You might have guessed by now that I love to bake. I enjoy all sorts of baking and often try to challenge myself with something new (I have been in training for the Bake Off for about a million years - I hope they pick me one day!). Joining the WI recently has given me more reasons to bake and more people to eat my baked goods - there's only so much a family of four can get through, especially when one of the four is only 10 months old! I have to confess that I have never been very good as biscuits. I am getting better but apologies to anyone who has had to eat one of my not-so-great attempts over the years. I have discovered that the secret of a good biscuit is all in the rolling out. Usually the thinner the better, depending on the type of biscuit you are making. Oh and getting them out of the oven before they get too brown - usually only a little colour is perfect, even if you think they might be undercooked. Anyway, years ago, on a trip to New York, I bought this love
I haven't posted on my blog for quite some time and it's not just because of my usual tardiness. I usually post about nice things on here, things I enjoy, things that make me happy but since my husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer it has been hard to find anything that brings me joy. When my husband told me that he had found a lump, my first reaction was 'I hope it's not cancer'. His Mum and Dad both died of cancer a few years previously and within one year of each other, so in our family cancer means death. No survivors, no fighters who have won, just beautiful people that have left us too early. When he went for his second biopsy, I knew it was cancer. By this time, my optimism that it could be something else had disappeared and I was beginning to think through practicalities - How would he cope with treatment? How would he eat? How would he talk? Even with our experiences of cancer, I still hadn't faced the idea that he might die. He's 48
At the moment I'm on maternity leave so I've got more time then most to get stuck into making stuff. That said, I always find myself in a making mood at Christmas time and baking in particular gets me feeling festive. This year I tried a range of new stuff although I didn't take pictures of everything. Firstly, I made mince pies using this recipe . I'm not a great lover of mince pies usually but this recipe by Nigella is fantastic. Rather than being too traditionally "fruity" this recipe is heavy on the cranberries and gives a different flavour. I loved the fact that they weren't too sweet, just deliciously tangy. The pastry is a bit of a faff (in and out of the fridge and the freezer) but it's worth it. Overall these were a big hit - perhaps too much of a hit with me - I couldn't stop eating them! I also made my very first gingerbread house. In fact, I made three small ones, so that myself, my hubby and my daughter could all have a g
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