A good idea for fruit if you happen to find you have too much at harvest time, you find a deal, or you just want to make some tasty snacks which last a bit longer than just resh fruit.
I decided to try and make two at the same time, having completely failed on my first attempt at just trying one. But I realise I spread the mixture too thinly and left it drying out too long, so made it much thicker this time. And read a couple of other recipes to make sure I really did understand the process, which is simple, but clearly still room to screw up!
First one – Strawberry and Apple – put however much you want into a blender, I used half an apple, and a good handful and a hald of strawberries. A squeeze of lemon and then blend it until smooth. I didn’t bother weighing anything for this, just winging it.
Second one – Blueberry and Apple – again half an apple, and about two handfuls of blueberries at least, and a small squeeze of lemon. I also threw in two raspberries and a strawberry to help it liquify. Then completely blend.
The pectin in the apple helps it to go jammy, but you can just use lemon juice if needed, apple isn’t required if you just want one fruit flavour. And you can add sugar if you want, or honey is you like a bit of extra sweetness.
Put the fruit smoothie in a pan, and heat for around 10 minutes until it goes jammy. Stir frequently and you’ll see when it starts to get thicker, but it’s when it just starts to stick to the bottom of the pan and need scraping that I would say it was ready.
Then pour onto baking paper or a silicon tray, and smooth into a rectangle of similar thickness throughout.
Put in the over on 80 degrees for around 3-4 hours, you’ll have to judge when done by touching and if it isn’t sticky, and it stays together when you start to peel it off. Then remove and cut into strips using scissors, and roll into strips keeping the baking paper on as it then acts as a wrapper (I got fresh paper put as the one used was a bit soggy). Put in an airtight container in the fridge and they last for a few weeks apparently. Although I’m sure they won’t last that long!
A concept that most people (apparently 98%) may find quite far removed from their ordinary thought process. How many times have you heard a sentence start with or have said yourself ‘now imagine’… Well, some people can’t. Literally.
A difference in ability only ‘discovered’ or noticed in 1880, by academic all-rounder Sir Francis Galton, but not named or studied further in much detail until 2015 when it became Aphantasia. A literal translation from the Greek meaning, lack of fantasy. (A = lack of, Phantasia = Fantasy).
Which in itself it’s a bit of a misnomer, it is not a lack of fantasy or imagination, but a lack of visual imagery.
I personally had not heard of this until 2 years ago, when we discovered my husband has it. Before this, we had what I thought were general communication issues, despite spending most of our time together and talking frequently about a range of subjects. I couldn’t work out where the differences in opinions and thought processes were coming from as they seemed quite illogical to me, and he is not illogical, so I knew there was something else. At first I thought it was me, I questioned myself and my brain about what and why and I couldn’t see it. I am fascinated by thought processes and how they impact our lives and actions and make us who we are, so wouldn’t leave this one alone.
The main point of issue seemed to be for me, the fact that I read and write fiction and him not thinking it had any relevant place in society. I wanted to know why, really know how someone could think this of something I felt was so fundamentally necessary. It took many hours over a number of days for me to finally ask the right questions (trying not to make him feel like a test subject), coming to the conclusion of what was going on. I put forward the concept he had not considered or realised. I explained that when I read a book, my brain makes pictures up to accompany the words. Or that I can replay movies I have seen mostly if seen enough times.
“You see pictures in your head! That sounds like witchcraft to me. I can’t think of anything more alien”
And we had it. We had found the difference that explained why he thought fiction was pointless. But that was the tip of iceberg really of what was meant to be a simple explanation of why he didn’t see things the way I did. With a little bit of internet research I found the name. Aphantasia. That didn’t make it easier it turned out. I felt guilt at finding this out, of having to explain to someone why they were different, how they were different and try and support how they were feeling, when I couldn’t possibly understand. But it started to make sense. Enjoyment from fictional books that required you to imagine and picture the scene, are completely lost on him.
We did see the world differently, not just from a personal perspective, but with separate realities too. That might sound a bit dramatic, but it was and still is. Mine possibly not even entirely reality when I gave it more thought. I had always been so sure of my way of thinking, it bought into question for me, the reliability of a brain that can conjure images, pretend at will and change visual memories. Could non-aphantasiac people be trusted at all? My husband asked me one question when I confirmed it is believed most people ‘see images’ in their head. “So when people are driving, sometimes they aren’t thinking about driving and are imagining other stuff? That’s terrifying”.
And it is really.
But changing the way I think about things has helped, I didn’t expect him to as he isn’t wrong in the way he thinks, but neither am I. But I can imagine what it’s like to not imagine – it’s as close as I can get but I see the irony. What I previously saw as difficult behaviour by my standard, wasn’t when I saw it from his standard. That’s where our realities will always be different, and always were, but with a new twist now.
He is better at directions and orientation, his memory is more accurate than mine, he learns quickly, he is focused. But on the downside, he gets frustrated easily, he can’t ‘picture’ me if I am not in the room. There are pros and cons to each thought process, as there usually is with any situation or way of being to a person trying to navigate their way through life.
But while we as a species continue to study memory, thought, ideas and who we are as people, it was inevitable to me we would find variations. I just didn’t realise what societal implications those variations would have, on both sides. There is a much broader issue here compared to what I first believed.
I was surprised at how easy it is to make popcorn at home! I kind of always thought you needed a microwave, and a packet bought from the shops. Not so. And now I’m hooked.
Buy a bag of corn, there is a specific type for popcorn, but you get a lot for what you get out of it.
Butter in pan (homemade butter in this case and probably about 1-2 tablespoons worth), put the corn in as well and cover all the corns with the butter as it melts. Add a bit of salt, and cover on a low heat. Then within about 5 minutes it starts popping away. Turn off when you think they are mostly done, and wait a couple more minutes to remove the lid.
You can also then make your own caramel if you want sweet popcorn. Put some sugar in the pan and wait for it to caramelise (don’t stir it). Once it’s caramelised, turn off heat and tip in the popcorn and toss until coated. Then set aside to cool.
MKW Publishing 