Coming home to ginger fizz

My sister Tricia recommended an Australian book to me recently - Coming Home by Cathy Armstrong. I was pleased to see it was published by my publisher - Lantern, an imprint of Penguin. It's described on the front cover as 'recipes for comfort food and cosy kitchen crafts'. Anyone my age and a little older and younger will recognise many of the crafts as being common in our childhood; those younger than us will love them for their 'vintage' appeal. I guess we're vintage ourselves now.  :- )

These first two photos are from the Coming Home book.

There are chapters on wonderful breakfasts, drinks, desserts, sandwiches, main meals, cooking for visitors and fetes/fairs. The design is fabulous and Cathy has dotted the book with a page here and there about her upbringing. It's interesting, warmly nostalgic, an easy read, and Cathy's recipes are wholesome and from scratch.

I tried her Ginger Fizz and I think it tastes very much like my ginger beer, but without the probiotics. Still, I loved the first batch, and while it won't replace my ginger beer, it's an excellent standby when you have guests coming and you haven't had the seven days it takes to make the fermented ginger beer.

GINGER FIZZ

• 50g/2 oz fresh ginger, grated
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup lime juice

Sparkling plain mineral water (or soda water) to serve, with ice.

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan with ½ cup water. Bring to the boil then turn down the heat and simmer for 5 - 7 minutes. Strain the liquid into a sterilised container and store in the fridge. You can use the ginger again for a second batch. The recommendation is to store for up to two weeks but I'm sure, with the sugar and lime juice, it would store for 6 weeks with no problems.

Serve your drink with enough ginger syrup for your taste and fill the glass with sparkling water and ice.

It can also be used as a soothing tea: add to hot water with a squeeze of lemon juice.

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And speaking of books, I still haven't publish my dairy book yet. It's finished but I have yet to publish it. Like everything else, I learn about these things as I go, so sometimes it's a slow process. Also, my brain isn't as nimble as it once was so the learning takes more time. I hope it will be out sometime in February.

And speaking of dairy, I picked up four litres of Guernsey cream from the dairy yesterday so today I'm making butter. I'll have a look through my stored cultures in the freezer later to see if I have the right culture for making cultured butter. If I do have it, that will be on our bread here for a while.

I hope you have a lovely day.