Today is the accession of Queen Elizabeth II. How hard must it have been for her 60 years ago?

At just 25 not only did she have to cope with the death of her father, but also take on the responsibility of becoming queen!

After watching the King’s Speech it’s really made me think about what their lives might be like. As a member of the Royal Family pretty much everything is in the public eye, especially grief. I am VERY glad that I am a mere commoner!

Face Britain

Of course, this year sees the Diamond Jubilee and plans are in full swing to commemorate the event in style. One of my favourite is Face Britain, a national project that invites all young people in the UK to submit a self-portrait.

The artwork will be part of a world record attempt and hopefully the biggest online gallery of self-portraits in the world. All portraits will go into the online gallery and be part of a special portrait of HM The Queen, which is going to be projected onto Buckingham Palace!

Embarrassing I know, but I had to remind myself
(with the trusty Dairy Diary) how many years the
diamond represents! Yes it’s 60……I’ll get my coat.

For others like me, here’s a list of anniversary dates:

No celebration would be complete without a special cake.
Here’s a gorgeously retro one to cook for your special occasion.

Black Forest Gateau
Or just as a treat for yourself! Enjoy….

I love our local library. It’s the heart of the community in our little town.

Nothing like the libraries of yesteryear where hush was expected, it’s buzzing with lively children (including my own), hosts local groups, promotes local events and has sing-a-longs for little ones.

A local artist can often be found
sketching from local history books
and working on his watercolours.

I have also recently discovered the convenience of the library online. It’s a fantastic resource, where you can renew books – invaluable for those whose children adore their reading books so much they can’t bear to take them back (and maybe their Mummy may forget!!); search the catalogue; reserve books and order the latest releases.

On Saturday libraries across the UK will be celebrating National Libraries Day with a range of events for library users to enjoy. The day is a celebration of the work done in school, college and public libraries to promote learning, literacy and the enjoyment of reading to all.

Library users new and old are being encouraged to go along to their local library and find out about the great services on offer – from book loans and homework clubs to advice on starting a business and how to get online.

Watercolour Painting Tips

As I am often inspired by the local artist in my library I thought I would share some tips on watercolour painting from the Dairy Diary.

If you have a few spare hours on Sunday, give it a try, it’s incredibly rewarding (and don’t forget to pop along to your local library on Saturday too!)

Experimenting with colours and techniques is part of the fun of painting with watercolours.

In this project, spattering, lifting-out and blotting are used to create the effect of light dancing on moving water and waves breaking on the shoreline.

You will need

• A 300gsm (140lb) sheet of NOT paper
• 2B pencil
• Paints: ultramarine blue; cerulean blue; yellow ochre; sap green; burnt umber; burnt sienna; Payne’s grey
• Brushes: Nos.12, 6, 4 and 3 round-headed; 19mm (¾in) and 7mm (¼in) flat-headed
• Gum arabic
• Natural sponge
• Stiff card
• 2 jars of water
• Palette
• Tissues
• Cotton buds

Painting is a wonderfully rewarding
hobby, and anyone can do it.

Watercolour paints are readily available and easy to use and with a few brushes and a little imagination you can set about creating your own masterpieces. Slightly textured paper (known as NOT paper) is the most commonly used, and acid-free papers don’t go so yellow with age. Thickness is indicated by weight, and paper under 300gsm (140lb) is liable to bubble or warp unless previously stretched.

You’ll probably find watercolour to be much more attainable than you thought. One way to discover various tried and tested techniques is to follow a step-by-step project. The one described here takes a beach photograph for inspiration (above). The artist also made a sketch of the scene while on location (below). The basic painting is set out in layered washes. The water, foam and shingle are developed by working into the layers – blotting, scraping, re-wetting and spattering. Wet washes can be dabbed with a sponge or scraped with card to achieve the desired effect.

Dry washes can be lightened using stripes of clean water. The paint dissolves into the water and the pigment migrates to the edges of the newly wet areas, creating bands of lighter colour. The striped effect is enhanced if you blot the wet stripes. Spatter a dry wash with water for a speckled effect.

Capture the mood To create an image that is more than a copy of the scene, start by simplifying the forms, looking for interesting shapes and patterns. As the painting evolves, pay less attention to the photograph and use the marks you have already made. As you move away from the original subject, the painting becomes less literal, more personal and more creative. Here the artist has experimented to find a way of achieving a particular effect.

The hint of fields and hedges on the headland, and the two figures and dog on the beach, give a sense of scale and recession, and create a focus.

1 Using the 2B pencil, make a basic outline drawing to plot the main elements of the landscape.

2 Mix ultramarine blue and cerulean blue, and, using the No.12 brush, lay the wash for the sky, leaving the white of the paper to stand for the clouds. Add more water and take the wash down over the headland. Add yellow ochre to the mix and apply this colour over the water, using the same brush. Dab the edge of the cloud with damp sponge to soften it. Sweep a damp brush across the lower sky and headland to thin the wash, leaving a pale film of colour.

3 Cut a piece of stiff card about 3cm (1¼in) wide to make a blunt spatula. While the wash is still wet, pull the card vertically down the paper to remove parallel wavy strips of wash. These lighter bands suggest the waves surging on to the shoreline. Work into the edge of the cloud with a moist brush to soften it even more.

4 Use a mix of sap green, burnt umber and Payne’s grey for the headland (No.6 brush). Use yellow ochre mixed with a little burnt umber for the beach area. Darken with more burnt umber and Payne’s grey and apply along the base of the headland. Mix a darker ultramarine/cerulean/yellow ochre wash by adding more of each. Add a drop of gum arabic to increase the paint’s gloss. Apply this colour over the sea (No.6 brush), taking it around the silhouette of the breakwater, and pulling it down the sheet in parallel ribbons, leaving slivers of the base colour showing through. Leave to dry.

5 Darken the sea colour by adding ultramarine and burnt sienna and use this mix to paint the shadow of the headland. Using the small No.3 brush, lay parallel lines to suggest the wavelets on the water’s surface. These should be narrow and close together because they are in the distance. Load the No.12 brush with the same dark wash and take broad strands of this colour down the paper.

6 Wet the No.3 brush and, starting near the horizon, lay narrow, horizontal bands of water. This causes the paint to open up gradually, producing stripes of lighter colour. They should be close together near the horizon. Make broader marks that are wider apart as you move forward to create a sense of recession from the foreground towards the horizon. Change to the No.12 brush near the bottom of the picture. Apply the water freely so it floods and one band runs into another. Lay the bands so the paint gradually opens up to create interesting textures and patterns.

7 Mix a wash of burnt sienna and yellow ochre and use the No.4 brush to lay this on to the beach below the groyne. Use the tip of the brush to dot more colour on to the wash to suggest the shingle. Leave to dry.

8 Load the No.3 brush with water, hold it over the paper and tap it with your forefinger to spatter droplets of water on to the beach. Then spatter wash on to the same area. Use a cotton bud to lift some of the re-wetted wash, creating very light areas to suggest lumps of chalk.

9 Mix raw umber and Payne’s grey and, with the 7mm (¼in) flat brush, paint the uprights and planks of the breakwater. Vary the amount of Payne’s grey in the mix to create a variety of tones. Leave to dry. Then wet the edge of a piece of stiff card, and apply to the breakwater to create a wet line. Re-wet the card and repeat to create parallel wet lines. Blot with tissue to lift the colour.

10 Wet the 19mm (¾in) flat brush and work into the white water breaking over the breakwater, creating flame-like shapes. Use plenty of water to dissolve the washes around the white paper – don’t blot it but allow the dissolved paint to flow into the white area, creating softly graduated tones. If you like, suggest fields on the headland and two figures and a dog on the beach.

Article taken from Dairy Diary 2012.

It was a little hectic in the office last week, ensuring that all the final 2013 Dairy Diary proofs were checked and signed off before the start of Chinese New Year (when our factory shuts down for a fortnight).

Thankfully everything is done now, so we can relax and think about the other products, such as the pocket diary, calendar, new letterheads etc. etc.

Several people have asked me how I work on a diary all year round, but with only two of us in the office we get involved in everything and the work is never finished!

I noticed in the diary that it’s the Chinese year of the dragon, which sounds pretty exciting.

I thought I would do a bit of research and find out what that is supposed to represent. According to Chinesenewyear2012.net: In 2012, the Dragon is welcomed back after the 2011 year of the Rabbit. Each of these animals are thought to bestow their characteristics to the people born in their year.

While the Year of the Rabbit was characterized by calm and tranquility, the Year of the Dragon will be marked by excitement, unpredictability, exhilaration and intensity. The Rabbit imbues people with a sense of cautious optimism, but people respond to the spirit of the Dragon with energy, vitality and unbridled enthusiasm, often throwing all caution to the wind.

So, I am intrigued to find out what animal I am.
I have checked out my birth year and I am a rabbit. Apparently, I am ‘affectionate, co-operative and pleasant, with lots of friends. But can get too sentimental and seem superficial. Ideal careers areas include law, diplomacy or the stage.’ I don’t know if my other half would agree with the co-operative bit!! And I seem to be in the wrong career. After some research, I have decided that I was born in the wrong year. I am definitely a rat, but would prefer to be a monkey! ‘Rats are said to be imaginative, charming and very generous to those they love – although they do have a tendency to be quick-tempered and over-critical. They are supposed to make good writers, critics and publicists.’

‘If you are born in the Year of the Monkey, you are very intelligent, well-liked by everyone, and will have success in any field you choose.”

Have a look at your birth year on chinese.new-year.co.uk

or you could just enjoy Chinese New Year by having a go at one of our delicious, Chinese-inspired recipes:

Sweet & Sour Lamb 
Special Fried Rice 
Lemon & Garlic Chicken 
Duck with Plum Sauce

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This week’s Dairy Diary recipe is Slow Beef Curry, which is just perfect for the time of year.

Over the last week we have had such awful weather – with winds playing havoc all over the UK – I think that we all deserve some warming, comfort food.

January is a difficult month. Many of us think we need to cut back and live on salad after the excesses of Christmas but in reality we all feel like tucking in to something hot and wholesome.

My answer to this is to do lots of zumba and make lots of soup!

In fact, I am currently contemplating a soup maker. Does anyone have one? Are they worth the investment or will it just end up gathering dust like my slow cooker and bread maker?!

I guess you just can’t beat a good old saucepan and stick blender. What time saving devices do you have and are they useful? I would love to know.

Slow Beef Curry
Warming, comfort food for winter days.

A Dairy Diary recipe.

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We would love to hear your comments and suggestions.

I made the pitta crisps for New Year’s Eve to nibble on whilst partying with a bottle of Prosecco (partying may be an exaggeration, two of us on the sofa watching TV with three sleeping children above!) They were delicious.

I am also looking forward to cooking the Pesto Chicken on p75 and the Peanut Noodles on p95. They look delicious but quick enough to fit in with our uber-hectic lives.

There’s so much to look
forward to this year.
We will be producing the 2014
(yes 2014!) Dairy Diary and
two brand new cookbooks!

Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

In Britain, we can enjoy patriotism once again with the Olympics in July and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in June. The Queen came to the throne on 6 February 1952 and her coronation took place on 2 June 1953. The only other British monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee was Queen Victoria in 1897.

There will be a special bank holiday for the Diamond Jubilee. The 2012 late May bank holiday will be moved to Monday 4 June 2012 and an additional Jubilee bank holiday will be on Tuesday 5 June 2012. For information on celebrations around the country visit http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/DG_197517

This one is fab http://www.thebiglunch.com As we are new to our cul-de-sac, I think it’s a fantastic way of getting to know all our neighbours – although losing a cat works quite well too!! (she is home safe now). The Big Lunch is a very simple idea from the Eden Project. The aim is to get as many people as possible across the whole of the UK to have lunch with their neighbours in a simple act of community, friendship and fun.

Try this favourite from the 2012 Dairy Diary.

Pesto Chicken
A super-tasty chicken dish cooked up in less than 30 minutes.

A Dairy Diary recipe.

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These boxes were usually given on the first working day after Christmas – the 26th December – hence the name Boxing Day.

So what will you be doing today? Possibly indulging in a small tipple? Sherry maybe?

Despite its reputation as an old fashioned drink attributed to old ladies, sherry is seeing something of a revival with bars dedicated to the fortified wine popping up across the country.

According to The Independent, ‘M&S, which has seen sherry sales rise 15 per cent in the past three months, talks of a “Downton effect”. Sue Daniels, its sherry winemaker, said: “Sherry is one of the best kept secrets in wine, and seeing it enjoyed by the Downton Abbey characters has obviously sparked our appetites for it – it’s great to see it having a revival.”’

So, during the Christmas special of Downton, if we see the cast tucking enthusiastically into a bowl of tripe, will we all follow suit? I seriously doubt it!

Raspberry, Sherry & Amaretto Trifle
A wonderfully flavoured trifle that’s perfect for the Christmas break

Recipe taken from Dairy Book of Home Cookery
which is available from the Dairy Diary store.

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There’s still time to order the Dairy Diary and Dairy Book of Home Cookery for delivery before Christmas

Order by Friday 16 December and you can have your Dairy Diary and Dairy Book of Home Cookery delivered in time for Christmas!

• The Dairy Diary is 30 years young and still the best-selling home diary. The 2012 edition is the best ever!
• We have a new edition of the much loved Dairy Book of Home Cookery totally updated for 2012.

Take a closer look at both books at www.dairydiary.co.uk where you can also sample a selection of yummy recipes.

The Dairy Diary makes the perfect
Christmas gifts for family and friends. 

The Dairy Diary Set has already sold out, so order today to ensure you don’t miss out on the Dairy Diary!

Emily
Managing Editor

P.S. Don’t miss our blog on Monday. 

It will feature a selection of essential Christmas Day recipes to ensure a truly scrumptious, yet stress-free day.

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Today is my son’s 4th birthday and I have had a very busy weekend baking and partying.

I have such fond memories of my own homemade birthday cakes as child; I was determined to make my own.

Despite loathing cooking, my mum made me a magical cake creation every single year, with themes ranging from hedgehogs, to trains and castles. As we were having a pirate party, I attempted a pirate ship to grace the centre of the party table. It really was very simple: a chocolate sponge (from the new Dairy Book of Home cookery) covered with chocolate buttercream; with Polo mints and Rolos for portholes; and paper on skewers for sails.

It only cost a couple of pounds to make, which was much much cheaper than a shop-bought cake, but the main thing was Isaac loved it.

Baking is now so trendy, and such big business, with many individuals starting their own businesses selling celebration cakes and cupcakes. I am definitely not at that level to say the least, but it was such a joy to see the look on my little one’s face when he saw his very own pirate ship cake.

I would love to see pictures birthday cakes you have made for your children or grandchildren. Next on the list, Christmas cake, I had better get my skates on! You may not want to make this into a pirate ship! So here’s the conventional recipe for Chocolate Layer Cake.

Chocolate Layer Cake
Recipe taken from
The Dairy Book of Home Cookery

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As London is hosting the Olympic Games next year, we have a feature on the history of the Games in 2012 Dairy Diary.

It is full of interesting facts, such as:

• Britain is the only country to have won a gold medal in every one of the modern summer Olympics
• in 1908 Britain won 56 golds
• art competitions used to be part of the games in the early part of the 20th century!

In ancient Greece, a flame, ignited by the sun, was kept burning until the Games closed, and in 1928 the practice of keeping a flame alight for the duration of the Games was adopted by the modern Olympics.

A relay of runners bringing it to the host city was first introduced for the 1936 Games, held in Berlin.

As hosts we are all lucky enough to have the chance to see the flame pass.

There are 1,018 cities, towns and villages on the route of the Olympic Torch Relay next year. Between 18 May and 27 July, the Olympic Flame will come to within just 10 miles of 95% of the population of the UK. The Torch Relay will include some breathtaking spectacles and unusual modes of transport.

The world-famous telescope at Jodrell Bank, a steamer across Lake Windermere and the Manx Electric Railway all feature in the plans. Well worth watching!

For more information visit http://www.london2012.com/olympic-torch-relay

St Andrew’s Day

We have so much to celebrate! It’s St Andrew’s Day on Wednesday. Take the opportunity to make this delicious soup, which comes from the fishing village of Cullen, in Morayshire, Scotland.

Cullen Skink
The name of this rich, tasty soup comes
from the fishing village of Cullen, in Morayshire.

Recipe taken from Around Britain Dairy Cookbook.

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Plaetzle - German Christmas treats

I must confess, being a bit of a Christmas-obsessive, I have been feeling festive for weeks!

I am an avid subscriber to Baked and Delicious magazine and back in early November when I saw the flyer for their Festive Special I was eager to don my pinny and make the gorgeous gingerbread house.

Festive foods
On a recent visit to see my German friend Gudi, she offered me some delicious little baked fruit treats, which got us talking about festive foods.

It is traditional in Germany to offer these
plaetzle to visitors in the run up to
Christmas as a gesture of hospitality.

It’s really interesting to see how festive foods change throughout the world. The Baked & Delicious Festive Special includes recipes for Roscón, a Spanish ring cake traditionally baked for Epiphany; Buche de Noel, a French yule log; and Semifreddo Natalizio, an Italian alternative to Christmas pudding. As well as our fabulous mince pies and Christmas cake of course!

Baked and Delicious The magazine plops onto my doormat once a fortnight complete with silicone bakeware – FREE with every issue! I am such a convert to this – it so easy to clean and the cakes virtually jump out of the pan when they are ready. A winner in the Davenport household.

Take a look at their Facebook page www.facebook.com/bakedanddelicious or order online http://www.baked-and-delicious.com/subscribe.aspx or just pop out to the shop and buy an issue!

Frosty Top Lemon Cake. Quick, easy and lemony lovely. A perfect match for silicone bakeware!

Recipe taken from Clever Cooking for One or Two
now available for just £7 from the Dairy Diary website.

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One quite different program has just begun though – Food Hospital.

This program attempts to alleviate medical problems, simply by making dietary changes. This is a subject quite close to my heart – after months of daily headaches, I discovered that I had an intolerance to onion and had to eradicate it from my diet. This small step made a huge difference to my daily health and, despite my GPs reservations, proves to me that diet has a radical impact on the way we feel.

There is a fun quiz on the Food Hospital website to see how much you really know about nutrition http://foodhospital.channel4.com/the-truth-about

Of course, what we eat impacts on our future health as well as how we feel now. Indeed, in the news only this week it is reported that scientists have discovered that eating a diet high in fibre, such as oats and brown rice, can significantly improve your chances of avoiding bowel cancer.

It is also reported that diet-related illnesses cost the NHS £9 billion every year. My wonderful Grandad never smoked or drank, ate loads of fruit and vegetables, cooked all his meals from scratch and hardly ever indulged in junk food. He lived a full and happy life well into his nineties.

So, I am not going to follow any faddy diets (as the Food Hospital website shows, these are often detrimental to our health), but eat as well as I can as often as I can (though the odd chocolate or glass of wine may pass my lips!) and hopefully I will be as healthy as he was.

Start the day a super-healthy way with this delicious Homemade Muesli breakfast.

Homemade Muesli
A Dairy Diary recipe.

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So, did you all enjoy Bonfire night; oooing and aaaaahing at the spectacle adorning our skies?

I must admit, when it comes to fireworks, I have never grown up. I simply love them.

At home we enjoyed a very tame campfire with tiny fizzing ‘fireworks’ for my tiny children, then there was the local display for the older ones. From this display, we purchased some ‘toffee’ apples.

I was both horrified and amused to see a label on the back stating ‘Warning, this product may agitate or cause disruptive behaviour’!

Luckily we had hidden them from my four-year old who would have been climbing the walls for weeks.

It’s a tough call, how do we tread the fine line between depriving our little ones of fun and seriously considering their health?

Given my job, I think I lean a little too much towards the latter and was mortified to find my other half giving our twins baby biscotti for breakfast! Having talked to many parents and grandparents, feeding children is a constant source of consternation.

A food writer friend once admitted that she found it the most difficult part of parenting. Those of us who have a genuine interest in eating good food have real trouble accepting that our children don’t always want to eat it too! Until I became a mum, I never contemplated that I would give my son tomato ketchup with everything, just to get him to eat!

So how DO we get them to eat well?

Dependent on the child, I think we can to a point, and then we have to accept their limitations. Give them the healthiest foods that we know they like, even if this is very repetitive. It may seem like a cliché, but arrange food on a plate like a train or face – it really does work. AND involve them in food preparation and cooking; this works with children of any age and they do seem far more inclining to eat what they have created.

So, let’s try to relax a bit, feed our little ones as well as we possibly can, get them involved in the kitchen but don’t worry so much (note to self!)

Corned Beef Flan

Corned beef is often a hit with children as it
doesn’t have the chewy texture of other meat.
Omit the onion and herbs and this is a winner!
Recipe taken from 2012 Dairy Diary.

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As the Dairy Diary is now in its 30th year, there are quite a few to peruse!

It’s always interesting to see how photography and crockery styles have changed over the years. Some of the styling in the eighties and early nineties makes me chuckle.

For a number of years, there was a fashion for including props which were supposed to relate to the recipe in some way. My favourite one is the recipe for Smoked Ham Cornets, which is pictured with a brass cornet!  Hee hee.

The 1993 edition is a fantastic book for these, though how Lancashire Fruit Braid relates to an embroidery hoop or Savoury Potato Skins relates to a Cluedo board I am not sure!

This week, I have been browsing Halloween recipes.

Here are some examples you may like to chuckle or reminisce at…

I love my job. The Dairy Diary is so fabulous. Though thank goodness fashions have moved on, or I would spend a fortune on props! Moving into the 21st century……this Pumpkin Gratin from the 2012 Dairy Diary is perfect for using leftover pumpkin.

Enjoy your lantern carving! I would love to see some pics.

Halloween Pumpkin Gratin
Perfect for a chilly Halloween celebration.

Recipe taken from 2012 Dairy Diary.

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The second I return from a sneaky week’s escape, I am ‘persuaded’ in front of the camera for a video-shoot to show off our fabulous products.

I am no Fearne Cotton and I am not sure how many of the viewers will understand the Stoke Smurf dialect, but the books look good. See these televisual masterpieces soon on the website.

Apart from cringing at my virtual self, I have been busy visiting schools before this year’s application process begins. I have to say how impressed I am by the involvement the children have with the food they eat there.

At one school, they grow their own herbs and veg, raise their own chickens and even create their own school lunch menus – not bad for 5-11 year-olds!

In fact, my son has been nurturing seedlings and poultry from a tiny tot at his nursery. I hear time and time again how the ‘younger generation’ don’t know anything about food or cooking but I beg to differ.

All the children I know are intrigued with ‘fork to fork’ and love both growing and cooking. They may be fussier with the eating but the interest is there – it’s not just all about fast food.

So, let’s give our children a break – whatever their age – and applaud their culinary creativity. My three-year-old loved making these Cherry Cupcakes with me, but if your children are closer to 33 they will enjoy them too!

Cherry Cupcakes

Recipe taken from 2012 Dairy Diary.

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National Baking Week

Baking is trendy once more thanks to BBC’s Great British Bake-Off.

Strangely compelling and featuring cookery legend Mary Berry, the program has reignited interest in this culinary delight (despite Mel and Sue popping up with ‘amusing’ comments throughout).

With most forms of cooking, you can get away with throwing a few ingredients together without propensity for disaster.

With baking, however, it really is a scientific art and without the right ratios of ingredients, it simply doesn’t work.

That’s why recipes are so crucial for us mere mortals for which this science is something of a mystery.

The Dairy Diary and Dairy Book of Home Cookery are packed with baking recipes; in fact the latter features a staggering 167 breads, pies, bakes and cakes!

So don your pinny….get….set…..bake! 

How about this amazing…

Chocolate Layer Cake
Recipe taken from Dairy Book of Home Cookery

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As many youngsters embark on life at university, full of excitement and anticipation, many parents will worry about their wellbeing and particularly if they are eating properly!

Over the years I have many phone calls from anxious parents asking for copies of the Dairy Book of Home Cookery to pack up along with the bumper packs of loo roll.

Though many are sceptical about students cooking, they may be surprised to know that many do.

My student-speciality was broccoli topped with chopped tomatoes and grated Cheddar (let’s hope student skills have improved since my day!)

There are several student cooking blogs, Facebook pages and even a dedicated website www.studentcooking.tv.

Uni-goers, of course, are always on a budget and for economical reasons (even if it is only to save more beer money!) home cooking may be essential. Eggs are the frugal cook’s best friend as they are so cheap yet versatile. They should grace any students’ fridge alongside the mouldy carrots and crate of lager.

Coincidently, this week is National Egg Week – so let’s celebrate the magic of the egg with recipes from www.wakeuptoeggs.co.uk or the 2012 Dairy Diary, from which this delicious omelette is taken.

Green Omelette
A delicious watercress omelette made in just 10 minutes

Recipe taken from 2012 Dairy Diary.

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Hello everyone, I am back in the Dairy Diary office once more after nine months off having babies.

I am now a very proud mummy to twins Jasmine and Maisy, as well as the ever-cheeky three year-old Isaac.

I have had a magical few months, but it’s great to be back and be blogging again. Thanks so much to Karen and Marion for holding the reins in my absence.

I have come back at a very exciting time of year with our fantastic new range of products selling like hot cakes! I am thrilled to hear so many compliments about our revamp of the classic Dairy Book of Home Cookery, as well as consumers loving the 2012 Dairy Diary and Dairy Diary Set.

In the current economic climate, saving money is always a hot topic, and as a mum of three, I am only too aware of how crucial this is.

My evenings are dedicated to this very pastime; making cards and gifts for birthdays and Christmas. For this, my trusty Dairy Diary is invaluable, not only does the 2012 edition have recipes perfect to make and wrap for others. It also shows you how to make a beautiful corsage.

Win a vintage corsage making kit
The kind people at Buttonbag have given us a vintage corsage making kit. Like us on Facebook before 13th October and be in with a chance to win it!

If you too need to be thrifty, or just like to make gifts for others, why not make these scrummy Sweet Spicy Nuts? Wrap them in cellophane and tie with a ribbon and a pretty tag. Recipe taken from 2012 Dairy Diary.

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This comes to mind because 15 September was Battle of Britain day. And other aeroplanes of the era must still be operational, because several take to the skies at various locations around the country to commemorate the day.

The Battle of Britain Memorial Trust had a fly past over the national memorial to The Few on the white cliffs between Dover and Folkestone. Yeovilton had an air day with a Lancaster bomber. Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre staged a dogfight between a Spitfire and Me 109 last year and did the same again this year on 17 September. I’m sure plenty of other events went on, but they don’t seem to have been well publicised.

No really big national to-do is made about it, which I think is a shame – such an important few months, and just about in living memory.

My parents, uncles and aunts used to tell us stories about those days, so I feel a connection. The Battle of Britain Memorial Trust are trying to raise money to build a visitor centre by the national memorial (‘Lest we forget’!) Check the site for information: www.battleofbritainmemorial.org/events/

Thinking about the Second World War reminds me of Marguerite Patten
One of her many cookery books was the first I ever had. She is acknowledged as one of the most influential cooks, probably the first TV celebrity chef, and still going strong in her nineties.

Apparently, she has a podcast showing us how to make a traditional Christmas pud in 12 minutes – so no excuses about not having the time. Can’t think about the festive season yet, though. I’m still hanging on to the idea of a beautiful autumn and making the most of all the fruit available while still having something warming.

This Fruity Baked Custard is perfect autumnal comfort food and may just hit the spot.

Recipe taken from the Just One Pot.

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