Lock-down Day 415

I received some upsetting news last night, about someone who has been on my mind quite a bit, lately. Well, now I know why ...

Well, I've been up since about half four, again.  Mippies kept me busy, wanting treats while we wait for the sun to rise ...

They went out as soon as I opened up ... and soon came back! Turns out they aren't all that fond of the cold, either,  ha ha!

Last night I enjoyed a rare sight: all four mippies curled up together. 

Ziva is washing Janey, supervised by Mini. Mewthos is waiting for his turn. I guess I will see more of that during winter.

I woke up with a headache, I've tried eating, drinking ... then took a short nap. It's better, but not gone. I'm not sure whether it's the cold? It's below 10 degrees now, in the mornings.

Sigh, Smeagol chased Ziva up a tree ... 

I've got the bread dough on the go, I want to try something different, again!

I think it's time I give up on seeds ... at least until winter has passed. So, I've cleared all the bottles out of the kitchen - I'm storing them in the outside room. Now I have space to roll dough ... which I'll need for the bread rolls I want to try, as well as for the apple pie. No, I haven't given up on that, either!

But I nearly forgot about the weekly laundry! Better get that into the machine now ...

Right, the bread 'rolls' are rising again, ready to be baked. I've placed a slice of cheese inside, then added a dollop of sweet mustard, rolled it up. I wonder how that will turn out?

Now I should get started on the apple pie. Here's a question: what kind of whackadoodle came up with idea of measuring butter in sticks? And then, when you try to google 'wtf is a stick of butter in the real world' you find 'one stick of butter measures 1/2 cup'. Huh? Just how the <expletive of your choice> do you squish butter into a cup? I mean, we're talking solid here - not melted butter! Seriously ... I'm getting dizzy from shaking my head in disbelief ... again! Seriously, you can blerry well 'stick it' yourself ...

I'm using 180 gram, about 1 1/2 sticks. More or less. I just gotta hope it works out - baking isn't like cooking, you have to stick to the recipe ... so ... fingers crossed!

Me and baking, we're not the best of mates. Watching these quick videos keeps me hopeful - right up to the moment, where I look at the ingredients and start mixing them together. That's when it usually goes pear-shaped ... the only part of this recipe, that's giving me no trouble whatsoever is, where it says: refrigerate for one hour! Even I can do that! Ha Ha

Of course, I have four mips to blame, when things go wrong! They're constantly in and out of the kitchen, mipping for attention! I've already had a cuddle session with Mewthos and Mini on the back lawn - Mewthos is adamant about that. I must come outside, on the lawn, sit in the sun, then he'll roll around me and I must pet and cuddle whatever I can grab. Mini likes to join in, too! And I must do that at least once every weekend - preferably every day!

Janey, on the other hand, wants to stroll all over me! Preferably my lap ... while I'm on the loo ... don't ask, I don't know, either. Second choice is while I'm at the PC ... strolling across my lap, head-butting the keyboard and my hands, so that I scratch her ears and face ... she's just been here ... I've removed all her typo's :)

Laundry is up, and the headache hasn't left ... I better start with the apples ...

I thought I could save a little dish-washing, and used the same bowl for the apples. Janey helped clean it, first, though.

Okay ... issues. First, I couldn't find cinnamon! I'm sure I have some, and I'm sure I've seen it here ... no luck finding it now, though. I even went so far as to unpack a box marked 'spices' ... bit of an oopsie, as a tin of blueberries popped open and the syrup poured into the jar of cinnamon sticks. So ... no cinnamon ...

Second issue: to use my Pyrex dish, I should have used 3/4 of the dough for the base and 1/4 for the top - not half and half, as the recipe suggests. They used a round bowl, wider and not as deep.

Given the cost of electricity, I'm baking the rolls and pie at the same time. Only: I normally bake bread (or rolls) at 180 Celsius, the pie should be baked at 200. Well, tough - it'll just have to stay in even longer! And, of course, the rolls will be done quite fast.

Next step in the recipe: bake for 50-60 Minutes or until the top is golden ...

It's been 20 Minutes, the rolls are looking good ... but that top doesn't look 'golden' ... more like 'about to turn black'!

Bread rolls look delicious, though!

Well, I've washed the dishes and when I was finished, I took the pie out of the oven. It doesn't look too bad, and smells really good!

The bread rolls are definitely a success! Even the added dollop of sweet mustard - totally awesome!

So, the sum total of my achievements today: I baked a pie, cheese rolls, and did the laundry.  Put like that, it doesn't sound like much, does it? Well, I'm old, unfit and 'helped' by four mips! All. Day. Long. What's your excuse?

Personally, I'm quite impressed with myself! The apple pie is delicious! Would've been better with some cinnamon, though :)

Not bad for a first attempt!

Well, mippies are inside, my tummy is just as full of yummies as my mippies' tummies, and I'm looking forward to a good night ...