Cold here again................

Goats in winter!

Took a couple of pics of the girls to show you. The close - up shows teh woolly winter coat that Marty has grown due to the cold weather recently. I see Fancy Day's isn't far behind now; I want to get up there with a brush and get a bit for spinning - if they'll let me, and when the weather gets a bit warmer. They need it more than I do LOL

Perfect mashed potato

Mshed potato, when well made is one of the very best vegetable dishes you could possibly eat!Mind you, when it's bad, it can be very, very bad, and a huge disappointment! This is how I make my own perfect mash.

Choose a good floury variety of potato; peel thinly, and cut into equal size pieces - this way it all cooks at the same rate and is ready all together - no hard half-raw bits in it, I hope. Have ready a colander in theink, and drain the potatoes through it. Try and drain the lquid into a bowl, and put it byfor vegetablestock/base for soups and sauces, add to casseroles, bread recipes, etc. Failing that, put it ont he garden if you can!

Give the potatoes about two or three minutes to drain thoroughly, shaking thecolander a couple of timesto get them moving. In the interim, put a large knob of good butter into the hot pan and swirl it around, then add a dash of milk, a good grind of black pepper and a pinch of salt.

turn the now dry potatoes back into the pan and mash with your preferred choice of masher. I've used all sorts over the years, but have come down in favour of a traditional wooden one, just a shaped piece of wood - it's a lovely thing to use, and to look at. I tried a ricer once, but it was a bit much faff for me LOL. When good and mashed, give it a good whisk around with a fork to make sure the butter and milk and seasonings are well incorporated, heat through if required and serve.

It's also a good base for other recipes - colcannon, for example. I try and make a bit extra if I have room in the pot and the extra potatoes - used then for croquettes, tattie scones, shepherd's or cottage pie topping, etc.

Can't beat it!

January giveaway!!!

It's that time again! For January, I have a treat of a book to give away - The Spend Less Handbook - 365 tips for a better quality of life while actually spending less, by Rebecca Ash. I think it's a great little book, quite inspriing, lots of tips in there. I'm sure a lot of us do a lot of the things (or not, as the case may be), but it'sa good read. Whilst you're reading, you'll need tea, so I've popped in a packet of Fairtrade tea, and a knitted mug-hug to keep the tea warm whilst you read.

Hope you'd like to enter, just leave a comment somewhere and I'll pick it up, or e-mail me at Julian.Dean1@btinternet.com.

Good luck!

Spring can't be far behind..............

These are my hyacinth bulbs in the kitchen, well on their way now - they have grand roots on them too.The sent of hyacinths is one of my very favourites, and one stem can scent a room for a couple of weeks. I've had the container for a long time- it's an antique German mould, ceramic, but with a couple of cracks in, so probably wouldn't hold liquid. It's well past its best, so couldn't sell it either, so rather than throw it away (horror of horrors!!!), I used it for this; think it's quite funky LOL Can't remember what colour the flowers are, so that'll be a nice surprise. :)

Meet the chickens.............

.............. well, some of them, anyway! At the moment, I'm leaving the run gate open, and the come out into the garden; there's not too much dmage for them to do at this time of year, but I see they have kindly ploughed up the greenhouse beds for me, and eaten most of the Swiss chard LOL. It's so nice to be able to see them pottering around outside the kitchen window, noseying into every pot, nook and cranny! The cockerel is called William, as in William Barnes, the Dorset dialect poet. Not sure if his crowing is in dialect, but it's mighty loud :)

St Distaff's Day - 7th January

In former times, 7th January was jocularly known as St Distaff's Day. It was the female equivalent of Plough Monday: nominally the day on which work resumed after the Christmas festivities, but effectively a day of transition between the two. The stereotypical tool of the trade for women was the distaff, used for the spinning of flax.

Partly work and partly play
Ye must on St Distaff's Day:
From the plough soon free your team;
Then come home and fodder them.
If the maids a-spinning go,
Burn the flax and fire the tow:
Scorch their plackets but beware
That ye singe no maiden hair.
Bring in pails of water then,
Let the maids bewash the men.
Give StDistaf all teh right:
Then bid Christmas sport good-night
And next morrow, everyone
To his own vocation.

Robert Herrick, Hesperides, St Distaff's Day.


Taken from Chambers Book of Days


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So there you go, I can spend the day in transition, spinning by the stove. think I'll pass on the bewashing of the men, though LOL