Bakery

The next place we went to was the bakery.

The lady there told us that some of us would make butter and some would make damper. Damper is a type of bread but it did not have yeast so that they could make it quickly.
I had made butter before but not in a proper butter churn. Ruth had a go turning the handle too.

First the cream gets really thick.

And then bits of butter start to form and the buttermilk is left behind.

The buttermilk drains out the little hole and I got to drink it.

I made the damper. It is made of flour, salt, baking powder and water. Dad said "with a little bit of sugar it would be a nice scone".

The oven is HUGE!!!!!! The pole in the bottom photo is what they use to get things in and out of the oven. So it gives you an idea of how deep it is. The oven takes up half the room. The fire is on the right and the chimney is on the left. So the heat goes across and heats the oven up. Once it's hot they let the fire go out and then put the food in. If they put the food in when the fire was still going the food might burn and it would have a smokey taste.

House keeping

Next we went to an old fashioned house where we did some of the chores that the children would have done.

She showed us how to wash the clothes. We used the wooden boards to scrub the clothes on.
Ruth and Hannah also enjoyed having a go. Then we got most of the water out with a rolling thing.

Then we did some ironing with very hot irons. This was NOT easy.

We also scrubbed a table.

We also tried to make the bed. It is so so difficult. There were so many sheets and blankets. They have lots of old things in the house like the baby's pram in the corner. They even had a chamber pot under the bed. YUCK!!! I am so glad we have toilets.

School

The last place we went to was the school house.

The teachers in those days were very strict. He showed us some of the outside games that the children used to play.

This was my favorite place even though he was so strict and cross.

It was nice that we had some younger children in our group (under 7) because we got to see how it worked. The teacher actually left the "infants" in the care of the oldest child.

Children 8 years and older got to use ink pens and do fancy writing. The ink pens were really difficult to use. Then we used a slate and a slate pen to do sums. At the end of the time the teacher hit a desk with his cane really loudly and we all got such a fright.

Lunch

It was fun using the water pump.

Then we had lunch. Yummmyyy. Mum made a really nice knotted loaf and she wrapped cucumber, butter, cheese and salami in paper for our picnic. After working in the store I know why Mum wrapped them all in paper.

I really enjoyed lunch.

We got to taste the damper with the butter on it. It was nice but I can't imagine eating that every day though.

Some of the mothers were also dressed up for the day.

I really enjoyed it and hope that we can come to Ferrymead again some time.

Korslose Melktert

Today I made Korslose Meltert (Crustless Milktart) on my own for the first time. My Mum got the recipe from her Dad (he made it often) and he got it from his mother. So it's from my great Ouma (Afrikaans for Grandmother). A milktart is a very typical South African desert or cake.

It was my first time to every separate eggs and Mum said I did a really good job.
The hardest part was beating the egg white by hand. I also did not enjoy having to put the pie dishes into the hot oven. The dishes are shallow and the mixture is very runny so I messed a bit. It was fun to sprinkle the cinnamon on afterwards though. I love this milktart. Have a look here for the recipe.

Caramel banana pudding

First you make a biscuit and butter base. 250g biscuit crumbs and 100g melted butter. Mix and press into a dish. Allow this to set in the fridge.
Then add a tin of caramel and sliced bananas.

Top with whipped cream.

Add some sprinkles for the finishing touch.
I loved doing it on my own. It is realyyyyyy jummmmmmmyyyyyyy.

Chocolate Crisps

I enjoyed making these cookies today but my arm got tired from stirring. I am used to using my Mum's electric mixer but this recipe you do by hand.
The fun part is making the balls and rolling them in sugar.

They are really nice. You can get the recipe here.