When I was a child I just adored the story of Mary Poppins. I had been given the first book in the series as an award for good work at the end of the school year in Grade 2 and I practically wore out the pages, reading it over and over again. Oh how I longed for a nanny such as Mary Poppins . . .



The book was filled to the brim with wonderful characters and adventures, pictures and fabulous treats.



Characters such as Mrs Corry, an extremely old woman who ran a sweet shop with her two large daughters . . . A magical sweet shop where you could purchase such lovely delights and cakes such as Gingerbread Stars . . . Star shaped little gingerbread cakes, adorned with golden paper stars . . .



But not just any golden paper stars . . . these ones were special, for, on any given night one could see ( and only if they were very, very observant) . . . the little old lady perched on a very tall ladder pasting the gold stars in the sky along with the help of Miss Poppins herself . . .



How could one resist such a recipe. Taken from the book Mary Poppins in the Kitchen, a cookery book with a story.

This brought back childhood memories and imaginations . . . wonderfully spicy and the perfect accompaniment to an afternoon hot cup of whatever strikes your fancy!



*Gingerbread Stars*
Makes 2 six inch stars or one 7 inch cake
Printable Recipe

Deliciously spicy no matter what the shape!

105g of plain flour (3/4 cup)
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp each of ground nutmeg, ground cloves and ground allspice
a small handfull of sultanas
4 TBS butter
85g of soft dark brown sugar, (1/2 cup packed)
2 TBS dark treacle (dark molasses)
1 large egg, beaten
baking sheet, lightly buttered and dusted with flour
2 6-inch star shapes buttered and floured, or 1 7-inch sandwich cake tin

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4. Prepare the star shapes, and place on the buttered and floured baking pan, alternately prepare the sandwich tin. Set aside.

Sift the flour into a bowl along with the spices and the soda. Set aside.

Melt the butter and the brown sugar together. Allow to cool, then beat in the molasses and the egg. Stir into the flour mixture and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in the sultanas.

Divide the batter equally amongst the star shapes or pour into the baking tin. Bake the stars in the heated oven for 30 minutes and the cake for about 40. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

(I used Baxter's Spicy Slaw Deli Topper)


Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F gas mark 4. Slice your sub rolls almost all the way through from the top to bottom.
Bake for 10 minutes for a soft sided roll or a bit longer for a crisp roll.  Serve hot with your favourite accompaniments.  We had oven chips.

One thing I miss over here when we go out to eat (which isn't often) are the lovely Diner Style of Hot Roasted Meat Sandwiches which we used to get back home in North America.  Almost every family restaurant, truck stop, or diner has hot sandwiches on offer.  Hot Roast Beef, Hot Turkey (very popular) Hot Chicken, Hot Hamburger, etc.

Going out for one of these was always a real treat.  With  tender roasted meat with gravy between two thick slices of white bread with more gravy ladled over top, they would be served up hot, on large platters, with plenty of hot chips, veg and coleslaw on the side. You could also have gravy on your chips (fries), or not as per your choice.  In Canada we love gravy on our chips, and here in the UK, they also like gravy on their chips, or curry sauce. (Something I have yet to try.)


Place the appropriate stock in a saucepan, and add the sliced meat.  Cover and cook over low heat until heated through thoroughly.  Place one slice of bread on each of four heated plates.  Top each with one fourth of the hot meat.  Top with some of the gravy, and then place another slice of bread on top.  Place chips and vegetables on the plates, and ladle the remaining gravy over the bread and chips.  Serve immediately with coleslaw on the side. 



Good chips/fries are a must!  If you want to make your own from scratch this is a cracking recipe.  You can also use oven chips.  I like the crinkle ones in that case, or if you are really lucky and have a chippy close by, you can just send hubby out to pick up a large portion of chips. By the time you have the remaining elements ready, he'll be back and you'll be set to go!

When you are ready to fry your chips heat your fat to 120*C/250*F.  Add the chips in batches, without crowding the pan.   Blanch in the fat for 5 minutes, just until cooked through.   Remove, pat dry and drain on paper towelling.  Once you have blanched all the chips raise the temperature of the fat to 160*C/320*F.  Fry the chips again until crisp and golden brown.  Drain well, season with some salt and serve immediately.



Pour all the pan juices from your roasting pan into a measuring cup.  When the fat rises to the top, spoon off 2 TBS and return that to the roasting pan.  Scoop off and discard the remaining fat. Place the roasting tin over a burner and heat gently until the fat begins to sizzle just a bit.  Whisk in the flour and cook through for several minutes, stirring constantly.  Add enough additional liquid to the juices in the cup to make 360ml/1 1/2 cups in all.  Slowly whisk this liquid into the roasting pan and cook for 5 to 6 minutes until thickened and bubbling. If your gravy is too thick, then you can add additional liquid.  Cook for a further minute.  Season to taste with salt and black pepper.  Keep warm until you need to use it. 



Coleslaw is a must.  You won't get any meal at a diner in North America,  that doesn't come with a small container of coleslaw on the side. At some places it might be a vinaigrette coleslaw, but more often than not it will be a delicious creamy slaw.  Just like this.

Serves 8 to 10

A deliciously cream coleslaw that has just the right amount of crunch and flavour!  There is no sogginess here!!

10 ounces of white cabbage, trimmed, cored and very thinly cut
(about 1/2 of a medium cabbage)
5 ounces of carrots, peeled, trimmed and julienned
(1 medium carrot)
4 inches of an English Cucumber, trimmed, seeded and cut into small dice
(Do not peel)
2 - 3 large dessertspoons of good quality mayonnaise
1 TBS of Dijon mustard
2 TBS white wine vinegar
1 tsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp celery salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp onion powder

Place the vegetables into a large bowl.  Whisk together the mustard, mayonnaise, white wine vinegar, sugar, celery salt, black pepper and onion powder.  Mix well.  Pour over the vegetables and toss to coat.  Cover and chill for at least one hour before serving.

Note - the amount of mayonnaise you use depends on the cabbage, some cabbages take more mayonnaise than others.  It also depends on how creamy you like your coleslaw!

One of the things that Todd and I like to do in our spare time is to visit some of the National Trust Houses that are abundant in our beautiful country. There's quite a few and in the warmer months, it's really a lot of fun walking around the gardens and of course nosing through the houses . . . We just find it so very fascinating and a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

Most of the National Trust houses also have tearooms and small restaurants on the grounds. That, of course is also one of the real treats of the day . . . spending an hour in the tea rooms partaking of a delicious cake or bun (all homemade) and a drink.



And then, there is Todd's nemesis . . . the gift shop. He tries to steer me away from them, but . . . I'm on to him now . . . the gift shop is one of the highlights of my afternoon! They are filled with all sorts of treasures . . . jams and jellies, biscuits, candy rock, toys, gardening goods, tea time trinkets and . . . delicious cookery books!

On one of our visits I picked up this lovely cookerybook filled with traditional teatime recipes.

"Food is at the heart of everything the National Trust does. Our commitment to food stretches from using high quality sustainable produce in our restaurants to supporting our tenant farmers in selling direct to the public. With hundreds of tenant farms, more than 25 working kitchen gardens and farms managed by us, the Trust has an important stake in every part of the food journey." (Excerpt from inside flap of the above book)



I just adore the traditional recipes of any country I am in, but most especially the traditional ones from this beautiful country that we live in. Teatime recipes are some of my favourites of all. They hearken me back to my childhood days of reading Enid Blyton novels and dreaming about the delicous sounding teatime treats that the children in them got to gobble down, and I could only dream of . . .



This is a great baking book, chock full of delectable sounding teatime treats! Every recipe I have baked from it thus far has been just wonderful, not the least of which was this tasty banana cake that I baked this afternoon. We sat down to a piece each with a cup of herbal tea, whilst the snow blew against the glass of our kitchen windows, and dreamt of adventures and tuck boxes and . . . warm summer afternoon walks along country garden pathways . . .



Note - the filling is not really thick, but I found that by pooling most of it in the centre, it worked out just perfectly and did not squish out the sides. Also the icing is more like a glaze than a traditional frosting. It is most delicious!



*Cornish Banana Cake*
Makes one 7-inch layer cake
Printable Recipe

Just perfect for afternoon tea! A deliciously moist banana cake layered with a buttery banana filling and iced with a cocoa banana icing.

For the cake:
8 ounces very ripe banana (weight after peeling)
3 1/2 ounces caster sugar
3 1/2 ounces butter, softened
200g self raising flour, sifted
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 TBS milk

For the filling:
1 ripe banana
2 ounces butter, softened
2 ounces caster sugar

For the icing:
1 soft, very ripe banana
1 ounce cocoa powder, sifted
8 ounces icing sugar, sifted



Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Butter two 7-inch round sandwich tins and lightly flour, tapping any excess out. Mash the bananas and sugar together for the cake in a bowl with an electric mixer. Beat in the softened butter. Add the flour alternately with the egg. Dissolve the soda in the milk and add to the mixture. Beat to a fairly sticky batter. Divide evenly between the two tins, smooth the tops and then bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the sponge springs back when lightly touched.

Remove from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the filling, beat all the ingredients together until well mixed and use to sandwich the two layers together.

For the icing, beat all the ingredients together until dark and really smooth. Spread onto the top of the cake.

Note - If you like you can decorate the top with some blanched almonds, walnut halves or dried banana chips.