The return to the kitchen

So, five months ago we moved to China to work on a startup. It was great, it was intense, it was an experience. I've now entered the tech world, something I have never been a part of or in all honesty taken a particular interest in prior to this. Now however, it has become my life. Anyone who has been part of a startup of any kind will understand how much of your life and time becomes immersed in this exciting but frankly quite strange world. All of a sudden the talk of VC's, seed rounds, the valley, viral content, traction, internet of things, API, early adopters and this elusive cloud are part of everyday conversations surrounding me; a couple even managing to sneak into my own speak. This now means for the time being, the kitchen is no longer my work place so this blog has become my escape from the maddening world of open source, components, growth hacking and 'ninjas' in varying fields of engineering.

China really was a great experience, their food and eating culture is so different to what we were used to here in England which was wonderful to be able to experience. Steamed buns, kumquat lemon teas, pak choi, noodles, rice and of course the odd eye ball and chickens foot (neither of which I could bring myself to indulge in. That was more Rich's territory). A downside to our life out there though was the lack of a working kitchen. This meant four months of no cooking and no baking. This was actually one of the parts we found most difficult. So today, as it was a bank holiday and a week since arriving back on home turf I had my first bake in 5 months. It was simple but truly scrumptious.

Enjoy these with a simple breakfast tea and your favourite book :)

Raisin and oat cookies

Ingredients:

200g plain wholemeal flour
100g rolled oats
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp corn flour (starch)
170g butter
150g brown sugar
100g golden granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2sp vanilla

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C

2. Brown the butter by melting it in a pan and stirring on a medium to low heat for about 10 minutes. It will start to froth on the top and develop a caramel colour and smell, then leave it to cool. This process gives the cookies a scrummy, deep, caramel like flavour.

3. Mix all the dry ingredients together.

4. Once the butter has cooled, mix in the sugars, egg, egg yolk and vanilla.

5. .Stir in the dry ingredients and add a couple of handfuls of raisins. You could also throw in some figs, dates or prunes if you would prefer.

6. Pull all the dough together and flatten slightly into a disk. Wrap the disk in clingfilm and pop in the fridge for 2-3 hours or overnight. This helps the flavours intensify but if you're in a rush it can be skipped.

7. Once the dough is out of the fridge, leave to warm up slightly then roll into balls, flatten only very slightly with a couple of fingers and pop on your baking tray.

8. Put them in the oven and leave for 12 minutes.

What have you done with your bank holiday? Any lovely kitchen antics?

Lizzie x