As we leave summer behind and autumn starts knocking on the door, I have started to cook more substantial things to eat, a little more comforting as the rain falls outside and the wind makes a cardigan a neccessity when walking the dog!
I love the start of autumn for many reasons, not least because I can start cooking this lovely smoky hotpot.It’s delicious, especially when served with hot buttered wholemeal toast and it’s a very a thrifty meal!
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It doesn’t seem so very long ago (May 3rd to be precise) that we planted our runner beans on our allotment.
It took a little while to build the supports from the canes and a whole ball of twine to knot them all together but, once we were satisfied that the whole structure wouldn’t collapse in a slight breeze, we popped the little beans into the ground beside each cane.
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So, back in the depths of winter I decided that it would be a good idea to have a go at making my own clothes. Now it is the height of summer and I have finally finished my first handmade dress!
I really do think that if I had paid more attention to the project that even as an almost complete beginner I could have finished this simple pattern within a week. So why did it take me so long?
I have no idea why it has taken quite so long to finish this simple, straightforward dress. The Vogue Very Easy pattern number V8764 has been a great starting point for a beginner but I just seem to have got to a point where I put the project to one side for a few days to do something else and haven’t been able to get back to it.
Anyway, I have decided that next week (it has to wait until then…I’m off to a wedding this weekend!) I will definately finish it. I only have the sleeves to insert and the hem to do on the dress and the lining and voila!
I have really enjoyed doing it, the dress is looking really good and I am looking forward to starting a new project!
Finished pictures next week…I promise…all going well…!!
If I had to choose just one cake to eat for the rest of my life, the flapjack would win hands down. The simple combination of oats, butter, sugar and syrup was one of the first recipes I ever made as a child and, because of it’s simplicity, I have never bought a flapjack from a bakery or supermarket.
Having said that, I have been tempted by them in the shops, some with fruits added, some dipped in chocolate so I have experimented with my recipe over the years and now feel that I have (for me anyway!) the Ultimate Flapjack Recipe.
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Angel cake has always been a firm favourite with many members of my family. I mean the layered ones that you find in the supermarket with a pink layer sandwiched between 2 white layers with buttercream.
It’s always been fairly expensive to buy compared to other types of cakes so we never had them too often but the last time we did give in to temptation, we were all very dissapointed with the taste.
So, time to don the pinny once again and see if we couldn’t make our own version of this classic cake. The result has far exceeded our expectations, this is angel cake as it used to taste!
In our house, weekends are just made for a cosy night in, a good film and pizza!
Supermarket pizzas have so far been our preferred choice (rather than the more expensive delivered ones) but quite often they can be dissapointing and not only that expensive, as I do not eat red meat and my husband does, it means buying 2 pizzas!
So, earlier this week (it was Monday – the night of the final episode of Broadchurch – fantastic bit of television!) I decided that it was high time I had a go at making my own…and the result was totally delicious!
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How cold is it today? Last week we were enjoying lovely warm sunshine and the promise of spring was well and truly in the air. This morning, I wake up to the sight of snow falling gently and freezing temperatures outside.
When I was a child, days like these were spent inside, snuggled up in front of the fire, blankets over our legs, with hot cups of tea and our family’s favourite comfort cake…a Dripper! (also known as a Lardy cake!)
When I was growing up in Gloucestershire these sweet, sticky, fruity slices were known as ‘Drippers’ and they were a real treat, everybody loved them. Originally they would have been made with beef dripping in the filling but the vegetable fat and butter mixture makes for a more palatable cake!
So, what better for the coldest day of the year so far (not sure if that’s true but it really feels like it outside!) than to snuggle up with a slice…or two!
…is that there is so much to go wrong! A couple of weeks ago it was the TV, suddenly no power so off to the repair shop it goes. 2 weeks later having heard nothing we phone them to be greeted with…”TV? Ummm….I’ll get back to you”! Turns out it had been left in its box and completely fprgotten about until we rang! Anyway, that’s now sorted but in the meantime, the computer…suddenly no power. Something strange going on here we thought, 2 things suddenly going wrong with what appears to be the same problem. So, back it goes to the repair shop. When it gets back it turns out to be complete motherboard failure…
Still, in the meantime I was able to get on and start stitching my first dress from Vogue pattern V8764.
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Up for grabs is a copy of this lovely book Notes from the Jam Cupboard
by Mary Tregellas.
Full details about the book are on our Competition Page.
To enter, follow this link to our entry form http://a.pgtb.me/GTF5QT simple as that!
We will pick a winner at random at the end or March 2013.
Good luck!
