Monday Morning Book Club

Every lady should have one........a vintage Good Housekeeping manual and a Woman's Own Cook Book.

These were given to me by my mum who had them given to her by her mum, my dear grandma. The thing I love about these books is it's all good 'back to basics' stuff with some very funny words of advice like "instead of rushing about after eating, lie back and enjoy your breakfast in a leisurely fashion if you really want to put on weight"............!

As well as all the fabulous recipes, there are lots of practical tips for things like equipping a kitchen, using up left-overs, the kitchen store cupboard, the effect of cooking and storage on vitamins, what makes a balanced diet etc etc, anything you could possibly need to know to be a good little wifey.

The colour pictures highlight the trend for completely ridiculous decorated cakes and platters. Anyone who knows me will see how these books have influenced me when it comes to cakes and cheesecakes. Piping is king and I'm not shy of the odd bit of food colouring (natural of course) and 'styled' fruit to make a cake look truly 1960's.

But the best thing of all about these books is the hand written recipes at the back from mum and grandma and finding a really special recipe written on a scrap bit of paper from my grandma's mum. This is one for Elderflower Champagne. That's something I really treasure.