Cultivating Harmony in the home . . .

As most of you know I am a Mormon, or Latter Day Saint as we prefer to be called! ( LDS for short!) As an LDS we not only have our local chapels, but we also have Temples. We’re really lucky here in England, for we have two of them, one up near Preston in the North West (Chorley) and the other one down near London in Crawley. Temples are very special to us. Not everyone can go into them . . . not even all Mormons. You have to have a special temple recommend in order to be able to enter one (after they have been dedicated to the Lord) and, in order to get one of those, you must live your life in a way that is considered to be worthy of being able to go into the Temple. You also must go through several interviews at both the local and area level. The Queen, herself, cannot go into one of our temples, which is why over here in the UK, we are not able to be married in our Temples, but must have a Civil Ceremony first. It is not legal to be married in the UK in any place other than a Public place, which anyone can enter . . . and so we get married legally in our chapels and then travel to our Temple where our marriage is blessed, and we are sealed together for time and all eternity. It's a very beautiful thing . . .



The temple is a lovely place where we can go and be free from a world full of chaos and disruption. In there, we find peace and tranquillity . . . a true haven from a hectic world. All of the rooms are beautifully appointed and elegant. Everyone dresses in white, a symbol of purity. With everyone being dressed the same, it is impossible to tell who is a banker from who is a cleaner. We are all equal in God's eyes and beloved as His children, which is as it should be. All is quiet and serene. One almost feels as if they are getting a little glimpse of heaven once they pass through the doors of the temple. It is a place I love to go.



Our homes can have that same feeling that we feel when we are in the Temple, the feeling of being a haven from a chaotic world, and unspotted . . . Our own little heaven here on earth. Home is where you hang your heart after all, should it not be a place of tranquillity as well, a place which you can truly call your safe harbour in any storm?



It has long been said that cleanliness is next to Godliness, and I think that first of all it is really important to keep your home clean and tidy. I know Todd will laugh when he reads this, because I have to be one of the untidiest creatures on the face of the planet. I am a creative person, and creative people just do not see things in the same way that others do. When he sees a pile of books on the table . . . he sees a mess that needs to be cleaned up, whereas I see . . . a work in progress . . . something which I may be working on but am not quite finished. I do have to be nagged to put them away, and I really do need to discipline myself more in this area because, even I have to agree, it does look better without them there. It only really takes a few minutes a day to tidy up and keep the house clean if you do it regularly. I know that when I am about to go away on holiday, I always like to give the house a thorough clean just before I leave, so that when I return I am returning to a clean home . . . a true haven. Having said that though, a house must always look like a home, and like people live there, not a show piece.



Making your home a temple is much more than creating a space of cleanliness and order though . . . it is creating a feeling of comfort, a feeling of safety . . . a feeling that this is the one place where you can be free from all the chaos out there in the world . . . and where the spirit of the Lord is comfortable residing. It’s not that hard to create a peaceful atmosphere in our homes, it merely involves making the right choices about what we allow to enter.



Todd and I made a choice quite some time ago that we would stay away from watching smut on our television, or on the computer . . . or even listening to it on the radio. We try only to watch and listen to things that are wholesome and uplifting. It is purely possible to do this. We have a whole series of DVD’s and videos that are what could be classified as family viewing. We try hard to eschew violence, bad language and gratuitous sex. Really, none of those things are necessary. You can be quite generously entertained in other ways. It’s amazing the difference it makes in your home when you choose not to watch or listen to things that are demeaning and nasty. A whole new atmosphere is created. We would not purposefully inject our bodies with poison, and we shouldn’t really inject our spirits with poison either. Things that are unwholesome and nasty are pure poison to our spirits, they truly are. They are soul destroying.



We try to have a home that is filled with prayer. You do not have to be religious to have prayer in the home. Prayer is so much more than getting down on your knees and communing with the great creator. Prayer is a state of mind. It is a feeling of reverence and respect. It is knowing we are not alone, in any situation. It is feeling the presence of divinity continuously . . . and living a life that is conducive to feeling that presence. Prayer is peace. We pray together often as a family, and as individuals . . . and it truly does make a difference in our home. Speaking on a personal level, a day without prayer is a day with something very special missing. My days just don’t go right when I forget to invite the Lord into them.



I also love to read the scriptures. There is so much wisdom amongst the pages of my Bible, Book of Mormon and other spiritual works. I cannot begin to tell you how many times in life I have been faced with a problem, or a bad feeling . . . and I have turned to my scriptures and begun to thumb through their well worn pages. I never fail to find the one thing I need most to read and to hear. They always speak to me exactly where I am at, and in exactly the way I need them to. There is a power in these words from God that flows into your life and your home the minute you pick them up and begin to read. Power to resist temptation, power to avoid deception, power to make the right decisions . . . the scriptures are not called the “Bread of Life” for nothing. They truly can help to anchor us in a world full of storms and despair. Each and every time I read them, I come away with something beautiful, some new understanding, a new found treasure.



People love to come to my home, and I love to have them here. I believe a part of the reason they love it so, is because of the wonderful spirit they can feel as soon as they enter. It is the spirit of love . . . and of peace . . . and it begins in your heart. It begins by making a conscious decision to keep your home unspotted by the cares and woes of the world, and by making it a true haven, away from all the filth and degradation that exists out there. I know that no matter how far I may wander away from my door . . . or how much the lions outside it may roar . . . when I return to it I am safe. I can find peace and harmony within it’s four walls . . . peace and harmony that begins in my own heart, and in your heart. It‘s not that hard to cultivate it . . . if you try, and once established . . . it will grow.



Another thing that people can be pretty sure of when they come into my home . . . is that I will offer them something good to eat. It might be a piece of cake, or some biscuits . . . or maybe a muffin. A delicious muffin such as these here today. They are incredibly scrummy if I don't say so myself and would be most welcome I am sure!



*Pink Drizzle Plum Muffins*
Makes 12 medium sized muffins
Printable Recipe

Moist and studded with chunks of lovely plum and topped with the delicious crunch and a sweet drizzle of pink icing, These muffins are quite simply wonderful and so very easy to make and enjoy!

225g plain flour (2 1/4 cups)
2 tsp baking powder
75g caster sugar (a scant 1/2 cup)
½ tsp salt
1 large free range egg
200ml milk (about 3/4 cup)
30g butter, melted (a scant 3 TBS)
180g of red or purple plums, stoned and diced (approximately 4)
the finely grated zest of one lemon
75g of macadamia nuts, chopped coarsely (about 2/3 cup)
Pink Drizzle icing (whish together icing sugar, milk and red food colouring
to give you a drizzable pink tinted icing)

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/35o* F/ gas mark 4. Generously butter a 12 cup medium muffin tray or place a paper muffin case in each cup. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar, lemon zest and salt together in a medium sized bowl. Melt the butter in the microwave. Whisk together the egg and milk in another bowl and then whisk in the melted butter. Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture all at once and mix together mixing only until the dry ingredients are all moistened. Fold in the chopped plums.

Divide the mixture evenly amongst the prepared muffin cups. Scatter the chopped macadamia nuts over the top of each one. Bake in the heated oven for 17 to 20 minutes until well risen and lightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and transfer each muffin to a wire rack to cool slightly before eating. Drizzle the tops with pink icing before serving. (Not a necessity but lovely to behold and a nice sweet touch against the savoury nuts)



I'm talking about vegetarian Mushroom & Ale Pies over in The English Kitchen today.

A woman of real substance . . .

A lot of us carry money around in our handbags and pockets without really paying attention to anything other than the number printed on them, ie. £10, £20, etc. (I have never seen a £100 note by the way!) They all have pictures of people printed on them as well. I think we all recognize the picture of the Queen, but do we really know who the other people are? I found this picture of the woman on the £5 note fascinating and I wanted to learn more about her. We are used to pictures of men being on our money . . . they are usually important politicians in history and such . . . but a woman, well, that's quite a different kettle of fish! I had to know more.

Born in 1780 into a well-to-do Quaker family in Norwich, as a child she did not enjoy the Quaker meetings and made her delicate health an excuse for missing them. Later she became one of the "Plain Friends" whose religious observance was very strict: they dressed plainly and refused to join in with dancing and singing.



Elizabeth married a banker, Joseph Fry, who was the partner in Gurney’s Bank. She entertained as the wife of a wealthy businessman and helped him through financial crises, which drastically changed their lifestyle. Elizabeth bore eleven children. Quite unremarkable thus far . . . really.

It was her voluntary work in prisons, however, that she is most remembered for. Elizabeth Fry was a young woman who pioneered prison reform. A visiting Quaker friend showed her the conditions in which women prisoners were kept in Newgate prison. Newgate was a prison which held both men and women awaiting trial, sentencing, execution, and transportation. Within it's walls, Elizabeth found women and children living and dying in conditions of horror, filth, and cruelty. She resolved to do something about it.

Firstly . . . she visited the prisons and encouraged other middle class women to do so as well. She worked hard to overcome official opposition and set up education classes for women. She was ahead of her time in that she treated the prisoners as human beings. Elizabeth did not impose discipline on them but instead proposed rules and invited the prisoners to vote on them, afterwards placing an educated prisoner in charge.

Secondly . . . Elizabeth told people in the outside world about prison life. She used her connections in high places to good effect. Both Florence Nightingale and the young Queen Victoria admired Elizabeth for her compassionate exercise outside the home.

One of her first missions was to alleviate the conditions of women being deported to Botany Bay. One day, in an effort to calm down a hysterical girl, Elizabeth pressed upon her a Bible, some scraps of fabric, some thread, needles and tea. One might wonder what possible good these things may have done for a young woman being transported to a penal colony . . .



The day after Elizabeth died (in 1845) a letter was received at her home from an Australian mother. It explained how she had arrived in Australia as a convict, turned her life around and been happily married for some twenty years. The quilt that had covered the woman's bed had been made from scraps pressed upon her by "An Angel of Mercy."

Elizabeth never judged the convicts she worked amongst, instead showing them love, mercy and care.

"The good principle which beats in the hearts of many abandoned persons may be compared to the sparks of a nearly extinguished fire. By means of the utmost care and most gentle treatment they may yet be fanned into a flame."



She was quite simply a good woman, who saw a need, and did what she could to help to alleviate the pain and suffering of her fellow beings. Put quite simply . . . she was the Saviour's hands on earth, something that we all have within us the power to be . . . We are not just here on earth to please ourselves . . . we are here to make a difference wherever, whenever . . . and however we can. That is a life well spent.

Here's a delicious cake that is quite simple to make and quick as well. It looks fabulously intricate, and your family will think you slaved over a hot stove to produce it. Only you will know that it was really quite easy!



*Brown Sugar Bundt Cake*
Makes one 10-inch bundt cake,
serving about 16Printable Recipe

Moist, delicious, quick and easy to make!

1 (18 ounce) box of yellow cake mix
1 (4 serving size) box of instant vanilla pudding mix
4 large free range eggs
1 cup of vegetable oil
1 cup soft light brown sugar, packed
1 cup of chopped pecans
softened butter and granulated sugar for preparing pan



Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 10 inch pundt pan and then sprinkle with granulated sugar to coat. Set aside.

Combine the cake and pudding mixes, eggs, oil and water in a large bowl and beat on medium speed with an electric mixer until well mixed, about 4 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar and pecans, mixing well to combine.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour, or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted in the centre. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack for about 15 minutes. Invert the pan onto the rack and slide the cake out onto the rack. Let cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

Note: you can simply dust with some icing sugar to serve, or make a thin drizzle icing to dribble over top.



There are some delicious Almond Tarts over in The English Kitchen this morning.

Wednesday ponderings . . .

There's not a lot in our lives that we can control really . . . things happen to good people all the time, and to bad people too. The rain falls on the just and the unjust in equal proportion, even though it sometimes feels like we are getting far more rain than we feel we deserve!! We do have the power to control how we feel about it though . . . and how we handle it.

Most of us deal with our problems in the same way . . . we go to that "happy place" that we have designated as the place to go when the storms hit, probably back when we were children . . . That's the place we went to as a child because we learned that it helped to get us what we wanted, or it helped to make us feel better. You can call it your "Favourite bad feeling," if you like. Now as adults we still go there . . . as soon a something shows up that is troubling on our mental radars . . .



We cry or pout and shout. We sleep. We eat chocolate or go shopping . . . withdraw or slam doors . . . some clean house, some sit and stare. Some stick their heads in the sands and pretend nothing is happening. We, each of us, have our own unique way of dealing with our problems.

Truth is we don't need to do any of those things. We can choose NOT to do any of those things. Circumstances will rarely if ever change, no matter how we feel, or what we do . . . but how we deal with them can. How we feel and deal with the problems in life can change dramatically. How you feel is completely up to you, and not to anybody else.



Peace is the result of choosing to focus our minds instead on what is true, honorable, right . . . crying, pouting, shouting, eating chocolate, spending money, slamming doors, choosing to ignore . . . these things never once solved any problems, and in many cases only serve to compound them. When you choose instead to dwell on the positivity of any situation . . . an amazing peace will overtake your mind and your heart. I know this to be true.

Just my thoughts this morning.

Here's something else that I am thinking about this morning!



Are these not the two cutest little pirates you have ever seen in your life??? I know! A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!! My daughter in law us such a fun person!!!! She dressed my two grandsons (Luke on the left, Gabe on the right) up as pirates for Talk like a Pirate Day! And not only that . . . look at this!



Now you know why I love her so. She is a special gal and I call her the "Daughter of my heart." I could not have chosen anyone lovelier to be my son's wife or the mother of Gabe and Luke. You're the bestest Anne!

Speaking of pirates, I have a lovely dessert I wanted to re-share with you here this morning. This is a pirate's treasure! This is sooooo easy even the kids can make it, with your supervision of course! It started off as squares, but I thought, why not bake them in a round pan and cut them into wedges like a pie to serve.



And then I thought, why not top them with some ice cream and chocolate sauce and turn them into Sundaes!!! This one's for all the families out there that are looking for something special to do this weekend, or for a special Family Home Evening treat!



*Chocolate Chunk Sundae Delight*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

A delicious chocolate chunk cookie wedge topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce. Moreishly delish!!

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks or chocolate chips
For the topping:
Icing Sugar
a good quality vanilla ice cream
a jar of chocolate spread
(I used Waitrose brand, it's nice and dark and fudgy)



Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Grease and flour an 8 inch cake tin with a removable bottom. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Beat the vegetable oil and eggs together in a measuring jug and add all at once to the flour mixture. Beat until throughly combined. (The mixture will be very thick) Stir in the nuts and chocolate. Scrape the dough into the prepared pan and smooth it out evenly with your fingertips.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes. Then remove the sides.

Warm the chocolate spread in the microwave until spoonable. Cut the chocolate chip cake mixture into wedges and place one wedge on each plate. Dust lightly with Icing Sugar if desired and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some chocolate sauce spooned over top.



Cooking over in The English Kitchen this morning, Chili with a Difference!

The Simple Woman's Day book . . .

FOR TODAY, September 29th, 2011...

Outside My Window...
It is dark, dark . . . dark. Tis dark now when I get up and when I go to bed. The days seem to have gotten way shorter seemingly overnight!

I am thinking...
They are just now beginning to bring a lot of those MP's to justice now over their fiddling of their expense accounts It sure has taken a long while for that to happen. One wonders why . . . Our Government is now hiring a bunch of people to keep their eyes on all the rich people who manage to evade paying taxes, which I think is a real positive step. I know my ex boss used to keep all his money in off shore accounts until the Government stopped them from doing that. I know that we pay really high taxes in this country, but it's all relative isn't it? The more you make, the more you pay, and that is as it should be!

I am thankful for...
That we were carried around in safety whilst we were away on our hols and arrived back home safe and sound. I am sure it was the prayers of people who love us that helped to carry us!

From the kitchen...
There's leftover cookies, but not a lot of anything else. I am trying not to bake so many goodies. They have a habit of getting into my mouth.

I am wearing...
Nightie, robe, slippers. Same old, same old . . .

I am creating...
I did this one up in Cumbria. It's the second one of my shops:



I got another one sketched, but still need to paint it. This one is "La Boutique." The third one will be "La Patisserie."

I started a new project as well, called Ladies in Hats. I just adore hats myself. I never wear them because I don't think I look good in them, but I do love to look at them!



Hat number 1: Cherry Hat. I love the 20's feel to this hat and I love cherries in any way shape or form!



Hat Number 2: Pretty in Pink. Another 20's inspiration. I do love the shoes. They make the outfit complete don't you think?

I was inspired when we were on Holidays by this film that we watched on the telly. I can't remember the name of it now, but it was an old black and white film and it followed a family over many years whilst they were living in this house in London. It might have been The Happy Breed, but I'm not sure. Anyways, the mother always had these gorgeous hats and I sketched a few of them while we were watching the film, and I decided to do a series of paintings involving hats. As usual prints are available in my Etsy Shop.

I am going...
Our car has it's MOT today. I sure hope it makes it through without a lot of work having to be done. Then on Saturday we are having an activity at church with the RS called Desert Island Disks. We've invited all the sisters to bring in a piece of their favourite music. It should be fun! I have to think of some food to prepare for it. Something snacky and light!

I am reading...



Home Safe, by Elizabeth Berg

Beloved author Elizabeth Berg tells the story of the recently widowed Helen Ames and of her twenty seven year old daughter Tessa. Helen is shocked to discover that her mild-mannered and loyal husband had been leading a double life. The Ames's had saved money for a happy retirement, planned in minute detail, but that money has disappeared in several big withdrawals . . . spent by Helen's husband before he died. What could he possibly have been doing? And what is Helen to do now? Why does Helen's daughter object to her mother's applying for a job . . . and why doesn't Tessa meet a nice man and get married?

What Helen's husband did with all their money turns out to be provocative, revelatory . . . and leads Helen and her daughter to embark on new adventures, and change.

As usual Elizabeth Berg = Great Read! I am really enjoying this!

I am hoping...
I feel really discouraged about my artwork from time to time. I am good at pumping it out, but not so good at marketing it. I wish I were a lot better at that aspect of it. Sometimes I think I need an agent, but then I look at it and think to myself . . . is it worth the effort or expense of getting an agent and I think not.

I am hearing...
Early morning sounds . . . the clock on the mantle humming as the wheels inside it turn. The odd car as it goes by. Mitzie snuffling as she snoozes, all curled up behind me on the sofa. The tap tapping of the computer keys as I write. They are morning sounds. The sounds as I hear whilst the house wakes up around me and the day begins. I know I say the same thing every week, but that's just how it is! Sometime I may shock you and say something completely different!

Around the house...
Changes are afoot . . . we ordered that new sofa and chair and then I bought a new rug to go with them.



I fell right in love with it. I think the colour will go perfectly with the furniture. What do you think???



Now . . . if I could only convince Todd that we need a new coffee table . . . hmmmmm . . .


I am looking forward to...
Christmas. I am always looking forward to Christmas, and it's getting closer and closer. I want to do a lot more crafty things this year for Christmas.

I am pondering...
I hope that we have an Indian Summer this year. We certainly didn't have much of a summer. A nice Indian Summer would be quite wonderful I think! I'm also wishing that I could do hypnotherapy for my weight again. I had ever so much success with it before but then got derailed when I lost my job and we had to move. I would so like to get back on track . . .

One of my favourite things...
Is doing this daybook each week. I missed doing it last week when we were away.

A few plans for the rest of the week...
There are the daily reading lessons, the activity on Saturday at the chapel and we were thinking of having a movie night one night this week with some friends and watching Brigadoon. Watch this space!

Here is picture thought I am sharing...



This is a picture of one of the cart horses at Erddig that I took the other day. (I am going to finish editing my photos today, I promise!) I love horses, even though I am a bit afraid of them, especially the large ones like this one. They are so beautiful and I love that horsey smell. I don't find it revolting in the least. I am reminded of the old blind horse that lived in the field next to my Great Aunt Orabel's house up in Inglesville back home. We used to love to go and feed it apples. I was never afraid of him . . . perhaps because he could not see . . .


And just as a closing thought for today . . .

"Stay present. You'll always have time to worry later on if you want to."
~Dan Millman

I think the Saviour put it another way . . .

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1)

And there you have it . . . my day book for this week. Don't forget to hop on over to the Simple Woman to check out the other day book entries! (Or better yet, do a simple day book entry yourself! It's not that hard and I am betting you would enjoy it!

I found a whole bunch of blueberries at the store the other day that were marked down and thought to myself . . . I should make a blueberry pie! When I was a kid I didn’t really like blueberry pie all that much. I guess we had so many of them I didn’t really appreciate them for what they were. Now as an adult I adore them. Mind you . . . blueberries are a little bit harder to come by over here, and a lot more expensive. Back home they grew wild in my back garden, and were free for the picking . . .



*Fresh Blueberry Pie*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

There is no taste on earth that can equal the taste of blueberries baked into a luscious pie. It’s really not that hard to make one if you buy a ready made crust, but then again your own pie crust is not that hard to make either, and probably a lot tastier!

Pastry for a two crust pie (your own recipe or a good quality
purchased ready made pastry)
5 cups fresh blueberries
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
½ cup of plain flour
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 TBS butter
1 large egg, beaten
2 tsp sugar for sprinkling

Pre-heat your oven to 200*C/400*F. Clean and pick over the berries. Put them into a large bowl and sprinkle them with the lemon juice. Set aside.

Roll out half of your pastry to fit into the bottom of a 9 inch pie dish, leaving about an inch overhanging the sides.

Combine the 1 cup of sugar with the flour, salt and cinnamon. Add this to the berries and mix well with your hands. Pour into the pastry shell and then dot the butter here and there over the top.

Roll out the other half of the pastry to fit over the top and carefully place it over the filling. Press the edges together all around, and then trim evenly and crimp as you wish. Cut some slits in the top to allow any steam to escape.

Brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg and then sprinkle with the 2 tsp of sugar. Place on a baking sheet to catch any drips and then slice the pie into the heated oven. Bake for about 35 to 45 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Cover the edges with aluminium foil if they are browning too quickly.

Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature before eating. Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.



Cooking in The English Kitchen today . . . some delicious Zesty Honey and Lime Chicken Wings.

Anticipation . . .

Just before a friend arrives . . . I like to sit and wait, watching carefully through the window, listening in great anticipation for their arrival, for their footsteps at my gate . . .

Once they have arrived . . . the moments seem to fly by. They no sooner seem to have arrived than it is time for them to bid me adieu . . . and I am then watching their footsteps going back down the garden path and out of view . . .



Anticipate the happy things in life . . . thus you will have double the pleasure to be . . . and live those lovely moments, not once . . . but twice, first in thought and second in reality . . .

Do not anticipate disaster, however . . . nor trouble, failure or distress. Only sunshine and fair weather . . . joy and good fortune . . . success and positivity!



If we look only for the best of things and shun the rest . . . we are sure to find them! There is a great power in positive thinking, and a gift round every corner.

Every day brings a ship,
Every ship brings a word;
Well for those who have no fear,
Looking seaward, well assured
That the word the vessel brings
Is the word they wish to hear.
~Ralph Waldo Emmerson

We did have a very showery day yesterday, but beautiful nonetheless. We took ourselves off in the afternoon to Erddig, which is a place we went to last year, but which I lost all my photographs from. I will do a post about Erddig soon, but I have 92 photographs to go through and edit, so you'll have to wait a bit! In the meantime here is a teaser . . .



These are just some of the bells which would ring, allerting the Servants below the stairs to the needs of those who occupied the space above stairs . . .

I’m not sure where I got this recipe from, but I do know it’s quite old. Sometimes I think these old recipes are the best ones of all. Pure and simple ingredients, easy to put together and long on flavour . . . from my Big Blue Binder.



*Potato Pudding*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Tasty, old fashioned and it uses ingredients most people have in their larders. This is a real people pleaser.

2 cups peeled and coarsely shredded potato
1 cup peeled and coarsely shredded carrot
1 cup peeled and coarsely shredded swede (rutabaga)
1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp summer savoury or marjoram
2 TBS cream
2 TBS softened butter

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Generously butter a square baking pan and set aside.

Mix the vegetables, salt, pepper, summer savoury and cream together in a bowl, mixing all together well. Spoon into the prepared baking dish and press down a bit to smooth it out. Dot the butter evenly over top.

Cover and bake in the heated oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes longer or until golden and crusty on top. Remove from the oven and let sit for a few minutes before cutting into squares to serve.



In The English Kitchen today . . . some Amazing Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies!!