Many Moons have passed - some of them Blue

It is positively ages since I last posted, Life has been racing along at a cracking pace.

I have not been doing as much baking over the last 12 months. Work has been frantic and I  find other things to catch up on, on weekends.

Over the last few months, I managed to acquire an American Girl Doll to act as model for the clothes I make for my Granddaughter's Lanie AG doll. I have named her Pandora, and I have made quite a few things, some for GD's doll and some for Pandora.

Pandora is a Pleasant Company Doll and seems to have a slightly bigger "bum" than Lanie. I was having trouble getting the clothes to fit  - patterns seemed to print out ok, but being the suspicious kind I rechecked the measure guide and it was just 1/16 too small. So yesterday I reprinted nearly all of my patterns (from PDF's) and made a new nicely fitting outfit.

Pandora is so pleased not to be labelled with a big bum and is very happy with her new (and well fitted) outfit.

Quite a few of the outfits are made from vintage dressmaking scraps dating from the fifties through to the late 1980's early 1990's. (Oh and some from my quilting stash - not that I have a lot, but it just has not been cold enough to make any more quilts over the last few years.)

The shorts were made from the remnants of a fat quarter and there is still enough for another pair! Now that is thrifty!

 

 

Worcestershire Sauce

In the next couple of days I am going to try a new recipe. One for Worcestershire Sauce.

 

We have been going through Mum's things and I came across this one, so since we have run out here at home, I thought it would be a good chance to have a go at making a batch. Will be interesting to see if it is essentially the same flavour as the commercially available sauces.

 

 

Indian Worcester Sauce (I haven't tried this yet) But let me know if you do.

 

1 lb. brown sugar

1/2 lb. sultanas (golden raisins)

1 quart vinegar

1 oz. garlic

little ginger ( not sure if this is powdered or fresh, but I would go with the powdered or ground) and pepper

few chillies

salt

cloves

 

Have all the above ground very fine (spices). I you do not have brown sugar take a handful of white sugar and brown in pan.

 

Add brown sugar, vinegar, sultanas  and spices to a pan.

Stir and boil for 1 hour.

Strain and bottle when cold.

 

Do not have lid on saucepan when boiling

 

 

 



Baked or Bought?

The original recipe

I know that most of the recipes I have posted so far are for baked goodies. I guess because that is mostly what the recipe books I have are comprised of, and I choose not to buy baked goods in the supermarket, preferring to make my own probably at a fraction of the cost and better quality than those in the shops. And as well, my son or partner, my nieces and nephews, sisters and their husbands, friends, colleagues and other relatives like to eat home baked.

Whenever we have a morning tea at work, the home baked goods nearly always are eaten first and the bakery and shop bought goods, lie drying out on the plates long after everyone has returned to work.

One of my colleagues frequently bakes wonderful cakes and slices and brings them in for us to try. There is always huge demand for a sliver of some delicious Donna Hay or Marie Claire recipe on those days. What is the attraction? Is it because many of us do not take time out of our busy lives to indulge in a little bit of gratuitous baking to soothe our lives and those of our near and dear?

My Mum and Grandmothers all had baking days, I think Mum's was Friday, Then we would have biscuits and cakes ready for who may come to visit on the weekends, and some for school lunches the next week.

The recipe I have chosen to bake this week is a Ginger Fruit Cake. Though the instructions are a little vague to say the least, I guess that this is just a confirmation of the skills of our mothers and grandmothers, they would only need the list of ingredients to be able to whip up something delicious. I have included a picture of the original from my mother's book, given to her by her Mum. Just the ingredients!! SO I am really flying by the seat of my pants here as far as method and baking times are concerned.

At the moment the cake is in the oven and smells delicious, spicy scents wafting about the house at 8.30am on a lazy Sunday. We are off out later and hope to take a slice or two of this Ginger Fruit Cake with us.

The Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vinegar (i used cider vinegar)
• 1 dessertspoon ground ginnger
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice
• 1/2 cup golden syrup
• 1 cup milk
• teaspoon bicarb soda
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 3 cups plain flour
• a few sultanas if liked (I used 1/2 cup, but would probably use 1 cup next time)

The Ginger Fruit Cake - me thinks it needs more fruit!

Method:  (This seemed to work OK) Pure guess work from here on :)

1. Beat butter and sugar and together.
2. Add vinegar and beat till creamy
3. Sift all dry ingredients together.
4. Mix milk and Golden Syrup together
5. Add 1/3 dry ingredients to butter mixture and 1/3 liquids
6. Mix thoroughly.
7. Continue in this way till all dry and wet ingredients well mixed.
8. Add sultanas mix in well.
9. Pour mixture into a greased and lined 9" cake pan
10. Bake for approx 30-40 mins in a fan-forced oven at 200C
11. Test cake, when cooked remove from oven and allow to cool in tin for about 5 mins.
12. Turn onto a rack to cool.

Enjoy your baking adventures!

P.S. This cake kept really well, and still edible after more than a week.

It begins!

I wonder these days, how many people have in their possession, a piece of furniture or any other functional item that has served their family through various generations?

I have often thought of starting a blog - but what to write about? I dabble in a few things but put them down and pick them up at sometimes very irregular intervals.

I like to cook, quilt, sew and embroider, reading is a great escape and pottering about in the garden can be fun too, but genealogy has once again become a focus interest. As families we have so much to share about our life and experiences that we don't realise until it is too late to gather those stories from an earlier generation.

So, where does the "Dresser" come into it, you ask? The dresser belonged to my Nanna. I remember it in her kitchen when I was a child. Then, it was 3 shelves high, painted in white milk paint and had been hers since her marriage some 40 years earlier. White china plates adorned its shelves and plain serviceable cutlery filled one drawer while the other drawer held white damask tablecloths for daily use. Behind its doors were concealed all manner of homemade condiments...and so we come to the crunch.

I have inherited not only the dresser, but both my Nanna's and Grandma's handwritten cookbooks. In addition I also have my mother's book and my own. I would like to share these books with my sisters - we all cook for our families, and also pass on to the next generations, our family food heritage - a family collection of recipes that we have proven to be firm favourites, and have stood the test of time, with adaptions to today's tastes and lifestyles.

So here is the first of our family favourites.

Grandma's Chocolate Slice

 

The most recent batch of Grandma's Chocolate Slice

Ingredients:

• ¼ lb butter
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 teaspoons cocoa
• pinch salt
• 1 cup mixed fruit or dates
• 1 cup SR Flour

Method:

1. Cream butter and sugar till sugar well dissolved
2. Beat in the egg and add vanilla if desired.
3. Sift together cocoa, salt, and SR Flour
4. Fold into the butter sugar and egg mixture.
5. Lastly fold in the fruit.
6. Spread into a paper lined slice tin. I don't spread it too thin as this quantity will only make about half a tray.
7. Bake in a moderate oven till cooked. Test with a skewer.
8. Allow to cool and ice with your favourite chocolate icing.
9. Cut into 5cm squares to serve.

If you are lucky it will keep about a week. (I put it into the fridge if the weather is hot.)