Presents.

I have a new toy,

and what better way to christen it than this,

I know its a bit similar to Turkey, but I do enjoy a free-range Chicken. And there's enough left for several meals in the freezer, plus a good litre of stock.

I had some frozen stock veg left over so added them to the bones and boiled it for a couple of hours,(camera got a bit steamed up)

 

I got nearly a litre of stock, it'll go into the freezer in these plastic water bottles,

For Xmas, I also got James Morton's book 'Brilliant Bread', which I thought I might try a few things from. First up was the Marmite Bread, which sounds a bit radical but actually came out really well.

 

Maybe not as risen as I had thought, but super tasty, I'll definitely be doing that one again.
I also found a recipe for easy French Sticks, using Plain Flour. (Thanks to Pattypan and her Pinterest)  As the oven was on, I had a go, and while the shaping was a bit wonky, the taste made up for it.

We were dog free for a week, whilst we decorated, but it's nice to have them back.And as you can see, they have got the best seats again. Bless!