A breather

In between work, ferrying children around and household things, I've been dipping into a lovely new book, from which the image above is taken. Recipes for Every Day by Jane Cumberbatch is a cookery book, with extra homey bits. Alongside recipes for pies, shortbread, biscuits, salads, fish dishes and soups, there are snippets about gardening, making chair covers and how to hem without sewing.

I think Jane Cumberbatch's first book was Pure Style. I bought it in 1996 and I still refer to it. She has stayed true to her deceptively simple aesthetic. The photography in the book is excellent, and though some recipes are rather basic, there are some tempting new ones to try. I've already made her lovely fudgy, lemony cake, and I have my eye on the apple and ginger sponge as our Bramley tree is loaded with fruit this year. I'm having trouble uploading photos tonight, so I can't show you any more lush photos from the book, but I'll have another try tomorrow. In the meantime, here's something else I've been doing today:

My son is collecting his GCSE results tomorrow, and I really needed to calm my nerves. Knitting, very basic knitting, was the answer....I hope this might grow into a blanket over the winter months.