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Friday 26 June 2020

Owl Wood Cook Book

I have finally got around to covering my cook book, the one in which I write my favourite recipes. 


The book which I hope will be added to, and then passed on down through the generations, until someone forgets the family significance. 


Owl Wood is the unofficial name for our small patch of woodland.    By daytime it used to be home to our lovely hens, they free-ranged there and led a marvellous life.    While the hens roamed, the owls slept.    The hens are no longer with us, but the Tawnies are.   Three more little Tawny Owls have spread their wings and left the woodland.

Tweed offcuts and embroidery silks don't really seem like ideal/practical choices for a cookery book, I know but, so what?   

Owl Wood Cook Book it is.

I added a new recipe to it today.   It is actually based on an eighteenth century recipe - Coconut Bread.    Real bread with desiccated coconut for texture and an intriguing flavour.    I saw the recipe and was intrigued, dithered about whether or not to bake it, or to just do a plain bread.   Curiosity won, of course.



It was well worth the effort, beautifully light with just the merest hint of coconut at the end. 

Have a lovely weekend.
x




22 comments:

  1. That does sound nice. I bought my wife an empty recipe book and she has been filling it in with her favourite recipes and a photo to go with it including a few of mine as well. What happened to the hens?

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    1. Hello Billy, We have had three small flocks of hens during the time we have been here, two lots of ex-battery hens and then the others were various breeds. The battery hens were a delight. They arrived bewildered and bald but gradually got used to the space on offer, the dogs, cats and grandchildren. Wonderful characters, each and every one. They all died of old age after enjoying several years of freedom, they were very good layers, too.

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  2. What a fabulous book cover, and a great idea to pas it on. I wanted my Nana's cookbook but my Mum threw it away when they moved house! (because - she said - it was falling apart) I hope your generations cheish it for you.

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    1. Hello Tigger, What a shame. Well used and tatty recipe books are the best kind, especially if they are family ones. Have you made one of your own? Thanks for calling by.

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  3. It will be cherished, I'm sure if not by an offspring then surely by someone who finds it in a used bookstore.

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    1. Hello Marcia, Quite funny to think that it could end up in a used book shop - and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it did! I hope you are well.

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  4. I think your cookbook pages cover is wonderful.

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    1. Hello Joanne, It kept me occupied for an hour or two during a thunderstorm - Toby gets very stressed by thunder so I have to keep things normal and calm for him.

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  5. I just adore the tweedy hens, what a treasure trove of an idea. The cover alone is already a family heirloom. Truly lovely. Now about this recip. how much coconut? I might just wang a couple of spoonfuls into my sourdough recipe and see what happens, what do you think Elaine?

    LX

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    1. Hello Lettice,
      Dash it all, I just wrote a lengthy reply and lost it as the internet connection dropped out. For one and a quarter pounds of bread flour I added 3 oz desiccated coconut which had been heated in milk and then strained dry, the milk made up to half a pint to mix. It does taste amazing, and it toasts brilliantly. Back to your sourdough - surely you don't need to guild that lily? Coconut bread is wonderful, but a good sourdough is hard to beat...

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  6. Love the cook book cover - definitely something to pass down the family - puts my ring folder, poly-pockets and cuttings and scribbling to shame.
    The coconut bread sounds very strange - I'll take your word for it re the taste

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    1. Hello Sue, Your ring folder sounds extremely practical, perfect for the kitchen. I agree that coconut does sound like an odd thing to add to an enriched dough, but it really works - and it is nothing like eating a naked bounty bar, honest!!

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  7. Dear Elaine, I like your new cook book cover and am inspired to do the same. More and more folks are storing their recipes online but I prefer the old fashioned way. Your Owl Wood sounds enchanting! No foxes or raccoons to feast on the hens! 💖

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    1. Hello Susan, We used to worry about foxes, especially as I sometimes used to see them in the barley field next to the woods, luckily they didn't bother our hens at all, although our next door neighbour was not quite so lucky. When I walked the dogs around the wood the two cats, plus several of the hens would follow, in single file. We made an amusing sight, especially when I also had a couple of grandchildren with me. I think I have a photograph somewhere.

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  8. Your cook book cover is really lovely and should be a treasured family heirloom. The bread looks delicious.

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    1. Hello Geneaknit, Thank you. It was fun to do and I enjoyed working some of the story into it. I promise you, that bread is a very nice addition to my repertoire, for those days when I just want to do something slightly different. Thank you for stopping by.

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  9. Replies
    1. It really is excellent - and makes the most splendid toast.

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  10. I have always thought one of the best things to pass on to the next generation are the favorite family recipes. And in such a sweet book. :-) How I loved reading about Owl Woods. It was soon after I moved to the country and was so inspired by you to get to know our little woods better. And now it is the first place I head to each morning. It's so nice that there were three owls born there this year. We have a lone turkey that sleeps in our woodlot every night high in the maples. She must have been shunned by her flock; I feel bad for her. I always leave her a treat each day and hope she will find a mate again. Enjoy your summer, Elaine.

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    1. Hello Deb, That lonely turkey found her way to the perfect home, if anyone can make up for being shunned, it will be you. I hope you and your beautiful family are all staying well during these difficult times. Owl Wood has certainly lived up to its name, such beautiful creatures! The Jackdaws are a nuisance, but very handsome and they make me laugh at their ability to solve problems - just wish they were not quite so noisy. Have a lovely summer.

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  11. Such a beautiful cover, I fell in love with it and hope it remains in your family for generations to come.

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    1. Thank you, mamasmercantile! It would be lovely to think so, although my daughter is not at all interested in baking or cooking. Perhaps my granddaughter will love it, for the memories of all the fun we have which it should evoke.

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Lovely to hear from you.
I will try to answer comments in the next post.