Jammy Smiles Biscuits

This weeks baking boredom buster is the  accomplishment of making a jammy dodger or in my case a jammy smile. I am mastering my skills I hope to make a Victoria sponge cake one day whilst this is not hard in some peoples eyes, I am rather late to the baking and cooking bandwagon, but as they say you are never to old to learn new skills.



125g unsalted butter or low fat spread
75g Caster sugar or sugar substitute
200g Plain flour
1-2 semi skimmed milk or skimmed milk
Tea spoons of strawberry or raspberry jam or infact any jam for the number of biscuits that you bake.
Icing Sugar to dust ( optional)


1. Preheat the oven to 180 C ( Gas mark 4)
Either line 2 large baking trays with greaseproof paper or my personal favourite use Lakeland Cake release on the baking tray.

2. beat together the butter and sugar. Add the flour and milk, and bring together until it make one big ball.


3 Divide the mixture into 4

Sprinkle your rolling pin and work surface with a little flour and roll until the dough is around the thickness of a one pound coin.

4 Using your desired cutters of choice cut out your desired shapes ( mine was smiley face shales from Lakeland )

5 Bake for 7-9 minutes till the biscuits are slightly golden brown around the edges 

. Leave on the trays to cool, then transfer to a cooling rack.

6. Now you can just leave it at jam in the middle but you don't want to do that do you ?!

7 Treat yourself and make some buttercream and then place the jam on top ! Jamtastic

 100g butter, 200g icing sug, up to 1tbsp milk 1tsp vanilla. Beat butter, beat in icing sugar & vanilla, add milk til fluffy.

You feel sad that happy little smiley is going to it's dome don't you?

Nahhh

Tales From The Black Country Museum

The Black Country Living Museum is an open-air museum of rebuilt historic buildings in Dudley in the West Midlands of England. It is close to Dudley Castle in the centre of the Black Country.

Places like this this quite frankly see me torn between my Heritage Conservation qualification and love of history , architecture and archaeology. You are stepping back in time and through the countless building you will explore , there are people who will explain the times to you with many actually remembering the times. The houses are complete with furnishings as they were, the ambiance is completed with cobbled streets and the detached small plots of garden, the outside toilets ( I had one at my old Edwardian house) also there is a irony mongers, blacksmiths etc . 

An absolute much is a visit to the fish and chip soap of which there are two but be prepared to queue can get fish and chips (fried in beef dripping, the proper way my husband tells me , or vegetable oil elsewhere in the village). Years ago you used to be able to buy the batter bits from the when they fried the fish but for some reason they stopped ! so be sure to ask for 'scratchings( the batter bits) if you so wish. 

At the pub you can  treat yourselves to faggots and peas and all sorts of amazing sweets, cakes and drinks. There's a pub on site, as well as cafes and all sorts of old shops from throughout the ages.There is a cafe which is pricey but you are welcome to bring your own food and eat that at the locations round the museum.

You are able to take a trip on the canal this a payable extra and is well worth it , who doesn't love the gentleness of a canal trip.

I feel sad when I see the products and efforts of our industrial past rusting away , but least here it is saved for us to see our imperial heritage.

Our past hidden and lost but saved here in the Black Country Museum.

Take a stroll down an Victorian street.

You can hear a sermon in the Chapel on special Sundays.

Ideal for families even with pushchairs though you'll not obviously get a pushchair in some of the small houses , young children might be afraid of the walk in mine where you will don a hat hat and hold a torch ( lantern) and travel down the mine to view animated models describing what life was life working down the mine and how dangerous it was.

I downloaded a 2 for 1 voucher from voucher cloud ! It's amazing what a bit of poking round in the net will do. I bought the child's ticket separately on line and was able to use the voucher for us adults when we got to the museum. 

Save money by buying your Museum tickets online

Ticket type	On the door	Online
Adults	£15.95	£14.35
Concessions*	£12.75	£11.45
Young people (5-16 years)	£7.95	£7.15
Children aged 0-4	Free
Family ticket  (2 adults and up to 3 young people) Small Family ticket (1 adult plus up to 3 young people)	£45.00 £32.00	£39.95 £28.80
Carer	£7.95	£7.15
Car parking	£3.00

Group rates are available for parties of 15 or more

Optional canal tunnel trips and fairground rides available at additional charge. (Please note, the fairground is partially closed for servicing and restoration work and will reopen on 1 April.l).

* Concessions pricing applies to:
Seniors - 60+; Students with NUS Card; Jobseekers

Without proof of eligibility, you will be asked to pay our standard admission fee.

Failure Is The Ultimate Success

Failure is the ultimate success.

Strange .

I think that failure makes us stronger , I've failed ,so many times you wouldn't believe .

Failure on so many levels.

Whilst not to dwell on failure , it's made me better.

Blogging wise yes I've upset the apple cart but I've come through it you are not going to see eye to eye with all and you can't make folk like you.

Shyness I don't think I'll ever get over my social shyness or awkwardness like not moving to go to toilet till the cinema lights go down.

To those who say but you seem so confidant,  I think my shyness is my ally it  is like the angel and devil sitting in your shoulder ,it is and and always will be a conflict of emotion.

 "When niggling things in life all of a sudden make sense  , it reall does make you make you remember what life is really all about . *lightbulb moment* this quote is from Alice Hassell 

So will you Stand By Me ?

Through thick and thin.

Fight the fight.

Or not as failure is my ultimate success.

Birds Eye Inspirations #BirdsEyeBloggers

" I am honoured to be part of the #BirdsEyeBloggers program, and if you need me I'll be in my office."

Jack Black the cat age 5

And as such I've been given some vouchers to try their new range , we all know that time is previous in these modern times and as such Birds Eye want us to enjoy better meals together. And this is why Birds Eye have launched two exciting and innovative new products ~. 'Fish Chargrills and 'Chicken Inspirations'

I hasten to add it isn't the cat who is part of #BirdsEyeBloggers !

Despite what he might think !!

Fish Chargrills provide a light healthy option within the 'Inspirations ' range offering delicious chargrilled fish with less than 3% fat. Fish Chargrills will be available in three variants , including Sunblushed Tomato , Basil & Oregano, Juicy Lemon, Rosemary & Thyme and Thai Coconut, LemonGrass & Chilli.

Fish Chargrills are available from at £3.49 RRP from most supermarkets quick get to the freezer section now !!!

Sherlock Holmes Museum : The Game Is Afoot.

Sherlock Holmes Museum

Though it's not the actual address this privately owned museum does a good job of bringing alive the stories of Sherlock Holmes and you get a real ambiance for the Victorian times.

The stark reality is that this building had a different street name and number in the days of Holmes creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Even today, the actual street address is 239 Baker Street, and the Sherlock Holmes Museum uses the fictional 221B address only by special permission of the City of Westminster. Nevertheless, this spot is worth a visit, and is a good starting point for Sherlock Holmes fans when visiting London. 

Though the museum is small , you are not rushed around it and it fires the imagination , everyone has a favourite Sherlock Immortalised by the time in which they grew up.

Obviously there is a shop and yes the deer stalkers are expensive , there are prices to suit all pockets and products to suit all tastes.

The cost of this museum is £10 for adults and £8 for children , there doesn't seem to be any discount for OAPs or disabled visitors. The museum is not suitable sadly for wheel chair users due to steep narrow staircases.

The museum is open everyday of the year except (Christmas day)

The nearest train Station is Marleybone.

The nearest underground is of course Baker Street.

And Sherlock Holmes has inspired us a family we've all read the books and seeing the various film and television adaptations adds to the excitement. In my mind a museum doesn't have to million pound exhibition and all technological , magic and mirrors, if you know Sherlock then the seed of sleuthing excitement is there , it never goes away.

When I talk about Sherlock it leads to be Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and in turn to Houdini, the fairies at the bottom of the garden the list goes on , learning and the thirst for knowledge never stops no matter how long in the tooth we get.

I remember seeing Jeremy Brett in a Sherlock Holmes on the stage and trying to explain what was happening to some puzzled Americans in the play Moriarty was an extension of Sherlock Holmes mind. I understood it at a young age but then again my life was and still is completely emerged in the world of Sherlock Holmes.

Though pressures would be on nowadays for Sherlock not to smoke his pipe !