Super Easy Bread Making

It really doesn't come any easier than this. I made this irish soda bread a couple of weeks ago and it was so tasty and quick to make I thought I should let you all know about it. The recipe calls for a mix of flours but I just used the economy Morrison's strong white flour and it was just dandy. Buttermilk is another ingredient but I substituted skimmed milk and low fat Greek yoghurt from Lidl. Did I mention this was a super thrifty recipe too?

Ingredients

795 g strong white flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
680ml approx buttermilk

I used 500g of flour and rounded the other ingredients down, but then I do love to muck about with recipes.

Method

1. Sift flour, salt and soda into a large bowl. Stir in enough buttermilk to mix to a firm dough.

2. Turn dough onto floured surface, (it is really really sticky so put some flour on your hands too), knead until just smooth. Shape dough into a 20cm round, place on a greased oven tray.

3. Cut 1cm deep slashes in the dough in a cross shape (like quarters) , brush with a little milk. Bake in a moderate oven about 50 mins. Lift onto wire rack to cool.

I estimate this cost me about 60p. If I had bought it in an 'artisan' bakery it would have been nearer £3.00.

Happy baking everyone.

Throbbing Lemon

I had hoped to burst into 2014 with all the vim and verve of a strictly cum-do-dah finalist. Alas I was stopped in my cha-cha tracks by a fiercely throbbing lemon. Not as in the case of Jeeves and Wooster with a cracking idea but rather a cluster of migraines.

image via

Yes I know you probably thought I was living the high life in the West Indies over the festive season and New Year. Oh how I wish that had been the case, sadly not

But let's not dwell on the unfortunate episode, onward and upward. I'll be back soon with a cracking soda bread recipe which is both economical, super easy and delicious.

Christmas Eve at Ours.

Christmas Eve at last. I admit to enjoying the season and this year having more time to spend with friends and family has been great. I've made good use of my National Trust membership in the last few weeks and seen many a period house decked out for the festivities. At home It's been quite calm and relaxed and I must say all in all it's been a lovely lead up to our own Christmas celebrations.

But I'll be glad to see the back of all the frenetic shopping which seems to have been going on for weeks in the high street, which I've largely succeeded in avoiding.

We don't go mad on present buying in this house but we do try and get a few special things for our kin and friends. Brucels the bear has at last received his Fair Isle jumper. A little bit previous I know but it is cold.

Meanwhile Pendragon seems happy enough to have taken delivery of a new box to jump in. She will be getting some culinary treats tomorrow as well.

The rest of us are content to wait until Christmas morning for our gifts.

And to you dear blogging chums and readers, I wish a very happy Christmas. I hope you are all with the people you want to be with, enjoying simple pleasures over the holiday period. I'm looking forward to an exciting and positive 2014 and I hope you are too.

MERRY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL.

PS If you want to see a film that will warm your cockles, nip over to one of my favourite blogs now.

One Day

My Dad always used to say that one day I would have a menagerie. Not exactly what I'm dreaming of. But at our next home, with the right amount of space, I would love to have a wide range of creatures. Maybe including some goats. How could you ever be miserable?

World War 2 Thrifty Cake - Small But Beautiful.

My besty Linda aka Prof is mad for everything WW2. When she is not swooning over Lancaster Bombers (you'd have to meet her to understand), she loves nothing more than creating all things miniature.

This is her take on the cake of Christmas past. A 1940s recipe for a festive cake in the shape of an Anderson shelter.

I think it is super cute, especially the cabbages growing atop the roof. No space being wasted during the war. Should you wish to create your own Anderson shelter cake, or maybe make something called Mock Turkey, this is the book for you.

I Could Have Done With Cary Grant Today

I love having a real Christmas tree and I always want it installed and looking wondrous for my birthday on December 10th. So the mister and I were out last weekend selecting a lovely specimen from a local grower.

So far so good. Out from the loft came the boxes of decs and lights and yes I had the good sense to test the twinkly lights before I put them on the tree. But alas after a few days they went kaput. Crikey, I needed some lights in a hurry, what with having a party at ours the next day. I couldn't find exactly what I wanted but picked up a box of red led lights which I thought might look like lovely little red berries on the tree. How wrong can you be? They were truly terrible. So I bit the bullet and went out the next day again in search of lights and managed to find some pretty replacements.

So for the third time the mister and I dressed the tree. Needless to say needles everywhere. But that was only the start of the demise of the tree. By yesterday our beautiful traditional tree was to all intents and purposes DEAD. This morning I was up at the crack of dawn and off to speak to my friendly Christmas tree purveyor. And God bless him he has given us a new tree. Which we have swiftly erected today and dressed again for the fourth and hopefully last time.

I'm relaxing into Christmas holiday mode again. That must be a cue for some crimble music. Look out for a magical Cary Grant in 'The Bishop's Wife', just a few minutes into this classic Christmas collection. Oh and don't miss Mrs. Clark Gable rubbing snow in her face a little later on.

Always Shop Around

The finished adorable blue door was in need of an equally adorable Christmas wreath. I thought this year like last year I would make my own. I already had a few nice little trinkets to wire onto a wreath and I bought some dried orange slices and some little golden bells.

Last week I had seen some basic wreaths at Morrisons. A good size, real foliage and with two or three pine cones already attached. Not a bad price at £7.00. I thought they might do. Or alternatively I could make it all from scratch.

But you know how I like to shop around for the best and most stylish deal. I popped along to our local garden centre with a friend on Monday. They had some lovely plain small wreaths in a bluey green pine. Exactly what I was looking for, but at a smidgen under £13.00 way too expensive. Just not good value.

Then on Thursday, BINGO. Lidl came up trumps with a gorgeous wreath fully adorned for under a fiver.

The only thing I have added are the orange slices. So I can save the bells I bought for another project.

The small ornaments are simply glued on and not wired on, I guess that's how they keep the cost to a minimum. But I hope you agree it looks just the Crimble ticket.