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

 

 

 



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.)