I have started writing for a new blog called Secrets of a Good Girl. Here I will be doing fashion posts and movie and television scoop.
I have already written posts about Pitch Perfect, which you can read here. As well as, the fashion at the MMVA‘s which took place last night. To read click here.
My friend Phil and I had a trip to Shubenacadie Park in Dartmouth planned for Sunday. We packed a picnic, grabbed two other friends and headed out on our bikes. Though it was an exhausting bike ride (and not having biked/exercised in a while) it was worth it.
Shubenacadie Park is beautiful. We sat on the edge of the older canal and then walked until we found a small clearing for a picnic. At one point a chipmunk got in to Phils bag and took a bite out of his apple. Nature is awesome. I love that I am getting to explore more of the Maritimes.
The night before our bike trip we cooked! Noah and I decided to make Dutch Crunch Bread, our first time making bread ever, Baba Ganoush and Grown Up Mac and Cheese. They both turned out wonderfully and I recommend trying them. I have posted the recipes we used below, as well as the sites we got them from.
Ingredients
Cooked Macaroni according to packet instructions (I use 75g per person), tossed with a little olive oil
Mix of vegetables like carrots, leeks, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, corn..
1 clove of garlic chopped
For the cheese sauce:
75g Grated Chilli Cheddar Cheese
100g Vintage Cheddar
75g Parmesan
Salt to tast
500ml Milk
80ml Cream
Bay Leaf
Pinch Nutmeg
1tbsp Flour
1tbsp Butter
Method:
Preheat oven to 190C. Heat some butter in a pan and stir in the flour and cook till the raw smell is out. Slowly whisk in the milk, bay leaf, nutmeg and cream. Let thicken. Stir in the grated cheese. Toss the pasta and the vegetables into the sauce and sprinkle some bread crumbs and extra cheese on top. Bake in a greased tin/bowl for 20 minutes until its bubbly and golden. Serve with a crunchy salad.
Ingredients
1tbsp instant yeast
240 ml warm water (105-115º F) (41-46°C)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups rice flour (white or brown; NOT sweet or glutinous rice flour) (increase by 1 cup or more for home-made rice flour).
Method:
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a whisk; beat hard to combine. The consistency should be like stiff royal icing – spreadable, but not too runny. If you pull some up with your whisk, as shown below, it should drip off slowly. Add more water or rice flour as necessary. Let stand 15 minutes. Coat the top of each loaf or roll with a thick layer of topping using your hands or a brush. Let stand, uncovered, for any additional time your recipe recommends. With the Soft White Roll, you can place the rolls directly into the oven after applying the topping. With the Brown Rice Bread, the loaves should stand for 20 minutes with the topping before baking.When baking, place pans on a rack in the center of the oven and bake your bread as you ordinarily would. The Dutch Cruch topping should crack and turn a nice golden-brown color.
For The White Bread
Ingredients
500g strong bread flour
1 (7g)sachet of instant yeast
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp honey
20g butter or 20ml olive oil
150ml buttermilk/milk
150ml warm water
Method:
I followed my bread maker instructions for making the dough. After the initial rise I coated the dough with the topping and baked in a pre-heated oven at 200C for 25-35 min or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped. Cool completely on a wire rack.
