Author: Mrs Madden

• 150g/5oz/1 cup plain flour
• 25g/1oz/3tbsp cornflour
• 50g/2oz/1/4 cup caster sugar
• 115g/4oz/1/2 cup butter

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 (I have a fan oven so I set mine at 150C).  Brush two baking sheets (or a circular cake tin with a push out base) with a little oil.
2. Put the flour, cornflour and sugar in a bowl.  Cut the butter into pieces and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Mould to a dough with your hands.
3. Either, roll out dough on a floured surface to a 5mm thickness or press dough into greased cake tin using the back of a tablespoon and use the back of a fork to decorate around the edges and stab with the fork several times in the centre.  If you have rolled out the dough, stamp out shapes with small biscuit cutters.
4. Transfer to the baking sheets or put the cake tin in the oven.  Cook the biscuit shapes for 10-12 mins.  Cook the one in the cake tin for about 20 mins.  Once the biscuit shapes are cooked, transfer them to a wire rack to cool.  Once the shortbread in the cake tin is cooked cut it into eight even pieces before it cools, then allow to cool.

 

 I have been looking for wildlife in my garden today – I saw a peacock butterfly and a wood pigeon.  Have you seen any wildlife in your garden or from your window?  If you have, I would love to see a photo on the blog even if it is just some ants or a blackbird or a bumble bee.   Mrs Madden.

       This is the fallen sycamore tree where I’m, currently, getting my wood for whittling.  It is much easier to whittle with green (fresh) wood rather than old dried wood because it is much softer.  However, you do have to be careful not to bring it into a warm, heated environment (i.e. inside) too soon as it can dry too quickly and crack.

       This is the piece of wood I am using to make a spoon.  As you can see, I have removed the bark and split the branch in half.  There is a soft, pithy core in the middle of sycamore branches and this needs to be removed before you start whittling.

      I have made a template from a piece of an old cereal packet.  I drew around my branch piece and cut it out then I folded the card and drew half my spoon and cut that out – this is so that the spoon will be symmetrical.

This is some of my whittling.  I had hoped to do some whittling with some of you on Big Thursdays but now I’m going to have to show you on this blog.
This is the equipment I use.  The banjo shaped thing is my seat, I have cut resistant gloves, some horse bandage to protect my thumb, a penknife, a small gouge and some sand paper.

This young man has been making all sorts of things in food technology.  He really enjoys chopping up vegetables.  He makes sure he checks through the ingredients on the recipe.

This young man has been working hard to use ‘In, on and under’ – he can put the spider in the box, on the box and under the box.  He can say which one it is and match picture cards to the correct action.