Back to Baking

Hello! ... I've had a manic couple of weeks at work, resulting in a down turn in the time I've had to spend on my crafting hobbies, and a resultant lack of blog posts. Also, the few projects I have had time for in the last couple of weeks have been Christmas related and won't be appearing here for a little while, so as not to spoil any Christmas Day surprises.

Things are (final) back to normal this weekend and I have had time to get to know my new cookbook. A couple of weeks ago I treated myself to Alexa Johnston's second baking book, A Second Helping, More from Ladies, A Plate. I was given the first volume, Ladies, A Plate, last year and have loved everything I've made from it. The books are beautiful to look at, the photographs accompanying the recipes are full of lovely vintage china and embroidered table cloths, not to mention being stuffed full of lovely tea time treats. I love reading cook books anyway, and this one is an especial treat. Based in New Zealand, Johnston has collected together traditional recipes from a range of vintage cook books, and recipes passed down through families, each recipe being accompanied by the history of the recipe.

The second volume has turned out to be just as good. I've made Hokey Pokey Cookies, which are like the middle bits of Crunchie bars in biscuit form. (no picture I'm afraid, as we've eaten them all!) My second recipe choice was Crunchy Topped Lemon Loaf, which is lovely - light and moist with a lemon zing. The loaf is not very sweet, but it has a sugar and lemon juice syrup pored over the top while its cooling, which makes a delightfully sweet and crunchy top. (No picture of this, as there does not seem to be a working set of batteries in the house! Once I've got some charged up I'll put in a picture as the loaf looks pretty good).

I've treated myself to a day off work today, to recover from my exertions at work, and I'm off now to hunt threw my fabric stocks to match them up with my newly expanded stock of sewing patterns, but that's a story for another day...