Martha's Marvellous Munchies

Well, we've had sicknesses and successes, soups and stews, sunshine and sn...frost.  I've been doing lots more writing and trying to figure out how to get people to give me money for it.  And we went mining.  Actually, this photo is us in an old lime kiln, on a suitably atmospheric camera setting. Toby - got some glasses!  Unusually for our family, he isn't short-sighted, but has some astigmatism.  Children's glasses have got much more trendy since I had them; he has Star Wars and Minions. - won first prize in his class for the Children in Need bake off at school. - has been trying to teach me "ninja" moves, which is quite fun. - got the sick bug which has been going around, and has been off school for a few days. - designed a (belated) jack o'lantern and a table centrepiece for Thanksgiving. Our mini Thanksgiving dinner Theo Cafes with Kids out-takes - decided to go to preschool happily after half term. - has twice...

Do you remember playing with a magnifying glass on a sunny day?   That curved piece of glass you held in your hand captured the scattered rays, narrowing them down to a fluttering patch of brightness.   And all the light’s power was held in that one small circle, shrinking and shrinking… until finally you were rewarded with a sudden curl of smoke, and a neat charred hole. Imagine, then, that God, seeking to reveal himself on earth, condensed his essential being through some kind of celestial magnifying glass.   That wavering point became smaller and smaller, losing none of its power… until it became the exact size of a human baby, growing in a womb. Jesus is the image of the invisible God, says the verse in Colossians, the perfect reflection of God’s glory.   This is the first and greatest reason that Jesus came: to show us what God is really like.   Yet sometimes, reflected and refracted through 2000 years of history, the image that Jesus shows...

Well, the Christmas cake is made, a nativity play has been written, and that all means it must be getting close to.... Advent!  In fact, closer than you might think; because Christmas Day is a Sunday this year, that means the first Sunday of Advent is the earliest it can be, on the 27th of November.  The church has to fit its four Sundays in, you see, even though the calendars limit themselves to 24 days.  Don't tell the kids, or they'll be wanting an extra five days of chocolates. The main reason that all interests me this year is because I've decided to write a series of four Advent reflections, one for each Sunday.  So watch out for the first one on here in 10 days!  The theme is Jesus' incarnation, which turned into a set of rather neat prepositions: Jesus came to earth - to reflect God to us to suffer with us to die for us to be glorified over us If you or anyone you know would like a pdf copy, to print, email or otherwise distribute, please do ...

It's been feeling more and more autumnal, with chilly mornings and drifts of yellow leaves underfoot.  We celebrated Toby's birthday (and several of his friends' birthdays - it's been party season!).  The whole of his school somehow squeezed into our small village church for harvest festival, and we've been collecting conkers, sweet chestnuts, apples and quinces.  Theo is still chatting away and trying to help with everything, sometimes more successfully than others!  And we welcomed all the grandparents for what seems to be becoming the traditional joint October half term visit. Toby - celebrated his 6th birthday with a long-awaited party at Jangala soft play.  He's been asking for his party to be there since June at least! - really enjoyed the Winnie-the-Pooh books for bedtime stories, and we've now moved on to a Paddington omnibus.  After that I'm thinking Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , perhaps. - collected lots of conkers! ...

Last week was a busy baking week.  Toby turned six on Friday, so of course I had to make him a chocolate cake - or maybe two!  Fortunately he requested a simple design, because then a friend asked me to make a christening cake for her daughter and a birthday cake for her husband, on the same weekend.  Suddenly every available surface started filling up with baked goods... So here's Toby's - a 6 with sprinkles in.  Basically the same as Theo's 2 earlier this year, except that I didn't sneak courgettes into this one.  We took this to his party at a local soft play centre, and I made a little one as well, for his birthday tea the evening before. The christening cake was a Madeira sponge, from my tried-and-tested list of recipes.  I was reminded just how long it's been since I've done any serious piping with royal icing, as I struggled to get just the right consistency.  It was slightly on the solid side, but ju-u-ust about squeezed through the no...

I have spent over an hour writing, deleting, and re-writing a beginning to this post.  Somehow it is refusing to get written.  But after all this I'm determined to get down something which expresses a little of what I'm thinking, even if a full explanation has to wait.  So I give you this, from Matthew Henry's commentary on Hebrews 2: Let those who dread death, and strive to get the better of their terrors, no longer attempt to outbrave or to stifle them, no longer grow careless or wicked through despair. Let them not expect help from the world, or human devices; but let them seek pardon, peace, grace, and a lively hope of heaven, by faith in Him who died and rose again, that thus they may rise above the fear of death. ( Source ) And this from me: Life is precious and precarious.  Do the best you can with it.  But if you have any faith in Jesus and his resurrection, death is not the worst thing that can happen.  Please don't pray as if it is. (I...

It was the annual Macmillan Coffee Morning recently, raising money for the cancer support charity.  I had a couple to go to, at Toby's school and at Theo's playgroup, so I flicked through my recipe books and came up with these.  They are based on a recipe from sensational cupcakes by Alisa Morov, which has all sorts of interesting flavours (green tea cupcakes, anyone?)  This is a lovely combination. Apricot cupcakes with ginger buttercream Cupcakes 50ml whole milk 4 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 225g plain flour 190g sugar 1 tsp baking powder 200g butter 140g packet chopped dried apricots Buttercream 200g butter 400g icing sugar 1 tbsp milk 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger crystallized ginger, to decorate Preheat the oven to 170C.  Mix the milk, eggs and vanilla in a jug.  In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and baking powder.  Make sure your butter is nice and soft, then add it to the dry ingredients with half of the egg mixture. ...