making oatcakes ready to eat in half an hour to forty minutes

 I made oatcakes today, and this is how I made 'em:-

Ingredients:-

500g rolled oats

4 tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed oil (or canola for non-Brits)

Large pinch of salt

Scant tbsp of chia seeds

Water at will

Method:-

Put most of the oats in a mixing bowl.  Add salt and chia seeds, mix well.

Stir in the rapeseed oil well.

Add a large splash of water and mix: you should get a rather wet dough that sticks together quite well.  If it is still too dry to stick together then add more water as needed.  If it is a little too wet then add some of the retained oats.

This procedure produces a dough that would be wet and sticky enough to be a real nuisance to roll out.  So I don't!  Instead I oil a walled baking tin, tip the dough into it and tamp it down hard with my palms and fists, working it into the corners.  If you want a flatter surface then you can use the flat surface of e.g. a jamjar or dish, or a spatula, to produce a prettier end result.

When smoothed out and flattened, I use a blunt knife to criss-cross the dough into individual slices.

Put into a hot oven, 220 degrees Celsius, check every ten minutes until nicely browned (about 25-30 minutes.)  Delishush!!!

funeral baked meats

 What to eat on the day of a funeral:

As little as possible, if your tum is playing up.  Barring that, vast quantities of black tea (oh dear.)  And a glass of white wine before the service.

My auntie died a couple of weeks back, and this was the plan.  I also grazed off the buffet at the wake afterwards: sandwiches (hello gluten), sausage rolls, mini-quiches.  Bereavement is not truly the time to be considering food sensitivities.

When I got home, I downed a bottle of wine, and bashed my little toe quite extensively.  The bruising in the days following has been spectacular.