Homemade Crumpets

If there was ever a crowd pleasing breakfast in my house, it would be crumpets.

With supermarkets now introducing novelty shaped crumpets at Easter and Christmas time, their popularity is at an all time high for my tribe.

As always, I like to be able to make my own alternative to our favourite baked goods. Limiting sugar, preservatives and cost alongside increasing flavours.

Crumpets are a lot simpler than I thought so here is my recipe. Adapted from several recipes I found online - this was the perfect mixture for me. Enjoy!

Crumpets
Makes 8 - 10 depending on size of baking ring /cookie cutter

You will need:

225g plain flour
180mls warm milk
180mls warm water
1tsp baking powder
2.5g powdered yeast
1tsp salt

Skillet and baking rings (although I also tested using metal cookie cutter and it worked just as well)
Butter or low calorie oil spray for greasing

In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients. You should end up with a batter the consistency of double cream. Thick but pourable. Not stodgy. If it's thicker than cream, add a little extra warm water. There should be bubbles forming in the batter immediately once you have finished whisking .

Cover the bowl with cling film or wax wrap and leave for 1-3hrs depending on the time you have available.

The batter should have lots of bubbles now - meaning it's ready to go!

Grease the skillet and place the greased baking rings in it on a high heat.

Once hot, pour your batter into the rings about half way up. I found this easier to do with a ladle. Cook for 5 mins or until you can move the ring around the skillet freely. Flip it over and press the crumpet through (you may need to run a knife around the outside to free it)

Cook until golden (about 3 mins)

Serve hot or leave to cool and toast later!

The star shaped cookie cutter worked just as well as the baking rings. These could make a fantastic Christmas breakfast using star and Christmas tree shapes. Just ensure the cutter is metal, not plastic!

My children & Husband have taste tested and confirm they are better than shop bought! They certainly didn't hang around long!

What will you put on yours?

XxP&TxX

Autumn Vibes

🍁🍂Autumn Vibes 🍁🍂

Autumn is well and truly upon us. The fallen leaves are starting to appear in the garden and everything's just feeling little cooler.

It's a great time to experiment with new recipes for hearty meals to warm us up.

Today's projects have been making Sloe Vodka and preparing onions for my red onion chutney- served at Christmas with our cheese boards.

Feedback requests yesterday say you would like to see some more easy tasty home baking so that's what you shall get!

Don't forget, if you have any requests for recipes the message button is there waiting or please feel free to comment with your request on any posts!

XxP&TxX

Banana & Dorset Honey Loaf

The humble Banana loaf is probably one of the simplest but tastiest loaf cakes. I love thrifty baking so this is a good 'waste not ,want not' recipe.

 It is a  super simple recipe that uses up the ends of your baking cupboard stock and over ripened fruit.To make a deeper sponge just make the mixture to 170g/6oz and add an extra egg . You can add any extra additions to this recipe with ease. Chocolate chips, sultanas or toffee pieces all compliment the Banana well.

Ingredients :

140g/5oz Butter
140g/5oz Self Raising Flour
140g/5oz Sugar ( Golden caster sugar is my favourite )
2 Large eggs eggs
3 Over ripe Bananas chopped
3 Dessert spoons local Honey (this is entirely down to taste )

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees

This mixture fits wonderfully in a standard 2lb loaf tin with plenty of room if you wanted to add more to the mixture to make a bigger loaf. You will need to line or butter &flour coat this tin well.

 Cream together the butter and sugar. Whisk the eggs and add to the butter and sugar mixture.
Add most of the chopped Banana , keeping some aside for sprinkling on top. Add the Honey. Sieve the flour into the mixture and give it a good mix!

Pour the batter into the loaf tin and sprinkle the remaining banana on top on the mixture. I also drizzled some extra Honey on top .

Pop in the middle of the preheated oven for around 40 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.

Enjoy whilst warm with custard , or cold with a cuppa !

Let me know if you give it a go!

~*~ No Taste like Home ~*~

Home baking appears to have become a lost art. With convenience food being so cheap (and quite literally convenient ) home baking has taken a huge back step.

This week I have been chatting to various people craving that taste of home. Their Mothers steak pies. Their Nans sunday apple crumble . That amazing fruit cake the lady four doors down would make a deliver whilst still hot . For me , its got to be my Mums quiches. Mine do not compare !

Wherever possible, I make everything from scratch. I know what is in it, I know wheres its come from and I know my children wont explode with a sugar rush or preservatives high. Believe me, these children do NOT need help with that!

The art of pastry making, making a simple roux or a basic vegetable soup seems to have disappeared from our knowledge. If its not in a packet..it cannot be made !
It seems a shame that many of our children will be unable to make a meal from scratch through inexperience and lack of home baking at home.

I have been told I am old fashioned in some respects- but this topic struck me as sad. Lets teach our children how to make crumble . Lets show them how to make soup from foraged food . Why dont we get our children cooking us tea for once?

Lets get home baking back on the menu , and those packet foods in the bin!

What is your home baked favourite?

XxP&TxX

*:':*Love what you do *:':*

Last night I shared with you my exciting blog news. P&T is now featured on the @haynetblog website which is an exciting opportunity for me to share my writing with a wider audience

I have always loved words. From the literal use of words to how people prounouce them. To some extent--synaesthesia with certain words and not wanting to use or hear them! At A level it became obsessive, to the extent I remember being able to master my teachers Scottish accent when reading passages of text. It helped me grasp the concept of the piece more accurately. Bizarre but true.

My love of writing sparked from an early age, writing my own books for the book corners at school. Note pads full of short stories, poems and observations. Words just absolutely absorb me.

I am in no way a professional writer,as much as I'd love to be one day! I'm sure my grammar is not always perfect, but I thoroughly enjoy writing. Nothing is more exciting than when I know someone else has read my articles!

If you have recently started following me, I have had an influx of followers over the past week or so, welcome to my page! I hope you will stay and enjoy my writing,gardening, crafts, bakes and general creative mix ups!

You will need a cuppa, a biscuit and a cosy blanket.

You can escape here ☺

XxP&TxX

#patterjackandtweed #home #countrystyle #blogger #bloggerstyle #ruralbloggers @haynetblog #proud#bloggerlife #welcome #writing #language #synaesthesia #mywriting

Blog News!

Very proud to share that my blog, Patterjack and Tweed, can now be found in the blog directory on the Haynet  website.

Go to Countryside and Farming and you will find me there 🌾🖋

XxP&TxX

#patterjackandtweed #home #countrystyle #blogger #bloggerstyle #ruralbloggers @haynetblog #proud #bloggerlife #countrystyle #countryliving #home #homesweethome #countryside #cottagestyle #cottage #cornerofmyhome

*"*Monday*"*

Happy Monday everyone!

This weekend saw a lot of work happening in the garden. Shed constructed thanks to a brilliant local company (Brownes Solutions) borders unearthed and spring bulb shoots revealed.

This week's aims include - * Make some nettle tea as a good natural feed for my vegetable garden and flower borders. The longer this brews the better... Weeks rather than days! *I also need to PH test the soil. Judging by the plants currently growing it looks like an acidic soil - perfect for the camellias I have planted. *Macrame projects for my lovely product testers *The usual home making duties! Washing, washing and more washing!! I don't do things by halves!

What do you aim to do by the end of the week?

XxP&TxX

#patterjackandtweed#home #mondaymood #mondaymotivation #mondaymorning #cottage #cottagestyle #mycountryhome #cornerofmyhome #rural #mystyle #ruralbloggers #gardening #gardener #pruning #reveal #hidden #countryliving #snowdrops @stewartsgardencentres @alysf

**Happy Sunday **

The kitchen smells delicious from the smell of cupcakes, lemon cake and pastry 😋

No good for my diet! But it would be rude not to have some after all that effort 😉

Hope you have a lovely restful Sunday!

XxP&TxX

#patterjackandtweed #home #countrystyle #cottage #cottagestyle #mycountryhome #cornerofmyhome #baking #cupcakes #smellsdelicious #mummyscooking #sunday #sundayfunday #sundayvibes

*×*Saturday*×

It's finally the weekend! It's been a busy week but very productive!

The children have been out all morning flying their aeroplanes in the garden - only had to jump over the fence twice to retrieve from the woods so that's pretty good going!

I have been photographing my beautiful macrame designs and started the drying process for my red cabbage dyed cord ready for knotting up later!

It's only 10.18!! Best put the kettle on!

What are you doing today?

XxP&TxX

#patterjackandtweed #home #countrystyle #cottage #cottagestyle #mycountryhome #cornerofmyhome #rural #mystyle #view #ruralbloggers #macrame #mummyblogger #getoutdoors #saturday #saturdayvibes #saturdaymorning #weekend #weekendvibes

~×~ Natural Dyes ~×~

Today I did a bit of experimenting in the kitchen. This time, not to do with baking or recipes, but dyeing cord!

The macrame cord I have is 100% cotton so an absolutely excellent candidate for dyeing.

Cord can be bought in different colours but many of these are made using nasty chemicals. Not my scene!

Raiding my cupboards, I found the perfect components to try out some gorgeous colours. *Red cabbage juice *Turmeric *Worcester sauce
*Red chilli powder

I mixed these individually in a small tin of boiling water and placed in my offcuts of cord.

Leaving these alone for 5 hrs was hard! I wanted to keep lifting them out and seeing how they were doing but I was very good!

The colours are beautiful and have created some beautifully soft natural colours, just look at that pink from the cabbage.

I shall wash them in a salt water mix to 'fix' the colour permenantly.
Getting creative with every day ingredients! I will be raiding the cupboards for more!! Which is your favourite?

XxP&TxX

#patterjackandtweed #dye #vegetabledyes #nonasty #nonastychemicals #handdyed #macrame #cotton #cord #blogger #blog #bloggerstyle #bloggers #mummy #kitchencupboardbasics #handicraft

~×~ Macrame ~×~

One of my new years goals, is to master Macrame. A lovely craft that I've been wanting to master for a while.

Following a few tutorials and books, I've managed to learn 3 knots.

On social media, we are always desperate to show the 'perfect us' and never anything that is less than perfect.

My first macrame hanging isnt perfect, I need to space the knots out a bit better an practise my tension, but for a first go.. I'm pleased :-) You can follow my craft and home journey on the Patterjack and Tweed Blog (link in the bio), Instagram and Facebook.

You are sure of a warm welcome!

XxP&TxX

#patterjackandtweed #home #countrystyle #cottage #cottagestyle #mycountryhome #cornerofmyhome #ruralbloggers #macrame #firstattempt #learningprocess #teaching #craft #bloggers #handicraft

Frosty new beginnings

A stunning frosty morning here in Dorset. Revealing some of my spring bulbs making an appearance!

Frost tipped daffodils, hyacinths and bluebells spotted this morning as I scrape the ice off my car!

New beginnings on the way!

XxP&TxX

#patterjackandtweed #home #countrystyle #cottage #cottagestyle #cottagegarden #garden #bulbs #flowers #jackfrost #cold #cottageGardendiary

~×~Slow Cooker Porridge ~×~

School day mornings are manic to say the least.

Getting the children dressed, fed and ready for school can be quite a challenge. Breakfast is one of those things that can either add to the chaos or provide a moment of calm amongst quiet munchings.

An easy peasy breakfast for a chilly early morning is Slow Cooker Porridge.

A good friend introduced this to me a while a go and its utter genius!! No need to stand at the hob thinking about a million other things that need to be done next. It's ready to go as soon as you are awake.

Ingredients:
Porridge oats
Milk (almond or soy also works if dairy free)
Sugar, salt (whatever your taste is)
Dried fruit or chopped apple
Spices to taste (apple and cinnamon, sultana and cinnamon is good too)

Method :

The best ratio I have found is one cup of porridge oats to three cups of milk.

For my three children and I, I put in two cups of oats and six cups of milk (you can replace two cups with water if you are low on milk or prefer a less creamy porridge)

I stirred in some cinnamon sugar and chopped apple.

This is simply put into the slow cooker and flicked on to the lowest setting over night (8hrs)

When you wake up there is not only a hearty healthy breakfast ready, but the amazing smell of warm porridge. Heavenly!

If your are working to a budget, I have roughly worked this out at £0.56p for all 3 of us ( 2 cups oats, 2 cups of milk, the apples were from my tree frozen in the freezer so free, and I already had the cinnamon sugar in my baking cupboard) this would obviously be lower if you substitute the milk for water. I don't know the price for almond or soya milk I'm afraid!

Let me know if you give it a try! The empty bowls here speak for them selves!

XxP&TxX

Frugal with Food

~Make do and mend~
~Rationing~
~Frugal~

All terms that are derived predominantly from War time living. But, theirs is not the only generation that have had to cut back to get by. Many families know these hardships now, almost 79 years to the date of the first rationing (8th January 1940) when bacon, butter and sugar were rationed.

I was brought up in a very traditional rural household. We didn't have buckets of money, but we didn't need it .We made everything from scratch for our meals. We were lucky enough to have an orchard and several vegetable patches over the years. The summer months were an exciting time - how many strawberries would appear on the enormous strawberry patch? What colour would the beans be inside the broad bean pods. Would the cucumber plant actually break out of the greenhouse this week?

I am proud to say, that although by no means an expert, I have succeeded in providing my children with not too dissimilar memories. The excitement of the first courgette, runner bean picking and checking for tomatoes is an exciting shared pastime in our home come summer time.

I refuse to pay extortionate prices for something I am more than capable of growing. We are lucky enough that we do have the disposable income that generations before did not have, and some do not now. It feels extraordinarily wasteful to spend so frivolously.

Jack Monroe is a fabulous blogger and cookbook author who knows the financial struggles all too well. She has budgeted and cooked from scratch for herself and her little boy. Growing herbs on her windowsills and creating delicious meals, on just £10 a week.

As you know, I am hugely inspired by the frugality of war time living, cooking and homemaking. Jacks book is quite literally a Frugal homemakers dream. Healthy nutritious meals on a shoe string.

I highly recommend adding this book to your collection. It is a purchase you will not regret.

XxP&TxX

*~*~× Garden Beauties ×~*~*

Our garden is some what of a blank canvas. An exciting start!

Although only moving here in August, we have planted a lot of spring bulbs, and planted out the  camellias, roses and shrubs we brought with us from the old garden.

Some of the spring bulbs have popped up through the borders and dotted around the lawn. The front path should be lined with a mix of tulips, crocus, bluebells, tete a tete and mixed daffodils. It should be a beautiful display... Should they all grow!

Some of the plants are a bit of a mystery to me as they lay dormant, but some have started to reveal them selves with delicate blossoms and tiny leaf buds.

My biggest mission this year is to get a productive vegetable patch in place. I'm going to need all the green fingers I can muster!

For now.. Here's a beautiful shot of some dainty white blossom from one of my mystery plants... Any ideas? As well as a gorgeous collection of rosehips.

Let's get planning!

XxP&TxX

#patterjackandtweed #home #countrystyle #cottage #cottagestyle #mycountryhome #cottageGarden #blankcanvas #gardener #amateurgardener #gardening #greenfingers #wishmeluck #blossom #rosehips #ruralbloggers #gardendesign #blogger

Pheasant Frugal Baking

Cooking has always been an important part of my life. I am by no stretch of the imagination a master chef. Quite the opposite! But I enjoy it.

I make what I think of as 'Proper Food'. Hearty meals, healthy sized portions and making good use of traditional methods.

I particularly love War time recipes. The idea of being frugal and bulking meals out to prolong the use of the chosen meat. This keeps food bills down as well, so important for a big family.

Today, I had a locally sourced Pheasant (courtesy of Webbs Butchers in West Moors Dorset) defrosted that needed to be used. If you have cooked Pheasant before, you will know there is not an awful lot of meat on the bird but a lot of taste. It lends it self to pies and game pates.

To feed my family of five, I made small pastry cases and filled with slow roasted pheasant, mushrooms, carrots and a bit of gravy. This was served with roast potatoes and mixed vegetables.

There was enough meat left over to recreate the meal another day or a larger version.

It may not be the most mind blowing creation ever, but it went down well with all the children and my husband. A pheasant that cost just over £3.50 can stretch to two meals with ease.

XxP&TxX

Good Morning 2019

~*~Welcome 2019 ~*~

My newsfeed, like so many others, is filled with statuses promising a 'new me' and wanting to be better at something.

Believe me, after indulging over Christmas, I am definitely on the band wagon for shifting the pounds and improving my fitness.

But the most important thing for us all is that we are happy. Before swearing to be better at running, read more or get rich... We should be promising this year that we should make our selves happy.

2018 was not kind to many, including some good friends. This is the year for 'YOU'.

To quote - The Twits by Roald Dahl. “A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely

Let's fill ourselves with lovely thoughts, good company and making wonderful memories. We can make 2019 a happy year for us all.

You are worth it.

XxP&TxX