Today’s post
Today, we wanted to take it back to one of our favorite types of blog posts: five things! This is our eighth edition of the series, which basically just takes you through five things we have recently been loving. They could be products, recipes (our own or other people’s), music/bands, or activities. Of course, much of it revolves around baking and cooking, but we also love sharing our other hobbies with you. It’s just a casual way of telling you what we’ve been up to, and we always encourage you to share whatever you want to in the comments. What have you been enjoying lately?
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1. BA’s brown butter chocolate chip cookies
This is honestly my go-to recipe when it comes to chocolate chip cookies. However, I must admit I have never used the exact ingredients they specify, as it’s not easy to get ahold of chocolate wafers and the toffee bar that they recommend. But it works and tastes just as well with any add-ins you have on hand, whether it’s toasted pecans, white chocolate chips, or even some chopped-up Reese’s peanut butter cups. The brown butter gives these cookies a delicious caramelized flavor, and I just think they’re the perfect texture.
2. Duolingo widget
This is bit of a weird one for this list, but definitely one that has greatly entertained us over the past week. I (Emma) have had the Duolingo widget on my phone home screen for a while now, but I hadn’t mentioned it to Sofie until this week, so she downloaded it too. We both use Duolingo a lot – we’re both studying Greek, I’m keeping up with my Chinese, and I have also started Duo’s new music lessons, which are so much fun – so we love the app, but the widget adds another element of fun to it. Basically, it’s a little image of the Duolingo owl, Duo, and the graphics change throughout the day as Duo grows angrier and angrier if you haven’t done your lesson yet. It’s unhinged and hilarious!
3. Moisture tracker for plants
Sofie and I have both somehow ended up with a lot of plants, as we really like the vibrancy they bring to our homes. They don’t usually require a lot of upkeep once you get used to their needs and they get used to their environment. Obviously, you can get some plants that are harder to kill than others, so if you don’t have a green thumb then maybe that’s the way to go. Anyway, here in the UK, I’ve been struggling a bit this winter with judging how much water our plants actually need, and this has resulted in some overwatering. This moisture tracker has really helped me with that and will continue to be a godsend this winter, I’m sure!
4. Early morning walks/runs
Who doesn’t love a bit of nature first thing in the morning? But while we all know the benefits of going out for a walk or a run in the morning, it can be really hard to get out of bed in the chilly winter, especially before work. I am not a morning person, so I definitely don’t do it every day, but it’s nice to get out early a couple of days a week. Plus, you get some beautiful views out of it! And Sofie is lucky that she has Bowie to get her up and keep her company on her walks.
5. Blueberry pancakes
While it may not be the season for berries, there’s something about blueberry pancakes in the winter that just really hits the spot. Sofie has been making them a bunch lately for breakfast/brunch! We’ve been using a recipe for American style pancakes in our family that our parents pulled out of an old magazine ages ago – we thought we would include it here for anyone interested:
Pancakes (Serves about 2 people)
- 1 egg
- 1 + 1/2 cup flour
- 1 + 1/3 cup milk (even better if you can use buttermilk for these!)
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- Dash of vanilla extract
- Blueberries, probably around 3/4 cup, but adjust to your taste!
- Other optional add ins: Banana slices, chocolate chips, strawberry slices
- Butter/cooking spray for the pan
Combine all wet ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl (whisk well). Separately, combine the dry ingredients. Mix them together, whisking until mostly combined (fine if there are a few lumps!). You can add a little more milk/buttermilk if the mixture is too thick. You can add in the blueberries directly to the batter now, or add them to each pancake individually. Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat, add a little butter or cooking spray, and cook the pancakes on one side until you see bubbles on the top. Flip, cook another minute or two, then remove. Repeat! Adjust the heat as necessary. Enjoy with syrup, yoghurt, honey, whatever you like to put on your pancakes!
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for reading this far, we hope you enjoyed the post. It’s nothing revolutionary, but hopefully you have similar hobbies and could gain something from reading today’s post. Let us know in the comments what you’ve been loving, whether it’s an activity, a product, or a recipe!
