STRAWBERRY MILKSHAKE CORN FLAKE SQUARES

An excessive amount of things that break around me, such as not one, not two, but three vintage mugs; and my camera; and the internet; and trains over bank holiday weekends; and my digestive system; plus a busy schedule of stressing, leave me slightly mentally & physically exhausted and therefore prone to wingin'; reason why, when you'll be reading this recipe for the ultimate 5-minute-to-make sweet marshmallowy treat, not only will I have inhaled the whole lot already, but I'll also be in the process of finding out whether or not I'm emotionally stable enough to be travelling on my own. Make them! You can thank me if I ever make it back sound.

CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA LOAF CAKE

These days I sometimes feel like a little ghost, even though I’m not gone just yet; and I’ve been filling time with things I don’t mind, like Icelandic coffee, and English shoes, and Scottish pop bands, and Japanese cameras, for Irish adventures. I plan to add my art galleries too, especially those ones that stock American-style banana bread; but just in case all the above gets too expensive (plus Russia. Alaska. Disneyland. Outer space) and I really can’t spare that two pounds fifty for a slice: bakers gonna bake. Chocolate chip banana cake.

AMAZAKE MUFFINS

I’m not sure how to resume my little black life after the amount of blinding beauty I’ve seen; nor how To Exorcise the Spirit of Catastrophe in big Bad City; or have world and mind to ever make peace. I find myself starting from the bear necessity, gold, subtle sweetness.

BLACK SESAME BARS

They say necessity is the mother of invention, and perhaps fright and sadness are too; and as enormous marine mammals and horses with very short legs are just too cool to be eaten, I find myself gathering mountains of bags of roasted chickpeas and exotic snacks, as well as producing some slightly addictive all-sesame bars. That's necessity covered; and as for the other co-parents, I'm quite sure said delicious bars (and a glass of Black Death, or liquorice on toast, if worse comes to worst) will sort them two out alright.

SPECULOOS & ALMOND TABBOULEH

If I said I was expecting to get back to Bad City after my first session of extraordinary adventures with a master plan of some kind, I would be lying; and just as unsurprisingly my head is now sailing its way through a pretty lake of a million very volatile non-master plans, and the heel angle of this boat it is on doesn’t look safe one bit, and I wouldn’t stop shivering with terror if I tried; and in this sort of trans-boundary waters of being, here goes me splashing around a little (what else can you do), and fishing out this memory of colourful bowls of bulgur and spices, for me and my daddy under the fair African sky, then mixing it with picnics on top of a sunny hill in a land of shiny rivers or streams or creeks or heaven knows, then folding in some sweetness, with sticky dates from Middle Eastern stores right in the heart of South London, and Mexican vanilla, via Canada, and delicious Belgian biscuits and a sprinkle of toasted almonds from, now I know, a Beautiful Country. And as with most crazy things, the boat heels and heels and it will either tip over or get you to the shore safe and sound before dark; and with this one, I think I’ve passed my nautical test a hundred percent: ahoy sweet biscuity tabbouleh.