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Wholewheat fruit scones

Saturday 1 January, 2011

by Rosemary at 9:05pm in Recipes 1 comment Comments closed

I made these today - my first adventure with the new oven. Actually, it was pretty good. As you may know, I'm a huge Delia Smith fan, so I'm going back to her Complete Cookery Course. It's still my favourite out of all the ones we have.

Heat your oven to 230 C / 450 F / Gas mark 8.

In a mixing bowl, combine 3oz wholewheat flour, sifted but add the bran, 3 oz SR flour, sifted, 1 tsp baking powder (I didn't have any so used the same quantity of Bicarbonate of Soda), 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1oz soft brown sugar (I used dark, 'cos it finished the bag). Rub in 1 oz butter at room temperature. Mix in 1 1/2oz ixed dried fruit. Beat 1 large egg and 2 tablespoons of milk and mix into the dry ingredients to form a soft dough.

Lunch - frying v grilling

Tuesday 14 September, 2010

by Rosemary at 12:23pm in Recipes 3 comments Comments closed

Now I know frying isn't PC anymore - we grill, don't we. Well, I'm going back to frying!

On Sunday, we were going to have bacon sandwiches - not our own bacon, unfortunately, but good bacon. I couldn't get the grill in the caravan to work, so I fried it - it was delicious! For extra health, Dan dipped a slice of bread in the pan juices - yummy.

I had a bacon sandwich for lunch today - fried bacon. I also fried some sad little tomatoes - they were delicious too (and part of my 5 a day)!

Green ginger wine

Monday 22 February, 2010

by Rosemary at 11:25am in Recipes 2 comments Comments closed

We bought a bottle of green ginger wine on Saturday. It was reduced in Marks and Spencer and I, in particular, love ginger. Especially covered in dark chocolate, but no matter.

We've both had colds but Dan has been taking a cold and flu remedy which was quite horrid - very chemically and fluorescent green. Anyway, he's invented his own remedy - juice of one lemon, large teaspoon of honey, three capfuls of green ginger wine topped up with hot water. That plus a couple of paracetamol makes him feel a whole lot better.

First loaf

Sunday 10 January, 2010

by Rosemary at 12:30pm in Recipes 1 comment Comments closed

Now, bearing in mind that we've been at this smallholding lark for some years, it may come as some surprise that I made by first "proper" bread yesterday. I've made oatmeal bread before but this was "proper" bread with yeast and stuff!

It was a really easy recipe from Delia's big " learn to cook everything" book and it didn't need to be kneaded. I used half white and half wholemeal flour and it turned out rather nice with a lovely crust. I don't think it will keep (fat chance), though.

Pickling shallots

Monday 28 September, 2009

by Rosemary at 8:10pm in Recipes 3 comments Comments closed

Dan spent hours last night peeling shallots for pickling. They are now in brine for 48 hours, before dousing in a mix of white wine and sherry vinegar. Even after two showers, he could still smell shallots on his hands.

I'm going to start the beetroot tomorrow. We've done some, but I'd like to get nore done before the weather changes. So my hands will be red tomorrow!

Comfort food

Wednesday 26 August, 2009

by Rosemary at 1:29pm in Recipes 2 comments Comments closed

It's really miserable here - raining steadily, windy, cold. I just can't seem to get going - nor can the fire. I decided to light it to dispel the gloom, but it's gone out with a whimper. I'll go and try it again, I think.

I have prepared some rhubarb for the freezer and I've started to make some Old Dowerhouse Chutney. It has preserved ginger in it, so I had a wee nibble to get me warmed up!

To comfort myself, I've put a rice pudding in the oven. We've loads of milk and, well, it's comfort food. It's so easy to make, too.

Oat cookies

Tuesday 3 February, 2009

by Rosemary at 7:25pm in Recipes 5 comments Comments closed

We do like a biscuit with a cup of tea but we get awfully fed up with commercial biscuits. Good ones are so expensive. However, I found a recipe for oat cookies in a magazine and have been making them for weeks. It is so simple and so far I've made raisin; apricot and almond; hazelnut and sultana and (the best) ginger. I'm sure there's a date and walnut version and a chocolate chip version still to come.

I've put the recipe in the recipe section for you to try: Oat Cookies

Winter Pimms

Sunday 4 January, 2009

by Rosemary at 10:48am in Recipes Comments closed

I got this recipe from a friend. I wouldn't have been quite so enthusiastic if I had known that Pimms wasn't the same price as wine! However, having tried it, I would certainly make it again. It's very warming...

1 part Pimms No1, 2 parts good quality apple juice, 2 parts good quality ginger beer; chopped apple, sliced orange, sliced lemon, cinnamon stick. Put all the ingredients in a saucepan; bring to boiling point then allow to cool. Leave for a bit to infuse. Warm gently before serving.

World currant shortage

Saturday 8 November, 2008

by Rosemary at 10:19pm in Recipes 1 comment Comments closed

I decided to make our Christmas puddings this weekend. I already had some dried fruit but needed more currants. Alas, when I got to the supermarket - no currants! There were none last week either; in fact, the whole dried fruit area was pretty empty. Everybody must be making cakes, puddings and mincemeat this year.

I'm going to go in tomorrow on my way to the stables at 7am and see if I can catch them out...

Kidney

Tuesday 21 October, 2008

by Rosemary at 8:50pm in Recipes 2 comments Comments closed

I like kidney. I also like liver. I've never tried any other offal. Dan doesn't like either. His family must have been posh. Given the above, I eat kidney and liver when Dan's away on business.

Now, I'm not a great cook. I like baking but cooking kind of stresses me. I can follow a recipe, and I love eating good food but I'm not what you would call a "natural cook". Dan's the cook in our house. I also hate wasting food - good Scottish Presbyterian upbringing, you see. Thrifty.

Tonight I had a bit of a challenge. I took lambs' kidney out of the freezer yesterday; I had to cook it tonight and I couldn't find a recipe that didn't need things I didn't have. So I made one up!

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