trendy pie

Skinny sticks of pink rhubarb picked from the allotment this weekend, enough for a very small crumble in my now trendy pie dish. Falconware has gone the way of stripy butchers string. Funny how all of a sudden the most humble object can be everywhere. No lad-style TV cooking programme or cool new cafe is complete without people slurping soup or eating honest burgers from this ubiquitous blue and white enamelware. Raid your gran's cupboard or find it cheap at your local scruffy high street bucket shop. Or buy a boxed set here for £54.99 (!!!!)

stir up sunday

Today is Stir-up Sunday, the traditional day to make the Christmas pudding. I looked out our family recipe, carefully written out by my mum when she was nine years old, she is still using it today, making them in batches which lurk at the back of the kitchen cupboard from year to year. The recipe says boil for 5 or 6 hours!! Fast food compared to the recipe in this 1960's McDougalls recipe booklet, boil for 10 hours - blimey! The tea towels and aprons in kids and adult size available in my etsy store and online shop

grownup aprons

The children's aprons sold really well at my open studios and lots of people asked if I could do an adult size, so I have. They are printed in blue and chocolate or pink and red onto white cotton drill and are available now in my etsy shop. Here they are being modelled by my kitchen cabinet and the lovely Lucy.

cooking is fun

These children's aprons are beautifully made by lovely ladies in a small factory in Lancashire and hand printed by us. I have just put them in my Etsy shop - they would make very cute Christmas presents. More nostalgia, I dug out my old 'My learn to Cook book' for this photo shoot, love the 'roobarb and custard' style illustrations.