Evening all 🙂
Hope you all had a good weekend despite the crazy weather. I ended up stuffing my trainers with brown paper yesterday, as they were so soggy. Today I took the paper out and it was wet through, and so I put my trainers in the airing cupboard. Hopefully they will be dry for a run tomorrow.
This weekend I have mainly been baking.
First I attempted some mint chocolate fudge. I made my usual fudge recipe, and then added some chopped dark chocolate before pouring it into the pan. I then sprinkled it with sugar which I had mashed with a pestle and mortar with some mint essence. The fudge tastes fine, but it was so crumbly so cutting it was not so easy!
Interesting shapes no? Anyway, I hope it will still be happily received.
Then I made some peanut butter cookies from my Peanut Butter & Co cookbook. I was a bit wary of trying this recipe, mainly because the Hummingbird recipe is so good!
These were amazing- so chewy and almost gooey on the inside- stuffed with peanut buttery goodness. These were for Sunday tea so we have none at home now.
Then I made some of those brownies that Katie invented and Rachel also made.
I also had some white chocolate stars from Sainsbury’s so I added these on the top (sadly no edible glitter!). I had a minor problem in that I did not have enough apple sauce, so I used some mashed banana instead- hopefully they do not taste too banana-ey. I am going to freeze this in slices ready for later. 🙂
Then it was the piece du resistance- white chocolate and coconut fudge. I used the normal recipe (from Rachel Allen’s Home cooking) and added some shredded coconut to the middle and to the top.
There it is cooling (all the white chocolate melts from the heat of the fudge and pours out the sides).
And sliced! This batch sliced much easier, and looks so pretty too. These will be in bags soon, for end of term gifts. So not too much to tempt me with at home!
I did have a lovely lunch;
Andy bought some Wensleydale and cranberry cheese to have at our picnic on Friday (and he bought rocket salad too which I was very impressed with as he is normally very fussy with salads and only buys iceberg!)- so I had some on some toast with a red pear. And you can see my lovely teapot so of course I had to have some tea.
OK so time for a quick training recap of this week;
Monday- attempted a mid length run but cut it short due to having to stop and walk- think this was tiredness and dehydration.
Tuesday- Aerobics hooray!
Wednesday- Audiofuel run which is still hard work but in a good way I think! Plus yoga for runners podcast.
Thursday- Body pump hooray! Upped weights only for dumbells in the triceps track, and forgot to take a towel. Whoops.
Friday- Rest day.Picnic concert. Plently of body pump aches!
Saturday- Long and wettest run ever.
Sunday- Rest day- yoga for runners podcast.
So fingers crossed that my trainers are dry by tomorrow.
And it is on to the final week of work before the summer holidays, so I was wondering does anyone have any lovely school memories from the last day/ week of term? We used to get to take in games from home on the last day which always seemed like such fun! I was easily pleased I think!
Oooh, all your baking looks delish! I’ve been meaning to try those brownies & that white chocolate-coconut fudge looks amazing! 🙂
I can’t remember what we got up to at the end of term, but daughter has a fun/busy week planned this week! Wednesday they are having a teddy bear’s picnic – aka the kitchen is shut because Y2 are on school trip, so they all need to bring packed lunch to eat in the field that is part of the school grounds…and a teddy of course! Then Thursday is the school play, for parents to watch. & Friday is BBQ at lunchtime for parents as well, then kids can go home early if their parents are there. Phew! She’s tired out already so dread to think how she’llbe by Friday!! At least then the holidays to rejuvinate! 🙂
Enjoy your last week. What do you have planned for your class/school?
Well we had some stuff cancelled for some reason (higher powers)- a picnic with the older children and a party afternoon. So we are doing information posters for the year below and will be sharing it with them, playing parachute games with the other class. We have had sports day and watched the year 2 play, so not much stuff left for the final week! We do have the year 6 leavers assembly which is always funny (but also a bit teary!).
I know the kids are all so tired I am not sure how I will get through this week!
I must be easily pleased too, because bringing in games was always so much fun. Although I think the best thing was not having to see any of the people I went to school with for six weeks 😛 I had a bit of a hard time at school, and got on far better with the teachers than the other kids! (swot, swot…)
I am both simultaneously sad and happy that you can’t bake for me, because although I would enjoy those goodies immensely I get the feeling I would eat you out of house and home.
I’d take a hairdryer to those trainers if I were you…
xxx
Oh a hairdryer is a good idea- why didn’t I think of that????
All that fudge looks good! As does that cranberry cheese!
I think we used to play games and watch films! OR when I was in my late teens I think we sometimes used to skip the last day altogether!
Oh my goodness, your post made me smile so much! Edible stars? Too cute!!! And the fudge looks delicious as well.
Happy Sunday, sweet Maria!
Ffion I can’t believe you would skip school! Naughty! I would have never dared to do that!!!
Katie- yeah the edible stars just make them look so pretty!
Quality baking there Maria.
I can’t remember much about last weeks at school – its further away for me than for most/all of you! I do remember the games on the last day and that we always seemed to finish at dinner time. I also recall that there was barely contained excitement amongst staff and pupils, with the former allowing a certain degree of anarchy to reign while they waited for the clock to slowly tick by.
I used to love the last week of school. At high school we had something called Activity Week, where we would go on trips, do workshops, play games, watch films. One year we went to Holland!
The fudge looks yummy – I love fudge 🙂
EISH, that baking looks YUMMY indeed 🙂 All I know about this last week of school is that the kids have turned into monsters – and thats just my 2!!!!
Wensleydale and cranberry cheese = nom-nom (cheese is but one of my downfalls)
Holy moly the fudge looks amazing! I’m pretty sure it will all be received with happiness!
I remember in junior school we were allowed to bring pokemon cards in on the last week, they were banned the rest of the time. The last day we got non-uniform day too, and the teachers always seemed so ‘cool’ in the last week, like not as strict with us. Oh and we got to play games outside all day. I miss school!
oh and I have finished with my China Study, so if you e-mail me your address I will pop it in the post for you 🙂
Wow, you were busy in the kitchen! It all looks delicious but I think that white chocolate coconut fudge is catching my eye the most! Genius idea!
Awww school. I loved school! We used to watch films on the last day too. Or “games” which involved suspicious amounts of work in order to win! 😉 We used to finish at lunch time too (apart from half term) and it was basically just assembly, two lessons and then another extra long assembly so we didn’t get many fun lessons!
Have a great week!
mmm another make Rose very hungry post!
I can remember doing a LOT more outside play in the final week, plus a school trip or two on a smelly old coach to places so far away that we only got to stay for a couple of hours once we got there!
My kids are sooo excited that it’s nearly the hols, added to that it’s Grace’s birthday today so their end of term excitement knows no bounds!
Rosexx
Wow amazing baking! All of that looks fantastic 🙂 I used to love the last day of school term it was so exciting!
I’m drooling just looking at those pictures! Can you send some samples to Sweden? 😉
I might do fudge in exchange for sponsorship later in the year (for my great south run sponsorship I mean)- so then I would 🙂
Rob- I know that feeling very well- the kids surely do sense that the end is near and just push it a little! At my school we have campaigned for years to finish early (we seemed to be the only school that still went on til 3.15 at the end of the year) and this year we finally finish- one hour early! Woo! Although that is only the kids, us teachers have to stay!
Sarah- my secondary school used to do activity week (we called it A week)- and one year I went to Belgium 🙂
Lara- yeah the last couple of weeks are in fact a hard slog, as doing fun stuff makes them more excitable!
Leigh- I think I am too old for pokemon cards! Although I did have a friend at uni who was a bit obsessed with the yellow one.
Jessica- yeah we have a long assembly on friday afternoon to say goodbye to the year 6’s so that is our afternoon done.
Rose- happy birthday to Grace 🙂
Laura- yeah the excitement of the summer ahead which just seemed endless was always brilliant 🙂
If you need any testers for that white chocolate and coconut fudge I suppose I could do it. Maybe. 🙂
Respeck due to you for it lasting long enough for it to go into bags though; I’m terrible around home-made fudge! I seem to remember eating almost my own weight in some my sister made at Christmas…
I’m with Jessica; we always used to play “games” but they did always have suspicious amounts of work involved… 🙂
Used to love end of term though; the summer holidays felt like they lasted years!
All those baking pics are making me hungry! Those brownies are amazing, hope they didn’t taste too banana-ey!
The brownies smelt strong, but did not taste like banana at all- magic!