My mother just gave me the old battered notebook in which my grandmother wrote down the recipes she collected through her married life. It is more than 70 years old, according to Mum, and it’s obviously been well used through that time.

Most of the recipes were handwritten in pencil and are fading badly, and the pages are crumbling away beneath my fingers…

So go the family memories, as time rolls on. My grandmother is long gone, and my mother, the youngest of her siblings, is now well into her senior years. Of the large family who enjoyed the dishes that Grammie prepared from her personal recipe collection, there are only two left: my mother and one of her brothers.

Over the next few months, I’ll be trying to transcribe these old recipes so that they are not lost – and I’ll post the best of those recipes here on DomestikGoddess.com.

(If you’re not already a subscriber and you want to follow along, click here to get blog updates by email (you can choose between a weekly round-up or “as it happens” delivery) as I share my grandmother’s old recipes — along with oodles of other Domestik goodies.)

Want to dine like a high-born Brit?  Eating Royally: Recipes and Remembrances from a Palace Kitchen is my latest cookbook crush: a beautifully produced, full-colour hardcover by Darren McGrady, one-time personal chef to the households of HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Princess Diana. 

More than 100 recipes, along with personal photographs and touching memories of his years with the royal family make McGrady’s book both a highly readable memoir and (perhaps surprisingly) a source of the kind of time-tested family meals we’d actually cook for our own families.

The Royal Chef

Trained at the swank Savoy in London, McGrady’s tenor in the Royal Kitchens began at Buckingham Palace in  1982, serving as personal chef to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, and traveling with the royal family to Windsor Castle, Sandringham House,Balmoral Castle, and around the world on the Royal Yacht Britannia. (I suppose even the nobility are vulnerable to shipboard buffets, on a cruise?)

In 1993, he moved to Kensington Palace to become private chef to the Princess of Wales, where he was in charge of  the daily food preparation for Princess Diana, Prince William and Prince Harry, as well as catering luncheons and dinners for their many distinguished guests.  That idyll lasted four years – until 1997, when the lovely and sad Diana (easily the most photographed woman and one of the highest profile celebrities in the world at the time) died in a tragic car crash, pursued by the paparazzi. 

McGrady has cooked for no less than five US Presidents in his notable career, and now lives in the United States.

Kate and William’s Wedding Cake

If there’s a wedding in your plans, it might be fun to put Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding cake on the menu.  The now-famous Chocolate Biscuit Cake – the groom’s cake for the royal wedding – is  just one of the fabulous recipes included in this cookbook (page 31). 

No, really – think about it!

You’d have not just a royally special cake to serve for a life-changing occasion, but a dessert that would get even your crowd-shy guests chatting together at the reception, sharing memories of the 1980s, of the glamorous Princess Diana, and of the significance of all those special recipes that are passed down from generation to generation within our own families.

Royal Recipes… with a Story

Some of the collected recipes in Eating Royally were “comfort food” to various members of the royal family, while other recipes are more the fancy fare served to guests or on holidays and other festive occasions.  Some of my own favourites:

• Eggs Drumkilbo – Lobsters and shrimp meet eggs and vine-ripened tomatoes in this favourite dish of the late Queen Mother; it was also served at the 1973 wedding breakfast of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips.
• Christmas Pudding – I mention this now, as the “prep time is 3 months to 2 years”: the generous aging time is to give the dark beer, dark rum, brandy and other rich flavours in this traditional recipe time to develop  and mellow.
• Coffee Mousse – It’s made with chocolate-covered coffee beans!
• Crepes Islandaise – The Duke of Edinburgh was served crepes with heavy whipped cream and seedless raspberry jam on a state visit to Iceland; he liked the dish so much that he asked for the recipe.
• Goujons of Salmon with Tyrolienne Sauce – Regular readers will know I’m a mad fan of salmon (a taste I share with Prince Andrew, it seems), but you can make this with almost any kind of fish that takes well to being breaded. The garnish is interesting – fried fresh parsley!

But even more interesting, I think, are The Royal Chef’s notes and stories of life with the Windsors, and particularly of “The Royal Year” in which they moved from residence to residence, and the menus changed with the seasons.  To be sure, Chef McGrady had me turning pages quite avidly from the start of Eating Royally, where, opposite to an autographed “to Darren with love” photo of a blue-jeaned Princess Diana, he tells of landing his plum gig in the Royal Kitchens – can’t you just imagine the damp palms and rapid heartbeat, as he went for that job interview?!

No dogs allowed at your digs? No worries! Thanks to British knitwear designers Sally Muir and Joanne Osborne — the clever chicks who created that famous bright red “black sheep” sweater sported by Princess Diana back in the 80s — you can knit your own faithful companion.

The patterns in Muir & Osborne’s spiffy book, Best in Show: Knit Your Own Dog, put a well-behaved pet well within the reach of every fairly capable knitter. Choose the dog breed that’s closest to your heart, from 25 available patterns.

• Afghan Hound
• Basset Hound
• Border Collie
• Cocker Spaniel
• Corgi
• Dachshund
• Dalmatian
• English Bulldog
• English Bull Terrier
• French Bulldog
• German Shepherd
• Jack Russell
• Labrador
• Miniature Schnauzer
• Old English Sheepdog
• Poodle
• Portuguese Water Dog (isn’t that the official Obama family dog?)
• Pug
• Red Setter
• Rough Collie
• Scottish Terrier
• Siberian Husky
• West Highland Terrier
• Whippet (size it up for a Greyhound, maybe?)
• Wire-haired Fox Terrier

Clear instructions and beautiful photographs, as well as useful tips on selecting yarn and giving a real personality to your knitted dogs, make the book a real pleasure. Be aware though, that although the dogs are toy in size, these do requires a lot of shaping and piecing together of miscellaneous bits, so you probably won’t want to give the finished product to a kid to play with. Think “collector’s item” instead, for admiration and display.

This just in from Crafters News (Crown):

You’ve knitted their colorful blankets, sassy nightgowns, adorable baby bibs, dishtowels, and more, but did you know that Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne of Mason-Dixon Knitting fame are actually country singers in disguise?

Give a listen to Kay and Ann on the Nashville Bandwagon Show, performing their side-splitting-funny country song “Pardon Me (I Didn’t Knit that For You)”.

This musical gem was part of the whoop-up launch of the new (affordable!) paperback edition of Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitter’s Guide: Stories, Patterns, Advice, Opinions, Questions, Answers, Jokes, and Pictures.

Now, doesn’t that make you want to rush right out and… knit up something cosy for the one you love?

If it broke you up to say good-bye to the Shiba Inu litter whose “Puppy Cam” webcam broadcasts stole hearts through the holidays, fear not — a new pooch passion’s here. Once again, we’ve got a chance to watch fuzzy adorable pups of exotic breeding as they romp and snooze and rip apart toys in the nursery — awaiting the time of weaning and adoption — but this time it’s a litter of Thai Ridgeback puppies.

Online video chat by Ustream

If you’re still pining for the Shibas, however — and who wouldn’t? — you’ll be glad to know that the original Puppy Cam madness continues. Richard Gere and the Puppy Cam Shibas are teaming up in a remake of Hatchiko, the Japanese tale of a brave and faithful little dog…

I’ve not seen the Japanese film, but a dear friend with whom I shared the love of a Shiba for a number of years gave me a copy of a children’s book called Hachiko Waits that tells the dog’s story — and if you’re a dog lover, and if you’re lucky enough to come across a copy, I’d grab it. (And if I were a publisher, I’d be haggling for the reprint rights, before the Hatchiko movie is released!)

This photo album probably qualifies as a “developmental toy” for your infant, but much more important, it could do wonders for Happy Family Togetherness a few years down the road…

We usually think of baby photograph albums as something like Granny’s “brag book” stuffed with pictures of the adored new grandchild, but Baby’s My First Photo Album of Family and Friends really is designed for Baby.

What a clever idea, this little cloth-covered book! Especially with families all spread out over long distances, the way we so often are these days… Fill the wipe-down vinyl protective pages with up to fifteen 4×6 photos of family and friends — all the important people in your child’s life, who might not be there every day to make the goo-goo noises and play with him.

Hint, hint:
Tell your toddler all your fond memories of crazy-but-loveable old Auntie Jen as you turn the pages together at bedtime, and he won’t have forgotten her when the family gets together next holiday time!

DJ reminds me that one of his all-time favourite T-shirt dealers is teaming up with the Dewey Donation System — “Helping Books Find Libraries Since 2003″ — to help buy some much-needed books for public libraries.

He’s Dewey!
He’s a decimal!
He’s got book hair!

Here’s the deal:

Buy a fine jersey Dewey shirt from Glarkware, and they’ll donate 100% of the price to this year’s book drive charities — the Rockhouse Foundation and Children’s Institute.

This campaign ends at the end of February — so get in fast!

Because kids really need free access to lots and lots of books if they’re ever going to make their way in the world.

And empty libraries, apparently, make Dewey cry…

Welcome back to our Food-and-Drink aficionado, Guilherme Zo’C, guest-posting with another fresh perspective on all things edible from his home in Italy — a look at a healthy and delicious cuisine that blends the best of two continents. Enjoy! ~ Jen

The Mediterrasian Way:
The World’s Oldest Health Revolution

I have just finished reading The Mediterrasian Way, a book I was willing to read since before it was published. The book is the brainchild of Ric Watson and Trudy Thelander, a couple from New Zealand who also run a site called Mediterrasian.

I first landed on Mediterrasian.com about two years ago, googling for a recipe of Pesto Genoese (which can be also found in page 278 of the book) and was first impressed by the gourmet approach to food, rather than plainly copied and pasted recipes we usually find when looking for food.

In total amazement, it might have taken me an hour before I realized the main purpose of the site was healthy food rather than gourmet food. In fact, not even that, the site was about healthy living.

Ric and Trudy are supporters that Mediterranean and Asian (thus Mediterrasian) diets are the healthiest in the globe, and also delicious, so it is like they live on a permanent diet — and are loving it.

As an added benefit, the fact that it is plain natural to eat like they do, not only delicious and healthier, but probably even more practical than regular western medical or weight control diets.

The book is beautiful from the very cover and is not just a collection of recipes. The first part explains the Mediterrasian philosophy, backed up with medical facts and history, and an actual plan to follow a Mediterrasian way of life for 14 days. (As someone currently living in Italy, I can say living like this for far more than 14 days is anything but a pain!) The second part is a catalog of delicious recipes showcased with beautiful pictures that, by a historical coincidence, happen to be great for your health.

The approach of the book is brilliant and it is so delightful to read that you actually want to get into the kitchen to put in practice. And the good news is that you should, because this is not a candy book that has to be enjoyed in moderation. This book can be enjoyed in every single meal and, in fact, I would recommend that.

“Welcome to the world’s oldest food revolution,” they say, and so it is. There is little need to look for synthetic ways to become fit and healthy if we start by not choosing to be unhealthy in the first place.

Guilherme is a Web Designer and works freelance in northern Italy. His past work life includes also developing software prototypes for Sony Ericsson mobiles, teaching Photoshop, compiler design and photography. He is happily married to Anna, and in his free time he enjoys cinema, traveling, cooking and eating.

I’m angora.
Really.
You know, the fluffy stuff that gets up your nose?
Angora.

That’s the yarn that “comes from cute little bunnies that look for all the world like furry footstools with ears,” according to The Knitter’s Book of Yarn, Clara Parkes new book from Random House / Potter Craft press.

Okay, well, it’s not actually the book itself that claims I have the soul of a furry footstool… it’s a quiz that matches up Parkes’ descriptions of various yarn fibers with the major personality types.

So, if five quick questions about my yarn-based habits are anything to go by, this is a description of my essential inner psyche:

Angoras are eager to please and are highly sensitive. Flexibility and adaptability are your strengths and sometimes your weakness, as well. You are essentially a warm and feeling person, and little escapes your impressionable mind. You are generous with others and strive for harmony in your relationships.

Move over, Dr. Freud — we’ve got knitting needles, and we’re not afraid to use them!

Take the yarn quiz yourself, and you can see a preview of the book — plus download a high-res button image (like my angora bunny badge, but of course the one for your own personality fibre) to print out with pride — plus you can order up a real button when you sign up for the uber-tempting Potter Craft newsletter.

Now, tell — which fiber are you?

I just came across this “non-traditional book” in the Potter Style (Random House) line-up — the Holiday Motif Box of Boxes. Basically, it’s 9 self-folding boxes, 12 stickers, 12 wrap bands, and 12 sheets of tissue paper, all done up in a festive holiday motif.

With three size options, you can mix and match bottoms, tops, ribbons, and stickers to create the perfect presentation for the perfect gift.

At $16.95, it may be a smidgen steep for the DIY’er who likes to create and fold her own custom boxes — but such a dandy item for the gift-wrap-impaired male (we won’t mention names) who’d want a special presentation for a tiny hard-to-wrap gift… Like, oh, say, a breathtakingly-expensive handmade charm bracelet…

I’ve been dying for an excuse to talk about the book I’m reading right now, but I know before starting that my words can’t do this novel any justice. Today’s gentle prodding by my favourite archivist, however, is motivation to try…

The idea of the 161 Meme is to take the book from your bedside table, open it to page 161, and share the 6th sentence on that page.

I like this!

It reminds me of my grandmother, when she needed inspiration or had a problem to solve — closing her eyes, she opened her Bible at random and dropped a finger onto the page. The verse that was thus chosen became her guidance.

As usual, if you’d like to play along, please do leave a link in the comments and share what you’re reading right now!

Page 161, sixth sentence — okay?

Here’s mine:

The Stone Carvers
Jane Urquhart
2001
trade paperback published 2002
Emblem Editions (McClelland & Stewart)
Canada

In its most simple terms, The Stone Carvers is the story of immigrants and artisans and of Canada before the Great War and in its aftermath.

More intimately, it’s the story of seamstress-turned-stone-carver Klara Becker, her brother Tilman whose soul is tormented by wanderlust, and the small German-settled village in Ontario where they were born to a family with creative talent — the women exercising their skills in fabric, the men creating angels in wood. Tilman disappears; Klara falls against her will in love with a beautiful silent Irish labourer-boy; and the world is plunged into war.

On page 161, the 6th sentence is this:

And then she remembered, crossed the room, and stood for some time staring at the engraved shape of the pattern she had drawn — all that was left of him now — and she recalled what her grandfather had told her about the likeness of medieval knights in full armour being drawn with a chisel on their marble burial slabs.

Jane Urquhart’s darkly beautiful novel speaks of memory and loss, obsession and art, and the human hand upon Nature — creating and destroying, together.

Above all, I’m enthralled by the way that Nature weaves itself into the essence of these characters, who in turn shape the landscape to fit their needs and dreams; and everything that man and Nature created together is blasted apart — then strangely reborn — in that small distant part of Canada in the midst of France, 100 hectares of battlefield ground and a massive white monument at Vimy Ridge.

It’s a compelling story, one of those you can sink into and read compulsively, reading slowly so the story won’t end yet driven to turn the page. But if you’re looking for a Hollywood-style adventure story or breathless bodice-ripper, move on.

The Stone Carvers rises from a tradition of allegory, legend, fable…

The individual characters are less important, in a conventional modern-literary sense, than the roles they inhabit and the images with which they create and are created.

In this world, silence speaks. Physical spaces rather than words define the people who carve out a place in the wilderness, stay and work there, or escape to journey on. Love comes with chains and good intentions. Images are memory. Touch can be dangerous, unpredictable, like a spark to a fuse.

But ghosts and angels walk together, in this many-layered landscape, and magic is made by human hands. There is hope for redemption.

You know grosgrain ribbon, right? That sturdy multi-purpose ribbon with strong ribs going across it?

Striped, solid, or even printed with polka dots though it may be — yeah, you know grosgrain when you see it.

Grosgrain ribbon makes a regular appearance in our old family photo albums — mostly in striped ribbon belts with D-ring buckles, worn low on wide-belled hip-huggers or tight at the waist to cinch in a polyester shirtwaist dress.

My mother had an apron trimmed with apple-green grosgrain at the hem and pocket, too, as I recall…

That’s no doubt why grosgrain ribbon says “1970s” to me, more than any other material — except perhaps Mylar wallpaper… and Formica surfaces with tiny metallic flakes… and guitar-driven rock, played very loud…

In short, it’s a shortcut to retro decor style, with a bright new twist.

All this comes to mind because I’ve been looking through John Loecke’s new book, Grosgrain Style: Quick and Creative Projects for Accessorizing and Decorating with Grosgrain Ribbon, dropped into my dainty white hands this week by Random House, the publisher.

Designer John Loecke shows how to use grosgrain ribbons to trim almost any item of domestic decor… from glassware to picture frames… from chandeliers to slipcovers…

He divides the projects up into chapters by room, esssentially, but makes the point that a lot of cross-over is likely to happen, once your imagination gets playing with ribbons.

I think my favourite project of those showcased in the book must be the small-scale ribbon belts… used as casual napkin rings!

This comes from a designer whose own closet boasts a rainbow of ribbon belts, grosgrain ribbon watch bands, key fobs, you name it… So of course there’s even a chapter here on using grosgrain to funky-up your own personal accessories — necklaces, bangles, canvas sneakers, totes, and of course those classic D-ring grosgrain ribbon belts.

At the very end of Grosgrain Style is a section of Ribbon Notes and Resources — easy to find when you need to look something up, because the edges of the pages are printed as if bound with a bright green grosgrain ribbon.

And in here, in the Glossary of Basic Tools part, I found a piece of pure gold:

Sold on rolls and in a variety of widths, this double-sided, pressure-sensitive adhesive holds like glue without the mess… And, unlike glue, Sealah tape is washable, and because it’s both acid- and lignin-free, it will not yellow over time, changing the color of your ribbon.

Am I the only person on the planet who didn’t know of this magical Sealah tape?

But I digress…

This is intended to be more of an inspiration book rather than a step-by-step instruction manual, but I think the designer-author achieves both of those purposes to some degree.

In Grosgrain Style, John Loecke inspires with a bright host of project ideas (beautifully photographed by Wendell Webber, by the way) and gives the basic techniques and materials information that you need to take those ideas as a starting point — to run away with the grosgrain concept, and make each project your own.

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