By Helen

back with images....

I am sooo happy!  I am back able to share images with you.  A BIG thank you to the Typepad team for giving me the fix and to Si for bearing with me, holding my hand, etc, while I talk about technical things which we have little idea about.

Where was I?  Oh yes, domestic goddess in the kitchen.  Here, with a massive ta-dah, are the fruits of my labour...

Lovely chuntney, made from apples, dates, tomartoes and onions...

Perfect for eating with a large piece of cheddar at Christmas.

Lemons...

..for my favourite cake...

Only problem with this cake: I can never get it to look great, but the taste...

a day in the kitchen...

Yesterday I decided to be a true domestic goddess and spend the day in the kitchen. I'll post some images here very soon: just sorting out a few technical gremlins - as Si and I enter the 21st century!

 

baking for Christmas...

Baking for Christmas starts early in our home.  There is a family rumour, one which I follow, that your Christmas cakes must be made before Halloween.  Now I don't think that this is because cakes made after Halloween will have ghosty and witchiness in them: I think it is so that you have sufficient time to feed your cakes before the big day.  Christmas cake makers seem to be split into two distinct camps: those that feed and those that soak.  Me, I am a feeder!

I love how the fruit mixes together: and that the cherries look like glistening red jewels...

Mixing everything together, calls for another family tradition: as the fruit is mixed with the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, ground almonds and spice - you make a wish for yourself and for those who will eat the cake.  I also follow by this tradition, no-one can have too many wishes...

Cake ready for the oven, calls for (you guessed it) more family tradition.  The cake needs to be cooked for one hour for every egg you use.  This is genius (though did make my twelve egg wedding cake a bit of an epic) and never fails - so must be followed.  The next tradition is a little more unusual, but never-the-less is followed - oh and has never caused anyone to come down with anything nasty as a result of eating the cake.  The cake tin should not be washed between cake baking: wipe with a cloth, yes, wash with water and soap out no.  The tin I use has been passed down from at least my great-grandmother, as has the cake recipe, and to my knowledge has never washed...

Following all of that you have a beautiful cake, ready for feeding, ready for eating on Christmas day with a good big wedge of cheese...

Yummmmm....

happy birthday cake...

Last weekend it was Si's birthday, so in the true tradition of birthdays, I downed crochet hook in favour of spatula and created cake!

I couldn't decide what flavour cake to make Si, as he likes ALL cake: and he couldn't decide what flavour he wanted, because he likes ALL cake.  So I  set out to make a coffee, chocolate, vanilla cake.  Loosely based on the Victoria Sponge, with added umpf: I am not sure the WI would approve.

I went for a divide and rule approach, splitting the batter in to three, and then adding the flavour.  To be quite truthful; I couldn't be bothered with the faff of making three small batters.  So to one third I added coffee, very strong instant coffee.  To one third I added cocoa powder mixed with water - thank you L for that tip. To the last third I added milk so that I would have the same consistency of batter.  Told you the WI would not approve!

I decided not to be all arty and try and swirl the batter around into interesting and creative shapes, opting for something which rather resembled a football.  Ironic as Si hates football: but useful as my friend's small child loves it...

It worked well...

...even if I do say so myself.

All that was left to do was decorate it...

...and eat :-)

Si was more than happy with the cake, and I was happyish with the make. 

Note to self: more cocoa powder next time.

Note to Si: remember this cake in March.

Now back to the hook...

hello October...

October!  How did that happen?  I don't feel like I am done with September, yet I find myself turning the calendar.  Still the beautiful sun-shine does help.  Who would have thought on the first weekend of October we would be sat out in the garden having afternoon tea...

 
I made some of my very favourite oaty, chewy biscuits and settled down with a cup of tea and hook in hand ready to complete , yes complete, some of those unfinished crochet projects that I need to get done.  Aim by the end of today is...

• finish the house gift for my friend before she moves into said home
• join together as many hexagons of my blanket as possible
• may be start, or think about starting, some of the other projects I had in mind...

Here's to crochet, to sun-shine and to October...

Happy crocheting

jam not crochet

Following on from my celebration of September I decided that it was the perfect time to make jam.  Bramble jam, to be exact: or Blackberry jam, if that is what you prefer to call those deep purple jewels of fruitiness.

First thing was to pick the fruits, doing this in true urban style Si and I headed off to our local cemetery.  A strange place for foraging you may think, but  not so: it is fantastic.  In parts of the cemetery nature has been left (despite the very best of efforts by a team of volunteers) to take over.  This along  with all that nitrogen in the soil makes for brilliant growing conditions.  So long as you aren't spookedby the graves and the uppy-down nature of the ground (you can imagine why) it is the perfect place for gathering natures bounty.

We ended up collecting about four-pounds of Brambles, which were then turned into jam.  Or jelly to be more precise...

 
Boiling up the fruit, to make a beautiful dark purple molten lava...

 
Taking time to allow the juice to drip slowly through: no squeezing..!

 
Back to the boil.  Full concentration needed to hit that all important setting point...

 
Ta-dah..........................................

 
Si's bounty: for turing into spiced apple vodka.  Yum!

Promise: back to crochet next time...

baking not crocheting...

For some reason (not entirely sure what) I haven't spent much time with my hook, over the last few days. 

Perhaps it was the lure of new season apples and all that they bring: like apple and cinnamon cake...

 
Yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Especially with cold vanilla ice-cream!!!!!!!!!

May-be I will get round to some crocheting today.  May-be I will just eat cake..!