Christmas Past

So gang, Christmas has passed and we are hurtling towards the New Year.  I hope ever one had a good and eventful Christmas day and Santa was good to them all.  She left her letter to Santa (yes, she wrote it herself LOL) and her stocking was stuffed the next morning!  Santa was raining down the gifts for Farm Baby's first Christmas and she was somewhat stunned by the whole event, but I think she enjoyed herself overall.  

The Christmas dinner was great and I was really chuffed as all the only vegetables I had to add to the mix was a sweet potato and a parsnip.  All the other vegetables were from our own garden and in the case of Brussels garden fresh.  It is quite a nice feeling to wander down to the vegetable patch, snow crunching under foot and in this dead looking landscape find something sweet and edible!  And there are still Brussels to go, about three plants worth.  I also noticed peaking out from beneath the snow, the strawberry plants still going strong and I cannot wait for next season.  One reason being that Santa brought me a full jam making set so I am raring to go on the strawberries, I hope there are plenty!

So what does the New Year bring for the farm.  Well, hopefully we will finally see the addition of some livestock this year in the form of chickens for definite.  I have been pondering a goat for so long now that it may be in the offing and, while we are dreaming, a Shetland pony would be up there on the list too!

In the garden there will be many changes with the addition of a new raised tyre bed, a new potato patch, so that the old patch can be given over to another crop and there will be a new cold frame (kinda) area if I can convince Farm Dad to use his newly learned wall building skills.  This will hopefully help out the strawberries and make lettuces more likely to survive.

In addition to the garden I hope to add my greenhouse.  Not sure if we'd get it up in time for growing this year, all these plans take time but it is in the list of things to be done!

Next thing to do is choose and order all the seeds for this year... can't wait to get started in the garden again!

Let's Talk Gifts

Now, if you are anything like me there are always people out there that you want to give presents too but you aren't sure what to give.  Or the other type of person, the ones where you aren't sure whether your relationship has 'present giving' status.  So my advice is food gifts, they are quick to make and easy to give.  Also means that after they are gone they are gone, the receiver is not left with something they can't use.  I have used various edible gifts before.  For the friends you know like fresh food but have no time how about Cranberry and Macadamia Cookie Mix in a Jar.  Weigh out all the ingredients for your receiver, all they have to do is add the wet ingredients, mix and bake!  Easy!

Or how about a beautiful jar of Luxury Chocolate Fudge Sauce, you can even make some for yourself!  It will go amazingly with the Christmas Pudding alternative that I will be adding to the Cooking For Fun blog soon, so look out for that.

Or how about some bottles of homemade Mulled Apple Juice, I love this stuff and when I served it up last year it went down brilliant, even with the traditional Mulled Wine drinkers!

The new recipes I would like to add today are Rocky Road and Cherry Shortbread, these are what my neighbours are receiving this year with their Xmas Cakes!  A bag of these in each goodie bag will go down well.  And it is easy to just make a few extra for yourself too!!

Rocky Road

300g dark chocolate
3 tbsp golden syrup
300g butter or margarine
300g digestive biscuits
200g white marshmallows
100g sultanas


Click to read more...

Cherry Shortbread

115g butter
55g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
175g plain flour
75g glace cherries, quartered.

Click to read more...

News Too Good Not To Share!!!

This post may make me look crazy, or like someone who has too much time, but after some fussing in the kitchen I have found a great recipe for Fondant Icing! Yes, Fondant Icing!  I was making a practice of my christmas cake - don't ask about the Xmas Cake, TIP: when it says 160oC do it at 160oC not 190oC!  Rather crispy outside to my cake!  That is why I need icing, icing covers all sins!!!

I have been wanting to make my own fondant icing for AGES now, for various reasons:

• It is always better to make your own, a little bit more of an 'I made this feeling'
• In the case of icing being able to make exactly how much you need rather than being left with stuff you can't use or have to throw away.
• And in the case of icing being able to make different colours of fondant icing for alsorts of cakes - this last one was my biggest reason for wanting to make my own.

I had found several recipes before but they all used gelatin and as soon as I see gelatin in a recipe I just turn away.  I always just end up with a blob (or blobs) of gelatin in my 'whatever-I'm-making'.  But then I found this recipe that uses just marshmallows and Icing Sugar (Confectioner's Sugar)!  I couldn't believe it would be so simple, I saw the recipe - Melt Marshmallows - this could get messy, I thought imagining everything stuck to everything else after I had finished.  I was wrong!  If you ever need icing you HAVE to try this it was SO easy and simple.

Fondant Icing

6 oz white marshmallows

12 oz Icing Sugar

(basically you need to use twice as much sugar as marshmallows)

2tbsp water

Put the water and marshmallows into a large bowl and microwave for 1 minute.  Stir mallows with a spatula.  If they are still a bit lumpy give them another 30 - 40 seconds.

SLowly start adding your sugar until the mixture appears to take no more and has lost some of its stickiness.

Turn out your icing onto a board dusted with icing sugar and begin kneading, if you have any sugar remaing then knead that in as you go, until the icing is smooth.  

Use straight away or seal in airtight container and keep in the fridge!

If you want coloured icing add your food colouring after melting the marshmallows.  To colour pre-made icing just make a disc with the icing, add a couple of drops of colouring and fold icing over.  Begin kneading and keep going until the colour is uniform!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Hi! Did you think we had become buried under the snow!! Well, almost! We still have pretty much no Internet access, the best we have got is what we can eeek out of a mobile phone connected to a PC, and let me tell you, that is not a lot! I have managed to get some photos up of the scenery around our way.

Rocco - unimpressed with the cold feet!

This is the road leading to our house. It looks pretty clear, unfortunately this isn't the way we need to drive, we need to go the other way which for some reason never gets cleared!

The Holly tree that gave up some of its wares for our wreath!

Monty finds the best way to deal with deep snow and cold feet is to run as fast as he can!

Looking down the hill, the fence posts were half buried at this point - it got worse!

I just like this tree! I think it may be literally on the cards for next years Xmas Cards!

Looking down our field.

And the field again..

We have now got the Sky dish fitted (only took us 3 weeks!) but apparently it can take up to 15 days till we get Internet - but hopefully soon my little chums! We certainly have some upcoming events in the garden, for soon we shall select our fruit bushes and fruit trees!

This has been put off as at present we would have to dig through an extra couple of feet of snow to create some suitable beds, but I think we may have to bite the bullet and get on with it, snow or no snow!

I have also subscribed (or rather got a subscription as an Xmas Present) to Grow Your Own Magazine (oh yes), which as a subscription gift came with several packets of seeds, possibly 10. So, this year we will see the Grow Your Own - Garden! I will plant out all the seeds that came with it and you will be able to follow its progress! More on that to come! The magazine often gives out free seeds too so I will add them to the Grow Your Own - Garden as they arrive! This is buy no means a paid advert or anything but I adore this magazine and anyone looking for a good read (in the UK although I expect you can get overseas subs) should take a look at it!

Well, Happy New Year everyone, and thanks for being patient with my updates, they will become more frequent as soon as possible!

Slowest Internet in the World!!!

Sky, Sky Sky! We were supposed to get our Sky TV etc set up on Sunday (last Sunday) but they never came due to the weather. We were supposed to get our Internet set up on Wednesday but oh no, no Internet till you get the TV!! When are we getting the TV, next Sunday. But for some reason the Internet this time might not be set up until 15 (that's right, count 'em 15!) days after the TV! How much time does it take to press the Go button!!! So I am working on Internet supplied via a mobile phone plugged into the PC, it is generally slower than 56k dial up!

Ah well!! But its CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And we have been majorly busy trying to get the house sorted before then. We completed the Dining Room:

And it really looks great! We have even managed to pick Christmassy colours!! I have also been trying my hand at a few handicrafts. Main project was a wreath with some of the Holly from the bush outside and some left over Xmas decorations. I think it looks rather good, even if I do say so myself!

Next on my list was the Christmas Baking. I had decided that sweet things was the way to go so I went for Vanilla Biscuits and Spiced Orange biscuits with an Orange Icing!

There was also Christmas cake for all! I had bought myself a great new pan that meant I could make 12, 3inch, square cakes, in the one tin. This means I have nice little gift cakes to give away!!
And finally the mince pies, can't go wrong with Mince Pies! This was using my own mincemeat and a nice sweet pastry!
We have got a nice roast for tomorrow and there will be plenty of trimmings!!! Will report as often as I can!

Have a great Christmas People!!

Merry Christmas from the Farm!

Plant a Tree!

Thanks to Allotments for You I have decided to join the online phenomena (Yes, I think it could be called that!) that is Ponzi! With this scheme you show the badge (left) on your blog and for every badge posted Pozi will plant a tree. For every CLICK on a badge they will also plant a tree! I figure that this is a reasonable scheme to get involved in!! We are looking to plant some trees around the ol' farmstead so I thought why not get involved with a nationwide scheme - and it is so easy! So join in if you fancy it!!

So what has been going on? Well, we still don't have an Internet at home, which is why the posts are few and far between, but we are preparing for Christmas. I have been baking in the kitchen and I will share those wonders with you in due course! We have also been desperately trying to get the dining room decorating so we can start decorating the house with Christmas Decorations, still haven't got a tree up yet!!

It is starting to get pretty frosty here, the frost usually doesn't even have time to melt before the next wave sets in and snow has supposedly been forecast for later this week. Quite looking forward to that!!

Getting Ready For Xmas... Mincemeat

Well, I decided that all work and no play makes for a very dull life and in this case would make for a Christmas without mince pies! So I decided a week or so back to make up my mincemeat, just to give it a wee while to "get tasty" before I start the big pie bake!!

So using my Mincemeat Recipe:

Ingredients
1 Bramley Apple
300g Raisins
300g Currants
250g shredded suet
250g muscavado sugar
85g mixed peel, chopped
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of mixed spice
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
100ml whisky (optional, I don't use it as we don't like it but feel free - glug away!)

See Full Instructions

After a rather sticky time, I always get in a mess peeling apples, have no idea why, it was into the jars for my mincemeat to await "The Time of the Baking"! These jars are now in my larder cupboard and are looking good! I shall update this with the Mince Pie excitement after they are cooked. I am also going to be making my Xmas Cake soon, I don't do the dark cake which is why I get away with leaving it so late!!