Monday 17 December 2012

A recipe for mincemeat

I always make some kind of homemade edible gifts for family and friends. I think they can be better appreciated than shop bought things and I get to do some baking safe in the knowledge I won't end up eating all of it. This year I've decided to make mince pies (using homemade mincemeat and shop bought pastry - I am USELESS at pastry), persimmon cookies and mulled wine. Tonight, I made a start on the mincemeat for the pies.


Ingredients:



  • 175g raisins
  • 110g sultanas
  • 275g currants
  • 110g mixed peel, finely chopped
  • 175g shredded suet (beef or vegetarian)
  • 250g soft dark brown sugar
  • half tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 2 tsp mixed spice
  • grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • grated zest and juice of 1 orange
  • 1 bramley or cooking apple, cored and finely chopped, no need to peel
  • 4 tbsp brandy
If you don't want to mess about weighing everything out, you can also use mixed dried fruits that you'd find in any supermarket very cheaply. Just make sure it contains all the dried fruit and peel listed and weigh out 670g of it. First, I put all the dried fruit and peel in a large ovenproof bowl and stir it up.


Next I add the nutmeg, mixed spice, and zest and juice from the orange and the lemon. To grate the nutmeg I use a mini grater that I got with a hot chocolate set.


Then I finely chop the apple and chuck that in as well.



Next I stir in the sugar, it tends to clump so work any big lumps loose with my fingers.



Finally I stir in the suet. This time I've used beef suet but I've used the vegetarian kind in the past and it works just as well.



Now I've left it to sit overnight covered with a clean tea towel. This will give it time for all those lovely flavours to infuse into the fruit and the suet!

In the morning I will heat the oven to 110°C (if you have a gas oven you want less than Gas Mark 1, specifically 1/4 if your oven allows), cover the bowl with foil and heat the mincemeat for two and a half hours. This will melt the suet.

Finally, leave the mincemeat to cool, stirring now and again. Once cool, add the brandy and stir again. Now make your mince pies! Or if you're saving it for use another time or to give as gift, spoon it into sterilised jars.
It will keep in the jars for up to a year! x

Saturday 15 December 2012

We WI-sh you a Merry Christmas! (I know, I know...)

What a month it has been for The Iron Maidens! On Wednesday we signed the papers and officially formed as a branch of The Women's Institute. Now the fun really starts. I don't know about the rest of you but I am absolutely thrilled to be part of a group of such fantastic women. Each and every one of us brings something special and unique to the branch and I can't wait to see what we get up to in the coming months and years. Personally I hope it will involve plenty of ridiculous behaviour and 'No Need for Tweed' tattoo-design cross-stitch samplers.

For those of you who missed our December meeting, don't worry - there wasn't any salt dough anyway. However, we did witness a Christmas miracle in the form of paper crafty bits for card making:
 



And a chocolate making set! This was rather popular as you may imagine... 

 
Everyone was encouraged beforehand to bring along their own crafty Christmas projects too, and a few ladies established a Knitters' Corner to keep them busy.

 

 We also drank rather copious amounts of mulled wine (special mention to Cosi for setting the ball rolling on that one) and ate plenty of cakes and mince pies. There were zillions of Christmas crackers and every one wore their stylish paper hats on pain of death. Our very own Rachel 'Pooki' Lloyd was on hand with her flashy camera (pun intended) to create photographic evidence of our silliness. Credit to her for all the photos in this post. You can see the full album here.


 It was truly wonderful to welcome so many new faces to the group this month, may it continue. If you or anyone you know is interested in joining the WI but is worried about it being a little fuddy-duddy or conservative, we may be just what you're looking for. Every woman is welcome, but no tweed allowed. For realsies. I hope you all have an absolutely fantastic Christmas and an even better New Year! 

See you in 2013 x

Sunday 11 November 2012

Maiden England

Hello!

We are The Iron Maidens - a brand new, super duper, brightly coloured and alternative branch of The Women's Institute based in Liscard, Merseyside.

Brought together by an 'ageing metaller with a sewing machine and a dream' we have one thing in common: we don't like tweed. Things we DO like include (but are not limited to) Burlesque, Vintage Lifestyle, Steampunk, Tattoos, Roller Derby, Pin-Up Glamour, Gothic, Rockabilly, Punk, Heavy Metal, Crafting, Baking, Learning, Socialising, Helping, Participating, Raising Awareness and Helping in the Community.

We are, to coin a phrase, not all just jam and Jerusalem.




 

We meet on the second Wednesday of the month at Misty Blue's on Manor Road in Liscard and we welcome any and all women who wish to join us as new members.

Last month we had our very first official meeting, and we were lucky enough to enjoy a vintage glamour inspired hair and make up demonstration from the very talented Betty and Lily of the Vintage Pamper Box. We learned how to create a faux 'Bettie Bang' and victory rolls as well as how to properly apply liquid eyeliner and red lipstick. Remember ladies, blue-toned reds. Finally we learned how to make the most of our eyebrows. It was great fun, very informative and Betty and Lily loved us so much they decided to join and are now members as well.



We also elected our president, the amazing (though vertically challenged) Sami Score.


And formed our committee:

All in all, we had a bloomin' wonderful time and we look forward to our next meeting on December 12th.

We hope to see you there!

The Iron Maidens x


Photos by Pooki Rae