Tag Archives: Recipe

Stir-up Sunday

Make a Christmas pudding on Stir-up-Sunday

.

Stir-up Sunday

Have you heard of Stir-Up Sunday? I think this is such as lovely idea.

It dates back centuries and was encouraged by The Church in its Common Book of Prayer.

It’s not a tradition that I
experienced growing up,
but it’s certainly one that I
would like to start with
my children.

Traditionally, on Stir-Up Sunday families gather together in the kitchen to create their Christmas pudding. Everyone should get a turn to mix, and the opportunity to make a wish. Some put coins in their pudding and it is believed that finding a coin brings wealth, health, happiness for the coming year. We could all do with some of that!

Christmas pudding is usually a mixture of dried fruit, nuts, alcohol and breadcrumbs though early versions, originally known as Christmas porridge, incorporated beef, mutton and wine. Yuk! In 1664, Cromwell, in typical-style, banned it as a lewd, sacrilegious custom. In 1714, George I reintroduced it, thankfully without the meat.

How to make Christmas PuddingThis Sunday is Stir-Up Sunday,
so why not gather in the
kitchen and make a
Christmas pudding with your family?

Here’s the recipe we will be
following from the legendary
Dairy Book of Home Cookery.

.

The Dairy Book of Home Cookery has been reprinted and is available to buy now

Christmas Pudding

How to make Christmas Pudding

.

Christmas Pudding

Makes 2;
Each pudding serves 8
Preparation 40 mins Cooking 6 hours plus 2 hours before serving
Per portion 452 kcals, 20g fat (7.8g saturated)
Suitable for freezing

110g (4oz) plain flour
½ tsp mixed spice
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
225g (8oz) breadcrumbs
200g (7oz) shredded suet
225g (8oz) dark soft brown sugar
350g (12oz) raisins
350g (12oz) sultanas
50g (2oz) chopped mixed peel
50g (2oz) walnut halves or blanched almonds, chopped
Grated rind of 1 small orange
4 eggs, beaten
50ml (2fl oz) brandy or dry sherry
½ tsp almond essence
150ml (¼ pint) milk

1 Sift flour, spice and nutmeg into a bowl. Add breadcrumbs, suet, sugar, dried fruit, peel, nuts and rind and mix thoroughly.

2 Combine with eggs, brandy or sherry, almond essence and milk. Mix well.

3 Divide between two greased and base-lined 1.25 litre (2 pint) pudding basins. Cover with buttered greaseproof paper or foil. Pleat once to allow pudding to rise. Secure with string, using extra for a handle.

4 Place in a steamer over a saucepan of boiling water and cover. Alternatively, place on a metal trivet in a large saucepan and add boiling water to come halfway up the sides of basin. Add pudding and cover.

5 Steam for 5-6 hours, replenishing water. Remove from steamer, and leave until cold. Cover with foil. Store in a cool place.

6 To serve, steam for 2 hours or replace foil with cling film (puncture film) and microwave on medium-high for 6-8 minutes (depending on wattage).

Recipe taken from The Dairy Book of Home Cookery

.

.

.

The Perfect Christmas Gift

Dairy Diary Set 2014. The perfect Christmas Gift.

.

The Perfect Christmas Gift 

Fourteen and a half years’ ago, I started a new job. This job was a stop-gap to fill a void between an awful job in the print industry and my ‘proper’ graduate forever job.

Many training courses and hard work have resulted in that stop-gap job becoming my proper forever graduate job and I absolutely love it.

Dairy Diary 2014 with memorable date stickersI’ve always had an affection for stationery (do any girls grow out of this?) and so working on a diary is perfect for me. You may have noticed that the diary now includes a handy notes pocket and sticker sheet. Yes, another nod to my obsession with stationery, but also very popular with our customers.

Dairy Diary Set

As we’re such a small team, I get involved in almost every aspect of the business, including the Dairy Diary Set, which always features the Dairy Diary, pocket diary and other stationery bits and bobs.

Getting paid to wander around stationery
departments is not a problem for me!

This year, we have included a pen, which is comfy to hold and pleasant to write with. Several samples were returned as they had those awful scratchy nibs – not good enough for our Set!

Dairy Diary Set organiser and pocket diaryThe little book contains a notepad, post-it-note pad and page markers. I use these page markers in all my cookbooks to flag up my favourite recipes. The notepad and sticky notes are perfect for shopping list and reminders.

The Dairy Diary Set is available to buy now. You can order online <link> or over the phone 01425 463390/0845 0948128 or from your local milkman, if you have one. It’s a really affordable gift but also a rather lovely treat for yourself.

And here’s a Dairy Diary recipe to whet your appetite.

Spiced Chicken & Noodle Soup is perfect for these chilly autumnal days.

Spiced Chicken & Noodle Soup

.

.

.

Anyone got some spare matchsticks?

Dairy Diary stand at the Womans Weekly Live show

.

Anyone got some spare matchsticks?

Ok, so last week began with not one but two electric shocks courtesy of our delightful cooker ‘kindly’ left in our house by its previous owner.

We had a new kitchen planned for October (so we could all move into my parents’ house while they were away) but this rather alarming development means that the old cooker has been condemned and we need our kitchen now!

This resulted in me trying to entertain three children yesterday while rain lashed at the windows and we tried to keep out of the way of my other half battling with a myriad of cowboy jobs and get our new floor and kitchen fitted.

This is all on my one day off after Woman’s Weekly Live!

I have to admit, I am struggling 
a little this morning and could
use some matchsticks to prop
open my eyes!

The show was fantastic though, we met lots and lots of lovely people and everyone adored the new books. They couldn’t wait to get home and start cooking from Clever One Pot and were amazed by how much is contained in the 2014 Dairy Diary.

Being a little soft and used to sitting in a comfy chair at a comfy desk those three days on my feet have completely wiped me out. This week will definitely be all about comfort food and catching up on sleep, which does tie in rather nicely with this inclement weather suddenly forced upon us.

Sausage & Cider CasseroleFirst on my comfort food list is
Sausage & Cider Casserole
from next year’s Dairy Diary.

I just hope that I have shopped
appropriately. Late night internet
shopping may just result in bags
of junk foods being delivered!

 

Love Parks Week

Love Parks Week

.

Love Parks Week


This may sound a bit odd but I love parks, honestly I do LOVE parks.

As a child of the seventies and eighties all we had was a patch of dried up grass, some swings with peeling paint and a roundabout that regularly broke children’s arms. Maybe that was just in my village….

My children however, have access to the most amazing spaces with brilliant equipment. Our local town has a wonderful toddler playground, fabulous swingy things and zip wires for the older kids and even outdoor gym equipment. All just a five-minute drive away.

Love Parks WeekAND excitement in our tiny village has reached fever pitch!

Or what passes for fever pitch here, which is a couple of us saying ‘oooo’ at the school bus stop in a morning. Work has finally begun on our park (I say finally as this park has been in its planning stages for the last ten years!)

What started off as four swings and a goal post is being transformed into playground heaven. Lots of fabulous equipment for our little ones, picnic tables and all complete with a view of the golf course on one side and canal on the other.

So, we will no longer have to drive to the park (smugly feeling green), we can now wander up to road to play and picnic to our hearts’ content.

And what do these parks cost us?
Nothing! So in the age of austerity
let us celebrate Love Parks Week
and enjoy them.

Look out for events in a park near you at http://loveparksweek.org.uk/

Don’t forget to pack your picnic.Crunchy Peanut Brittle recipe

Take with you some of this moreish
Crunchy Peanut Brittle to nibble on
(just make sure you share it!)

This delicious Crunchy Peanut Brittle is a Dairy Diary recipe. For more delicious recipes visit the Dairy Diary Recipe Collection.

Crunchy Peanut Brittle

Crunchy Peanut Brittle recipe

.

Crunchy Peanut Brittle

Crunchy and utterly moreish, this peanut brittle is wonderful served with a hot cup of coffee. This delicious Crunchy Peanut Brittle is a Dairy Diary recipe. For more delicious recipes visit the Dairy Diary Recipe Collection.

CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE

1 … 11 12 13 … 31
Blog at WordPress.com.