The Homemade Heart

the mornings are cold

It is late October and the mornings are cold, almost frosty. We see our breath as we walk to the car for the school run. Later, in the woods, Meg runs wild, nose to the damp ground, snuffling through red, golden and yellow leaves. There is a smell like old cigars, the musty, though not unpleasant aroma of decay. Above my head the relentless cawing of rooks echoes in the stillness, I can see their messy, unstable nests, balanced like huge knuckles in the bare bones of the trees.
The garden has been cut back and tidied for the coming winter, the climbing roses that flung their summer growth wildly upwards, above the roofline, and outwards, bending low over the gravel in front of the kitchen window, have been tamed, snipped back and tied against the wires that hold them against the house wall. They know, and I know, that they will be back in even greater abundance next spring.
I have bought allium and tulip bulbs to plant, one day soon I will spend an hour in the garden pushing them deep into the earth before it becomes too cold, inwardly whispering 'Spring will come'.

The tiny apple tree, planted in memory of Derek's dear Mum, has, for the first time, grown apples. I look proudly at them every time I pass. Thoughts of a small orchard in the back garden are murmuring in the back of my mind. It only takes five trees to make an orchard. Two apple, two pear, and one plum, perhaps.
In the back garden the acer tree is having its annual moment of fiery glory, its leaves flaming in the bright October sun. It was like this the year we came to view the house, the previous owner pointing it out, keen for us to appreciate its fleeting beauty . It is even larger now, these twelve years later.

 
Last year's woollens are brought down from the loft, and unfolded, some are looking decidedly shabby, why did I keep them I wonder. The ever present bag for the charity shop is bulked out with a few old jumpers. I realise I need a new winter coat.
Books have been bought, and I think about learning some poetry by heart, to build a rich inner store of language and images.

Jacob turned seventeen, his birthday falling on the very last day of September He was born on a thundery night, as summer tipped in to autumn, in the last year of the old century. He towers over me, hugging me protectively. I don't know what he is protecting me from, but his embrace is immensely comforting. His birthday cake was suitably statuesque; a three layered chocolate Guinness cake, with peanut butter icing.

Autumn is here, and I am ready.

Winter Project Link Party October 2016

This autumn and winter, I am joining with Jennifer over at Thistlebear, for her Winter Link Party, where bloggers post their craft projects over the autumn and winter months, and encourage each other along the way. Do pop over to Jennifers's truly heartfelt and delightful blog and read all about it. 
For my first Winter Project Link Party post, I am sharing my most recent craft project, a small(ish) tote bag, started yesterday, and finished this afternoon (much to the detriment of my domestic duties). 

The dimensions of this bag (35x28x10cm) are highly significant; let me explain...
Tomorrow, Isaac and I will travel to London, for the purpose of attending 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' at the Palace Theatre, on Saturday. These tickets were Isaac's Christmas gift last year, so we have waited a long time to go, yet it seems also to have crept up suddenly (perhaps in some Harry Potter-ish time turning manner?).
There are certain restrictions regarding what can be taken in to the theatre (cameras, recording equipment, wands not purchased at Olivanders etc). All bags are security checked, and when reading the conditions of entry, I noticed with a pang of mild alarm that no bags larger than 41x31x16cm would be allowed in the theatre.
Cue a comic scene of me measuring handbags, shoulder bags, tote bags, canvas bags, any and every bag that I own, only to find that they were either too large, or simply unsuitable for the trip. I was already planning to use a small, cross body bag for purse, phone etc, but with Isaac and I coming down from the outlying regions of the Empire to the great capital, we had both planned a little light retail therapy in the morning prior to our theatre visit, and a tote or shopping bag of suitable dimensions would be required. The obvious solution was to make one myself,  well within the specified dimensions, so I selected some upholstery-weight fabric from my modest stash, and set to work.

I cut out two rectangles of blue, 35cmx28cm, and a strip for the gusset, 10cm wide. I also cut out lining fabric in the same dimensions; I liked that the smaller, paler circles in the lining fabric complimented the bolder circles of the blue fabrics.
Next, I sewed two basic bags; one from the blue fabric, one from the lining fabric, and then inserted the lining bag into the outer bag, and pinned it into place. Here are the steps:
 
My next step was to make a small rectangular front pocket, to add interest to the front of the bag, then on to the handles; just two strips of the blue fabric, folded in half and stitched down the long side, then turned inside out to hide the seam. I also made a little closure strip for the front, backed with the lining fabric, which I hoped could serve a double function: one, to keep the front pocket secure by means of a button hole and button; two, to close the main opening of the bag by means of a magnetic closure, situated inside the top opening of the bag. 

Following this, I inserted the ends of the handles between the lining and outer fabrics, and stitched right round the opening of the bag, twice, to secure the handles, and attach the lining to the outer bag.
Finally, I secured the closure strip to the front of the bag, attaching a magnetic closure to one end, with the corresponding piece inside the bag, and making a button hole and button closure for the front pocket. At this point I discovered I had no idea how to actually make a buttonhole, but undeterred, I stitched a narrow rectangle with several rows of machine stitching, and then trimmed away the centre. It worked for me. 
My last task was to stitch on the front pocket. I realised that I should have done this as one of my very first tasks, before the blue fabric was even made into the initial bag shape, but as I am no expert in these matters (the phrase 'rank amateur' springs to mind), I squirrelled that knowledge away for another time, and instead hand, rather than machine stitched the pocket into position. Last tiny step; to sew on the button. Eagle eyed readers may have noticed that I changed my mind from the first, blue button I had selected, and instead chose a smaller, white, fabric covered button.

It amuses me to think that I will be wandering the streets of London at the weekend with an unsophisticated, home-made, fun, tote bag.  Isaac and I can shop with impunity on Saturday morning, and provided that no purchase is physically larger than this bag, we can be safe in the knowledge that we will be willingly admitted, for a few hours anyway, to the wonderful, wizarding world of Harry Potter.

 

Cookery Calendar Challenge- October

Welcome to the Cookery Calendar Challenge for October. If you would like to join the challenge this month, please take a quick look at the Cookery Calendar Challenge page, which will tell you everything you need to know.

My chosen recipe book for September was 'Stirring Slowly', by Georgina Hayden. I loved the title of this book; stirring slowly is just what I want to do in the kitchen, and when I reached this paragraph in the introduction......

"The current trend for healthy eating is great, and I'm sure it has made many of us more aware of what we put in our bodies.
But for me any meal that is made from scratch, lovingly, is good and clean"

..I mentally jumped for joy!  Georgina divides her book into chapters such as 'A Sunny Start to The Day'; 'Bowl Food', 'Quick and Light', 'Long, Slow and Hearty'. There are lots of modern tasting recipes here, and a good mixture of very quick snacks and meals, and dishes that take longer to make. The recipes are well written, and I am convinced that Georgina has cooked every one of these recipes in her kitchen before putting them in her book. This book reeks of integrity.

For this month's challenge I made Georgina's 'Chicken soup for the Soul' This involved poaching a whole chicken with fresh herbs and aromatics, then making a broth with the strained cooking liquid, and meat shredded off the chicken carcase, then returning everything to the pan to cook through. Fresh dumplings are poached in the broth during the last five minutes of the cooking time. This recipe felt quite involved, and as the resident vegetarian I had to steel myself to shred the chicken off the hot chicken bones, but my highland resolve and a pair of disposable gloves helped. The carnivores reported that the soup was truly delicious, it had a depth of flavour that the simple 'thrown together' soups I usually make don't have (thanks guys). 
Although the recipe was simple, it did take a while to cook (I seemed to spend a lot of time hovering over the poaching chicken), but it was perfect for a Sunday morning pottering about in the kitchen, and I would definitely make it again. Next time I would poach the dumplings separately in a little of the broth, as they broke up slightly and made the broth somewhat cloudy.

My second selected dish was Wholemeal Nasi Goreng with Spinach. A simple but very full flavoured savoury rice with chilli, ginger, turmeric and various other spices, topped off with a fried egg. Georgina recommends this for breakfast, but we had it on a weeknight teatime. I did make a slight adaptation; Jacob was so aghast at the thought of a vegetarian dinner that I relented and stirred some prawns in to the rice. A very quick, easy, spicy, nicey weeknight dinner.

Overall, I loved this book, and Georgina's writing is very sincere;  she has a light touch with prose, but you feel that her life is rooted in family and food, which for me is perfect. In a world of glossy celebrity volumes with as much soul as a white sliced supermarket loaf, it is reassuring to find a book full of good, tasty, cookable, but exciting food. I am so glad I found this book.

My book choice for October is 'Simple' by Diana Henry.

 I have never owned a Diana Henry recipe book before, and know very little about her. I had pre-ordered this book and then forgotten all about it, so it was a delightful surprise when it dropped through the letterbox a couple of weeks ago.

If you joined me last month, thank you. If you would like to join the challenge this month, this is what to do:

The challenge is simple: the first week of every month, select a cookery book from your shelf, and cook two new recipes from it. The recipes can be for any meal. Cakes and bakes are excluded, but puddings are included. At the beginning of the following month, blog about the recipes you have used, and announce your chosen cookery book for the month ahead. This is an ongoing project, it's never too late to get involved, and everyone is very welcome. Don't worry about photographs; if you haven't taken a photograph of the dish, post a photograph of the recipe book you used. Similarly, you are welcome to share a recipe if you wish, but there is no pressure to do so. This project is more about the process of reconnecting with your cookery book collection, than about recipe sharing or food photography.

I would appreciate a link back to this Cookery Calendar Challenge post in your post. Grab the Cookery Calendar Challenge badge to display on your blog too, if you like (just copy and paste the code on to your dashboard to display). You can also join via Instagram using hashtag #cookerycalendarchallenge (you will find me on Instagram @penny.homemadeheart ).

An InLinkz Link-up