Oh no... you have been baking again.

My Nana was a fantastic old fashioned baker - yummy biscuits, cakes and scones.  I remember staying at her house one time and spending a day baking with her. She was a very 'neat' baker which is opposite to what I am. Back then she had a wood oven and so did my family. These ovens would heat the house, cook the food and heat the water. This was not in the dark ages but the 70's, 80's and 90's. My Pa was a wood merchant in the old days so wood was plentiful. It could be difficult to get cooking times spot on as you lost a lot of heat opening the door and depending on how well the fire was going the temperature could change. A great room heater though, I burnt many items of clothing and even my bum on our wood stove taking advantage of the heat.

Nana would bake every Friday and stock up on goodies for the week ahead. She and my Pa always had a sit down morning and afternoon tea and sometimes we would be lucky enough to be at her house just at the right time. If my Pa was out working he would take baked goods with him and a one litre bottle of cold tea (with tons of tea leaves in it) to wash it down with. We would often find these bottles of tea around the family property.

My nearly four year old son and I like to bake also. I am a messy baker and sample the product in the process (unless I am baking for someone other than my husband and son, then it is all seriousness). My son and I get tea spoons and dip them into the bowl, eat it, then dip in the back of the spoon and eat that. We usually end up with about three dirty spoons (but never double dip!).   Here I am, in the kitchen with flour everywhere and my son and I licking the spoon.  I can feel my Nana's disapproving looks from beyond the grave and have a giggle to myself. I think she would find it slightly amusing, but she would certainly have something to say about it.

As a child I would bake at home. I remember running the recipe book out to Mum to ask questions time and time again. Mum has two sets of the old Pyrex mixing bowls that I have fond memories of. A few months ago I had one of them sitting in my cupboard waiting to be returned - white and aqua blue. I really liked having it in my cupboard and have decided that I will start collecting a few for myself. Funny thing is I have likely come across lots in my travels and looked past them.

I picked up the Jadeite Fire King mixing bowl and pie dish (above) at the Lions sale we went to a couple of weeks ago. Again I paid eBay prices (more than I would normally pay at a garage sale) but I just love the colour. I have done a quick Google the markings it make it mid to late 50's. Check out this link if you are interested:

Fire King Jadeite

My son is not able to do much at the moment due to surgery he had on Monday. He asked to do some baking today. We made some vanilla biscuits and cut them into car shapes. My daughter has been quite clingy today so most of the baking was done one handed. You should see the mess we made! I just have to get it cleaned up before my husband gets home, I am getting tired of the comments such as 'oh no, I can see who has been baking again'.