Home by the Fire.

February at the cottage has brought beautiful clear bright skies & chilly days.

All along our garden hedge at the side of the church Snowdrops pop up their delicate little heads. Such a pretty gentle pure flower that adds such joy the the garden at this time of year. Soon the jolly sunny Daffodil will be blooming all around the village, already they are standing tall just waiting to open.

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The Rooks in the Spinney at the end of the garden are flocking & starting to nest. They are one of the busiest birds & chatty too while they work building their nests up high in the Pines. 

It is wonderful to hear the songbirds in the early hours when the sun is rising. Spring seems just around the corner & our thoughts are on the vegetable patch & what we are going to grow this year.

Last year we bought a piece of land off our neighbour who wanted to make his garden smaller. Our plans for this land is to make an orchard using old heritage varieties, so there will be much to do once the weather gets warmer. We levelled  & cleared the land of trees & bushes in the Autumn finding some lovely old items from times gone by. 

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Life has been wonderfully busy at the cottage, I do love a busy kitchen & that is where we have been spending most of our days near the wood burning cooker.

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I have been experimenting with different types of bread.

This one was a country loaf with Basil & tomato in it.

A lovely bread to have with a hearty soup.

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A little touch of Spring.

I found this beautiful 1920's tea set last Summer, it's perfect for Spring time.

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The twins decorating little boxes.

They love to be at the table with you.

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I had some coloured glace cherries to use up from Christmas so added them to rock cakes instead of raisins.

The children loved them & they looked so pretty too.

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The smell of fresh bread is one of the simplest joys.

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Fruit Bran Loaf & Wartime Ginger Oat Biscuits.

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This is the first time I have made these little biscuits & they were lovely.

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Wartime Ginger Oat Biscuits.

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In a pan melt 4 ozs of margarine with a dessert spoonful of golden syrup & 3 ozs of demerara sugar. If you can not get golden syrup honey might work or a light corn syrup.

Add to the pan 4 ozs of self raising flour & 4 ozs of oats, plus a tea spoon of ground ginger.

Mix well & spoon small rounded balls on to a greased tray.

Bake for 12 minutes at 325 / 170  

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Making quiche & mincemeat maids of honour.

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A visit to the Maud Foster Windmill.

They sell the most wonderful stone ground organic flour.

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I purchased some strong Spelt flour for bread making.

This is the first time I have used this flour, it has a lovely flavour.

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Making Marmalade.

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The oranges & lemons brought a little touch of sunshine to the kitchen.

I had never made Marmalade before, there was such a wonderful smell while making it.

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Jolly little jars of sunshine.

It tasted beautiful & I will make it every year now.

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We have quite a few meat free days in the week.

This is a favourite of our's Wartime Woolton Pie.

It's root vegetables cooked in stock with a mash potato & cheese topping.

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You can find the recipe on the internet, Lord Woolton was Minister of Food in the Second World War.

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Ma larkin's Shortbread from her little cookbook.

I use this book so much & really recommend finding a second hand copy, they are out of print now.

I use the quiche recipe from that book as well.

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Cinnamon Raisin bread for Sunday tea.

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I use the same bread recipe most of the time & play around with it, this dough was made with half whole wheat flour.

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Little everyday cinnamon buns.

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In a bowl mix 4 ozs of margarine with 4 ozs of sugar until soft.

Add 4 ozs of self raising wholemeal flour, a drop of almond essence & 2 eggs. Add a drop of milk to make a soft dropping consistency.

Fill small cake cases & sprinkle tops with plenty of cinnamon & a little sugar.

Bake in a moderate oven for 15 minutes, check after 12 minutes.

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I have another 1930's bow scarf on my needles.

This one is for myself, I do love vintage greens.

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Wholemeal Madeira Cake from Delia Smith Book of Cakes.

Another wonderful book you can find second hand which I use all the time.

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A new book arrived in the post last week.

I have the others in the series which are wonderful. This book is full of history, idea's & such lovely photo's.

I have been making my way through all the Miss Read Fairacre Series this Winter, such a wonderful series to disappear into each night before bed.

I can see me reading them again & again.

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The twins all ready for a little disco in their new 1950's style dresses.

father Christmas bought them their faux pearl necklaces.

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Homemade sausage rolls & fruit cake.

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Light Fruit Cake recipe.

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Cream 6 ozs of margarine with 6 ozs of soft light brown sugar.

Then add 3 eggs, 4 ozs of plain flour & 4 ozs of self raising flour.

Lastly mix in 6ozs of dried fruit & 2 ozs of glace cherries.

Spoon in to a greased & lined 7 inch cake tin & spinkle top with sugar.

Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours at 325.

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Saturday Tea.

A weekly tradition.

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The joy of board games.

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I found some raspberries & blackcurrants from our garden at the bottom of the deep freeze so I made a pie using bramley apples as well.

Lovely for our Sunday dinner.

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We made London Buns for the first time but used lemon zest instead of mixed peel.

The girls love to bake & get great joy from serving them at tea time.

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Last week we popped over to a lovely market town called Louth.

They have a reclamation yard, we are looking for a new old scullery sink to replace our even older one.

It's a wonderful place to have a rummage.

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Another quiche, a great way of using our eggs now the sun is out & the chickens are back to laying.

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Custard cake for lunch.

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This is just my basic sponge recipe that I have posted before but I add a thick custard to the middle.

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My love for this little boy just grows & grows.

He is my shadow & gives such joy.

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Every evening he is here closely by my side.

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A few new finds from our local antique yard the other day.

It was cold but lovely to get out & find some treasures.

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Thank you dear readers for all your comments, I read & appreciate every one.

I hope you enjoy the recipes.

Fondly Michelle

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