Being a Domestic Goddess

OK, so I've shown you my lemon meringue pie; this is the only other thing that gets me near an oven! I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Nigella Lawson and adored her first husband John Diamond the Times journalist who sadly died from cancer several years ago. The Times isn't the same without him and I still flick straight to the back page looking for him even now.

Alas Father Christmas hasn't been so encouraging of my Nigella crush recently so I've not got her most recent books but I do have a few and the muffins above are from 'How to be a Domestic Goddess'.

I actually haven't cooked for a while now as I got a new oven that was lousy at cooking-ironic huh? This oven actually burnt things, or specifically the bottom of things and I assure you with hands on heart that it was the oven and not me!

Recently I got a new microwave/grill/oven which is fab! It's brilliant for me for many reasons including the fact that sitting on the worktop as it does means I don't have to bend down with heavy things to gain access to the oven. Mobility wise I am extremely appreciative and grateful for this. The oven works in essence as a microwave does, even in it's 'oven' capacity, so you choose the time the food needs to be cooked for. Once it reaches this time, it beeps several times then turns itself off. It has a fan that then kicks in, thus removing the possibility of food carrying on cooking and burning as I continueside-tracked as ever, oblivious to all of this due to my terrible memory problems! This alone makes the most almighty difference to my life.

Most brilliantly of all, this is an oven that cooks and does not burn things unless programmed incorrectly. Hallelujah!

I'm thrilled (yes I need to get out more!) and so have found myself in the midst of a cooking frenzy and am compelled by unknown forces (possibly hormonal or just because I'm female and like scrummy things) to make muffins, and then double quantity muffins, then Lemon Meringue pie and a few more muffins (OK double quantity again) and then a couple more(or maybe more than that) Lemon meringue pies!

In the past

I've also had a Flapjack addiction and have no idea how I've thus far resisted the rather sticky and torn flapjack page in my cookbook (also Nigella I believe) and I've always had a certain fondness for Banana and Honey tea bread (a pattern emerges) which again I've somehow not re-visited as yet! Worry ye not! I will get there I assure you!

I actually have as yearning for something orangey so need to have a good search through the recipe books and see if I can find anything easy peasy to make and yet highly scrumptious to eat. I do have a project in mind, only thwarted thus far by a lack of peanut butter. My dreadful memory is working against me here as I keep forgetting to buy some and the jar we have has been raided to almost extinction already. I must remember soon though, I'm chomping at the bit to make some Snickers Muffins!! Snickers + Muffins = Gorgeousness!

Yep, you've guessed it, another Nigella recipe but come on, this is the woman who cooks with Coca Cola-you've got to admire her for managing to create the most unhealthy and utterly divine food possible.

Oh, dear, I've got a serious issue with crumbs littering my keyboard now and to get them out I did the incredibly stupid yet at the time so obvious idea of blowing them free!

Astonishingly, it appears that banana and honey muffin crumbs aren't the only thing to fall victim to the crevice between 'w' and 'e' and 'j' and 'k' and so forth. A dust storm has emerged from my keyboard and raised the ugly concept that maybe, just maybe we've a bit of a dusty home. My right eye has something (possible many things) in it and it hurts. Why is the obvious generally also the most stupid? Why with the balance of hindsight do obvious things seems so 'obviously stupid'?

Nope, considered the dusty home idea and flung it out of court-one dust storm need not lead to extreme measures-need to calm down, a bit of dust never killed anyone (the fluff could do with C.S.I. to identify it's origins possibly-or maybe not as it'll be skin-YUCK) but I'm certain dragging an extremely heavy Dyson around can and has! ***I actually did do some hoovering or Dysoning today so I can take it easy now and polish my housekeeping halo-seems I am a bit of a Domestic Goddess after all.........

*** Mr Dyson I was just being humorous of course, please don't trouble your legal team to sue me for suggesting that Dysoning can and has killed people!! Gulp!