Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2013

Another year has come to an end. We are all looking forward to some time spent at home or at a holiday resort. We are eager to break from duty and obligations so that we can indulge in good company, some reading, a lot of great food and even better parties.

Here at LCTIDIOMAS, we are also looking forward to seeing you again, happy and restored, when everything comes back to normal. When we come back home.

Thank you for being there and for coming back. Merry Christmas.

And see you next year!

Jam Filled Butter Biscuits

This week, everyone here got stuffed with these delicious and super easy thumbprint biscuits. They ran out really quickly, so you’d better bake two or three batches ;o)

Ingredients:

• 170 g butter, softened
• 100 g white sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 220 g all-purpose flour
• 160 g fruit preserves, any flavour (though it works better with black currant o cherry)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and egg yolks. Mix in flour a little bit at a time until a soft dough forms. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. If dough is too soft, refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes. Place balls 2 inches apart onto ungreased biscuit sheets. Use your finger or an instrument or similar size to make a well in the center of each biscuit. Fill the hole with 1/2 teaspoon of preserves.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on the bottom. Remove from biscuit sheets to cool on wire racks.

Make sure not to overfill them with jam, the biscuits may overflow onto the biscuit sheet. Make the hole deep enough to actually hold some jam.

Merry Christmas and have fun!

Christmas Recipes

Make this Christmas more personal by cooking your own recipes and making food gifts to give your loved ones. Today we start with a special recipe for biscuits. And it’s dedicated to a special fan of this blog. You know who you are ;o)

Ready to bake some star-shaped biscuits?

FESTIVE JAMMIE DODGERS

(source: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/)

Ingredients:

• 225 g unsalted butter, softened
• 100 g caster sugar
• 200 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 100 g ground almonds
• 100 g strawberry o raspberry jam

Method:

1. Put the butter, sugar, flour and almonds into a food processor and whizz until the mixture just comes together and forms a ball. If making by hand, first beat together the butter and sugar, then add the flour and ground almonds. Wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for at least 1 hr.
2. Remove the dough from the fridge and knead until it is soft enough to shape and roll. Divide into two even-size balls. Sprinkle a little plain flour over your work surface and roll out one ball of pastry. I find it best to start the rolling myself so that it's even, then let the kids finish it off. The dough should be approximately 5mm thick. Using a star cutter (about 6cm wide) dipped in a little flour to stop it from sticking, cut out as many star shapes as you can. Then lightly knead the dough trimmings together and roll out again. Keep going until you have about 24 stars. Carefully place the stars on a baking sheet, making sure you keep them slightly apart.
3. Roll out the second ball of dough the same way. Cut out the same-size stars and place them on a baking sheet. Now cut out a small circle in the centre of each biscuit using a small cookie cutter or the end of a large piping nozzle.
4. Heat oven to 140C/fan 120C/gas 1 and cook the biscuits for 20-30 mins until just golden. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Place a blob of jam onto the centre of the biscuits without the cut-out circle. Be generous - you want the jam to show at the edges as well as the centre. Place the top halves of the biscuits on and push down gently. These will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Do you dare cook these delicious biscuits? If you do, you might want to take into account some comments from people who have already tried this recipe. Let’s have a look at what they have to say:

• Laura Jane said: “These make great presents. You can make them in different shapes to suit the occasion. Also, I sprinkled dessicated coconut onto the jam in the hole. Found I needed to cook them for 40 minutes”.
• smj62 said: “If found these to be very sticky and hard to roll out. i am going to used slightly less butter next time. They were delicious though!”

If you finally decide to give it a try, why not send us a photo of the result? We are looking forward to seeing those yummy biscuits with our own eyes!

Be hungry. Be free.

A Mystery for Christmas

This year we are feeling a bit mysterious and mischievous. All your teachers are thinking about Christmas, family, and fun times. So they’ve thought of a way to surprise you and make you wonder.

The mystery is a game.

And the game is called `Who is Who?´

Here are some photos of your teachers when they were kids. Do you think you can match the face with the name?

Out and about, two girls sharing colours but not a name. 

She’s giggling about something, as usual

Two blonde ladies smililng the day away 

Now here is the big question: a girl or a boy?

Nothing like a hat to make you look the part.

So cute. The four of them ;o)

Now it’s your turn to try and guess where on earth your teacher is hiding in all these pictures. Wanna bet?

And each teacher will tell you a little bit about themselves when you solve the mystery. If you dare.

THIS WEEK…

We are having exams.

Pay attention to your teachers and do your best. Remember to be punctual. Good luck! ;o)

Word of the week (2)

As that lovable time when we have exams is approaching fast, I thought the new word for this week should have some kind of association with it. Actually, it’s more an idiom than a single word. Think about how you feel before an exam, then you’ll be ready for the WORD OF THE WEEK.

GET THE JITTERS

Definition: the jitters

1. noun: a feeling of extreme nervousness
2. slight, irregular movement, variation, or unsteadiness in an electrical signal or electronic device
3. as a verb: to act nervously

Pronunciation:

/ ˈdʒɪtərz /

Synonims:

Become nervous

Begin to shake

In use:

Europhiles get the jitters as anti-EU talk gains momentum.

“He gives me the jitters, that feeling you had as a child on Christmas Eve when you couldn’t sleep because you knew something exciting was going to happen tomorrow.”

In image:

So, try not to get the jitters these days and good luck with the oncoming exams.

Be calm. Be cool.

Exams are coming up

Yeap, it’s that time of the year again. We love them. We need them. We just can’t live without them. They are the substance of dreams and daydreams. Yes, we are talking of…

EXAMS

Tantalizing as it may seem, an exam is not something to be taken lightly. So, we encourage you to stay calm and think in English ;o)

Exams Timetable

Monday, 10

Tuesday, 11

Friday, 14

Marks and report

Wednesday,19

Thursday, 20

Friday, 21

Good luck, everyone! (and study!)