Playing Solitaire

First of all, let me announce that we I've reached the 200th post. As I haven't celebrated the first birthday of the blog, nor the 100th post, at least let's cheer for this one.
As I have mentioned several times, I've been spending a lot of time alone since I quit one of my jobs. Mostly during the day I am home alone. Last week I did the washing about 6 times. In addition, I do the washing up, occasionally write lesson plans, cook something, but mostly just idle around, which means posting here, or reading a book, or as a last option watch TV (mostly BBC). I also try to do a bit of exercise with the help of my aerobics DVD, and practice with the oboe. Today I started to feel lonely and depressed, and didn't feel like doing anything. I pondered watching a DVD, but realized it'd just be even more depressing on my own.
Then I decided to bake something, as that's what I always do when I'm down. Luckily, there were all the ingredients needed for my favorite brownie, taken from my soulmate blogger, who in turn had taken it from somewhere else. It is really easy to make and tastes wonderful, especially as she'd rewritten the original recipe, changing the sugar-cocoa ratio. As I was making it, I was listening to my Nina Simone compilation CD, which is the best music for baking, based on my experience so far. I am of the traditional belief according to which my mood positively correlates with the outcome of the food I'm preparing, and Nina Simone has time and again proved to put me in the right mood for doing wonders. As I said, this brownie recipe is not complicated at all, but I always try to vary it a bit. This time I mixed in some chopped almonds and the juice of a half orange. For seasoning I added a teaspoon of cinnamon, half a coffee spoon of ground ginger, and a coffee spoon of mashed chili. I tasted it when it was still hot, but the orange juice was totally undetectable.

Extremely black brownies

This year I didn't bother much with Easter, but I made a nice and easy Czech-style milk loaf (kalács), taken from the Chili & Vanilia blog run by Zsófi Mautner. I didn't have candied orange peels, so I used chopped almonds, sultanas, and dried cranberries as filling. I think it turned out nice, though it tasted a bit salty to me, but it was good even on the third day.

Húsvéti kalács (Easter milk loaf)

Recently I've developed an addiction to cheese rolls (sajtos roló), which means I buy some every week or if I'm lucky my boyfriend surprises me with some. Luckily, yesterday I got the recipe from a friend, so I just cannot wait to try it. Another recipe I'm planning to try is for brownies with orangey mascarpone cream, which I sampled on Sunday, when we had lunch at my would-be mother-in-law's. Actually, I'd be glad if I would be remembered for my recpies, and probably even have an album, just like Mirabelle Dartigen in Five Quarters of the Orange.

All right, that's it for today. I think if I had to choose a book to bring with me to a desert island I'd pick a cook book. Of course there would be no point in it except to torture myself reading it while eating roots and sprouts.

P.S. Own pictures. Song title taken from Nina Simone. And if you want to listen to something very nice, I recommend the soundtrack for The English Patient by Gabriel Yared. It is full of nice clarinet and oboe runs.
P.P.S. My boyfriend has the Herodotus book the patient keeps reading, so I'll soon have the possibility to read it, as a follow up of my mania.