1936 - Steamed Suet Pudding is Nation's Favourite

Back in 1986 the Daily telegraph published an article on 'Everyone's Favourite Pudding' - voted for in November 1936. Steamed Suet Pudding was what the nation loved so here is the 'winning' recipe that won a whole guinea!
½lb S.R.Flour
4 oz shredded suet
5oz chopped dates
1 cupful of milk
1 egg
1 cupful golden syrup
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
       Cream suet and syrup together. Add well beaten egg. Stir in flour and milk alternately, mixing all well together but do not beat. Dissolve soda in the last of the milk and add to the mixture. Lastly add the dates.
      Turn all into a well greased pudding basin, cover with greaseproof paper and a cloth tied down. Steam for 2½ hours.

Just imagine it. How about blackberry and apple as an alternative served with lashings of proper custard. Or Jam served so hot it burns your tongue. Or figgy pudding ......... Hungry yet?

Anzac Biscuits - dated 1951

This recipe was found in an old recipe book first published in 1951.
½ lb flour           1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
½lb sugar            2 tablespoons warm water
¼lb coconut         1 tablespoon golden syrup
¼lb 'quick'outs
¼lb melted fat
¼ teaspoon salt
   Mix together all the dry ingredients. Blend the golden syrup with the warm water and mix all together thoroughly. Place on a greased baking tin in small lumps. Bake until crisp. 350° f

For those of you in metric convert the ¼lb to 113 grams and the ½lb to 227 grams. 350°f converts to Gas Mk4 180° C.
With the Jubilee here this year we'll try and find some more recipes from the period and see if they are as tasty now as they were then.
Good Luck.

DIY Safety - Think First and Stay Safe

First of our simple tips to stay safe when doing-it-yourself.

How many of you replace the plug on an appliance and never give the fuse a second thought? The fuse is there for a reason - should the worst happen and the appliance fails the fuse is the first line of defence in stopping fires. So think about it - a hair dryer that should have a 5 amp fuse at least but has a 13 amp in it keeps going past its safety cut out. Is it really worth the risk?

Here is a basic list of you need to know:

up to 230 watt = 1 amp fuse

231 - 690 watt = 3 amp

691 - 1150 watt = 5 amp

1150 watt and over = 13 amp

(1 kilowatt is 1000 watts)

Fuses are easily purchased at your local hardware store or supermarket. A pack will only cost you about 99p - that's not too much to pay for safety.

When Your Drill Slips.......

Have you ever had a problem drilling a hole in masonry, brick or stone - say putting up a shelf or hanging a gate - and the drill has slipped? The hole is suddenly a lot larger than needed and the holes HAVE to be where you started because what you're putting up has to be just there. Apart from a severe case of swearing, which will get you nowhere, there is a solution.

Try Unibond Repair Express power putty, an epoxy putty that is ideal for repairing, rebuilding, filling and sealing a vast range of materials. The cured putty can be sanded, drilled and painted  - so good no-one will ever know!

Thanks to Alan from Hardware for this Staff Tested Tip.

Mrs Robinson's Elder Flower Champagne

4 elder flowers

2 sliced lemons

1½ lbs sugar 2 tablespoons vinegar

1 gallon cold water

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and stand for 24 hours. Strain and bottle - it's as simple as that!

Start saving your plastic drinks bottles now! This is a truly tasty drink. Although we at Mortens sell glass bottles we have found that plastic pressure bottles (like lemonade, cola etc) are more successful with this recipe. Cuts the explosions down greatly.

So have a go and enjoy the results

Thanks to Mrs Robinson, one of our regulars, who gave us not only the recipe and sound advice but also a sample to test. Hic!

Sunflower Growing

No summer is complete without seeing yellow and black sunflowers in people's gardens. We are running a local competition for 12s and under - the Sunflower Olympics - to see who can grow the tallest sunflower this year.

Here are a few tips we think may be useful for successful growing:

1. Although the seed packet says sow outdoors we suggest you start the seeds off indoors on a bright window sill so that the sunflower can get well established because they are very tasty to slugs and snails!

2. When planting them out put a stake in at the same time, or a stout bamboo cane, this will avoid damage to the roots if you try and put support in later. if you're growing for height remember a 3 foot cane will be absolutely useless! How many of you lost a sunflower in full flower in a strong breeze? Make sure the support is suitable.

3. Tie the sunflower to the support with something strong but gentle, try to avoid wire. Cut up tights are ideal attached in a figure of eight.

4. Put slug deterrent down the moment you plant your sunflower. If you want to avoid chemicals try crushed egg shells in a thick ring or a plastic drinks bottle as a collar with the top cut in sharp points.

5. Feed your sunflower regularly.

Who knows you may win the tallest sunflower of the year!

Garden Tips for Pest Control on the Cheap

How many of you throw out used coffee grounds? We've heard of the tip using used coffee grounds around delicate plants prone to being nibbled by the ever present slugs - seems logical because they won't like the gritty sensation. If you've no coffee grounds then save your egg shells, dry them off in a cooling oven then crush and place these around such plants as delphiniums that seem to be a tasty morsel high on the slugs' menu. This method has been tried out and it worked! Place the egg shells thickly in a circle around where the shoots will appear - don't leave it too late!

deter it before it gets a taste for the shoots!

Don't let it get this far

Another tip is about those last dregs of tea in the pot that usually end up down the sink. Apparently save these extra strong dregs in a jug then use to douse foliage that looks as though it may be getting greenfly etc. We hope we've remember this tip correctly - it's either a pest repellent or a plant food. Try both.

Washing up liquid diluted in a spray is a good greenfly treatment - and won't do harm to birds and bees.

If anyone knows if unwanted CDs , plastic bottles half filled with water laid on the soil and beer traps work let us know and we'll pass on the good news!

Don't forget to install your waspinator soon as wasps are on the look out for new dwellings!

Enjoy your garden.

What you want to end up with!