The first time I read about this doughnut baking pan was on a website I didn't keep track of. She was making such cute creations, pretty and yummy too. As I read I thought how clever or brave she was to make so many small doughnuts. Then... I read enough of her recipe to realize all her doughnuts were baked - not fried!

Have you ever tried making your own DIY doughnuts? I have made them with my sister. The part I don't like is the pan full of hot oil. It's dangerous. I do still have the doughnut cutters we used. They have sentimental value more than practical value because I've never tried making doughnuts again. But, I'd like to.

You can make doughnuts with a doughnut cutter, like a cookie cutter with an extra circle inside to cut out the doughnut hole in the middle. But, this requires frying them in oil. This method adds fat and more risk of danger with the large amount of bubbling hot oil on the stove. It's also less expensive (I think) to make baked doughnuts because you don't have to throw away all that oil (you can only reuse it a couple of times).

Doughnuts are more fun to make and decorate than cupcakes I think. Cupcakes are just a rounded bump but doughnuts are round circles with a hole in their middle. You can ignore the hole or decorate it - you can even make doughnuts from just the holes.If you miss the cupcake wrappers you can use them for doughnuts too. Just flatten them out or cut up circles of pretty paper from whatever you like. Left over gift wrapping paper is a great idea.

I also enjoy doughnuts because they can be a bit crispy compared to all cake-like.

Baking doughnuts in the oven is such a sensible idea. Grease the pan and let them cook into the doughnut shape while you wait. Nice and simple. Look for a recipe for baked doughnuts versus the traditional fried doughnuts. As you get the hang of it you can adapt recipes yourself.

Spelling Doughnut versus Donut

Doughnut is still the correct spelling. Donut began in the US. Eventually donut is likely to become the accepted spelling but for now it is more like a short form of the true word.

I know about custard and fish fingers but what else does the Doctor eat? In between all that running he must need something to refuel. But, we seldom see him eat anything. I was curious about a Doctor Who cookbook when I found this one. What does he like to eat and when does he get around to actually cooking himself a dinner, or even just a light snack?

Would you eat with The Doctor?

This book has been created from the new Doctor Who series, 2005 and onwards. Chris-Rachael Oseland, the author, has spent a year watching and re-watching the Doctor Who series to pick out recipes and recipe ideas. Taking inspiration from the past shows she has given Doctor Who fans (Whovians) recipes to explore whether they are great cooks and bakers, or prefer simple fare. If you want to host a Doctor Who dinner party, take a few pages from the book (not literally, that would be dangerous – think of spacesuits and the Library!).

What would you offer the Doctor if he showed up on your doorstep one day? Only a small chance it would actually be your doorstep of course, It could be the shopping mall, just as much as any other place in time and space.

Which companions would you hope to drop in with him? Donna Noble is my first pick. Donna is my favourite companion plus, she isn’t likely to pass up a good conversation and a great coffee. Maybe a slim slice of cheesecake too.

One thing I would not be serving is angel food cake. You just can’t trust those things!

What are his table manners like? He made a mess in Amy Pond’s kitchen. Maybe you should put newspaper down before dining with The Doctor.

Chocolate in a colourful candy shell - not to be confused with M&Ms, Smarties are a Canadian candy, often available in the chocolate bar section. I could not find Smarties in the US when I lived there. They were sadly missed. Not just Smarties of course, but Smarties were on my top ten list of missed things at the time.

This picture is Smartie wallpaper. No matter how far technology has come you still can not email Smarties to family and friends. I would have done it if there was a chance it would have worked.

I grew up as the oldest in a family of four children. My Mother was very popular the day she came up with the idea of a Smartie Party. She brought home a huge (we were kids, it likely seemed a lot bigger then) bag of Smarties from the bulk food store. (It was the first bulk food store we had in our area so it was already a place of great wonders and wonderful things). My Mom thought up games where we guessed how many red Smarties she had under a cup. Or, which colour of Smartie there were four of when she poured a bunch of them out of the bag. Of course, the prize for all the games were.... Smarties! So everyone won and we shared with my littlest sister who wasn't so great at math yet.

Unlike the US M&Ms, Smarties will leave colour on your hands. But, that was not a problem for a pack of kids. We liked to see how many colours we could wear and who could have the best stain before the Smarties melted. Another great Smartie thing was to keep them in your mouth until the candy softened and the chocolate centre was mushy, it was like liquid, gooey chocolate goodness.

Now, when I think of Smarties, I mostly remember them in a big puddle of colours from the days of those Smarties Parties.

When you eat your Smarties do you eat the red ones last?

How was the whole peanut butter and jam phenomena started? Don't look for the facts, write the story as you create it. What can you come up with?

I'm not a peanut butter fan.

Well here we are, another Saturday morning.

Saturday morning was a lot more exciting when I was a kid. There were cartoons and my Mom would make a big breakfast. Whatever she felt like whipping up: pancakes, bacon and eggs, fruit salad, omelettes, sausages, French toast, red river cereal, scrambled eggs, bagels, cinnamon buns and just about anything you can imagine as breakfast food. Sometimes something quite fancy and sometimes just a bowl of anonymous flakes in milk. I appreciate it much more now. All those breakfasts in our sunny kitchen on Rouge Hills Drive, West Hill, Ontario. That was a long time ago.

I still really like going out for breakfast, when someone else does the cooking and the cleaning up. Living alone I don't get inspired to whip up anything for breakfast. I would make pancakes and bacon and eggs and French toast and such when I was married. Until things go not so nice. Then I didn't bother, didn't even bother to get up to be with him, let alone cook for him. I ate ice cream when I got up. Not a great plan I have to warn you.

Anyway, that's what Saturday morning makes me think of. All those mornings in our cosy house and having breakfast together at the table. Being called away from the TV, which was not that interesting anyway. Mom liked to have conversation so we always blabbed about something or other. Sometimes she had a plan for the day or the weekend. She was a firm believer in unplanned plans though. We might go to the flea market in Pickering but end up on a road trip to Niagara Falls instead. There were weekend visits to the Grandparents in Woodstock. Two hours was just borderline distance with four kids in a car. We had a big van for awhile, that gave each of us our own bench. It was pretty cool to stretch out or find some other way to take up all your available space. I had books and a little sister. I could have suggested she go somewhere else but I didn't mind. Sometimes I had my other sister, taking refuge from my brother. They always competed, over everything. But he was closer to my age and had advantages. That didn't stop her from trying to win. She was "Queen of Stubborn", relentless to the point of craziness.

So those were Saturday mornings ages ago. Now I'm just being lazy. I should/ could be working on something practical and necessary and important. Maybe some part of my brain is waiting for breakfast, to come to the table and chat about what we might do today. Too bad it's noon now. If I make a fresh coffee maybe I can fool myself into self discipline.

Or I could get dressed. Wearing your pajamas till after noon on a Saturday morning is not a sign of a productive day. But, it was fun when we were kids. I don't want to go back, not at all. It's nice to have memories but you have to keep making new ones to go with the part of your life you're living in now.