Christmas Cooking

I thought I'd better get started with Christmas preparations, as it's easy miss the fun things before Christmas when I'm madly trying to make stock for Christmas fairs. After finishing my diy for the day I thought I'd make some mincemeat. I followed a recipe from Marguerite Pattern, she's my favourite cookery writer.

The recipe is from 

4oz (100g) shredded suet 

4oz (100g) grated cooking Apple

1lb  (500g) mixed dried fruit (I used sultanas, currants, and raisins)

4oz (100g) Demerara sugars

4oz (100g) chopped dried apricots (the recipe said almonds but I don't like them)

4oz (100g) glacé cherries (should have been mixed peel, I don't like that either)

Zest and juice of a large lemon

1teaspoon mixed spice

Half a teaspoon nutmeg

Half a teaspoon cinnamon

4 tablespoons of brandy (only just had enough)

Mix all the ingredients together and put in clean dry jam jars. I filled four Bon Maman jars.

I didn't wash the fruit but if you do, the fruit must be left to dry for 24 hours. It's important to use the full amount of fat, sugar, and brandy or it won't keep. 

I'll have to leave the mincemeat in the cupboard for a few weeks before it's ready to make mince pies.

Phillippa x

Kirkbymoorside Christmas Market

It was a late night last night finishing things for the market today. We had a really good day, the reindeer were lovely and I bought some giant pine cones to put in my flower arrangement I'll be doing at the next WI meeting. We had a blue tarpaulin over our market stall and its given the photos a blue tint!

Next weekend it's a Christmas fair at Newton on Rawcliffe village hall in Sunday 12-4.

Christmas Shopping

Staithes Arts and Crafts centre is open at the weekends for a few more weeks. Enjoy Christmas shopping for handmade gifts x

Leeds industrial museum Armley Mills

At the beginning of October I was invited to attend the Armley Mills wool festival. We had a really interesting day. I really really like industrial heritage and it was fantastic to see the spinning mule working and look around the new tailoring gallery. The displays about the tailoring industry in Leeds are very good with sample books you can look through, examples of suits, and the story of how the industry grew and declined. I think every other suit in Britain was at one time made in Leeds! There is a cinema and the history of the optics industry in Leeds. I listened to an interesting talk on modern knitting techniques and wondered round outside looking at the trains, tractors, industrial tools and fulling mill. I didn't see anybody else when I was wondering round the outside exhibits and parts of the outside of the mill do include huge pieces of rusting machinery awaiting renovation. It is well worth a visit if you like industrial heritage or wool. I'm looking forward to going back next year.