Oh dear soccer. Book them in and then have the majority of games canceled due to soggy weather and even soggier grounds.What to do with a couple of over excited shin pad wearing children?? What to do with them when some revolting idiots have driven onto our local park and spent the night doing burnouts so today it is locked and the locals are playing ball on the footpath as a result of the discovery that,after they decimated the first park, they then went over the nearest park to that.
We bake.Actually we bake and play handball and add to our reading challenge form.
First up lemons from a neighbour.I wish I could say eggs from our girls but they have closed shop due to the cold weather and despite morning bowls of hot milky bran the nest box remains empty.
LEMON CURD or lemon butter ( recipe from River Cottage Family Cookbook)
100grams butter cubed
175grams caster sugar
zest of 3 lemons
juice of 3 lemons
three eggs ( it said two eggs and one more yolk but I tossed in the whole egg and it was fine)
Put everything into a heavy based saucepan over very low heat and stir.Slowly!! or you will have lemony scrambled eggs.
After a little while the mixture will thicken and when it coats the back of the wooden spoon,leaving a line when you run your finger through it the curd is ready for bottling.
Make sure you strain the curd ito the jars as there will be little bits of egg.
I used to worry about sterilising jars properly but after I saw Maggie Beer make jam and say that -as long as the jar is freshly washed,by pouring in the hot jam and turning the jar upside down for a moment,the heat from the jam will seal and sterilise the vessel- I have simply stuck to that.I am yet to find a problem.
MERINGUES
200grams
4egg whites
Preheat oven to 100degress celsius
Beat the whites until satiny then pour in half the sugar.
When the whites look like shiny white satin and you can hold the bowl over your childs head (without any falling on them!!) ,using a metal spoon,fold in the remaining sugar.
I dolloped large spoonfuls of mixture onto a lined baking tray and place in the oven for 90 minutes.
*they are ready when you can easily lift them from the baking sheet and are a light gold
Take them out and cool them down on a rack.
The most important part!!!!!!
Take one bowl.
Place meringue in bowl
Dollop over thick cream
Small dollop over lemon curd
Grab spoon
Devour....................... : )
Next we made chocolate cupcakes.Well you would wouldn't you?
I have just finished a very sweet project from a new book.I rarely buy crafty books as often I find them catering to those new to the world of making and not addressing the number of people out there with skills they are busting to have directed in an imaginative direction.Seriously there are only so many books needed to show the world how to applique a motif on a babies singlet. Either that or I am simply blinded by the choice-bunny in headlight style.
The book I bought was Sandi Hendersons scrap busting book and the first thing I have whipped up is her lovely "Countdown Chain" project.Easy, fast and a fantastic idea.Just in time too as someone who used to be absolutely teensy is turning seven(yelp!!) at the end of August so tomorrow he can happily put up the first chain.Yay!!
xxxxxx