Cold November Days

The weather has turned now here in England, the north wind is definitely blowing.

How bare the land looks around our village as the last of the sugar beet is harvested & taken away.

Life at the cottage has been full with jobs this week, there is always much to do before Winter sets in.

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I made cinnamon flop for breakfast.

It is an old Amish recipe from a book I have for many years.

They are very easy to make & very much enjoyed.

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I have been cooking pumpkins.

Pumpkin Butter.

I have been making this for a few years now, the children love it especially on hot buttered English muffins.

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The pumpkin butter ready for potting up.

The smell was wonderful, so warm & seasonal.

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The last of the canning finished for the year.

It always feels so good to see all that your garden has produced for you over the year.

I do not can a large amount but enough for us to enjoy the fruits of our labour for a year.

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Canning shelves in our pantry.

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Pumpkin Loaves.

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Some of the pumpkin went in to bread, two to eat & two for the freezer.

This is a recipe I was kindly giving by a friend 10 years ago that lives in Massachusetts.

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Our beautiful cherry tree is such a beautiful colour this time of year.

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Remember remember the 5th of November.

Bonfire night.

This is how a nearby village celebrates the anniversary of the Guy Fawkes plot to blow up the houses of parliament.

It is a very family affair and all the funds raised goes to the upkeep of the little playground.

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It was so cold, we were glad when the bonfire got going.

The twins in their crocheted scarves I made last year.

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Sidney enjoying his chips.

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Mary enjoying the fireworks.

The girls were so happy watching the fireworks.

We had such a special evening but it was so good to get home & get some warmth in to our toes.

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I finished reading The Cottage Diaries & found it a very enjoyable book that again I didn't want to end.

Now I am reading Larkrise to Candleford.

I have watched the television series & was enchanted by the stories & sets so when I saw this old edition in the old book shop in town I couldn't resist.

This copy is full of pretty country prints which lets you picture times from a bygone era.

I am really enjoying this book & how Flora describes all the little details of a time long ago just before machines came in to the countryside. She captured the countryside before traditions & a way of life disappeared.

This is a book you can disappear into & imagine yourself there in the cottages she describes in so much detail.

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One of the old country prints in the book.

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Rice Pudding.

This is such a simple dessert, we had it with home made canned rhubarb.

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Today it is Remembrance Day, a time to remember our fallen & the families who have lost a loved one. We are going down to the War Memorial Hospital in town to remember those soldiers & read some of the poppy's laid in remembrance.

Keep warm.

Fondly Michelle

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Warm Days & Chutney.

We have had an unseasonably warm October in our little part of the world, so we have been spending time cleaning up the garden ready for Winter.

I love to admire the outside bare beauty of our countryside this time of year.

Our wonderful holly trees are abundant with berries turning from orange to red, perfect for our little birds & Christmas decorating.

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These were the last of our pears, now they are in some chutney I made & also the fruit bowl.

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Garden Chutney.

We emptied the greenhouse of the last of the tomatoes & picked the last pears, rhubarb & apples to make chutney for Christmas.

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The first batch was made with tomatoes & rhubarb.

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The rhubarb always makes a smooth chutney ideal for sandwiches.

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The second batch was made with tomatoes, apples & pears.

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I do love the jewel colours this combination made.

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This made a colourful chunky chutney to go with cold meat.

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The jars cooling ready for the pantry shelves.

It feels so good to use up everything in the garden & to not waste a thing.

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Fruit Chutney Recipe.

2 medium onions

3 lb of mixed fruit { pears, apples, rhubarb,tomatoes, plums }

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon of spice

1 teaspoon of dry mustard

1 lb of brown sugar

4 oz of chopped dried dates

1 pint of malt vinegar

Chop up the fruit & onion & place in a jam pan with everything else.

Bring to the boil & then simmer until the chutney goes thick, around 3/4 of an hour.

Keep stirring so it does not stick to the pan.

I always test by dragging my wooden spoon along the bottom of the pan to see if it is thick enough.

Pot in to clean jars & top with plastic coated lids or old glass kilner lids.

This recipe gets better the longer you leave it.

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The hens enjoying the twins sunflower heads.

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A little rabbit enjoying food in the ground with little robin red breast next to him.

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I made some pinwheels again & tried cheese & chutney from last year this time.

It is such a good way to use up last years canned goods & find nice combinations for Christmas.

We will have all eight children here with partners too this Christmas so I will have to find easy things to cook.

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Our dear friends & the twins Godparents had a three week trip to New England.

They brought us back some wonderful gifts, the calendar brought back fond memories of our trip to Old Sturbridge Village 12 years ago.

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I harvested our hydrangea's, they dry so quick in our kitchen with the warm wood stove.

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We still have an abundance of apples in the garden so I made a pudding with them & also some plums from the freezer.

One tree is still laden with beautiful apples which turn red as the season changes.

It was delicious served warm with cream.

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Thank you dear friends for all your kind words, I really enjoy your comments.

Fondly Michelle

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The Comfort's of Home

What a lovely few days we have had, the sun has been shining & all in our little corner of the world is happy & contented.

This week has been full of so many beautiful moment's.

I do love being at home just doing simple pleasures like baking, gardening, knitting & just living our simple life.

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 A traditional corn dolly made at harvest time for a sweet heart.

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Glimpses of home.

 

We live in a mud & stud cottage built before 1741, it is a timber framed building with thatched roof & tiles.

This is our hall with original brick flooring.

Some of the timbers are older than the cottage, I never stop looking at the beauty of these old beams.

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A corner of the kitchen.

The brick floors run through the cottage.

They were covered up when we bought the cottage, what a surprise they were.

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Old cast iron range in the hall.

This is one of Bobby's places to lay down, sunshine in the morning & a soft rug.

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Old timber leading in to the kitchen.

Some are still stuffed with Georgian & Victorian newspaper's, I haven't the heart to remove them or the old paint.

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Old lime paint.

With our solid fuel cooker it is a great area for drying flowers & herbs.

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I found a beautiful old cookbook in an antique book shop the other day & baked Fat Rascal's from it. Each recipe gives the history of the food & it said Fat Rascal's were handed out in Yorkshire Inns.
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They were enjoyed for Sunday tea.

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A beautiful old book by Louisa May Alcott that I found in the same book shop as the cookery book.

I love old books & love to read them.

I found the Georgian china teacup & saucer in our small market too.

Our town is full of antique shop's, the cup cost an amazing 50p & the cup & saucer £1, how could I not bring them home to add to my other one's.

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Hanging out the laundry this beautiful morning I spotted this butterfly enjoying the sun.

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It stayed so still for me & was still there when I got the wash in.

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This is our scullery with old sink.

We have a very simple kitchen & do most things by hand.

The little window would have been an outside wall many years ago. In the Victorian period they put a little pantry extension on, I am so pleased they did.

The glass & lead in the window is so old, all hand blown & one piece has been signed with initial's & our village's name.

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We found this beautiful old baker's cabinet a long time ago.

At some point someone brought it over the sea from America.

The large square timber in the wall is one end of the huge beam that is above in the inglenook fireplace in the kitchen.

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Apple butter being made.

This is a recipe a dear friend Suze from Maine gave me a few years back & I do it every year with our own apples. It sits all day in the bottom oven cooking so slowly, the smell is wonderful.

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Plenty of jars for the pantry shelves.

Pumpkin & pear butter's are next on our list.

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The pears in the garden are nearly ready for the pear butter.

I am trying to think of another way of preserving them, maybe a spiced jam.

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Dried fruit soaking overnight for tea bread. This time I decided to add some dried apple pieces.

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We are out for a picnic at the weekend to a 1940's event at a National Trust house.

Tea bread is always a favourite to take out with us.

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The Sweet Pea's just keep blooming, such a heavenly smell.

I think next year I will make a large twig frame for them.

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Victoria Sponge Cake for tea. I still have so much of last's year jam so it is a good way of using it up.

The hens are laying so many eggs at the moment, they must know I love to bake.

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This will not last long, it will all go at tea.

I have some of my Grandmother's china & glass plates, one was my Great Grandmother's, we use them all the time & her cake knife.

Treasured memories off her come to my mind when we use them & even though the twins never knew her they talk about her as if she has just popped round for tea.

Grandma was a very talented lady, in her early life she was a milliner to the royal family. She loved to sew clothes & later in life painted.

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I am really enjoying doing this 1940's pattern, I have to finish the neck & then just the sleeves & ties to do. I found some lovely fabric at a local market last week so plan to make a historical apron with it. I have a lovely pattern that I have not used yet, I was waiting for the right fabric. I might have enough left to make the twins matching aprons for Christmas but don't tell.

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As part of home school the girls made pizza for tea.

We have had an abundance of tomatoes this year in the green house, everyone loves these little ones & perfect for pizza.

Green tomatoe chutney will be made in October, we have so many green tomatoes.

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They are so happy when we all sit round the table & tell them how yummy their pizza's were.

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Have a blessed weekend.

Fondly

Michelle