Wordless Wednesday - Jes chillin' with my brother, man!

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Two watercolours - two children

 

The Beach at Brora, Sutherland. By Karen (age 29)

Blue Campervan with Purple Seats. By James (age 3)

What talented artistic children I am blessed with :)

On a Saturday afternoon.

Papa was up in his loft and dug out the old Hornby train set.  It certainly made a little boy very happy.

And both boys were soon lost in the game.

A fresh warm batch of pancakes for the train drivers' tea break.

and then dinner cooked by K, home for the weekend

helped by his lovely girlfriend L.

Joined by John and daughter Kristine - a  fuzzy but warm family meal. 

Teamwork!

I cut the fruit  and vegetables,while James puts it through the juicer.  Orange, beetroot, carrot and kale today - very nice.

Papa needed to go to the bank and for some shopping, but Gran is feeling the cold a lot just now, so she came here.  James kept her entertained. She is not really able to do much at all now, and she likes to keep her coat and gloves on, but she still responds to James and his chatter.

Robbie the dog had been out in the garden and had very muddy feet when he came in.  James helped his Dad dry them off.  James is reassuring Robbie, as he hates getting his feet dried.

After that James helped Dad to fix his big sister's car. She will be pleased when she comes home!

When Papa came back, he helped make the lunch for us all.

And I made these (well-fired) spelt and oatmeal loaves.

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Let it snow

 I am so thankful that we have no places to go right now, and can just be home enjoying the snow and finishing off our preparations for Christmas Day.  Mostly playing out in the garden and clearing up the paths this morning and lots of baking this afternoon.  Tomorrow  will hopefully be spent getting ready for the feast - doing as much in advance as possible, so we can all relax and enjoy the meal.  This is likely to be the last one where my Mother will be home -  Alzheimer's Disease is stealing more of her away all the time, and it looks likely that a care home could be a reality during the coming year. That's in the future though - right now we are all looking forward to spending the day together and ten of us will sit down to a traditional Christmas dinner.

There may even be some of this stollen cake left to have later on.

Sending warmest wishes to you all for a wonderful happy Christmas.

Advocaat and memories

I inherited my Grandmother's recipe books - they are falling apart as you see, but i love them and refer to them often.  There are 2 of these notebooks full of recipes written out in her neat hand, using her Parker fountain pen - credit is always given to whoever provided the recipe: - Dundee cake,  Mrs Fleming; Lantern Tray Bake, Betty Clark; Gingerbread, Mrs Fernie, Christmas Cake, Radio Times   Each page contains memories of visits to her house.  She was the most fantastic baker and the table just groaned with delights - big cakes, small cakes, fruit cakes, tray bakes,tarts, biscuits (cookies), shortbread.  She baked every week, to fill up her tins, so there was never any chance of being caught out with nothing to offer a visitor.
Anyway, browsing through a few weeks ago, I came upon this recipe for Advocate (sic).  Now as a child at New Year, I was always allowed a small glass of advocaat mixed with a lot of lemonade.  I so remember that fluffly light sweet eggy taste, so I was keen to give this a go - especially as our hens - The Pizza Girls are such prolific layers. You make it over 3 days, but then have to leave it for 3 - 4 weeks before drinking it - worth it though.

Recipe

3 whole eggs - including shells

juice of 3 large lemons.

1 lb caster sugar

large tin evaporated milk (I used 3 170g tins Tesco own brand)

1 Gill brandy ( 1/4 of a pint)

Wash eggs and break into a bowl including the eggshells

Add the lemon juice and turn every day for 3 days.

(interesting science experiment here too)

On day 4 - whisk them up ( I zuzzed mine in a blender) and strain.  Add sugar, milk and brandy.  Beat well until the sugar has dissolved.

Pour into bottles and keep for 3 - 4 weeks before using.  I made just over 1 litre using this recipe - 1 bottle to keep and 2 smaller ones to give away.  Perfect!

Skywatch - Blue skies and oil waste

Blues skies over Broxburn shale bing on Thursday morning.

A bing is another word for slag or spoil heap.  This particular bing is shale waste and is part of the original oil boom which took place over 150 years ago in West Lothian. It always makes me think of Uluru/Ayers Rock when I see it.  It is part of my own heritage too, since my ancestors worked down these mines. 
Visit skies from all over the world at Skywatch Friday.

It's OK - I've got it covered!

In the middle of the night, James woke up screaming and it took a long time to calm him down (us too!) In the morning he said that polar bears were coming to eat him.  Although we tried to reassure him, he kept mentioning it all day, so at bedtime we made up a special magic anti-bear spray and he dilligently went around the house spraying every nook and cranny.  I think I can safely say we are polar bear proof tonight!

Off for a few days to a family wedding.  Back next week xx

Time out.

Hello there! I have been sufferring from an eye infection this week, so I have not really felt like squinting at a screen.  It was my 'camera' eye too, so taking photographs was not really top of my list.  Which was a shame, actually, because my darling husband gave me a much wanted zoomier lens (55 - 200) for my camera as a birthday gift. Never mind, I am feeling much better and hopefully the weather will clear up next week, and I will amaze you all with my artful close ups.  We are heading off to a family wedding down in England later in the week, so that will give me lots of photo opportunities too.
Anyway, despite spending a lot of time with hot compresses on my eye, we managed to keep going.
Here are some of the things we got up to.

Wheel painting with trains and cars.

Watching the sparrow cafe.

Going for a very cold and dreich walk in Polkemmet Country Park.

Making coconut cupcakes for Kristine to take to work for a Children in Need fundraiser.

And a wee run to Crieff at the end of the week.  It was too rainy there to take photographs, so I snapped this one of Stirling Castle from the car on the way back.  John was driving though. 

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James is 3!!

James was 3 years old Tuesday.  We had a really lovely day.  He loved his new red tricycle with pedals!

A whole book about trucks and cars and things that go - this is his favourite page right now.

Gran and Papa gave him this wonderful digger - definitely the present of the year.

A very happy boy on his birthday.

Big sister Kristine gave him lots of crafty things and they spent a fun afternoon painting and glueing - each other as well as the paper.  Not sure really who this present was for:)

Birthday boy - still sporting his green smiley face "tattoo" gets ready for blowing out his candles.  He's waited a whole year to do that.

A wild game of jumping on the bed with Finlay was a fine end to the day.

Ur ye haudin Hallow e'en?

Hallow e'en has always been a big event in our family. Not least because it was my Grandfather's birthday, and my Gran always made a Clootie Dumpling for the occasion. A clootie dumpling is a sweet fruit, spice and suet pudding, mixed up and tied in a floured and sugared cloth then steamed for several hours. The smell of the boiling cotton mixed with spices is one of my abiding childhood olfactory memories, along with the aroma of charred turnip wafting from the carved lanterns. Both can transport me instantly back to frosty dark nights going round the neighbours' houses 'guising'.

Guising (or going in disguise) goes back at least to medieval times, and probably longer. Originally it was a Hogmanay custom for adults who disguised themselves and there are reports of groups of 'Guisards' going around from house to house offering some entertainment in return for some hospitality. Of course Hallow e'en was originally the Celtic New Year's Eve, so there may be some connection there. In any case, as children we would go to houses where we knew there would be a welcome, and performed our poems, songs or joke telling in return for a tangerine and some nuts. As we called at each house in our homemade costumes, we would ask "Ur ye haudin Hallowe'en?" none of this "Trick or Treat" that we get now. And - we were expected to sing for our hallow e'en. On the rare occasion we are visited by guisers, I always invite them in to do their turn. Usually now it is some mumbled joke that we have heard several years in a row, but now and again there is the odd gem.

So, Hallow e'en for us this year meant introducing James to the customs. It is such good fun seeing these things through a child's eyes again. After breakfast he asked me if we could go now.
"Go where?" I asked
"To Halleen!" he replied impatiently.
As I put out peanuts( or monkey nuts as we call them) in a bowl I showed him how to crack them open, revealing the dark red nuts inside. He loved them, and soon the place was littered with shells.

Then I made some toffee apples

and James decided to make his own Hallow e'en concoction - chopped pork, 2 eggs (and the shells) some goats milk, a handful of suet, two apples and half a lemon. Yummmmm! He wanted to bake it and do you know? It smelt quite nice when it came out of the oven! I didn't try it though, and he had lost interest by then and moved on to something else :)


Later he put on his Bumble Bee outfit and we went to visit Gran, who is having a week of respite care in a Nursing Home. She enjoyed seeing him, and he enjoyed bouncing on her bed!



Back at home it is now my role to make the Hallow e'en dumpling. An onerous responsibility, especially when there are lots of expectant and hungry faces watching the great unwrapping. The hallmark of a really great dumpling, however, is the skin which is formed first of all by the flouring and sugaring of the cloot, and then careful drying in front of the fire. What's the verdict?



It's strange to think that my Grandfather was born 111 years ago tonight, in a coal miner's cottage just a few hundred yards from where I am sitting now. He died when I was 14, but we had such good times as I was growing up. I loved to help him in his garden and had my own plot outside his greenhouse. I learned so much even as a small child, that I still remember today, as I tend my own garden. He also had a love of Scottish history and legends, and told me stories and taught me songs that fired my imagination. he was such a great influence on my life, so Here's to you on your birthday Papa.

Here is my Gran's recipe for Clootie Dumpling - although I have adapted it a bit.

1lb plain flour
8oz currants
8 oz sultanas
8 oz raisins
8 oz suet
1 cup sugar (as this is an old recipe I assume the cup to be a teacup and not a cup measure)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp treacle (molasses) - warm it to make it easier to mix in
milk to mix to a soft but not runny mixture (about 7 fl oz,)

Mix all ingredients together (get your hands in about it)

Prepare your cloth - I use a muslin square, but any cotton will do - an old pillow case was my Gran's pudding cloth.
Scald the cloth in boiling water and wring out when you can handle it. I lift it out with a pair of tongs and let it drip until it is cool enough to touch.
Lay out flat and dredge with an even layer of flour and then sugar. (Very important step this!)

Tip your dumpling mixture on to the cloth and then tie up into a bundle with string.

Put a plate into the bottom of your big pan and put the pudding on top.
Almost cover the dumpling with boiling water and boil hard for 30 minutes
Continue simmering for 3 - 3.5 hours.

Lift out and put on a plate or I use a colander to let the excess water drain out. Open up and invert the dumpling on to a heatproof plate.
Carefully remove the cloth and you should see a nice white sheen on the surface of your beautiful dumpling That is the skin - the best bit!
Dry in front of the fire, turning occasionally for half and hour or so - or put in a low oven.

Serve with custard, or cream, or whatever you fancy.
Leftovers are great eaten cold the next day - or fried in butter even.

I was very pleased with this one. A bit wet at the top as I cut the string, but it dried out nicely and the skin was almost perfect. I may add a bit more spice next time, as I did feel it could have done with a bit more pep, but otherwise it was just delicious.

Blog Action Day 09 - Climate Change

I'm feeling really quite pessimistic tonight. It has been so hard even getting any time to think abut what to write, never mind find a moment to sit down and actually do it. James has been up since 6.30 am, having been awake several times during the night - he is still up and full of beans after a pretty full day. I wonder if it is global warming that is causing it?
It has actually been an unseasonably warm day. We were at a local outdoor shopping village today and I was struck by the amount of bare arms on show. Children and babies in tee shirts, people sitting in the outside the cafes and on the benches enjoying the weather- it was more like August than the middle of October. Very pleasant, actually, and it is hard not to disagree with those who say we could do with a bit of climate change in Scotland. Apparently Nick Nairn, Scottish celebrity chef is looking forward to growing olives and lemons at his Trossachs cookery school, and and eminent retired professor of geology is excited by his prediction that the shores of Loch Ness will be the epicentre of the world's wine industry in around 80 years time (McIntosh 2008)
But that is really the problem. Here in the Occidental part of the Northern hemisphere,we think that the consequences of climate change will not be quite as devastating as they will in the developing world and some southern parts. We do not want to give up our current profligate lifestyle - multiple cars, appliances, package holidays - and now there is a chance that there might be some decent weather too - life is good! Yes, a few more gales and a bit of flooding here and there, but - hey - we are insured! Therefore no politician has ever advocated adopting the radical measures that will really, seriously, address the problem. There are no votes in austerity.
We need them to, though. My blog description says I am trying to live a simple life. For me that means being frugal - not wasting food, buying locally, not using air transport, using long life light bulbs, eating less meat, growing our own food as much as we can. A make do and mend attitude really. Having been born just over 15 years after the end of WWII, I was brought up with that kind of ethic. Many people do this much better than me and others yet aspire to it. What we need is help from our governments. We need our leaders to stand up and say -
"Enough of this reckless crazy consumerism! We will make it easier for you to do without cars - encourage the high streets to reopen and people to grow their own food. We will no longer allow supermarket companies to monopolise the food retail industry. We will stop being in the pay of companies with huge marketing departments that con you into thinking you can't live without their products. We will seriously help develop sustainable, workable energy systems that do not destroy our most precious land. We will...."
Well, I could go on and on with that list, but in essence, we need strong and radical leadership to help us do the work that needs to be done.
In 2050, my son James, and my grandson Finlay will be grown men in their 40s - more than likely with children of their own. Gordon Brown's boys will be the same age, as will Barack Obama's children. The charity Christian Aid has predicted that by that year, there will be at least 1 billion refugees as water shortages and crop failures force people to leave their homes. In addition there will be many more local conflicts and wars caused by access to resources. The scenario is frightening. what kind of world are we building for our children? A world full of fear - criminal gangs, looting and murdering over property or rights to water and food. What kind of water and food anyway? Catastrophic weather events will cause crop failures and interfere with the water supplies as it did in the floods of 2007 in England. For me it makes Bush and Blair's manufactured War on Terror pale into insignificance. Well - a bit of an exaggeration here - and especially for the young people being killed and injured in the current conflicts, but I just have this feeling that - terror - we ain't seen nothing yet!
I guess what I really want to hear from our World Leaders is " We will never stop working to make the world a safe and secure place for our children", and to actually start to make it happen. I will gladly follow them. Maybe I'll feel more optimistic if I get a better nights sleep.


Reference
McIntosh Alastair (2008) Hell and High Water: Climate change and the Human Condition Birlinn Edinburgh

Blog Action Day

In praise of Papa Soup

My Dad is the ultimate soup maker in our family - possibly even the world. He takes carrots, leeks, onion, turnip* and pearl barley, combines them with a stock and produces the most amazing soup you have ever tasted. I have tried so many times to replicate his recipe, but I just can't achieve that unique taste. I don't know what it is - a kind of lightness, yet it is so full of flavour.
It is a basic Scotch Broth, but is known in our clan as Papa soup. It's fame has even spread to Canada, where he spends his visits to my sister making Papa soup for my nephews and all their friends. The last time he went to watch one of the boys at baseball training, several of the Moms came up asking if he was the famous Papa, and how much their sons loved his soup. He was more pleased than he let on.
Anyway, James and I were delighted today when he arrived with a large tub of freshly made Papa soup - just right for lunch with a few slices of toasted Scottish plain bread.

Harvest Feast

On Saturday we went to a Harvest Feast organised by Linlithgrow - a local climate challenge project which aims to get people buying and eating local food as well as encouraging growing your own. It was a very well attended event and the food was delicious. The event was held at Bonnytoun Farm, a fantastic estalishment producing local organic and free range meat, fruit vegetables and flowers. Here are some shots from the day.

Preparations for the feast.

James and John having a go in the Welly Throwing competition!

The band played all afternoon. Great stuff!

And the food? Well 3 clean plates and bowls says it all really. John is holding tightly to that glass of farm brewed beer :)

Lots of local apples - James said this was his favourite - he even ate the core!

Time to go home.