28 October 2012

An tribute to my trusted Good Housekeeping Cookery Book

I'm only a few weeks behind schedule, but this morning I finally got the Christmas cake into the oven!  It has previously featured on the blog as Week 39 in my year of cakes, so I wasn't planning on writing another post about it, but as I reached for my trusty cook book, I thought would share the story of where it comes from.


The recipe comes from The Good Housekeeping Cookery Book which my parents received as a wedding present & Mum has since passed onto me.  The book was first published in 1944, my edition I think is from 1976, it is a fabulous book & and I think a piece of foodie history.  I'm not sure cook books of today provide guidance on purchasing whelks or a recipe for creamed brains?  It is not an all glossy cook book, but instead has 64 pictures scattered throughout the book to showcase some of the recipes.  I think this is my favourite part of the book, the pictures really capture the styling of the 70's. 
 
From the vegetable section, Grapefruit & Prawn Salad, Tomato Salad, Green Salad, Cucumber Salad, Mushroom Salad & Cream Cheese & Celery Salad


 Buttercup Scrambles - Scrambled egg & sausage in a bread case

Celebration Cake
There is even a section on entertaining with this fantastic menu suggestion for a wedding breakfast...

Melon & Grape Cocktail
Cucumber Soup
Boned Duck with Orange Stuffing
Salomon Trout
Salads:  Tossed Green, Dressed Mushroom, Potato & Chive, Tomato with Onion
Lemon Souflee or Strawberry Flan
Wedding Cake & Coffee

I have built up a collection of lovely cook books with mouth watering pictures & recipes from all over the world, but I always fall back to my battered green book for all my cooking basics.  When I forget how to make pancake batter, need to work out cooking time for a joint of meat or just fancy making a classic pud, this is what I reach for.  I'm pretty sure Good Housekeeping still publish a traditional cook book that is more relevant for today, but would I want to swap mine for a shiny new one...no.  As well as being a piece of cooking history it's a piece of family history that I wouldn't want to part with.

So back to where we started and the main legacy of this book for the Hodgson household, the Christmas Cake!  It's still in the oven (& will be for a while yet) filling the house with the most amazing smell, M has already complained that we'll have to wait another 2 months before we can eat it.  We've had this cake every Christmas for as long as I can remember & now the responsibility of making it falls to me (no pressure), I hope we'll enjoy it for many more years to come. 

Isn't it strange how you can become attached to a cookery book?  Till next time, Rebecca x  

16 October 2012

Back for Baking Week with Brownies

I have finally retrieved the laptop from the cupboard under the stairs & managed to breath some life back into it.  Please Santa if you're reading this, I'd love a Mac Book for Christmas, PC's are increasingly driving me to violence against technology...well not all technology, just my rather temperamental laptop!  Anyway, I was shocked to realise it has been almost 3 months since my last post.  So much has happened I'm not sure where to start, so to avoid falling into a long winded waffling, here's the edited highlights.

I left my old job & have started my new one & I love it!

I have been a bit poorly so am experimenting with a Gluten Free lifestyle.

Oh & probably the most exciting thing, I have got engaged...yey!

It's been a fairly busy 3 months, I haven't been slacking, so I hope you'll forgive my leave of absence :-)  It's only been in the last week or so that I've felt settled again after so much change, so I'm back for National Baking Week & what better time to test out my first Gluten Free baking recipe.

When I first went gluten free, I guess I thought 'well that's my baking out the window then', along with any other cakes, biscuits & yummy sweet stuff.  I started off trying a few gluten free substitutes, Sainsbury Free From Digestives, lovely, Tru Free Custard Creams....well I'm not quite sure how to describe them.  But then I never did eat normal custard creams, so why I suddenly had an urge to eat a gluten free version, no idea?

This recipe is one from Dove Farms, the people who make a whole assortment of gluten free friendly ingredients.  (It's getting a bit boring constantly writing Gluten Free, I'm switching to GF, ok!)  I've never baked with GF flour, so I thought now was not the time to experiment, stick to a tried & tested recipe.  This one had really great reviews, you can find it on the Doves Farm website.  There are really only 2 ingredients you need to switch for GF versions, flour & baking powder...I know I never thought baking powder had gluten in it either?

Fresh out of the oven, in my Lurpak Brownie pan...fab freebie!

The result, well they look like chocolate brownies, smell like chocolate brownies & taste delicious, I would challenge anyone to tell the difference!  If you have any other tried & tested GF recipes, I'd love to see them.  I'm not sure if I'll have to stay GF, it's all a bit of trial & error really, but I do know I'm feeling better, so I'm not arguing with that!

These will not last long!

Happy National Baking Week everyone, hope you get to enjoy making & eating lots of cake!  Hopefully this is me back into the swing of this blogging malarkey & I will be sharing my food ramblings with you all once more.  Lucky things!  Till next time, Rebecca x

28 October 2012

An tribute to my trusted Good Housekeeping Cookery Book

I'm only a few weeks behind schedule, but this morning I finally got the Christmas cake into the oven!  It has previously featured on the blog as Week 39 in my year of cakes, so I wasn't planning on writing another post about it, but as I reached for my trusty cook book, I thought would share the story of where it comes from.


The recipe comes from The Good Housekeeping Cookery Book which my parents received as a wedding present & Mum has since passed onto me.  The book was first published in 1944, my edition I think is from 1976, it is a fabulous book & and I think a piece of foodie history.  I'm not sure cook books of today provide guidance on purchasing whelks or a recipe for creamed brains?  It is not an all glossy cook book, but instead has 64 pictures scattered throughout the book to showcase some of the recipes.  I think this is my favourite part of the book, the pictures really capture the styling of the 70's. 
 
From the vegetable section, Grapefruit & Prawn Salad, Tomato Salad, Green Salad, Cucumber Salad, Mushroom Salad & Cream Cheese & Celery Salad


 Buttercup Scrambles - Scrambled egg & sausage in a bread case

Celebration Cake
There is even a section on entertaining with this fantastic menu suggestion for a wedding breakfast...

Melon & Grape Cocktail
Cucumber Soup
Boned Duck with Orange Stuffing
Salomon Trout
Salads:  Tossed Green, Dressed Mushroom, Potato & Chive, Tomato with Onion
Lemon Souflee or Strawberry Flan
Wedding Cake & Coffee

I have built up a collection of lovely cook books with mouth watering pictures & recipes from all over the world, but I always fall back to my battered green book for all my cooking basics.  When I forget how to make pancake batter, need to work out cooking time for a joint of meat or just fancy making a classic pud, this is what I reach for.  I'm pretty sure Good Housekeeping still publish a traditional cook book that is more relevant for today, but would I want to swap mine for a shiny new one...no.  As well as being a piece of cooking history it's a piece of family history that I wouldn't want to part with.

So back to where we started and the main legacy of this book for the Hodgson household, the Christmas Cake!  It's still in the oven (& will be for a while yet) filling the house with the most amazing smell, M has already complained that we'll have to wait another 2 months before we can eat it.  We've had this cake every Christmas for as long as I can remember & now the responsibility of making it falls to me (no pressure), I hope we'll enjoy it for many more years to come. 

Isn't it strange how you can become attached to a cookery book?  Till next time, Rebecca x  

16 October 2012

Back for Baking Week with Brownies

I have finally retrieved the laptop from the cupboard under the stairs & managed to breath some life back into it.  Please Santa if you're reading this, I'd love a Mac Book for Christmas, PC's are increasingly driving me to violence against technology...well not all technology, just my rather temperamental laptop!  Anyway, I was shocked to realise it has been almost 3 months since my last post.  So much has happened I'm not sure where to start, so to avoid falling into a long winded waffling, here's the edited highlights.

I left my old job & have started my new one & I love it!

I have been a bit poorly so am experimenting with a Gluten Free lifestyle.

Oh & probably the most exciting thing, I have got engaged...yey!

It's been a fairly busy 3 months, I haven't been slacking, so I hope you'll forgive my leave of absence :-)  It's only been in the last week or so that I've felt settled again after so much change, so I'm back for National Baking Week & what better time to test out my first Gluten Free baking recipe.

When I first went gluten free, I guess I thought 'well that's my baking out the window then', along with any other cakes, biscuits & yummy sweet stuff.  I started off trying a few gluten free substitutes, Sainsbury Free From Digestives, lovely, Tru Free Custard Creams....well I'm not quite sure how to describe them.  But then I never did eat normal custard creams, so why I suddenly had an urge to eat a gluten free version, no idea?

This recipe is one from Dove Farms, the people who make a whole assortment of gluten free friendly ingredients.  (It's getting a bit boring constantly writing Gluten Free, I'm switching to GF, ok!)  I've never baked with GF flour, so I thought now was not the time to experiment, stick to a tried & tested recipe.  This one had really great reviews, you can find it on the Doves Farm website.  There are really only 2 ingredients you need to switch for GF versions, flour & baking powder...I know I never thought baking powder had gluten in it either?

Fresh out of the oven, in my Lurpak Brownie pan...fab freebie!

The result, well they look like chocolate brownies, smell like chocolate brownies & taste delicious, I would challenge anyone to tell the difference!  If you have any other tried & tested GF recipes, I'd love to see them.  I'm not sure if I'll have to stay GF, it's all a bit of trial & error really, but I do know I'm feeling better, so I'm not arguing with that!

These will not last long!

Happy National Baking Week everyone, hope you get to enjoy making & eating lots of cake!  Hopefully this is me back into the swing of this blogging malarkey & I will be sharing my food ramblings with you all once more.  Lucky things!  Till next time, Rebecca x