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‘You’ve a bit of sugar at the corner of your lips, dear!’
Cook bustled past Ginger as she spoke, and made her way back to the stew pot. The lamb was bubbling away in a savory sauce spiced with onions and celery tops, a pinch of sage and little sprinkling of thyme. Into the pot she now scraped the bowls of cut up taters and carrots, and stalks of celery, chopped in chunks. Ruby had come in from helping Buttercup set up the outdoors table for the workmen, and began setting up the trays for the lunch tables. Crocks of sweet cream butter; baskets of thick cut, crusty bread; napkins and eating utensils; small pottery saltcellars, and peppergrinders. Pitchers, too, were got out which would hold the sweet, cold cider, and mugs to drink it from.
Blackberry cobbler was to be the dessert to round out the midday meal, and Cook had commandeered Ginger to wash the berries and put them in several large bowls. ‘Just sweeten them up with sugar from the pantry, and make sure you dust in some flour to thicken the berry juice when it bakes,’ she directed her.
While the young Hobbit set about following her instructions, Cook got out a quantity of flour and a generous helping of butter. Measuring the flour by eye into a large crockery bowl, she began to cut in a goodsized portion of butter until the mixture was rich and crumbly.
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