White Chocolate Chunk Cookies and the End of an Era

College is over! After three long and exciting years I'm finally finished my Undergraduate degree...*sniff* I'll never forget the time I've spent at NUI Maynooth, they really were the best years of my life (so far) :D. So, I confess, I've been SUPER lazy the past few days about posting and our oven in the apartment is STILL crap so I haven't been able to bake ANYTHING down here... *sad face* But, last Wednesday was my little brothers 17th birthday so I high-tailed it home on Friday morning...very much in the morning (we were up at 6:30) and rushed home to bake him his favourite cookies! I would also like to thank Amy Kelly for the lovely photo at That Winsome Girl and apologise because blogger deleted my link the last time :( I'm very sorry Amy :(


White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Makes around 12 biggish cookies

• 245g plain flour
• 100g butter (melted and cooled)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 180g packed light brown sugar
• 50g white sugar
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• 1tsp baking powder
• 400g white chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 160 C

Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl

Add the melted butter to the sugars and beat until creamy

Add vanilla essence to the eggs and mix

Add eggs and vanilla mixture into the wet ingredients bowl, beating well.

Add dry ingredients to the wet and combine to form a sticky dough

Throw in chocolate chunks and mix

Roll Tbsp sized blobs of the dough into balls about the size of a ping pong ball

Place them 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with greaseproof paper and press to flatten them by about half.

Bake for 16-20 mins until golden at the edges but still quite pale in the middle

Cool for 10 mins on the sheet and then cool completely on a wire rack

According to my brother these are better than M&S and Subway white chocolate cookies. I think that's a pretty solid testimonial from a foody fusspot :P

Social Conflict - The Robbers Cave

As a Psych student I have learned about some really interesting experiments and human processes over the past 3 years. One of the most interesting courses was Social Psychology where we were taught all about money and it's detrimental effect on happiness and the psychological factors behind our destruction of the environment. Anyway, social conflict was one of the phenomena we studied and over the course of learning about it we learned of the Robbers Cave Experiment done by Sherif and colleagues in 1961.

Social Conflict - The Robbers Cave Experiment

They created and resolved conflict between two groups of young boys in a summer camp style setting using techniques such as co-operation for the benefit of everyone! Really interesting experiment to read

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Sorry for the long time between posts, I'm still not 100% and I've been tirelessly preparing for my college finals...(so scared, so very very scared)... I know immediately what you're thinking, yet another chocolate fudge cake to add to the multitude already out there. But before you lose interest this is a really fantastic chocolate cake. It has yet to fail me and always produces a rich, fudgy cake that still somehow feels light when you're eating it (if that's possible). The aroma of the chocolate is rich and thick and the sponge is fudge but still retains a light spring to remind you that you're actually eating a cake, not a giant sandwich brownie!


I typically fill my cake with plain whipped cream, chocolate cream and crushed raspberries or if that's just too much chocolate raspberry cream (I'll stick this one in a post when I can remember/ work out the measurements) :P


This cake is perfect for kids parties because it's simple and relatively quick. Actually it's a good cake for getting the children involved in baking and decorating...if you don't mind the sprinkle and dragée explosion that will be your kitchen afterwards... :P


It's also a good cake for carving as it doesn't crumble under the knife :)


Chocolate Fudge Cake
Makes 1 9" sandwich cake

• 175g self-raising flour
• 125g plain chocolate (see Note)
• 125g butter
• 200g light brown sugar
• 1tsp vanilla essence
• 3 eggs
• 2 tbsp greek yoghurt

Preheat the oven to 190 C

Melt chocolate over a bain marie

Cream butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy

Add vanilla and 1 egg at a time, beating after each addition

Stir in chocolate and yoghurt

Sift in flour and fold in

Divide the mixture into 2 9" sandwich tins 

Bake for 25-30 mins

Cool for 10 mins in the tins then turn out onto a wire rack

*Note: I use 39-70% cocoa chocolate depending on who the cake is for. Like for children I use the lower cocoa chocolate.

Chocolate cream

• 250 - 500 mls ready whipped fresh cream (depends on how much filling you want)
• 3-5 heaped tbsp icing sugar
• 2-3 tsps cocoa powder

Mix all of these ingredients and spread generously over your bottom cake layer, then stick the top cake layer on top and you're done :)

I used plain cream for the one in the picture because my brother requested it  :)


Also, I didn't bake this today, I cheated a little and used one I baked a few months ago before I even had this blog

x

The Fallability of Human Memory and Manipulation

Most people if you ask them will say that memory is pretty much solid and that you remember things almost exactly as they happen with maybe the odd detail mistaken like the colour of someone's shirt or something else innoccuous. Well, psychological research has shown that memory is far more fragile and open to alteration and mistakes than people think

Manipulation of Memory After the Event

This experiment by Elizabeth Loftus demonstrated this really nicely using the scenario of a car crash and assessing people's memories of this. she found that memories were altered based on the wording of the passage describing the crash which is really fascinating!

The implications of this research is a bit scary though because it shows that things like Eyewitness accounts aren't as indicative of events as previously thought but yet juries still hold them as almost as important as DNA evidence!!!

All Butter Shortbread and a Rather Long Hiatus

So first off, I'm going to apologise for the lack of posts in a while, I'm very sorry about that :( Unfortunately I was in hospital being poked and prodded by Doctors. On a foody hospital note, I don't understand why people complain about it so much, the food is perfectly edible and can actually be quite nice if you choose wisely. Yes, there are more unhealthy options like battered fish and chips and suchlike but there are also loads of healthier options :) Although maybe I'm wrong and Ireland just happens to have good hospital food, what do you guys think? Anyway, enough hospital talk, I'm out and I have a recipe ready to go!

This shortbread recipe is one I inherited from my nana and have used for years. It has been adapted many times to make different flavours and has yet to fail me. It produces a lovely cookie, crunchy but not too crisp when you bite into it and then crumbly and melt in your mouth with a heavenly buttery aroma and a slight sweetness (I'm drooling slightly). There's no vanilla or any other essence added so the buttery flavour shines right through. My mum loves this shortbread so I bake it quite a lot when I'm at home (which isn't really that often unfortunately).


Shortbread

Makes around 30 cookies

• 220g butter (room temperature)
• 100g caster/ superfine sugar (granulated will work but the others are preferable)
• 350g plain flour
• 1-3 tbsp milk (more if necessary)

Preheat oven to 170 C

Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy

Add flour and mix until the dough has the consistency of breadcrumbs (I always use my hands for this)

Add milk 1tbsp at a time until dough comes together into a ball

Roll dough out to 2-3mm and cut out cookies

Bake for 15 mins, until golden at the edges

Cool on a wire rack

Feel free to add essences and stuff and let me know how they turn out :) x

Is there anything nature can't do?

Being a Psychology student I've been exposed to a lot of research in Social Psychology and this research is highly relevant to everyday life (as you might expect considering it's the study of people and processes). One theory we've learned about is Attention Restoration Theory which proposes that when we are doing an activity which required our direct attention (like studying) we often take study breaks the wrong way; we go on Facebook or text friends. However, A.R.T. suggests we should instead do something like walking in a park or just looking out th window onto a natural scene.

This method of recharging our attention span has been found to be highly effective in both the general population and those diagnosed with ADHD which is a fascinating result!

See Kaplan's (1995) article for more detail :) The Restorative Benefits of Nature

Apple and Cinnamon Muffins

I took a break from studying to go and watch a game of Twilight Imperium which, for those who don't know, is a very nerdy space wars game involving the taking over of planets, making peace accords and having space battles :D :D :D! I normally do play but I had waaaaaay too many readings to do for college :(

I decided I'd make something for the game and Ethan requested these muffins. Unfortunately, I've just moved apartments and while the new place is bigger, quieter and much better for studying the oven has NO markings whatsoever!!! So I made the batter and hightailed it over to a friends apartment only to find the same situation! It was a nightmare but I decided to go for it. They were a little overdone but I'm blaming the fact that the oven was probably a tad too high, they should turn out much better for you :)

Apple & Cinnamon Muffins

Makes 12

• 240g plain flour
• 2tsp baking powder
• 60g butter (melted)
• 110g white sugar
• 2 medium apples (I used Jonagold)
• 11/2tsp cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• 110mls milk

Preheat oven to 200 C and grease/line a muffin pan

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a large bowl

In a separate bowl mix eggs, milk, and melted butter well

Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry mixing just enough to combine

Peel and grate the apples and fold gently into the batter mixture

Add 1.5 tbsp of batter to each hole in the muffin tray, dividing any remaining batter evenly between them

Bake for 20-25 mins

Cool in the tin for 5 mins then cool completely on a wire rack

Enjoy :D x

Things that go Bump in the Right

Recently I got an email asking me to submit mt thesis research to a European journal and I'm currently in the middle of editing it to their (super) strict rules. I was going through the paper that inspired it all and decided I'd share it with you all :)

Before I post the link I want to ask you a question; over the past week have you bumped into anything or anyone? If no, go you, if yes, what side did you bump with; right or left? Research (mine included) has found that   people bump into things and people on their right side more often because of an in-built lack of attention for that side (pretty cool right?!)

Things that go Bump in the Right

Peanut Butter and Honey Flapjacks

I love flapjacks, the buttery taste and chewiness of the oats in these simple bars is just heavenly. But alas I find myself unable to eat them anymore and have been racking my brains to come up with a healthier alternative. I knew I could replace the sugar with honey to provide the sweetness but I was lost with what combinations of alternatives to try for the butter that would work with honey. I finally decided to give it a shot with peanut butter and roped Ethan into helping (he loves the combination of peanut butter and honey so I didn't need that much rope to convince him). They worked out really well; my kitchen smelled like roasted peanuts for hours afterwards! The texture was just the same and the taste was the right balance of earthy peanut and sweet.


Peanut Butter and Honey Flapjacks


Makes around 20

• 370g jumbo oatflakes (rolled oats)
• 270g peanut butter
• 200g honey

Preheat oven to 175 C

Melt peanut butter in a bowl over boiling water

In a separate bowl, mix oats and honey together

Add peanut butter and mix well

At this point if the mixture looks and feels a bit dry add more peanut butter and honey until the desired consistency is reached.

Spread out into a 9x13 inch pan, bigger if you like your flapjacks a little thinner, and gently press the mixture down (this will create a denser flapjack)

Bake for 20-25 mins until golden

Feel free to add 75-100g of mix-ins after adding the peanut butter. I had nothing in my cupboard but I plan on trying peanuts and chocolate chips next time 

I hope you enjoy my healthified flapjacks and please experiment and let me know how you get on 

x

What Song Lyrics Say About Us

Over the past 50 years song lyrics have changed, arguably not for the better. According to a study published in the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, song lyrics have gotten more narcissistic in that time. It's really interesting after reading this to go and listen to songs from earlier decades and notice the differences :)

Song Lyrics reflect our Narcissistic Age

x

Icing with Sammi

So I spent the weekend in U.C.C. in Cork at the Student Psychology Conference which was FANTASTIC! We got a chance to present our research and meet other psychology undergrads and postgrads and people genuinely seemed interested in my research which was a huge boost to my confidence.

When I got back on Sunday I was wrecked so I went for a bit of a snooze and had a very lethargic afternoon. I didn't even train too hard in dance (which is highly unlike me). Anyway, I wandered up to visit a friend of mine who lives near the college and she had been baking wholewheat vanilla cupcakes and the smell hit you right from the time you stepped in the house. She had also made this wonderfully pale pink frosting which was sitting in a white bowl when I walked into the kitchen (the picture of girlie :P)

Wholewheat Vanilla cupcakes

(Makes 12)

• 110g unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 225g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs 
• 150g self raising flour, sifted
• 125g  wholemeal flour
• 120ml milk, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 160 C

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and smooth, 

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for a few minutes after each

Combine the flours in a separate bowl and add 1/3 to the butter and sugar mixture. Beat well

Add the vanilla to the milk

Pour 1/3 into the other ingredients in the mixing bowl and beat again

Repeat until all of the flour and milk have been added

Transfer the mixture into the muffin cases

Bake for approximately 25-35 minutes, until golden

Cool in the tin for 10 mins then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely

* You can substitute the wholewheat flour for 125g of plain white flour

The texture of these muffins is a bit denser that regular muffins thanks to the wholewheat flour but they have a lot more bite as a result.

When her cupcakes (which smelled amazing) had cooled we set to work, her icing with a spatula, me with a trusty piping bag. Then armed with sprinkles we went to town (and a little bit overboard in some cases) and decorated them...and the floor...

T'was a lovely evening, just what I needed after the long drive and busy weekend :)


Incidentally, Sammi is a writer and has a blog of her own all about writing and general artistic stuff (it's very good) Wisdom Words and Whimsy

x

Orange and Raspberry Cake/Pudding/Yumminess

This is my first slight baking mishap in a good while (new record!). I wanted to make an orange pound cake so I found myself a pound cake recipe from years and years ago in my mums recipe box and set to work. On my hunt through the kitchen for yoghurt I found some raspberries that needed to be used before they were claimed by the grey fuzz lurking threateningly in the corner of the punnett.

So I made up the recipe and folded in the gloriously pink and pretty raspberries, transferred it into the tin and baked for the required time...then a bit more....then even more because the centre was still quite raw and squishy... it has to be because of the raspberries though because mum said the recipe works perfectly otherwise. All was not lost however. We simply served it as pudding with a scoop of vanilla ice cream :D

Anyone have any advice for me on how to stop this happening again? I'm gonna post up the recipe anyway so that anyone who knows how to deal with the devilish little raspberry can make this totally yummy cake/pudding. Or, you can leave it as I did and have it as a gooey, heavily scented, summery pudding

Orange and Raspberry Pound Cake

• 114g butter, Softened
•  170g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 190g flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 oranges, Zested and Juiced
• 160g Greek Yogurt
• 1tsp vanilla essence
• 400-500g raspberries

Preheat oven to 175 C

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 

Stir in eggs and orange zest

In another bowl, combine the flour and baking powder

In a third bowl, combine the orange juice, vanilla essence and yogurt. 

Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture and mix gently (just enough to combine without over-mixing) 

Add the yoghurt juice muxture and stir gently.

Mix in the remaining dry ingredients and gently fold in the raspberries

Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool completely before slicing.

I baked this for around 75 minutes in an effort to make sure it was cooked through and as I already said it still came out quite gooey...the resulting pudding with cream was heaven!

If anyone has any advice about making it work as a cake I'd really appreciate it :)

x

In Honour of Earth Day

So today is Earth day and around the world from 8-9PM people are being asked to turn off lights and appliances! In loads of major cities landmarks like the Sydney Opera House and Government buildings here in Ireland are going under the cover of darkness as their lights are all switched off for the hour. 


In honour of this I thought I would post up some research about how important nature is to our psychological well being and how important it is to preserve our natural environment :D. 


It's been shown that people in  a community feel safer and more connected to other community members when there are trees and green-space in their surroundings. children will automatically go for green space over concrete playgrounds where availible; even if it's just an empty field; we humans appear to be naturally drawn to nature, a need which is forced out of us in cities.


Numerous studies have found that nature can improve our physical and mental health, including one reporting that depression levels in people living in apartments were lower in those that looked over a window box with flowers in it. Nature and Health found that mental and physical health were positively impacted by the natural environment!!!

Icebox cookies and the 24 hour Juggle-a-thon

Firstly I feel I should apologise for the lack of pictures of the cookies themselves; they were hoovered up in no time, before I had a chance to take any snaps!

So yesterday (and this morning) we held our second annual 24 hour Juggle-a-thon in college to raise money for charity. I should probably explain this a bit better; I'm the current president of the Juggling Society in university and I've been a member of the society for 3 years and will continue to be for as  long as they will let me. Last year I decided we needed to do an event for charity week; and so the 24 hour juggle-a-thon was born!

It kicked off at 12 noon yesterday and we juggled all day and throughout the night, finally finishing at 12 noon today to the strains of the Final Countdown by Europe. We were raising money for M.S. Ireland which is the Multiple Sclerosis charity over here and is a fantastic cause. I'm still not quite done counting the money (there's a lot of small change left) but we've broken the €400 mark!!! It was a great laugh and the people walking by seemed to enjoy the event as much as we did!

Anyway, you're here for a cookie recipe, not to hear me go on and on about juggling (it's a fantastic past time, and I would strongly recommend it to everyone!). I did have a problem in that they were a little cakey because I couldn't find my usual go-to cookie recipe but leaving them in the oven a little longer yielded better results. I will be trying them again with my usual recipe and I'll report back which is better :)

Chocolate and Vanilla Icebox Cookies

(Makes around 30)

• 200g butter (softened)
• 185g sugar
• 1tsp vanilla essence
• 1 egg
• 280g flour (divided)
• 1tsp baking powder (divided)
• 3 tbsp good quality cocoa powder
• 40ml milk (divided) (if necessary)

Cream butter and sugar in a bowl until fluffy

Add vanilla and egg and beat well

Divide the mixture into 2 bowls (one for the vanilla dough and one for the chocolate)

Sieve 1/2 of the flour and baking powder into each bowl of the wet ingredients 

Add the cocoa powder to one bowl and mix into a soft dough

Mix the ingredients in the other bowl into a soft dough

Add some or all of the milk if necessary to achieve this consistency (my dough came out a little dry so I had to use all of the milk)

Roll out the dough you want to use on the outside (I picked the chocolate dough) into a rectangle 1cm thick 

Roll the other dough into a sausage shape the same length as the rectangle and place at the edge of the rectangle.

Wrap the chocolate dough around the vanilla dough and seal with your fingers

Slice the resulting log into 2 smaller logs and wrap the logs in cling film, rolling them on a hard surface to remove the uneven seam in the dough

Place in the freezer for 20 mins (hence 'icebox' cookies :P)

While the dough is chilling preheat oven to 180 C and line baking trays with greaseproof paper

Take the dough out of the oven and slice into 1cm thick rounds

Bake for 20-23 mins, until golden, cool and serve.

They're great party cookies because the yield is high and they're the best of both worlds; chocolate and vanilla :D. You can alsomake spirals or Battenberg style checkerboards; give your creativity a whirl and let me know what you come up with :)

                                

Synesthesia: Seeing 2 colours at once

I found out pretty recently that one of my friends has synesthesia which is a blending of the senses which causes input to one sense e.g. vision to cause firing of other senses e.g. hearing! In one common form of synesthesia, known as or color-graphemic synesthesia, letters or numbers are perceived as coloured. In other forms of synesthesia numbers, days of the week and months of the year evoke personalities or musical notes can evoke colours. In number form synesthesia, numbers, months of the year, and/or days of the week have precise locations in space, e.g. a number line may be ever present in the air infront of the person and 20 may be further away than 12. Over 60 types of synesthesia have been reported, but only a fraction have been evaluated by scientific research. Even within one type, synesthetic perceptions vary in intensity and people vary in awareness of their synesthetic perceptions. Because they're usually born with synesthesia they can be completely unaware of their perceptual differences until they are made aware of it 

Now researchers are getting closer to understanding the mechanics behind this phenomenon. In this study Reading in 2 colours at once they explored the fact that synesthetes report seeing both the original colour of the word (i.e. black) at the same time as the synesthetic colour!!!

Synesthesia is honestly the only disorder people are jealous of (me included, I'm very jealous)!

Mars Bar Rice Krispie Squares

While looking for a quick fix for a friend's birthday a few years ago I was put onto the idea of a jazzed up version of rice krispie squares by a friend of mine. She recommended adding marshmallows and golden syrup and they worked out really well!!! (I'll include the variations at the end of this recipe)


I came up with this mars bar variation for an event in college last year and they went down an absolute treat so I usually make them for birthday parties where a cake or something more fragile would be impossible to transport or wouldn't keep well in the open :) And let's face it, who doesn't like sticky, chewy, crispy, chocolatey treats?


The recipe is a bit on the approximate side because it really is improvised to the max but I'll make sure to describe what you should be seeing in your bowl :) You'll have to do this in 3 batches if you want to make the full amount of squares.


Mars Bar Rice Krispie Squares


(Makes approx. 30 smallish squares)

• 20 snacksize Mars bars
• 3 tbsp Golden syrup
• 3 tsps butter
• 250-300g Rice Krispies

Melt 1/3 of the Mars Bars over a bain marie until sticky (it will still be quite firm though)

Add 1 tbsp of the Golden Syrup and mix in well

Add 1 tsp of the butter, let it melt and mix well (it should be quite malleable and loose at this stage but still sticky)

Add 1/3 of the Rice Krispies and mix until they are coated in the mars bar mixture (they won't get completely 

coated but that's how it works)

You can add more if you feel there aren't enough Rice Krispies in the mix

Either roll into balls using 1 tbsp of the mix or pour out onto a tray lined with greaseproof paper

Repeat the above with the remaining Mars Bars and add to the same tray.

Refrigerate until hard then remove, cut into squares and enjoy!

If you want you can substitute the Mars bars for 150g of mini Marshmallows, or add both (SINFULLY yummy!)


Thanks to the Greedy Gourmet for the pic :)

x

Pancake Tuesday

I love love love this holiday because it's a chance for my to bring together two of my great sources of happiness; my friends, and cooking :)! I missed out on having a big Pancake party last year (sad face) so I decided I'd make up for it this year by making totally super awesome pancakes :D! 


I was always going to make crepes because in my mind they are pancakes (we Irish don't tend to do the whole fluffy American style ones over here), but for the first time I was faced with the exciting task of making the fluffy type. Ethan (being from the U.S.) wasn't too keen on crepes so I went hunting for recipes. I eventually settled on a cinnamon pancakes recipe because I know how much he loves that spice (I also had some lengthy consultations with him). So yesterday at 3:30 I set about making pancakes for 6 people. I flipped the last one onto an eagerly awaiting plate at 5PM (boy was I sleepy afterwards). Oh, I didn't quit making them because I was out of batter by the way, everyone was just too stuffed! I still have crepe batter left over, which is the reason I haven't included how many this batter makes in the recipe below. It's in my fridge in a milk carton...I really hope no-one makes that mistake when they go for cereal...


Also, what are people's favourite toppings? Lemon and sugar, Nutella and banana and fresh blackberries in that order are my top 3 :)


Crepes

• 200g plain flour
• pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 600 mls milk
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 2 tbsp caster sugar (superfine sugar)

Sift flour into a mixing bowl

Make a well in the centre and add the eggs, butter and half the milk

Gradually mix all the ingredients together and beat well until the batter is smooth

Add the remaining milk

Leave to stand in the fridge for 15-30 mins before cooking

Heat a small pan over a high heat and then reduce to a medium heat

Grease the pan with butter (I use kitchen towel to spread it), you can use oil instead.

Put enough batter into the pan and tilt the pan to spread it evenly into a thin layer

Cook until the top of the pancake is dry (around 1-2 mins), then turn over with a pallet knife/fish slice

and cook the other side.

Cinnamon Pancakes

(Adapted from Sugarlaws)

• 2 1/2 cups milk 
• 3 cups flour
• 4 1/2 tsps baking powder
• 5 tsps cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 5 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 tbsp butter (melted)

Sieve flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl

Add cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar and combine

Combine butter, eggs and milk in another bowl and add 1/2, mixing well

Add remaining liquid ingredients and combine

Leave to stand for 15-30 mins

Heat medium pan on medium and grease with butter/oil

Add 1 ladel of batter to the pan and cook until bubbles start to form 

on the top of the pancake (approx 1 min)

Flip and cook the other side for approx 1 minute

Serve both with your choice of toppings, applesauce goes amazingly well with the cinnamon pancakes!

Happy Mardi Gras/ Pancake day/ Fat Tuesday

x

Planning Could Lead To Better Eating Habits

Researchers at McGill have found that visualisation and planning can improve eating habits


 Planning for Better Food Habits


What's super interesting about this research is how easy it is to implement. I put it to the test by planning out the amount and type of protein I was going to have in my diet for the past week and visualised myself putting this plan into action. It worked. I stuck to my plan and really feel a sense of satisfaction that I didn't stray from it. While I'm not certain how much influence the visualisation actually had, the planning out really did have an affect. I'll have to try each component separately and judge for myself. 


Give it a go and see if it works for yourself :)


x

Wholemeal Irish Brown Bread

Ok, so my thesis is OFICIALLY DONE! I no longer have to spend hours obsessing over statistics or whether my headings look just right :D. Now onto my next essay...*head/desk* :P.
At any rate, now that it's handed in and out of my mind I can go back to baking more regularly :D So this morning I decided I'd make Buttermilk Wholemeal Bread because we had no proper brown bread in the house! The nice thing about Irish wholemeal bread is that it requires NO KNEADING!!! The result is a dense textured loaf full of fibre and homey goodness, perfect for soup and salmon and lashings of butter and jam :)

We normally buy freshly baked wholemeal bread from a little market near where we live but this week through a combination of being super busy and them leaving the market earlier than usual we missed out. So I decided I'd try my hand at it and adapt a really basic (and kind of crappy) wholemeal buttermilk bread recipe that I already had in my recipe box.

Unfortunately I had to leave before it was cool enough to eat but according to the text I just received it was a winner and my mum wants me to make more next week. the loaf came out a little on the flat side because the only loaf tin I had available was a silicone tin and whatever about their pro of being non stick, I personally think they're pretty rubbish as far as keeping the shape goes... But anyway, I'll use the metal one next time and then compare results :)

The bread has honey and buttermilk in it. I omitted the salt because I find that buttermilk can be quite salty, but feel free to put it in if you think the honey will make the bread too sweet. According to my tasters the lack of salt wasn't a problem and the honey was balanced so it really depends on your own personal tastes.

Wholemeal Irish Buttermilk Bread


(Makes 1 large loaf)


450g wholemeal flour
150g plain flour
1 egg
550mls buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp salt
2tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 220 C
Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl
Add the egg to the buttermilk and beat together
Add 3/4 of the wet ingredients to the dry and mix, adding more liquid bit by bit until it is all incorporated
Add honey and mix well
Turn the wet, sticky dough out into the loaf tin and bake for 55mins-1 hour, covering with baking paper to prevent over browning of the crust if necessary

If you have them sprinkle some jumbo oatflakes over the top before baking :)

The Chemistry of Cooking

Woke up this morning to find my room lit with wonderful sunshine (I forgot to close my blind last night). I made myself a cup of tea, switched on the laptop and have spent the last few hours watching the world go by. Granted there's not much to watch on campus at the weekends but it's peaceful and the birds are singing :) This is also the first morning where I haven't had to scramble to type up more of my thesis so I intend to take full advantage of the sunshine while I wait for my proof-readers to send me emails with all the fixing-up work I have to do before the final submission this Friday :P


While doing my usual morning browse through the internet I happened upon this; The Chemistry of Cooking. I know it's not related to Psychology but it was just so interesting and related to food (!!!) that I felt I had to post it up :)