Freyalyn's Thoughts

I am so chuffed at getting these at last.  Last year these boards were part of the window display of a clothes shop in Leeds called Mk1 - a bit pile it high and sell it cheap type-thing, but I was really rather smitten by these boards that just hung at the back.  Sometime before Christmas the shop closed down, and so the boards remained in the empty window, sad and unloved.  Whenever I went past there was never any activity.  A month or so ago the shop was closed completely and boarded up, so I gave up hope.

Yesterday afternoon I bought a couple of pots in Lush and was actually about to get on the train home when I realised I was no longer clutching my little Lush paper bag.  So I trogged back up the hill to Accessorise, where I found the bag exactly where I'd mindlessly put it down, but on the way back down to the station there were workmen (well, a workman and a workwoman), hardhats and yellow vests and all, going in and out of the darkened shop doorway.  So I channelled my mother, and asked nicely if the boards were still there.  The workman very kindly rang his office, gained permission for me to have the boards (after all, they were just going to be chucked, but we all know jobsworths who wouldn't have bothered to help), and I chose three boards - a gold, a grey and a dark blue-green.  I could have had all seven or so, but I did have to carry them home and it's thick board.

These will look wonderful at the back of my Wonderwool and Woolfest stalls, with skeins of yarn dangling from the leaf- and butterfly-shaped holes.  Go me!

I rearranged my workroom yesterday afternoon, moved the computer so it reaches the plugs better, and then suddenly had a panic because it was 6pm (I'd had a snooze earlier before taking the pupz out) and I was off to the coven at Magrat's and had forgotten I was baking.  So muffins were made at speed and carried on the bus while straight out the oven.  Stupid buses - it normally takes me half an hour to drive up to Magrat's in Queensbury; it takes two buses, and took me nearly an hour and a half to get there.  Only an hour coming home, not including ten minutes at the bus stop in the dark cold fog on top of the hill.  In bed by about 12.20, which is not good when I'm getting up at 5.20am.  I will enjoy my lie-in tomorrow, then a day with the dyepots.

Peanut Butter and Cream Cheese Muffins

Oven to 200C - on the medium side of hot.

Sieve together 250g plain flour, 1.5tbs baking powder, 85g golden caster sugar.  Rub in 160g peanut butter as if pastry - I used crunchy.

Beat together a 200g pack of cream cheese, 2tbs caster sugar, and an egg yolk.

Then whisk 60g melted butter, 1 large egg and 170ml milk together, and stir roughly into the dry flour mixture.  As with all muffins, don't overmix otherwise the result will be stodgy.

Spoon the muffin mix into 12 muffin cases.  Now hollow out the top of each muffin and spoon in some of the cheese mixture - this is easier done with the same spoon as the runny cheese stops the muffin mix sticking to the spoon.  Bake for about 20 minutes. 

These will get churned out again.