Magic dough.

Fresh from the oven. The holes collapsed a little while baking...

I randomly came across an old friend while looking for something entirely different: taikataikina, magic dough. This stuff is what a large part of my childhood was made of. It's easy to make, the ingredients are cheap, definitely non-toxic, fun to work and the dough dries/bakes completely hard. It can then be painted, glued, filed etc. whatever you feel like doing with it - or you can mix some food dye into the dough before working it.

Recipe:

0,5 dl salt
1 dl wheat flour
0,5 dl water
1 tsp oil

Mix salt and flour together well. Add water, mix, add oil, mix. If you want to use food dye, add it now. The dough is ready for working! If it still feels sticky add a bit of flour, if it starts to crack add a little water. It's quite soft when ready, a bit like gingerbread dough.

Nipnops in the making? :D

Tips: it's good to rub a bit of cooking oil into your hands before working to avoid extra stickiness. The best tools I found were made of metal or wood, such as knitting needles and sewing needles. The dough dries if you don't keep it covered but it won't do it too fast, you'll notice when it's time to put the lid on. If you're making imitation food you can coat the pieces with egg just as if you were baking normally, it'll create a yellowish, warm glaze.

Once done let the items dry in 125°C oven for about an hour. If your items are on the larger side keep them in for a bit longer. Ready for paint/whatevers!

A simple limeade recipe.

This one's nothing special - a very basic anythingade recipe, but it's delicious! Takes about one and a half hours to make, minimum. You can let it sit for longer with the lime peel in if you like, just try the taste every now and then.

Limeade:

3 limes

1 dl sugar

1 dl water

Later on 5-6 dl more water

Peel the limes thinly avoiding the white part right under the peel, and put in a bowl. You can add a little bit of the white too if you like some bitterness in the taste.

Squeeze the limes, squeeze them well!

Mix sugar and water in a pot and heat up until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let cool a bit and pour over the lime peels. Add the juice and mix well. Add more water one dl at a time, checking the taste in between. You can add even more water if you think the taste's too strong for you, or you can leave it a little bit stronger and then dilute it more before drinking it.

Let the bowl sit in room temperature for about an hour. Pour it through a sieve and refrigerate.

Serve with ice (or a freezer-cold yellow submarine)!