First a reply to a question.
Christine in Canada asks how I cook Pork belly slices. We usually have them in a Chinesey type recipe cooked in Hoisin sauce and eaten with stir fry vegetables. The recipe is
HERE
They can also be slow cooked in a stew.
Thank you to Dawn, Simple Living and John W for comments yesterday. It really was a horrible day yesterday but after a freezing start this morning, we have blue sky and sunshine today. Because of the rain/sleet/snow yesterday all sorts of things were frozen this morning - the chicken shed pop-hole - I had to hit it to loosen so I could lift it up. Then the plastic bins that we keep the wheat in had to be prised open and of course the water in their outside drinkers was solid.
I don't know if anyone else measures rainfall, but Col has been making a note of what rain we've had since he got his new rain gauge for Christmas and our total here for January was 65mm.
Here we go with more of the book shelf pictures from the alcove under the stairs
A strange selection on the top shelf of the narrow middle bay, natural history and random old books.
The new books in the middle were bought from The Book People to sell, but they were too good to let go of, so I sold some of my older books instead.
More natural history and a very old bird book that came from where? I have no idea. Just two of the River Cottage collection here. I did sell all the rest of these back in the days when we took books to shows.
Some favourites on this shelf above -
Animal,Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. This American author is more well known for her fiction but this is the story of how her family ate local for a year. Also
From Mother To daughter by Vivienne Bolton full of lovely ideas for your home through the year.
I'm not sure why I have 4 books by Peggy Cole. She is a well known local Suffolk lady and her books are often seen in charity shops. The two on the right
No Halt at Sunset and
Wheelbarrow Farm are interesting, they are both from the 1950s by Elizabeth Harland who wrote pieces for newspapers in Norfolk and Suffolk. I came across the first in a charity booksale and then looked for Wheelbarrow Farm for years ( this was before internet) and finally found it in Wigtown - Scotland's town of books - a long way from home. On the left is
Giles and Sue live The Good Life this was a sometimes funny TV programme a few years ago with Sue Perkins and Giles Coren trying to do all the things from the original Good Life TV programme. This is another book bought to sell and then kept when it didn't sell. - Hmmm no wonder we have so many books!
More interesting odds and ends ( and I've chopped off half the books too - stupid woman!).
The Puddles are Blue by Sheila Howes is an oddity as it was privately published by the author and sold only through The Camping and Caravanning Magazine and some local shops in Cornwall, it's the story of a family moving there to open a campsite. The books on the right by B. A Steward include Green Lane Farm which is the part fictional part factual story of the authors years in the 1930s on a Suffolk farm - where Cols Sister and husband now live. Our brother in laws father bought the farm from Mr Steward in the late 1940s.
Several old farming books on the bottom shelf.
The moons our nearest neighbour by Ghillie Basan is the story of several years spent on a remote Scottish farm where she began her career as a cookery writer. ( she now has umpteen books published about middle eastern cookery). I must read it again.
That's 84 more books plus 307 previously makes 391......so far!
I might have a bit of a break from book shelf pictures, I'm beginning to get embarrassed by just how many books we possess in this so called frugal household! Although they have been collected over 40+ years and very few have been bought new.
Back Soon
Sue
