Quiet January Days at the Cottage

I love the month of January after the business of December, 

a time to catch up & finish many projects.

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We had a lovely Christmas Day at the cottage. Our oldest children came & spent the day with us, it's lovely to see all our eight children together.

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The village now has a softness to it at this time of year, a beautiful quietness surrounds the streams and fields. Up to a few days ago we have been having a mild Winter, trees are budding in the garden & bulbs are beginning to bloom. The mild weather had brought birds to the garden, playing in the abundance of Ivy along the church side of our garden which gives them much needed food at this time of year.

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Now the weather has turned into a cold snap and we sit fireside enjoying the warmth that it brings.

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Kitty with Betty the tea trolley on Sunday.

The twins do like to push her into the sitting room.

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 I found this old 1950's recipe booklet a little while ago but just have not had a chance to make anything from it.
Last Sunday I pulled it out of the drawer & decided to make these scones.
I am so glad I did, they were lovely & rose beautifully.

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The twins were given two Gingerbread House kits for Christmas.

Here are the finished result, they spent two enjoyable hours making these.

One was for Saturday tea & the other was for church the next day.

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As this week has turned very cold I have been baking a lot.

These are a recipe I have done many times, Ruth Motts cheese puff's.

So simple to make & so tasty for weekend tea.

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Orange Fruit Tea Bread.

I found this recipe in a book I found in a charity shop.

The book is an old Marks & Spenser's book about food for your freezer.

Its was so orangey.

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This is our favourite Banana Bread.

We had it for Sunday tea and also for breakfast with some fruit as the recipe makes two loaves.

It also freezes well.

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Using a mixer beat 8 ozs of white sugar, 4ozs light brown sugar & 8 ozs of margarine.

Mash 8 banana's with a masher & add them to the sugar & butter mix with 4 eggs & 1 teaspoon of almond essence.

Add 4ozs of wholemeal flour, 6 ozs of plain flour, a little grated nutmeg & 2 teaspoons of baking soda.

Fold together & put into greased loaf tins.

Bake at 350f for about 1 hour, check after 50 minutes.

Cool in tins & remove after 30 minute.

Enjoy

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Some of my beautiful Christmas gifts from the children.

A little shelf in the scullery now filled with green & cream things.

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These are a few finds we have found lately, I love these late 1920's Woman's magazine's.

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We had ordered some new Laura Ashley chairs for the sitting room.

Just after New Year they were delivered, they are so comfortable.

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Daffodils bringing a little sunshine to the kitchen.

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We just love a Victoria Sponge cake.

I made this using my basic cake recipe which I have posted before.

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Our first Grandchild a little girl is due at the end of March.

I have been busy knitting a little cardigan for her.

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I thought you might like to put a face to the name.

Here I am all ready to go grocery shopping.

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We are eating plenty of soups at the moment & I have been experimenting with different breads.

This bread is a Country Grain Plait.

I made Tasha Tudor's Vegetable Soup to go with it.

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Honey & Ginger Cake I made the other day for the children's lunch boxes.

This recipe came from this little vintage Stork Teatime booklet.

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This is a little dolly outfit I made for Kitty just before Christmas.

I love the way green & pink look together.

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Here are some photo's of Christmas time at the cottage.

I am sorry they are late.

We had laptop issues but now we have a new one, this is why I have not posted in a little while.

Sorry for the photo heavy post.

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George helping with the wrapping.

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A visit to see Father Christmas.

Such a magical morning.

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Mince pies on Christmas Eve.

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I couldn't put George's gift under the tree as he would have ate through the paper.

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Some baking with the twins.

I found these lovely coloured cherries in a cake decorating shop.

They made melting moments with them.

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Christmas Eve tea.

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Christmas Day desserts & puddings.

Trifle, Christmas Pudding & Tangerine Jelly for the twins.

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Little Mary on Boxing Day.

We always have Brandy Snaps filled with cream on Boxing Day.

My Grandmother always did that, so we are keeping the tradition going.

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Wishing all my dear readers a belated Happy New Year.

Thank you for all your lovely comments.

Fondly Michelle 

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Autumn Mellows into Winter

We have quietly slipped in to November, the misty magical mornings are upon us and beautiful low sunrises and sunsets surround the countryside.

All around the village the fields have fallen silent, leaving freshly ploughed fields with some having their tiny wheat seedlings planted. 

There is a quietness in the thickets and the tall spinney at the end of the garden.  Birds have flown leaving a stillness in the garden.

The grand old Oak tree's in the village are the last to see their leaves fall. While most have lost theirs, the oak stands tall with their covering of deep green. I watch them when I hang the laundry out waiting for signs that they will fall. Once that happens Winter will be truly upon us. The pheasants are back with their high sharp cry a true sign of the year coming to an end.

Life has been busy at the cottage with preserving as much as we can from the garden. The freezer is full with pies and crumbles, dessert cakes made from apples and pears. The pantry shelves are laden now, beauty is all around us.

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Apples have been going in too many different things, all my cook books have been well used finding new idea's.

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Getting ready for Christmas.

I have just finished this Christmas tea cosy, it was a fun knit and brightens the kitchen up on these dark days.

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We have had two birthdays lately, our two eldest Sons.

This is a Cherry and Almond cake baked for Dene's birthday.

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Fresh bread to go with homemade soup.

You can't beat it on these chilly days.

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It has become a tradition to read Pumpkin Moonshine every Halloween.

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Some of the books the postman has brought this month.

They will be well used.

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More ways of using apples.

Our trees have been truly abundant.

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The twins wearing their poppies to remember.

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The chickens have just got a new home.

It is lovely to watch them from the cottage walking up the little ladder.

The are happy hens.

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This is another new recipe given to me from a lady on Instagram.

Cherry and Oat Slice.

We have made it many times since.

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Changing colours in our village.

I love this time of year.

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The last of the gardens produce has been going in to chutney.

Green tomatoes, pears, apples and beetroot.

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Fruit Chutney Recipe.

2 to 3 onions.

3lb of mixed fruit.

1 teaspoon of salt.

1 teaspoon of dry mustard.

1lb of brown sugar.

1 pint of malt vinegar.

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Chop up onion small, then chop fruit. Peel and core the apples or pears and take stones out of plums.

Add everything to a jam pan and boil until mixture goes thick.

Boil roughly for an hour.

When you drag a wooden spoon over bottom of the pan and it separates it is done.

I idea is to boil of the vinegar.

Bottle up and don't eat for about 6 weeks.

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This is the recipe I use every year and it uses up so much fruit, I put green tomatoes in too.

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Cold Tea Cake is one of my favourite cakes.

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I started a new blanket for George, he does love to be cosy.

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This is an upside down pear cake that went in the freezer for Christmas.

The freezer is well stocked mostly with apple goodies.

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Pear Jam.

This is the first year I have made jam with pears and thought it was a nice way of preserving our pears.

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George is always somewhere cosy this time of year.

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Our hens are still laying wonderfully despite the misty mornings and shorter days.

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Beautiful berries on the holly bushes surrounding our cottage.

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Homemade Christmas Puddings.

The twins made their wish when stirring them.

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The colours are stunning this time of year.

Its lovely to walk through the countryside around our village.

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Chocolate Cake made for Harry's birthday.

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These are apple and mincemeat pies that were bound for the freezer for Christmas.

I put a layer of mincemeat in the bottom then layered cinnamon sugared apples over the top and then covered with a crumble mix with pastry stars to finish.

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Christmas is creeping up on us so we had a trip to an antique centre to hunt for vintage items for the twins, they love the out of print Enid Blyton stories.

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One of the pretty stalls at the antique centre.

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This is a pretty thatched cottage on our way to a lovely market town we go to quite often.

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I hope everyone is enjoying these beautiful Autumn colours.

This time of year is so beautiful.

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Fondly Michelle 

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