I haven't done a making stuff post for a while, but two are probably going to come along at once. The first week of February was Children's Mental Health week in the UK and so school gave us two Zoom free days. Mostly, that meant the boys watched a lot of TV and played on … Continue reading Making Stuff 16: Chocolate Banana Cake
Last year I had a marathon session making jam and chutney and kicking off the gin. The fruit stays steeping in the gin for at least a month, then its bottling time. This year, I wasn't planning to make any jam, there's still a cupboard full from last autumn. However, the elderberry laden trees at … Continue reading Making stuff 15: gin bottling and jam (2020)
I love a cocktail and I recently bought myself a proper shaker and some martini glasses. I rarely follow recipes though and enjoy making things up a bit as I go. Poor Man's Kir Royale Yeah, so who can afford champagne and creme de cassis is so 90s! In this house we drink prosecco with … Continue reading Making Stuff 14: Cocktails 2020
The first time I encountered wild garlic was on a walk along the river near Cromford Mill. We came round a corner and into a heady ether of garlic fumes rising from a huge patch of beautiful white flowers, looking almost like a dusting of snow over their glossy green leaves. It was a stunning … Continue reading Making stuff 13: wild garlic pesto
Following on from September's gin, jam and chutney marathon, its marmalade time. It's a long time since I've made marmalade so I had to get the recipe book out to figure out quantities. Unfortunately I didn't do that until after I'd been to buy fruit. So 4 large oranges, a grapefruit and some lemons amounted … Continue reading Making stuff 12: marmalade
That dreaded moment when your reception child comes home with the newsletter that says "homework is to make a 3 little pigs house, it will be tested for strength with a hairdryer'. Not just crafts, but a challenge, a competition. I HATE crafts. I am not arty or good at engineering things. In hate glitter … Continue reading Making stuff 11: reception crafts, a pig house
This year's mince pie production process started sometime last autumn. Probably at the end of October. The mincemeat recipe I use is my Nana's (great-grandma, my mum's mum's mum). I'm very lucky to have vague memories of her, she died when I was 3, in her nineties. This takes a good day to go from … Continue reading Making stuff 10: mince pies
We've had a spare hour this afternoon so it was time for large boy to work on part of his final badge for Beavers - cooking. This is a really easy one for him because he loves cheese scones and we have a "go to" recipe that works really well. It's out of the On … Continue reading Making stuff 9: scones
The easy one first I blindly bought a denim pinafore a couple of weeks ago. Got home and tried it on and looked proper frumpy. It's too long, I'm too short, there's a problem. But I kind of know what I'm doing with scissors and pins and it had a deliberate frayed hem so no … Continue reading Making stuff 8: shortening dresses
Christmas is coming (like Game of Thrones "winter is coming" all ominous and doom-laden). This means that my carefully laid plans are coming to fruition. Gin has been prepared (Making stuff 3: annual gin, jam and chutney marathon) and bottled (Making stuff 4: gin bottling time) and so the time has come to put together … Continue reading Making stuff 7: teachers’ gifts
