Weeknote, 6/11

Knitting:
I have been working hard on Cherie Amour. I have finished the peplum and am into the ribbing. I have ignored the red waistcoat, until today at knitting group, when April made me feel bad for neglecting it, so I have put a couple of rows on it.

Temptation was great today at Get Knitted, and I bought a quantity of Lorna's Laces sock weight, along with some chunky wool for a pair of felted slippers (pattern on the ball band, awesome) and some Noro Silk garden in sock weight. I might actually knit some socks out of two skeins of the Lorna's, but the rest is earmarked for shawls.

Going to:
Calshot, for a ski bindings course. It is frustrating to have to make a 4 hour round trip for a 45 mintue refresher (I think I may already have said how frustrating it is...) especially since this conversation always happens...
Trainer: Hi! Sally! From M... School
Me: Yes
Trainer: Where is M... School?
Me: It's in Wiltshire
Trainer: Wow! You've come a long way....
Me: (if looks could kill, you'd be dead on the floor)

I wouldn't bother if they would just give us a tech for our dry slope sessions, but they say they can't. However, one of the other women on the course said they once turned up without a qualified tech and the centre provided one. Good to know ;)

Eating:
Pumpkin Cake with chocolate glaze (adaptation by me)
4 large eggs
1 cup groundnut oil (or other flavorless oil)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated white sugar
2 cups pure pumpkin (pumpkin puree)
3 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Chocolate Glaze
6 oz dark chocolate
2 oz butter
1 tbsp golden syrup

Pumpkin Cake: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Butter (or spray with a non stick vegetable spray) a 10 inch (25 cm) bundt pan. Beat the eggs, oil, vanilla extract, and sugar until well combined (about 2 - 3 minutes). Add the pumpkin puree and beat until incorporated. Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices and beat just until incorporated. Stir in the nuts. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for approximately 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then invert and remove the cake from the pan. Cool completely before frosting.
Chocolate Glaze: Melt the chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat, stir in the brandy, and let cool to room temperature. Pour the glaze over the top of the cooled bundt cake, letting the glaze flow down the sides.



This cake was such a triumph! It rose so big, I had to destroy the top to get it out of the oven - but luckily that was, of course, the bottom once the cake was turned out. It was very easy and tasted amazing.

It's important to add the salt though - I forgot and it really noticed, in my opinion. Also my pumpkin was not so much pureed as it was squished heartily by hand, since my blender goblet decided to give up part way through the pureeing. It didn't notice.

I also made an ate a quantity of pumpkin soup; I generally cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds, sling it in the oven for an hour or two, peel off the skin, blend, add sweetborn and stock, et voila. It was a bit too chunky with unblended pumpkin, but very filling and tasty nonetheless.

Learning:

• That the way ski binding DIN settings are worked out has changed only a minimal amount since the last time I did the course, two years ago.
• That I have too much work to do.
• That bears can be scared away just by asking them what they're doing.
• About Archeaopteryx - the first known feathered bird. I studied it for my Geology homework and found it very interesting. I like the historical bits of Geology because it's so different to the history I am used to - it's so old!
  

Obsessed with:
Trying to get through my to do list, and how scary the speedy passage of time is. This term will go mega quickly because I have the Malaysia trip and then the KS4 residential; next term will be superquick because I'm marking for the January modules, and going on a residential; then the 4th term will be quick because of the KS3 residential and skiing....you get the picture. This school year is going to be over before I know it.

Entertained by:
The Big Bang Theory, returned. I love it even more now that Blossom is Sheldon's girlfriend.
Little Women. I've never read the full version before and I think this will be my first book completed on the Kindle.

Feeling:
Just very, very tire - disturbingly so, for only one week back.