I love pumpkins. Adore them! I have so many pictures of pumpkins that I have torn from old magazines or newspapers, squirreled away in the pages of other books. I love it when they print a picture of a whole wheelbarrow full of nobbly oddly shaped squash, in a myriad of shades of orange. Every year we have a pumpkin carving party, and every year I am sad when I finally have to throw mine out.
I love how cool they are to the touch, and I find it so hard to choose which ones to take home. They all call to me, and they all seem to have their own personalities somehow.
Imagine my delight, when ahead of the shelves-crammed-with-pumpkins season, I discovered an unprepossessing box of petite pumpkins with dull orange mottled skins, rather than the bright crayon-orange that you usually see; the box was labelled ‘culinary pumpkins’.
For reasons I cannot quite put my finger on to explain, this tickled me immensely. And it got me thinking…although I do love a handful of pumpkin seeds to snack on, and I do make a nice pumpkin and sage risotto, I don’t really cook with pumpkin. And really, I should.
Perhaps it was serendipity then, that at the food fair at Cressing Temple this weekend, I walked into a little room all draped with black cloth, and filled with pumpkins, and tasters of delicious treats such as scones and muffins…there in the middle of all this pumpkin-ness was a table of pumpkin recipe books, and the author there to sign them!
Even better, the recipes were all in English measurements…perhaps it is unspeakably lazy of me, but I always find myself daunted when I have to convert from cups to ounces!
I snapped one up and the lovely lady signed it for me, then I took it home to dream of all the pumpkins I shall be cooking. Pumpkin scones are a must, I think, as well as Pumpkin Juice, straight from the pages of Harry Potter!
As I re-read this post, I feel that I have not properly described pumpkins. Smooth, but gnarled is perhaps one way of sketching them for you, but I feel sadly let down by the thesaurus when it comes to their colour. It suggests ‘apricot’ ‘coral’ ‘salmon’ and ‘tangerine’ as alternative words for orange. Not one of those is even close! Perhaps ‘pumpkiny’ is the best word of all?
In the continuing spirit of all things pumpkiny, I have nearly finished one side of my pumpkin tea cozy. When it is finished, I shall post pattern and pictures, and be sitting down to a nice hot pot of tea, and a plate of pumpkin scones.
Before I must say goodbye for the evening, I must tell you how utterly scrumptious it was to pop out at tea break time this afternoon, and scrunch and scuff my way through a whole pile of fallen leaves that were all dry and brittle and gloriously autumnal! The scuffling-scrunching reminded me of the sound the chocolate chips made as they were stirred into the cookie dough on last nights Nigella Express!
Tuesday, 16 October 2007
Saturday, 13 October 2007
A Book...
...some of you (Flossy! Chris!) have been so kind as to tell me that you enjoy my writing, and that you would read a book if I would write one.
Well, I will share a secret with you. It is one of my dearest dreams in the world to write a book. And since Flossy's comment, I have been mulling ideas over in my mind. I have an idea....for a book. A Bedside Book. A book of scrumptious ideas, recipes for hot milk and 'z' shaped biscuits (to send you to sleep, you see....zzzzz...get it?!) and pages for you to scribble your dreams, and short stories and so many things!
I just wanted to share this particular dream with you to say thank you for your kindness! I just wish I could sit with you all and share a nice afternoon tea to say thank you for visiting!
Well, I will share a secret with you. It is one of my dearest dreams in the world to write a book. And since Flossy's comment, I have been mulling ideas over in my mind. I have an idea....for a book. A Bedside Book. A book of scrumptious ideas, recipes for hot milk and 'z' shaped biscuits (to send you to sleep, you see....zzzzz...get it?!) and pages for you to scribble your dreams, and short stories and so many things!
I just wanted to share this particular dream with you to say thank you for your kindness! I just wish I could sit with you all and share a nice afternoon tea to say thank you for visiting!
A Bad Case of Popcorn Brain
You know how when you get a good idea, or inspiration strikes you, it feels like your brain goes ‘ping!’? Well a day at Alexandra Palace at the Knitting and Stitching show results in so many ‘pings’ that it makes you feel like your mind is a popcorn maker!
I often get a mild case of popcorn-brain when reading my favourite blogs, or reading comments left for me here. Tash at www.vintagepretty.org gave me a big ‘ping’ when she left me a comment to say that she makes two Christmas cakes- one to eat and one to slice up to give to visitors so they have a little bit of Christmas to take home with them.
Yesterday I had a case of extreme popcorn-brain. There is so much to see at the Knitting and Stitching Show. Not just the stalls and the exhibitions, but the people too. I saw so many examples of hand-knitted clothes, jewellery that had been made by the wearer, home-made clothes, or even shop bought things that had been put together beautifully. I also saw far more younger people there this year- although I usually go on Sunday, so I don’t know if the school girls are there every year and I miss seeing them, or if it is a newer thing. It is great to see though!
One of the best things is that you don’t have to like a particular craft or project or work to be inspired by it. There were so many things that Mum and I said that we wouldn’t want to make ourselves…or perhaps have it in our homes….but it had given us a great idea for something else using a similar technique, or colour, or almost anything!
The thing that made me smile most was a stall that was selling glitter. Rather than having it in tubs, it had giant plastic champagne glasses, and each glass was filled with a different colour of super fine glitter. Even better they had beautiful, unusual colours, and you could buy it by the scoop. I have found myself really being drawn towards orange recently, so I came away with a scrumptious little bag of pumpkin-coloured spangly treasure!
A stall selling hand-knitted tea cosies then made me think that if I were to knit one in orange, then crochet a stalk and some leaves in green, I could make a pumpkin tea-cosie! So I have been to the market today to procure some double knitting wool in different shades of orange, and I hope to cast on tonight when I am home from work and snuggled on my sofa in front of Strictly Come Dancing!
We had perhaps the most unusual picnic, but it really was utterly scrumptious! There were no seats at all, so we decided to go to the champagne bar, buy a glass of bubbles each, and eat there. Alas, although there was champagne a-plenty (don’t think us toooo decadent! We took our own lunch which paid for the champagne which was £5 a glass!) the seats were oh-so-high barstools, which is no good when you are little ladies like us, and your feet won’t reach the foot rest! We would have just slip-slithered off, so we took our glasses, and perched on the edge of some steps in the Palm Court, and sipped our drinks beneath some enormous Palms! Not very unusual so far? Well consider our sandwiches- cold liver and bacon! I am sure there must be plenty of nose-wrinkling going on now, but really it is our favourite! We finished off with slices of ripe pear, fig, and Satsuma segments, then headed back into the fray.
There was a truly amazing silk and velvet flower stall, where I splashed out on the most amazing bunch of violets, tied together with green ribbon just the same colour as their stalks. I adore violets, and these look so real that you just have to bury your nose in them in the hope you may catch the hint of their scent!
I also chose out a pattern book to make decorations out of red and white felt, with a little embroidery and blanket stitch, embellished with a button or too. That and some craft magazines were what filled my shopping bag, but my brain was overflowing with ideas that I had gathered!
When we got back to the coach, we made ourselves cups of tea! Mum had packed her thermos full of hot water, and a bottle of milk (in a cool bag!) and I had bought along the teabags, cups and a teaspoon! Never has tea been so reviving! We had one cup each while we were waiting for the others in our coach party to return, then another poured before we set out for home. Utter bliss!
I hope you are all having a really lovely weekend. I am looking forward to posting all about the food fair tomorrow, and hoping that I can say I have cast on my pumpkin tea-cosie! I am also hoping that my copy of ‘The Gentle Art of Domesticity’ will have finally arrived from amazon. A week overdue, and two phone calls….and they didn’t use Royal Mail! I really do need it, you see- it looks so divine! And Jane who wrote it, also writes one of my favourite blogs. Why not make yourself a nice pot of tea and pay a call to www.yarnstorm.blogs.com
I often get a mild case of popcorn-brain when reading my favourite blogs, or reading comments left for me here. Tash at www.vintagepretty.org gave me a big ‘ping’ when she left me a comment to say that she makes two Christmas cakes- one to eat and one to slice up to give to visitors so they have a little bit of Christmas to take home with them.
Yesterday I had a case of extreme popcorn-brain. There is so much to see at the Knitting and Stitching Show. Not just the stalls and the exhibitions, but the people too. I saw so many examples of hand-knitted clothes, jewellery that had been made by the wearer, home-made clothes, or even shop bought things that had been put together beautifully. I also saw far more younger people there this year- although I usually go on Sunday, so I don’t know if the school girls are there every year and I miss seeing them, or if it is a newer thing. It is great to see though!
One of the best things is that you don’t have to like a particular craft or project or work to be inspired by it. There were so many things that Mum and I said that we wouldn’t want to make ourselves…or perhaps have it in our homes….but it had given us a great idea for something else using a similar technique, or colour, or almost anything!
The thing that made me smile most was a stall that was selling glitter. Rather than having it in tubs, it had giant plastic champagne glasses, and each glass was filled with a different colour of super fine glitter. Even better they had beautiful, unusual colours, and you could buy it by the scoop. I have found myself really being drawn towards orange recently, so I came away with a scrumptious little bag of pumpkin-coloured spangly treasure!
A stall selling hand-knitted tea cosies then made me think that if I were to knit one in orange, then crochet a stalk and some leaves in green, I could make a pumpkin tea-cosie! So I have been to the market today to procure some double knitting wool in different shades of orange, and I hope to cast on tonight when I am home from work and snuggled on my sofa in front of Strictly Come Dancing!
We had perhaps the most unusual picnic, but it really was utterly scrumptious! There were no seats at all, so we decided to go to the champagne bar, buy a glass of bubbles each, and eat there. Alas, although there was champagne a-plenty (don’t think us toooo decadent! We took our own lunch which paid for the champagne which was £5 a glass!) the seats were oh-so-high barstools, which is no good when you are little ladies like us, and your feet won’t reach the foot rest! We would have just slip-slithered off, so we took our glasses, and perched on the edge of some steps in the Palm Court, and sipped our drinks beneath some enormous Palms! Not very unusual so far? Well consider our sandwiches- cold liver and bacon! I am sure there must be plenty of nose-wrinkling going on now, but really it is our favourite! We finished off with slices of ripe pear, fig, and Satsuma segments, then headed back into the fray.
There was a truly amazing silk and velvet flower stall, where I splashed out on the most amazing bunch of violets, tied together with green ribbon just the same colour as their stalks. I adore violets, and these look so real that you just have to bury your nose in them in the hope you may catch the hint of their scent!
I also chose out a pattern book to make decorations out of red and white felt, with a little embroidery and blanket stitch, embellished with a button or too. That and some craft magazines were what filled my shopping bag, but my brain was overflowing with ideas that I had gathered!
When we got back to the coach, we made ourselves cups of tea! Mum had packed her thermos full of hot water, and a bottle of milk (in a cool bag!) and I had bought along the teabags, cups and a teaspoon! Never has tea been so reviving! We had one cup each while we were waiting for the others in our coach party to return, then another poured before we set out for home. Utter bliss!
I hope you are all having a really lovely weekend. I am looking forward to posting all about the food fair tomorrow, and hoping that I can say I have cast on my pumpkin tea-cosie! I am also hoping that my copy of ‘The Gentle Art of Domesticity’ will have finally arrived from amazon. A week overdue, and two phone calls….and they didn’t use Royal Mail! I really do need it, you see- it looks so divine! And Jane who wrote it, also writes one of my favourite blogs. Why not make yourself a nice pot of tea and pay a call to www.yarnstorm.blogs.com
Thursday, 11 October 2007
Morning of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness
Last night was not a good night. Every now and then, from out of the blue, I just can’t sleep. I was too hot, and also too cold. My feather pillow felt like lead. I couldn’t settle. All I could hear were my thoughts rushing round and round…
So this morning when I got up, my eyes were heavy, and I felt…muffled almost. Imagine my delight when the weather man said that it was misty outside…foggy even! How perfect that the weather should match my mood!
I love foggy mornings. I feel sorry for the commuters who will be stuck in traffic, but I love to watch it swirl about, see the silhouettes of trees blurred against the sky. That hazy sunshine, the scuffly leaves. Clouds of breath in the nippy air. Everything seems a little softer in the mist.
The weatherman also tells me that it is going to be turning chilly next week-perhaps we shall even have a visit from Jack Frost! Cool evenings mean snuggling up with a warm blanket, a good book and some comfort food. And what can be more comforting than utterly sweet and scrumptious Pineapple Upside Down Cake?
I love pineapple, partly for their beautiful knobbly exterior, partly for their heavenly scent and sweetness, but also because once upon a time, they would have been an exotic treat at the tea table. I like to think of the far away land where they have ripened to sweetness under a baking sun, even if I am just using a tin of pineapple rings! I first made this recipe when I was at school. The recipe says that the golden syrup and glace cherries are optional….but I think of them as rather a necessity!
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake- Perfect for a Snuggly Sunday Evening
First tie on your favourite apron, then put on a cd that makes you smile (the Puppini Sisters for me!)
Preheat your oven to 180oC, and lightly grease a 6-7 inch sandwich tin.
Arrange a small tin of pineapple rings prettily in the bottom, adorn with beautiful glace cherries (I usually buy the natural ones, but I find the brazen red of the dyed ones against the pineapple irresistible!) then drizzle over 2 tablespoons of golden syrup.
Cream 2oz of soft butter with 2oz of caster sugar, beat in an egg and then sift in 4oz of self raising flour.
Pour over the pineapple rings, then bake for 20-25 minutes.
Turn out upside down, and settle down to eat it with a steaming cup of tea and a jug full of custard…
I hope you all have some scrumptious things planned for the weekend. Tomorrow I am off to Alexandra Palace for the Knitting and Stitching Exhibition, Saturday I am working, and Sunday it is the Cressing Temple food fair, where I am hoping to buy some locally produced Calvados. A lot of recipes that have caught my eye recently seem to involve Calvados! And then of course, I shall be scurrying back home to make my pineapple upside down cake. Have a delicious weekend!
So this morning when I got up, my eyes were heavy, and I felt…muffled almost. Imagine my delight when the weather man said that it was misty outside…foggy even! How perfect that the weather should match my mood!
I love foggy mornings. I feel sorry for the commuters who will be stuck in traffic, but I love to watch it swirl about, see the silhouettes of trees blurred against the sky. That hazy sunshine, the scuffly leaves. Clouds of breath in the nippy air. Everything seems a little softer in the mist.
The weatherman also tells me that it is going to be turning chilly next week-perhaps we shall even have a visit from Jack Frost! Cool evenings mean snuggling up with a warm blanket, a good book and some comfort food. And what can be more comforting than utterly sweet and scrumptious Pineapple Upside Down Cake?
I love pineapple, partly for their beautiful knobbly exterior, partly for their heavenly scent and sweetness, but also because once upon a time, they would have been an exotic treat at the tea table. I like to think of the far away land where they have ripened to sweetness under a baking sun, even if I am just using a tin of pineapple rings! I first made this recipe when I was at school. The recipe says that the golden syrup and glace cherries are optional….but I think of them as rather a necessity!
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake- Perfect for a Snuggly Sunday Evening
First tie on your favourite apron, then put on a cd that makes you smile (the Puppini Sisters for me!)
Preheat your oven to 180oC, and lightly grease a 6-7 inch sandwich tin.
Arrange a small tin of pineapple rings prettily in the bottom, adorn with beautiful glace cherries (I usually buy the natural ones, but I find the brazen red of the dyed ones against the pineapple irresistible!) then drizzle over 2 tablespoons of golden syrup.
Cream 2oz of soft butter with 2oz of caster sugar, beat in an egg and then sift in 4oz of self raising flour.
Pour over the pineapple rings, then bake for 20-25 minutes.
Turn out upside down, and settle down to eat it with a steaming cup of tea and a jug full of custard…
I hope you all have some scrumptious things planned for the weekend. Tomorrow I am off to Alexandra Palace for the Knitting and Stitching Exhibition, Saturday I am working, and Sunday it is the Cressing Temple food fair, where I am hoping to buy some locally produced Calvados. A lot of recipes that have caught my eye recently seem to involve Calvados! And then of course, I shall be scurrying back home to make my pineapple upside down cake. Have a delicious weekend!
Friday, 5 October 2007
I Forgot The Caterpillars!
Deary me, how could I do such a thing? But I meant to tell you that on my walk into work yesterday, there were conker cases fallen on the ground, and they looked for all the world like great big fat spikey green caterpillars!
My walk into work this morning was half an hour earlier due to my early-friday-start, and it was the first real-and-proper-and-not-just-me-wishing-for-it-and-imagining-it-to-be-so autumn morning! It was cool, much cooler than it has been, and the light was bright and hazy, and all the colours slightly muted as it is when it is cooler. Quite beautiful. The light and shadows through the tree branches falling onto the leaves on the grass in the park made me wish I am better at painting. But at least it is all there to be breathed in, enjoyed, and framed in the mind forever.
Now I think this post is going to be one of those rummage-in-the-biscuit-tin jumbly sort of posts, but as long as you have a cup of tea to hand, I hope you will forgive me! I wish I had you here with me so I could offer you a biscuit, perhaps even a still-warm madeleine, to say thank you for the lovely comments you leave for me. To know that people out there choose to spend a few minutes of their day to visit me and read me, and enjoy it, that really makes my day. I don't think blogger has a way of counting how many of you visit me, so it is only when I read your kind comments that I know for sure I am not alone here! So really, thank you all!
I did manage to pick a Christmas Cake recipe the other evening. I was trying to choose between a Jamaican Rum Cake recipe I had found in a library book, Nigel Slaters cake from 'Kitchen Diaries', the new gingery recipe from this month's Good Food magazine, and Nigella's chocolate fruit cake that she made during her Christmas mini-series last year.
The gingery cake won! It sounded really nice- light and moist- and has a recipe for zesty orange marzipan to complement it. I got the dried fruit at lunch time, and I am going to steep it in ginger wine tomorrow, then make my cake on Sunday.
I love this time of year, the planning, the happy secrets, the mysterious parcels, the notebooks of lists, and pleasures anticipated.
I am really looking forward to a snuggly weekend. The plumber is coming (after three weeks!) to mend our shower. Although it has been wonderful to have so many scrumptious baths, washing my hair is so difficult as I just can't get water in my ears. He is to visit nice and early, leaving me plenty of time for puttering about, watching 'The Umbrellas of Cherbourg' on dvd, steeping my Christmas cake fruits in ginger wine, and maybe doing a little light baking.
Dear Carl and I are hosting 'brunch club' for our friends in a few weeks. I am going to be thinking about my menu for that as well. Our theme is 'Autumn' and I am going to serve an oven baked sage and pumpkin risotto, pea and parmesan risotto, and carrot, red lentil and cumin soup. For dessert I am planning baked chocolate and frangelico pancakes. To drink there will be cider or apple juice, and I am thinking about making some marzipan and chocolate acorns to hand round with coffee. Oh, I just love having people visit!
Now, I am off for some visits of my own, to my favourite blogs!
My walk into work this morning was half an hour earlier due to my early-friday-start, and it was the first real-and-proper-and-not-just-me-wishing-for-it-and-imagining-it-to-be-so autumn morning! It was cool, much cooler than it has been, and the light was bright and hazy, and all the colours slightly muted as it is when it is cooler. Quite beautiful. The light and shadows through the tree branches falling onto the leaves on the grass in the park made me wish I am better at painting. But at least it is all there to be breathed in, enjoyed, and framed in the mind forever.
Now I think this post is going to be one of those rummage-in-the-biscuit-tin jumbly sort of posts, but as long as you have a cup of tea to hand, I hope you will forgive me! I wish I had you here with me so I could offer you a biscuit, perhaps even a still-warm madeleine, to say thank you for the lovely comments you leave for me. To know that people out there choose to spend a few minutes of their day to visit me and read me, and enjoy it, that really makes my day. I don't think blogger has a way of counting how many of you visit me, so it is only when I read your kind comments that I know for sure I am not alone here! So really, thank you all!
I did manage to pick a Christmas Cake recipe the other evening. I was trying to choose between a Jamaican Rum Cake recipe I had found in a library book, Nigel Slaters cake from 'Kitchen Diaries', the new gingery recipe from this month's Good Food magazine, and Nigella's chocolate fruit cake that she made during her Christmas mini-series last year.
The gingery cake won! It sounded really nice- light and moist- and has a recipe for zesty orange marzipan to complement it. I got the dried fruit at lunch time, and I am going to steep it in ginger wine tomorrow, then make my cake on Sunday.
I love this time of year, the planning, the happy secrets, the mysterious parcels, the notebooks of lists, and pleasures anticipated.
I am really looking forward to a snuggly weekend. The plumber is coming (after three weeks!) to mend our shower. Although it has been wonderful to have so many scrumptious baths, washing my hair is so difficult as I just can't get water in my ears. He is to visit nice and early, leaving me plenty of time for puttering about, watching 'The Umbrellas of Cherbourg' on dvd, steeping my Christmas cake fruits in ginger wine, and maybe doing a little light baking.
Dear Carl and I are hosting 'brunch club' for our friends in a few weeks. I am going to be thinking about my menu for that as well. Our theme is 'Autumn' and I am going to serve an oven baked sage and pumpkin risotto, pea and parmesan risotto, and carrot, red lentil and cumin soup. For dessert I am planning baked chocolate and frangelico pancakes. To drink there will be cider or apple juice, and I am thinking about making some marzipan and chocolate acorns to hand round with coffee. Oh, I just love having people visit!
Now, I am off for some visits of my own, to my favourite blogs!
Wednesday, 3 October 2007
Natures Jewellery Box of Wonders
It is another grey, wet, drizzly day here. But oh, what a scrumptious walk into work I had, anyway. Perhaps it was a good thing that I did not realise it was raining until I stepped out of my door, or maybe I would not have been as receptive to it being a lovely day!
I hurried into my pink flowery raincoat, put up my favourite purple umbrolly, and set off for the library. The first thing that took my breath away was a spiders web. It was just opposite what has been a builders site for the last year, and it was caught in the spokes of a bare twig. Where it had been raining, every strand of web was shimmering, alive, highlighted and glistening, and it looked like the most precious necklace imaginable.
Then, a few minutes and splashes further down the road, amongst a background of gloriously sludgy greenery were the most acidic orange berries possible. I could swear that they were not there yesterday, although they must have been, but tiny as they are, they just command your attention as you walk by.
The walk was paved with fallen leaves all so many hughes, but just past the school there were some that were the most beautiful yellow. They reminded me of a ripe pear, somehow.
Walking through the park was special too, all the trees were dripping, and all the colours were faintly hazy. Even the ducks thought it too wet, as one scurried across the path ahead of me looking most disgruntled!
It seems to have stopped now, so I am going to take home with me the most delicious library book that arrived for me this morning-'Christmas Crafts' isbn 9781905825332 it is Scandinavian, and utterly lovely. It has a whole chapter on Christmas cakes, so tonight I am going to settle into bed early with a steaming cup of tea, this book and my other Christmas recipe books, and choose which cake I shall make this year.
I hurried into my pink flowery raincoat, put up my favourite purple umbrolly, and set off for the library. The first thing that took my breath away was a spiders web. It was just opposite what has been a builders site for the last year, and it was caught in the spokes of a bare twig. Where it had been raining, every strand of web was shimmering, alive, highlighted and glistening, and it looked like the most precious necklace imaginable.
Then, a few minutes and splashes further down the road, amongst a background of gloriously sludgy greenery were the most acidic orange berries possible. I could swear that they were not there yesterday, although they must have been, but tiny as they are, they just command your attention as you walk by.
The walk was paved with fallen leaves all so many hughes, but just past the school there were some that were the most beautiful yellow. They reminded me of a ripe pear, somehow.
Walking through the park was special too, all the trees were dripping, and all the colours were faintly hazy. Even the ducks thought it too wet, as one scurried across the path ahead of me looking most disgruntled!
It seems to have stopped now, so I am going to take home with me the most delicious library book that arrived for me this morning-'Christmas Crafts' isbn 9781905825332 it is Scandinavian, and utterly lovely. It has a whole chapter on Christmas cakes, so tonight I am going to settle into bed early with a steaming cup of tea, this book and my other Christmas recipe books, and choose which cake I shall make this year.
Monday, 1 October 2007
Rainy Monday
Oh, have you seen it out there?! It is gray and hazy and damp and wet....a real rainy Monday. Hurrah! For tonight it means you can settle down in your favourite corner, snuggle up, and be cozy and really enjoy the evening. Sometimes just hearing the tip tappity tip of rain on the window is all you need to make yourself feel that bit extra snuggly!
And what better to do tonight, than to crochet something lovely to snuggle in, while breathing in delicious baking smells coming from the kitchen? Here for you, just as I wrote them way back then (2004!) are my recipes for a scrumptious shawl, and a delicious iced banana loaf. Enjoy!
Saturday May 15 2004
Oh yes, and I made the most fabulous banana cake ever. This is going to be my whip-up-in-a-minute-use-up-the-elderly-bananas-cake!Iced Banana LoafCooking Time: 1 hour 10 minutesOven Temp: Gas 4, 180 C or 350 F200g/8oz Self Raising Flour1/2 tsp Salt1/4 tsp Mixed Spice100g/4oz Butter or Margarine400g/1lb Ripe Bananas150g/6oz Caster Sugar100g/4oz Chopped Mixed Peel50g/2oz Roughly Chopped Walnuts2 large eggs, beaten lightlyFor the Icing:100g/4oz icing sugarAbout 1tbsp hot water1) Grease a 600g or 1 1/2 lb loaf tin.2) Sieve the flour, salt and spice into a bowl.3) Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.4) Stir in the remaining dry ingrediants.5) Peel and mash the banans, and add to the bowl.6) Add the eggs.7) Stir well until all mixed. A fork is good for this.8) Pour into the tin.9) Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes. 10)Check by sticking a skewer into the middle, or a knife. If it comes outclean, the cake is done. If not, keep giving it ten minutes more untilit is.11)Allow to cool.12)Mix the icing sugar and water, pour over and allow to set.Yum! Give it a go, it is really nice, and it slices well. Had mine with a cup of tea and ER.
Friday May 21, 2004
By coincidence, Lisa who I salsa with, and I have both been looking for crochet patterns for shawls. We both decided we wanted a triangular lacey one, so we can not get sun burn but dont have to cover up too much. Well I discovered a pattern, and tried a few stitches, and before I knew it I had the beginnings of a shawl, which is growing ver quickly. I am using a pale blue sparkly yarn which I had bought for a scarf, but it did not look good as a scarf at all. It seems to be making a good shawl though- hope to finish it over the weekend so I can wear it to salsa Monday. I now have visions of all different coloured shawls, some beaded....Here is the pattern. You will need several balls...so make sure you can buy more if you dont get enough the first time. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I have enough!You need a 3.5mm or 4.5 mm hook.Start by chaining 8 stitches, and joining with a slip stitch to make a ring. Make 7 chain, double crochet into the ring. (The space in the ring) Make 3 chain, double crochet into the same ring space. Make another three chain, and this time treble crochet into the ring space. Now turn the work, so you are starting the next row from the right, working towards the left. At this point you should have a ring, with three rings along the top of it. You follow this pattern now, to make the shawl as big as you like. Each row:chain 7, double crochet into the first ring space. In each of the remaining ring spaces, chain 3, double crochet. Into the last chain space (the one you just double crocheted in) chain 3 then treble crochet.It grows really quickly, is nicely triangular, and looks like lots of little scalloped shells. It looks like it should be easy to add beading, fringing etc to.
Happy Rainy Monday!
And what better to do tonight, than to crochet something lovely to snuggle in, while breathing in delicious baking smells coming from the kitchen? Here for you, just as I wrote them way back then (2004!) are my recipes for a scrumptious shawl, and a delicious iced banana loaf. Enjoy!
Saturday May 15 2004
Oh yes, and I made the most fabulous banana cake ever. This is going to be my whip-up-in-a-minute-use-up-the-elderly-bananas-cake!Iced Banana LoafCooking Time: 1 hour 10 minutesOven Temp: Gas 4, 180 C or 350 F200g/8oz Self Raising Flour1/2 tsp Salt1/4 tsp Mixed Spice100g/4oz Butter or Margarine400g/1lb Ripe Bananas150g/6oz Caster Sugar100g/4oz Chopped Mixed Peel50g/2oz Roughly Chopped Walnuts2 large eggs, beaten lightlyFor the Icing:100g/4oz icing sugarAbout 1tbsp hot water1) Grease a 600g or 1 1/2 lb loaf tin.2) Sieve the flour, salt and spice into a bowl.3) Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.4) Stir in the remaining dry ingrediants.5) Peel and mash the banans, and add to the bowl.6) Add the eggs.7) Stir well until all mixed. A fork is good for this.8) Pour into the tin.9) Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes. 10)Check by sticking a skewer into the middle, or a knife. If it comes outclean, the cake is done. If not, keep giving it ten minutes more untilit is.11)Allow to cool.12)Mix the icing sugar and water, pour over and allow to set.Yum! Give it a go, it is really nice, and it slices well. Had mine with a cup of tea and ER.
Friday May 21, 2004
By coincidence, Lisa who I salsa with, and I have both been looking for crochet patterns for shawls. We both decided we wanted a triangular lacey one, so we can not get sun burn but dont have to cover up too much. Well I discovered a pattern, and tried a few stitches, and before I knew it I had the beginnings of a shawl, which is growing ver quickly. I am using a pale blue sparkly yarn which I had bought for a scarf, but it did not look good as a scarf at all. It seems to be making a good shawl though- hope to finish it over the weekend so I can wear it to salsa Monday. I now have visions of all different coloured shawls, some beaded....Here is the pattern. You will need several balls...so make sure you can buy more if you dont get enough the first time. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I have enough!You need a 3.5mm or 4.5 mm hook.Start by chaining 8 stitches, and joining with a slip stitch to make a ring. Make 7 chain, double crochet into the ring. (The space in the ring) Make 3 chain, double crochet into the same ring space. Make another three chain, and this time treble crochet into the ring space. Now turn the work, so you are starting the next row from the right, working towards the left. At this point you should have a ring, with three rings along the top of it. You follow this pattern now, to make the shawl as big as you like. Each row:chain 7, double crochet into the first ring space. In each of the remaining ring spaces, chain 3, double crochet. Into the last chain space (the one you just double crocheted in) chain 3 then treble crochet.It grows really quickly, is nicely triangular, and looks like lots of little scalloped shells. It looks like it should be easy to add beading, fringing etc to.
Happy Rainy Monday!
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