Summer Time in the Country

As Summer draws to a close I reflect on how quickly it passes, soon it will be Autumn & we will be enjoying the warmth of our hearths.

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It is now harvest time here in the country & the fields & lanes are busy with activity.

The last of the Summer flowers are fading & have an aged & worn look to them but one still stands tall & is in full bloom, the elegant Hollyhock peeping through all the other flowers in the garden as it sways gently in the wind.

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Soon it will be our villages Harvest Festival & we can give thanks for the fruits of the fields, our gardens & the hedgerows.

Our own garden has an abundance of apples just waiting to be made into chutneys which will sit on the pantry shelves waiting for Christmas to accompany cold meats & cheeses. Apple Butter will also be made from our apples, it is a favourite with us on hot buttered English Muffins.

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The Summer has flown by, with family celebrations, baking, gardening, preserving, decorating, dress making & lovely days out.

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I have added some recipes as promised, I hope you all enjoy them.

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We had a beautiful family picnic at Gunby Hall in Lincolnshire.

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Some of the children playing croquet on the green in front of the hall.

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Kitty & I loved exploring the beautiful blooms in the gardens.

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Gunby has many different types of Roses.

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The gardens are beautiful, with so many flowers, fruit trees & vegetables.

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Marmalade Cake.

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This is a lovely cake for teatime.

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Mix together in a bowl

6ozs soft dark brown sugar

6 ozs margarine

3 eggs

9 ozs Self Raising Flour

14 ozs of dried fruit {Sultanas, Raisins, Currants, Apricots & Cherries} You do not have to use them all, just a selection.

2 tablespoons of marmalade

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Grease & flour a deep cake tin & bake for over two hours in a low oven 160.

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We have had a few beautiful days in our special Yorkshire Dales exploring all the pretty Dales Villages.

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Beautiful Richmond. The river & castle are stunning, there is so much history there.

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We travelled up to the Beamish open Air Museum Georgian Fair, it was a wonderful way of finishing our history topic ~ The Georgians.

The twins dressed in Georgian Empire Line dresses for the day, here is Kitty having her silhouette done.

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Mary making a Corn Dolly.

There are so many different designs of Corn Dollies, each one having a different meaning.

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Kitty listening to this lovely lady about Corn Dollies.

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This is a recipe for Georgian Gingerbread.

We could taste it in Pockley Manor the Georgian Farmhouse at Beamish.

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Beautiful pantry shelves at Pockley Manor.

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The girls in one of the upstairs bedrooms.

I love how Beamish encourages you to explore & nothing is roped off.

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Outside Pockley Manor.

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In the gardens there. 

We bought a beautiful handmade basket from one of the traditional craft stalls that were selling their wares at The Georgian Fair.

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Georgian Music.

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Home Farm at Beamish Open Air Museum is set in the 1940's.

This cupboard makes me feel right at home, I am always drawn to the kitchens in museums.

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Yorkshire Buns

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I have been making these for many years, they have a buttery crumbly texture.

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Mix 8 ozs of Plain Flour & 2 1/2 tsp of baking powder together.

Add 4ozs of demerara sugar & 2 ozs of sultanas & stir gently.

Add 4 ozs of butter & one well beaten egg.

Work together with your hands to form a dough then cut out using a cutter.

Bake for 10 mins at 180.

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The twins enjoy baking so much, here they are making Fairy Cakes.

All I have to do now is put them in the oven for them.

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Another day in North Yorkshire, this time to Thirsk the home of James Herriot.

It was market day so I took my shopping basket.

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Beautiful poppies on one of our nature walks across the village fields.

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A special treat.

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We very rarely go to the pictures, probably once every two years & always to this little Picture House in Woodhall Spa. It's an old Picture House that has an organ that plays during the intermission.

We went to see Churchill.

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Mincemeat Slice.

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This is another recipe I make regularly.

It is very moist with the mincemeat but sometimes I do it sometimes with chocolate chips.

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Grease & flour a round cake tin.

Mix together 5 ozs of Self Raising Flour or wholemeal Self Raising Flour

3 ozs oats

3 ozs light soft brown sugar

Then rub in 4 ozs of butter

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Put half of the mixture in the cake tin & press down with the back of a spoon, I find a metal spoon best for this.

Spoon on a small jar of mincemeat.

Then cover with other half of oat mixture & press down.

Bake at 180 for 20 minutes. Do not over bake, it should be a pale golden colour.

Whilst hot sprinkle with sugar.

Leave to cool in tin & then slice into wedges.

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I double this recipe up as it lasts well.

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Our Daisy turned 18.

All of the family came & we had a lovely birthday lunch.

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In the garden on Daisy's birthday with one of our darling Granddaughters Matilda Florence.

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Jam Making.

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I used Elderflowers with the homegrown Gooseberries this year, the smell was wonderful.

We have quite a few Elderberry Bushes at the bottom of the garden.

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This is my Gooseberry Jam recipe I made every year.

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4 1/2 lbs of Gooseberries

1 1/2 pints of water

6lbs of sugar

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Top & tail the Gooseberries, then wash & drain them.

Place them into the preserving pan with the water & simmer gently until the skins have burst & the fruit has reduced a little.

Add the sugar while stirring until it is dissolved.

Then boil until setting point is reached.

Pot up into sterilized jars.

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Some of the children getting involved.

Topping & tailing the Gooseberries takes a while.

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All finished & topped off with pretty calico covers.

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I finished a bolero for Mary.

It knitted up quite small so Kitty has chosen another pattern for me to knit for her.

The bolero is an original 1940's pattern.

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A day out at Belton House.

We love to visit this house & gardens & the second hand book shop they have there.

Kitty is enchanted with anything Jane Austen & as Belton House was used in the BBC version of Pride & Prejudice she was very excited to go.

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Sweet Peas in the garden.

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Beautiful dark Hollyhocks, one of my favourite cottage garden flowers.

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Lovely Lavender at Belton House.

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There was an abundance of Butterflies on the Lavender.

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Walking in the footsteps of Elizabeth Bennet.

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The desk where Mr Darcy {Colin Firth} wrote to Miss Elizabeth Bennet.

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This is my recipe for Victoria Sponge Cake, I do hope you like it.

Sometimes we have jam & cream in the middle, it is also nice with some sliced Strawberries for a treat. I also make a thick custard for the filling which is very much enjoyed.

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Mix all together 

3/4 lb of Butter

3/4 lb of Sugar

6 eggs

3/4 lb of Self Raising Flour

& a little milk if needed.

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Grease & flour two sandwich tins, this makes a big cake so the tins need to be quite deep.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 170.

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Leave to cool before spreading jam & cream in the middle & then dust with a little sugar.

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Thank you dear readers for all your beautiful comments.

I hope you all enjoy the recipes & the last few weeks of Summer.

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Fondly Michelle

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Springtime is Nearly Here.

New life is shooting up all around us here in the English Countryside this time of year.

It's beautiful to see all those little strong bulbs pushing through the frosty earth wanting to put on their show of colour to welcome in the Spring. 
I always know when the warmer weather is on it's way as the Rooks return to the rookery in the spindly pines at the end of our garden. They are busy building their nest's, I have never seen a more busier bird at the task of nest building.

The villages hedgerow are filled with an abundance of things if you take a while & look closely. The girl's have been doing a weekly nature journal which is not only teaching them but me too. 

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Mary studying the Lesser Colendine which we discovered on one of our nature walk's.

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Birds have come back to the cottage garden to sing their sweet morning song, warm day's do not seem that far away. These day's hold many thought's of flower's & our vegetable garden. The girl's have their own idea's of what they would like to do & grow in the garden, I love to watch them blossom with their imagination & thought's.

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Cottage days are filled with nature walk's, baking, gardening & learning.
Each day holds a new experience.
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Kitty on one of our weekly nature walks, that week was looking for signs of nesting bird's.
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We follow Lynn Seddon's Exploring Nature with Children.
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www.raisinglittleshoots.com
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It's a perfect balance between outside work & written work.
The girl's are doing their journal's in the style of Edith Holden.
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Sidney turned fourteen at the end of February.

He chose Chocolate Cake with as many treat's as I could get on the cake, he always chooses Chocolate Cake.

I rarely get a photo of these two boy's, Danny will be 16 in May I can't believe how the time has flown.

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I finished another 1930's Bow Scarf for the twin's beautiful pen friend in America.

This little girl love the 1930's.

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Custard Pie & two Apple Crumb Pie's.

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Now that the hen's are starting to lay more egg's Custard Pie is ideal to use them up in.

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Recipe for the Custard Pie I make.

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Combine 1/2 cup of sugar

3 egg's

2 cups of milk

Mix these ingredient's with a hand whisk for a few minute's.

Then pour in to a pie case.

Sprinkle top with nutmeg & bake for around 40 minutes at 350 o

I find this recipe quick to mix up.

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I helped the twins make themselves a skirt each out of an old skirt of mine.

They are so happy with the end result & they love practicing their sewing skills.

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Spring flowers are popping up all around our village.

These were blooming on our nature walk last week.

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Apricot cake for tea & one for the freezer.

I like to have a few cakes in the freezer in case of emergencies.

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Hand crocheted dishcloths.

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Oatmeal & Chocolate Chip Brownies.

I used The Amish Cook's recipe from The Amish Cook's Baking Book.

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My love of antique linen's.

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An empty farm worker's cottage on one of our walks around our village.

I love to look inside & see glimpses of the former occupant's.

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It has the same window's as our cottage.

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Beautiful fireplace.

Each room has a faded glory to it.

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Old coat hooks in the round porch.

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Entrance way.

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Another old fireplace with Art Deco tiles.

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Beauty found in old age.

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The front of the cottage with round porch.

Around the property are beautiful old apple tree's.

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I love to make pie's from the many Amish cook book's I have.

One of our favourite's is Lemon Sponge Pie from The Amish Cook Baking Book. This is one of my favourite cook book's.

The twin's made some little jam tart's with the left over pastry.

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Pumpkin & Chocolate Chip Cookies.

These were very healthy, the children loved them so we will be making them again.

The recipe is from Thy Hand has Provided Cook Book.

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http://www.thyhandhathprovided.com/

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Barm Cakes.

These are a very soft roll popular in the North of England.

We ate them with homemade Leek & Potato Soup.

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The girl's love to bake & quite often take over from me.

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I hope you all have a beautiful early Spring.

Thank you dear reader's for all kind comment's, I feel so blessed to have you all following me.

Fondly Michelle

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