Culinary experimentation ...

I have decided I am not so much a domestic goddess as a domestic peasant ...

1. One of the things I was the most thrilled about with our new house is the fact I finally have enough bench space to leave my breadmaker out and ready for action (I have major issues with my kitchen in Whangarei ... don't get me started). So I tried to make bread. I cheat when I make bread. None of this starting-from-scratch business for me. I use the store-bought ready-mixed just-add-water stuff. Unfortunately I had lost the recipe ... so I guess-timated how much water and yeast I should put in. Now guess-timating is not something that should be attempted with bread. Bread is something that needs military precision, especially in the measuring department. Suffice it to say my bread was not the most aesthetically pleasing loaf ever to emerge from a breadmaker, although K did say, very diplomatically, "it might look slimy, but it still tastes good"

2. In anticipation of after-school guests, I made scones this afternoon. I'm from the school of "if you don't have this ... maybe that will do". I now know that when a recipe calls for baking powder, baking soda is NOT an acceptable alternative. And I didn't realise how bad they were until after I had made the rugrats eat one each. I feel so bad that we're having ice-cream for dinner to cancel out the taste.