Purple Realm

First, the boots. You'll have to excuse the weird leg angle - the 3-inch heels bring my height to 5"11 and I had to bend to take the pictures myself . Here're the best ones I could take:


I haven't worn them outside yet, but I'm now confident I can walk well in them after wearing them around the house .

Now for Kimmie's Blueberry Muffins!

You will need:
1 cup (120g-150g) fresh blueberries (if frozen, defrost and dry them on kitchen paper)
1 and a half cups (200g) plain flour
Half a cup (100g) sugar
Half a cup (100g) butter or margarine (I use Flora Light)
Half a cup (125ml) semi-skimmed milk
One large egg
Half a teaspoon of salt
Half a teaspoon of vanilla essence (or flavouring, doesn't matter much)
One and a half teaspoons of baking powder

I have made the big-ass muffins for this example. So, you need to figure out whether you want the big-ass muffins or the standard ones so you know your oven instructions:

For Fan-assisted ovens
Big muffins : 170 celsius
Standard: 180 celsius
For Normal ovens
Big muffins : 190 celsius
Standard : 200 celsius

The standard make a dozen, the big-ass are six. Now you've figured out which temperature you need, preheat the oven.

Sift your flour, baking powder and salt together into a bowl.

Now take about a third, and only a third of your blueberries, and with a sharp knife, cut them in half, and chuck them into the flour mixture.

(This is optional, but a good idea if you're making standard muffins, as it helps make sure you get some berries in each muffin.)

Put your flour mixture aside and put your sugar and butter into a new bowl. Whisk together thoroughly until light and fluffy.

Then add your vanilla and egg, and whisk thoroughly again until it is mixed fully, and a little frothy.

Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, then, without mixing it, add the rest of your blueberries on top of the flour, and pour the milk over it all.

Now it's time to mix. Carefully fold the mixture, gently and slowly, until everything has just blended together. Don't overmix!

Divide the mixture equally into your muffin cases,
and put onto the middle shelf of your oven.
Big-ass muffins take twenty minutes.
Standard muffins take fifteen minutes.

They should look a little like this:
Don't worry if the muffins don't seem "quite" done when you take them out - as they cool in their cases they'll finish cooking themselves, as you can see: This way they don't taste dry.

The muffins freeze well, and taste best just a little warm, but defrost before reheating, as they'll go a bit chewy if you warm from frozen in the microwave.

Can you tell I'm bored?

THE RULES:
Link to who tagged you.
Post the rules.
List everything currently in your refrigerator.
Tag 3 people to do the same.

THE TAG:
3 Medium free-range eggs
A little bit of Red Leicester cheese
A tiny bit of Flora spread
Homemade cheesecake
Chicken boobies
Broccoli
Broad beans
Some Flakes and a small bag of Buttons
Some sage and onion turkey
A big hotdog thingy that Mik likes
Some cheese slices
A tiny bit of milk
A can of V
Salad Cream
Mayo
Half of a questionable lettuce
2 bottles of Coke (one diet, one fat)
Some Vimto
A pack of Muller 1-a-Day yoghurts that I bought today
A few red grapes
A banana.

That's it! Hmmm, you can tell it's the end of the week. All the good stuff has been eaten .

THE VICTIMS:
Stomyr .
Kitty .
Darko .

And don't bitch! This is probably the quickest, easiest tag yet .

REAL food. How much will a greasy pile of crap at McDonalds set you back? Two, three, four quid, right? It tastes like fried monkey faeces and makes you feel ill. Gross. Well, for two quid I got the most delicious fast food, and nutritious at that. All I needed was a can of Yellowfin tuna fillets and a bag of Birdseye Steamfresh rice and vegetables.

The tuna was £1.49 a tin, and worth it. Most tuna is rather dry but these little fillets are succulent and tasty, and packed in spring water rather than brine. The rice is around £1.99 for a multipack of four servings that you pop straight into the microwave for five minutes and it steams it. In those bags is long grain white rice, sweetcorn, peas, broccoli and a few tiny pats of herby butter that melts into the mix as it steams.

So, for two quid, five minutes and a little arranging around the plate, I got this for my lunch today.



Cheaper, quicker, healthier, tastier, more satisfying... Which would you choose?