Ginger Biscuit anybody............?

Phone rings "hey mum we are 50 minutes away" (he told us the location so we knew Robert and Anneka would arrive in less than an hour) OK..........you have just mixed this recipe ready to roll out and make Gingerbread Men.  I took dessert-spoonfuls of the mixture and dolloped on to a prepared tray.  I use one of those cooking sheets that doesn't have be be greased very handy if you are making biscuits, then you wash it, dry it and roll it up and store away for next time!

Just put a few dollops on the tray and cook to the recipe, leave a good space between each dollop and don't overcook them they burn very quickly because of the sugar content.

and ginger biscuit anyone.................?

Do you remember this post last year - Robert and Anneka have returned back to England last week, they extended their six month sabbatical to nearly a year, now they are just saying hello to various friends and relatives, then I will see them again over Christmas on the proper days!

Apple & Raisin with Cinnamon Bread and Butter Pudding

Thought you might like to share my version of the old fashion Bread and Butter Pudding.

I don't usually measure anything for this recipe, only the liquid.

Make it either day before or at least half hour before you would like to cook it.  I make it in the morning for evening meal.

Slices of day old bread I prefer to use white bread for this recipe)

Cooking or Eating Apples (one apple per layer)

Few Raisins

4x Eggs

Milk

3ozs Sugar

Butter

Scant quarter teaspoon Cinnamon

Butter the bread, and cut the crusts off.  Layer the base of the oven-dish with bread.  Peel and slice one apple and scatter a few raisins onto the bread.  Repeat this for a least two more layers saving a couple slices of bread for the top.

Break the eggs into a pint measuring jug add the sugar, and cinnamon whisk, then top up with milk to measuring one pint of liquid and whisk again.  

Pour over the bread and let it soak into bread before cooking

Cook about 45minutes on 170 centigrade - gas 3

What to do with the crusts............?  Freeze them until you are ready to make this!

Inspiration!

Have you wanted to take a close-up photograph of something on a flat surface?

You haven't got a steady hand?

I asked my husband if he could make me a frame to hold the camera.  

In all of two seconds he came up with this!

This is a frame that comes with microwaves with a grill.  Never likely to use it, but it is handy for putting things from hot-pots to pot plants on.  New microwave recently and we have another one!

Took one bar out because the lens of the camera would not go through the bars

and we have a camera frame!

Making an extra large circle in eight steps.

I needed a large circle for a pattern I am creating.

Draw round a large dinner plate

Cut out the circle and carefully fold into four.  Unfold and refold into four again carefully matching the crease lines to one another.  This time leave folded like this

Fold back onto itself and keep folding back and forth till it looks like a concertina.

Unfold and gently pierce the centre, this can be done just using a pencil.

Stick to the centre a large sheet of paper, this can be brown paper or newspaper.

Now decide how large you would like your pattern.

Say for instance you want a 26" circle,
then halve the measurement and mark at the 13" mark.

Put the zero end of the tape at the centre and following the
crease lines, marking as you go

Now carefully join the dots to one-another

  One large circle!

Scotch Eggs, Sausage Rolls and Lemon Tart

I took it into my head to make Scotch Eggs!

I used one packet of Lincolnshire Sausages, 4x Eggs and some bread crumbs.  

(every so often I buy French Stick keep it for a day and hope no-one eats it! then make bread crumbs and keep them in freezer, just taking out what I need use as an when)

Soft boil the eggs for about three minutes, plunge into cold water.  When cold carefully remove the shells. Set to one side for the moment.

Take the skins off the sausages and try and lay each sausage carefully on a plate separately.  

Have a bowl of cold water handy this is to dip you hands in whilst covering the eggs in sausage meat.  It stops the meat sticking to your hands. 

Flatten out one the sausages (meat) into the palm of your hand and carefully place an egg on the meat and then carefully arrange the sausage meat around the egg adding another sausage to cover the rest of the egg then roll in the bread crumbs and place on the a roasting tin. 

No need to pre grease the roasting tin - they didn't stick on my black enamel roasting tin  

Bake in the oven 180 degrees gas 4 for about 35 minutes 

I always buy puff pastry and freeze it if you have and left over sausage meat make Sausage Rolls

GREAT PICNIC FOOD!

Lemon Tart

This is from the Wartime Stork Recipe book

If anybody would like a facsimile of the book I will be quite happy to send it!

Left over cold cooked new potatoes

Left-over cooked New Potatoes

Slice them not too thin leaving the skins on. 

Gently fry in a little oil until golden brown and drain on kitchen paper

Serve and enjoy!

Rag Bag!

Are you like me?  At the end of crafting you have lots of bits of fabric leftover and your not sure what to do with the fabric?  I was given loads of fabric and in amongst the fabric were lining fabric and polycotton fabrics which I don't like!  The choice was to pass on to another crafter but they only like natural fabrics too, so what to do.........
Make "Rag Bags"!   Make them slighty larger than the average pillow case.  French seam the fabric down side(s) along the bottom (I find these fabrics fray a lot - and you don't want bits of frayed fabric in amongst your fabrics) they are now ready just to put the small pieces in.  I have made a few of these to separate linens from cottons, small pieces of fabric from larger pieces of fabrics.  Being lining fabrics or polycotton fabrics the fabric is sort of transparent so the contents can be seen!

How to make Bias Tape/Binding

I sometimes like to make my own Bias Tape/Binding



Cut your fabric on the forty-five degree angle on the cutting board.

Decide how wide you want your binding

quarter inch tape/binding - cut fabric one inch wide

half inch tape/binding - cut fabric one and half inches wide

one inch tape/binding - cut fabric twqo and half inches wide

Fold fabric in half and press well

Fold the edges in quarter inch and press again

Fold the fabric in half again and press

To join two pieces together cut the binding/tape at a forty five degee angle

Remember opposites attract!

Cut the fabric of the joining piece the opposite end

Join the two pieces together at right angles matching the outer pressed creases

Sew the two pieces together and trim

Press the fabric again

Sew onto the edge of what you are making!