Nelly, the hen, has just hatched ten chicks out of the ten eggs she was sitting on. Rodriguez is father to them all. Mums are either Plymouth barred rock or Rhode Island red hens. All are now sold but I’ve got another hen due to hatch chicks next week so email me if you’re interested.
I was remiss in excluding a cookery book from my last post. A Good Spread has reached the top 100 book list voted by readers of the Listener. They said of it
“At a time when cookbooks are increasingly long on glossy photos and short on actual recipes, A Good Spread bucks the trend by offering recipes for hundres of dishes prepared in homes, halls, woolsheds, churches and sports clubs around rural New Zealand. these are tasty, filling, unpretentious dishes mde with seasonal produce and with an eye on the budget. The names alone are an absolute delight: Bunnies on a Hill, Toby Water, Afternoon Tea Dainty, Admiral’s hats, Baked Pencils and the slightly salcious sounding Four Way Sponge!”
I was surprised not to find a recipe for Christmas mincemeat in either of Alison Holst’s slow cooker books, to which I return time and again. However I adapted the recipe from Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery Course to make slow cooker Christmas mincemeat and it turned out well. Delia says once you’ve made your own you won’t ever return to boughten mincemeat. I rely on Delia’s book – a copy of which my Mum gave both my sister and me when we left home. A bit dated now in style but still a reliable source of things you want to cook and that turn out right every time.