Why I Celebrate Thanksgiving

 Albino pumpkin

I warn you, I've gone mental. Mental for PUMPKINS. I've had a Thanksgiving pumpkin-filled weekend. It's been amazing.

Mantle Pumpkin 

I've been celebrating Thanksgiving for a while. It all started at uni when I used to live with an American and she made us all do a Thanksgiving dinner and it was a whole heap of fun. And then I went to actual America, and had ACTUAL Thanksgiving, and I was sold. I mean, a four day weekend where you literally do nothing but eat yummy food? I'll repeat that: Four days. Nothing. Yummy. EAT.

Sign me up.

Pie of Pumpkin 

And so I came to wholeheartedly embrace this quintessentially American holiday to my bosom. I have henceforth always taken that Thursday and Friday off of work and plan to continue doing so. But this year was the first year I decided that I would cook a proper authentic Thanky G feast all by myself like a GROWNUP.

Half-Eaten Pumpkin 

On the menu was a turkey, cranberry and cornbread stuffing, sweet potato with marshmallow topping, maple roasted parsnips, green bean casserole all covered in lovely turkey gravy and finished off with a pumpkin pie. I don't think there was anything on that table that didn't come into contact at some point with either maple syrup or cinnamon or both. Yum.

And I'm really impressed with my friends that they didn't run scared by some of the above (yes, that was sweet potato with MARSHMALLOW - which exploded everywhere but that's another story!), they all gave it a go. It was DEE-licious.

Munchkin Pumpkins

And it was lovely to share the feast with good friends, good wine and a good stretchy pair of pants. 

Oh yes, the pre-Christmas diet started again today. I'm already having syrup withdrawal symptoms. Hold me.

Boom Boom Boom. Even Brighter Than The Moon Moon Moon

Baby you're a firework

I love love love firework night! The bonfires, the wrapping up warm, the hot dogs, the drinking, and the fireworks. Ooh sparklers too, I almost forgot those guys.

Neon pink rain 

I find it really weird that fireworks can provoke such emotion in some people, myself included. When you see a really impressive firework display, it's such a spectacle and so dramatic. Usually a crowd of people is involved and the fireworks are there to mark an occasion so you're all there having this shared experience and it's just bloody lovely. I mean, when they let off a couple of rockets at the end of the Milton Keynes Foo Fighters gig in July I lost my shit and actually started blubbing all over my best friend. Possibly a few randoms too. Which now just seems stupid. But THAT is the power of the humble firework.

Burning leaves

But bonfire night marks the point in the year at which all things autumn are in full swing. The bonfire makes the russet and golden leaves on the trees glow so they too seem aflame. The smell of hot dogs and mulled wine is in the air, and you're all bundled up in your warmest scarves and coats, waving your sparklers (or in my case, spinny glowstick thingy) in the air like you just don't care. And the fireworks are the exclamation point to the whole evening. 

All of the lights all of the lights 

I think it's such a shame that so many of the firework displays in London haven't gone ahead this year because the council's can't afford it. Ally Pally and Clapham were cancelled. I love that we have this event in the British calender so I really hope this is just a sign of the economic times and not of the tradition dying out. I mean the American's have the fourth of July, the French have Bastille day, so this is our thing!! We need to keep it alive! With that in mind, I made my way to the other side of town to Battersea Park and I'm really glad I did, the fireworks were epic. I mean, it was super busy, and there were crazy queues for food, but I managed to snarf some hot dogs JUST before the fireworks started. Boom!

Spinner love 

Whilst the fireworks were really impressive, I thought the bonfire was a bit of a let down but then maybe that's because I seem to compare every bonfire to the EPIC BALL OF FLAME I experienced in Ottery St Mary many moons ago. That was like a 20ft beast of a fire that burnt for days, so I guess it's not really fair to have that as the yardstick. Everything's going to fall short.

 Purple rain

I hope there's more displays to choose from next year. I don't want to live in a world where we've forgotten our god-given right to, once a year, burn our (non-toxic) rubbish and let off some highly dangerous chemical explosions in the sky in an ORGANISED MANNER!! This is our tradition! Long may it reign.

Crazy Stupid Pumpkin Love

Pumpkinny wumpkinny 

Oops. It's been a while since I've written anything here. I guess I haven't been doing anything that noteworthy. Although to be honest if I have to really fully analyse the situation, I could probably chalk up at least a whole two weeks being lost to scouring the internet for photos of Ryan Gosling. If you are that way inclined, may I recommend this website.

I've been to see him in Drive (the soundtrack literally won't leave my ears) and Crazy Stupid Love this month and might be a LITTLE BIT obsessed. Honestly, I have no idea where the time goes. I could literally stare at him for hours. Excellent example of the perfect man. Well done to everybody involved. If I ever met him in the street I think the only appropriate reaction would be to give him a standing ovation. The Ides of March is the next Gosling cinematic offering and I'm already rubbing my legs in anticipation.  And don't even try and pretend you aren't too.

Next of (pump)kin

So ANYWAY. Enough of my lusting after Hollywood celebrities. What a contrast between my last post and this! Last time I was reporting from the front line of the unexpected but fully welcomed and fondly remembered late summer 2011 heatwave (RIP)... and now here we are, clocks gone back and dark evenings closing in, wrapped up warm, central heating on, surrounded by pumpkins and fake blood.

It's no secret, I love Hallowe'en. This was a love that was spurred on all the more from my experience of a full-on American 'We'en during my time in New York. I'm not sure Britain will ever quite reach those heady heights but it doesn't stop me trying year after year!

I have actually purchased a further four pumpkins of varying sizes. True story.

The past five years or so have been spent constructing elaborate costumes and getting very very (very) drunk. This year I've decided to take it easy, by purchasing a whole armful of pumpkins and getting my carve on in front of the umpteenth showing of Ghostbusters. Which to be honest, is probably more fun and with less hangover.

Altogether now: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... MASS HYSTERIA!

Last Days of Summer

Bee-ay-yoo-tiful beach 

But, Mr Weatherman, what have I done to deserve this? An extra week of summer. On my week off. On my week off BY THE SEA. Noone could have planned it better. I think it was the universe's way of making up for my lack of summer holiday this year.

I've spent this week back in Bournemouth with the rental units. And it's been a week of brunch, cinema, dinners, baking, beach and generally lazing around doing very little. I've been uber busy at work over the summer so I really needed this. I'm not really looking forward to going back to work tomorrow, but I think I'll be feeling more refreshed for sure. Which will last approx half an hour, before I'm working out how long til I can next take time off. I swear, someone needs to just pay me for hanging around chatting. I mean, I'm really good at that, you'd get your moneys worth.

 Beach Bird Stalking

I've spent the last couple of days at the beach. It's been the most weird thing to be lying on the beach, surrounded by people in their bikinis in October. OCTOBER! I mean, in mere weeks we'll all be carving pumpkins! Normally, I'm not a fan of unseasonal weather, but I guess I need to add a caveate to that. I'm not a fan, unless the weather is unseasonably WARM. Anything that increases the amount of time I can spend on a beach gets the thumbs up from me.

Cake and lashings of ginger beer 

I took the opportunity of a bit of time on my hands to treat the fam to my baking skillz. I chose the Apple Crumble Hummingbird Cupcakes to have a go at for two reasons. One, autumn = apples. And two, this recipe is EPIC. You have to stew the apples for the apple cake filling, then make up the cake batter as standard, then bake the cakes, then make custard FROM SCRATCH, then leave it to cool, THEN bake crumble for the topping, THEN whip cream to mix with your cooled custard and THHHEEENNN assemble all your toppings. I mean it took all day, I couldn't do this on a normal weekend.

Crumbly in my tumbly

Some people wouldn't have the patience for all the different stages, but I kind of like the luxury of spending all day creating something a bit spesh. Plus, I've never made custard properly before - it's actually surprisingly easy.

The cakes turned out really yummy, the custardy topping was unusual but actually worked really well to give the apple crumble effect.

Nomz

Indulging in one of these guys with a nice cool glass of ginger beer in the last summer sun of the year in the parental backyard was a real treat.

Now, when's my next holiday?

Run to the Beat of my Biscuits

Maritime Museum, Greenwich 

In case you didn't know.. 

This weekend I watched my best mates boyfriend, J-Man Jizzle* complete an amazing achievement - he ran the Nike Run to the Beat half marathon and we are all very very proud of him.

(*Not actual name. Name that I call him. Largely against his will)

He's training to run the London Marathon next year, and this race signifies the furthest he's ever ran so it's a huge deal.

Cheerleaders (although I think I was better AND I didn't have balloons!) 

Arms outstretched, J-Man at the 11 mile mark, only two to go! 

However, the day was not without its drama. The day was lovely and sunny, but we think the heat got to him because 150m before the end of the race, J started to slow and come to a stop. Even the encouraging screams from two old lady spectators couldn't help him. A random man (we're not sure whether it was a fellow competitor, a marshall or a member of the crowd) came to help him over the final finish line, before poor old J collapsed from heatstroke/exhaustion and had to be taken to the medical tent.

He is now fine, just needs to rest up and get lots of fluids, but it just goes to show what a huge effort it is to complete these things and how amazing it is that he crossed the line. I'm so impressed. Props. Massive props.

Greenwich Observatory, obvs

Love the smell of biscuits in the morning

Other than that dramz at the end of the race, the rest of the morning had been really fun. There's always a great atmosphere at these events - I'm a natural cheerleader of life in general, so I love that it's socially acceptable on such occasions to scream COME ON ALEXXXXX!!! in random stranger's faces. Not that I do that at any other time, OF COURSE.

I'd baked some Apple & Oatmeal cookies for our group to eat whilst we were waiting for J to appear at our vantage point at the foot of Greenwich Park, and they were just the ticket for a sunny autumnal mid-morning snack.

Leftovers

Of course I gave the majority of the cookies to J and his girlfriend (not that he could appreciate them at that point in his poorly state), but I kept a select few back for me. And they were just the ticket to soothe my aching hands (from clapping) and scratchy throat (from aforementioned stranger-face-screaming). I mean, really I worked JUST AS HARD. Right?!

No, I know: not right. I joke.

Well done J-Man Jizzle, Jam Master Jay. SO PROUD.

Friends With Benefits

Stacked 

Before anyone gets excited - not thooose kinds of benefits.

I've just come back from a delightful weekend in Brighton. I have a friend who has just moved to a gorgeous flat moments from the seafront (and also, Preston from Big Brother fame, apparently *sounds shit celeb spot klaxon*) and a bunch of us went down to visit. They are all friends that I met as we all did the same New York exchange programme and I love it when we all get together. It usually involves good food, good drink and good chat. Including but not limited to X Factor contestants and Youtube video analysis. Don't judge. You know you do it too.

Halloumi and houmous. Never have two finer 'H's been stuck in a sandwich

We started with lunch straight off the train at a great place, Bill's. It was a wicked weekend brunch spot, popular with the crowds, so a bit of a wait - but very worth it. Set up in a former greengrocers, the decor played off of the industrial functional feel of the building. Food was good honest well-sourced ingredients and I can confirm, they give good hollandaise. What more do you want in a brunch purveyor?

A girl keg! 

Then later, it was some kick-ass food back at the flat in front of X Factor. We cracked out the housewarming gift of a vintage medicinal-esque drinks dispenser with a cocktail recipe invented on the hoof (i.e. we had gin and they only stocked appletizer at the local shop - was pleasantly delicious).

NYC corner. Every home should have one. 

This concoction accompanied the brilliant menu of Pulled Pork Tacos, Avocado and Onion Salad and Crunchy 'Slaw. All Martha inspired and all finger-lickin good. I've gotta have these girls over for dinner soon and I can safely report the bar has been set high.

Feast

This was all devoured in front the X Factor and swiftly segued into feeding our (HEALTHY) appreciation of various divas on YouTube. Celine, Whitney and Mariah. In any order. 

I literally want nothing more of a Saturday. 

Faith Hope & Charity

Crypt-ic 

First off, can I just apologise profusely at the poor quality of these photos. I originally took my beloved SLR with me to document my day, which lasted approximately 30 seconds until the red flashing low battery symbol of impending camera-less doom entered my life. What an amateur.

So I was stuck with my trusty iPhone which has very recently acquired an obscene amount of scratches on the lens protector. So the photos come out all smudgy. I mean I guess I GUESS I could have tried to dupe you all into it being some Hipstamatic effect to make the photos more "arty"/"scene"/"whatever" but y'all would have seen straight through that. So instead you'll have to make do with my grovelling apologies.

Victorian Crypt Roof 

So what is all this? Where have I been? What are the smudges obscuring from your eyes? I know. Sit down, take a load off and I'll begin.

Yesterday I decided to venture up the long steep winding hill to Highgate Cemetery. Highgate has a fascinating history, but is probably most famous for being the final resting place of Karl Marx. The Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust run daily tours of the west side of the cemetery.

Marble sleeping lion, marking the grave of George Wombwell, a famed Victorian menagerie exhibitor 

The first thing to note about Highgate is that it is so beautiful and peaceful. In the past, cemeteries have always kind of creeped me out - all those regimented rows of stone markers often under the shadow of a foreboding church. But Highgate is a romantic woodland, almost a fairytale environment. That sounds a strange thing to say, but it's an enchanting place, and I didn't feel at all uneasy. The tour guide we had explained, interestingly, that it hasn't always been like that. When Highgate first began, everything was very austerely manicured - but over time more and more trees have been planted, ivy has overgrown and nature has taken over.

Final resting place of Tom Sayers, a renowned Victorian bare knuckle fighter, with a marble carving of his trusty dog, Lion 

Our guide pointed out a handful of the noted examples of the thousands of graves at Highgate. Some of the most beautiful I tried (badly - again SO SORRY for the smudges) to photograph. There was the grave of the famous Victorian menagerie exhibitor George Wombwell. He famously owned a lion, called Nero, who was apparently so placid, children could ride on his back without fear. His tomb has a huge carving of a sleeping Nero on top.

I also thought the grave of a famous Victorian bare knuckle fighter, Tom Sayers, was particularly poignant. It had a marble carving of his dog, Lion, who went everywhere with him and was (get this) chief mourner at his funeral. He died a hero due to a famous fight with an American champion of the day which was so long and so bloody that it had to be called off and declared a draw as neither would quit, and Lion is depicted sleeping at the foot of his tomb. I'm a sucker for anything to do with dogs, so this stuck out in my mind.

Sleeping angel carved out of marble

This final tomb, you can just about make out in the terrible terrible photo (AWFUL) the form of a sleeping angel. This is unusual - normally the angels are carved so that they are standing over the graves. This angel has been carved sleeping on a cloud. You can't really tell from my photo, but it's very intricate and very beautiful.

There's an awful lot of history at Highgate, as it's been a working cemetery since 1839. If you've never been and are into that kind of thing it's a really interesting way to spend an afternoon. The ivy and overgrowth that make it so special are also unfortunately destroying the tombstones - the Friends of Highgate have a painstaking ongoing programme of work carried out by volunteers to restore those badly in need of repair and the main source of income for this comes from donations and tour fees. So please do go and visit.

And take better photos than me.

Tea and Cake

Tea, cake, flowers. Win. 

Haven't baked any cakes for a couple of months (and my waistline has not just thanked me but rejoiced, holding a party in my honour, because of it). But fear not waistline - I am giving most (save half of one cake - yes, saintlike I know) of this batch away to OTHER PEOPLE. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

 Behind the scenes trivia: Noone actually drunk that cup of tea. It was for show only. I'M SUCH A FRAUD.

I've been wanting to try out the Hummingbird Earl Grey Tea Cupcake recipe for a while. And what with this being the last weekend we can really get away with feeling summery until next year (its knits, tights, bundling up warm, and cold extremities from now until March people!), and I feel the subtle light flavouring is more suited to warmer days, I decided to have a bash at these now, before it's too late and all I crave in a cupcake are cinammon, ginger and big bold Christmassy tastes.

Now, disclaimer: I don't actually LIKE tea. I know, I know. But I'm much more of a coffee girl, what can I say - slave to the bean. ...it's part of the reason why New York was such a good idea for me. They, like I, live off the stuff.

Behind the scenes trivia: The cakes got eaten though. Not by me you understand. Nope.

Having said that, I am living proof that you don't have to like tea (let alone Earl Grey tea) to love these cakes.

The Earl Grey flavour (lemony, bergamoty, tea-y(?)) is really subtle, light and refreshing and just seems to go so well with the plain sponge and butter frosting.

Just the ticket for the last summer Sunday afternoon. (When it rained. Predictably).

Berry Good Beading

On the turn

It's autumn. It's fall. Whatever. The leaves are turning. Crunchy piles of russet, golden and orange gather on the pavements just begging you to kick, jump and stamp in your new boots.

Bejewelled berries

Hedgerow berries sit plump and juicy, embellishing the dense foliage of the wayside, imploring you to gorge yourselves in delicious gluttony, be you bird, beast or morning commuter.

At least, that's how it goes in my mind.

Inspired by the latest AW09 trend for all things shoulder, (and certainly with those gorgeous glimpses of berries adorning trees and bushes not too far from my mind), one of my latest projects that I worked on whilst I was laid up recovering from my op, was this sweater.

Shoulder to Shoulder

When the shops first started receiving delivery of their first AW stock drops in late August/early September, I went to check out what the new season would have to offer, and found many shops doing variations on this theme. Plain sweaters with shoulder-based embellishments. I liked the idea of this look, but did not like the idea of paying the ridiculously inflated prices on what was essentially, an average quality jumper with a few sequins sewn on.

So I did what any self-respecting amateur seamstress would do, and did it myself!

I look moody. I was going for "fierce". This is why I am not America's Next Top Model.

I found that this way, I could search for a good quality of jumper that I knew would last, and design the embellishment to exactly the design that I wanted. It was also a lot of fun!

I found a plain black v-neck fine knit sweater in Gap, which was lovely and soft. It also fitted really nicely. Now that I had my base, I took a trip to the crafter's dream that is John Lewis' Oxford Street Haberdashery. I knew that whatever I was going to sew on would have to be lightweight, as the sweater was a fine knit and wouldn't be able to support too much hardware. So sequins or beading was the order of the day. When I spied the small pot of these tiny golden beads, I knew they would be perfect.

The whole thing worked out a lot cheaper than the original jumpers I was eyeing up in Topshop et al, and I have something unique that I have made with my very own lily-white hands.

Please do try it yourself, it doesn't take long, and the satisfaction and ever-so-slight smug factor of saying 'Oh this old thing? Well, actually, I made it myself' is way worth it. Believe.

Take Me To The Hospital

Get Well Sooooonnn (I am trying)

Hello. I am writing this from my Magical Sofa of Recovery. This weeks post has been slightly delayed as on Monday I had to go into hostipal (hospital) to have an operation.

Don't worry or anything, it wasn't anything life threatening, it was just a simple key-hole procedure to remove my gall bladder. My gall bladder was naughty and didn't work properly. That's not what I wanted, that's not who I was. So it had to go. (If you can guess the film reference, I officially love you). Yes, readers, that is the way I roll. If you don't work for me, you get culled. Because, after all, don't I deserve love? And jewelry?

I call this Early Morning Canula (brought to you by my iPhone)

Kidding. Kind of. Anyway, even though it was a straight forward, fairly common procedure, it was the first time I have ever had to go into hospital, and certainly the first time I have ever had to deal with the scary scary crazy world of general anaesthetic.

However, despite my extreme nerves, the op all went well, and I am now on the road to recovery. A bit sore, but I have lots of pain meds that I like as they make me all sleepy.

(A la Homer Simpson) Bed goes up, bed goes down; bed goes up, bed goes down

I should be back to normal-ish in about 10 days, and aim to use the time that I am not sleeping doing lots of knitting/crafty things from the aforementioned Magical Sofa, so hopefully I should have lots to show you for my period of convalescence!

Until then however, please enjoy the following chooons from my hospital playlist:

I sang this constantly all weekend:

And of course, no playlist is complete without a bit of Dave Grohl (le sigh):

P.S. Big thank you to all the staff at the Annie Zunz ward at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital. They do an awesome job :o)

New Beginnings

Cutie Booties.

I don't know why, but September, and the beginning of autumn has always felt a lot more like the beginning of the year to me than January. Maybe they are feelings that have hung over from the days when it meant the beginning of the academic year. The last days of summer always feel like the end of something bigger than just a season, and often lead me down the path of taking stock of what I have accomplished in the last 12 months (job/life in London town; growing my awesome hair) and what I want to achieve in the near future (to master fair-isle knitting; go to Australia; find the perfect pair of boots).

Who knows, but this weekend, the weather turned a distinctly crisper, milder corner and I took that as a sign to pack away all my summer clothes for another year and dig out all my warm jumpers, coats, scarves, hats and gloves. Autumn is here, and I'm ready.

For the stylish bambino on the nursery block.

I guess it's fitting that this weekend when I have been preparing for the new season/year ahead that I also finished knitting booties for a brand new person setting out on their first ever year in this life. These are for a beautiful baby girl, daughter of a friend at work, and I have very much enjoyed making them.

Unlike socks, (which can drive me up the WALL, and often lead to me lamenting the fact that people are born with not one, but two feet), booties are a lot quicker to make, and so I don't get that familiar dread on finishing the first sock ('You mean, I have to do that AGAIN?!'). It's still enough of a novelty to get me to persevere.

Pretty cute detailing on the cuff. Frilly.

The pattern for for these was also varied enough to add interest over the course of knitting the booties, with lacework on the cuff, and front, and ribbing down the leg.

So, anyone who knows me and is planning on spawning either now, or in the far distant future: take a good look. All your kids will be getting these.

If you're going to start your first year, it really should be in style, no?

Knitty Gritty:

Pattern: Baby's Bootikin from Knitting Vintage Socks, Nancy Bush

Yarn: One skein each of 2 colours of fingering-weight yarn

Needles: Set of 4 1.75mm dpns

Pikelets Are Not a Small Fish (Alternate Title: How to Make Your Dogs Jealous)

Look at that face. He wants what my sister has. But he's not getting it. Oh, it's hard being a dog.

It's late autumn. And it's getting way cold. The leaves have given up, my fingertips have given up, and quite frankly, we could all do with some warmth in our lives.

That is why, there is nothing better than late afternoon tea on a late November day. With rounds and rounds of crumpets and pots and pots of hot tea. It really warms the cockles.

The other day, I decided I would make crumpets from scratch. Except I didn't decide that at all, I decided I would make the cousin of the house of Crumpet: the humble Pikelet.

I always thought pikelets were a small fish. Kind of like a scampi/whitebait type deal. So whenever anyone offered me some pikelets, I turned my nose up and said "No FREAKING way! Fish, in the afternoon?! You be crazy!".

Imagine my surprise when I found out yesterday from HFW (literally loving his book) that they are in fact the lovechild of  a crumpet and a crepe! Continental! And that making them from scratch seems distinctly simple. And something that I should attempt. 

All you need for pikelet fun

Now, to get the lovely crumpet-esque holes to form when you cook pikelets, you need yeast in your batter mixture. And yeast is special because it's alive. Which kind of freaks me out. But because of this, it needs to be activated and nurtured, coaxed and cajoled into releasing its rising powers into your batter.

Which all this essentially means you should make your batter in the morning, if you want to have pikelets as it gets dark (which these days is around 4.30).

Apparently fresh yeast is better to use, but I didn't have any, so used some dry yeast. Which worked just as well.

Now, this is what I had to do, according to the mighty Hugh, and it made more than enough to fill up four people so that they could hardly move and make two dogs very jealous.

Step 1: Measure out 250g of strong white bread flour and 250g of plain flour. Wonder what the goddamn difference is.

Step 2: Sift this floury goodness into a large bowl, along with 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar and 1 teaspoon of salt. 

Step 3: Next you get your yeast (fresh or otherwise, prepared as per the instructions on the packet) and crumble/pour in. A bit at a time add 500 ml of lukewarm water. The fact that it's lukewarm is very important, as I discovered. If it is too hot, the yeast gives up the ghost and dies all up on your batter. And if it's not hot enough, then, like me, it just won't get out of bed and be active at all.

Step 4: Beat it all together for a couple of minutes, then cover the bowl with a warm, damp tea towel. And then put it somewhere warm. I put it in one of our kitchen cupboards which is next to the boiler pipes. You're going to leave it there for up to two hours for the yeast to work it's magic, so if you're anything like me, you'll give the yeast a little pep talk, say "Good day sirs", and close the cupboard door.

Step 5: Wait two hours, or until the sky is a lovely shade of pink/purple:

Step 6: Get your bowl out of the cupboard, or wherever you put it. The batter should have risen some what, if the yeast heeded their pep talk at all.

Step 7: Dissolve 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda in 150ml of lukewarm whole milk. To make the milk lukewarm I just popped it in the microwave for about a minute. In case you haven't noticed these crazy yeast boys are fussy when it comes to temperature. Stir the milk mix into the batter a bit at a time, until the batter is the texture of thick paint. You probably won't need all of the milk, I didn't, but that's ok.

Step 8: And now! The fun part. Grease up a nice big frying pan, or, like in my case, a griddle pan, if you have one.  Get it all nice and sizzling hot.  And make like pancakes. Ladle a small amount of batter at a time in smallish circles on the pan. 

Step 9: Once the top gets little bubbles forming and drying out, its time to flip them over.

Step 10: Cook them for about another minute on the other side, and serve straight away whilst they are still way hot.

Step 11: You can serve them savoury, with cheese, and butter. Or sweet, with sugar or jam.  But I warn you of this. If you serve them anywhere near your springer spaniels, they will not leave your side, or take their eyes off you.

Step 12: Make said dogs jealous by tucking the heezy in.

Ah, pikelets, fun for all the family, on an autumn afternoon.