Breadwinners

Thank you for your comments. Janet mentioned that Victorian dresses were handstitched. When I went to visit The Bronte Parsonage in Haworth, I noticed the same thing - with the dresses there in the display cases beautifully stitched together by hand, and sometimes the sleeves were tied to the dresses rather than made up as they are today. This made it easier for the ladies in those days, and also in previous centuries no doubt, to carefully unpick their dresses, give the material a good wash, and then make them up again in a different style, sometimes reversing the material as one side may have faded. Or adding a new length if a strip had been damaged. . In the same way they would buy plain hats and then change the trimmings to go with different gowns. With no TV, there was always time to sew. Again a lesson on recycling.

Another thing I once learned when visiting a museum, where a gentleman was demonstrating some black and white, extremely fine embroidery, which he was doing himself, but needing to looking through a fixed magnifying glass, so that he could see each thread which he needed to pick up with the finest needle I have ever seen. Even wearing specs I could not see the work too well, so I took off my glasses and peered really closely, and I could see so clearlywithout using the magnifying glass and he told me that in the olden days only the very, very short-sighted (which I am) were able to do this specialised work. Without my glasses , and two feet from the end of my nose, the world becomes a blur. Do you know, this wasn't discovered until I was thirteen, and had grown too tall to sit close to the blackboard. Until then, I thought everyone saw in the same way as I did. It was sheer magic when I had my first eye test and found I could see clearly. Although it took some time to re-adjust habits, such as taking wide steps over a kerb (not being quite sure in the past where the actual edge was).

In my youth it was still common to learn how to knit and sew, and these skills proved very useful in my married years, as I could make both the children's clothes and mine. It helped a great deal that Beloved used to work for Sylko at one time, and with various fabric firms at other times. Initially I used the old type of Singer sewing machine where you had to turn a handle, later Beloved fitted this with a motor, and much later I bought myself an electric Singer that could do fancy stitching, buttonholes, pleating etc.
When the girls were very small I taught myself how to do smocking, then managed to sell some little smocked dresses, and made enough money to buy myself a little 'smock gathering machine' (which I still have). This had a long row of wavy needles, each to be threaded with cotton. All I had to do was push in the material, turn a handle to force it through rollers, and it would come out already pleated and threaded with the cotton. Saved hours of doing it by hand.

When we had our first grandchild, I made the christening gown, quite simply and very cheaply made in fine white cotton, and quite plain except for lace around the neck and sleeves, and along both edges of a front panel which I had smocked at the top, and embroidered in bands towards the bottom, all the smocking and embroidery being done with white stranded cotten. As part of the top band of embroidery, I stitched in (using chain stitch) the birth date and year of the child. Later a sister was born, the same gown used but with her date of birth embroided in a lower band.

After years of making birthday and other celebration cakes for my children, I got quite good at it, so then went on to icing (Royal icing in those days) other cakes that people had cooked themselves. I began with icing my daughter's wedding cake, and moved on to decorating wedding cakes that people had usually cooked themselves. This again brought in some pin money. After that, when I became more skilled at cooking overall neighbours who wished to host a family party, and prefered to spend time with them rather than slaving over a hot stove, would ask me to do the cooking in their kitchens. So just learning a few domestic skills, can help to fill the coffers from time to time, especially useful these days as fewer people bother with these skills. It will soon get to the time that anyone who can cook will be welcomed with open arms. And paid well too. So just making the point that it is always worth learning a skill, and in particular, learning to cook. You never know when it can come in useful.

Janet is asking for uses for canned sardines, other than on toast and in sarnies. Think I gave the date of the recipe for sardine pate, although of course this again is for spreading on toast, although spoonfuls of the pate or mashed sardines might also be able to be used as a filling for something like ravioli. As sardines have quite a strong flavour, then maybe sardines blended with cream cheese. Or how about sardine fish-cakes? Mix mashed sardines with mashed potato, using slightly more potato than sardine (usually equal quantities of each), plus some finely chopped parsley.
Sardines could be cut into strips and used for topping pizzas or other dishes such as pissaladiere (recipe given below), where anchovies are normally used. Admittedly chefs would stand back in horror at my suggestion of substituting sardines for anchovies, but it could work.
By the way, always eat the sardine bones (also canned salmon and pilchard bones) as they contain loads of calcium, and studies have shown "..that people with the highest calcium intakes have also the lowest levels of body fat - due to the fact that low calcium consumption results in an increase of vit D in the bloodstream, which signals fat cells to store more fat. Meaning your body reacts to a calcium deficiency by hanging onto fat for dear life". I learn something new every time I open a book.

Pissaladiere (Onion Tart): serves 6
approx 12 oz (350g) bread dough
3 lb (1.5kg) onions, thinly sliced
3 tblsp olive oil
2 tsp mixed fresh herbs, chopped (basil, thyme, rosemary...)
salt and pepper
12 anchovy fillets (or sardine strips)
few black olives, stoned and halved
While the bread dough is rising, make the filling by cooking the onions in the oil, over a very low heat, and covering the pan. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes or until the onions are very soft. Add the herbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for a few minutes longer.
Cut the anchovies fillets in half lengthways (or cut the sardines into 24 strips). Grease a shallow baking dish, about 14" (35cm) in diameter, or use a greased Swiss roll baking tin for an oblong tart. Knock the risen dough back, punching with the fist and press into the chosen tin with the palms of your hands.
Spread the onion mixture over the dough, then make a wide lattice pattern across the top using the fish strips. Put half an olive, flat side down, in the centre of each diamond. Leave to stand for fifteen minutes for the dough to rise again slightly, then bake for 25 - 30 minutes at 190C, 375F, gas 5 until the bread base is cooked. Serve hot.

Bread being our staple food, and with so many of us now beginning to make our own bread, following the above bread-based recipe are a few suggestions on how to improve on a basic dough recipe:
walnut bread (a French speciality): add 8 oz (225g) finely ground walnuts to 500g dry bread mix, before adding water (you may need just a little extra water).
sunflower topped: use a wholewheat or whole grain bread dough, and after rising, shape into a round and sprinkle the top with sunflower seeds. Makes great toast or eaten with cheese and meats.
light rye bread: mix rye flour with brown or white bread flour then make bread in the usual way. Lovely eaten with honey or cheese.

Although not everyone has a bread machine or a supply of strong bread flour, sometimes we do run out of bread. Never fear, Shirl is here.
Starting with tea-breads as they keep well and are a cross between bread and cake, these are gorgeous eaten spread with butter. After the recipes for tea-breads come the plainer, but very simple soda breads which even though can be bought in supermarkets, traditionally were always made at home, and I feel still should be.

This first recipe for tea-bread uses dates, but if no dates, then substitute chopped prunes or large raisins or sultanas. Even chopped apricots. Or why not some of each? Just keep the weight of fruit the same then experiment to your heart's content. You could even add a tsp of mixed spice if you wish.
You will note that in both the following two recipes I suggest adding a tsp of the flour to the creamed butter and sugar when beating in the egg. This helps to prevent the mixture curdling, not that it really matters if it does, but it is better if it doesn't.
Date and Muesli Teabread: one loaf giving 10 - 12 servings.
8 oz (225g) stoned dates, roughly chopped
5 fl oz (150ml) strong hot tea (strained if using tea leaves)
3 oz (75g) butter, softened
3 oz (75g) light soft brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
8 oz (225g) self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 oz (75g) muesli (any kind)
Put the fruit into a bowl and pour over the hot tea. Leave to soak for half an hour.
Cream together the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, then beat in the egg with 1 tsp of the flour.
Sift together the remaining flour and the baking powder, and fold into the creamed mixture. Finally, add the muesli, fruits used, including the soaking liquid. Mix well together.
Pour the mixture into a greased and lined 2 lb (900g) loaf tin and smooth the surface. Bake for about one hour at 180C, 340F, gas 4 until risen and firm to the touch. Check with a skewer if uncertain.
Remove the loaf from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes or so, then turn out onto a wire rack. Serve sliced, warm or cold, with or without butter.

This next bread, despite it seeming too rich and sweet by today's health and safety standards, is made with all good things. Adults as well as children will find this immensely satisfying. The name I made up myself as being rather more interesting than just chocolate and banana bread.
Choccanna Bread: makes 1 loaf - givin 10 - 12 slices
4 oz (100g) butter, softened
4 oz (100g) light soft brown sugar
4 oz (100g thick set honey
2 eggs, beaten
8 oz (225g) self-raising flour
half a tsp baking powder
1 oz (25g) cocoa
2 ripe (weight incl. skins: approx 10 oz/300g)
little lemon juice
1 tblsp milk
icing sugar
Cream together the butter, sugar and honey until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg with 1 tsp of the flour. Sift the remaining flour with the baking powder and the cocoa, and fold into the creamed mixture. Peel the bananas and mash with a little lemon juice and just enough milk to form a soft consistency., and fold this into the mix. Spoon into a greased and lined loaf tin (size and cooking temperatures as in the above recipe) and level the surface. Bake for 1 - 1 1/4 hours or until risen and firm to the touch. After 40 minutes or so, tent the tin loosely with foil to prevent it browning too quickly.
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a cake airer. Dust with icing sugar and serve sliced, warm or cold.

One of the easiest breads to make is Irish Soda Bread (so why not let the children have a go), as generally (apart from the third recipe) this is made with ordinary, not bread flour. And - for what it is worth - the ingredients would cost less than 50p. So more to add to the list of cheapies.
The first two recipes are slightly different, but both use bicarbonate of soda as a raising agent because this works best with acidic things like buttermilk and/or yogurt (see below for a more detailed explanation of buttermilk). The third recipe uses two raising agents (the bicarb and c.of t. together make baking powder - but in this case work better used independently). You may, after reading the three recipes, like to try mixing and matching ingredients to make up your own version.

buttermilk:
"Buttermilk is what is left over after the butter has been churned out. Differing only from skimmed milk in that it is sour. It is a useful emulsifying agent and now recognised as a health-promoting product, sold in cartons in many supermarkets (often homogenised and doctored in the way the trade knows best). However, modern 'buttermilk' and 'cultured buttermilk' are respectively skim milk and soured skim milk"
Perhaps the easiest DIY way to make buttermilk is to stir a little yogurt into skimmed milk, or add a few drops of lemon juice to sour the milk.

Soda Bread: makes 1 loaf, serves 8
1 lb (450g) plain white flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 oz (25g) butter, diced
half a pint (300ml) buttermilk
Sift the flour, salt and bicarb together, then rub in the butter, gradually adding enough milk to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently for a couple of minutes. Shape into a large round and place on a floured, ungreased baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, cut a deep cross on the top of the dough and sprinkle with a little flour.
Bake at 200c, 400F, gas 6 for 30 - 35 minutes or until risen and lightly browned. The loaf should sound hollow when tappen on the underside. Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or cold. Can be cut into wedges or sliced.

Farmhouse Style Soda Bread: makes 1 loaf - serving 8
7 oz (200g) plain white flour
7 oz (200g) plain wholemeal flour
2 oz (50g) rolled or porridge oats
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
half a pint (300ml) buttermilk
Sift together the white flour with the bicarb. then stir in the wholemeal flour, the salt and the oats. Gradually add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough, then continue as in the above recipe.

Home-Style Soda Bread: makes 1 loaf - serves 8
8 oz (225g) strong white flour
8 oz (225g) wholemeal flour
1 tsp each: sugar, salt, and bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
half an ounce (15g) butter
1 egg, beaten
7 fl oz (200ml) milk
Sift together the flours, sugar, salt and raising agents. Rub in the butter, and mix in the egg. and enough milk to form a soft dough. Knead until smooth. Continue as in the above recipes, baking for 35 - 35 minutes.

Finishing late yesterday, I did not give myself time to edit my blog, so when I returned to it later in the afternoon - needing to check out something - I discovered more typing errors than you could imagine. I was able to correct them (or most, for inevitably one or two get missed), so I apologise to early readers and suggest they might care to go back and read it all again, for there are subtle differences to the original posting. It is not yet eight of the clock, so have time to be more careful today.

As we progress with cooking, often we can include a little luxury yet still save money by making up some ingredients that can normally be bought, but at much more cost. Vanilla sugar is an example. Using the flavoured sugar, we can use this instead of adding vanilla extract (or use less of it).
Of course we need to begin with a vanilla pod (these are not cheap but one can last for a very long time) and try and find one covered with crystals of vanilla for this indicates freshness. To flavour a bag of caster sugar, just stick the pod into the bag and leave it there for a week to ten days to allow the flavour to be gathered by the sugar, shaking occasionally. Far better though is to have an airtight container for the sugar, for then all you have to do is replace the sugar as it is used up, as the pod will keep flavouring the sugar for years and years and years. Instead of buying caster sugar, blitz down granulated sugar in small quantities in a food blender until as fine as you want. Do this with demerara sugar and you get golden caster sugar. You could mix the two together.
If you need to split the pot and remove the seeds to flavour a custard for example, the pod can still be put into the sugar, but may not keep its flavour quite as long as one left whole. Mind you give or take a year or two, does that really matter?

Herb oils are another useful standby for instead of adding fresh basil to a pizza for instance, the basil oil can be added to the dough to flavour the pizza base, or be added to the tomatoes when making the sauce, or even drizzling over the pizza topping. You get the flavour without needing a constant supply of the fresh herb, which is not always available during the winter months. Other herbs can flavour oils, and all can make delicious salad dressings and marinades. All you do is select your chosen herb, crush the leaves slightly, using enough to loosely fill a glass jar. Fill the jar with sunflower or olive oil (or a blend of both), adding one tsp of white wine vinegar, then screwing on the lid and giving it good shake. Leave to stand on a sunny windowsill for two weeks, shaking the bottle every day. You can then either drain and bottle the oil without the herbs, or leave the herbs in the bottle and just top up with more oil as it is used.

Gain the best of both worlds by planting a Cape Gooseberry, otherwise known as Physalis. Originally grown as a decorative plant, it is also useful when making flower arrangements, and only recently have the fruits have become popular, and as the fruits (not the plant) are very expensive to buy, sold complete with their little papery skins (looking a lot like fairy lanterns), it makes more than a lot of sense to grow your own. After peeling back the paper skin, the whole thing can be used as a decoration or garnish, but it is the fruit inside the skin,the golden berry, that is eaten. It has a sharp yet sweet taste, and apart from adding to fruit salads or other dish, the fruits themselves make a lovely jam.

One herb which I used to grow was Angelica. This herb is tall, with flat ribbed stems, and makes a lovely addition to a flower border. Apart from candying the stems, the angelica stems can also be used to make a 'ratafia'.
In the eighteenth century ratafia was made from peach and almond kernels together with brandy, but the Victorians then used the name to describe any flavoured drink made with brandy, and angelica was often used. Even earlier, in the sixteenth century, this herb was so admired both for beauty in growth and also for culinary use that it was know as 'the herb of the angels'.
The recipe below makes a delicious liqueur either for drinking or for flavouring cakes, pudding and biscuits.
Angel Herb Ratafia:
8 oz (225g) Angelica stalks
8 oz (225g) sugar
half a pint (250ml) water
one pint (500ml) brandy
Remove all leaves from the angelica stems and scrub the stalks well under running cold water. Cut into small pieces and place into a large sterilized preserving jar. Add the sugar, water and brandy. Cover tightly and leave to stand in a cool dark place for 6 - 8 weeks. Strain through muslin and keep in capped bottles.
Variation: a pinch each of ground cinnamon and cloves can be added along with the sugar etc.
For re-cycling, it might be possible to dry out the strained pieces of angelica and then candy them in the normal way.

Thanks to all who have sent comments, and looking forward to receiving more. I have spent some minutes editing today's offering, so I hope there are less errors. Oh, just made one. Now corrected.