Revisited

The blog is back up (you're reading it!)  Twitter, however, is going down.  The issues I blogged about over a year ago are still there, and I've realised that part of the problem is that it's really easy to be negative in 140 characters.  It's not enough to properly big someone up, but it is enough to vent, which makes the whole damn thing depressing.

So - there is a new rule.  Inspired by Mark Manson, if I can be arsed to sit down long enough to pen a thoughtful blog post on an aggravating topic, I can bitch about it here.  Otherwise, no go.  (And if it's still too bloody depressing, I'll stick it in the Oubliette - see menu to the right.)

Now, I could dedicate my purified Twitter account to unicorns and rainbows and kittens and fluffy bunnies but, frankly, it's a big enough time sink as it is.  And that's the second reason - really the main one - why Twitter is going down: it's a horrific time sink.  A "what the feck have I done for the last four hours and how did it get to be 3am?!" kind of time sink.  This would be bad enough if it were only a procrastination tool, but there are actually things I want to get done now: exams I need to pass, language stuff I want to study, a garden I want to develop.  We still need to properly move into this house, and we've been living here over two years.

I'm not going entirely cold turkey; Twitter is useful for fast communication, and there are things I would have missed, information-wise, in the last couple of years had I not been on it.  So the work account (@southbridgeit) stays open; but I'm going to regulate my access pretty strictly.  For those people who have blogs, I'll probably touch base there; otherwise DM on Twitter, otherwise I may miss you (I'll have it set so DMs come straight through on e-mail.)

Mug cake

Best mug cake recipe so far - it still needs tweaking though, as it's a bit too moist, and inclined to mash to a lump under the pressure of the spoon.  Needs a little less liquid. 

4 tbsp self-raising flour
1 tbsp oil
2.5 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp milk
1 tsp (!) of vanilla extract

It may be cheaper to use vanilla sugar.  The extract is expensive.
(Must try a chocolate version of this - I'm thinking 4 of flour, 2 of cocoa, 3 or 4 of sugar, leave out the vanilla but add 1/4 tsp cinnamon, but more experimentation required.)

You'll notice there is no egg.  This is not a mis-print.  Leaving out the egg removes the rubbery sponginess that often results if the cake is over-cooked.  (I'm not sure if this was an innovation by Julie at Table for Two, but that was where I first saw an eggless mug cake so she gets the props for it.)

Mix all together, transfer to a large, greased cup, and cook on high power for 90 seconds.
(Our microwave is 800W, your mileage (and cake) may vary.)  Get it out of the cup and into a bowl ASAP so that steam can evaporate from it and not condense and make it soggy.