oats. They were much crunchier, though equally delicious. I will make another batch tonight I think. I made ANZAC's too, but they weren't quite right. I think they needed more golden syrup. I will try again.

My Annual review paper is due in about 3 weeks. I haven't done it and I don't want to think about it. The panel is pretty nasty, and it isn't a stretch to say I am very nervous and anxious about the whole thing. Fingers crossed they don't hate me. Perhaps baking to soften them up might be the way to go!?

Ah well, better go and do some of the work that I have been putting off.

HH

"The very next day however produced some proof of inspiration"

2009-04-12T19:42:00.005+10:00

I have been hideously unproductive this weekend, and whilst part of me is raging, for the most part I don't care and I have enjoyed watching the rest of season 2 of Buffy (oh the angst, it is so unfair!). I have now moved on to an episode of Hornblower...research purposes of course. I shall of course, get down to work tomorrow, or later today...no tomorrow.

After working at my non-history job on Saturday, and comforting an elderly woman for forgetting her wallet, I turned around and did the same thing myself in the evening. It made paying for dinner a difficult experience, thankfully my friend helped me out, but also driving home during double demerits rather disconcerting. I back streeted it, and arrived home unscathed.

After speaking to Mr A this morning, I had a nice day. I cooked roast lamb for lunch and then pear, walnut and ginger crumble for dessert. Foodycat's friands got me thinking about the pears and walnuts I had in the house, and with limited eggs, my thoughts turned to crumble. Using the pie lady's recipe for the crumble, I stewed the pears and two granny smith apples with a little sugar, water and a cinnamon stick, and then stirred in a good teaspoon of ground ginger once it was cooked. I used walnuts instead of pecans, and it worked very well. The topping was great, just what I want in a crumble, crunchy, chewy, crumbly. Served with custard (Birds not real, again due to limited eggs) it was a nice end to a nice lunch.

HH

"I have sometimes thought of going to London again after Easter"

2009-04-10T21:41:00.004+10:00

The last few weeks have been somewhat crazy. Tutoring and marking have somewhat consumed my life, and my PhD has gone by the wayside. Tutoring itself is going really well, marking I hate and am now anxiously awaiting the avalanche of complaints. Mr A is good, though still in England, and it is a bit of a downer being apart, especially for the long weekend when we are both doing nothing in particular. I am secretly wondering if I need another research trip, I am sure I could pitch it legitimately to the uni and my supervisor...maybe....

I hope over the coming week to get back to my own work and have some down time, which I seriously need. Today I made a good start on that, by watching several more episodes of Buffy! (Phwoar, urst, angst!) I also made some hot cross buns, from Nigella Feast. I am tempted to make them again and let them rise in the fridge overnight as she suggests as they could be more tender. Though infusing the milk with spices before adding it to the dry ingredients and ground spices, awesome. I didn't pay much attention to presentation so they are a little ugly, but really, it is what is on the inside that counts. (Sorry that there are two missing from the picture, they smelt so good we couldn't wait!)

I hope everyone has a good Easter, or long weekend, which ever takes your fancy.

HH

"I really cannot be plaguing myself for ever with all the new poems"

2009-03-24T10:39:00.000+11:00

After watching some Doctor Who on the weekend, I realised that I am missing and will continue to miss Doctor Who this year, I am not sure that the five specials will be enough. The next one airs at Easter I believe, so hopefully we will get it here not long after.

Whilst I was in Ireland, my sister asked me to help her with an English assignment in which she had to write poetry. After writing a very tortured one on Jane Austen that Virgina Woolf would have liked, I was told to write one a 15 year old would write (yes I was doing my sister's homework!)Oh and it had to be on culture. (I think my sister had already written an ode to her ipod) So, I picked, the culture of Doctor Who. I thought I would share it with you, even though you will all laugh, and probably will stop talking to me as a result.

Anyway, enjoy, my poem,

"On Watching Doctor Who"

As evening draws in
And the TV flickers,
The Doctor dances
And the villain snickers.

Eagerly awaiting,
The sound that we love,
The Doctor is coming,
Up there, from above!

The sofa is pulled out,
Away from the wall
For when the Daleks attack,
It will defend one and all!

The Doctor appears,
Flashes a cheeky grin,
With me by his side,
He is certain to win.

For a moment I think,
It is me in his box,
Fighting aliens and monsters,
Not wearing bed socks.

As the theme song sounds,
And rings out Wohooo,
I know I am dreaming,
I know its not true.

The Daleks attack,
The Cybermen too,
I can’t wait until next week,
I love Doctor Who!

(an embarrassed, slightly nerdy) HH

"With unpardonable arrogance"

2009-03-22T14:13:00.004+11:00

I think one thing I hate is arrogance, particularly unfounded arrogance stemmed from ignorance and a big ego. (Possibly small other things, but I won't make assumptions or lower the tone of the blog.) I attended a workshop on Thursday, which whilst I got some constructive feedback, one of the other participants got on my nerves so much that everything seemed beyond saving, and I was ready to un-enroll at the end of the session!! He felt it was his place, without knowing anything about my topic, to give me very direct criticism, and tell me what I should be doing and reading, without any evidence that the historiography he suggested even existed. He also interrupted others giving genuine advice to point out typos. He also said "Yadda, Yadda, Yadda", a lot, as part of making an argument. Where was he from, 1993? I really was livid, I think I could have rivalled mscrankypants and SSS with my level of ranting about the general fuckwittage of this fellow.

I am over it now, but as I had been feeling so good about things on Wednesday, I think what I could normally brush off hit me a lot harder. My armour was down. This has, in turn lead to much procrastination and a total lack of motivation. I am trying to rectify this now, though blogging perhaps is not the best way to show that I am working hard.

Neither is baking....but we had some bananas...and choc-chips, what is a girl to do? I made some chocolate-chip and banana muffins, from Speedy Nigella's Butterscotch and Banana muffins, which are very good. Moist, chocolaty, not too much banana, and good for you as they have fruit in them!

HH

"So says my historian"

2009-03-18T12:15:00.004+11:00

I am now officially a tutor having survived two weeks of classes. The first week went pretty well. I was less than brilliant in the first one, but by the second I was finding my feet and by the third and the fourth I was in my element. I really did enjoy it and as general concept it is good. This is big from me whose main goal is to be invisible where possible. I also distinctly remember saying I would never be a tutor. How times change, though I think apart from the good experience this all falls into doing things I wouldn't normally do, which has been my successful New Years Resolution two years running. It was good to be able to talk in tutes, something I rarely did as an undergrad, and the students spoke as well (bonus). It is a bit strange being asked my opinion on essays and things, when it will affect their marks if I tell them something crap or wrong, but I suppose I am marking them so I can do what I like! (mwhahahah)

I have a busy week so far and have a workshop tomorrow with an Historian from England which I crammed all weekend and wrote a mostly new chapter for, and then tutor training on Friday. It is strange in the last month or two I think I have become an historian, at least in my own mind, which sounds a bit pretentious, but it isn't meant to be. I think I have just reached a point where I know what I am doing, where I am going, and where I actually fit into all this work I have been doing!! So that is a nice feeling.

Despite all the work I have to do today, I baked choc-chip cookies this morning. Just from the AWW "Cook" book, but they are pretty good. Chewy in the middle but crisp on the edges, chocolaty, vanilla-y and lovely. I was worried when I ate one too soon of the tray that they weren't right, but no I was wrong, they are right. Perfect with milk, good with coffee, and thankfully it made a huge batch so the four I ate in a row won't be missed.

HH

"There is nothing to be alarmed at in reality"

2009-02-27T19:19:00.004+11:00

It is four weeks now since I left England, *sigh*, and reality is well and truly setting in. It has been lovely seeing friends here and catching up, though I am missing England and a particular Englishman an awful lot. It is amazing how quickly I have started to fall back into old routines. I am back to work at my Saturday job, but have told my typing job to shove their typing up their arses, (not in so many words) as they were going to decrease my rate of pay from the miserable amount it was to an even more miserable amount. This was, I was told, because of the drop in the Aussie Dollar. For an Australian company, hiring Australian workers in Australia and only taking Australian jobs, I can't see how that would be an issue. However I think it will be the best thing I have ever done, and a wonderful feeling to tell them that I would be unable to proceed!

However, to make up for the lack of this job, I have taken on a new venture, tutoring at uni!(argh) My supervisor is also the lecturer on the course, and I am the only tutor, so those things are in my favour, though having never tutored before, I am naturally freaking out!! I am a little excited, perhaps 1%. Mr A thinks it is great, and it will be good experience, if it doesn't send me over the edge!

It seems like I am going to be insanely busy this year, which will be good in a way as it will make it pass by quickly. Though as I want to try and finish up ASAP, I hope it doesn't melt away too fast!!I have so much to do on my thesis, but a new sense of determination and motivation is pushing me on. Some how I have broken it up into 10 chapters, of which I have written the equivalent of 4, but all of which will need to be redone. I am thinking March next year, my supervisor is thinking July....we will see. It will be a battle of wills and if I can defeat procrastination, I might just do it!

HH

"They left England with the probability of being nearly a twelvemonth absent."

2009-02-20T16:36:00.001+11:00

After leaving Ireland I had a week and a half left in England, to enjoy and misadventure as I saw fit. Lunch with Foodycat was my first port of call, and then I headed South to see Mr A. We explored the delights of his little local pub, which was a good real ale pub, and where we had Smoke Beer which was an unique, strange and delicious beer in which the barely is smoked prior to being used for the beer. Poor weather kept us indoors and then poor organisation prevented us from going anywhere too far a field. However we took a reasonably optimistic weather forecast and headed to Battle for the day to see the Battle of Hastings site, which was very interesting and rather beautiful. We rambled about in the mud most of the afternoon and then went to the pub for a quick pint. Four pints later we were both starving (and getting a little drunk) so we marched back up the hill for dinner and another pint before making our way home on the train. We also headed to Ramsgate for the day, though the weather was bloody awful and the ship we went to see disappointing. I think we ended up walking about 8 miles, again in mud! I was up to my ankles in mud, and if I had of had long petticoats on (thankfully I was wearing a shorter dress and slip than dear Lizzy), oh my, 6 inches deep I'm sure they would have been. It was too cold and far to go to the main harbour, so I didn't see where dear Georgiana had almost eloped, but walking along the cliffs, I could imagine it quite well. It actually felt almost Gothic, so it wasn't altogether unliterary. The misdaventuring went really well, and so now I have to work out what to do about it, I don't want the story to stop here, and niether does Mr A, so we will see. It is now a question of if he can come over for a holiday at Christmas, and when I can get over there, perhaps for more than a holiday....But I won't bore you anymore, but will just put up some pictures. Enjoy.

"How much your friends in Ireland must be enjoying your pleasure on this occasion"

2009-02-18T22:14:00.009+11:00

Once more my bold resolve to blog more often has weakened and failed, even though procrastination should be at an all time high. Surprisingly, it is not.

I thought I would blog, mainly in pictures, the end of my UK trip. It was a wonderful trip, not least of all due to my misadventures, but also it was wonderful spending time with my extended family, particularly my Nana, with whom I spent many an evening just sitting quietly with, watching telly and chatting. Whilst in Ireland we did a lot of driving and saw a lot of the country which was lovely, as well as taking in some nice pubs and spending time with the family. Needless to say there were many tears shed as well all left Ireland, though hopefully it will not be so long between drinks and we will be back there again soon. More on my last week in England will follow shortly, but for now here are some of my favourite pictures from Ireland.

"that upon an average we cleared about five pints a head"

2009-01-14T12:30:00.000+11:00

Being in Ireland, of an age to be drinking, and inspired by Mr A, I decided that I should try as many different stouts as possible. I quite like Guinness at home, but know that it is better in Ireland, closer to the source. Though having tried a can of Guinness after making a Beef and Guinness stew for Mr A, we thought that it was a bit on the watery side, even though everyone kept saying that it was thick oily stuff. Thinking it was perhaps because it was in a can, I was determined to have it on draught to see if I was mistaken.

On our jaunt to Belfast we tried a Chocolate Stout which was brewed using cocco, and while it was nice, it wasn't on draught, and didn't quite have the taste that we were looking for. Whilst in the first pub we fell in with some men, one of whom was a member of CAMRA who was bemoaning the evils of Guinness and their monopoly on the Stout market. He pointed us in the direction of the John Hewitt Bar hoping they would have a non-Guinness stout. They didn't have one on tap, so we settled for German Black beer instead, which was lovely. It wasn't pretending to be thick like one imagines a stout should be, but was full of flavour. The two we tried were bitburger and Kostritzer, the latter of which was the favourite.

I headed down South last week, and was determined to work my way through a good few pints of stout. The first evening I had a Guinness as there was no other stout on offer. It was better on draught than in the can, but still was lacking a depth of flavour. Perhaps, I thought, I was seeking a holy grail of stout that didn't exist. In Dublin I backed my Dad's enthusiasm for a slightly dodgy looking pub because they offered Beamish, a stout from Cork, on Tap. This was getting closer to what I was after. A fuller flavoured stout than Guinness, though not bitter. A nice creamy head and no disappointing watery texture. I was very impressed. For dinner we trooped into another pub off O'Connell St, and another stout was on offer, Murphy's. Again it had a fuller flavour than Guinness, but was lovely and smooth, like the Beamish.

A small pub in Roscrea was our next stop where I had a pint of "Good Guinness" according the the barman, and indeed it was good, better than the previous pint, but a lighter option to Beamish and Murphy's.

In my uncle's pub I indulged in more Murphy's and then I pulled myself a pint of Guinness, which had its merits for having pulled it. All in all I am pleased that there are other stout options than Guinness, and that I am now an established Stout drinker, to add to my love of Ale which was carefully nurtured and trained whilst in England. I won't know what to do with myself when I go back home and have to make do not only with no real ale, no varieties of stout and worst of all no pint glasses!!

" I do not like to eat the bread of idleness"

2009-01-11T04:07:00.001+11:00

Apart from my recent misadventure, my research and family time I have also been enjoying being in Ireland and the excuse to cook and eat as many potatoes as humanly possible, including chips with Chinese takeway. Potatoes and Nutty Krust bread. Nutty Krust is the Northern Irish answer to sour dough. It is dense, tasty bread, which I could eat by the truck load, toasted with a good whack of butter and if in the mood jam. I am sure my carb conscious self will reemerge when I return home, but for now I am enjoying eating too much toast. (Though I don't really believe such a thing is possible!)

Though I clearly am not carb conscious at heart, because not only have I been indulging in Nutty Krust, I have also been making potato bread, or Irish Griddle Scones, as my recipe states they are called. These delicious little pancake crossed with a scone triangles are wonderful, simple to make and can be eaten at any time of the day or night. (As I have proven, and are particularly good for absorbing beer when one hasn't had any dinner and has drunk several pints). They are made in a similar manner to scones, rubbing butte and flour together, then fork though some left over mash potatoes, add milk to bind and then knead the mixuture until pliable. You then roll out and cut into triangles and cook in a dry pan until browning. They are also good in these credit crunchy times, as any scrap of mash potato that remains from dinner can be made into bread, and they also go well with baked beans, another staple of the frugal. (Apparently, baked bean sales have sky rocketed in these trying times!). They are also healthy (until you fry them in oil or fat rendered from bacon, or toast them and smother them in butter) and children and grown ups alike love them. I love them toasted with butter and tomato sauce, though with equally as part of a fry, with bacon and beans. I will have to make sure I continue making it when I get home, and never throw out mash spuds again!

"Hope had already entered; and feeling all its anxious flutter..."

2009-01-02T08:12:00.002+11:00

Historically Hysterical had been going to the library to read old letters day after day. The staff started to recognise her and her presence in the reading room. One in particular, Mr Archives, was drawn into conversation with her because of her accent, having spent a time living in HH's homeland.

HH and Mr A, from then on always exchanged smiles and small talk, but HH thought nothing of it, just that Mr A was a nice fellow, though their eyes had met across the reading room several times with some degree of intensity, HH went back to her work and Mr A to his. HH decided it was time to finish her work at the library, and on the day she was set to leave, she didn't see Mr A, so never said goodbye to him, which she regretted. After going to a bigger, less inviting library, HH decided that she wanted to go back to the other library, and so she did.

The next day, she saw Mr A again, who was surprised and, it would appear, pleased to see her. Mr A said how lovely HH's hair looked, and HH, though flattered, thought he could think nothing of her other than a reader, and went back to her work. Another day went by and HH thought that she would finish up at the library that day, and told Mr A that she was going to Ireland. Mr A was sad to hear that, but thought that the ship had sailed. However, HH was not quite finished her work, and left some letters in the library to read the next week. Mr A, seeing these when he was locking up the library, hurried out to where HH was packing her bag. He asked if she was coming back to the library, and she said, with a smile, that she was and that she would see him next week. HH left the library with a smile, wondering what Mr A could mean by rushing out to see her in such a fashion, and may have frightened some of her fellow commuters by smiling the whole way home.

HH's friends told her to ask Mr A to share a cup of coffee with her, but HH thought that it would be much to forward, but determined to wear her hair in the way that Mr A liked when she returned to the library. When she returned, Mr A was there and said that they should get a coffee, which caused many smiles from HH. The next day HH and Mr A not only had coffee, but also went for a drink after work, and a lovely time was had by all. HH had to go to Ireland the next day, so that was it, or so she thought. Many emails later, HH decided that being in Ireland would not do, so headed back to England to see Mr A, and again had a lovely time. Much historical sight seeing occurred, including Portsmouth, and cooking and walking and all in all having the most marvelous time.

HH had to go back to Ireland for Christmas, but Mr A came to see her just afterwards and stayed until New Years. Mr A and HH had a lovely time in Ireland, particularly spending hours and hours in a pub in Belfast. HH and Mr A will have about another week together before HH has to return home, so who knows where the story will go after that. HH is all hope, all anxious flutter.....but no more on that today.

HH

"I believe I am the most absent creature in the world"

2008-12-20T23:05:00.013+11:00

I have been a tremendously slack blogger for the past few months, well by slack I mean non-existent, but I will endeavour to improve myself and my blogging now and in the future.

A lot has occurred since my last, several months of research, a month and a half of living in a London Lounge room, lunch with the gorgeous foodycat, a trip to Ireland, back to England, and now back to Ireland again.

My research has gone pretty well I think, I spent a week in Ipswich and then a week in Winchester, I didn't see any sights though, just the inside of the record offices, not very exciting. A few pub dinners along the way and a few pints which kept me going. I took a week off to work from home and then headed to London where I spent a week and a half at the National Archives at Kew, which is an impressive building, and they have an excellent system for the archives, though nothing riveting there. My next point of call was the National Maritime Museum, which is officially my favourite place, and I spent the rest of my time in London going there, apart from one day at the British Library. I must say here, that I had planned to spend more time at the British Library, but went back to the Maritime Museum, and I am so pleased I did... more on that later, but I will hint that there may have been a mild 'misadventure'.... but more on that later.....

I found some great material and now I have the fun task of going through hundreds of digital photos of 18th C letters and taking notes on them all!!

I headed to Ireland mid-November, but the work I had counted on there didn't quite come to fruition, so I eagerly headed back to England for a little more work at the Maritime Museum, some nice walks in the park, and a little sojourn including a trip to Portsmouth to see the Victory and the Dockyards, a Dickens festival, and a little domesticity....

Well I am back in Ireland now, and am trying to get ready for Christmas. It feels a bit strange and my Christmas spirit hasn't really kicked into gear because I haven't baked 10 cakes, too many mince pies for words and a pudding, and I am not in charge of all the food for Christmas, there will be no Christmas Morning Muffins, no Boxing day pie, no pistachio and cranberry stuffing for the chickens....but I will just have to take a back seat and try and enjoy myself, and if nothing else, I will have the Doctor Who Christmas Special to keep me going, so that will be a nice consolation prize....

Well that is it for tonight, but more on the misadventure later and perhaps something a bit more reflective or a little more insightful!

HH

Rochester Castle

Christmas Tree, Grafton Street, Dublin

Nelson with the Victory

Nelson with the Figure head of HMS Trafalgar

Her tour to the Lakes was now the object of her happiest thoughts

2008-09-15T04:55:00.003+10:00

The Lake District was my destination for last week. My cousin's had booked a holiday up there, and there was a spare room where they were staying, so I decided a pre-research holiday was in order. We took the scenic route up, driving past Chatsworth (I couldn't see it... just the gates and the grounds, but if filled me with a warm Pride and Prejudice feeling). Unfortunately my chances of meeting Darcy were dashed as we continued on to the Lakes. We drove through some beautiful countryside on the way to Buxton, it was stunning, before arriving at the bottom of the Lakes and our accommodation. After such a long drive we only managed a bit of dinner and then a pint which was nice.

Tuesday was set to be a miserable day, so we didn't set out on a grand walk, but went shopping and wandering around villages including Hawskhead and Ambleside. It was a bit grim and we couldn't see much, but there were some lovely quaint little villages.

Wednesday we heading back into the Lakes, to Grasmere, to walk up Helm Crag, or the Lion and the Lamb as it is known. Despite this plan, we chose the wrong path and walked several miles in the wrong direction, and once we found the right path it was too late to walk up Helm Crag. I was secretly pleased, as though my cousin assured me it was an easy walk, it looked pretty mountainy to me. At Grasmere there is the most delicious smelling Gingerbread shop, which sells amazing gingerbread, well worth going for. The landscape was truly wonderful and stunningly beautiful, I can see how Wordsworth and the like were inspired by it. I felt quite like I was in the Magic Far Away tree and was humming both the Pride and Prejudice theme and the sound of Music, though my creative genius did not kick in and I didn't write any poems. Next time perhaps.

Thursday did some more village jumping, went to Arnside and to a gorgeous little smoking house at the docks which had some delicious looking things in it. We came back with smoked haddock, smoked wild salmon and smoked garlic.

Friday we had planned to drive home across the Yorkshire Dales, and I had been reading Wuthering Heights in preparation, but alas we didn't end up going that way, so Wuthering Heights was locationally in vain, perhaps I should have read Wordsworth or Beatrix Potter instead.

From the other table, where the conference was eagerly carrying on

2008-09-14T01:13:00.004+10:00

I have been a little slack in my blogging though I have been busy, and then went on holiday for a few days, but more on that later.

Last week was the conference that had been a major factor in getting me over to the UK when I did. It was at the University of Northampton, which though a bit difficult to get to, was nice enough. I arrived the day before the conference and as the conference organiser had suggested it, went to dinner with some of the other delegates who had also arrived early. We went to a lovely Indian place, the food was delicious and the service excellent. There were a few Aussies there, one girl who was studying at Glasgow and a couple from Melbourne over for the conference. There was another fellow who was from a place about 20 minutes from where I was born in Northern Ireland, and he was lovely, it is funny how small a world it is. (What made the world even smaller was that there was another Australian girl at the conference who not only went to my uni as an undergrad, but had my supervisor!) It was a great night, though probably a bit late and a pint too many for the night before the conference, and so I was exhausted the next day, though thankfully my paper was not until the Friday.

Thursday went well, there were some very interesting papers, particularly interesting to me were the ones on masculinity and the key note speaker was excellent. Spent most of the time with my new Northern Irish friend and at dinner was at a table with him, an academic from Tasmania, a fellow from New Mexico who studies at Exeter, a Gallic speaking Scot from the Highlands of Polish descent and an English Lady. I was pleased with my efforts of talking to people and socialising, which I think was greatly assisted by the first night's proceedings. Even though the actual conference was very interesting, the most interesting thing I learnt that day was that Bob Geldof has Napoleon's penis, he bought it from a collector in California years ago. The things you learn at history conferences!

Friday also went well, my paper went well, and there was a very interesting paper given on Marine's which held my interest very well indeed. The key note was a bit arrogant, but good all the same, all in all it was a good day. I was sad to be leaving, truth be told, and doubly sad as we don't have the same conference scene at home an I can see where I am missing out in terms of getting my work out there, as well as networking and keeping in touch with what others are doing. I wonder if what I am able to produce from Australia will be able to compete with British/European works. I went back to the Indian place with the Australian couple, which was nice and a great improvement on the 1/3 a packet of pringles I was planning on for dinner.

All in all it was a good experience, I met some nice people and learnt some interesting things, mainly that Bob Geldof owns Napoleon's penis.

In the gallery up stairs you will see a finer, larger picture of him than this.

2008-09-02T04:57:00.004+10:00

It will be a week tomorrow since I arrived in the UK. After taking a few days to get over the jet lag and to regain my bearings I did some work on my conference paper and then headed to London. First stop, Trafalgar Square. Now I have been there before, but I really do like it there, I don't know if it is just the giant Nelson , or that a whole square is dedicated to something I enjoy and am interested in, but it seems like a good sort of place to me. After subtly taking Nelson's picture with Nelson, I went to the National Gallery which was one thing I was dissapointed not to have done last time. It was very good, though I didn't have that long. I saw all the 'famous' ones plus a few of my favourite artists and all the 18th C ones. I then met up with a friend I went to school with and we went to the Natural History Museum, which, while good, was not really my thing and it was crazily hot there too. Nelson had his picture taken out the front, but he wasn't allowed out in the museum, as I didn't want my friend to think I was mental.

Today I went to the National Army Museum, which was very well done, though not as good as the Maritime Museum. It didn't take me long there so I made it the the National Portait Gallery, which was great! The Tudor section was good with several paintings of Queen Elizabeth and the wives of Henry which were good to see. The 18th C section was my favourite and it was good that I recognised a lot of the people without reading their captions. Emma and Nelson were together on the wall, which was nice, and Jane Austen was in the next room. The little sketch by Cassandra Austen really is very small but it was good to see it. It was also good to see Virginia Woolf.

The rest of the week is taken up with my conference and next week I go to the Lakes! Despite all this activity I am looking forward to getting to Ireland to see my Nana & relations and then getting back home. 1 week down, c. 19 to go.

Her departure therefore was fixed on...

2008-08-25T21:30:00.003+10:00

Well I am flying out tomorrow afternoon to England. I haven't packed, I am extremely disorganised, but I am going. I have written my paper, but I haven't done my tax. I will do it in the morning...maybe. I will keep the blog updated as much as possible, my Nelson figurine is coming with me and will be enjoying the delights of the UK as well.

HH

There is no use in these tears; they can do no good

2008-08-11T11:55:00.008+10:00

It is two weeks tomorrow until I leave for the UK and while I am looking forward to seeing friends and relations and seeing a bit more of the UK, I am still in two teary minds about the whole thing. I am not sure what is wrong with me, perhaps it is a malfunction of my tear ducts but if I don't stop tearing up every five minutes for no real reason (thinking about going, adds for soppy TV shows, the Olympics, the paper, Jane Eyre, cream that goes off on the day I leave...you get the picture) I am going to scream!!

Last week I met with a prominent Historian in my field, she was over from America possibly seeking a job at my uni, but I had a chat with her which was very helpful and then listened to what she termed her 'job talk'. It is always good getting other people's perspectives, though I think I may have come across as a vague idiot. Today a chapter of mine is the one of two papers being discussed at our Post grad seminar, I am extremely apprehensive about this and only wish I could have baked something to distract the class from actually speaking about the paper, and have found it is harder for people to be mean to you when you have baked them something delicious!

In baking news, have made more of Nigella's super chocolate cookies from Nigella Express with half in the freezer for another time. More delicious and delicate however were her Pistachio Macaroons from Domestic Goddess, why I haven't made them before I do not know! They were amazing with a strong, though not over powering pistachio flavour. They were sandwiched with pistachio butter cream and with the left over I am thinking I might make some rose water cupcakes and ice/fill them with this lovely green butter cream.

HH

"I feel a strong persuasion, this morning, that I shall soon be abroad"

2008-07-30T00:29:00.003+10:00

I have booked my tickets for travelling to the UK!! I leave in less than a month and will be there until the end of January. I am half apprehension, half excitement, I hope all goes well as a lot rides on the trips success. I had been putting off booking the tickets and thinking about the trip for weeks, but now I have bitten the bullet, I hope it will be alright. I will miss Christmas and my birthday as well as an Opera and two plays. Though I will spend it with my Nana, I am particularly sad about Christmas, as I have really gotten into it the cooking side of things, and will miss baking and cooking all the Christmas food. On the upside, my cousin has offered to take me to the Lake District for four days which is very exciting! I will have to take appropriate reading material. Now if only I had previously met, been proposed to and rejected a wealthy member of the gentry so that I could fall in love with them and subsequently marry them, the trip would be even more exciting!

In baking news, I made Mars bar chocolate Crackles yesterday and the lightest scones I have ever tasted today. The crackles were from the woman's weekly cupcake book and the scones from Domestic Goddess. I followed Nigella's suggestion and ate them with cream and treacle and was overwhelmed by how good that tasted!!

Occasionally forming into a little knot of the navy

2008-07-22T12:38:00.007+10:00

Things are a moving along very slowly here. I did get a good bit of work done last friday and made a relatively exciting discovery. My Captain, who I have written about before, knew Jane Austen's brothers and went to the Naval Academy with Charles. It was there all along in Brian Southam's Jane Austen and the Navy, and I just looked it up by chance when adding a bit about Jane Austen to my chapter. I found this very exciting, and though no one else really did, it didn't matter. It is little things like this that keeps me going at times.

I have however been baking my heart out, particularly on Sunday when we had high(ish) tea for a friends birthday. I made Potato Cakes with Smoked Salmon (from Nigella Express), Caramelized Onion and Feta Tarts, Mini-Lamington Fairy Cakes (Women's Weekly cupcake book) and Mini-strawberry shortcakes (Domestic Goddess). All worked really well, I would like to try the strawberry shortcakes at their full size and the Potato Cakes with Smoked Salmon were great, Nigella used instant mash in the cakes so they were nice and light and delicious.

the obstinacy which could resist such arguments as these

2008-07-06T10:32:00.008+10:00

Production levels here are still remarkably low much to my disgust, though I seem to be able to fit in everything else, other than my thesis! Not the way it should be and I will seek to address that soon.

I had a meeting with my associate supervisor, now main supervisor, and he put me on the spot by asking me straight out, what my argument was! However I managed to rally and told him something about how family was an important, guiding force that was competing with patriotism and the nation. He was quite pleased with that, and pronounced it to be an argument, and more importantly not mad!! He is quite young, though already slightly jaded with the system which leads him to have interesting insights into the whole research progress. He said new ideas or arguments are either wrong, potentially right and will shake things up, or completely mad. Mine, thankfully he feels falls in the middle category. Excellent, I am one up on the week!

In other unrelated news, I went to the Swans match last night which was rubbish! Poor effort from the red and the white I must say.

Also I am watching North and South today, so in honour of that and Mr Thornton's long association with Lint Intense Orange Chocolate (now Orange Intense) I made some 'Intense Orange' Chocolate Shortbread for the occasion.

the credit of inspiring such reflections

2008-07-01T13:00:00.006+10:00

Things are at a bit of a standstill here. With my supervisor gone, I have lost a lot of motivation but I hope this has changed after a weekend in Tasmania for a masterclass. Though so far, not yet. Perhaps change comes slowly. Another funding knock back has put a spanner in the works little, and while I didn't let my self hope for this one as I did the last one it is still a kick in the teeth. Perhaps the funding universe is trying to tell me something? I hope not.

I feel best when cooking, which doesn't help the thesis or my hopes to 'obviously lose 20 pounds'. Inspired by foodycats Blackberry Jelly I made Nigella's Slut-red Raspberries in Chardonnay Jellythe other weekend, which was amazing, delicious. I am now thinking how I can make a pimms and lemonade jelly as I think that would be amazing.

"she must have betrayed her emotion in some unpardonable excess"

2008-06-11T13:36:00.009+10:00

I haven't had a chance to blog on here for almost a month, which is really very slack of me. I have been busy with the PhD however, a lot of sitting and starring at the computer, but also a lot of work, which is a nice change for me. I got my chapter to my supervisor on time, and she was very pleased with it. My Captain's letters proved to be amazingly rich, (and lovely!) and now I am filling in the gaps, and developing and expanding. I do however think I love this Captain. His letters are so wonderfully flirtatious and he has a very strong character and presence. He was so loyal to his family and his poor wife and really did battle with his sense of duty to the nation and his desire to be with his family. Perhaps I should write a book, or a adapt his story into a mini series or movie. I am sure the BBC would take it on. For casting, I am not sure. The Captain is a red head, so the actor would need be able to pull that off. I have been throwing the idea around with some friends, and we thought Paul Bettany (in light of Master and Commander) or Rupert Penry Jones (in light of Persuasion). I think Damian Lewis might be able to do it too, but he still freaks me out a little from his portrayal of Soames in the Forsyth Saga. These of course are all future considerations, which are mere pipe dreams, but I can really imagine it as a mini series, a good bonnet drama with a strong nautical theme, a little URST, and a bit of swashbuckling action.

However I must not get too caught up with these historical figures as sentiment will only cloud my judgement as to what is interesting and worth writing about and what makes me well up with tears because I am the world's biggest softie!

MP sent the following comic to me. It is from http://beatonna.livejournal.com/ and I thought it was only appropriate to share it here, and now, when I am trying to distance emotions from history.

Lemon Meringue Cake - Recipie

2008-05-13T22:37:00.007+10:00

As promised the Lemon Meringue Cake from Nigella's Feast.

125g very soft unsalted butter
4 eggs, separated
300g plus 1 teaspoon caster sugar
100g plain flour
25g cornflour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
zest of 1 lemon
4 teaspoons lemon Juice
2 teaspoons milk
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
150 ml double or whipping cream
150g good quality lemon curd.

Preheat the oven to 200'c or 180 fan forced. Line & butter two 21 cm sandwich tins.
Mix the egg yolks, 100g of the sugar, the butter, flour, cornflour, baking powder, bicarb, and lemon zest in a processor. Add the lemon juice and milk and process again.
Divide the mixture between the prepared tins. You will think you don't even have enough to cover the bottom of the tins, but don't panic. Spread calmly with a rubber spatula until smooth.
Whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until peaks form and then slowly whisk in 200g of sugar. Divide the whisked whites between the two sponge-filled tins. Spread one flat with a spatula and make peaks in the other. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar over the peaks. Put tins in the over for 20-25 minutes.
With a cake tester, pierce the cake that has the flat meringue, no sponge should be on the tester. (Meringue will fall back once you take it from the oven). Remove both tins and leave cake to cool completely in them on a wire rack.
Unmould the flat-topped one onto a cake stand or plate, meringue side down. Whip cream until thick. Spread sponge side with lemon curd then cream. Top with second cake,the peaked meringue uppermost.

HH

" though perfectly convinced of the fact, it is yet almost incredible to myself"

2008-05-11T19:15:00.007+10:00

I have had a reasonably good week with research and reading for my chapter. I feel I am starting to understand the Captain whom I am writing on, and have a sense of his family and the world around him. I read some great material, which to me is perfect, completely summing up what I have been thinking and trying to articulate. In one letter to his wife lamenting his time away from home and his desire to do something honourable so he can discharge his duty and return to his wife he writes; "But do not be alarmed, my dearest L___; ambition will not overcome my love". This tiny phrase almost had me jumping up and down. It is what I have been trying to articulate to my supervisor and myself for months, and here it is, written and waiting. I know I have to take this with a grain of salt, and that he was writing in a style to comfort his wife, but it is perfect all the same! So good in fact, I am worried it is too good to be true.

I realise that I am slowly turning into a kooky historian who gets overly excited about the smallest things. I am currently building up my supply of quirky earrings and clothes so that when the transformation is complete, I will be ready. I do apologise for my rambling.

To make up for it, I made a cake. Although FatCouriers services have been employed, their record for delivery stands against them. I made a Lemon Meringue Cake today, lemon curd and all. I almost lost the top when I was carrying it to the table as I hadn't pushed it down enough and the curd was a bit slippery. Disaster was thankfully averted.

"He was struck with the notion of doing a very gallant thing"

2008-05-07T19:51:00.006+10:00

I have decided for my next chapter to write on the naval captain that I mentioned last time. I am currently reading a biography of him written in 1866. It is very interesting as it has many Victorian trappings, and the style of language, 'dear readers', is so different from modern biographies and histories.

It is also very exciting! I have spent most of today nervously reading about the famous battle that this captain was involved in, taking an American ship with great speed, bravery and despite the obviously violent nature of war, compassion. This compassion, however, didn't do him any favours, as he was severely wounded, so that his 'brain was showing', by the very men that he was trying to save, though they were the enemy. After providing his men with a rousing speech which ended "I feel sure you will all do your duty; and remember you have now the blood of hundreds of your country men to avenge!" lead the boarding party onto the enemy ship calling to his men "Follow me who can!". It is fascinating learning more about this man and his naval endeavours, particularly compared to the modest picture he paints of himself in his letters to his wife. It also moved me to read, that when he was wounded and his officers brought him back onto his own ship and undressed him, they found a blue pouch around his neck which contained a lock of his wife's hair, which they saved, cleaned and returned to him.

I still have a lot to do, but am starting to feel excited again about things, which in something so long and potentially drawn out, can only be a good thing.

HH

"she seldom went away without leaving them more dispirited than she found them"

2008-05-02T15:20:00.008+10:00

I now thankfully have handed in all that I had outstanding, which is a fantastic feeling, though short lived. My supervisor was away all of last year on maternity leave, so I had really enjoyed being able to see her regularly this year. However, now she is off on sabbatical to the UK in 6 weeks, which means I have to have another chapter ready in 3 weeks time so that she can see it before she leaves! The pressure is on, and while it is more interesting and on some of the archival research I did when I was in the UK last year, it is still going to be a challenge!

I am tossing up what to write on, I have the diary of a woman who accompanied her husband, a colonel in the British Army, to Ireland between 1802 and 1809. Or the correspondence of a Naval Captain, writing to his wife between 1809 to 1813 whilst on active service. Both are quite interesting, the former will allow me to look at social networks, British and Irish relations and family life as impacted on by the army. The latter will be about the absent husband and the family left at home, as well as imagined places as the husband creates an almost pastoral ideal of his family in England, influenced by his strong desire to return home to them.

Despite my need to work on this, the allure of social outings won over the allure of history this weekend. I saw two excellent French Films, Paris and Molière, both of which were among the best films I have seen in a long time. I love foreign films, I can't remember an occasion where I have left the cinema and have not enjoyed it. I will have to make an effort to go a bit more often. I also went out to Thai for dinner, hosted a BBQ and went to Yum Cha! I also had a tremendous amount of road rage, as every stupid driver in Sydney was on the road all weekend! They tend to come out more when I am running hideously late, which is 70% of the time. I also, in a distracted and late state, almost got run over earlier in the week, as I forgot to check for cars coming around the corner as I crossed the road.

I did manage to get some baking in too, making another Chocolate Guinness cake, but also Spanish Macaroons, which are gorgeous with almond meal, Orange and cinnamon, fragrant and delicious. Which reminds me that I want to go and see some films in the Spanish Film Festival which is about to start at Palace Cinemas.

HH

"...contemplating the dismal rain in a very desponding state of mind"

2008-04-25T22:55:00.009+10:00

The low level of productivity from last week continued throughout the week and into this, much to my disgust. Some factors were beyond my control, including the MatchBox 20 concert which I went to in the Hunter Valley, which was excellent, although little soggy. A lot of negativity was flying around in my head towards it all at the beginning of this week. Thankfully I snapped out of it, I think a night of laughing my head off at Ross Noble was very beneficial, perhaps I can write the ticket off as a study expense?? Further inspired by the promise of a night in at a friends place with a few bottles of wine I eventually got moving, finishing my chapter, a grant application. I also started working on a chapter outline for the thesis as a whole, as well as mapping out the movements of my families on google maps. It is very interesting and helpful to have a visual of their movements and the distances between those at war and those left at home.

I also got word that I was accepted for a Masterclass in June to be held at the University of Tasmania, which will be nerve wracking as I think it is only for 20 people, but also hopefully very useful.

I have no cooking to report, having somehow managed not to be in for dinner at all this week. I did make a Lime Yogurt Poppy seed cake at the end of last week, which is an old favourite. My tin had been giving me grief on previous outings so I buttered and floured it and the cake obligingly slid out. The icing was a little thin, but all in all it was good. I will have to do some baking this weekend as I am going into withdrawals.

Chocolate Guiness Cake

2008-04-15T22:34:00.013+10:00

The Snickerdoodles I made for my supervisor on Monday worked a treat. I have until next week to hand my next chapter in and all is well in the world. I am thinking now about the exceptions to my idea of how important family was in times of war, that is how war tore families apart both in terms of time and distance as well as finical considerations. I have to be careful not to get too sentimental, which is hard as the sources I have thus far are lovely and beautiful. I am also a big softy and will look for the sentimentality in almost anything.

Of course today, instead of working solidly, I was planning and cooking a dinner party for some work colleagues of my Dad's. I was working from Nigella Lawson's Feast and her "Italianified Supper for 6". It all turned out well, the involtini (eggplant stuffed with mozzarella, feta, Parmesan, mint, parsley, pine nuts, raisins and lemon zest, baked in Nepolitana sauce) was lovely and the Baci Di Ricotta (ricotta and cinnamon balls) were amazing. I also made, and was very pleased with, the chocolate Guinness cake to go with coffee. It was gorgeous and moist and the cream cheese icing did very well on top. It is also from Feast and I would rate it amongst the best chocolate cakes I have ever had. It was almost mud cake like in moisture and density but without the over powering sweetness and stickiness that many mud's can have.

"But history, real solemn history, I cannot be interested in."

2008-04-12T15:48:00.006+10:00

This week has been a mixed week, though for the most part filled with blank pages, procrastination and a few thousand words. Two chapters were due on Monday just past, and they are still not finished. I am rather embarrassed, but to my great disappointment I do not have a time machine (preferably a TARDIS) so they are, and will be late. It is a rather strange feeling as prior to this year I have never handed anything in late, and though I don't lose marks, I fear I am losing the respect of my supervisor. I need to work on that, so on Monday, I think I will bake her some biscuits. Surely a plate of delicious snickerdoodles or Spanish macaroons will be more interesting than a literature review, and certainly a lot let tedious for all involved. That is my plan, and so long as she doesn't think I am trying to bribe or poison her, all will go well!

Friday night was enjoyably spent with four girls who I went/go to uni with. As we all study history and are at various stages of post grad work, our conversation naturally turns to history. The question was raised; which is worse, to praise a woman because she is displaying traditionally masculine qualities, (political involvement, literary achievement etc) or praise her femininity (motherhood etc)? So many histories only report on women who were seen to step outside the mould and behave like a man, and it is these qualities that have been praised. While at times, the woman who performs what is seen as feminine duties, motherhood, wife, 'private' duties, can be overly read being oppressed or worse dull and not worth being placed on the historical record. Were all women who were not breaking the mould oppressed? Were they, as my friend put it (and does not believe) they all sitting in their gendered towers, unable to articulate, but screaming, 'Let me Out!' Can we, should we, try and look at the past (and perhaps the present) not in gendered terms but in human terms, or is this impossible? Or worse does it deny and strip us of a major part of our identity?

Now, I am a feminist, in the line of SSS's post Where are you Daughters of Germaine and I write history about women. However, I don't want to fall into the trap of only writing about women, forgetting men and their achievements. Worse still, I don't want to ignore the past that was not breaking moulds, but was living, loving and surviving. This is why I think I have moved towards looking at families which will hopefully let me look at 'people'. I however, cannot give up gender, as it was a reality and an experience that people lived, and therefore important and vital to understanding their lives.

I will be interested to know what you all think. I am not sure if I have articulated what I am thinking, but I just thought I would put it out there as it is where my head is at.

HH

"This is a wretched beginning indeed! My sole dependence was on you; and I am sure nobody else will believe me, if you do not."

2008-04-08T22:49:00.001+10:00

My resolution this year has been to do things I wouldn't normally do. With that in mind, and inspired by some of the fabulous blogs I have listed, I decided to start this to keep track of what I am doing, supposed to be doing, and avoiding doing. Also as a place to let me rant, ramble, and hopefully not be a complete bore for those who stumble across me.

HH