Quick "Better" Brownies [Modern Day Feminism?]

Feminism is the belief that men and women are equal; a principle that we are all quite familiar with. It has echoed itself around mainstream media in an attempt to dispel man-hating feminist culture. Equality has and always should be at the forefront of feminism. But is this what the feminists of today truly believe?

Equality vs. the preferential treatment of women is often a heated debate when it comes to the topic of feminism. Katie Hopkins argues that if women actually achieved equality they wouldn't be able to "handle" it. She argues that they are simply seeking validation and legitimisation for their gender.

What hurts me most is how we approach feminism in Western countries. Equal pay is a bullshit issue. I'm sorry, but I really believe that it does deserve the coverage it receives - although a lot of people will argue with me that it doesn't receive enough. To put your priorities into perspective, there are women being burnt by acid for turning down men in India, Pakistan etc. If we funneled our efforts into helping those abroad we would move leaps and bounds as humankind. Influencers such as Jennifer Lawrence and Meryl Streep should be boycotted for calling out unequal pay at the Oscars. I think its absolutely ridiculous that we as women in a Western society are privileged enough to even have a conversation about equal pay when there are women - and men - being systematically raped, tortured and enslaved by religious groups or by their husbands. We harp on about white women recognising their privilege. Yes, intersectional feminism is a point of heavy discussion which needs to be fleshed out. But why are we focussing so heavily on issues which almost seem trivial? We need to look outside of our Western privilege. By all means, those issues must be addressed. But, where on earth are our priorities? Instead of being so ridiculously liberal all the time and maintaining our PC image so we aren't called out for being "sexist", we need to really wake up. There are harrowing stories which need to be told. 

I'm not saying feminism is not brilliant. I AM a feminist but I only stand by the equal treatment principle. It's very obvious that many of the feminists of today merely hide behind it rather than stand by it. They do this by subtly man-bashing. I can't speak for everyone, but on my Instagram feed, the majority of feminists usually mock men. Not a good look for privileged women of society (us) who want to close the pay gap. Which I need to make another post on bc there's too much to be said on that.

Shed light on women's stories but do it in the right way.I feel like the past couple of years have made me want to have a purpose in life. Not the study, get a job, make money and retiring type of purpose. But a purpose where I can give back and make a change. A purpose where I can help those suffering abroad, or even within the country. But to do that you need time, money and resources sigh. So frustrating. Have to follow the path and collect those things on the way before I can even dream of venturing into work like that.I want to drop everything here, and travel around and document my interesting journeys with a cameraman in tow. I want to tell women's stories in third world countries. I want to talk about women's stories here; Indian women. I want to talk about colorism and racism. I want to challenge masculinity and feminity. 

People here as so absorbed in their own lives. The dramas or deepest conversations they have usually revolve around relationship issues or issues with other people. It's so frustrating to sit there and hear it time and time again. The same trivial bullshit that contributes nothing to anyone. Yes, its great to vent; get it out by all means. But don't have those conversations be your only conversations. Like, there are people who are in dire need of medical help. There are men and women being raped. There are children being killed by their own families. There are people being gunned down. 


--

I love my boyfriend more than he will ever know. Every day I am swept off my feet and I will be for the rest of my life (I'm marrying you, K). 

"Better Brownies"                                         Makes 16 slices

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup plain flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Method
Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celcius and grease and line a 9x9 baking tray. 
In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; gradually stir into the egg mixture until well blended. Stir in walnuts, if desired. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 20-25 mins or until edges pull away from the pan. Cool on wire rack and cut when cool. 

Vegan Wholemeal Blueberry Muffins

I love love. I couldn't live without it. There is so much power in what it does to you. And when you feel quietly powerful, you're halfway there.

When you fall in love with someone and its done completely organically, with no pressure put on you by your family and friends, it's magical. When it happens by chance it feels like an Audrey Hepburn film. You lead life at your own pace. You feel in control and you feel entirely comfortable and happy with your existence. That's what we're all chasing. 

If they don't feel like your SOULmate then you gotta gtfo asap. Don't try to make it work. Don't try to focus on their positives to numb the thought that you have daily: that deep inside, you know that out of the SEVEN BILLION people in this world, there are others who are better suited to you. 

It's sad seeing people "fall" in love based on an insecurity or a fear of being alone. A love based on convenience is not pure. It's formed eventually to fortify your relationship which you are so desperate to have work out. But it only "works" out because you know that life will be easy when you follow that pathway. What's the point? Life's too short. Travel the world - there's so much to see and so many cultures to explore. Take the time to be by yourself and figure out who you are. Build a security where you only need yourself. 

I would much rather be completely alone and find my love by chance... than have fear and insecurity determine the rest of my LIFE'S trajectory.  Don't die knowing that you haven't experienced love by chance in its fullest, most beautiful form. If you have yourself then what is there to be scared of? Why can't you decide your own narrative? 

Find someone will accept your opinions on religion, family or politics, support your emotional needs, get super drunk w you, eat you out in public and finger you in the backseat of the cinema until you can't walk. (Because you're committing urself to one person's genitalia they also gotta be v kinky. My horn levels are abnormal). 

I feel like Dua Lipa on a rant. But I hope it helps someone, somewhere. 
- - - -
I have never felt a more profound bond like this before. My love isn't contingent upon mine or others' expectations... it's instinctive. There's a reason that both of our names are mentioned together. Thank you God for giving me such a gift. I'm a lucky gal.

Vegan Wholemeal Blueberry Muffins
                                                                                        Makes 12ish

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 wholemeal flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup brown packed sugar
- 1/2 cup oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup soy milk
- 2 Tb white vinegar
- 1 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh. I used frozen)

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees celsius and line a muffin tray.

Combine all dry ingredients and stir. Add oil, extract and milk.
Gently fold in blueberries and finally, add white vinegar.

Drop 2 heaped tablespoons into muffin holders and bake for 25-30 mins or until golden brown or a butter knife comes out clean.

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cheesecake

Not a huge fan of these photos but uploading them anyway bc this is a good recipe and tastes and looks better in real life.

This photo is the same as the first but put it in to make the post look a little more fuller fooled ya

I have an international law essay to write and I'm procrastinating so badly. It's 3000 words and worth 50% what am I doing

Awkward, blurry, something on the camera

Lighting = bad and yes that's my floor. It's slightly weathered bc we dropped water on it and its bamboo flooring and you're specifically supposed to not do that whoo

 *

I feel like this blog is my only outlet. I can't talk to my friends because they just don't get it they also don't have that relationship with their dads.

My mum and sister are also losing their minds in this situation as well so I can't find any comfort there either

*

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cheesecake
                                                                                                    (from The Herb Diaries)
For the Base:

- 2.5 cups of almonds
- 10 medjool dates

- 1-2 tbsp of coconut oil
- Pinch of sea salt

For the Chocolate Layer
- 4 ripe avocados
- 1 cup of coconut oil
- 1.5 - 2 cups of raw cacao (depending how rich you like it)
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1 cup of honey

Method

Pulse the almonds in a blender until roughly chopped, then add in the pitted dates, coconut oil and salt and blend until they form a dough.

Line a cake tin with greaseproof paper and press the dough down evenly into it, then put in the fridge while you make the chocolate layer.

Blend the avocado flesh, coconut oil, cacao powder, salt and honey in a high speed blender until completely smooth - you may have to scrape down the sides a few times. Spoon this mixture over the almond and date base, then place in the freezer for one hour to firm up. After that it can be stored in the fridge.

Nutty & Seedy Toasted Granola

How do you deal with so much when it all happens at the same time? If you look at my last post you will know that my beautiful Father and the sunshine of my life has been diagnosed with Grade 4 brain cancer. The very deadly type which gives you a very limited amount of time left on this earth.

How are we made to handle stuff like this? Why doesn't anyone teach you that? I am overwhelmed and drowning ATM. So many things to do, not enough time. Yet, so much time and not anything to do. 

Your emotions, if you're anything like me, will eventually murder you
They will start to play games with your heartbeat, making it irregular and shaky
They will gnaw at the flesh of your confidence, causing your shoulders to concave and become stubborn
My muscles have grown thin with inactivity, my mind has become idle and my skin dirty from a sooty coating which I can't seem to scrub off
Your body soon begins to run on the colour black until even your emotions are no longer able to inhabit its rotting form

Why would I hate myself even more in this situation? 
Because I'm allowing it to happen
An attempt to reclaim my body seems too exhausting at this point
I don't have that energy to spare 

I'm still unsure of whether the depth of my emotions is a blessing or a curse.

 *

As absolutely deluded and bizarre as this sounds, I feel like my late grandmother is talking to me in order to protect her son who she can't be there for. I'm crying writing that out. The thing is, I want to protect him more than anyone would want to protect their father. I feel like I have to protect him more so because his mother isn't there to do so. I have to make him feel safe and protected as a son because in his eyes, I'm just his daughter. There's no one higher to him to make him feel loved and protected, I'm the lowest in the hierarchy so I really don't think it has the same impact. I wish my grandmother could be here so she could hold him and tell him he's going to be okay. I know he misses her and wants that. Anyone wants that from their mother. 
Life can be so fucking cruel. 

Nutty and Seedy Toasted Granola 
                                                                                     Makes...a lot
- 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats
- 1/4 cup of sultans
- 1/4 cup mixed seeds (sunflowers, pepitas)
- 1/4 cup pistachios
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 1/4 cup desiccated coconut
- 3 Tb honey

Method
- Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add honey and mix well. A few clumps here and there won't make a difference - it actually makes the granola better tbh.
- Spread evenly on a baking try lined with greaseproof paper. Place in 180C oven for 5 mins. Whilst still in oven grab a spoon and mix the granola around on a tray to try and turn the oats and nuts. Cook for another 5 mins or until toasted to your liking.

Easy Banana Bread [coming to terms with death]

My life has completely turned upside down since I last wrote on here. My world is broken and my heart is black. The pain that I am experiencing at the moment is indescribable. My darling father/bear/sunbeam/best friend/personal comedian/hugger/ball of goodness has been diagnosed with cancer. Grade 4 Glioblastoma which is an aggressive form of brain cancer. I never thought this would happen to me. It was never supposed to happen and I refuse to believe that it still is. 

How does one deal with this?? Where are the answers? My parents mean everything to me. They are more than parents to me and my family is being tortured right now. I don't know how to feel and although it has already been nearly 2 months since Dad's diagnosis, this still isn't real. 

Sometimes I wake up and I feel a smile spread across my face because it was a joke and a horrible, disgusting, nightmare that I dreamt for far too long. Then reality hits me. It wasn't a nightmare. It was yesterday and the day before and the day before that. And yes, it will still be today, tomorrow and the day after that. And I'm paralysed and I lay there for minutes trying to process that yes this is real and everything was too good to be true. 22 years of pure love, a picturesque childhood and perfect parents who understood my sister and I for who we are; not for who they wanted us to be. We had it too good and if its too good for too long it's going to come to an end. Never ever ever in my wildest dreams would I associate the word cancer with my family. 

Throughout my life I have been the crazy daughter who would be paranoid and obsessed with my parents health. From a very young age the worst possible thing that could ever happen to me was the thought of my parent(s) becoming sick. I wished for my family's health every birthday. I would be on my mum and dads back to go to regular checkups, I monitored what they ate, I made sure that they exercised, I would make sure my mum went for her mammogram appointment every two years, I would warn my Dad about heart attacks; what they felt like and what he should do if he ever had one and I constantly massaged him so he would feel less stressed from work (and therefore less of a chance for the onset of diseases). 

I once made both of them stop drinking hot chai in the morning because I had read that hot beverages can cause throat cancer!!!!

But wow... on December 2nd, 2016 who would have ever anticipated fucking brain cancer!? I missed it by a fucking mile. 

I think that's why I am taking this the hardest out of my mum and sister. The fact that I have had such a paranoia about this for years and that my nightmare is actually materialising itself is the most dumbfounding and unbelievable thing. I still haven't accepted it. I'm still in shock and I can't believe that out of everything it was THIS. The ONE THING I needed. It couldn't have been financial difficulty, a parental divorce or a bad breakup which I could've experienced. I so so so so wish it were one of those instead. I so wish we were homeless, that my parents divorced or I remained single for the rest of my life if it meant that my Dad didn't have cancer. 

I can't even get up to start my day and I lay there numb with emotion. The only thing that gets me out of bed is my Dad and I run to the kitchen to see him sitting there, beaming down at me and commenting on how late I woke up or asking me if I want to watch the next Breaking Bad episode. The grammar in this post is horrible but to be honest I don't really care. My brain is racing at a million trillion miles per millisecond and I am just pouring my feelings out.

My Dad, if you're blessed to meet him in this lifetime, is someone you want to meet. He oozes a zest for life, love and positivity and when you talk to him you ultimately just want to do a running jump and squeeze him. Bc he's cute, bc he has glasses and bc he is soft. Legitimately the only teddy bear you need.

I could make this post even more saddening as it already has been. I can talk more about how I am feeling (what even are feelings anymore though?), how my family is dealing with this or how my Dad is coping. But I don't really want to do that. I want to dedicate this banana bread post to Dad because I made this for him a couple of days before he was officially diagnosed. He loved it and he loves bananas and nuts...cos u know, he's a bear.

Currently he is on a low sugar diet. Doctors tell us to let him eat whatever he wants but we are desperately searching for ways he can suppress the cancer so we can have his light around us for longer. 

I read a quote the other day on a cancer dedicated Instagram page. It said that one of the hardest things to go through in life is the mourning of someone who is still alive. I have never read anything more accurate.

Glioblastoma is deadly, it's a cunt and it's the most fucked up thing to happen to someone you love more than your own existence. Cancer in general is a fucking cunt. 

Easy Banana Bread 

                                                                                  Serves 10 

- 1 cup SR flour

- 1 cup caster sugar

- 50g melted butter

- 1 egg, lightly beaten

- 1 tsp vanilla essence

- 1/4 cup milk

- 1/2 cup mashed banana

Method

Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan-forced. Spray a 7cm-deep, 10 x 20cm (base measurement) loaf pan with oil. Line base and sides with baking paper, 3cm above the rim.

 Sift flour into a large bowl. Stir in sugar. Make a well in the centre. Add butter, egg, vanilla, milk and banana. Stir until just combined.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into centre comes out clean. Set aside in pan for 10 minutes to cool slightly. 

Serve warm.

Giant Oatmeal and Glaced Cherry Cookies

Hi babies!! 2 years later and the ol' bitch is back. Imma not go into detail as to why so lets just crack on w the show.

Basically, I'm still in Melbourne studying Law. I have hardly baked at all since being in Melbourne which is really sad. 

But this time I did. I remembered how much fun I used to have photographing and then posting it on the internet. So when I made these cookies I pulled out my camera and I snapped it making sure that I continue this little blog. Because to be honest, the fact that I've kept this blog for so long is what makes me happy and I want to keep doing it.

I love the fact that people are (hopefully) reading it. And if not, dats okie too! It's just fun photographing everything while I bake goodies.

I recently discovered a spoken-word Punjabi feminist online called Rupi Kaur today and I really wanted to share a link to one of her Ted talks which is really incredible (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlToQQfSlLA). She's the first online Indian feminist I have ever heard of and I think she needs to be given a lot more recognition.

Her poetry is presented in cute lil simplistic pics on her Instagram (rupi_kaur) and she delves into issues such as feminism and racism. Despite many online personalities using social media to write lengthy paragraphs in an attempt to educate and empower readers, Rupi uses 2-3 sentenced poems to clearly pinpoint pervasive ideals of 'the female' which she then proceeds to articulately rip to shreds. She does this through a perspective which is authentic and entirely her own. Rupi's also of Indian descent which is even more of a yay factor (if I haven't already mentioned hehe).

She's probably most well known for her 'period photo' which circulated the internet. Instagram took the photo down saying it didn't comply with the social networks community guidelines. In response, she penned a very powerful letter to the site and most importantly, to every woman ever.

I threw in a handful of chopped glaced cherries to add some bite. It didn't really do much and if I were to do it again I'd add bigger, more biteable chunks so you can get somewhat of a cherry flavour. I also put in ginger powder and cinnamon powder because I hoped that it would complement the cherries. Yay

Giant Oatmeal and Glaced Cherry Cookies

                                                      Yields roughly 24

Ingredients:

- 1 cup butter

- 1 cup brown sugar, packed

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 1.5 cups plain flour

- 1 tsp cinnamon powder

- 3/4 tsp ginger powder

- 1/4 cup boiling water

- 2 cups quick oats 

- 1/4 cup chopped glaced cherries

Method:
Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add flour, spices and mix well. Dissolve baking soda in boiling and add to mixture. Stir into rolled oats and glaced cherries.

Drop tsp onto engrossed cookie sheet. Bake at 175 degrees celsius for 10-12 minutes. Don't overcook!

* I cooked mine for exactly 10 mins because I wanted them to be quite soft. I cooked the next batch a bit over so they became a bit more brittle. Time is of the essence with cookie consistency.

xxx
Bon appetit!

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

My second post in a year and we are almost halfway through the year. Oh god :(
I was looking at my archives and I only posted 4 posts last year! I really need to pick up my game but I haven't made anything in my Melbourne kitchen because it's too small to do anything!

On another brighter note (or should I say sweeter and saltier note...lame), I found these cookies in my baking photos folder and totally forgot to post them. I think it's because the photos are quite dodgy and the light wasn't looking too good. But hey, I haven't posted in ages so I am literally scrounging for baking material to post.

I made these last year sometime (I think). The recipe yielded a huge batch which I didn't know what to do with so I distributed them amongst my friends and family! They are extremely short and so are extremely crumbly and v unhealthy. But sometimes ya gotta indulge...although I tend to use that phrase on a regular basis so it's not looking too good for me, help.

It's currently 1.30AM and I am sitting in my pyjamas, listening to Beyonce and munching on a carrot because I just woke up from a nap (I know, wtf...I'm confused too). So anyway, I will leave y'all with this recipe while I continue to lip-synch BeyBey and pretend I am at the MCWT (which was a life changing show btw).

Honey honeyyyyyy, I can see the stars all the way from here, can't you feel the glow on the window pane? You put ma love on top, top, TOP. Okay, yeah, bye! 

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
                             Adapted from For Me, For You

- 3 ½ cups plain flour

- 1 heaped teaspoon baking soda

- 1 heaped teaspoon baking powder

- 1 heaped teaspoon sea salt

- 280g unsalted butter

- 1 ¼ cups brown sugar

- 1 cup granulated sugar (raw sugar works well)

- 2 eggs

- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

- 400g dark chocolate, chopped (you can also use choc chips)*

- Sea salt, to sprinkle

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars until pale.  Add the eggs and vanilla, and continue beating for 3 minutes.

In another bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and stir to combine.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir to combine.  Add the choc chips and stir until evenly mixed through. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge  for 2 hours or until chilled.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Using an ice-cream scoop (or tablespoon) scoop up the dough and roll in your hands to make golf ball sized balls of dough.  Place the balls on a baking tray lined with baking paper.  Space the balls evenly with enough room for them to expand.  Bake for 15 – 20 minutes.

Makes 30 – 40 depending on the size of the cookies.

*I didn't stay completely true to the recipe as we didn't have 400g of dark chocolate so I used half dark and half milk. I know that the result would have been much better if I used all dark as it would have contrasted to the saltiness well..but next time! 

Cake in a Cup: Chocolate Mud Cake

Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am aliiiiiive..if anyone cared. I haven't blogged in about 7 months!? How crazy. A lot has happened since then. So, what I suggest y'all do is make up a cup of this cake, settle down and get ready to read.

7 months ago in July 2013 I decided to move to Melbourne. The decision was actually quite quick but I had been meaning to move out of home for a while as I felt like I needed to grow and gain independence. I also felt like there was so much out in the world that I wasn't seeing by simply staying confined and sheltered in a city which is extremely quiet. I sent out multiple applications to England and universities over there, but seeing as I missed the deadline for application admissions (ye...because the decision was spontaneous), many of the universities didn't accept them because the deadline was "strict" pfffft. Anyway, from the universities which I persuaded to consider my application, I got accepted into Edinburgh which um hello, yes, is in Scotland. I knew that it would be way too far and I knew that although I was desperate to move out of home I would miss my family like crazy. Also, I knew I would freeze my tits off.

My Dad suggested that I apply to Melbourne universities because a lot of my friends from Perth were moving there themselves. And he felt that it would be a city where I could experience a different lifestyle as well as be in touch with my fam bam...also, it was a 3 hour plane ride away. I applied to Monash university and got accepted. So, my mum and I packed our bags and headed over together. She stayed for a couple of days and helped me settle in. Getting my Mum to come with me to unpack was one of the best ideas because she really gave my apartment the home-y feel and I would be a headless chicken if she didn't come. Like, I don't think I would have made it to the apartment from the airport.. #awkward.

I started at Monash University as a mid-semester student. It took a while to settle in and feel comfortable and come to terms that I had to cook, clean, wash the dishes, do laundry, go to the market to get groceries and manage bills all by myself, but I guess that was the independence I was looking for. Also, no one prepared me for HOW FUCKING COLD Melbourne was........... ummmmmmmm. I didn't bring enough winter wear so I was constantly shivering and feeling glum. I made good friends in my apartment building and a few at Uni, but, to be perfectly honest I don't think they compared to the unbreakable friendships I had at home. 2 girls that I live with however, have become like sisters to me as we see each other everyday and are coping with the transition from school to uni together.

Anyway, I have had hardly anytime to bake and my kitchen is T I N Y. Literally a 1x1...I can barely turn around in there let alone cook up a dessert! But I am searching for recipes which are quick and require minimum effort and which don't require any space to work with...lol.

I went home for the summer for 2.5 months and while there I baked this for my Dad's birthday. He loves loves loves chocolate cake and I knew he would appreciate this. It's a serving for one and you don't have ANY washing up to do afterwards. I love cakes in cups because they are so handy. No need to whip out an entire cake and turn the oven on. You just bung all the ingredients in a cup and microwave dat shit

The cake came out a perfect consistency and was moist in the middle. Sooooo gooooood!

 

Cake in a Cup: Chocolate Mud Cake

- 4 Tb Plain Flour

- 4 Tb Caster Sugar

- 2 Tb Cocoa Powder

- 1 Egg

- 3 Tb Milk

- 3 Tb Oil (I used sunflower)

- 3 Tb Chocolate Chips (I just chopped up a chocolate bar! Feel free to use random bits of choc)

- 2-3 Drops Vanilla Extract

 *You can also throw in your choice of nut as well. I like roasted walnuts with this.

 Add all dry ingredients into a mug and mix with a fork. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Then add your liquids and pour in the milk, oil and vanilla extract.Whisk lightly with a fork to incorporate the dry ingredients with the wet. If using chocolate chips/nuts, add now. 

Place the mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on HIGH, although keep checking on the cake to make sure it does not overflow. I put a plate under the mug to catch any bits that decided to jump out! After the cake seems cooked (remember, the knife test here would be ineffective here as it's a mud cake and will naturally be moist in the middle). 

Allow the cake to cook a little and then enjoy!

Vanilla Butter Cake

Ciao Ciao! This is a simple cake that causes for no fuss and annoyance. Basically the best thing you can have on a Friday night by yourself. Lathered in custard. Watching The Titanic. Yep dats what I did. (Cool girl)

Mid-way through writing this post I made breakfast because I was famished and I cooked 90 second oats. A few days ago our microwave busted into nothing so Dad went and bought this super strength microwave that heats you food in 1 second. Literally, I could cook popcorn in there for 1 second and it would work. Anyway, I just put my oats in and during the 80 second mark I peek through the micro only to find out that my entire meal had bubbled over into a hot mess.
So I am now eating HALF a bowl of oats and I am too angry to make anymore.

I've finished and I'm craving more. (Oats, not cake! Although I could do with some cake omnomnom). I finally understand what the word HANGRY means. (Hungry and angry at the same time). Hksjdhflkjsdhflkjsdf

Note: this cake is supposed to be a butter cake not a sponge cake so it should be moist. Just a warning so no one hates me after they've cooked the cake waiting for an airy sponge.
ALSO. I GOT INTO MONASH UNIVERSITY IN MELBOURNE. SO I AM MOVING TO MELBOURNE IN 2 WEEKS AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING BUT YOLO. AND I WILL HAVE TO COOK IN MY 1x1 KITCHEN BUT I WILL BE COOKING AND IM SO EXCITED YEAH OKAY BYE XOXO

Vanilla Butter Cake
                      Recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly

 - 125g butter, chopped
- 3/4 cup (180ml) milk
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp of Vanilla extract
- 1 cup of caster sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (225g) of self raising flour

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius/160 degrees fan forced. Grease deep 19cm square cake tin and line base with bakin paper. (As you can see I don't have one of these so I fished out a lovely flower one which I thought suited the dimensions required).
Combine butter and milk in a saucepan and stir until smooth.
Beat eggs and extract in a small bowl with electric mixer until thick and creamy; gradually add sugar and beat until dissolved between each addition.
Transfer mixture to large bowl, stir in sifted flour and butter mixture in two batches.
Pour into cake pan and bake for about 45 minutes. Stand cake in pan for 5 minutes; turn top-side down onto wire rack and let cook. If desired, dust cake with icing sugar.

Blueberry and Cream Cheese Turnovers

Oh gawd, it has been ages since I last updated! I totally forgot about posting these morsels but I was going through my pictures on my laptop and re-discovered them!

I made these in about Feburary when I really wanted to bake but I didn't want to bake anything big. I hope other people get that feeling because I feel like that 99% of the time! I always want to create or bake something but there are days where I can't bear the hassle of cleaning up afterwards. This recipe is one of those fabulous go-to ones where you hardly have to clean anything. It's more of a station workshop where you spread, fold and bake. So easy.

These turnovers are filled with cream cheese, icing sugar and frozen blueberries. They are basically cheesecakes in a flaky puff pastry pillow. So, these are perf for portable cheesecake biteables.

I also got quite bored placing the blueberries on the sheets of pastry so I decided to get a little adventurous and I popped into the pantry and picked up some strawberry jam. The strawberry jam turnovers were strawberry cheesecakes, and the blueberry turnovers were blueberry cheesecakes!
There are endless options you could do to fill these turnovers to suit your taste! I'm so excited to experiement again with them and try different and wacky flavours. The best thing is that they are so crazy easy to make and are so easy to transport!

4 ingredients! Just make sure you have cream cheese in the refridgerator and puff pastry in the freezer and you are good to go. Just find little combos around your kitchen and chuck them in the turnover!

Blueberry and Cream Cheese Turnovers 

- 125g cream cheese, softened 
- 2 1/2 tbs caster sugar
 - 1 (25 x 25cm) sheet Pampas ready-rolled frozen puff pastry, just thawed, quartered 
- 75g (1/2 cup) frozen blueberries
- 1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 220°C. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

Combine: the cream cheese and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl.

Place the pastry on a clean work surface. Spread one-quarter of the cream cheese mixture over a pastry square, leaving a 1cm border. Sprinkle over one-quarter of the blueberries. Brush the edge with a little egg yolk and fold pastry over to form a triangle and enclose the filling. Use a fork to gently press the edges together. 

Place on the lined tray. Repeat with remaining pastry, cream cheese mixture and blueberries. Brush turnovers with egg yolk and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown and puffed. Serve.