Monday Review - Edinburgh Part 1

Half term in October equals a week in Edinburgh for Minibakebakegirl and I.   We arrived on Saturday and stayed at BestFriends.   Once the kids were in bed our film of choice this time was The Purge - not our usual horror but a thriller.  It was ok....BestFriend decided there were several points where the story could have been better!!! 

On Sunday we went to the Camera Obscura - we enjoyed making our way through the various floors of holograms and optical illusions - there are several hands on exhibitions.  On the top floor is where the Victorian Rooftop Chamber is - this is how the camera works.  You get an allocated time slot to see the moving pictures of Edinburgh on a large circular table - it lasts around 10 minutes.  Unfortunately the weather wasn't that great on Sunday so the pictures were quite dark but still fascinating.  However, the views from the outside at the very top are amazing - even in the rain!

Last night we arrived at Sisters.   This morning Minebakebakegirl, Sister and I went for a walk along the Water of Leith to Stockbridge. 

The water was quite high and at parts quite fast flowing. The predicted storm has been hitting the south of England today with gale force winds and torrential rain.  Hubby worked from home as some roads were closed due to falling trees.   Today in Edinburgh was a beautifully sunny day, windy but that isn't unusual here!  We originally thought we would have lunch in Stockbridge, however,  we walked a bit further to have lunch at Bon Papillon.  We arrived to find out it is only open Wednesday to Sunday.  We will have to go back another time!

We walked into town and had lunch at Fredericks.  The menu was slightly different to the one on their website.  Sister and I had the pate for two which was delicious, especially the tomato chutney.    Minibakebakegirl had a huge plate of nachos - for which she gave two thumbs up!

Have a good week,

Bakebakegirl.  

Todays Spooky Spotify Songs;

1. Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon
2. Feed My Frankenstein - Alice Cooper
3. Love Potion No9 - The Clovers 

Monday Inspiration - Bat Cake

If you follow me on Instagram and Twitter you may already know that I love Halloween.   It has always been a big thing in Scotland - we went Guising instead of Trick or Treating, carved turnip lanterns instead of pumpkins and did dooking for apples :o)  Best Friend did carve a turnip a couple of years ago - it was very hard work - so hooray for the pumpkins!!! 

Hubby grew some pumpkins on the allotment - the two long ones are such a funny shape - and if I had time would be fun to carve but they are destined for soup :o)   The middle one is perfect for a lantern.  

As we are in Edinburgh next week - my halloween fun has been in the kitchen today as the weather has been so rainy.  I made a bat cake.   I saw this recipe in the Good To Know recipe magazine.  I would make this again, but probably use my own chocolate loaf cake for the chocolate bats as I found this recipe one quite crumbly - but there is a bit of a bat shape there.  

Have a good week,

Bakebakegirl,

Today's top three Spotify songs:

1. A Nightmare on My Street - DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
2. Psyco Killer - Talking Heads
3. Somebody's Watching Me - Rockwell

Monday Review - Brighton

Minibakebakegirl had an inset day on Friday, I asked her where she would like to spend the day and she suggested Brighton.  Hubby was in France with his Dad visiting war memorials so we decided to make a weekend of it.

We got the train and after lunch we went for a wander to the Pier.   At the amusements the 2p falls are our favourite - £1.00 can last a long while - especially in Minibakebakegirl's case when large chunks of coins were falling at once!

It then started to rain so we went to Choccywoccydoodah for coffee at the Bar Du Chocolat.  

I had the Choccywoccy Mocha and Minibakebakegirl had the Hot Chocolate.  They were huge and the chocolate buttons were amazing.    We shared a Choccywoccy Dipping Pot.  You get a choice of White, Milk or Dark for the drinks and the dipping chocolate.   We went for all dark.  WOW!  Delicious.

On Saturday the weather was perfect - blue skies and sunshine.  We did some shopping in the main part and then made our way to The Lanes.  This is an area of Brighton which is basically lots of wee streets jam packed full of interesting shops and restaurants (mostly independent)  Shopping heaven!!!  We did a good bit of wandering and then went for coffee to Nest.  After yesterday's chocolate fest I opted for the apricot flapjack and a cappuccino.   Minibakebakgirl, however, stayed on the chocolate theme with a hot chocolate and brownie!  Both were good - but the best bit was we sat upstairs tucked away round the corner on a little sofa - it was very low but very comfy and it was great to rest our feet :o)

We spent some time on the beach and then went back to the Pier for another sit down - this time on a deckchair.

To finish off our excellent weekend we had to have fish and chips!

The sea was so many different colours throughout the weekend - stunning.

Hope to see you next week, I am looking out Halloween recipes this week :o)

Bakebakegirl

Todays top three Spotify songs:

1. Little Lies - Fleetwood Mac
2. Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees
3. Ma Baker - Boney M.

Monday Bake - Plum Upside Down Cake

Hubby had an exam this morning which meant he had the afternoon off :o) We went out for a lovely lunch to a pub in town that a friend had recommended.  It was very nice and I would go back.  Hubby had a fancy fish finger sandwich!

This evening, I made an upside down cake.  I used this recipe of Jamie's adding apple too.

I arranged my fruit in the tin, added the sauce and then re-read the recipe....ooops! I should have put the sauce in and then the fruit.  Never mind it came out OK but I will remember next time!!  Also I did find I had to cook it longer than an hour.

Have a good week, see you next Monday.

Bakebakegirl

1. In The Summertime - Mungo Jerry

2. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! - Abba

3. Just Dance - Lady Gaga

Friday Fun - Apple and Cinammon Vodka

To use up some of my apple haul I decided to experiment and make an apple vodka.   I chopped up some cored apples, added them to a jar and added enough vodka to cover.   I then added a cinnamon stick. 

The apples turned brown overnight but I removed them and the cinnamon after 5 days and then tasted it.  You can definitely taste the apples, but the cinnamon, not so much.   It is quite sharp, so when I bottled it I added 1 tbsp of sugar.  

I think I will leave it for another week, and taste again!

Have a lovely weekend.

Bakebakegirl.