Mwhaha a Christmas carol parody

So far I have managed to avoid being bah humbug about Christmas.  So much has happened this year that is depressing that it just doesn't feel right to be unhappy. Still, I attempted this parody of 'The12 Days of Christmas' and, well, it turned very bah humbug.... But I'm pleased with how it turned out!

Gah, get it off the radio!

Thanks kerrang!  To give this station credit they are actually not ramming traditional Christmas songs down our throats. However there have been a few songs that mention Christian or relate to Christmas. So far, it's depressing... Lonely day?? Thanks for the pick me up. Kinda makes you feel like life not worth it. The theme song of m.a.s.h. Was more subtle....

Doh

I'm trying to get into a mindset were I can write seizable chunks of prose fluidly. I keep getting nice ideas that I want to play with, sometimes through words and sometimes through 'art' (quotation marks used because I had no ability before the tumor disturbed my motor control.)  my ability to focus is just not there. Or I find myself actually running errands. It makes great - have a decent idea for prologue and instead of writing it wander around town just thinking about it while getting, realistically, badly needed meds. The best part is I'm now just sitting here playing with colours on the sketch pad because I bought a few colours of wool and trying to decide on a nice, but simple, design for a scarf...

Well its productive.

Seizures and safety, the bloody learning Curve

Get, I' m trying to be really careful about going out and about with my seizures in mind. I am learning  various triggers, and am usually fairly confident about predicting when they will happen. Problem is I have ones that are unpredictable... They hit me like a bolt of lightning. I was having a walk through the park today, felt fine. The next thing I knew I lost control of my right side as my leg started mild convulsions. These were mild enough that I could keep my balance with my other side but I waiting for the day a severe happens... Same thing happened a few days before but fortunately I was close enough to catch hold of a wall - or I would have been swimming in the canal!

It's cold, just far too cold. And those swans are getting vicious.


On the bright side - I made cookies!  Coffee with triple chocolate chips ^_^

Randomness of coping mechinisms

It's hard to find meaning in life these days. I have never been one for plans, but I was fairly sure of my path until recently. There was so much I was certain of, things I was sure I was going to do; even people I wanted to do them with. It unthinkable, until it happens to you, just how much of your world can be destroyed. And it rarely matters what causes this destruction, a loved one, a twist of fate, or a time bomb you never knew was there; the after effects of the same.

Grief. Anger. Self-pity. Just to name a few. These emotions ensnare and entomb one if not careful. For every step forward, you're tugged 2 back. In a way it is a trap that is almost sweet to fall into. What better way to deal with the unfairness of life then to rail against it? The relief seems bittersweet. But then I have always had a bittersweet palette.

It is impossible to remain trapped in this more forever. In a sense coping mechanisms creep up on you.  Sometimes in the most amusing way possible as well.  Today I was laughing like a lunatic as staggered over to a bench gripping the wall with both hands as minor convulsions start to tremor down my right side.  I had to hold onto the wall, because I was not sure my leg would hold me much longer but all I think of was crazy I must look.

Another aspect? I suddenly realized I like my new short hairstyle. This was a weird realization, as I liked it immediately after it was cut.  I had only practical thoughts in mind, ie. short hair will be easier for the surgery team to deal, make post-op wound care easier to deal with ect.  It just suits my hair so well; it spikes with no product and still looks great if I don't clean or brush it. Which is great, considering my head is still tender, and likely to be for a long time.

I'm actually finding more energy and interest in activities I have been too fatigue to do for years, which is a bonus.  I actually find myself tempted to take up basketball or tennis or another sport again, even though my body will protest.  The way in which re-invention present itself in life can be downright weird.

But then it's nearly 2 in the morning and I'm struggling to sleep again; despite fatigue.

Morbid thoughts for the day

The body really is just a trap waiting to slam shut.

Okay so this thought occurred to me after a mild seizure made me lose control of my right side in a cafe.  This one was bad considering the amount of anticonvulsants I have been taking. I had the foresight to quickly make my sos bracelet obvious while I was fighting for control of my arm. From the feel of this one, it would been a grand mal meaning I'd wake up at home tomorrow with a hospital admission bracelet with no memory of how I had gotten from the cafe to my bed. Fun times. Fun times.

Musing on stunted creativity.

I think it's clear from this piece that I'm feeling a little old at the moment. Well not old per say, just worn out.  I have so much on my mind currently that it's sapping me.  And as much as I try not to let it get me down this is perhaps mission impossible.  I have had a lot of trouble dumped in my lap over the last few months and there is no one thing that I have had to with that I have asked for or deserved. However knowing that I am to blame for none of it does not actually make me feel better.

When it comes to creativity, I find that depression and grief and other similar emotions cloud my ability to write.  I know the artistic talent of many is driven by their personal grapple with their demons;  for me it's about as effective as walking with a broken leg.  Painful, slow and stunted.

I have never given this much thought. Perhaps it's because I tend write from a happy place, and my capability is a reflection of this. This in itself should not prevent me from writing when my mood is low. On a deeper level I sense that it's more that I become unnerved by the fashion in which words twist to reflect what I'm feeling a little too well. After all I never felt that mirrors were my friend. It is, in the other hand, a hurdle to my self expression which needs to be overcome.

On the bright side I finally got this months sick pay. I wonder if I will have to fight for it again next month...

Bad employers, bad!

I am supposed to be an sick leave. Legally I am entitled statutory sick pay. This month I received no pay even though the dr's note I sent my employers is valid up until the end of November and the chances as the doctors will extend it because of my ill health. I have no idea what I have done to deserve all the shit I have been through this year but this truely takes the cake...

Why is that employers think they can get away with bull shit like this?

Anti-convulsants

The joy of any medication is the side effects.  Anti-convulsants are never prescribed without reason.  In my case they were prescribed to take the edge off grand-Mal seizures.  They seem to be do they well for the most part, aside from the occasionally leg spasm. However, I have felt ridiculously lethargic since i began taking them.  It feel like I have to go for a run in the morning just to be able to coordinate my muscular movements enough to walk.  This is a result of the function of the anti-convulsants.

The anti-convulsants contain chemicals that interact with the neuro-chemicals in the brain in such a fashion that they serve to slow the chemical reactions down. Slow chemical reaction in the brain prevents the electron firing that causes seizures but also cause the more mundane activities of the brain to occur at a slow rate.  The biological process creep along in comparison to what they are capable of.  I know by this reasoning that the lethargy is a normal reaction by it is hard to get started when the mental equivalent of sand has been pour in the brain engine.

In my own case this lethargy can by quite difficult the deal with as I am on high doses of two different anti-convulsants.  I don't mind constantly wanting to sleep, but waking up tired is a bugger.  Even things I enjoy doing are difficult thanks to tiredness and inability to concentrate.  Coffee only helps so much.

The dangers of free writing

In free-writing the idea is to write whatever comes to mind. The benefits of this is it ignores inhibitions and one is less likely to think about the value of what one is writing so it frees up the ability to produce a quantity of words in a short time frame. When this the goal then it is a quick way to succeed. However, every time I free write I always regret looking over what I have written as the quality becomes more inconsistent and the prose disjointed as I go on. This is where it as advantageous to have a plan or goal in mind for the section you are planning to write.

I am not even 2000 words into my novel challenge, and I am already annoyed with the quality of what I have written. It is nothing a complete rewrite won't cure. But when considering a drastic action with a section of prose one always needs to consider if it is even worth it. I am almost considering a restart with new idea. Problem is my mental energy is just too sapped.

Current word count: 1830

Brain melting woe

Top tip for the day: don't let someone with limited cognitive capacity attempt to bake.  It is a biiig mistake.  I tried to make a simple loaf today.  Not something I would normally struggle with but at the moment it like the simple rules of baking are eluding me.  The seeded loaf I attempted wound up tasting of bicarbonate despite a cup of sugar.

Oh poor little brain

I have a better excuse then ever for veging. After about 250 words of prose I had to take a loooooong break.  I started to feel like a seizure come on so I thought 'right, let's take a break.' Since then I have not had the cognitive ability to string sentences together without time and a lot of thought.  4 weeks after brain surgery this is pretty much par for course.

Let's all vege out. Who needs to work?

National Blog Posting Month

Yesterday I discussed NaNoWriMo.  Today I bring you NaBloPoMo A.K.A. National Blog Posting Month which, as chance would have it, starts the same day as Nanowrimo.  The challenge is too produce one blog post a day meaning it is only as difficult as I choose to make it.  I would go so far to suspect its a blatant rip-off of the former as well, but I need to start posting to both this blog and my creative writing blog on a daily basis again.  I also find that, providing I don't feel drained, that writing a blog post is a good way around writer's block.  However, I highly suspect I am going to be very glad of my anti-convulsants by the end of the day.

Now that the explanation is out of the way I can get on with the task at hand - an introduction.  This is my rambling blog: Crazy Thoughts.   The aim of this blog has always diffuse.  I have used it for different purposes over time.  I have posted allergen friendly recipes; creative writing; crafted soap.  Really its main purpose has always been to be an outlet for whatever random idea pops into my head.  In this respect it has been satisfactory.

Current NaNoWriMo word count: 620

It that time again

Nanowrimo, national novel writing month for those of you who have never come across the acronym, starts again tomorrow morning. The charity event lasts for the duration of November and is an excellent opportunity for writers to practice their skills in a slightly competitive fashion.  The aim is to write a novella of at least 50,000 words in 30days.  This can be quite challenging for some but I've seen plenty of participants fly past that goal. Personally, I will be pleased if I make it too 30,000.  Last years effort hit 21,000; a word count that far outstripped my previous attempts.

It is boggling to think that that is all I managed while unemployed.  Okay, so I was focused on job hunting and other crafts at that point in time. Even so, the sheer insanity of the concept of attempting to produce an article of work longer than last years is quite daunting.  At the beginning of the month I under went a craniotomy to remove a tumour from the left hemisphere of my brain. If the frequent dizzy spells and stumbling wasn't enough to worry about; there only so much work I can do before I feel a seizure coming on.  Talk about biting off more the you can chew.  Still, I'm supposed to be engaging in activities I normally would to recuperate and this is definitely something I would normally do.

I hope you join nanowrimo and good luck!

Butterflies

Hungry little caterpillar

spinning a cocoon

Dreaming of the day

she will fly away soon.

Seasons shift, time flows forward

Our little caterpillar releases from her dreams.

I've always seen butterflies as a symbol of change. At this point in my life there is no symbol more representative of my experience.  I can effectively say my life as it was is currently in tatters without being overly dramatic. I no longer know who I am or where I'm going.  I am left with the singular option of walking forward, hoping not to stumble.  Meanwhile, I turn back to my literary pursuits; there's nothing more helpful then escapism into the written world.

Era of the tech

We have become so caught up with technology that we take backup devices incase primary devices fail.  For example I took my iPad with me incase my mobile (which it did)/ died.  Yet when I was younger I regularly traveled the countryside with no commincation device outside fixed public call booths (my god who uses them any more).

I'm a busy busy bumble bee ^_^

I made soap!  Yay, I successfully did something other than write, or job hunt.  Go me!  Sadly this is not what this post is about (Soap can have it's own post ;) ).

Today I want to talk about (you guessed it) fiction.  I have been consistently writing recently.  I am publishing 6 days a week.  Most of these are small pieces of flash fiction but I have also started a series and 2 short novels.

Short stories:

Not Pinocchio:  I'm particularly proud of this one.  Lot's a lovely comments.  It's a short piece on the nature of grief.

There will always be Technology:  A short piece of Sci-fi cracking a joke about teens.

Gone Wild:   Regular Jane lost on an island.  Involves pointy sticks.


Series and episodic novels:

Jason and the Darwin Awards:   This one is a series taking the piss out of us Aussies.  The theme behind the episodes is the near miss of earning a 'Darwin Awake' (a joke award given to those who's acts of stupidity successfully removes their genes from the gene pool.)

And you call yourself a...:  Katherine has found herself out on her arse when her landlord goes bankrupt.  She is forced to room with oddball housemates.  Heavy supernatural theme.  Elements of parody.

Sweet Brain Damage:  Abigail Lawson was born gifted but lost her powers when she was dropped on her head as a baby.  Whats an ordinary teen to do when her powers re-emerge and she is shipped off the psychic equivalent of Hogwarts.  Meant as a rom-com with more elements of parody.


Hope you enjoy ^_^

Think of of the fiction!!

It has been a productive week for my muse.  I have given him so much exercise he must have collapsed from exhaustion by this point.  But I have several great projects to show for it and my writing is steadily improving.


The Crown and the cavern started life as 'Picture it and Write' challenge.  It is flash fiction that is a cautionary tale about reading the instructions.
Country Guy and City Girl  are two separate pieces of flash fiction that happen to be the same story from different points of view.  Nice real romance.  I may do a continuation.
A parody  of 'Singing in the rain' that is deliberately of key about the joys of job hunting.  You will be able to tell i have been job hunting for too long that day.  I clearly needed a break.
A walk in the rain  A nice short poem :)

The job hunt continues!

It's depressing being unemployed.  Even with a volunteer hob I still have too much time.  I've started too spend all my time finding things to do (Not that that is in any way difficult.)

Now I spotted a interesting job ad today: Blogger for Grads.co.uk.  What better think for an unemployed graduate student to do: Blog for a student blog!  Sounds great.  Let's start the how-tos

How to collude your way through your degree
How to wring the most out of your university
Beating the system - knowing your rights
Employment - what's a graduate to do

I could keep going on.

The absolute worse part is I would be good at it.  I spend most of my time writing these days.  I write applications.  I write cover letters.  I write emails.  Then when I'm really BORED I write fiction. Yay!

It get's better.  My creative writing blog is quite popular, given it's been in existence for all of a month.

Let's face it.  I would be perfect for the role (Ego deflating pin ready, Sir!).

Bet peanuts would be generous pay.

Musing on a challenge

I have completed yet another short story: Shouting Fire. This was another random word challenge. Like all the others, it made me think. But today, it made me really pay attention to the creative process for some reason.

The word was theatre. Nothing special. But it struck as I write just how important the first impression is to the creative flow. For example, my first though with theatre was the phrase 'never shout fire in a crowded theatre' to which my brain automatically responded 'oh I so want to do that now.' As can been seen from Shouting Fire, this had a direct impact on the plot itself. Similiarly, when I wrote Pepper last week my first thought was on the burning aspect rather then the versatility in food and this again carried through to the plot.

It is because of this that we actually need to be careful to be aware of these impressions because other wise it is easy to plagiarise without the intention. A good example of this is the fragments of 'The man from Ironbark' which I have included into the plot. I made a deliberate choice to work more of these in on the basis of a second impression I had from 'theatre'. It brought to mind my yr6 play in school – which is a similar production to what the character John is watching. I could have easily let this influence in without acknowledging it (although with what little I deliberately added it would be hard to accuse me of plagiarism).

This said, in such a short piece would the similarity to 'The man from Ironbark' have even been noticed if I had not gone out of my way to be obvious? This is a very good question.  

Upon reflection: poetry

I freaked myself out earlier.  Some days that's not much of an achievement.  I am a bit of an oddball at the best of times.  I caught myself making faces and odd poses in the mirror many times.  My own face can make some terrifying expressions.  However, what I freaked myself out with today was a short poem I wrote as part of a Daily Post writing challenge.

The idea was very simple:  Produce a few short observations of lunch that capture the essence of your experience.  From this I wrote Eating Alone; a very short piece of poetry that captures the theme of the challenge as best as my ability is able.  After I posted this poem it suddenly occurred to me that was a disturbing element of unease in the words i used.  This is a clear reflection of the mood I was in when writing it.  That is when I realized I need to go out to where there is noise and people!

Isn't sad how we can sometimes blind ourselves to our own mood?

Damn, double damn.

Looks I'd I'd better reconsider my plans to move. -_- Yahoo finance has managed to depress me with this article.  I have a social science based degree (Sociology and psychology) so this article is pretty damning.  But the researcher in me is asking 'From what data did they draw this conclusion' and 'How did they come to the conclusion from this data'.  The answers to both questions could be highly damning and invalidate the whole article.  I'd also ask 'What's their bias?'  If it's just shock tactics they might succeed, cause even with my critical thinking there's still a little voice going Oh crap.

Spicing up your coffee

1 teaspoon of honey and a teaspoon of mixed spice.  Perfect for when you are craving a commercial cup of coffee but just can't get out the door.

Insomnia, you creative genius, you.

I'm up way pat midnight AGAIN.  What is there to do this late, you ask? Nothing ^_^  Not a damn thing.  And so I'm writing.

Writing yay!!  Of course I'm writing.  It's all I ever do at the moment.  Well today's progress?  The start of parodically bad teen romance story and (and this is the good one) a new picture it and write challenge.

This weeks photo is:

Greet the Evil Mop.  He is the future lord and sovereign of the universe. This challenge was not a difficult one for one reason - I could not get the idea of walking into a cleaning closet to find this creepy bastard out of my head.  Therefore I have written Time to quit the day job as a result.  This a short piece of flash fiction inspired by my own life and a supernatural mop.  It amused me.  I hope it amuses you too.

My daily dose of Starbucks

Today I am enjoying a Toffee Nut latte.   Mmmm, Starbucks.  Now right here imagine I'm saying that as a Homer Simpson impression.   Like Mmmmm, Donuts.  But now I have a problem.  I can't hide my addiction.  It's right out there in the open.  So here's a list of the reason why I go to starbucks.

It makes a great away-from-home office.  My addiction to Starbucks began when He Who Shall Remain Nameless (Oh I bet you just sniggered at that) got us studying for essays those many months ago when I was still in uni.  Of course, I already frequented Starbucks at that point, just not nearly as often. Utilizing Starbucks as a home office was a turning point.  It just made such a convenient place to study.  You could sit for hours, use the free wi-fi and no one would bother you.  There was even coffee on tap!  I fully admit to writing 60% of my degree in Starbucks.

You can sit in there for hours nursing the same drink.  This is perhaps the best element of the Starbucks visit.  It makes the perfect retreat when you've been caught rain, waiting for a bus, or just hanging out.  I've sat around for a whole day and not once been badgered by staff into buying another drink.  This, of course, may be because I'm such a regular that they know I will come up eventually for seconds.  Or it could also be because generally they don't care provided you don't get cheeky.  In fact, the few times I have actually seen management ask people to leave or buy a drink it invariably involves teenagers who think it's perfectly acceptable to take up seats for hours without anyone purchasing a drink.  Or the homeless...  But they tend to be more forgiving towards them.

Free Wi-fi.  This is pretty much self explanatory.  There are plenty of places with free wi-fi these days but I've always found Starbucks one of the more useful places to stop because you don't need a password or to sign up.  Just connect you device to the Starbucks Openzone signal and hit connect on the Starbucks page that opens up.  Simple.  No hidden costs, no giving away phone numbers or emails.  One simple connect button click and you are one.

Coffee.  Nuff said.  Starbucks coffee isn't the best.  In fact it's so weak I used to order extra shots because the standard number of shots was insufficient.

You can study people.  So this is admittedly a personal hobby of mine.  I often found myself observing people looooong before undertaking a degree in Sociology and Psychology.  If you ever are curious about human behaviour just sit in a crowded place and listen/look at what's going on around you.  This always makes for great material if you regularly create any form of art, whether it's writing or painting or what ever.

And finally - You can even meet people.  Better yet they aren't all weirdos!!  Yep, that's right, have interesting and unusual conversations with complete strangers.  Just beware of the loonies...  I have fled Starbucks to escape people before.

I totally admit it.

I really do.

I have been completely immersed into writing again recently.  Its both good, bad and scary.  On one hand I feel like I've rediscovered a part of myself that for various reason got quashed by real life. On the other, I feel like its distracting me from things I could/should be doing.

And I really should make a new batch of soap.

I really, really should.

Having said all this, here's another shameless plug - Don't listen!  A new poem about the dangers of listening to the crazy voice in your head.

I also wrote this short piece. Pepper, thanks to a random word challenge.  Coming up with something interesting and different based on the word pepper was Haaard.

More short fiction

I undertook a new picture it and write challenge this week.  The picture to the left is this weeks feature.  Actually have to say it was rather nice to work with because there's so much info in the picture that coming up with a potential plot was instantaneous.  It actually inspired me to write an excerpt for a short sci-fi/action story I'm writing entitled freedom.   Have a look below. :)

Excerpt from 'Freedom'

Salvation - new short story

Latest free-writing antics brings you salvation!  A short story About a dying solider and the Valkyrie who fetches him.

Update on the rose clipping

Sad news. Sad, sad news.  The rose clipping appears to have wilted :(

Homemade donuts

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour. (self-raising)
3 tbs of sugar
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tbs margarine
3/4 cup milk/dairy alternative

Large quantity of oil for deep frying
Sugar for dusting

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients well.  Melt margarine and stir the liquids into the flour to form a thick batter.

Bring your vat of oil up to a medium level of heat and drop portions of the batter in the oil to cook.  Because the dough will float naturally you will have to turn one during cooking to ensure the donuts cook all the way through.

When even golden brown remove the donuts from oil and drain.  When cooled slightly dust with sugar.

Coffee related poetry

Caffeine deprivation has it's uses.  My headache lead to this little poem: No coffee?  Short and sweet.

Poetry

Under a old rock I found this - Until I dream again!  Poetry is really not my preferred medium but some of my pieces are nice.

The cheaters guide to homemade flapjacks

Home made flapjacks the easy way.  All you need

- a 500g box of muesli

- 2 cups gluten-free flour

- 1/2 sugar

- enough water to combine

Stir all the dry ingredients, mix in water, then whack in the over at 220 celcius or gas mark 7 until cooked and you have hassle free flapjacks

The goose and the gander

Time for some random social commentary.  Humans must be the only species of animal where the following proverb doesn't ring true 'what is good for the goose, is good for the gander'.  Now we spend so much time constructing fictions about masculinity and feminity that we actually believe that there are things that each gender shouldn't actually do.  Makes no sense to, outside of you know, pregnancy.

Veggie damper

Damper, otherwise know as (a form of) unleavened bread.  A basic damper recipe includes only flour, and water.  While fulling, by itself, this is unsatisfying.

I have taken to adding herbs and veggies for a tastier and healthier meal. 

'Indebted' - a random word challenge

Today's creative writing challenge revolved around the production of a short story inspired by a randomly generated word.  The randomly selected word was indebted and from this I spun the fic of the same name, Indebted.  It's an extremely short piece around life, marriage and society.  Very slice of life, well for some people. :)

Nothing cures boredom like

Alcohol!!!!

Unfortunately, I have not been drinking.  I wish, it's rather late in the night and I am still very alert.  I was bored but the I came across this Picture it and Write creative writing challenge.  What does this have to do with alcohol you ask??

Everything.  The photographic subject of this challenge was a purple martini.  The aim - to write what ever came to mind.  Then 1 1/2 hours later I ended up with Ambrosia - a short fic about a young woman who has just had a nasty break up who is being consoled by a mysterious stranger and a drink.  It has 'happy' ending though, so don't worry - it's just a little off-beat. :)

The effects of joblessness

So tired of unemployment.  I have so little to do around job hunting (which you simply can not spend all your time doing no matter what certain people reckon).  As a result of the need to fill a void left by work and the scaling back of soap related activities I have started to turn my creative writing into a... job...

As evidence of this I draw you attention to the semi-serious Progress report. I have submitted on my creative writing blog.  This is not necessarily a bad decision.  If I ever hope to publish a novel then having a fan base will actually be beneficial.  A blog is an easy way of doing this.

I am a little worried, however, that putting too much energy into writing will stop me doing other things...

Allergen friendly batter

This must seem like an odd choice to devote a whole post to.  However batter is an important fashion of preserving meat flavors in all sorts of cooking methods.  It can also be used to add a unique taste to your dish with simple additions to a basic recipe.

The only ingredients you need for batter are flour and a liquid of some form.  Below I have listed some unique batter flavours you might like to try.

Plum batter - excellent for dishes that benefit form a sweet kick

1 cup flour, 1 tbs plum jam, and enough water to make a thick batter

Lemon batter

1 cup flour, 1/4 lemon juice, 1 tbs sugar, and enough water to make a thick batter

Herbed batter

1 cup flour, 1 tbs mixed herbs, as above

These are just a few varieties.  The actual combinations really depends on your tastes.

Now for crazy poetry

Here's a little piece for anyone in need of a giggle.

The little hair brush

This is a short poem I wrote when I was much younger.  IT revolves around the surreal adventures of a hair brush. Yes a hair brush.

Who ever said your character had to be human was lying.

Crepes vrs Pancakes? What's the difference?

By looking at these photos there does not seem to any difference in these two products.  One simply seems to be pancake all rolled up.  If this is what you are thinking you are not entirely wrong.

A crepe is simply a thinner version of a pancake.  However it is how this thinness is achieved that is important.  A quick look at the difference between recipes soon shows how this difference is achieved.

A crepe recipe is identical to a pancake recipe in all but one regard.  Crepe recipes have higher ratio of liquid to flour then the standard pancake recipe will do.  So why is this?

There is actually a very rational reason for this minor difference. Crepe batter needs to have a high liquid content so that it spreads in an even thin layer over the cooking surface so that the resulting product is thin enough to be easily rolled.  Where as Pancakes are know for being thick and fluffy - this can be achieved with a thinner batter, but it easier to work with a thicker batter for nice pancakes.

Disgustingly simply reasoning, huh?  The good news is that if you find a pancake recipe you want to try as a crepe its simple to alter it too make crepes.

Almond pancakes

Today's sweet treat is an Almond flavored pancake.  For a healthy but slightly more expensive recipe you could use actual almonds - i will add a note on variations after initial recipe.

Ingredients

3/4 gluten-free flour

1/2 milk or dairy alternative

1 tsp mixed spice

1/2 almond essence

1 tsp golden syrup.

Directions

1 mix flour and spice in a bowl.  

2 heat milk until it is warm - not hot!  Stir the golden syrup and almond essence into the warm milk. 

3 Stir the milk mixture into bowl until you have a thick batter. 

4 Fry in oil until cooked - turning the pancake when you see 'bubbles' on the uncooked surface.

Variations

Using Marzipan

Grate up roughly a tbs of mazipan (depends on taste at this point) and mix it in at stage 3.

Using chopped almonds

Straight forward option - mix in at stage 3.

Almond puree

Soak a handful of fresh almonds in water overnight.  Puree in a blender with a small amount of milk alternative of your choice.  Mix into recipe as normal.  Please note that this option adds to the liquid content of the pancake batter, so you therefore may wish to adjust accordingly.

Lemon drizzle crepe

Today's brekky as featured above - crepe with lemon drizzle.  Was soooo yummy.  *drools*

Ingredients

Crepe

1 cup Gluten-free flour

1 1/2 milk or alternative

1 teaspoon golden syrup

1 teaspoon all spice

Lemon drizzle

Golden syrup

lemon juice

Directions

Heat milk so that is warm, but not hot, and stir in golden syrup.  Blend flour and all all spice in a mixing bowl.  Mix milk into flour, stirring well.

Heat up oil in a frying pan.  Pour batter into pan.  Flip when almost done.  After browning both sides plate up the crepe.

While the crepe is still hot drizzled golden syrup and lemon juice onto on side of crepe.  Roll up the pancake and your crepe is ready.

New short story

So yay!  I made my self imposed deadline with 3 minutes to spare.  I have updated my second blog with a new original short story Bring me a souvenir.  This short piece centers around the romance of a young woman on a working holiday in England - catch is she is the only one who doesn't realize she's in a romantic relationship.


As per usual I'm not sure I trust how it's turned out.  I never have a good opinion of my own work.  It started as an exercise in the use of first person in text.  As such I think I inadvertently allowed the story to parallel my own life in some ways.  I'm not sure whether that's a good or bad thing, but i ended up with an interesting short story out of rewriting myself so who cares.


My other short stories include

Assassin in the night
Cherished Smile

Enjoy ^_^

Noooo, there goes another year...

Anyone else get the feeling that the year has gone by too quickly? 

I Do.

I'm not ready yet.

2014 can bugger off.

My resolutions - Get a Job.  Have healthy, happy year.  I don't think that's too much to ask.

(Happy new year and goodnight!)