It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

ceridwen

Still trying to keep an eye out and see how Iceland is faring now - I found:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/22/iceland-women

nannaC

anguk wrote: »

Oh nannaC can I have your recipe for French Fancy please? I love them but refuse to pay the shop price, I tried to make my own but I just can't get the fondant icing right.

Hi anguk, course you can here goes. I batch bake so I use 12 oz SR flour + pinch baking powder, 12 oz cooking marg, 12 oz castor sugar, 6 eggs.
I just throw it all in my kenwood and mix on full till nice and fluffy, but if you dont have a mixer, cream marg/sugar until light an fluffy, add eggs 2 at a time and beat mix well, then add 2oz flour stir in well, repeat until all eggs/flour used up. Cook on 200c gas 8 for approx 30-40 mins. This amount makes 3 x 2lb loaf tins, or 1 round tin + a lot of fairy cakes etc

For french fancy use either a square tin or I use one of my loaf tins.

Topping
Butter cream 2oz marg, 4oz icing sugar, tsp water.
Icing 8-10oz icing sugar, 1/2-1 egg white, 1/2 tablespoon veg/sunflower/groundnut oil.
Put sugar into bowl, add oil mix then add egg white a little at a time to make a thick dough. [You can cheat by using royal icing mix and just adding oil water, they were selling it cheap in asda the other day]. Dust a board with icing sugar then knead icing to a smooth dough, roll out to about 1/2inch, 1.5cm thick. [This is the cheats way to make fondant icing if you prefer you can add a little more egg white to make a thick but runnier icing that you then pour over the cakes, but it is messy]

To make up.

When cold split cake in half an add jam. Now you can either cut into little squares of if you are like nannaC just make one whopping big fancy [grumpy says he is not into into nouvelle cuisine].

Spread the top of each cake thickly with butter cream.

Top with rolled icing covering the top and sides completely.

Leave to dry for a couple of hours.

nannaC

oystercatcher wrote: »

Don't want to dampen your enthusiasm but personally I'd shorten curtains by hand as you'll get a nicer more invisible finish.Oystercatcher

Absolutely right, it is always worth taking the time and effort to finish hems by hand, they give that very expensive designer look. The only exceptions are linings, jeans/skirts that look good with a tramline hem, 2 parallel rows of stitching.

Gigervamp

Thanks for that recipe nannaC. My DD's coming to stay next week and she loves baking, so I think we'll be trying french fancies for a change! (We usually make muffins and cupcakes.)

anguk

Thanks for the recipe nannaC, I'll give it a go. I bought some fondant icing sugar the other week and tried with that but I think now the mistake I made was not making it thick enough. I didn't realise you had to make it into a dough and roll it, I thought I just had to make it thick enough to pour!

Rummer

Hello Everyone!

I have taken the last week to read the whole of this thread and I am now excited to be joining you properly! Things here are ticking over but we have a bit of debt to clear and there may be job issues later in the year so I am keen to get things sorted out sooner rather than later.

Currently I meal plan and in the main cook and bake our food from scratch. We grew some food last year but this year we have planned tog row a lot more and I am going to spend the afternoon planting seeds and maybe building a raised bed!

Thank you all for your tips, advice and humour!

elizabunny

Rummer wrote: »

Hello Everyone!

I have taken the last week to read the whole of this thread and I am now excited to be joining you properly! Things here are ticking over but we have a bit of debt to clear and there may be job issues later in the year so I am keen to get things sorted out sooner rather than later.

Currently I meal plan and in the main cook and bake our food from scratch. We grew some food last year but this year we have planned tog row a lot more and I am going to spend the afternoon planting seeds and maybe building a raised bed!

Thank you all for your tips, advice and humour!

Hi Rummer and welcome to this friendly thread. There's lots of good advice here and someone to share thoughts with. I've found it brilliant since I joined and hope you will to.

Talking of raised beds, we've finally taken the plunge and part of the lawn has gone and a new bed is in the making. DH has been busy all day and it's beginning to take shape. We're planning two raised beds at the moment, so another chunk of lawn will soon disappear. We take trips to the New Forest fairly regularly and I've seen horse manure on sale for 30p a bag, so I've got my eye on some of that even if it does mean a bit of a smelly drive home -at least the dogs will enjoy it. That said, hope I can keep them away from the beds or they will be digging up the manure and cough....eating it YUK:eek: Perish the thought.

While DH has been busy digging today I have been batch baking, HM Pizzas and 'Twinks Hobnobs' plus cooking Sunday Roast and yesterday we made our first big batch of homemade Sausages about 2kg. Had a little sample and they are yummy, so the rest have gone in the freezer. Can't wait to have another go because it's good fun.

To all of you who kindly asked about our little dog 'Rosie' who had a stroke a couple of weeks ago, she has had another small one but in general she is picking up -although her head seems permanently lop-sided now. However, she is recovering enough to remember how to be naughty and try and trip me up whenever I have my hands full and well enough to hang around the oven door when something nice is cooking, so thank you all for your thoughts.

I have just finished reading 'The Shack', I thoroughly enjoyed it and found this a very thought provoking book and think some other posters have also enjoyed reading it.

Hope everyone is well and has had a lovely weekend.

Ches

BB1984 wrote: »

I want to take up some too-long curtains, but I suppose I should practice before ruining a perfectly good pair...


BB

I once knew a lady who made curtains for a large department store and she told me to always make curtains from the bottom up so that any discrepancies get hidden in the heading tape. Since then I have always taken the heading tape off when shortening curtains and then put it back on after. Makes a much better finish as you don't muck up the professionally finished hem and any wobbly machining won't notice at the top.

bellaquidsin

Ches wrote: »

I once knew a lady who made curtains for a large department store and she told me to always make curtains from the bottom up so that any discrepancies get hidden in the heading tape. Since then I have always taken the heading tape off when shortening curtains and then put it back on after. Makes a much better finish as you don't muck up the professionally finished hem and any wobbly machining won't notice at the top.

Just what I was going to say.

Bella.

[Deleted User]

Thats how I make my curtains. So much easier too than crouching down with a mouthfull of pins.