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November 2010
On November 17th at 11.30am we will open the doors for our christmas show. The shop will have been shrouded in mystery for the previous four days. Behind the curtained-off windows we have been working in a state bordering on frenzied panic to make the shop as near perfect a christmas dream as we can. This happens every year and no matter how well prepared I try to be it's always a race against time. Have I remembered everything? - the mince pies, candles, cakes, puddings... Did I put the finishing touch to my "Opus Magnum" of the year? Have I anything clean to wear? Have I ordered too much/too little? Wouldn't life be so much easier without the christmas show? Answer yes, of course. Would it be worth giving up? The answer is definitely not! I still love christmas and I was thinking, just before I sat down to write this blog, about what christmas meant to me and realised that my strongest memories of christmas didn't have to do with presents: I can't remember single items that I was given - the giving of presents was obviously exciting but this doesn't sit strongest in my mind - no my memories are tied to being chosen to let the Christ child in, which meant going to the front door (rarely used) with a candle in my hand, walking very carefully and opening it. Nothing extraordinary happened, but the sense of expectation and certainty that I was part of something, some magical moment remains with me to this day.
Happy Preparations to you all.
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September 2010
We have just come back from the Halesworth Street Market which always presages the end of the summer and a long hard slog to the Christmas show which of course is why I am writing a blog: I, (like almost every woman, man and child I know) find that the more under pressure I am, the more I think of other things I have to do. In between worrying about Christmas I will be enjoying the beautiful autumn. September and October are amongst my favourite months of the year. I think we have a tendency to kaleidoscope time; there is the hot lazy summer and hopefully cold, sharp Christmas with a nod to the spring. But don't forget the lovely autumn crisp mornings,long shadows and that gorgeous sense of preparing for the siege of winter.
Stewed fruit
Take almost any fruit peel it, core it, stone it, slice it and add as many blackberries as you can find. Put them in a good cast ion pan with maximum a centimetre of water, cook on a low heat for anything up to an hour checking it from time to time. When the fruit is cooked add sugar to taste. The scent and colour of the blackberries alone will make autumn worthwhile.
P.S Don't forget that it's the time of the year for making your flavoured gins and vodkas, they truly are worth a little time.
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March 2010
The sun is shining again. Even though it's still cold and it's harder to get out of bed than it should be, spring is weaving it's insidious way into the world.
I know it must be so because my thoughts have turned to spring cleaning and moths!! Ah yes it isn't just the flora that is busting forth!
Last year I decided to double wrap all my precious knitted shawls and other wollens in muslin, making sure I had given them a good shake and airing before folding them away. None of them had suffered from moth damage when I unwrapped them ready for the winter. I also wrapped my vintage welsh blankets and favourite hand knitted socks. They all look and feel wonderful. They all survived the summer moth feeding frenzy.
MOTH RULES
1. Make sure your wool is clean and well shaken.
2. Wrap what you can in any cloth , muslin, old cotton sheeting, making sure ther is no way for the tiny creatures to get in.
3. Put pheromone traps into the clothes cupboards and drawers. These are very effective in breaking down the reproductive cycle.
4. Do all these before the end of March.
5. Enjoy the ritual - I know I do.
No self respecting conservationist would use plastic on any fabric new or old. It is static and attracts dirt and dust to it, besides being (dare I say it) environmentally unfriendly.
Angel
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January 2009
January 2009.
Happy New Year!
2009 is my 60th year and I'm quite excited. In itself, it feels like an accomplishment. Roll on September.
The cold bright weather has given the usually rather lethargic start to the new year, and energy and sense of purpose. We have started walking in Richmond Park in the mornings and were rewarded, by the sight of a kingfisher on our first day- it was fantastic and such a surprise!
A recipe for winter fruit.
Peel and core any old eating and/or cooking apples you have which are quietly dying in the fruit bowl (About 6 to 8). Quarter and slice them into a heavy saucepan or casserole (one that will go on the hob as well as oven). Put a couple of handfuls of dried fruit onto the apple eg. very good muscat raisens, cranberries, blueberries, apricots, peaches, figs, prunes ...in fact any dried fruit you can think of. The more various the better. Just cover with boiling water, bring to the boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to stand overnight. I have made this with no added sugar at all but taste and adjust to suit you and the family.
To serve:
Either just as it is or with a gentle plain yoghurt. Delicious pouring double cream.
With an almond crumble and custard or
with porridge etc.
P.S add a stick of cinnamon to the fruit if you fancy it.
Crumble recipe will follow next....
Tell me how you get on.
YOGHURT CAKE
To me this is a great basic cake. It is very simple to make and a slice is perfect for the children when they get home from school absolutely ravinous. I believe a home-made cake to be a wonderful thing- children can help prepare it, teaching them about food and what it should have in it. It satisfies the urge for something sweet in a very staight forward way.
1x 150g pot of plain yoghurt (use the pot as measure)
1 pot ground nut/almond oil or melted but not hot butter
2 pots caster sugar
3 pots self raising flour
3 eggs
small teaspoon proper vanilla essence
Mix all the ingredients together until smooth, pour into a prepared oil
ed and then floured loaf or 7 inch cake tin. Bake in moderate oven until firm to the touch. Approx. 30-40 minutes depending on your oven. Allow to cool in tin for a few minutes before turning it out onto a wire tray.
It keeps well and can be used as a base for many variations. I often make it in a kugelhopf tin (one with a hole in the middle, which makes it look rather fancy).
Variations I have tried:
1) Slicing a couple of coxes, orange pippins into the mixture, A soggier more puddingy cake.
2) Pouring a thin stream of melted chocolate into the mixture, mixing it gently to give it a marbles effect. I use a 100g bar green and blacks dark chololate but you could try MAYA gold with some grated orange or lemon rind for a change.
3) Dried fruit, blueberries, cranberries, big juicy lexia raisins, fat sultanas (1 pot full).
4) Grated orange and/or lemon rind which you pour a lemony sugar syrup over when warm for a type of lemon drizzle cake.
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