Retro Kitchens and Vintage Kitchenalia – A Little Girl’s Dream Comes True + Top Tips in the Kitchen

Retro Kitchen

– Retro Kitchens and Vintage Kitchenalia –

A Little Girl’s Dream Comes True!

A Shiny New Red Kettle

Plus,  Top Tips in the Kitchen

Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved to watch her mummy and grandmother bake – she sat on a stool in the corner of the kitchen and watched them weigh and sift before rolling and shaping……hand held whisks whirred and food mixers purred as breads and tarts,  cakes and scones emerged from that comfy kitchen. And, she knew in her heart of hearts that when she grew up, she wanted a kitchen JUST like that, a kitchen that was warm, and filled with love…….a kitchen that had a smart Formica table that would be groaning under the weight of cakes, buns, pies, tarts, scones, fancies, sausage rolls, fruit loaves, tea cakes, casseroles, stews, dumplings, bread, muffins, crumpets, fairy cakes and many more family favourites. Her kitchen would also be filled with all the latest gadgets, she could visualise it now……..there would be a “batterie de cuisine” to include: whisks, graters, blenders, food processors, ice cream scoops, cream makers, rolling pins, jelly moulds, pie moulds, scone cutters, sandwich cutters, pie dishes and trifle bowls…….toasters and kettle, she would have it all.

The Fully Fitted 1950's English Kitchen

There would be a shiny red electric kettle, she loved red when she was little, and a big food mixer that had a blender attached for milk shakes and creamy soups……the toaster would be big and take large slices of “door step” sized bread to toast, and it would be red again of course;  and, there would be a very handy hand-held whisk for her favourite jellied mousse. There would be a meat mincer too…….she had seen her grandmother grinding meat in one – attached to the table – the ground meat all ready for making cottage pies, rissoles, sausages and meat pies…….she had all of her desired appliances sorted in her mind, her kitchen would be a bastion of gadgetry for daily baking and cooking……people would admire the chrome breakfast bar stools as well as her “fitted cupboards”  and they would all leave replete and happy.

A "Bake" of Morphy Richards & Sunbeam Food Mixers and Processors, that's the collective noun for them!

Over twenty years passed, the little girl was now at university, living away from home and sharing a flat with other students for the first time……..the kitchen was sparsely furnished and gadgets were few and far between, But, her parents and grandparents came to the rescue, she WOULD have her gadgets for cooking and cleaning, as well as ironing and baking……..”spare” irons were discovered in the garage and old vacuum cleaners were dusted off from the back of the broom cupboard whilst trusty whisks, rolling pins, kettles and toasters were packed in old cardboard boxes and ferried to the new flat.  Ironing boards were tied to the tops of cars and old plugs were replaced with new ones……and, mum’s old enamel bread box was “loaned” to the student kitchen…….to house the bread for that classic of student dishes, “Beans on Toast”.

1948 Morphy Richards Safety Iron

And so we jump forward to the present day, that little girl finally has her own home with a family kitchen. There is NO chrome or Formica though, but soft mellow wood, practical marbles work tops with porcelain sinks and a warm cherry wood kitchen table  – her dreams have nearly been realised; modern electric gadgets jostle for position with much-loved old kitchen appliances – tactile old wooden pins nestle next to a shiny electric kettle whilst a four slot toaster takes pride of place next to an earthenware jar filled with hand-held whisks and wooden spoons………a much used electric Slow Cooker stands beneath a cupboard filled with old enamel pie tins and roasting trays……….there are only a few things left to complete the dream now;  a shiny new Food Mixer/Processor or maybe a Coffee Machine, and an electric handheld whisk would be nice, or a steam iron for super fast laundry days……….let’s face it, for a gadget fanatic, there is ALWAYS room for more “labour-saving”  appliances in the family home, oh yes, and there must be room for that shiny RED KETTLE!

Morphy Richards Food Mixer

I leave you with a favourite family recipe, one that is as popular now, as it was when I was that little girl, a recipe to celebrate the  Easter season and one that can be made in a Bread Machine, Food Mixer or Food Processor……..Hot Cross Buns……they can then be cut and toasted in your Toaster……..that’s GADGETS for you!

Gadget Made Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Buns

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Serves	12 Hot Cross Buns
Prep time	2 hours
Cook time	20 minutes
Total time	2 hours, 20 minutes
Allergy	Egg, Milk, Wheat
Dietary	Vegetarian
Meal type	Bread, Breakfast, Dessert, Side Dish, Snack
Misc	Child Friendly, Freezable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot
Region	British
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

A delicious traditional spiced, sticky glazed fruit bun with pastry crosses. Served as a classic Easter treat, the buns can also be enjoyed at any time of year.

Ingredients

• 450g strong white bread flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons mixed spice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 50g butter
• 50g caster sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon easy-blend dried yeast
• 210ml tepid milk
• 1 free-range egg
• 100g mixed dried fruit
• 25g cut mixed citrus peel
• 50g plain flour (for the crosses)
• 1 free-range egg (for the crosses)
• 30ml milk (for the glaze)
• 25g caster sugar (for the glaze)

Note

If you have a bread machine, you can start the dough in the machine up to the second proving stage. Add the dried fruit 5 minutes before the end of kneading or when your bread machine beeps.

Directions

Step 1	Sieve the flour, salt, ground mixed spice and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl, then rub in the butter using your fingertips. Make a well in the centre of the mixture, then add the sugar and yeast.
Step 2	Beat the egg and add to the flour with the tepid milk. Mix together to a form a soft, pliable dough. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Carefully work the mixed dried fruit and mixed peel into the dough until well combined. Knead lightly for 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic.
Step 3	Shape the dough into a ball and place it into the buttered/greased mixing bowl, then cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for one hour to prove.
Step 4	Turn out the proved dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knock back the dough. Shape it into a ball again and return it to the bowl, then cover again with the tea towel and set aside for a further 30 minutes to rise.
Step 5	Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then flatten slightly into a bun shape using the palms of your hands. Cover the buns again with the tea towel and set aside to rest for 5-10 minutes.
Step 6	Meanwhile, make the mixture for the crosses; mix the flour and egg to a stiff paste, but thin enough to pipe. Make the glaze too - heat the milk and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved and set aside.
Step 7	Place the hot cross buns onto buttered/greased baking trays, then place the tray/s inside a large oiled polythene bag. Tie the end of the bag tightly so that no air can get in and set aside in a warm place for a further 40 minutes to rise.
Step 8	Preheat the oven to 240C/475F/Gas 8.
Step 9	When the buns have risen, remove them from inside the polythene bag, and then spoon the flour and egg mixture into a piping bag and pipe a cross on each bun.
Step 10	Bake the buns in the pre-heated oven for 15 to 18 minutes, or until pale golden-brown, and when turned over and tapped on the underneath they sound hollow. As soon as you remove the buns from the oven, brush them with the sugar and milk syrup, then set aside to cool on a wire rack.
Step 11	Serve warm, split and spread with butter, or serve toasted, split and spread with butter. The cooked buns can be frozen for up to 3 months; allow 6 hours for them to defrost and serve as above.

Retro Kitchen Dreams

My Top Retro Tips in the Kitchen:

1. To save time, grate your cheese in on go, then store for up to 5 days in a sealed container in the fridge ready for instant cheese on toast and cheese sarnies.

2.  A dough hook that comes with a food mixer is an invaluable extra pair of helping hands in the kitchen – you can be preparing other things as the dough is being kneaded.

3.  A Slow Cooker is NOT just for stews and casseroles, I use mine as a “bain marie” for making lemon curd, melting chocolate as well as “steaming” classic British puddings.

4. To save on time and energy, two slices of bread can be toasted back to back, as long as they fit in the slot; half way through toasting, just take them out and put the toasted sides together, leaving the un-toasted sides to toast, simples!

5.  Place a piece of  heat proof glass in the bottom of  your milk pan, such as a heat-proof coaster, this will stop the milk boiling over; marbles work too!

6. Don’t throw the ends of your asparagus tips away after trimming, they make the base of a wonderful asparagus soup; sauté them in butter until soft and then add them to a vegetable stock, with other vegetables if using; then pulse them in a blender or with a stick blender just before serving to make a velvet textured soup.

7. A Rice Cooker is not just for rice; it also cooks soups and stocks to perfection, as well as cooking pasta and potatoes.

8.  A hand held stick blender makes amazing mayonnaise, I have the recipe here on my blog: Simple Mayonnaise made with a Stick Blender

I am submitting this as part of the bidding process to become a Morphy Richard’s Innovator in conjunction with Foodies 100.

Because I’m VERY innovative in the kitchen, love writing and developing recipes and I really want a shiny Red Kettle!