Wool Gathering - 1940's round yoke jumper

I love knitting, it is a very soothing activity and gives your hands something to do while waiting for an appointment, in a cafe or while watching a nice (but frankly slow) old movie.

And to top it off, its Winter here, so knitting up something pretty and cosy is ideal!

I have rather a stash of wool that I never seem to use much of, buying specifically for a project rather than using what I already have. So I determined to start using it and not buy anymore wool until I have made a good dent in it.

So this is the first project of my de-stash resolution.

I came across this pattern on forties knitter's blog, you can get it for yourself here.

I'm knitting it up in an angora wool mix and will post some pics of my progress soon!

Toodle pip!

M.

Vintage Baking - Wartime Coconut buttons

After my experimentation from last time I decided to try another recipe and this time do it exact to recipe (except for substituting Gluten free flour) and they turned out very nicely, crunchy on the outside, slightly chewy in the inside, not too sweet and a perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee! =)

Normal flour substituted with my golden trio of flours.

The finished buttons, they were so yummy and didn't last very long so think I shall have to make double recipe next time! ;)

Toodle pip!

M.

Vintage Baking - Ginger buns

I've been trying out some recipes from my new wartime recipe book.
It was published in New Zealand by the Self help co. and is called 'Making your rations go further'.
It is comprised of baking recipes that are split into several categories based on the quantities of eggs and butter etc.
Rationing in New Zealand differed from Britain in that it was introduced to create an excess of food not due to a shortage, the main portion being for export to the Allied forces. For example from May 1943 onwards the consumption of fresh pork was prohibited in New Zealand due to the high demand for the meat from American troops in the Pacific.
Though New Zealand had a large dairy industry, butter was still heavily rationed to supply forces fighting in Europe, making butter precious (margarine was prohibited from importation in New Zealand earlier in the 30s due to concerns from the dairy industry of it undermining the value of butter) though it came into question, this law was never relaxed during the war and civilians had to try and supplement their fat ration by saving dripping, which some of these recipes use.

Well, enough of the background.

The recipe I used was for gingerbread fruitcake, which I altered in some respects.
Firstly I am Gluten Free, secondly I used preserved stem ginger instead of the other fruit and added a dash of cinnamon. Finally I decided on it being in a drop bun form instead of a cake as I was making them to take on a picnic =)

I substituted 7oz each of Almond flour, Gluten free flour mix and Gluten free pastry mix which is my golden trio, it gives the perfect balance for most baking.

When my mum first gave me these scales I though, they're cute but damn they're in lbs and oz, until I remembered most of my cookbooks are vintage ;)

The finished buns, they look all prickly like little hedgehogs =)

I'm really happy with how they turned out, I'll definitely be making them again in future!

Om nom nom until next time!

M.