Baking and drawing to keep the cold at bay

There is no doubt that winter is coming. Although today isn't too cold, the last few days have featured a bitter wind which was quite a shock when I ventured out on Monday morning. I was actually a little annoyed, as I always like an excuse to wear a coat, but not realising how much the temperature had dropped, I was forced to shiver in my definitely-at-its-best-in-warmer-weather trench coat. Still, I won't be caught out again: soon I'll be living in coats 24/7, which is a rather exciting prospect. Despite seeming to feel the cold more than the average person, I think I am at heart a winter baby. Give me an open fire, something hot in the oven and a project to keep my hands occupied, and I'm happy.

Sadly the open fire will have to wait a few years: our flat boasts two fireplaces, but neither of them is functioning and our landlord has expressly told us not to attempt to light a fire in either of them.

As to hot things in ovens, my latest attempt to get better at baking was this banana and chocolate loaf.

It's a Nigel Slater recipe (available here - I followed it pretty much to the letter, except I omitted the hazelnuts as I didn't have any) and not only did it take care of the past their best bananas in the fruit bowl, it was always pretty good, and just what I wanted at the time. I like cakes with fruit in as it keeps them moist and they seem to last a bit longer than a usual sponge. The chocolate was a good addition too, I used half a bar of dark chocolate and cut it up into little chunks. Best of all though, I made two and the other one is sitting in the freezer ready for another day when I fancy a slice of cake with my tea (not sure how well cake freezes, but I'm sure it'll be fine, right?)

And for a project, I've done a few more drawings recently, trying to add to my creatures wall which is growing on the chimney breast opposite my bed. I don't know what it is exactly, but I find these simple black biro drawings so satisfying both to draw and to look at. Here's the latest addition:

Song of the day: 'Loose Ends' - Imogen Heap