Hearth and Home

Halfway through January and Winter is truly underway. It has been relatively mild although the forecast is for colder weather soon. This is when I appreciate hearth and home more than ever. Enjoying baking in my warm kitchen and snuggled up by the fire at night.

But then I have always appreciated being at home, no matter what the season. Home is the hub of all my activities. Gardening, cooking my produce, baking delicious cakes, knitting, painting, using my camera and writing my blog. All my treasured possessions have a place here and it provides me with a base for enjoying the things they enable me to do.

I enjoy creating. It’s lovely to have an item to use and appreciate when you’ve spent some energy. I have been knitting a warm jumper. A pleasant way to pass wet, cold, days when the garden looks forbidding. The needles are no longer clicking. I can actually wear it now. Here’s the result.

The colours are cheerful and cosy looking.

Since I last mentioned I was knitting, a few readers have told me that they would love to knit but can’t quite master it. My advice is to keep trying. It took me years to do it well. I can only cope with simple patterns , even now, and I still make mistakes if I lose concentration but it’s a very satisfying hobby when you persevere. Here are a few helpful hints which patterns never tell you.

Patterns don't tell you practical tips such as the following:
*With a highlighter, mark the number of stitches and rows throughout  the pattern for your individual size, before you begin. Saves confusion as you work.
*It's helpful to have a pencil and notepad on hand while you knit. Then you can mark off the rows while counting them. If you have to answer the phone, you will know where you are in your pattern when you return to your knitting.
*Always pull the yarn very tight when you knit the first stitch in every row. That way you will have a neat edge when the knitting is finished.
*When you begin or end a piece of knitting, leave a length of yarn so that you can weave it in with a darning needle when sewing the pieces together. That secures it very well and leaves no unsightly knots.
*Once you've mastered the basic stitches of knit and purl, casting on and casting off, you can tackle most things. Knitting small toys is often a good way to practice these skills. They're quick and simple and fun to do so you don't feel daunted by a huge project.

Don't give up. Invest in a good book of instructions if you find that's a good way to learn, and don't be put off by examples of fancy patterns. You don't need to do them! If you progress though, you might find them enjoyable.
I hope I can encourage you to keep trying. It's a nice way to pass winter hours. Please believe me, if I can do it, anybody can! I'm not a "natural", I have to work at these things.

The garden is included when I talk about the appreciation of home. It’s part of my feeling of being grounded and essential to my sense of who I am. I try most days to go into the garden, if only for a look around. Much of it looks soggy and dark right now but pretty little flowers are peeping out here and there and the snowdrops are pushing up. The bellis daisies are so fresh and appealing in their simplicity and the cyclamen announce their arrival with vivid colour. Won’t be long before the daffodils cheer us with their astonishing brightness.

I noticed a log with some weed leaves splayed beautifully over it. The texture of the bark was lovely to see and the fresh leaves were green and shapely.

Beauty is around us if we choose to look. It’s surprising where you can find loveliness if you notice small details.

I hope you’re finding lots of pleasurable pastimes during the dreary Winter. One pleasure is cooking warming and sustaining meals. Since Christmas I’ve been making a lot of my one-pan meals with simple, seasonal ingredients like carrots, sprouts, kale, celeriac and parsnips. Because I cook them all together in very little water, all the goodness and flavour are retained and they’re delicious. The vegetables combine well with potatoes or rice. Ideas, and instructions, are in my Earthy Homemaker’s Cookbook.

These can be meat or fish based or vegetarian and I’m inclining more and more to vegetarian versions. Some ground nuts or a handful of red lentils, added to the pan, make a nutritious and tasty alternative. Ideas are buzzing around in my head all the time.

Something I’ve developed recently is a small addition of yoghurt, creme fraiche, or soured cream. I wait until the vegetables are cooked then remove the pan from the heat and stir in a dollop of one of these. It combines with the stock and makes a flavourful sauce. A very satisfying meal to make and eat and so simple.