I'm off to Costa Rica tomorrow, so this is where I take a break from Miss Write. Do keep reading while I'm away - perhaps catch up on the A-Z of Costa Rica I wrote back in April? - and I'll see you at the end of September. 

Two things to look out for while I'm away:

On Friday 18th September I plan to tweet 'live on location' from 2.25pm UK time about Costa Rican literature. Will you join me @MissWriteUK? I bet you'll find some new items for your 'to-read' list on Goodreads!

Trip Blogging: I am also planning to post a blog or two as I explore via Born to be a Tourist, my travel blog. Have a little look there, if you fancy a read over the next two weeks. Formatting might be a little off, using my tablet and a blogging app, but it'll be more than readable, I promise.

Hasta lluego! (See you later in Spanish)

Lou x

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The problem: 16 eggs in our fridge (how?!?!) and less than three days until our 17 day holiday. Eggs would expire when we're away and I hate to waste food. #lovefoodhatewaste

The solution: Bake like crazy!

I baked four cakes, using nine eggs, in one hour (not including decoration and cooling ) Yes, your maths is right - I still have another seven eggs to use... scrambled eggs for breakfast tomorrow, I think!

The cakes are (left to right) banana granola loaf (total experiment), dried berry muffins, chocolate brownie and 'hint of strawberry' sparkle buns along the bottom of the photo. Freezer is now full - energy saving and well-stocked for our return - and my colleagues at work had a nice surprise on a chilly Wednesday morning. They got the sparkly buns!

The Recipes

For the Brownies... Brownie mix. A cheat, I know, but a good brownie is unbeatable sometimes. 
Sparkly buns - the classic 4 4 4 2 recipe (4oz of flour, butter, sugar and 2 eggs) with a bit of red food dye for the sponge. The icing is the same as what I did for the Bake Off inspired sponges I made at the weekend - using up the rest of the mascarpone - and pink sparkle gems bought in a store.  
Dried Fruit buns  - same again (4 4 4 2 - I'll never forget that recipe!) with a whole mixed packet of raisins, cherries and cranberries. They're the ones which went a little out of shape, but still tasted gooood. 
My Granola Banana Loaf experiement was the same 4 4 4 2 but doubled, with two mashed bananas, and a good few handfuls of granola thrown in. It was a bit of a gamble but only time will tell if it worked. I couldn't find my go-to banana cake recipe following the house move, so hopefully I remembered most of it to an edible standard. 

Apparently you can freeze eggs (out of the shell), but a glut of cakes is much more fun!

Which recipes can you whizz up to use leftovers and have a clear-out?

Lou x

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Holiday reads are one of the best kind of reads, but often I only really get to power through a novel when I'm in the terminal between flights. El Husbandio is not a huge reader, and often we're so busy and so tired at the end of the day while we're on holiday, not much reading gets done at our destination. If we did more poolside holidays, more might be read, but that doesn't happen with us! We're more backpacking, visiting family and cycling, if the last couple of years is anything to go by - not much pool time!

So, we're off to Costa Rica again on Friday and I've chosen my holiday reads. I finished Frankenstein last night, trying to get it under my belt by Thursday, and now I'm ready for a change. 

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry ~ Mildred D. Taylor
I read this when I was in Secondary School (about 14 years old) and I remember loving it but can't remember why. I hope it lives up to the memory!

A Mersey Mile ~ Ruth Hamilton
This is a gamble - I've never heard of the writer before, but I got a 241 deal on another book I bought recently and picked this one up to try. It's my back up in case I finish Roll of Thunder. 

Have you read either of these? What did you think?

Lou x

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I found this. It's cute, funny and nostalgic. It's also the first incident of my creative writing (aside from any school work). THE MAGIC POTTY was probably written around 1992 when my brother was potty-training. I would have been far too young to pen a story (coherent or not!) when my sister was going through this phase, and I imagine, on the old adage of "writing what you know", I was inspired by what I could see. Lucky me! The board game mentioned and the character "James" were also probably chosen by influences in my childhood life: my family loves a good game, and I was friends with a boy called James at school. Look out, friends, past and present... You may end up in a story of mine! 

I instantly recognised my old brown notepad when I was rooting through a cupboard, having a clear-out. I loved that notebook. Thumbing through the pages, I found not only a short (short) story, but make-believe school registers my sister and I used to play with, lists of things we were wishing for for Christmas, and other such childhood scribblings. Ah, memories!

I hope you can read my small-person's script. I was about seven or eight at the time, so be kind.

THE END - a certain flourish! I think I got a little bored... Like all good stories, it's not too long, and there's a few illustrations. However, I am sure the writer *ahem* could do better with this (obviously rushed) ending!

This treasure wasn't the only thing I found clearing out a bursting wardrobe... Take a look at my first book review in print!  

Lou x

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Baking, baking, baking. I'm going made for it. Not only have I bought myself a posh new cake stand (my first!) and a croissant cutting rolling pin, I now own an icing kit. And what do I blame? The Great British Bake Off. The fantastic TV show has gripped the country for 5 series and it's back on our screens with 12 new participants seeking fame and frosting. 

Paul is as dashing as ever. Mary is more darling than ever. Mel and Sue? They've grown on me with every series and I'd miss them if they were no longer the cheeky hosts. My bet this year is Ian - probably like most people. Love his understated humble approach to inventiveness in the oven. Personal favourite: Ugne, but she's gone. Loved her, so creative!

Frankly, I love the Bake Off. And so do 9 million other people. 

Most of the recipes are pretty challenging, technical and too artistic for me, but contestant Nadiya baked something last week I needed to try: the icing pattern bake (I'm calling it). 

When the cake it taken out of the oven, carefully turn the cake out onto a cooling rack and peel off the grease proof paper. Voila, your pattern is etched onto the sponge. I was amazed how clearly is came out, no smudging and the icing didn't grow or shrink in the temperature change.

I cut the sponge into 3cm (ish) squares and made a sandwich with them using a plain sponge (same recipe) and a honey mascarpone cream filling. Delish! They really were tasty ... I felt quite sick once the bake had finished, I ate so many off-cuts and smears of icing!

See below - my 'mini Nadiya cakes' are displayed on my new cake stand with a friend's brownies. Who's hungry?!

With hindsight, the pretty little pattern I made wasn't very visible once I'd cut the sponge sandwich into small(er) bites. I should have gone for a grid or something - the leaves and swirls would work better as a tablet bake. 

Thanks to Nadiya for her inspiration!

Lou x

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For anyone who’s not read the wonderful book (debut novel by Khaled Hosseini), here’s a brief description of the story of the kite runner from Kabul:

The Kite Runner is a powerful and dramatic story which leaves a lasting impression on anyone it reaches; it sold over 21 million copies. It’s a fast-paced, haunting tale of cross-cultural, international friendship which follows one man’s journey to confront his past and find redemption. Afghanistan is a divided country on the verge of war. Childhood friends, Amir and Hassan are about to be divided too. On a beautiful afternoon in Kabul, the skies are full while a kite flying tournament is taking place, in which the boys compete together. However, neither of the boys could foresee the events of that day which tear their lives apart.

The story is passionate, gripping and gave me a much needed insight into the history of Afghanistan. It became a country with a personality and made it more ‘real’ in my mind, not just a war-torn disaster. The characters were instantly relatable and believable and the on-stage portrayal was better than I had  conjured in my imagination. I was utterly absorbed, pained to watch (in a good way) and sad to see this masterpiece end. Visit the reviews section of the play’s website to see how other people received the production – it’s a shame it’s no longer touring.

There has been a movie adaptation of The Kite Runner, of course, (2007, grossed $75m), but it failed to strike me as much as the live performance did. There must have been quite a lot of pressure to make a good job of the stage production, as the book and film were so popular.

Now, I have a mixed opinion of books turning into other forms of performance or media. I have yet to find more than a handful of movies which are as good, if not better, than the book. (Check out my blog on how to survive a film adaptation). I have been lucky enough to have seen Wicked and Phantom of the Opera, both born from a novel (I’ve not read) but no more such adaptations, as far as I can remember. It can work really well, I’ve heard, and indeed did for both the two mentioned.  A bit more was at stake in seeing a newly boxed The Kite Runner though, being one of my favourite reads. My theatre experience is largely of musicals from school trips and one instance of ballet, one of a comedy play and a Shakespeare play. That was years ago, and I was well-overdue when I visited Oxford last September, but should I have gone for something entirely new to me, having loved the book so much?

I probably should have blogged about this closer to the event, when memories were more fresh and the play was still on tour, but I’ve finally got there. And I think it’s still with talking about. The characters were engaging, convincing, and there was real heart in the actors’ performances. The way the kite festival was portrayed on a windless stage was genius, and the music was perfectly synched to the emotions of the story. I absolutely loved it. And it seems a lot of people feel the same way: a standing ovation through the theatre. The Kite Runner’s stage production was nominated for Best Regional Production in the 15th Annual What’s On Stage Awards (results here - robbed!). It's such a fantastic way to enjoy a work from a great writer and you feel like you're re-reading it with a live audience, all enjoying it together. 

Want to know more about plays flipping books to stage audiences? Check out this fab article from the Financial Times about the pitfalls of turning books into plays. Michael Morpurgo (of War Horse fame) even has something to say about his books being 'stage-ified'. yes, I made up that word. My works won't be on stage any time soon! 

Which other books would you like to see turned into a stage production? 

Lou x

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Have you checked out my travel blog lately? Born to be a Tourist

I made it - it's only the third time I've cycled to work from the new house, and I think (hope!) it's getting easier. That 25 minute uphill ride is challenging, I'll say that!_

Still, I wanted to use this opportunity to signpost you, lovely readers to my travel blog, Born to be a Tourist. I have a category on that blog roll on cycling, which, if you're reading this post, you may enjoy. It's loosely linked to travel as I've been around a lot on it (Wales, Gloucester - more to come!), but it's full of fun stuff. Take a look!

So... did you cycle to work today?

Lou x

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An unexpected bonus we've discovered in our new house is the presence of a pear tree and lavender plants. We couldn't be happier - our produce patch was growing even before we'd set food in the garden!

So what can I do with this bounty when I'm baking? I'll start with lavender. I picked two huge bunches at the weekend and they're hanging in the kitchen to dry, ready for a bake or two at the end of September. The flowers are a bit sparse as it's already September, but hopefully there will be enough to make one of these delicious recipes. 

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I was planning to make fudge this Christmas, so this lavender infused fudge recipe will be a great start. 

Lavender Sunshine Cookies - so named for the OJ in them, I am guessing?

Shortbread is a favourite in my family, so I'm definitely going to try this lavender shortbread. 

Lavender and Honey Cake - these cupcakes look a bit creamy and indulgent, but mmm, I could try a small one!

A teacake is always popular. 

These look AWESOME: Lavender Cheesecake Brownies. 

You know I like my coconut bakes (see my posts on 'haystacks' and 'vegan coconut cake'), so this lavender coconut bake will be very much welcomed!

Lavender and lemon is another combination which seems to be popular - I may well try this bake. 

Yes, this one's not a cake, but it's still baked in the oven... Lavender Roasted Potatoes. Mmmm!

Who says lavender is for old ladies?! 

Lou x

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