Pappa al pomodoro

Or tomato and bread soup for those of us who are linguistically changed. I'm feeling sorry for myself today. I have the lurgy and spent much of the day snoozing on the sofa under a comfy quilt. I managed to rouse myself to make the soup for tea. I wanted to finish off the last of the sourdough loaf and the soup recipe based on a Jamie Oliver recipe was the perfect (and souper quick) way to go. Hearty and comforting, just what the doctor ordered. Served with a dollop of pesto it was just delicious. Now I need another nap....

Giant doily rug part 2

At last I have declared the giant doily finished. Well, nearly finished. The crochet part is finished and it is on the floor of our little sitting room being tested for sturdiness and practicality. It has already passed the test for aesthetically pleasing as it looks great - all bright loveliness to cheer a gloomy December, but I think it it needs to be stiffer and more robust. I've ordered some navy hessian to use as a backing and I might throw it into the washing machine to see if it shrinks and thickens up a bit. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime I'm using the remaining bits of wool to make coordinating flower and hearts bunting. I'm using patterns found at the very inspiring Attic24 blog. Well done Lucy for providing such a resource. I have books and magazines with patterns but most of my books are in storage so not much use for browsing through and I seem to have very little time for devising my own patterns. 

Last weekend, we spent quite a bit of time at the barns, but I did manage to make a sourdough loaf. It is such a forgiving breadmaking process as it needs plenty of time to prove, which just fits in with the time I have available for making it. For example, for the loaf pictured below I started it on Saturday evening with half the flour (freshly milled in the flour mill), some water and the sourdough starter and left it to slowly digest and bubble. At bedtime I put it in the fridge. The following morning I got it out of the fridge before I had a shower so that it could start to warm up again. Before breakfast I added the rest of the flour and mixed it in the Kendwood Chef for a couple of minutes, leaving it to rest for about 10 mins before adding the salt and mixing again.  While washing up I mixed it a bit more, added some walnuts and dates (I go where the mood takes me for bread flavourings), and then shaped it and placed it in the bread basket to prove. I left it a good 4 or so hours while out at the barns and when I came home it was ready to bake. Easy Peasy and fresh bread for tea!

Chatsworth House at Christmas

Chatsworth is lovely at any time of the year as there always something to do no matter what the weather throws at you. Every year me and my sisters have a Christmas day out instead of buying presents. This year we went to Chatsworth  accompanied by our Dad and had a really nice family day out. We started with lunch at the Tea Cottage in the  Chatsworth village of Edensor (pronouced Ensor - a good bit of Derbyshire for you!). It was a great meal and I can heartily recommend a visit.

We finished our leisurely lunch and pootled up to the house. This year they have an Alice in Wonderland theme for the Christmas decorations. It was a delight for all ages. We certainly had a giggle at the dressing up bit. Even though I say so myself, I looked rather fetching as Tweedle Dee (or Dum) and a lovely time was had by all. I loved that the giant centipede at the entrance had knitted legwarmers on all it's legs!

We rounded the day off with a coffee and giant piece of cake at the tea rooms at Caudwell's Mill Craft Centre at Rowsley, near Bakewell. I took note of the blacksmiths wares - some lovely door handles and knockers for the barns and also some truly stunning glassware at Greenhalgh Glass Workshop and Gallery. There were examples of some glass panels inserted into windows and doors and I could just see this at the barns.

Mad frenzy cooking

I've had a busy cooking day today. I'm not a big fan of cooking after a day at the necessary 9 to 5, but I like to eat a home cooked meal. The solution for me is to cook and freeze meals at the weekend. So today I have made butternut squash and lentil dahl, a big pan of bolognaise, vegetable soup, fish pies with celeriac, parsnip, carrot and potato mash and a sourdough loaf. Busy, busy, but I can wear my kitchen halo with pride and fill the freezer with instant meals.

Bolognaise still bubbling, the remains of the veggie soup after lunch, and the butternut squash, spinach and lentil dahl at the back.

Cod and smoked haddock fish pie with parsley sauce and mixed root vegetable mash. One to eat today, one for the freezer (and one for my Mum and Dad)

Giant doily rug

I'm still working on my crochet doily rug using the wool I bought at Bakewell Wool Gathering and I really hoped that it would be finished by now, but it's caused me no end of bother. I've started it and then undone it so many times that it is really is the incredible shrinking rug. I initially followed the pattern to the letter but it just wasn't working for me. It started ok but after a few rows it went all fluted as there were just too many stitches. Now I'm not following the pattern except in spirit and checking regularly too see if it is becoming baggy and wavy (and occasionally ripping back the odd row). Having said all that, I still like the look of the rug but am a bit concerned that it is not stiff enough and has too much stretch. I really don't want to create a death trap of a rug so am wondering whether to try shrinking and felting it a bit in the washing machine (maybe a bit drastic), or to create a fabric or crochet backing for the rug to firm it up. Hmmmm, must ponder this further. Mind you, I might never finish the darn thing! 

Peak District Walking

No progress on the makey bakey side of things, but instead I have a few photo's to share of our weekend away in the Peak District in Derbyshire. We are very fortunate to be so near the dramatic and varied Peak countryside and although we travelled only 20 or so miles to stay in Grindleford in the Dark Peak area, we were able to relax with family and friends on an overnight stay with a couple of gentle walks around the Longshaw Estate and Padley Gorge. The weather was mostly dry and we were grateful for that after some very heavy rain on Friday night which meant that the streams were very fast and full. The woodland in Padley Gorge has a Lord of the Rings feel to it and you could just imagine the trees getting up and moving around as they were so twisty and gnarly and covered in moss.

Cumin and Sultana Rolls

As soon as we were settled in our new abode I gave some attention to my poor neglected sourdough starter. It was getting a bit ripe and crusty after being unused in the fridge for so many weeks with only the occasional quick stir with some flour and water. I was really ready to start cooking and eating good home made food, although we have the smallest kitchen in the universe so it's a bit of a juggle! I've managed 3 sourdough loaves over the last couple of weekends in our tiny kitchen, one to eat, one to give away and one sliced and in the freezer. I wanted to try something different and was inspired by Vanessa Kimbell's Cumin and Sultana rolls on the Bakery Bits blog.  They were really delicious with a a lovely fragrance and slight sweetness and they baked perfectly according to the recipe. The rolls were proofed  in the base of  'La Cloche' baking dome, whilst the dome lid preheated in the oven. When ready to bake, the hot lid was placed on top and then straight into the preheated oven to bake. The bottom picture shows the full 'family tea' ensemble including a rather hastily made (but tasty) victoria sponge.

Seaside tranquility

We did it. We finally moved house. Pheeeeyooooo. We were able to spread it out over a number of (interminable) days but we are now ensconced in our temporary little rented apartment. Still in disarray, but it's starting to come together. We managed a brief interlude during the move to get away to the Lincolnshire coast for a bit of respite and recuperation and it was so welcome. It was beautiful. The weather was unseasonably warm, the sun shone and all was well. We managed a few strolls on the promenade, a few visits to the pub and couple of drives up the coast to see the wildlife. We went to Donna Nook to look at the grey seals which come ashore to give birth to their pups in October and November. Apparently, 38% of the world population of grey seals can be found there at this time of year. We went a few years ago and enjoyed it but it is now very popular (and busy) . It was a somewhat surreal visit this time as the RAF base next door were on manoeuvre and we watched the seal pups whilst being buzzed by a helicopter and the distant sound of machine gunning. Weird. Our second trip was to the salt marsh at Saltfleet. The sea was out and the beach and sky stretched for ever and was almost completely empty. It was such a contrast to the beach with the seals. Sleep, eat, breathe and the body batteries recharged enough for the final house move push.