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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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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