Vintage Tea Party, Mad Hatter Style

 

For my Daughter's first Birthday at the weekend I created a vintage tea-party with an Alice in Wonderland theme. There were plenty of tea-pots, mis-matched china, plenty of vintage styling and lots of cake.

 

I made bunting from old sheet music and this complimented the vintage tea-party theme wonderfully.

 

 

 

Vintage bird cages decorated with playing cards and 'eat-me' signs, made for effective and easy to make decorations, with a distinct Alice in Wonderland look.

 

Lots of vintage style boards and tags not only decorated the party, but have made for wonderful keepsakes.

Classic children's fairy cakes were a must with dainty sandwiches, orange squash in tea-pots and tiny little fondant fancies...

 

 

everyone in hats and of course lots of tea!

 

Pudding Nostalgia

This snow is making me feel all nostalgic and I have started thinking about homely puddings. The comforting, deliciously stodgy British classic variety. As soon as I think of classic British puds I think of the Jam Roly-Poly. This wonderful vintage recipe is believed to have been invented in the 19th century and is a fantastic recipe to master and a must for any self-respecting lover of vintage food.

Suet puddings are traditionally steamed, however, this recipe is designed for the modern cook and is much easier as it is baked.

Ingredients:

butter for greasing
300g self raising flour
85g caster sugar
140g suet (vegetable)
pinch of salt
150ml milk
8tbsp good raspberry jam

To serve:

Generous lashings of custard

Method:

1.Heat the oven to 180c/160c fan/ gas mark 4
2.Butter a sheet of baking parchment. Mix the flour with the sugar suet, salt, then bind with the milk to make a soft dough.
3. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to 20cm x 30cm  oblong. Spread with jam, leaving a border all the way around.
4. Roll up the dough from one short end , making a sausage shape, then gently pinch the ends. Very carefully lift the sausage shape onto the prepared parchment.
5. Fold the parchment paper up and over the ends of the roly-poly and then wrap up tightly. Secure with wooden clothes egs or bull-dog clips all the way along the seam as this will help in achieving the classic round, roly-poly shape.
6. Bake in the re-heated oven for 50 minutes or until the roll feels firm and looks golden through the paper.
7. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before unwrapping and cutting as this will help to prevent crumbling and the jam flowing out.
8. Serve with a warm dollop of custard.
9. Enjoy your vintage pud classic!

 

Vintage Valentines

With Valentine's Day looming I feel the need to use that early rosy pink rhubarb in a  distinctly vintage cocktail. After all what could say, 'Happy Valentine's Day', better than a sophisticated Pink Bellini and it's so simple to make.

Simply place  750g sliced rhubarb in a non-reactive pan along with 150g caster sugar, the grated zest and juice of an orange and 2 tbsp water. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer in the uncovered pan for 10-15 minutes. Strain the syrup into a jug and allow to cool. Refrigerate until ready to use. To make the cocktail pour a little syrup into a cocktail glass, add 25ml gin and top with sparkling wine. Chin! Chin!

Marmalade Days

On a cold wintry day my mind has turned to marmalade. I can think of nothing better than the smell of marmalade cooking in an open pan. The rich, tangy smell of citrus filling the kitchen and bringing distant memories of sun filled holiday's to mind. The pride of bottling home-made marmalade is something that only those who have practised the craft can understand and the delights of enjoying a good citrus hit from a jar of your kitchens finest on a slice of toast is a luxury all should pursue.

I think marmalade recipes and methods are as personal and wide ranging as people's tastes. There are so many fascinating recipes around and it seems that every marmalade maker has his or her special way of doing things. One thing is for certain, however, the marmalade is made, good marmalade is liquid sunshine in a jar.

 

I was delighted to find that my passion for marmalade is shared, indeed  each year the Dalemain Marmalade Awards take place, attracting thousands of entries from around the world. Flicking through some good old vintage cookbooks and consulting the trusty family cook book I couldn't help, but give a few recipes a go.

 

So after carefully soaking and chopping lots of citrus peel and following two family recipes for marmalade, one for lemon, lime and grapefruit that turns out to be a better wake up in a morning than any cup of coffee, I am feeling a bit of a marmalade obsession coming on.  Before I know it I am creating my very own marmalade recipe and filling in an entry form for the Dalemain Marmalade Competition.

So with lots of marmalade made what next? After all there is only so much marmalade on toast you can eat. My trusty 1930's cook book has a lovely, simple recipe for a marmalade cake. Mm mm just the thing to go with a nice cup of tea.  Just in case you get the marmalade bug, here is the recipe:

ingredients:

100g plain flour
100g self raising flour
25g sultanas
2 tbsp soft brown sugar
grated rind 1 orange
2 eggs beaten
150ml whole milk
50ml melted butter
4 tablespoons marmalade

Preheat oven to 200oC/ 400oC/ Gas mark 6
Sift the flours into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the sultanas, sugar and grated rind.  In another bowl gently whisk the eggs, milk and butter. Add the egg mixture to the flour and stir until just blended. Be careful not to over mix. Grease a ring cake mould and pour in the mixture. Next top the mixture with 4 tablespoons of marmalade and bake in the preheated oven for one and half hours.

Leave the cake to cool slightly and then enjoy slices warm and spread with best butter. The smell from this cake was delicious and the few moments needed to cool it torturous. Well whatever the marmalade awards bring, I have certainly enjoyed my marmalade days!

Cooking Vintage Food Delights: Vintage Food Inspiration

Cooking Vintage Food Delights: Vintage Food Inspiration: The snow is on the ground and I am well and truly snowed in, but I don't mind one bit because it gives me the opportunity to read all those ...

Vintage Food Inspiration

The snow is on the ground and I am well and truly snowed in, but I don't mind one bit because it gives me the opportunity to read all those vintage cookery books I have been hoarding and even better give some recipes a try. Sometimes it's easy to get carried away collecting recipes and forget to make the time to try them out. I say this as I blow the dust away from a collection of dilapidated recipe books that I squirrelled away over a year ago.

I have been passionate about food and cooking from a very young age, but what I love most is vintage recipes. I am fortunate to have some old family recipe books that I cherish not only for their recipes, but their ability to give me a special insight into changing tastes and eating trends. I can think of nothing better than creating a birthday cake in the form of a cauliflower from a 1930's recipe and knowing that eighty years ago this cake was produced for a special birthday celebration by my Great Grandmother. To read the scraps of paper concealed within the pages, detailing celebration menu's, family meal planning and even shopping lists gives me a real sense of comfort.

I attribute my interest in vintage and often 'kitsch' recipes to my Grandmother, Minnie. She was a great cook and her kitchen was always filled with the smell of warm caramel from her home made brandy snaps and the lingering aroma of green chutney making. I have amazing memories of my late Grandmother's Sunday Tea's, which involved fetching out the best china from the 1950's glass cabinet. Fine bone china tea cups with delicate pink rose decoration were placed on a table draped with a crisp table cloth and adorned with well polished cutlery. Home-made chocolate cake with it's thick fondant icing and rich chocolaty butter cream was always present. As a child I had no concept of cocoa content and I'm pretty sure my Grandmother didn't, but I can still taste that cake now and remember the glee with which I devoured it, scraping up every last crumb from my dainty china plate. The sandwiches made with red salmon from a tin that was combined with some vinegar, married up with some thin slices of cucumber and sandwiched between two pieces of white bread from a waxed paper bag that had a big Elephant on it, I seem to remember it being called Jumbo bread. I remember that red tinned salmon was a bit of a treat, reserved for Sunday's and visitors, being considered better than the tins of pink salmon used for lesser occasions. Bowls of home made salad and pyramids of scones all sound a bit basic in today's foodie culture. The funny thing is that the memories I have of thickly piped birthday cakes, home made fondant fancies and peppermint sugar mice are superior to those held from food eaten at restaurants of good standing. Perhaps it's got something to do with just enjoying the food and not worrying whether it's in vogue.

My feeling is that in our modern quest to become foodies we have forgotten the art of simple food pleasures. I love bringing out vintage china and cooking from vintage cook books because there is something homely about it all. Creating a sense of occasion on a Sunday afternoon is so fantastically old fashioned and yet such a great way to end a weekend and create a sense of family togetherness.

My plan for 2013 is to go on a vintage food journey. I shall be reviving some classic recipes from 1930's,1940's  and 1950's and shall be recording the journey and recipes in this blog.