September 4, 2013 by sarah
Please go to this website and have a look at the pictures… are these not the most beautiful food pictures you have ever seen? If the standard of mine ever gets close to this I will be very happy!
http://www.jenniferfarleyphotography.com/
Jen I think your photos are AMAZING!
Category Home | Tags: | No Comments
August 18, 2013 by sarah
The cucumber plants in the front garden have been enjoying the sunshine. A few too many came at one time so I made some cucumber pickles. I have never made this before but we need to wait a month before we can try it 🙁
550g cucumbers, sliced in 4mm slices
1 tbsp salt
300ml white wine vinegar
100g granulated sugar
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
3 garlic cloves thinly sliced
In a large bowl layer the cucumber and salt, cover and leave overnight. The next day, rinse well under cold water and dry on kitchen paper.
In a saucepan combine the rest of the ingredients and heat gently until sugar dissolved. Bring to the boil and add the cucumber, bring back to the boil and pot up immediately in hot sterilised jars. It made 2 of these kilner type jars from Ikea.
Category Home, Recipe Index | Tags: , cucumber pickles, others | No Comments
August 11, 2013 by sarah
This was our 3rd wedding anniversary present to each other – a flight in a Tiger Moth at IWM Duxford. We had one each, went up and waved at each other and even got to try flying them. Amazing experience – it felt so real with the wind in your hair! You are probably wondering why this is a third anniversary present? It is to do with the leather flying jackets!
Category Home, Live life | Tags: | No Comments
July 25, 2013 by sarah
Last weekend I managed to squeeze in some jam making before the strawberries disappear. I was considering going to PYO until I saw it was way more expensive than paying an Eastern European immigrant to pick them and stack them on the selves of the local supermarket! But the raspberries are expensive so I might pick them.
This recipe seemed bomb proof until this weekend when, once I’d potted it, I realised it was too soft set and so had to reboil it for a bit longer, resterilise the jars etc… so the nice break from study turned into a hot, frustrating session! But nothing beats the lovely taste of summer on some fresh scones …
And a picture of Jim when we went to RIAT (http://www.airtattoo.com/airshow) on Sunday to see the Vulcan (http://www.vulcantothesky.org/).
Strawberry Jam
2kg small ripe but not over ripe strawberries
1.7kg jam sugar (warm in the oven)
juice of 2 lemons
Hull the strawberries and set aside 10-20 of the smallest berries. Put in a jam pan, add the warmed sugar and lemon juice and bring to the boil; stir, stir, stir. Before it comes to a full rolling boil decide how chunky you want the jam – at this stage I usually use a potato masher and mash until rough mush. Add the retained berries and bring to a rolling boil (i.e. a boil that is not stopped by stirring).
Boil on a rolling boil for 5 minutes then check the set (make sure you have taken it off the set while you check). Recipes vary as to how long this will take but I usually find 5-10minutes is all that is needed. Strawberry jam doesn’t set very solid.
Take off the heat and skim off the scum – this is cooks perks! Leave to cool for 15 minutes or so then give a good stir to redistribute the chunks and pot up.
I’ve just found out that for WI standards (i.e. the local show) the jam must be within 3mm of the top of the jar. No mention of a waxed disc so I didn’t bother this time.
Category Home, Making | Tags: , others | No Comments
July 17, 2013 by sarah
Category Home, Live life | Tags: | No Comments
July 17, 2013 by sarah
Here are a few snaps of Berlin from our recent holiday there. We almost bought the solar powered waving Queen as our tacky souvenir until I pointed out it is not of the country we were visiting and was made in China!
Category Home, Live life | Tags: | No Comments
June 30, 2013 by sarah
I took a box of these baby feet cookies to the baby shower. This is my first attempt at cut-out cookies and royal icing and piped icing biscuits. Well, actually second attempt for the cookies because the first recipe, from my trusty Nigella’s ‘How To Be A Domestic Goddess’, were disappointing; not at all buttery or sweet like they should be and easily burnt. So 10pm on Thursday I made a second batch which were much more successful. This recipe is made up from various sources when I noticed I needed to add more butter and to leave out the baking powder. I have to admit to much preferring a nice slice of moist cake or a tasty cupcake to a biscuit or cookie but I may be tempted to make these from time to time, especially as they can be made in advance (supposedly keeping for up to a month).
Butter/sugar cookies for cut out
200g unsalted butter, soft/room temperature
150g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
300g plain flour, 1 tsp salt
Royal Icing
500g icing sugar
3 tbsp dried egg white powder
100-150ml warm water
Category Home, Recipe Index | Tags: , bake, baking, biscuits, butter, cookies, royal icing, sugar cookies | No Comments
June 30, 2013 by sarah
The practice manager of the practice where I work had her baby shower on Friday. I put together a little bundle of baby themed things, including some hand stitched felt baby booties and some appliqued onesies and bibs. The booties are surprisingly easy to make and look so cute. The pattern and instructions is from http://www.purlbee.com/the-purl-bee/2011/12/6/mollys-sketchbook-felt-baby-shoes.html a fantastic website I discovered recently. Sadly the online store and shop are in the USA, but perhaps this is a blessing otherwise I would end up spending all my money there!
This was my first attempt at applique and it was a bit mixed success-wise, mainly because the antique sewing machine I use is on the way out and so the stitching is irregular. The patterns are just images searched for on Google and simplified to make them easier to stitch, stuck to the fabric with Bondaweb. I am fairly pleased with the result and will try and make an applique strawberry T-shirt for myself for our holiday in Germany next week.
Congratulations Anna!
Category Home, Making | Tags: | 1 Comment
June 1, 2013 by sarah
I finally get time to bake a cake again – I needed the therapy. I found a bag of dessicated coconut in my baking ingredients drawer and decide to make a coconut cake. The recipe called for Malibu but I hate the stuff (smells of cheap tanning oil) so substituted rum which works nicely. The recipe is courtesy of Nigella’s Domestic Goddess – I think I must be making my way through the book! Lilac and clematis flowers from the garden.
2 x 21cm sandwich tins, lined and buttered
225g unsalted butter, softened, 225g caster sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 4 large eggs, 200g self-raising flour, 25g cornflour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 50g dessicated coconut soaked in 125ml boiling water.
Filling – 25g dessicated coconut, toasted in dry pan, 75g soft unslated butter, 150g icing sugar, 1 tbsp rum/Malibu
Make the sponge by the all in on method and cook for 25mins at 180 degrees until cake tester comes out clean.
Make the buttercream by softening butter then sifting over icing sugar, beat until smooth then add the toasted coconut.
Iced with glace icing made from icing sugar and rum, topped with some more toasted coconut.
Enjoy your slice of coconut heaven!
Category Home, Recipe Index | Tags: , bake, baking, coconut, kitsch, retro, vintage | No Comments
June 1, 2013 by sarah
At the weekend, we took a short break in the Peak District. On a trip to Calke Abbey (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/calke-abbey/ , well worth a visit), I found this pile of old magazines from 1950 in the second hand bookshop. I just love the adverts so couldn’t resist buying a pile. They look like they belong in their own museum. I need to think of how I’ll use them now…
Category Home, Lovely Vintage | Tags: | No Comments
