If you are a mom or a grandmother, I hope that you had a wonderful mother's day celebration.
Despite that I have lost my mom and grandmother years ago, they have been living in my heart. I think about them all the time and keep reminding myself that they were both very remarkable women...
Are your mom or grandmother remarkable to you?
Although my grandmother is an uneducated commoner and not as famous as inspiring cooking guru like Margaret Fulton, she has always been an extraordinary person in my life. I enjoy recalling the moments that we cooked and baked together in her kitchen and how we shared our joy when we enjoyed our food... Like whenever my grandmother and I were munching on our goreng pisang (fried banana fritters) plus sweet potatoes and green bean fritters, the chatty me wouldn't stop yalking about the fritters. Actually, I was showing off to my grandmother telling her that I know the kind of fritters that she likes. Without saying much, my grandmother reciprocated by buying heaps of the goreng pisang that I always like.
I appreciate the feeling of growing up with my grandmother and can see the same kind of closely knit relationship in this book, Margaret and me by Kate Gibbs.
Kate Gibbs is a Sydney-based food and travel writer who grew up at the apron strings of her grandmother, Margaret Fulton. Margaret Fulton? I'm sure that every foodie in Australia know that Margaret Fulton is a legendary food writer and you can see all her astonishing achievements at here and here. Do you want to know how Margaret becomes one of Australia's national living treasures? In this book, Kate reveals the highs and lows from the life of her grandmother as well as her own experiences. This rich and priceless legacy has inspired Kate to what she is today... a new generation who continue the joy of cooking and see the importance of good and real food.
Margaret and me is not just a cookbook with recipes and it is also not just a biography or memoir with photo and stories. It illustrates the chronicle of Kate's foodie journey with the influence of Margaret with fifty meaningful recipes. Meaningful recipes? ... Meaning because every recipe in this book is not just well written with concise instructions and illustrated with beautiful photograph, each comes with a reminiscence like the warm kind of stories.
This classic scones recipe in this book is definitely one of those that I won't want to miss. It is the recipe that Margaret used to teach blind people how to use the new gas ovens when she was working at the Australian Gas Light Company. She had to teach the students to put their hands into the oven to check it hot enough, to hear the beeping of the 15-min timer and to tap the underside of the scones to reveal the hollow sound of scones that are done. I can imagine that this must be a challenging task... and it won't be happened without Margaret being such a devoted teacher.
Margaret Fulton's scones
Margaret and me by Kate Gibbs, newly released in May 2015
The classic scone recipe in this book.
There are only a few ingredients needed to make these scones and they are:
Margaret tweaked recipes, refining and perfecting for best results...
For her scones, she replaced milk with buttermilk to make them lighter
To combine the ingredients:
Important - Too much handling can make the scones hard and heavy!
Roll the dough to about 2.5cm (1 inch) thick.
Use a 4 cm cutter to cut rounds in the dough.
Margaret is right! This small cutter is the best size to make the most perfect dainty scones.
Bake these at 230°C (preheated oven) for 15 mins or until golden.
I have baked 12 scones in total and this is half the amount of the original recipe.
I can smell that the scones are perfectly done!
I can't wait and need to try one immediately! When I split one up, I was like "Wow"!!!
It is crusty on its outside and so moist and fluffy inside!
You can serve the scones warm with cream and jam.
,,, and I always like my scones with homemade strawberry jam :)
Yum... What a beautiful recipe!
Like Kate, I'm proud of my grandmother. Are you?
I know this feeling...
I miss my ah ma.
I know. I know. We have reached this part of my post that you might be asking for this fantastic recipe...
I'm sorry that I have agreed to the publisher that I can't publish the recipes in this book in this book review.
However, if you really wish to bake these scones, please read my post in details, you will see that you can actually bake these scones without a written recipe as I have fully illustrated the process of baking these scones very thoroughly to you. *Hint*
In regardless, if you are like me who really like Margaret Fulton, Kate Gibbs and enjoy reading their stories, I would strongly encourage you to buy this newly published book. It is selling at a retail price of AUD$39.99.
Before ending this post, I like to thank Murdoch Books for giving me this opportunity to do this review. I like to make a disclaimer here that I'm not paid to do this and like to share my most honest opinions with everyone who read this review.
Happy Baking
Don't forget that I'm giving away this book, ABC Delicious Bake by Valli Little. This giveaway is open to ALL international readers and the submission ends on 19 May 2015. Good Luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
