Rainbows......

and wow skies .......

And coffee cake......

Perfick.

Let The Baking Begin.......

In honour of the new series of " The Great British Bake Off" Lucy has baked a Mary Berry signature bake of WHOLE SPICED ORANGE cake .......

Holiday Baking

It's all very informal around here during the hols.

Meals are often not at the usual times and sometimes not the usual fare......

so when there's a cry for pancakes, it's time to don an apron and make your own.....

and very tasty they were too!

New Arrivals....

...eight point of lay 17 week old warren pullets arrived yesterday.

They are very shy, never having been outdoors before today.

There has been a bit of squabbling.

Some of the resident matrons are positively sulking...

What was really amazing was watching a couple of the new girls enjoying a dust bath for the first time. They have spent their entire life in a barn but an innate instinct took over. The wonder of creation.

Speaking of which, there has been a positive proliferation of plum blossom in just one week...

I hope it means a bumper crop of plums. The tree is just two years planted in our garden and was a young sapling. There were approx five plums last year. So here's hoping.

Another arrival this weekend is eldest daughter home from uni for five weeks.

Eleven year old daughter made a lovely spring flower table decoration..

Here it is displayed on a recently purchased rather jolly charity shop tablecloth (£2.79.)

And  just the excuse we needed to bake a big cake to welcome her home...

Also managed some seed sowing, a bit of weeding and quite a lot of leaning on the fence enjoying the bird song. All the brood back under one roof, happy days.

Baking, Bernina and Brass.

Saturday mornings have a bit of a ritual around here.

I get up very early and do two paper rounds which is pleasant when the sun is shining.
After breakfast dearly beloved and 7 year old son depart for sons practice at Scout Band. He is new to it and learning the basics on his B flat cornet.
Meanwhile me and the three girls get down to a bit of necessary housework...

Imagine my delight when dearly beloved returns a little while later sporting....

a bloody B flat horn under his arm of which he now the proud keeper!

"It's only so I can help him practice" he says...a likely story.
And the youngest girl has thrown down the gauntlet, " Dad, I bet you can't play the theme tune to Rocky." 
And he says, "You and your sister can come along too if you like!"

Moving swiftly on, after piano lessons and all laundry duties are finished

I felt at a loose end with lots of things I should/could have been doing but didn't feel like.
It is too cold for gardening here today so nothing else for it. I had to bake a cake...

It's becoming a bit of a habit I'm afraid.

Oh, and a few scones too...

with a little help from my friend.

I've had a jaunt to the library returning five of my thirty books and bringing home six more despite my vow to finish reading the ones I have before loaning any others.

I couldn't resist a pop into my local cancer research shop where I picked up (amongst other things) this lovely little jug for £1.50, which I am of course going to need when my garden is in full flower in a few months I hope!

And to round off the afternoon I have done a bit of patching and mending for my Dad. I inherited my Mums machine when she died two years ago. He bought it for her in 1966 and it cost £40 then brand new, a small fortune. It is a Swiss machine I think and therefore brilliant. It is basic but ultra reliable and Mum made lots of our clothes on it when we were all little. We had matching swimming costumes and trunks for the boys in very retro blue spotty fabric I seem to remember.

That's all for now folks.
(P.S. I can hear the beginnings of Rocky from the kitchen. Thank God the neighbours are away for the weekend!)

Where Has The Last Week Gone?

It's Sunday already and back to school in the morning. I do love the school hols and the house full of people, lots of cooking and playing and crafting and noise.

We did manage to plant the fruit trees at last. The apple and pear are to be trained on a wall, fingers crossed. The "Lizzie" plum has has been banished to the hens patch as not enough room in the garden....

...the girls were suitably impressed with the digging and managed to completely disperse the composted mulch.

Roller skates have been the bringers of much joy...

...I think she would wear them in bed if at all possible.

My favourite butchers, having sampled my legendary (in these parts) scones, requested the recipe to bake and sell in their shop. They have been a success and yesterday I was rewarded with a bag full of fresh lemons from the butcher's wife's Mum's lemon tree in Spain....

...they are the juiciest, zestiest lemons ever. Tonight we had a delish cheesecake from Sam Sterns cookbook...

...made by my 16year old daughter.

This is a fab recipe, click on the link above, but I am sure the luscious lemons made it even better.

A spot of gardening...

Inspired by the lovely Alys Fowler in "The Edible Garden," we have made a wigwam for the sweet peas from coppiced hazel and spent phormium leaves. Aren't we clever girls eh?

And finally, the weather has been lovely here. Even managed to sit out some evenings and enjoy the sinking of the sun....

Hope you all had a good holiday week. Just sending a few thoughts and prayers for all those stuck in the air traffic chaos, including my youngest sis on a two day work seminar in Copenhagen. She should have been home Thursday and has two little children whom she is missing desperately. Texted today she feels helpless, I want to cry for her. I once left mine for two days to go on a hen weekend to Dublin. I pined for them and was desperate to get home almost as soon as we arrived. My heart goes out to all those separated from loved ones.

Delicious, Delectible, Divine Miss Dahl

We don't actually have a TV so watch selected items on the iplayer. (BBC only as we detest adverts.)

BUT

My 9 year old and I are in love with Sophie, her cooking and most of all her kitchen!

Apparently, (somebody at work said) this programme has been slated. We think it is brill.

The styling is a bit Nigella copied I think but Sophie is more innocent and very appealing.

This is our version of the nostalgic orange cake for afternoon tea.

We filled it with fresh cream and homemade blackberry jam as we didn't have raspberries to make Sophies jam concoction for the filling. We reserved the buttercream for the top. It is a basic victoria sandwich recipe with come orange zest added. However I usually make 6oz with 3 eggs in 1 tin but this called for 8oz and 4 eggs in 2 tins and it did look rather impressive.

We also made the roasted tomato and thyme soup and it was delish and oh so easy. Even my 16yr old was impressed.

So if you haven't seen this and can access the BBC iplayer on line, we heartily recommend it, even if you only like to drool over the vintage crockery and kitchen utensils. It is so comforting!

Happy Birthday

Today, one of my very few bestest friends is 70. We worked together as community midwives till she retired 10 years ago. We had lots of fun times and giggles (and a few moans too.) We took to each other immediately and made a great team. They were probably the best days of my working life so far.

She is a warm, funny, kind and compassionate person.

 And she has hardly any grey hairs at all. Lucky devil!

She loves chocolate cake so we made this for her this morning.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEANNIE MAC.

Thanks for being my very special friend.

We love you!!

Let There Be Light

Don't you just love the lighter nights? This is my bedroom window view at approx 7pm this evening.....

The children played out all day in the sunshine.

I have had a particularly good charity shop week with this bevy of beauties...

.....not one, not two, not three but TWELVE whole balls of Rowan cotton tape for the princely sum of 

99 pence! And doesn't the colour match up nicely with the pink hued blocks of my quilt?

And there's more....

...this serving spoon was languishing at the back of the bric a brac shelf and was all forlorn and tarnished. It is, I think, hallmarked solid silver and whilst a little battered has polished up rather well. It is perfect for little dainty cakes....

...now all I need is Lady Bracknell for tea. (£2.95 by the way.)

And the best for last......

...a vintage 1930's ish fireplace surround with original mirror (it's not cracked, that is my garage roof reflection.) Perfect for our 1937 built home. It needs a bit of a polish but is largely in good nick. The legs are my Dad's who kindly helped me collect it in a cattle trailer!
The great thing about this is it didn't cost me a penny. I got it from Freecycle. Check it out if you like getting stuff for free and helping the planet at the same time.

Finally a free recipe from Lancashire Living magazine. I made it today and it is very tasty, Hot Cross Buns and Butter Pudding.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients...

4 hot cross buns

50gm/2 oz butter

125gm/4 oz chopped apricots (I used raisins)

50gm/2oz soft brown sugar

3 eggs beaten

275ml/10 fl oz milk

200gm/7 oz greek yoghurt

Method.

Preheat oven 180 degrees C / gas mark 4

Slice buns into thick vertical slices and butter.

Grease ovenproof dish and overlap bun slices on bottom.

Scatter fruit.

Whisk eggs, milk, sugar and yoghurt together. 

Pour over bread and fruit.

Place dish in a large roasting tin and half fill with boiling water.

Bake for 30-40 mins till custard just set.

I would probably use less fruit next time as there is already some in the buns. It was good and a nice dish for Easter I think. It is a lighter alternative to my fave B&B Pud from the River Cottage cookbook which is sublime but not one for the cholesterol police!

Ginger biscuits, Gifted Tableware and Happy Bunnies.

These are our fave ginger biccies in the world made by my middle 12 yr old girl.And the jaunty plate is one of a dinner service (complete with tureens...swoon...) gifted to my by Lynn a lovely colleague who was chucking em out can you believe it?

The recipe is one we have written in our all purpose scribble em down if they sound/look good book.

12 oz self raising flour

8 oz caster sugar

2tsp ground ginger

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

6 oz margarine (we use stork)

4oz golden syrup

1 egg

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.

Melt marg and syrup over medium heat in a saucepan

Make well in dry ingredients, pour in melted stuff.

Add beaten egg.

Bring it all together to a soft dough.

(If it's a bit sticky add a little more flour.)

Roll into smallish approx walnutish sized balls (or bigger if you like a huge biscuit)

Flatten slightly. They need plenty of room to spread out.

Place on baking paper on tray, we put 6 to a standard tray as these babies do grow.

190 degrees C.

10-15 mins depending on your oven. Watch em, they soon burn.

If you leave only 10 mins they should be a bit chewy in the middle, the longer you leave them the more biscuit like they are.

Makes 18-24 biscuits depending on size.

This grainy pic is of the 3 happy bunnies popping the bubble wrap the plates came in!

Baking for Boyfriends

My eldest daughter brought her boyfriend home for tea today, (1st boyfriend, 1st visit) so I thought I ought to try and impress him! Got this recipe for strawberry swirls from Lilly Higgins' lovely blog. They are very easy to make but I think I overcooked mine a little and they were slightly crisp on the outside so we had them with custard.

They were very tasty, and the boyfriend was very nice too. What a relief! I expect I will have a huge baking repertoire by the time my 5th is bringing his girls home,( he is 3 at the moment.)

Vintage linen, charity shop china and cake. Oh..and more marmalade.

Today I had a trot round my very small but very local market. Imagine my delight upon finding not one but two hand embroidered linen tablecloths for the tea table.

                                                

They were just crying out for tea and of course cake. Here is the other..

                                                                                                                      

with the obligatory victoria sandwich cake and a view of my cancer research shop 6 setting tea service complete with side plates and bread and butter plate in mint condition.(Phew, take a breath girl)
The two cloths cost a total of £4.50, yes £4.50. I thought I was seeing things. And the tea set a mere fiver.What a lucky girl I am!


Oh... and I had several very complimentary comments about my marmalade (in fact one person gobbled the jar in less than a fortnight.) So much so, how could I resist these seville oranges available today at only 70p per kilo?

I now have merely to brace myself for the skinning and finely slicing of 2 kilos of the blessed things!

Birthday Boy

, My biggest boy turned 7 this week

 

Here he is blowing out his candles on his treasure chest cake.

In September my youngest will go to school and it will be the first time for 17 years that I haven't had a little one at home. I'm not quite sure whether to laugh or cry!

Luscious Lemon cake and Lovely knitting

Today we made this delicious lemon cake from one of Sam Stern's books.

It is lovely and moist and very moorish! (Sp?) It won't last long here.



We woke up to more snow here today. This is the view when I open my curtains....

So what else is there to do but spend some of the day knitting.

My youngest daughter is a novice but enthusiatic knitter and yesterday I cast on this scarf for her and she has diligently got on with it.


It's funny how some get the crafting bug and others don't. I have shown all three of my girls the basics of knitting but she alone has really taken to it. My own mum was a basic sewer, self taught I think. She also always baked. I am the eldest of seven and Mum was just too busy to sit down and actually teach her skills. However, me and my four sisters all bake so we must have osmotically learned so to speak.

I learned to knit from both of my Grandma's one taught me knit stitch and the other purl (incidentally she was a chronic schizophrenic who spent 33 years in a mental institution before living with us, and she never forgot how to knit. My mum said she remembered her being a beautiful knitter before she was incarcerated.)

Any how, the knit stitch grandma (Dad's mum) gave me a ball of unravelled wool approx the size of a football. I knitted my first garment, a purple scarf and it was huuuuge. It was full of holes, I must have been about 9 or 10 at the time. I loved that scarf. Once when walking home from school in the fog I wrapped it around 3 of my sibling's necks as well as my own in a line like a chain gang so I wouldn't lose anybody. So you can imagine how long it was. I wish I still had that scarf!

 So this scarf of daughters reminded me of mine all those years ago.

I hope you had a crafty day whatever you did too.

Sourdough Disaster

Mrs B. In the kitchen. With the sourdough loaf!
It was like a lump of lead. Not to be discouraged, I duly had another attempt. This time the texture was OK but bloomin heck...was it sour...Yuck!!
So I have abandoned that plan and will go back to plain and simple yeast risen bread, a lot less fiddling and much much sweeter.


Sorry for the hiatus, I have been a bit glum lately and thought that blogging was going to take up too much of the precious little time I have to spare. However, I have been prompted to give it another go by my lovely sister in law Janet and good friend Anna. So thanks for the vote of confidence girls, I will try and post at least once a week.

Scones

As I am joining a diet club tonight for the nth time, I thought I had better bake and eat something first, the condemned mans last meal so to speak!

So here are my version of scones, adapted from my Mums recipe when we were kids


The Recipe

1 lb self raising flour (I use tescos own organic)
4 oz soft marg or butter (I use stork)
4 oz caster sugar
4 oz plump raisins (I use lazy Jacks organic)
2 medium eggs
90 mls milk (approx)

Rub the fat into the flour (I do it by hand only because I dont have a food processor/kitchen aid thingy) till it resembles fine bread crumbs.
Add the sugar and fruit.
Beat eggs add milk to eggs then pour into well in middle of dry ingredients reserving a drop (2 tablespoons?) for basting the top.
Use a fork to bring it all together to a soft dough. It shouldn't be too sticky nor too dry.
Plop it onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a rough circle approx 8 inches diameter and 1 and a half inches deep, there is no need for a rolling pin.
Use 2 and a half inch diameter cutter to cut the scones, they should be 1 and 1/2 inches deep.
If you get more than 10 you have not cut them deep enough.
Put on lined baking tray allowing a little space for expansion, brush tops with reserved egg and milk.

Gas mark 4 or 180-200 degrees centigrade depending on whether you have fan oven or not. Cook for 13-18 minutes depending on your oven. (At my last house I did 13 mins at 185 degrees but this oven takes 18mins at 200! I assume you know your own oven.)

Allow to cool and voila................



Enjoy with a cup of tea, your favourite jam and if you're feeling really decadent, a little clotted cream. Yum!