Bobchat - Parking

Harry on my parking skills when reversing into the drive.

That's right, mummy, you can do it. Come on, mummy! Well done, mummy! Good Boy!


Well, thanks - I think!

Book Review - One Hundred Names (Cecelia Ahern)

I have to admit it - I have a not-so-secret fondness for Cecelia Ahern's novels. I'm not quite sure why - on the face of it they should be everything I hate - they have romantic, chick-lit leanings and largely feature young, attractive women as the protagonist. However, I do find them more thought-provoking than many novels usually pigeon-holed as 'similar' - I particularly like the novels she has written with a magic-realist leaning. I really enjoyed 'The Time of My Life' that I was given for Christmas last year. And there, I've hit on part of the main appeal - conveniently Ahern brings out a new novel just in time for my Christmas wishlist. In fact, it doesn't even need to make it on to my wishlist any more as my darling husband is bound to notice and buy it for me anyway. There's not much better than snuggling up on the sofa when there are doting family about to look after those young, distracting things known as my children and have an indulgent read. The book seldom lasts longer than a day - a little longer this year as Archie is still rather demanding of me as his main source of nutrition.

The premise of One Hundred Names is simple, a journalist - Kitty -  is left what is bound to be the scoop of her life by her editor, a good friend, who passes away. Only problem is that her editor dies before she is able to divulge exactly what that 'scoop' is and leaves Kitty with an envelope containing only a list of - you guessed it - 100 names. Kitty's challenge is to, first of all, find these individuals and then to discover what the link is between them - finally she has to write the story. All this must be completed in a ridiculously tight deadline imposed by the acting editor who doesn't really have much faith on her (understandable since she is the-most-hated-journalist-ever due to a mistake she made on a previous story).

It's a nice premise for a story, and I do like Ahern's characters. They are a perfect mix of eccentric and endearing. Of course, the novel is a life-affirming journey for Kitty and some of the other characters involved. There isn't much of the magical aspect I have enjoyed in some of her previous novels (aside from a bloke who can hear the prayers of others), but it was a fun read nonetheless. I also like the descriptions of Dublin prevalent in many of Ahern's novels - reminding me of a particularly lovely break we had there some years ago. All these ingredients go together to make what is really an enjoyable read. It's not 'great literature' but it's fun, easy and cheers up my winter. And that's what Christmas gifts are all about!

Apple Muffins with Cinnamon Butter

Today I made the most delicious apple muffins using this recipe and we ate them warm with cinnamon butter. To make the cinnamon butter I used about 100g of butter, mixed with 60g of icing sugar with 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon. It was amazing, although probably a bit too much for the number of muffins I made!

I used my lovely new silicone muffin trays that Ian bought me as a surprise sale present, and I didn't use cases. I think that would have been fine if I had let the cakes cool down before trying to extract them, but as we wanted to eat them hot I think it would probably have been wiser to use cases. As my new muffin trays are extra-deep ones I am going to experiment with making my own cases out of greaseproof paper next time I make these.

I recommend you all try baking these asap - but best done when you have people round, as they are EXTREMELY moreish and otherwise you might end up eating the whole batch on your own!

Bobchat - Be have

D - Come on Harry, are you going to behave so we can have stories?
H - No! I don't want to be a have! I want to be a good boy!

Baking - Chocolate Guinness Cake

Sorry about the poor quality picture - and the fact the cake is already cut - we just couldn't wait to eat it!

This recipe is from my all-time favourite Baking book, 'Baking Magic' by Kate Shirazi. If you are after a not-too-sweet, dense, moist and chocolatey loaf, this one's for you - in my opinion it would make a great grown-up and manly birthday cake for any Dads and Grandads out there!

110g butter, 1 1/3 cups soft brown sugar, 2 eggs, 3/4 cup Guinness, 1 1/4 cup plain flour, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1tsp bicarb, 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (mums will have this in their cupboards to make playdough, but I haven't actually used it to bake a cake before!)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line a 1lb Loaf Tin (I use a silicone liner I got from the pound shop).

Cream butter and sugar, then beat in eggs. Add Guinness.

Sift dry ingredients in and mix to combine.

Bake for  about 45 minutes (mine actually took a little longer) until the skewer comes out clean.

Eat.

Also good warmed up in the microwave and served with ice cream for pudding. Yum.

Book Review - The Power of 5 Series - Anthony Horowitz

A few weeks before Christmas I realised that the final book of Anthony Horowitz's Power of 5 series had finally been published this year, I was so excited, I have been waiting literally years for this book to come out! I had the first book at a talking book back when I was doing a postgraduate course at Southampton University and I needed something to listen to on the walk down to the train station.

Horowitz is most famous for his Alex Rider books - a film was even made of the first book 'Stormbreaker' a few years ago. They are good, but not my favourite examples of his writing. I do find him a great writer, and have often used his short stories in school when teaching - particularly 'The Man With the Yellow Face' which is a brilliantly constructed text. His writing has a gritty, realistic style, and he connects extremely well with teenagers. The Power of 5 series is no exception. However, it has the addition of a magical fantasy aspect to the novels, which I really enjoy. I love a good Young Adult novel, and I don't think there is any shame in reading a 'children's' book at all.

The Power of 5 series is about a group of 5 children who have the power to save the world from the 'Old Ones', a mysterious force that's only desire is to create misery and pain. The series is cleverly constructed - in the first novel 'Raven's Gate', you meet the character of Matt, a troubled teen put into a fostering programme that brings him face to face with supporters of the Old Ones - the rest of the series builds up until in the final novel all 5 teenagers are pitted against the evil force.

The final novel, 'Oblivion' is an apocalyptic novel that I found extremely emotional to read at times. Horowitz has really imagined what it would be like if human beings were pushed right to the limit. The descriptions of famous cities (including London, Dubai and New York) and what they have been reduced to are particularly evocative, and, as always, Horowitz kept me gripped until the very end.

I really enjoyed reading the first 4 books in the run up to Christmas and couldn't wait to get my hands on Oblivion, which I finished as soon as I possibly could - I'd recommend these books to people who have enjoyed books such as the Cherub series (Muchamore) and The Hunger Games.

Thank You!

A great big thank you to Caroline from Sparkly Vodka for helping me create a new look for my blog! Yes, there are robots, Mama Owl...