Growing up we were always aware of my mother's cousins in the states Lydia McNayr. I think she was probably my mother's second cousin, first cousin to my maternal Grandmother.
She and her husband Austin had been very good to my mother's family during the great depression. They (like a lot of Maritimers) had moved down to the New England States of America to find work and had been able to prosper there.
She and her husband used to ship home boxes of clothing and other things to my mother's family which they were most appreciative of.
Once mom got married and had a family Lydia continued to send gifts to us children every year. They were highly unsual things.
One year it was glow in the dark pictures of the Lords Prayer. This picture hung over my bed and watched me during my sleep the whole of my childhood.
Another time it was crepe paper butterflies made with clothespins and pipecleaners. They decorated the curtains in my sister and my bedroom for a long time.
There was also pin cushions that looked like chairs, made from tin cans, all cut and twisted and painted to look incredibly ornate. These simple gifts meant the world to us to say the least.
We never got to meet her or her husband but we always felt that we knew them, partly from the gifts that she would send and also through the stories my mother would share of her.
I wish I had written some of them down. There is an old, old photograph of she and her husband visiting way back when.
Its black and white and not very clear. She is the first lady on the left in the back row, standing next to my maternal grandmother. I wonder what she would think of me baking her cookies all these years later?
This is cousin Lydia's cookie recipe. It goes back many years. The original recipe was shared to my grandmother and then to my mother and was handwritten on the back of an envelope. No instructions, just ingredients.
That's how recipes came to you in those days. It was taken for granted most women knew basic skills like cooking and baking.
Mom never baked homemade cookies very often, but when she did sometimes it was these. They are wholesome and old fashioned . . . almost like little cakes.
Not greasy and filled with the homey flavours of warm baking spices . . .
Cinnamon, ginger . . . nutmeg . . .
They are also flavoured with molasses and brown sugar and studded with lots of raisins and toasted nuts.
I had not made them in a very long time. The original recipe made a LOT of cookies.
Today I small-batched the recipe and made just two dozen and even that is a lot for us. But what a wonderful taste of my childhood!
These are the kind of cookies you would enjoy with a nice cold glass of milk, or if you are a tea drinking person, a hot cuppa!
Like Lydia, I too flew far away from my Nova Scotia roots. Every so often I do like to enjoy one of these old fashioned family recipes.
Eating one of these cookies is like having a warm hug from the past . . .
They are old fashioned . . . the country cousin of the toll house I expect . . . made from simple ingredients that most cooks might have had in their larders in the old days.
The original recipe called for the use of shortening. Today I used butter instead of shortening as we are trying to stick to more natural fats when we can.
The house smells so homey and beautiful when you bake these cake-like cookie treats! Today, these were a most enjoyable taste from the past.
Lydia's Junior Cookies (small batch)
Yield: 24
prep time: 10 Mcook time: 10 Mtotal time: 20 M
These delicious old fashioned cookie are filled with lovely warm baking spice flavours and lots of raisins and nuts. Sweetened with down home molasses and brown sugar. You just know these are comfort food cookies.
Ingredients:
- 275g plain flour (1 1/4 cups)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/3 tsp ginger
- 60g butter, softened (1/4 cup)
- 75g soft light brown sugar (1/3 cup, packed)
- 60ml molasses (1/4 cup)
- 1 large free range egg yolk
- 60ml milk (1/4 cup)
- 75g raisins (1/2 cup)
- 60g chopped toasted walnuts (1/2 cup)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/ 350*F/ gas mark 4. Line a couple of baking sheets with baking paper. Set aside.
- Sift together the flour, baking spices, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
- Cream the butter together with the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk and the molasses. Beat in the milk and then stir in the flour mixture to give you a nice stiff batter.
- Drop by heaped TBS onto the baking sheets, leaving two inches between each cookie.
- Bake for 10 minutes, until set and just beginning to brown.
- Scoop off onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container.
I really do wonder what Lydia would think of her recipe being baked on the other side of the ocean all these years later?
I wonder . . . . or even that some thirty odd years after her death, a little girl who was comforted all of her childhood by a glow in the dark Jesus would still be enjoying them and thinking of her while she did.
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If you are on a diet you might want to look away now! Lemon Cream Pie is definitely not diet food that's for sure!
You cannot however, ask for a better summer dessert. This Lemon Cream Pie comes together in mere minutes and is extremely delicious and light in texture.
I'm not sure about you, but one of our favourite meals in this house has to be a Roast Chicken Dinner with all the trimmings. Succulent perfectly cooked chicken, crispy roast potatoes, fresh veg and plenty of gravy. There is not much about a Roast Chicken Dinner I don't like!
I was recently contacted by the people at Hello Fresh and asked would I like to try out and cook one of their recipes in the comfort of my own home. I think all of us can agree that cooking during this Pandemic has been somewhat of a challenge to say the least.
Its been really hard getting grocery slots and when you get one, you can't be guaranteed that you even get everything you have ordered. Its been a bit like playing Russian Roulette at best.
There is nothing more annoying than planning on cooking something, and only having half the ingredients that you need to make it show up! You then have to scramble and think of something else that you can make with what you have gotten.
You might be a person who just doesn't like planning meals and recipes, or you may be a person who finds that a lot of what you buy goes to waste because you have to buy larger quantities of it than you need and its not possible to preserve the leftover bits to use another time. As a small household, that is often the problem with us.
Maybe you are adventurous as a cook and want to try new things and recipes, and new cuisines and techniques, but you don't want to have to buy a whole bottle of something you know you are only going to use maybe once.
Hello Fresh is a subscription recipe and food delivery service, which is considered to be one of the best that is available in this country, according to a fairly recent review in the Independant. They rated its service as one of the best and most thought out, as well as being one of the best value, wih three recipes a week for two people plus ingredients ringing in at £5 a meal. Sounds good.
I had a very extensive list of recipes to choose from to cook. It was really hard to make up my mind, but in the end I settled on this one. Roast Chicken, with Mini Roast Potatoes, Honey Glazed Carrots Broccoli and Pan Gravy. For each meal you choose you will receive the ingredients to cook that meal, along with a recipe card which gives you step by step instructions for cooking that meal from beginning to plating up. I sized the recipe for three.
The ingredients for this meal included:
1 pack of potatoes (three servings)
1 unit of broccoli
3 carrots
3/4 of a bunch of fresh thyme
3 units of skin on chicken breast fillets
1 1/2 TBS plain flour
2 TBS honey
1 unit chicken stock pot
Not included would be any regular seasoning such as salt and pepper, any oil for cooking, and the water (450ml, aproximately 1 1/2 cups) needed for the gravy.
You are also given an extensive list of any equipment you might need to cook the recipe:
•Cutting board
•Knife
•Peeler
•Frying Pan
•Lid
•Saucepan
•Strainer
•Spoon
•Bowl
•Fork
•Plate
It really couldn't be more explanatory.
The instructions went as follows:
1. Preheat your oven to 200°C. Chop the potato into 2cm pieces (no need to peel).
2. Season the chicken with salt and black pepper. Heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat and lay in the
chicken, skin-side down. Fry until the skin is golden, 4-5 mins.
Move
to an oiled baking tray, skinside up, and sprinkle over the thyme leaves
(don't wash the pan). Pop on the middle shelf of your oven. Roast for
25-30 mins. TIP: The chicken is cooked when it is no longer pink in the
middle.
3. Meanwhile, put two large saucepans of water on to boil. Once boiling,
add a pinch of salt and the carrot to one pan. Cook until tender, 10-15
mins. When cooked, drain in a colander and return to the pan. Add the
honey and a grind of black pepper. Stir well and pop the lid on to keep
warm. Meanwhile, put the broccoli and a pinch of salt in the other pan
of boiling water. Cook until tender, 5 mins, then drain in the colander.
4. Put the chicken frying pan back on medium heat and add the flour. Stir
the flour into the chicken juices (if the pan is a bit dry just add a
little oil). Cook until beginning to turn golden, 2 mins. Stir
occasionally to combine well. This is the roux that will thicken your
gravy! Pop your kettle on to boil.
5. Dissolve the chicken stock pot in a measuring jug of boiling water
(amount specified in the ingredient list). Bit by bit, add this stock to
the roux, stirring well to make sure there are no lumps. Bring to a
simmer and keep stirring (or whisking if you have a whisk!). Cook until
thickened to your liking, 3-5 mins.
6. Cut the chicken into 2cm thick slices, serve on plates with the mini roasties, veggies and a drizzle of gravy! Enjoy!
And that was that! Todd and I were able to sit down to a delicious Roast Chicken Dinner that was not only quick and easy to accomplish, but very straightforward as well! With concise instructions, exact ingredients, and perfect timings for every aspect of the meal.
You really can't get much better than this!
The vegetables were perfectly cooked and crispy tender the way I like them. The potatoes, likewise were wonderfully roasted with crisp caramelised edges . . .
The chicken was beautifully cooked, moist, tender, and really flavourful with a lovely crisp skin. The gravy was lush, perfectly seasoned and just thick enough. Also it wasn't loaded with salt like most of the gravy mixes you find out there.
Altogether this was a meal we both really enjoyed. Looking at some of their other recipes, they really do have a huge variety of recipes to choose from.
Sticky Beef with Basmati Rice. Middle Eastern Risotto(with Zataar Portabellos.) Deliciously Ella's Coconut Thai Curry with Chickpeas. Veggie Shepherd's Pie (With Chickpeas, Yellow Pepper and Mushrooms). Dukka Crusted Duck (with Roasted Butternut Squash and Sumac Dressing). Chermoula Prawns (with Roasted Sweet Potatoes.) (Just to name a few.)
And that is just a taste of what Hello Fresh has to offer. There are recipes to cover almost every taste and diet. All in all I am very impressed with the selection on offer, but don't take my word for it. Check it out for yourself.
To find out more about Hello Fresh and what they offer, prices, options, etc. do click over to their Home Page and go from there.
- The option of choosing your own recipes
- Pre-measured ingredients for less waste.
- Delivered safely to your door.
- Convenient weekly deliveries
- Seasonal fresh ingredients
- You are not tied into a contract. You can skip a week or cancel at any time.
Sounds pretty good to me! And it couldn't be a better time to use a service such as this as right now when we are all having to cope with the restrictions and limits we are having to cope with! If you are a person who is lacking in time and inspiration, wanting to save on your food bill, wanting to have your food delivered to your home, wanting to try new things, or wanting to stretch your palate and skills without it costing the moon, I don't think you can get much better than this. I highly recommend!
I think you would have to be living under a rock in recent weeks not to see all of the highly decorated focaccia loaves on the internet. Very pretty to look at for sure. I have only just dipped my toes into the world of Sourdough. I recently mastered making the starter successfully along with a few bakes with the started and the discard. You can see my tutorial on how to make a Sourdough Starter here.
I am ever so pleased as I have finally mastered this skill! I have also managed to store it and bring it back to life again with great success, and if anything it is even better now than the original one! Apparently you can keep these things going for years and years. I watched a program on the television about San Francisco, the birthplace of sourdough and in the original factory they were still using the starter that they had been using since the 1800's!! Now to me, that's amazing!
All of those highly decorated focaccia are very pretty to look at for sure, but for my first one I wanted to really keep it simple. You begin by making a sponge . . . using some of your starter, some oil, honey and flour. Once that is bubbling away you add the remaining ingredients and knead it. Kneading is such a catharic exercise in mindfulness. I could do it forever . . . my mind just settled on nothing but what's going on beneath my hand. You can feel the dough changing as the gluten begins to develop and you end up with a lovely smooth ball, elastic in texture and slightly tacky.
You then pop it into an oiled bowl, cover with cling film and set it aside to rise for about 2 hours. I am always so surprised when I see the dough rising, with no yeast involved. Its like magic to me.
Once risen you punch it down and press it out onto a baking sheet with sides, then cover it lightly with a tea towel and let it rise again for a further hour.
A the end of that time you get to make little dimples all over the surface of the bread with your fingers, divots . . . . ready for you to brush with olive oil . . . the olive oil collects into the divots adding some scrumptiousness . . .
I kept it simple for this first time and just brushed it with a plain olive oil, albeit an excellent quality one and added a simple sprinkle of coarse sea salt.
If you wanted to you could brush it with an herby olive oil and sprinkle on extra herbs, or a pesto olive oil. I think I will do a rosemary one next time.
Its actually very similar to pizza dough except thicker, so I reckon there is no end to what you can top it with, or dress it up with. I am not really into all that fancy decoration stuff though. It might look pretty, but I prefer to keep things a bit simpler myself.
At any rate this is a beautiful focaccia, just nicely crusty on the outside and with a beautiful crumb . . . and just a slight sourdough tang . . .
We enjoyed some squares of it simply dipped into some more of that great olive oil. I may make sandwiches with the rest.
How to Make a Sourdough Focaccia
Yield: 1 (10 by 15-inch) Focaccia
I was pleased with how this turned out. Once you master this, you can experiment a bit with other flavours and additions.
Ingredients:
To Form the Sponge:
- 150g sour dough starter (3/4 cup)
- 120ml warm water (1/2 cup)
- 30ml olive oil (1/8 cup)
- 1/2 TBS honey
- 70g bread flour (1/2 cup)
To finish the bread:
- 60ml olive oil (1/4 cup)
- 280g bread flour (2 cups)
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
You will also need:
- A good extra Virgin Olive oil to brush
- coarse sea salt to sprinkle
Instructions:
- You will be doing this in three parts. First you will need to make the sponge. Combine all of the ingredients for the sponge in a bowl and leave to ferment, covered for an hour. You will know it is ready when the surface is covered with bubbles of a variety of sizes.
- Once your sponge is ready add the second amount of ingredients, mixing all together well. Tip out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 5 to 8 minutes until you have a dough which is smooth and soft and slightly moist.
- Tip the dough into an oiled bowl, turning it to coat lightly with oil. Cover with plastic cling film and set aside for 1 1/2 to 2 hours to rise. It should double in size.
- Punch down. Lightly oil your baking tray. (10 by 15 inch with sides.) Press the dough out onto the tray to fill it. If the dough pulls back, leave it for a few minutes and then press it out again.
- Cover lightly with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for another hour at which time it should double in size again.
- Preheat the oven to 230*C/450*F/ gas mark 7.
- Dock the dough in the pan by making little divets all over it with your finger tips. Brush with a good olive oil and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
- Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven until golden brown. Place on a wire rack to cool in the pan. Cut into wedges or squares to serve.
Have you tried sourdough yet or been tempted to? If not, I can highly recommend. Once you get the hang of it, its really quite simple and there is no end to what you can do with the starter itself, and its discard!
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