WEEKLY BLOG EPISODE 138 | MAKING TOOTHPASTE TABLETS

This episode in my weekly blog series is going to be a bit of a homey one. It seems the activities I chose to partake in around my work and other commitments over the last few days, the things I tend to write about in these journal-style articles, had a very at-home feel to them. And that’s been on purpose. Which has been quite lovely.

I mean, yes, the fact that yet another named storm hit the UK (with some force) at the weekend meant my intended hike up a big hill in Wales was sensibly rescheduled to next weekend. But if I’m honest, I wasn’t overcome with disappointment by that. It’s a hill that’s been on my to-hike list for a long time, and I know it’ll still be there next weekend – and the weekend after that if needed.

Admittedly, I am frustrated that the weather was glorious all week when I had to work, and then broke with spectacular form at the weekend. But somehow it was very easy to say ‘oh well’ on this occasion. The idea of slowing down appealed greatly. Maybe something from Susain Cain’s A Quiet Life – which I will come to a bit later – actually sunk in.

My Week

I’ve mentioned how much I’ve been enjoying the weekday weather, even if it didn’t last over the weekend. The sky has been on fire at sunrise and sunset, and my lunchtime walks have been in glorious bright wintery sunshine.

It’s been absolutely freezing, of course. We’ve not had the -14º or whatever was reported in Scotland, but my milk was frozen on the doorstep on Thursday morning, which I’d say is a pretty strong demonstration of the cold temperatures. My beanie hat, gloves and big coat have had lots of use. And I’ve been regularly topping up the bird bath with warm water and refilling the feeders with plenty of seed in an attempt to help my garden friends.

Given the cold, it’s been a week of spending time cooking comforting meals to warm us up in the evenings. On the dinner table we’ve had turkey and gammon pie, made using my own recipe, a colourful plate of salmon with roast vegetables and beets, chicken nasi goreng with quick picked cucumber, and an old favourite of fish finger bhorta – a strange-sounding Nigella Lawson recipe which just works. And last night, I made a fish pie, which I am already looking forward to devouring the leftovers of later. 

Coming Soon: One Hour Outside Daily Photo Challenge

I’m excited to be launching my One Hour Outside Daily Photo Challenge on Thursday (25 January).

The challenge, which I’ve been running for eight years or so, is designed to help inspire us in two ways throughout February – to take a photo every day, and to spend a little bit of time outside on a daily basis. It’s a bit of image-based mindfulness to encourage creativity, an opportunity to think about something specifically, and to pay extra attention to the world immediately around us. Details – and all the daily prompts – will be published here on Splodz Blogz on 25 January. Which gives you a whole week to think about that first photo if you are so inclined.

I was chuffed that Rob over at The Outdoors Adventure Podcast gave me an opportunity to record a little mention of the challenge for his most recent news episode. So, hello if you’ve landed on my blog after listening to that cameo! I was Rob’s featured interviewee back in November, so feel free to go back and listen to that if you haven’t done so already.

Will you join in the challenge next month? I look forward to bringing together a lovely little community of people sharing daily photos every day in February.

Making Toothpaste Tablets

One of the homey things I’ve been meaning to do for a while, is attempt to make my own toothpaste tablets. I say ‘make’, but this is way simpler than that. Although, let me preface this section of my weekly blog by saying this wasn’t exactly the win I was hoping it would be.

I’ve been a fan of toothpaste tablets for a while. They are handy for travel and backpacking – they are light, you can take the right amount without the guesswork, and they generally come in much more sustainable packaging than normal toothpaste. But buying toothpaste tablets is way more expensive than normal toothpaste, and there are few options which include fluoride, which is kind of important to healthy team and gums.

Ages ago, I was served an Instagram suggested post telling me I could turn normal toothpaste into toothpaste tablets at home (no need for a dehydrator). Although it didn’t really include any instructions. Then Miranda Goes Outside, a channel well worth checking out if you are into hiking and backpacking, included some directions in her backpacking gear you can make at home video.

How To Guide

The method is very simple. Line a baking tray with baking paper, add dots of toothpaste – the amount you would normally use to brush your teeth – and put in an oven on its lowest temperature setting for a few hours. The key is not to actually bake the toothpaste, but to let it dry out. For my oven, I had it set to 80ºC and let the toothpaste sit in there for three hours. It was obvious when the little dots of toothpaste were done – they had changed colour.

One dried out (and cold), keep the toothpaste tablets in a container with a little baking soda to stop them sticking together.

To use the dried-out toothpaste, you put one in your mouth and allow it to rehydrate for a few seconds before brushing normally. In terms of judging the success of this experiment, these little dots do turn back into toothpaste in my mouth, and my teeth and gums do feel clean after brushing. But while they do work, they are a little, er, odd.

Homemade Failure

I’ll be honest, I’m not a fan. They’re just a bit chewy, and nowhere near as good as the toothpaste tablets I’ve bought in the past. They are also less fresh feeling somehow – I was expecting the minty fresh flavour to be heightened by the drying out, but that just wasn’t the case. I’m glad I only made a few, because I if I’d have done a whole tubes worth, I’d be quite disappointed.

So why write 600 words on my failed experiment? Well, I include my random at-home attempt at science in my weekly blog so you might choose not to bother. I think I’ll just get over the homemade ideal on this one, and order some proper ones that someone else has made. I suggest you do the same.

Homemade Welsh Cakes

In an attempt to redeem myself when it comes to making things, I’ve been eating a lot of homemade Welsh Cakes this week. Another recipe from Cook Out, which I featured in my currently loving post last week, I was drawn to this one thanks to an amazing Welsh Cake I had in Gloucester the other Saturday when hunting out the real Ebenezer Scrooge.

In case you are unfamiliar, Welsh Cakes – picau ar y maen in Welsh – are a traditional sweet bread from Wales. Cooked on a griddle, they have been popular since the late 19th century when locals added fat, sugar, dried fruit and spices to an old recipe for flat bread. And they are delicious; served hot or cold, generally dusted with sugar and sometimes spread with butter or jam.

Harrison’s recipe is very simple and was easy to follow. I won’t give it all away here (you’re supposed to buy the book!), but just to say the ingredients list allows for extra just-in-case flour and butter (he assumes you are packing up your ingredients to carry somewhere with big views), so make sure you read the method fully before adding things to your mixing bowl. But yes, an easy-to-get-right recipe.

Two Batches

Once the dough is made, you roll it out and fry them in a little butter. I had no choice but to leave my dough for a couple of hours the first time I tried this recipe, and so wrapped it up and put it in the fridge for that period. A poor choice on my part; it was completely rock solid and took quite some rolling! The Welsh Cakes were delicious when we were eventually able to roll and cook them, but refrigerating the dough was definitely a mistake.

When making my second batch, I was able to go straight from mixing to cooking, which was so much better. And that is how I will make them in future.

I should probably fess up that as I was preparing to make the second batch of Welsh Cakes, I dropped my large Pyrex mixing bowl on my tiled kitchen floor, which means my bowl is no longer fit for purpose. Far from it. I only dropped it maybe five centimetres, but it was clearly just enough to cause irreparable damage. Thankfully I had an old plastic mixing bowl I could use instead (once I’d cleaned up the shattered glass…). But now I do need to get myself a new glass bowl.

I know this is an outdoors cookbook, but I can’t ever see myself making Welsh Cakes when I’m up in the fells or away camping. However, I will definitely be making more (and more) of these at home. Maybe even on my cast iron skillet when the weather is a little less blustery. While they are certainly best when eaten directly from the pan, I have found they travel surprisingly well.

That’s Entertainment

Given that it’s been a homey week, I’ve got some things to include in my semi-regular weekly blog that’s entertainment feature – an audiobook, a podcast, and a game.

Audiobook: A Quiet Life in 7 Steps, Susan Cain

If you are an introvert looking for ways to better lead a quiet and meaningful life in a world full of noise and overcommitment, this is a really nice listen. In A Quiet Life in 7 Steps, Susan Cain talks about how to tune out everyday stresses and conflicts and be purposefully drawn to the quiet, the deep, the beautiful, and the kind.

Split into seven lessons, this is clearly a self-help book, but don’t worry, it’s a short one! I didn’t sit and do all the exercises as I listened (other than trying to work out what my favourite sad song is – maybe Never Say Goodbye by Bon Jovi), but still found the writing – especially the stories told about others – interesting and useful.

I definitely felt heard. I’ve never thought to describe the way I want to live life as ‘quiet’, but the term certainly fits. As a result of listening to this short audiobook, I’ve used a credit to add Susan Cain’s famous Quiet to my library, which is all about the power of introversion.

A Quiet Life in 7 Steps is free you’re an Audible member (it’s in the Audible Plus Catalogue), and is well worth three or four hours of your time.

Podcast: Discover Your Inner Astronaut

If you prefer your listens in short bursts than full on audiobooks, Discover Your Inner Astronaut is a new eight-part podcast presented by astronauts Nicole Stott and Helen Sharman. And it’s so very interesting – full of life-lessons from the experiences of actual astronauts.

It’s only available on Audible so I didn’t spot it come up in my podcasting app of choice (RSS Radio), it was featured in one of those Audible emails that I normally delete without reading, but for some reason opened this one.

I’m four episodes into the series of eight, and have been completely drawn in. The geekery of hearing astronauts tell stories of being in space, and transferring their very intensive training to everyday life, is fascinating. I really enjoyed hearing about how astronauts are forced to take part in hobbies when they’re on the International Space Station, because without them, their work life suffers. Rest isn’t always about sitting still.

I particularly love that this podcast is presented by two female astronauts. I remember doing a project on Helen Sharman when I was in school (I was 10 years old when she became the first British person in space in May 1991), and thinking I would quite like to be like her when I grow up. Well, I’m not going to make it as an astronaut, but I can learn from her all the same.

PC Game: Teardown

Recommended by a friend recently, my husband and I have been thoroughly enjoying weekend wind downs with this rather destructive game.

Teardown is based in a fully destructible voxel world. The aim of the game is to plan and execute heists – by breaking things in all kinds of ways. A puzzle game where planning and preparation are the keys to success, it is testing enough to make you think, and entertaining enough to keep you playing. You start by tearing down a few walls with a sledge hammer, and soon move onto blowing up whole buildings. Honestly, so much fun.

We’ve got the PC version, but it’s also available for consoles. If you download it, just be careful, breaking stuff is fun – and as it says in the trailer, the bigger the stuff the bigger the fun…!

See You Next Time…

I think that’s about it for this weekly blog episode. It really has been very at-home focused, but that’s just how some weeks are – and at least this one has been like that on purpose.

If you haven’t already, please do go back and read weekly blog episodes 136 and 137. The first of those two mainly features my blog’s birthday, with some of my favourite articles and some musings on what blogging might do this year. And the second talks about how the real Ebenezer Scrooge was from Gloucester and speaks about closing the Outdoor Bloggers network I’ve been running with good friend Jenni for the last few years.

And be sure to stick around as later this week I launch my One Hour Outside photo challenge for February 2024.

See you soon.

Read more Weekly Blogs.

Buy Me a Cuppa?

If you enjoyed this weekly blog episode and fancy supporting me and my mini adventures this year, you can “buy me a coffee” for £3 (well, a cup of tea, if that’s okay?). Head over to Ko-fi to find out more. Thank you.