Category: Baking

Washing Machine Blues – 13 January 2021

Posted on by Zogman

It was one of those days that didn’t entice you to go out. Then the rain came on.

A request had been made for a loaf and I’m the bread maker, if not winner, in the house, so I weighed the ingredients and put them in the mixer and turned it on for ten minutes. Covered the mixing bowl with cling and left the bread to prove.

It was round about then the washing machine suddenly went silent and the spin light started flashing again. I knew the procedure. Turn it off, wait until the door clicks its unlock signal and haul out the two towels that were sodden with water then drain the sump. Load in one towel and a litre of water, switch it on and let it spin. It didn’t spin this time. Ok, unload it again, drain the sump and then leave it for a while, ten minutes should be enough, and try again. This time it worked. A wet towel came out. Nowhere near dry enough really, but a lot better than the waterlogged one we put in. Repeat the procedure from “drain the sump …” and try again with towel two. That one worked, but by this time, Scamp was researching washing machines with Which and pricing them on AO.com. I knew the game was up. We couldn’t go through this charade every time we had washing to do. I settled down to check Currys. They price matched everything Scamp was looking at, but could deliver and fit tomorrow. Long story short. The new washing machine is booked to be delivered and fitted tomorrow afternoon. The old one which weighs a hefty 65kb will be taken away by them.

By then it was time for the bread to go to second prove and nearly time for our weekly visit from Barbara. She arrived just as the rain got a bit more aggressive. We picked up our sample kit at the door and agreed we’d do the rest of the survey stuff over the phone. With that done and the samples picked up we could tick off another thing done.

I was having Blackpudding and Mince Meatballs with Marinara Sauce for dinner. Scamp was having Veg Sausage, Mushrooms and some Marinara Sauce. Both served with a baked potato. Bread was in the oven and came out looking a bit flat, but turned out to be perfectly fine.

After dinner I just couldn’t resist the temptation to drill out the drain plug in the washing machine to see what was causing the problem. I found it. The remains of an old school pencil smashed into tiny little bits and one big bit. Big enough to jam the pump. So I’d imagine the pump will have been damaged and we already suspected that the motor was ageing, so maybe that pencil did us a favour and forced our hand.

Neither of us was interested in going out today because it was really grim out there. Today’s PoD was an abstract. Two forks interlinked and lit by an LED torch. Various filters and presets added in Lightroom. Just a bit of nonsense to fill a space in the 365.

Heavy snow is predicted for tomorrow morning. It was predicted for this morning too and never materialised. Perhaps it just got the day wrong. Hopefully we’ll know tomorrow.

Another cold morning – 6 January 2021

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Another day for the YakTrax.

It was a lovely bright morning, but cold. Temperature was around -2ºc and we were daft enough to go out in it, and BEFORE COFFEE TOO! What were we thinking. Well, the weather machine in the house was predicting snow and it made sense to us to go out in the morning, even if it was cold. It would be much more sensible to go walking in the cold rather than in the snow. That was the logic. It made sense to me. It was bright enough to get some decent images without having to hike up the ISO too much. After struggling with dust bunnies last night, I just wanted to take some photos today.

Scamp suggested we go round Broadwood because the paths there would have more footfall and therefore be a bit cleared than the ice rink that is St Mo’s. I agreed. Broadwood would make a change too. She also suggested that it would not be a good idea to try to cross the Broadwood boardwalk which is made of plastic panels and doesn’t give you much confidence or a decent grip when it’s covered in ice. Again, I agreed. I’d agree to anything if it gets us out of the house these days and with the added benefit of a chance to take some photos.

Most of the paths were, indeed, free from ice and walking was easy. We did try one of the less travelled paths, but it was low lying and prone to flooding. Today that flood had converted to solid ice. No grip. No chance. We chose to go back the way we’d come, then extended it round Broadwood Stadium. There were a few people out walking this morning. I think most were like us, just wanting to get out somewhere in the sunshine. There’s no point in complaining about the dull days and then staying inside on the bright ones.

Back home and after lunch I was all set to make some Limoncello. As a Christmas present, Scamp had given me four lemons, a bag of sugar, a bottle of vodka and a set of instructions for making Limoncello. Today I’d decided to make it, but first I wanted to sketch and paint the two remaining lemons, the other two having succumbed to mould in this warm house. I promptly got a sketch done and started laying down washes using the strange paper pads of paint Hazy had given me for Christmas. Such strange colours which, when dry bear no resemblance to colours when wet. There’s an intense blue which looks purple with a copper sheen when dry. The warm yellow turned to quite an acid yellow on the painting. Intriguing. They mixed beautifully, so beautifully I got a bit carried away and ended up with a multicoloured mess. A most enjoyable mess, though! I’ll try again tomorrow, hopefully.

When I was setting out the two lemons for painting, I discovered that one had a big mould spot on it. It had to join the others in the bin. Luckily I’d bought some lemons at the weekend and started to pare the rind off with a potato peeler which is ideal for the task. The lemon peel went into a kilner jar and as per the instructions, I poured the bottle of vodka over them, clipped on the lid and gave it a good shake. It’s now in the drinks cupboard and has to stay there for a week before it gets its sugar added. The little bare lemons look exactly like little sheep after they’ve been shorn of their wooden coats in the summer. I may take a photo of them tomorrow, huddled together.

I wasn’t satisfied with the morning’s shots, so I went out again in the afternoon and got a shot of a rare form of ice called Hair Ice. I’ve only seen it once before, over a year ago, in fact it might be the same bit of wood it’s growing on. Google it and be amazed at what nature can produce. By the time I was leaving St Mo’s a freezing fog had descended and I was glad to be on my way home to a warm house.

Dinner tonight was lentil soup and Savoury Slice. Another of Sim’s recipes that Scamp’s adopted and adapted. She wasn’t happy with the results, but I thought it was fine. I was even more pleased with the coffee cake she made. Quite delicious.

The Hair Ice didn’t get PoD. Scamp liked a morning shot of the bench in its frosty coat and that became the winner.

Snow forecast for tomorrow from very early morning until early afternoon. We are having a visitor tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll be able to tell you more about it tomorrow.

The ice is melting – 5 January 2021

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Time to get the boots and the YakTrax on and go for a walk.

Just a walk round St Mo’s, but the ice is still treacherous, even more so as there was a slight melt happening and the water was covering the ice. With care it was possible to get round and that’s what we did. Just one circuit. The ducks haven’t returned from their holiday in a warm place and it looked like the swans had become frozen to the ice that covered St Mo’s pond, but they were just pretending and got up and staggered around while we watched. The worst bit of the walk was the boardwalk, because the ice runs for the whole width of the path with no snow and therefore nowhere to get a better grip. However, again, the YakTrax proved their worth and we completed the walk intact.

I made a loaf after lunch because we needed bread or at least we would tomorrow. For speed and also because I couldn’t be bothered with the faff of hand kneading, I asked the mixer to do the hard work and it did produce a decent dough. Set it to prove and headed off to St Mo’s again for a second chance at some photos, although I reckoned I had one in the bag already.

I tried another of the daring camera on the ice shots, but the ice was melting and I could hear it creaking a bit under my boots. I could also smell the decomposing leaf mass under the ice, so it definitely wasn’t as stable as I’d have liked. Four shots and I was off onto dry land again.

Back home and an hour or so’s work and I had a mono PoD of a park bench and a colour shot of the view from the ice. The PoD came from the morning walk with Scamp and the colour shot was from the afternoon.

The bread had completed its first prove and I placed it carefully into a Banneton which is a round basket made from rattan to do the second prove. Rattan is a climbing palm that grows in Indonesia. There, you’ve learned something today. I don’t often use the banneton, but it was recommended for the long proving times necessary for sourdough bread. It certainly produced a very decorative spiral pattern on the dough which rose quite quickly in the warm living room and the bread baked beautifully. Too late for our dinner unfortunately, maybe just as well because I don’t think it would have gone too well with a fiery chicken curry. The ice cream afterwards did go well with it.

Spent an annoying hour trying unsuccessfully to get rid of some dust bunnies on my sensor. I think I ended up with more than I started off with.

Spoke to Canute tonight. We were supposed to phone him, but instead, he phoned us. Had a long talk about the ‘joys’ of grandchildren. Living with Covid and the effects it had on small retail shops. I’d forgotten that his school clothes business would now be Click ’n’ Collect. It must be so difficult for small businesses in these days of constant on – off closures. We wished him well on his operation at the end of the month.

Tonight the temperature is forecast to drop to -5ºc. We may not be going far tomorrow.

Bread – 2 January 2021

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Not just any old bread. This was handmade focaccia.

JIC and Sim gave me the bread making kit for Christmas. Six monthly bread related tasks to challenge me. Today I tackled the first one, Focaccia. The last time I made focaccia, I used the Chef mixer to do the heavy work and just added the ingredients. Today I did it all by hand. Hand kneading the 600g of bread flour with yeast, salt, 200ml of water and 60ml of olive oil in a bowl was hard going, but there was more muscle work to come. There was the main kneading on a work surface and adding in the additional 125ml of water. That was the bit I was dreading, because the dough gets really sloppy and difficult to handle then. However we worked at it together, the dough and me and we got it done with all the water absorbed and the dough silky smooth. Set it to rest and prove while Scamp and I went for a walk with our new best friends, the Yak Trax.

I don’t think she believed me when I told her how easy it was to walk on ice wearing these old fashioned, but so clever overshoes. It was a dawdle. I took some photos as we did two circuits of St Mo’s pond. We watched one wee girl take a tumble on the ice and felt just a bit sorry for her as we crunched past on metal feet. Lots of very photogenic frost pictures to be had, but not a lot else. No ducks and no swans today. I think they must have got an early flight to Malaga or Tenerife. Or at least somewhere warmer than St Mo’s pond.

When we came home the dough had risen and was ready for the next phase. I plonked it into a baking tray, hoping against hope that it would expand to fill it properly. It looked a bit deflated there. It went into the pre-warmed proving oven (grill) for half an hour or so while we had lunch. After lunch there was the fluffed up dough waiting for its next stage. This involved poking our fingers (washed!) into the dough to form deep dimples and then pouring 100ml of good extra virgin olive oil onto the dough. Sprinkled it with rosemary and left it for another 15mins in the proving oven to allow the main oven to come up to temperature. Then in it went for 20mins.

It came out looking golden brown and smelling like any good focaccia should. The last stage is to pour and ADDITIONAL 60ml of EVOO over the top then sprinkle with sea salt. We allowed it to cool for the required 10 mins before we got stuck it. It was oily and salty and herby and simply delicious. It got PoD! Thank you JIC and Sim for encouraging me to make this bread and it was the right decision to knead it all by hand.

Tonight we watched half an hour of Mortal Engines before I lost the plot, literally. Was this the same story I read all those years ago? Bits of it were, but it was more special effects than story. We swapped it for Oceans 8 which was silly and funny and just what you need (not knead) for a cold night (-3.5ºc as I write). Good recommendation Hazy.

Tomorrow looks like it may be a cold start with the chance of the beginning of a thaw later. We may go out again.

Rain & Wind – 26 December 2020

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Boxing Day, and it rained all day from early in the morning until late at night with gale force winds thrown into the mix. Also, all of mainland Scotland moved into Level 4. Lockdown returns.

I made a loaf using the last of the yeast I bought online during the first lockdown. It’s lasted well and I was smart enough to buy some more from Tesco last month. For once I hand kneaded the dough in preparation for making the bread from JIC and Sim’s present. I must admit that although it took a long time to prove, it tastes very nice indeed.

I’d planned today’s PoD because I knew it would be very unlikely I’d get out to get an outdoors shot, but I changed it a little to add a little bit of interest. Originally I was going to do a monochrome shot of a red pepper that was more wrinkled than I am, but in the end I just couldn’t get enough detail into it. That’s why I co-opted the MiniMen to brighten it up. Smaller than minifigs and mostly men, so they became ‘MiniMen’. They are actually ’00’ gauge figures for model railway dioramas, but they walk and climb and stand in many incongruous situations for my photos. After 20 odd shots I had a winner, or to be more precise, I had something I could make into an acceptable PoD.

Besides baking and photography, I also did a bit of Indian cookery. I made some cauliflower pakora and to go with it, some onion bhajis. I won’t say it was my best effort and it did make the kitchen smell like a chip shop, but they seemed to go down well with Scamp. Also, they became ‘dinner’. We’ll maybe have the turkey tomorrow.

Oh yes, and although I didn’t manage to do the ascending and descending of the stairs, we did go through some dances tonight.  Jive, Salsa, Quickstep, Waltz and Sequence.  Well, we had to do something to begin to work off all that food and drink we’d consumed yesterday and it also helped fix a couple of the sequence dances in my head.

Tomorrow the weather looks to be becoming more wintry with snow and ice forecast. If it means we don’t get today’s rain and wind I’ll be happy. We might even get out for a seasonal walk.

On the pan – 23 December 2020

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My new pan gets its first real test.

In the morning Scamp set to and iced the Christmas cake. It was much smaller than our usual one, but Christmas cakes are a bit like turkeys, in that you feel obliged to keep eating them days and days after they were cut on Christmas Day. We each got a chance to put some items onto, well really Into the finished icing. My choice was the Santa and reindeer and also the little corner house. Scamp chose the children on the sledge and the snowman who now looms over the little house! A tradition returns to the table.

I’d bought an interesting pan for roasting and also for other stuff. It looked like a bargain, but I hadn’t really had a chance to test it out properly, until today. Lunch was black pudding and haggis fried in a ‘normal’ pan and an omelette made in the new pan. The eggs were unused leftovers from this morning’s icing, and it seemed a good way to use them up.. I wasn’t sure if the omelette would work in a griddle, but I’d seen a video online and it looked easy. Surprisingly it was almost that easy and the omelette folded over perfectly, sliced up easily and went down satisfactorily. We have success.

After lunch, Scamp went over to Condorrat to post a card and I fitted the dash cam back on her clean, new windscreen.  I didn’t linger in the car too long because it was pretty cold. When scamp returned I got dressed for the cold and went to St Mo’s to get some photos. The PoD was of the wee pond with ice crusting on its surface. I thought I’d allowed myself more time that I had and the light was fading fast, but the photo looked ok, if a little dark. Lightroom soon made it look a lot better. While I was out walking my two circuits of the big pond, I stopped a while to talk to a bloke I bump into there. He does lots more circuits than I do. I do two and occasionally three, he does up to ten at different speeds. Everyone has their own way of easing the stress of these lockdowns.

Dinner tonight was chicken breasts, red peppers, mushrooms and courgettes, all done in the new pan. They worked fine and there was just enough room for them all. Carbohydrate intake was a baked potato each.

The pan is a Whatever Pan by Jean Patrique ( or John Patrick as he’s know down the Barras). That’s me used it three times and I’ve not broken it yet, so it must be sturdy. It’s cast aluminium and let me tell you that it gets bloody hot!

Tomorrow looks good. Clear skies predicted. We may go for a walk, somewhere quiet. If there is such a place on Christmas Eve!

Rain, rain, rain then sun – 18 November 2020

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It was one of those days when you just know it’s going to start raining and never stop.

Actually, the rain had started yesterday and continued unabated through the night. I felt it had rather overstayed its welcome when it was still with us this morning. We had planned to drive to The Fort today, but one look out the window convinced us that wouldn’t be happening. If we were desperate for something from that curve of shops, I might have made the effort, but as neither of us were all that bothered, we decided we’d maybe go another day. Scamp had a hair appointment in the afternoon and I was making soup for tonight’s dinner, so that would keep us busy.

Lunchtime came and went with the highlight being Scamp’s apple pie. Not our own apples, those are well gone, but a very tasty wholemeal pastry encasing some lovely Bramley apples. I’m worried that I’m beginning to sound a bit like Nigella here! It was a lovely pie, though. Just as Scamp was leaving for the hairdressers, the sky did seem to lighten a bit. A few minutes later, shadows were appearing outside and we didn’t need the room lights on. It was definitely brightening up.

Not one to pass on an invitation like that, I had my boots on and the bag on my shoulder before it would all fall apart. It didn’t fall apart, the sky was clearing nicely when I walked up the path that leads to St Mo’s. There was a torrent of water coming down that path and it was that torrent that became today’s PoD. One in the bag. There was a wild sky with a low sun when I walked round the pond, wild enough to be the subject of a photo, not just the background and I did take quite a few. Still not altogether happy with the focusing of the 18mm Samyang lens. I may still resort to sending it back to Amazon because they have foolishly extended the returns window to January 2021. Never look a gift horse … etc.

By the time I got home, so was Scamp, sporting her new hairstyle which she said was almost exactly what she’d asked for, but she didn’t like it. I didn’t want to say that the difference between a bad haircut and a good one is only about two weeks. I like it, it frames her face really well. Maybe tomorrow I’ll photograph her, just to prove to her that it works.

Dinner was indeed my version of Scamp’s “Just Soup”, served with crispy croutons, our new favourite. The pudding was another slice of Scamp’s apple pie with cream. Finishing touch was two little meringues each with more cream!

It’s raining again tonight, but the temperature is forecast to drop tomorrow with an overnight low of about 2ºc and remain dry all day then more rain on Friday. No plans for tomorrow, but if there’s anything we need in ‘non-essential shops’ we’d better get it or have to wait for three weeks.

Oh yes, one more thing.  I was just heading for bed last night when I heard a buzzing, but a doppler buzzing, you know what I mean a rise and fall in the pitch of the buzz.  An insect or something flying past me.  It was a big wasp, I don’t think it was a hornet, but it was a big wasp.  I didn’t want to kill it, but I didn’t want to wake up with a bit lump on my nose from a wasp sting either.  I managed to backhand it and trapped in on the carpet under a glass tumbler, eased a bit of cardboard under it and it was trapped.  I opened the bathroom window and helped it to fly away.  It wasn’t too happy about flying off and clung to the cardboard for a while, but I managed to convince it that going would be less painful than staying.  It’s now out there somewhere thinking “It’s a bit chilly for June!”

Stitchery and Boozy Pudding – 8 November 2020

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A day for putting things right. A day for mending. A wet, dull day. A day for getting things done.

The main reason I was mending and putting things right and also for getting (some) things done was that it was indeed a wet, dull day.

Before lunch I’d made some bread, well made the dough at least, well made the dough in the mixer and then adjusted it by hand. That was the delicate, skilled work. The rest was just grunt work. After lunch I adjourned to the sewing room where three pairs of jeans awaited my attentions. Scamp stayed downstairs and talked to herself while she made a … well, let’s contract it to Boozy Christmas Pudding, it’s got a much longer name than that, but cutting to the chase, that’s it. Once assembled it was to be cooked for three and a half hours in a slow cooker. It looked messy, so I let her get on with it.

First thing for me to do was fix a worn pocket in one pair of jeans. As the next pair would need exactly the same repair done, so ideally I should make all my mistakes on the first pair and then sail through the second. For once, that’s exactly what happened. The first pair was a pain in the backside. Cut the wrong shape of patch. Got in a fankle (another good Scots word) sewing the patch onto the pocket. Eventually got it fixed and it looked and felt ok, so I went down to see how the chef was getting on. She was almost ready to put the assembled pudding in the slow cooker. Got it in without too much trouble which meant she had three and a half hours to sit and wait. I started jeans two’s pocket.

This one was easier and soon I had two useable pairs of jeans that had been malingering in the back bedroom for months. The next pair needed a hem turned up. It was a bit of a struggle to get the sewing machine to accept that it could actually pierce the double, double thickness of denim that would form at the doubled up side seams, but with a bit of a run at it, together we achieved a reasonable result. Like the pockets, once I’d done one leg, the other one was a dawdle. Make that three pairs completed!

We were having Duck Legs with Orange Sauce for dinner. Actually M&S had done the hard work. All I had to do was take the duck legs out of the bag and bake them in the oven I’d just taken the loaf out of, for 30 mins. Covered them in Orange Sauce after that and another ten minutes in the oven saw them cooked. They actually tasted really good. I wondered as I was eating mine if they had both come from the same duck. Were they ‘handed’, you know, left and right legs? I hadn’t thought to look. They both looked about the same size, but how would you know these things? We rarely think that what we’re eating walked this earth with us. Maybe I should go vegan. Nope, chicken curry would put an end to that idea!

The time to open the slow cooker had arrived and Scamp carefully undid the string that held the tinfoil lid in place and the smell that wafted out was simply divine! Boozy? Yes. Fruity? Yes. We got a big slice each and slathered it in cream and discovered that it tasted as good as the smell. The rest is now in the fridge for tomorrow, but I fear it won’t taste as good as today’s offering. Pity, Hazy. It’s got eggs in it.

Spoke to JIC tonight just as I was beginning a swearing session at the Sony for not working with the remote app on my phone. The poor boy wasn’t feeling well with clogged sinuses, and on his weekend off too. That’s just not fair. However we talked for a while about Mr Trump, boilers and stuff.

I went back up to the Photography room (because the sewing machine had been put away again) and proceeded to take today’s PoD manually. Came down stairs and tried again, because I’m like a dug wi’ a burst ba’, and lo and behold the bloody thing worked. I’ve a feeling it’s only doing it to annoy me!

Tomorrow evening we are doing a WhatsApp with a man from British Gas to see how much they want to supply and fit a new boiler. The one we have at present is about 20 years old. We’ll be talking big numbers, I’m sure.

A Sunny Sunday – 11 October 2020

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Beautiful morning when we really should have been out for a walk

While I was making the breakfast this morning, I was also making some bread. I always leave the bread making until midday at least, which means after it’s proved (first rise) and then risen properly, it’s rarely out of the oven in time to be sampled at our dinner. Today I was on the ball and had the dough made by the time the microwave pinged to let me know my porridge was cooked. Left it to prove for a good couple of hours after that. I could say that’s why we didn’t go out, but that would be a lie. I was just having a lazy morning. It wasn’t until after lunch that I remoulded the bread and left it to do its second prove.

We left the bread dough to its own devices, put on our boots and went for a walk. Today, Scamp suggested we go round Mosswater Nature Reserve. She doesn’t really like that place, because it’s a bit cluttered and the tall grass obscures what views there are. The good thing about it is the variety of ascents and descents in such a small area. She was also interested to see if it looked any better now the tall grass had died down. On the way there we found a couple of what I think were Shaggy Mane mushrooms. I wasn’t sure they were mushrooms, so we looked, but didn’t touch. They made the PoD.

After wandering round a figure eight course of Mosswater and still not being impressed with the views, we crossed the road and walked round the other nature reserve also a Mosswater, but this time it’s the “Local” nature reserve. A great deal of thought obviously went into their naming. From there we walked back up to Broadwood Loch from there back home.

Dinner tonight was one of a pair of gammon joints for me and a piece of trout for Scamp, both with roast potatoes and cabbage. Plus, of course, a slice or two of lovely white bread.

Spoke to JIC and wished him, Sim and Vixen a good holiday in Wales. It seemed like touch and go if they would get to go with the risk of an entire lockdown for Wales, but it seems the area they are headed for is clear. Hope the weather is as good as the lovely week we had in September.

Today’s topic was Disgusting.  If there’s one thing that disgusts me it is the now common practice of dogwalkers picking up their pooch’s shit in a bag, tying it off and lobbing it into the trees. Why go to the bother of pretending you care when, as soon as everyone’s back is turned, you revert to being an infection spreading vandal?

Tomorrow it looks like rain all day, so I think we will not be going far.

Drumpellier – 7 September 2020

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Driving to Drumpellier for a walk in the rain.

Before we get into the driving and the walking and the rain, we had a bunch of apples sitting on work surface in the kitchen and by the watery light they looked very photogenic, so I took a few photos and then a few more at different settings, some hand held and some using a tripod. Knowing I had some shots in the bag I settled down to solve today’s sudoku, an easy Monday one. Scamp was getting itchy feet and wanted to go out driving, that’s what we did.

Scamp was driving today and she wouldn’t tell me where we were going, but it soon became apparent we were heading for Drumpellier out near Coatbridge. In the park it was a lot more relaxed than the last couple of times we’d been there. Loads of spaces in the carpark and very few people out walking. Today was a weekday and it was raining, softly, but it was raining. We walked round the pond, but let’s face it, Coatbridge in the rain isn’t the most photogenic of places. The apples were winning. I didn’t even take the camera out of the bag, that’s how dull and uninteresting it was.

Scamp drove us back home again and even managed to reverse park. She now rates the Micra much better than the Juke but not as good as her own red Micra. I totally understand and am pleased that she feels she could drive the new Blue Micra without getting stressed.

After lunch I checked the photos of the apples and discovered the highlights were blown out. Nothing I did with Lightroom made them any better. I just had to re-shoot.

Finally I started making the dinner and shooting the apples again in what was left of the daylight. I think the finished article has better exposure than the ones from the morning, but the composition of them was better. Not to worry, it’s done and posted.

Scamp gave me a tutorial today on making apple crumble (with our apples) from scratch, using a mix of 3oz plain flour to 2oz butter to 1oz porridge oats plus a dessert spoon of brown sugar. I peeled and chopped the apples and added some frozen red berries and topped it off with my crumble mix. Baked at gas 6 for thirty minutes(ish!). It worked! I was amazed.

Tomorrow no real plans although it looks like the weather will be much like today.