Easing into Winter

You know we've got to the time of year, where no matter how much you try to pack in there's always more to do than time to do it in...

We've also reached the time of year when conditions in my house are less favourable than conditions outside my house... in short... it's freezing and for some reason no amount of cajoling and pestering or parental pressure will make the 8 and 3yr olds dress appropriately... it makes me feel colder

Of course the highlight of the week is being able to decorate my space here with random pictures of what's been going on in my ramshackle day....

Of course alot of what goes on in here at this time of year is soup making and tea drinking, and the mush you see before you lurking in the pan... dumplings may not look pretty during the process of making but they taste mighty fine once they're cooked and floating in a lovely hot pool of broth... yum

There's something about winter that actually makes me want to be in the kitchen, the rest of the time I cook because I have people to feed and not least of all because I like eating... but in the winter I feel the urge to be in that horrid little kitchen of mine, making warming, nourishing, rib sticking bowls of wintry stodge 

This week we've been warming ourselves with chicken broth and soda bread fresh from the oven, warm and dripping with butter...

If you never thought there was a use for a chicken neck, oh my you're so wrong, they make a lovely tasty base for chicken soup... and there's nothing that comforts in the cold more than chicken soup....

And the 8yr old at the top of the post there, decided she needed to make chocolate chip shortbread cookies, and who am to interfere with the culinary wants of someone fresh home from school and looking for some yummy for her tummy?

They were delicious, and were of course devoured almost as quickly as I took the pictures...

All you need for the cookies are,

3 cups of flour, 6 generous tablespoons of sugar, a pinch of salt and a cup and a half of butter

(my recipe is doubled so you could easily half this amount) 

Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it's the consistency of breadcrumbs the slowly bring the buttery crumbs together into a rough crumbly dough... you might need to add a little more butter depending on how absorbent  you flour is... basically what you need is to reach a stage where the dough will just hold together...

put the dough on a floured board and with a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough and cut out your shapes... and lets face it.. if an 8yr old can do it then anyone can right?

Prick them a few times with a fork and sprinkle with sugar before baking in a moderate oven.

They take about 10 minutes in my oven. Check them while they're still pale and look almost uncooked on top. Check the bottoms first and if the bottom is a gentle golden colour they're done... the tops will continue to brown a little after cooking so don't be tempted to leave them in the oven any longer than you need to...

I'll be back with the chicken soup and soda bread recipe.... 

Right now tea calls and a pile of household chores that just won't go away for some reason...

I wonder why?