time for a timex...

I'm so pleased. I finally got my new/old watch back! Well, it's really a replacement for my original first-ever-watch which I was still wearing until four years ago when I accidentally got into a swimming pool, on a hotel roof with it still on, shortly before walking into a plate glass door and bursting my nose. The excitement of the whole experience had clearly gone to my head.


Any way, my old watch ceased up and was ir-repairable as, apparently they were never made so's that they could be repaired. Which miffed me cause I'd just been and bought a lovely new red lizard strap for it and all. 


Eventually, I found a replacement on Ebay which arrived the other week with the remains of it's original blue strap still attached. (In my imagination it was probably snipped off the wrist of a poor screaming child after some kind of arm-breaking Raleigh Blue Bird ride... but s'ok they got a digital watch that changed the telly channel after that.) And hey - it works! Plus the fella in Timpson's most obligingly swapped my old/new strap onto my new/old watch after I "put something in the charity-box, eh pal?". Thanks very much!


I can remember my Dad buying me the watch I was about five or six and if my memory serves me right, it was in Marks & Spencer's, Stirling (really? this would seem to predate them selling Mars bars by about 25 years). I was allergic to the plastic strap and didn't wear it much at first but my Mum got me a new one (white leather from Henderson's the Jewellers) after we moved to Dundee - Timex Town. And that's why I think I love my watch so much. Cause it reminds me little bit of home.*


*(albeit, aherm, assembled in the Philippines) 

this week on ellen bakes cakes...

My first excuse to rummage in my nightmare of a baking cupboard this week was for Valentine's Day afters. I'd had several ideas for what I'd like to make for pudding all involving calories, chocolate and copious leftovers but settled on dear Nigel's Chocolate Almond cake from The Kitchen Diaries which just happened to be the most 'substantial' of all. Oops. And oh my, down such a wickedly decadent path to ruination it led! It's one of those high-chocolate / low-flour cakes made with five eggs, whisked whites and more butter than is polite to mention. Still a little wobbly in the middle (aren't all the most interesting folks?) and slightly warm from the oven, with a dollop of creme fraiche and a more-slushy-than-expected-western on the side: I was made up baby. Made up!


Even better, I got to off-load some of the calories on my co-workers and took the rest round to Emily's house for band practice (that's where I took the above photo). You can see more of Emily's lovely Japanese-style quilted place-mat on her beautiful new daily-Blipfoto-blog: Floating Weeds. 

My next visit to the cupboard of doom was to knock-up something to take round to another friends house for tea. I'd planned on making Nigella's Cranberry & White Chocolate Cookies in the festive season. I'd thought they maybe sounded a bit too Christmassy in January but as I had fruit, the pecans and just enough porridge oats (which were just fine but then I dunno what 'instant' looks like...) I went ahead. And they were good; sweet but on the right side of sickly. I think the dark sugar dissipated some of the sugar hit and also did something kinda funny with the pecans to convince me there was some maple syrup in there! See Nigella Chistmas is not just for eh, Christmas!!


 I just hope they gulped-down as satisfactorily for Cookie Monster... 

pinny pin pals!

It has taken me an enormous age to get around to this but on Friday, I finally got about listing my new selection of Paddington Bear pinny pins in the shop! The pattern on the fabric was made to celebrate Paddington's 50th and I fell in love with it on first sight. It's based upon packets of ingredients in the FILMFAIR Paddington animation where wiggly nosed bear attempts to bake Mr Curry a birthday cake…

I'm considering staging a reconstruction / re-enactment of Paddington's above cake-baking on the Baby Belling in my studio. Not so sure about shovelling the mix in with a garden fork (!) but I would of course ensure I have donned my duffel coat and black beret for some kind of continuity!


I keep a little selection of badge-wear  upon my work-a-day "flamenco" pinny; some baking related and a couple o' one-liners...

The 'bicarb' button came from the Barnardo's Vintage Shop in the Grassmarket, Edinburgh. I've had a few good badges from there (I take it they are made in-house?!) my favourite being a leopard face badge which I wore on my leopard-print shopper until alas, it went to the big badge-maker in the sky. My Country Grammar pin comes straight outta' the fabulous 50p Badges, a very excellent Glasgow-based on-line proprietor of proper pin-wears. They even let you send a cheque if ya fancy (now there's not a lotta folks'd do that!). I've been eyeing up a few new beauts in their new range...

I feel a little sneaky order coming on! Well, I'm always needing to replace my Dolly Parton badge which I've had and lost several of before. This time I may buy in bulk!


Another couple of making and baking related items:


✿ I made my first ever batch of marmalade the other week, according to the instructions of Good Ole' Mrs Corbin of course (lordy how I love that book!). For once I got WAY MORE jam than I'd expected (WOO HOO) so I'll be digging into a fresh pot at the breakfast table the 'morra! 


✿ If you are cakely-minded and in the Glasgow-area (or like me are DEAD KEEN and willing to commute) then Auntie M's Cake Lounge is starting up a BAKING CIRCLE once a month on Monday nights beginning on the 7th March! EEEEEEk! The idea is that everyone brings along a cake to sample and a copy of their recipe for everyone and well - you get to try lots of CAKE and TALK CAKE for TWO HOURS!! Get in touch with: auntiemscakelounge@yahoo.co.uk for more cake-formation!


POST SCRIPT: I should of course mention my partial title borrowings inspired by the fantastique Pin Pals, of Etsy fame. If you dunno them then, for many reasons - YOU SHOULD!

library lover

There's been a lot of talk about libraries of late. People are angry and I'm glad: I need my library too. Philip Pullman says it all: Leave the libraries alone. You don't understand their value. A brilliant, passionate and rousing speech.


I had a fancy for reading several children's books during the December snows, after recalling various bits of TV dramas of yore.


The Midnight Folk is the preceding book to The Box of Delights, which I remember being very snowy and a bit scary on the telly. The plot is full of witches and wizards, mutineering pirates, highway men and of course The Midnight Folk: a troupe of talking animals. I found it a little hard to keep up with the twisting, turning plot and the lengthy cast of characters but it was worth it to meet Tom Otter (and his hilarious Bat side-kick) and see Kay put on an otter "skin" (complete with paws) to become otter-like too (I'm otterly obsessed). It's beautifully illustrated by Rowland Hilder - I love the trees in the highwayman chase below, which remind me of my great-granny's Dulton washbasin. 

I had a magical few days re-reading Lucy M. Boston's The Children of Green Knowe, which I think is one of my most favourite books ever. The fabulous decriptions of Tolly's room in the roof of his Great-Granny's house with all it's strangely comforting shadows and flitting visitors is so atmospheric it makes perfect winter bedtime reading. 

There's a plentiful cast of animal friends here too with Truepenny (a mole) and Hedge-prickles (the hedgehog, of course). There's also a netsuke mouse which Tolly takes to bed with him and sometimes catches squeaking in his pyjama pocket. But of course the central characters are the three children Toby, Alexander and Linnet who haunt the house, play games around the garden and become Tolly's friends.


Time to hitch my wagon up, I'm setting off for the banks of Plum Creek...

the pigeon and the pontack

There is one bottle in this house which I have been keeping tightly sealed...


Pontack was the first thing I made from the River Cottage Handbook No.2: Preserves by Pam Corbin. I'd never tasted or even heard of it before but the concoction of elderberries, mace, allspice, cloves, shallots, ginger and vinegar appealed to me. I picked my berries long-ago in Perthshire in September 2009. I do recall the berries took an age to fork-off the stems and I bust a gut rubbing the soused berries through a sieve for every last drop of precious liquor which made only two bottles instead of four. But it was worth it to see the intensely purple liquor even if I'd have to hold off for a 'proper' tasting as Pam says "according to tradition" the sauce is best matured for seven years. Well I am a patient gal but I only managed 16 months. The sauce is ideal with game so when I spied a special offer on Wood Pigeon, I saw that the Pontack's time had come. 

I'd never cooked such little birdies before but even the raw meat smelt wonderfully rich and sweet (which is not something I could say often). I went a little free-style on my cooking technique, something I've been getting braver about of late, and popped a slice of orange, a wee spring of rosemary and a few squashed juniper berries inside each bird with a sprinkle of pepper and salt. Then I slathered them in butter (there was very little fat on these guys but I soon corrected that) and popped them, breast side down, in a baking dish and in the oven, turning half way through. 

We had them with roasted roots: parsnip, carrot, and beetroot rolled in oil, seasoned and drizzled with honey (for the parsnips) and rosemary (on the rest). The roots were given a head start on the birds which I kept basting regularly but did over-do as there wasn't much tenderley-pink about them in the end. But boy-oh-boy did they not taste lip-smackingly good: sweet, rich and very livery. When it came to picking the bones, let's just say I had to be left to it (after being compared Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox). The Pontack made a delicious debut, it had definitely deepened in flavour since bottling but still had a fair kick to it. Hopefully, given time it shall mellow and I can work on my table-manners.

three good kings (and a little princess)

We had a lovely trip to Glasgow last week to see our dear friends for a long-postponed Christmasy get together. It turned out that we were visiting on Three Kings Day (which Le Petit Pot was getting very excited about here), another tradition I may adopt to make Nöel last a little longer and give me even longer to finish-off my handmade gifts...!


I picked up this super-smart Mini Pen Tote by Cuppa Tea & Cake at The Spider and The Fly and thought it just right for a budding artist to carry her work to-and-fro. It was a perfect fit for this sketchbook which I monogrammed with cut-out fabric and a prit-stick (which worked but really, I need to get some Copydex for these Blue Petery situations). The paper inside is thick brown kraft which I thought might y'know, be a slightly differnet 'ground' for working on with wax crayons, y'huh?!

I've been intending to make these Simple Bibs from Bend the Rules Sewing for many a month now but eventually got round to whipping them up in my typically last-minute stylee. I didn't get off to a great start by not reading the instructions before cutting (tsk!) and generally forgetting that the whole mission of Amy Karol's brilliant book is to make your sewing life easier not more difficult. If you don't know the book, it's full of brilliant tips and cunning methods to save yourself time and effort. Oh, how I need her advice. Hence, even the not-so-eagle-eyed may spot the last-minute emergency welding job required after I mistakenly thought I could hammer popper studs in place and cook porridge at the same time. Still, I think it got the 9 month olds drool of approval!

To carry our Three Kings gifts I made these Kingly carriers which de-stashed (some of) my brown paper bag collection and made use of the Xmas cracker hats which were still hiding under our cushions and down the back of the setee. Course I asked the resident artist for a little help to decorate each bag which she did a superb job on. (Bear in mind the bags were full at the time) She asked me to draw some of the features on her Mummy's bag. I wonder if her additional details in black marker pen are a suggestion of eyeliner?

Stacey's gift was a replacement for the first shower cap I ever made which unfortunately was fire damaged last year. That's some of the fabric I took back from the famous Tomato in Nippori Fabric Town (the link takes you to Asking for Troubles in-depth write-up). I have a few more of these to whip up for the shop as soon as I get some more elastic. (I buy that fresh - don't harvest it from my knicker drawer or anything horrible!)


Course we received some loverly gifts in return but I'll be saving those for another posting. Now where's my lady hammer...

Hapi.i.ii.e New Year!

Last year I resolved to make pastry, try my hand at bread and learn to knit properly. Let's just say I didn't. This year I've ditched resolutions in preference for 'intentions'...


Partly because my last-minute Hogmanay shopping found the pastry shelf all puffed-out and as I recall, the last and only time I bought shortcrust, I may as well have blind-baked the cardboard box; my neglected resolution looked destined to become a reality at some point before dinner-time next year.


Later that night, having explained my predicament to my fellow revellers, I left the party with a copy of The Cordon Bleu Cookery Book in my arm and the hope that plain flour, cold hands and enlightenment may greet me with the new dawn. 


And as the sun set on 1.1.11, I have to admit to being more than a little puffed-up with the result (despite the possible pastry shrinkage and an ill fitting pie dish, as featured) for there was nothing too shabby about my rough puff. S'long Just-Rol...


Turkey and bacon pi.i.ii.e

leftover cooked turkey, enough for two but roughly 200g

70g bacon lardons

fennel, approx. half a small bulb

125g mushrooms

2 rounded tbsp plain flour

4 or 5 ladels of turkey stock (a Kallo chicken cube’ll do)

a teaspoon of rosemary needles, chopped

a small bunch of parsley, chopped

1 tbsp mushroom ketchup (a tasty option)

Fry the bacon, fennel and mushrooms in a little butter until bacon has lightly coloured and vegetables are softened.

Add the flour to pan with a little stock (if necessary) and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring all the time. Add the rosemary and cooked turkey to the pan, heat for a minute more before adding the rest of the stock. Bring to a simmer and leave to bubble for ten minutes. Add the parsley, season with salt, pepper and mushroom ketchup and pour into a pie dish.

Ideally the pie filling should be level the rim of your pie dish, but if it is pilled slightly higher, then all the better. If your dish is a little too small, use a pie funnel or an upturned egg cup to prevent your pastry from collapsing in the middle.

Dampen the rim of the pie dish with a little water and lay on strips of pastry, pressing the joins together. Dab a little water on the pastry rim and lay on the pastry lid. Fork the edges to seal, cut a hole to allow steam to escape and brush with milk before baking.

Place in a hot oven (200˚C) for 30 minutes.

and for the crowning glory... [with interjections from moi]

Rough Puff Pastry (I)

½ lb plain flour

6oz butter

about ¼ pint ice-cold water to mix

Sift the flour with a pinch of salt into a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into even-sized pieces about the size of walnuts and drop into the flour; mix quickly with the water and turn onto a lightly floured board. [I used a knife for the mixing] *Roll to an oblong, fold in three, and give a half-turn to bring the open edges in front of you.* Repeat from * to * twice to give the pastry three turns in all. [this bit was such fun, I lost count] Chill for 10 minutes and give an extra roll and fold if it looks all streaky [it didn't but I did], then use as required.

The Cordon Bleu Cookery Book by Rosemary Hume and Muriel Downes, Book Club Associates, London, 1975.