Halloween

.. se dostal uz i k nam na vesnici :-D
.. even got to our village now :-D

9

Citronova buchta atd..../ Lemon cake etc...

V posledni dobe to tu flakam. Teda ne, ze by nebylo o cem psat, ale neni cas. Predelavame kuchyn (co jsme se prestehovali, tak varim na plynu, co si vozime na kempovani) a k tomu dodelavame vse ostatni (vse dokumentuji a az to bude CELE hotove, tak se pochlubim). Zacala nam narozeninova sezona, tak hodne siju (zatim se nemuzu pochlubit ani tim, aby to dotycne osoby nevypatraly :-)))). Take jsem jeste likvidovala zbytek jablicek. Co jsem nezavarila to jsem ususila a jablicka putovala do pytliku - nechala jsem se inspirovat u Helenky, ale musim rict, ze uz to skoro vsechno deti snedly :-).
Tak zatim jeden recept z moji oblibene knizecky receptu a par fotek z naseho tvoreni...

Troubu si pripravime na 180C/ plyn c. 4/vymazeme formu (objem 500g) a vylozime ji pecicim papirem.

- 225g mekkeho masla
- 225g mekkeho hnedeho cukru
- 4 vajicka
- 225g mouky
- 1 prasek do peciva
- 2 lzicky mleteho kardamomu
- 1 lzicka mleteho zazvoru
- 1 lzice bileho jogurtu
- 2 citrony
- 3 lzice piskoveho cukru
Smichame maslo a cukr a utreme. Mouku smichame s korenim zvlast a dame stranou. Postupne pridavame vejce a lzici mouky do cukru s maslem. Pridame zbytek mouky a jogurt. Dale pridame kuru z jednoho citronu a vse prendame do pripravene formy. Peceme asi 45-55 minut. Buchtu nechame vychladnout ve forme a propichame ji vydlickou. Mezi tim si vymackame stavu z obou citronu a privedeme ji k varu spolu s piskovym cukrem. Neustale michame. Az se cukr rozpusti prelejeme tim buchtu a nechame vychladnout ve forme.

I have been neglecting it here recently. Not that there is nothing to write about, but we have been too busy. As well as trying to finish the living room we have also started the kitchen. I have been cooking on camping gas since we moved in and the gas man is due in a couple of weeks to connect the new hob (hooray)!! I have also been trying to get rid of all those apples. What hasn't been made into chutney, apple butter or cakes has been dried. I made really nice and cheap bags for the dried apples - I found the inspiration here. But the children have eaten nearly all of it now :-)
So here is a recipe and a few photos...

Preheat the oven to 180C/ gas no:4 and grease and line a 500g tin
- 225g/ 8oz butter softened
- 225g/ 8oz soft brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 225g/ 8oz self raising flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon plain yogurt
- 2 lemons
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Sift the flour and spices together. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar beating each one in with a spoonful of the flour mixture. Add the rest of the flour and the yogurt. Grate the zest of one of the lemons and fold into the mixture. Spoon into the tin and bake for about 45-55 minutes. When the cake is cooked leave in the tin. Using a zester remove the peel from the second lemon and sprinkle over the top of the cake.
Juice the 2 lemons and put in a small saucepan with granulated sugar, bring to the boil and simmer, stirring all the time. Once the sugar has dissolved, pour over the cake (prick the cake with a fork first) and leave to cool in the tin.

Sewing/ siti

Jeste, nez mi zacne v sobotu skola dodelavam par restu. Halenka je jeste z minuleho roku. Lezela nastrihana rok v krabici. Puvodne jsem planovala mit ji hotovou aspon na dovolenou, ale nestihla jsem to. No a pak mi zbylo kousek latky z nudnych bilych zavesu do obyvaku (tema se pochlubim pozdeji, az bude mistnost hotova cela). Taska je darek pro rodinnou prislusnici a polstar do obyvaku k zavesum. Planuju usit jeste aspon dva podobne - da-li cas :-)

I'm trying to finish a couple of projects before my next module starts on Saturday. The 'Summer blouse' (from Weekend sewing by Heather Ross) has been waiting to be finished in a box for a year... I was planning to at least finish it for the holidays, but run out of time. The bag and cushion are made from a white fabric from Ikea I used for our new living room curtains (boring ones ;-) - will put a picture here once the whole room is finished). I would like to make a couple more of the cushions, fingers crossed. I wish the day had about 70 hours sometimes... :-)

4

Baking challenge

I have been intending to take part in the Baking challenge on Home Baked website for a while and finally managed to come up with something this time.
I have been given 2 BIG bags of apples and managed to get rid of 4!! in this recipe (from my favourite book):

- 200g/ 7oz butter
- 100g/ 3 1/2 oz caster sugar
- 100g/ 3 1/2 oz Demerara sugar (plus a bit for sprinkling)
- 3 large eggs
- 200g/ 7oz self raising flour
- 1 spoonful of maple syrup (I used Golden syrup as I have no Maple)(plus another one for glazing)
- 4 apples
- Oven: 180C/ gas 4

First grease and line a cake tin (23cm). Then peel 3 of the apples and grate them finely and put to the side. Cream the butter and sugars and add the eggs, maple syrup and then a spoonful of the flour at a time. When all mixed together well add the grated apples. Spoon into the tin and decorate with the fourth apple (peeled and sliced)and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. Leave to cool. Meanwhile, warm the other spoonful of syrup in a pan and brush with a pastry brush over the top of the cake.
ENJOY! Happy autumn!!!

Uz delsi dobu jsem se chtela zucastnit Baking challenge na tomto blogu. Konecne se mi to povedlo :-) Od zname z vesnice jsem dostale 2 OBROVSKE tasky jablek a podarilo se mi zbavit se 4!!! :-D
Tady je recept:

- 200g masla
- 100g piskoveho cukru
- 100g Demerara cukru (nerafinovaneho) (plus trosku na posypani)
- 3 vejce
- 200g hladke mouky
- 1 prasek do peciva
- 1 lzice javoroveho sirupu (ja jsem doma nemela, tak jsem pouzila melasovy)(plus dalsi lzice na polevu)
- 4 jablka
- troubu ohrejeme na 180C/ plyn c.4

Nejprve si vymazeme formu na dort a vylozime ji pecicim papirem (prumer cca. 23cm). Najemno nastrouhame 3 oloupana a vypeckovana jablka a dame stranou. Cukr (oba) utreme s maslem a pridame vejce a sirup. Po lzicich pridame mouku a pak prasek do peciva. Nakonec postupne pridame nastrouhana jablka. Nakonec oloupeme a nakrajime ctvrte jablko a ozdobime jim buchtu, posypeme troskou cukru.
Peceme asi 25-30 minut. Po upeceni nechame vystydnout ve forme a mezi tim si rozehrejeme lzici sirupu a potreme jim buchtu.
Dobrou chut a krasny podzim!!!!

Hazel - border collie girl

Dlouho jsme hledali a konecne nasli :-)
Have been looking for a while and finally found one :-)

Prvni cesta do nove skolky/ First bike ride to a new pre-school

Probehla celkem dobre, jen mame po ceste tahly kopec :-) Takze doufam, ze za par tydnu budu vic fit a vyjedu ho :-D Alfie uz je celkem tezky ;-) A v pondeli zacina autoskola!

Was fine, apart from a looong hill in the next village. I'm hoping to get fitter in the next couple of weeks to be able to make it up that hill. Alfie is quite heavy now :-)I'm starting my driving lessons on Monday!

Tip na vylet a nejlepsi recepty/ Trip Idea and the best recipe book

Vzdycky, kdyz jsme v Norfolku na vikend, zajedeme se podivat do pekarny ve vetrnem mlynu - Bircham Windmill. Je to jedno z mych nejoblibenejsich mist v UK. Delaji tam ty nejlepsi buchty a chleba na svete. Dovolim si napsat, ze jejich mrkvove mufinky nemaji konkurenci!! Na jare jsem si tam koupila knizecku s jejich recepty a musim rict, ze je to knizka, kterou pouzivam skoro kazdy den. Tak pokud nekdy zavitate do Norfolku, nezapomente se tam podivat :-)

When we go up to Norfolk for a weekend we always visit Bircham Windmill. It is one of my favourite places in the UK. They make the best cakes and bread. You can also buy very good quality flour there. I thing that their carrot cake is the best in the world! I bought a recipe book there in the Spring and it is now my most used recipe book - I use it nearly every day. So, if you are ever in that part of the world, do not forget to visit :-)

France/ Francie

Uz tyden jsme zpet doma ze slunne Francie. Meli jsme se dobre a ted zpet do kolotoce. Deti jdou do skoly az v utery (Alfie zacina v nove skolce), tak se tesime na posledni prazdninovy vikend.
Have been back for a week now from sunny France and straight back to decorating... Children are going back to school on Tuesday (Alfie start in a new nursery) so we are looking forward to our last 'holiday' weekend.

Falafel

Dlouho jsem je kupovala uz hotove, ale zapomnela jsem je minuly tyden koupit. Tak jsem si 'musela' udelat domaci a uz jine nebudou :-)

Co je potreba:
- 1 plechovka cizrny
- 1 cibule
- petrzelka - jak kdo ma rad
- sul + pepr
- 2 lzicky kurkumy
- 1 lzicka rimskeho kminu
- 1 vejce

Vse nahrubo rozmixujeme (cizrnu bez nalevu) v mixeru a pridame vajicko. Pokud je to ridke, nechame pul hodiny ulezet v lednici, pripadne pridame trochu mouky. Udelame kulicky/ nebo 'karbanatky' a peceme pozvolna dozlatova.
Delala jsem k tomu arabsky chleba od Zuzky :-)

I have been buying them for years but forgot last week so had to make my own. No going back now :-)

What you need:
- 1 tin of chickpeas (without the water)
- 1 onion
- flat leaf parsley - as much/ little as you like
- salt + Pepper
- 2 tsps turmeric
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 egg

Mix all in a food processor and add the egg and mix well. If it is too runny leave to rest for half an hour in the fridge - if it doesn't help add a bit of flour. Fry slowly on moderate fire.
I made Zuzka's pitta bread with it.

Norfolk