Bryony Bakes: Tanya Burr’s Iced Spiced Scones

Other

At Christmas time I love to bake with my mum. Filling the kitchen with all smells that scream the Christmas Season from the smells of cinnamon to dried orange.

This year I tried out a new recipe from Tanya Burr’s new book TANYA’S Christmas. I loved how these scones turned out, however I put my own twist on the recipe so I thought I would share it with you.

    Makes 12 Small Scones/ 8 Big Scones  if you would like quite big scones you will need 5cm round pastry cutter  Cooking Time 15 Minutes

Ingredients

250g self-raising flour ,plus extra for dusting

1tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

lemon zest or orange zest

40g unsalted butter softened

30g golden caster sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

125ml milk, plus extra for brushing

For the glaze:

3-4 tbsp lemon juice

150g icing sugar , sifted

Method

Preheat the oven to 200*C / 400 F / Gas Mark 6. Then line a baking tray with baking paper.
Combine the flour, baking powder,spices and lemon or orange zest in a bowl. Add the butter, using your fingertips work the butter into the flour until the mixture has a crumbly texture. Then stir in the sugar.
Add the lightly beaten egg into the flour mixture then add the milk; little by little not all at once. You might not need to add all the milk. You just need enough for your dough to be soft and sticky.
Dust your work surface with a little bit of flour. Put the dough out onto the floured surface. Using your hands pat it into a nice flat disc shape. Roll it gentle a few times to flattered it to a thickness of 2-3 cm.
Using your pastry cutter; cut out your circles and place them on the baking tray. Repeat this making sure when you need to bring the dough back together you knead it lightly, before patting it into a disc to cut out more circles.
Brush the tops of each scone with milk and pop into the oven for about 10-12 minutes or until the tops of the scones are golden.
Whilst the scones bake, prepare the glaze by stirring the lemon juice into the icing sugar a little at a time until you have a smooth runny mixture. You could add lemon or orange zest into the glaze.
Remove the scones from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely . Pour the smooth runny glaze over the tops and allow them to set. You could just enjoy them whilst the glaze just put on them.
Enjoy!

Bryony Bakes: Christmas Spiced Brownie Cake

Other

Ingredients

150g Dark Chocolate, roughly chopped.

150g Unsalted Butter.

3 Large Eggs.

125g Caster Sugar.

1tsp Vanilla Extract.

Zest of 1 Clementine.

1 tbsp Orange Juice.

3 tbsp Red Wine.

1/4 tsp Ground Mixed Spices.

100g Plain Flour.

1/4 tsp Baking Powder.

For The Decoration.

A Couple Of Rows Of White Chocolate From The Chocolate Bar.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180*C, Fan160*C, Gas 4 and line the base of a round 24cm-diameter springform tin.

2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a saucepan of gentle simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. You could gently melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave at a low setting; stir until smooth. Remove from the heat and let it cool for 20 minutes.

3. In a large bowl whisk the eggs , caster sugar and vanilla extract. Then add in the clementine zest , orange juice , red wine and ground mixed spice whisk till just combined. In a separate bowl sift the flour and baking powder. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture into the beaten eggs and mix until combined and smooth. Then fold in the flour mixture until combined making sure no flour is visible.

4. Pour the mixture into the lined tin. Transfer to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until set on top but still a little bit gooey inside. Leave to cool in the tin.

5. Whilst the cake is cooling, melt the white chocolate on a low heat in the microwave for about a minute and a half. Once melted stir the chocolate to help get rid of any lumps. Once the cake is completely cooled, take the cake out of the tin and drizzled the white chocolate all over the top of the cake.

6. Enjoy!

Creativity And Mental Health

mental health

I have always loved being creative, I have found that doing creative activities helps me to express, understand and process my thoughts, feelings and emotions.

Creativity plays a big part of my mental health recovery journey in lots of different ways. Here are just a few ways creative activities help me with my mental health.

I used to go to a Mental Health Recovery College. Here I did group workshops on creative activities such as glass painting, pottery and scrapbooking. I enjoyed doing these as I was able to express myself. I felt safe as I knew others would understand if my day wasn’t going so well. By doing creative activities I was able to let go of my worries for a bit. I could just have some fun and feel like my life wasn’t just about going to doctor’s appointments all the time.

One of the things I love about doing something creativity is there is no right or wrong. It helps me to try and relax , sometimes it relaxes me so much I feel I can start to tell people how I actually feel I have found it has also helped me to develop my trust in others.

To begin with I found pottery very difficult but as time went on I found I started to like it more and more. It helped me to ground myself as I was really had to work with the clay in my hands. I found doing the pottery very tactical this helped me to stay in the here and now.

I enjoyed using different tools such as a garlic press to add texture to my work. I now find that having different textures in the pottery is useful when having to really focus on the here and now. As I touch different textures on the pottery such as smooth and rough indents in the pottery.

I love doing scrapbooking I did do a little bit as a child. I enjoy having a book that I have made using lots of different photos and pictures I like. I enjoy building up on the pages by adding things like ribbon, stickers and wrapping paper to name a few. When I am sad I find looking at my scrapbook a good resource to use as it helps me get a smile on my face. It’s really lovely to have photos in my scrapbook too as this reminds me of many happy memories.

Printing is another thing I like to do sometimes I might use a print I have done as a background and build on top of it. Sometimes I may layer prints on top of other work. I may use paint; ink, stamps, feathers and bubble wrap to make different patterns and marks.

I have done some decoupaging on glass. Here I have used an old glass and covered it in a light pink and orange glass paint. I have a few layers of paint dabbed on using a sponge to build up the colour. I have then stuck lace to the glass and covered the lace in paint. I have then added beads and hessian material to the glass rim.

On this glass I have put strips of pink, red and orange tissue paper all over the glass. I have then added pink powder around the rim of the glass I put pink ribbon on the glass too. I find these make lovely presents to give to someone. You could put a little fake tea light or fairy lights in the glass too and see the glass all lit up!

I would love to know what creative things you like doing. You could leave a comment or send me a message on Instagram.

Don’t Judge A Book By It’s Cover

disability

On the 3rd December 2018 it is International Day of People with Disabilities. So I thought I would do a blog post on a few of the discrimination and ignorance’s I have faced or even face on a daily basis.

I have Cerebral Palsy Right Hemiplegia I was diagnosed with this condition when I was in year 2 of Primary School. I have had many years of comments said to me as well as opinions about my disability. I am 20 now and I can honestly say the comments haven’t really stopped and it is from people of all ages.

Don’t get me wrong I really don’t mind people asking me questions about my disability, But I’d rather people asked me when stare at me for a while and try and work out what’s “wrong with me”.

Often when I go out to the shops people see the driver park in a disabled car parking space. I put my blue badge out get out of the car, and that’s when I get the looks and then the comments. ” That’s a disabled spot let a disabled person have that space ” or maybe another disabled person wants to park in the disabled parking spot I am in and that’s when I get told to move. I have had on quite a few occasions people walk to the car and check I have a blue badge. I remember I used to have a helper at college and we went out into the community I said I had a blue badge and they said “how come you have one but some of the students with walking aids don’t “.

When I am out in public and I need to go to the bathroom sometimes I will use the disabled toilet. This could be because I need more space and sometimes my walking can go a bit funny as my legs can shake, so I find this toilet easier and safer to get too as it can be closer too. However when I sometimes come out of the bathroom people look at me and I just know what they are thinking. Once this lady in a wheelchair got so angry I did try and tell her about my condition and that I was disabled but she just said ” excuses excuses young people today are lazy and have no respect “.

Yes I can walk but I did at secondary school and college use a wheelchair as I was having lots of non- epileptic seizures. It was decided that it would be safer and better for me to use my wheelchair as my seizures made me very tired and my balance anyway is not very good due to my disability. I do use my wheelchair if I go on trips out for example around a museum which I know I will have long walking distances. This is because my legs get extremely tired and I could just fall to the floor.

I get this said to me quite a bit especially when other disabled parents ask me do you go to this group or that group. I might say I hope to see my friends soon or I might see some at Stagecoach at the weekend. They then want to know what social group I met them at. They then want to know what conditions they have and when I say they are able bodied the parents looked quite surprised! I do have friends who also have disabilities but I also have friends who are able bodied.

Being Disabled I have found it harder to get onto college courses. Before I talk about my disability things seem to be going ok but once it’s mentioned it suddenly goes the other way. For example a tutor knew I was disabled and was willing to have me on their course. I am normally allowed to have extra time, a reader etc in tests or exams. In this course I would have to do exams practical and written in each of the units I would be taught. However the exam board would not allow me to have extra time ect so I could not do the course. I have found it very hard to get onto lots of courses due to the way others see my disability.

I want others to know that not all disabilities are visible ! Our disabilities do not define us and we are more than the labels society gives us ! In fact that having a disability is probably not the most interesting thing about me!

This amazing artwork is done by the very talented Solanna. Checkout other fabulous artwork on Instagram @spoonfulsofkinddness.

Animal Care Volunteer: Down On The Farm

life

Through my love of animals which started when I was little as well as how animals have helped me with my mental health. I decided I wanted to do volunteering with animals.

I now volunteer once a week at a farm as an Animal Care Volunteer. The farm I go to has lots of different types of animals. From Alpacas, Goats and Llamas to Guinea pigs, Hamsters, Rats and Rabbits to name a few. We also sometimes get to look after reptiles such as snakes, geckos and skinks.

Well Hello.

The farm works with children, young people and adults to build up their confidence and self-esteem through working to care for a variety of animals. Children and young people who come here maybe home educated, have mental health conditions or found mainstream school hard to name a few.

When I was looking at different places I could volunteer at this place taught my eye as they had worked with other young people with mental health conditions. I thought this place would be fantastic as we get to work with animals in a more therapeutic environment. I felt that I could help give back to other young people and show them how much joy animals can bring into your life and help you to be more positive. Animals don’t just help them to forget about difficult things but sometimes helps them to process things as the animals are making them feel relaxed and safe.

Throughout the day on the farm I do a number of different tasks to care for all the animals on the farm. Here are some of the tasks I do.

Cleaning out hutches,cages and fields. I put down fresh hay in all the animals hutches, cages and shelters. Giving all the animals fresh water in their water bottles and bowls and topping them up regularly throughout the day.

Mucking out the ponies field.

Refilling the rabbits water bottles.

Sometimes I groom the goats, ponies and the dog. We also take the goats and ponies out of their main field and take them for walks around the farm so that they have new things to explore and they love it !, The goats love to try and eat the leaves too.

I help to prepare all the animals food as well as giving it to them when it is feeding time.

Grating carrots to put into the rabbits food.

Dinner time for the rabbits.

Feeding Obama the Llama.

More Please?

Finally a big thing we try to do is do as much animal handling as possible this is not just because the animals need to have human interaction but sometimes children and young people come to the farm to do animal handling sessions here the children and young people learn all about the animals.

I absolutely love volunteering on the farm and would highly recommend volunteering not only is it good to put on your CV but you get to learn new things about yourself. You get to see if you prefer learning through doing or more sitting down and writing.

If you are aged between 14-25 you can log your hours of volunteering you do on the website : http://www.vinspired.com , by doing this you will get certificates for the number of hours you do . You can show these certificates in any interviews you may have from college course interviews to internships, work experience placements and jobs.

.

Photography & Mental Health

mental health

Over the past couple of months I have really got into photography, I have found that it is helping me to manage my mental health.

Doing photography helps me to not only be creative but to help me to really ground myself and bring me back to the here and now.

Photography is a very useful tool for me to use when doing my grounding technique I learnt in therapy.

The Technique

5. Name 5 things you can see right now

4. Name 4 things you can hear right now

3. Name 3 things you can touch right now

2. Name 2 things you can smell right now

1. Now take a slow deep and breathe

I love doing nature and animal photography as I have to really look at what is around me and try and see how and what it could look being photographed in different ways. I especially like taking photos in autumn as the leaves are all changing colour I like how the light shines through the leaves and can cast shadows on the trees. I enjoy experimenting with trying to get photos of the raindrops on the leaves and grass.

Raindrops On A Fallen Leaf.

Raindrops On A Blade Of Grass.

Light Coming Through The Leaves.

Taking photos of wildlife has helped me to look at detail and to take my time when looking and not to rush but be quick enough to capture the shot I want.

I really enjoy taking photos whilst on walks with my dog, by doing photography I can now see things I wouldn’t normally see for example the light shining on some leaves or some fungi growing on some wood. This helps me to stay in the present and try not to dissociative.

Pheasant In The Garden.

Visiting Bumblebee.

Wild Deer In The Garden.

The great thing about doing photography is that I can do it where ever I am because I don’t have to just do it on a traditional camera I can do it on my phone or iPad.

Doing photography has also helped me to express myself too as I can do my own photography projects on different topics. By doing photography I can express and understand my emotions in a creative way instead of keeping my thoughts and feelings inside.

Lambrusco RDA Horse of the Year 2018

Riding for the Disabled Association

Lambrusco was one of the very first horses I ever did a horse riding lesson on. I remember the first time I got on him and I could really feel the difference of how high up I was on him compared to the lovely ponies I had been riding before. I was very excited to ride him because I found out that he was a Paralympic horse he went to Beijing with Paralympian Sophie Christiansen.

As the lessons went on I began to forget about how high up I felt and started to fall in love with his kind, caring sweet nature. I have done a couple of Countryside Challenge Competitions with him. Recently Lambrusco and I did a demonstration of The Countryside Challenge Course.

Here is a video of Lambrusco and I doing the demonstration .

Over the years Lambrusco has helped me to build up my confidence and self -esteem. Through doing activities such as doing activities not using the reins or changing the rein and doing 20 metre circles in my lessons which I found tricky the achievements I would have in my lessons would help me to forget about the difficult things going on during the past week.

I sometimes call Lambrusco the big friendly giant or an old teddy bear or old wise man just because of his friendly, calm and inquisitive manner.

I’m so pleased that Lambrusco won this award this year, very well deserved!

I know Lambrusco has helped so many other riders and will continue to do so; he is definitely one very special horse!

A Dog Like No Other

life

Throughout my childhood I remember always asking my parents if we could get a dog. My family and I would go to local dog shows and ask people all about their dogs breed and what sort of care they needed. I loved stroking and fussing over the dogs watching them do agility competitions to dogs and their owners winning competitions like what owner and dog look most alike ? . We would also speak to the people at the stalls from rescue charities such as the RSPCA and the Dogs Trust.

Back in 2010 my family and I were out walking when these two whippets came up to us to say hello. We spoke to the owners the dogs were so calm. My mum asked the owners what breed the dogs were. When they said whippets, my mum suddenly remembered the breed. We were looking at what breeds we could have because we have two pet cats and because of my disability we needed to get a gentle calm dog. We looked at Greyhounds, Lurches, Staffordshire Bull Terriers. We did so much research talking to dog owners, talking to friends, talking to animal charities, researching on the internet to reading books.

Once my family and I knew that a whippet was what we wanted my mum started to tell a friend who had lots of experience with dogs that we finally came to a decision that we wanted was to adopt a whippet.

We were very lucky because soon after my mum had said we wanted to adopt a whippet our friend said a whippet had just come in to our local RSPCA Rescue Shelter.

My parents went to see the dog first but didn’t tell my sister and I as they didn’t want to get our hopes up. Turns out the day they were going to see the dog my sister was sick and couldn’t go to school so she ended up seeing the dog as well. After school my sister and parents told me all about it and showed me photos. I was jumping around the room with joy !

I remember the first time I saw him looking into this big brown eyes with them staring back at me and his big chocolate button nose. When we took him out for walks people would comment and say how lovely he looked thinking he was a girl, we still often get people thinking he’s a girl now . I remember I got worried as I thought someone else might adopt him but the RSPCA told us we were the only people looking at adopting him.

The day we brought him home was the day after my birthday so I always joke and say he was a birthday present, we decided to call him Ziggy.

I don’t know how I ever lived without him now I know that sounds silly. He’s helped me so much throughout the years. When I was getting bullied at school I’d come back home crying and talk to him about it for ages. He has also helped me through my mental health problems. He knows now when I’m about to have a seizure and he stays by my side till it stops.

He’s just one in a million now I understand the saying a dog is a man’s best friend well a woman’s in my case!

The cats are still in charge and try to steal his food daily

You can follow Ziggy on Instagram @ziggy.the.whippet

My Experience Volunteering With My Local Library

life

From May till the end of August 2018, I have been volunteering at my local library once a week. I thought I would write about my experience volunteering there.

I have been going to libraries for years all the way through my childhood. To me there’s something special about finding a book on a bookshelf and every time you go you find something else… bit like treasure hunting I guess.

Before I started volunteering there I was so excited to see what it was like to work there compared to using the service.

By volunteering at the library I got more of an understanding of how the place is run from how the books are organised to finding books people have reserved and making sure that those books go to the right library.

By volunteering once a week I got to develop my design skills. I made posters and book displays for the library. I made a book sale sign and did the book sale display.

I sometimes helped to make posters telling people about upcoming activities the library was having for example Story Time Morning.

By volunteering at the library I used my IT skills quite a bit from designing to putting new books into the libraries computer system.

I priced books the library had for sale I found this very interesting because I got an understanding of how they do fundraising for themselves. They also have cake sales too.

I enjoy talking to parents who came in with their children as I could give book recommendations.

All in all I loved volunteering at the library and I would recommend it to anyone who loves books or talking to children and their parents.

Film Review : The Greatest Showman

Other

The Greatest Showman is a film inspired on the life of P.T. Barnum.

The film starts with showing you flashbacks to Barnum’s childhood and how he met his now wife Charity. Barnum (played by Hugh Jackman )and Charity played by (Michelle Williams) came from different class backgrounds he was a tailor’s son. His father was working for Charity’s father. Though the two are separated as Charity is being sent away for school the two of them write to each other. They then meet again when they are adults, get married and have two children. Charity is very happy with the life she has with her husband even though it is very different from her childhood home but her husband dreams of more and wants to give her a life he promised her. When Barnum loses his job at a shipping company because the company goes bankrupt. He takes out a loan to buy a museum which is full of wax models. Every few people are coming to the museum and sales are slow, so when his daughters say show something that is alive this gives him an idea to look for ”freaks” to be performers at his museum. Barnum then wants to get a bigger audience in the upper class so he meets Phillip Carlyle (played by Zac Efron) and persuades him to join his business. And the magic begins to start!

I absolutely love this film and highly recommend it, the first time I saw this film was in the cinema. Having the film played on such a big screen somehow made it more exciting, watching it at home on my TV is great too.

One of the main reasons I love this film is because it celebrates that we are all different and that’s what makes this world such a brilliant place. It celebrates the fact everyone’s individuality makes them not like anyone else. I think the film challenges what is society’s definition of the word beautiful.

The songs and dances in the film made me want to get up and dance. I felt at points I wasn’t watching it but part of it.

I felt that throughout the film I connected with the actors who had roles as the performers. This was because when I was at school I felt like a freak, didn’t really fit in and got bullied because of my disability and other things. I relate to the character Lettie Lutz played by (Keala Settle) the most, this was because she was playing a women with a beard and I have facial hair and when I didn’t get rid of it I would be bullied and made to feel so ugly.

The songs throughout the film were brilliant and very catchy. My favourite song however was called This Is Me. Not only was it sang so beautifully with so much feeling but the words just made me feel that I am not alone, or a freak and to be proud of who I am.

The costumes, hair and makeup all looked wonderful as well.

It was The Greatest Show I’ve seen with such a beautiful and powerful message. This film is now one of my all- time favourites!