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Showing posts from February, 2012

Chocolate Ginger Hobnobs

For the past few years, I have been taking part in International Homemade Hobnob Day .  This year I was a little late, but tried to make up for it by experimenting with new options.  A few weeks later I had to make 4 dozen cookies for a church cookie sale, and after the dismal failure of my attempt at a new recipe, I resorted to these tried and tested Chocolate Ginger Hobnobs. 8 oz / 2 sticks margarine 1 tbsp golden syrup (or corn syrup) 1 tbsp hot water 1/2 tsp bicarb/ baking soda 8 oz / 1 3/4 cups self-raising flour 8 oz / 1 cup sugar 8 oz / 2 1/2 cups rolled / quick oats 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1 oz / 3 tbsp finely chopped crystallized ginger Melt margarine and syrup.  Mix water and soda together in a cup and add to margarine mixture.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon.  Form into small balls, place on baking tray and flatten slightly.  Bake at 180C / 350F for 15 minutes.  Melt 100g / 3.5 oz dark chocolate with 1 tbsp butter and drizzle over th

Gulf Coast Trip: The Beach Days

Port Aransas, Tuesday evening:   Having located our cottage and settled in, we stroll out to the ship channel as the sun is going down.  Suddenly we hear splashes at our feet, and look down to see the smooth curve of a dolphin's back breaking the surface.  Once we've spotted one we see several more, feeding along the edge in the twilight peace. Sunset over the ferry terminal Port Aransas, Wednesday:   We have a warm sunny day for our first morning on the beach, and Toby quickly decides that digging in the sand is his new favourite activity.  Graham takes him out to test the water, but it's a little chilly.  Well, it is December, after all! Mustang Island is reputed to be an amazing place to see birds, so we do our best to look like twitchers and walk to the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center.  A footpath through some trees suddenly opens out to a secluded lagoon framed with tall reeds.  An avian paradise I am sure.  Unfortunately we could be looking