Yarn Shop Day & simple pleasures

Yarn Shop day was Saturday 3rd May - did you visit a wool shop? I did -  I visited Needlecase at Tadcaster, which I've blogged about before. They had a plentiful supply of tea and cake going on, as well as a knitted flowers workshop - however I just popped in to purchase some wool and a pattern to knit for my new niece, expected in July. I bought Sirdar Snuggly in this blue/purple colour and some mother of pearl buttons...

The pattern is a chunky aran type cardigan with bobbles round the yoke

 which I'll do in a 6-12 month size.

 

Jack and I went to give Laura a lift home from the coast and took the dog for a long walk at the seaside.

Hornsea beach - I love it.

Definitely my 5-year plan to live there.

The tide was coming in and the sound was so calming.

Pebbles, pebbles, pebbles...I could look at them all day!

I made this chocolate cake today - just a Victoria Sponge with added cocoa and chocolate chips topped with leftover Easter egg melted chocolate and filled with fresh vanilla cream

It was gorgeous!

 

~Woolly Winter projects~

I haven't posted since before Christmas which is very remiss of me...I usually want to hunker down and hibernate from December til my birthday in February, but my SAD symptoms haven't been too bad this year - thanks in part to Holland & Barrett Max Strength 284mg St John's Wort  I really believe it's made a difference.  I'm also relaxing more and reading stuff on my new Kindle, a gadget I've resisted with a dismissive ' I like real books; but I've read loads - 5 'books' since Christmas and it must be good because I went to physically turn the page on more than a few occasions!
Small Boy is now a Young Man and was 12 yesterday, requesting a grown-up lemon tart in place of his usual chocolate cake. Laura also made him some choc chip cookies.

My brother and his partner have a baby on-the-way so I have a few sewing and knitting WIPs at the moment, and a cowl scarf for me that's nearly finished.
This is a hat I've knitted for myself, in some gorgeous Yorkshire wool with a faux fair isle effect...

It's West Yorkshire Spinners Bluefaced Leicester DK Prints in 'Owl'  £9.70 for 100g.
I bought mine from the lovely Needlecase in Tadcaster.  For those of you further afield, they have an online shop too.

image from www.wyspinners.com





~Clandestine Cake Club Cookbook~

I've got a bit of exciting news to share - this lovely book arrived in the post this week...

I'm so proud and a bit giddy that my recipe was chosen for the book...

It's available to buy mid-February...

My Battenberg recipe on page 43

I've blogged about the now well-known Clandestine Cake Club before, back in October 2011 (see here)   and also in August 2011 (see here)   

CCC; the clever invention of Lynn Hill from Woodlesford, Leeds, now has over 150 national and international clubs, all enjoying the simple pleasure of bakey cakey gatherings to meet people and eat cake (and you get to take some home too). 

CCC logo courtesy of www.clandestinecakeclub.co.uk

Lynn's Cookbook is really a thing of beauty - gorgeous vintage styling - lots of glass cake stands, vintage china and embroidered doilies as well as tried and tested, and tested again, recipes.I'll be back tomorrow to have a cup of tea and a chat with Lynn herself, but in the meantime, to read more about Lynn Hill and Clandestine Cake Club

• Visit the website and join in  www.clandestinecakeclub.co.uk
• Lynn's baking blog at www.bakelady.wordpress.com
• and there's a good article in Yorkshire Life here

~Chocolate Cake~

My (not so) Small Boy is 11 today.  What a year for change 2013 will be...High School for J, and hopefully off to University for L.
This is his birthday cake.  The loveliest chocolate fudge cake (recipe from Carnation found by my best friend Jo). It's now become the cake of choice in this house.  The chocolate fingers were an inspired addition to ramp up the chocolatey calories!

If you're looking for the perfect chocolate cake,  the recipe for the chocolate fudge cake can be found on Carnation's website here
P.S I substitute the corn oil with sunflower oil.
Also a thrifty tip to make it cheaper - Carnation Caramel is approx £1.75 for a 397g tin.
Morrisons sell a copycat version Farmlea Caramel for £1.15 for the same size tin.

~Getting ready for Macmillan Coffee Morning~

I'm hosting a Macmillan coffee morning on Saturday from 11 to 1pm, to raise as much money as possible for Macmillan Cancer Support and I'm hoping to top last year's total of £130.86 which I wrote about here..

The Macmillan coffee mornings have been going since 1991 and have raised over £60 million for Macmillan cancer Support since then.
Thankfully I've got today off work, so I'm organising my tombola...

Roll up, roll up for the Macmillan Tombola!! Green raffle tickets, of course!

As a Tea Drinker (of huge quantities) I have to say my event will be a Macmillan 'Yorkshire Tea' morning as I have been kindly and generously supported by the lovely people at Yorkshire Tea (Betty's & Taylor's of Harrogate).

Some of my Raffle Prizes for Macmillan

 So, lashings of Yorkshire Tea, Taylor's coffee and cakes await new friends, old friends, family and Bloggy friends on Saturday!
I will be back with photos and a write-up after Saturday, but for now I am back to baking after I've sampled the latest batch of Brownies out of the oven with a cup of Yorkshire Tea!

I hope you all enjoy supporting a coffee morning near you...Hello to my lovely colleagues who are having theirs today...SAVE ME SOME CAKE PLEASE!

~Car Boot Sale thrifting~

What a glorious Sunday morning to get up early and indulge in mine (and my Mum's) favourite pastime - the Car Boot Sale! As I've mentioned before; this local car boot is a good one, moderately-sized and held monthly between April - September, run by the Rotary Club. Look at the lovely blue sky at 8am!

There were about 10 rows of sellers - it's held on a grass field next to a plant nursery about a mile from my house.
This morning's finds include these very old glass baubles for my kitsch Christmas tree.  The little vintage elves are apparently Swedish...

Sorry to mention the 'C' word in late Summer, but they were a good find for £1.

Also I bought these 1970s stacking cake tins, which I remember being a fixture in my

 early 1970s childhood kitchen...

Originally there would have been 3 of them, but they are in good condition ( and Made in England!) Another good buy for £1.

I must away into the kitchen and attend to my pickles and preserves...

Enjoy your Sunday! xx

~Time for Tea - Feb event~

Yesterday's afternoon tea theme was Berries, Cherries and love, in honour of Valentine's Day. 6 ladies (and one baby nephew) sat down to tea at 2pm, following a welcome drink of homemade pink lemonade.

The table theme was red, with gingham and roses cloths, matching vintage china and table gifts of mini-heart candles. Have used a photo of the table setting for my new header - I used L's swanky camera and did a bit of editing with special effects. Her camera is tons better than mine!

I was ably assisted by daughter L and best friend J in the tea-making and serving of the cakey delights...

I made some mini-bunting for the cherry and almond cake.  The double choc brownies with macadamia nuts were lovely.  My favourites were the homemade jammie dodgers, which turned out really well and were yummy. I added some custard powder to the mix, which made them a lovely yellow colour.  I sieved homemade raspberry jam for the filling.

Next event is in March, with a Spring themed menu (yet to be decided on!).
Some of my guests brought me a thoughtful gift of rhubarb from the Rhubarb Festival in Wakefield, which Anne at Marmalade and Catmint posted about yesterday. A bunch of Oldroyd's rhubarb tied with green ribbon - more attractive and delicious than flowers I think!

I'll be making a crumble with it on Monday morning. Thankfully I've got a day off on Monday to catch up with domestic stuff that has accumulated over the last busy week.

~Happy Birthday~

Firstly thankyou so much for all your lovely comments on my last post and to new followers too!
Not sure where time this half-term is going to - I know I'm fortunate to work term-time only but it's hard to get anything practical or creative done when the kids are off too. Whinge over...
Yesterday was my birthday! We had a family day of lunch at Pizza Express then the joy of seeing the new Muppet movie. I loved the Muppets as a child of the 70s, and the theme tune brought nostalgic tears to my eyes.
I baked myself a chocolate cake with cherry jam and fresh cream...

Multiply the candles by 7, and you will have the correct number!
My favourite card, courtesy of one of my brothers. What is he insinuating?!

Generous gifts from lovely friends and family...A new CK bag...

Enough smellies for the next 12 months!

Some seeds...

Some beads...

...And a lovely read!

Lovely presents - I am very lucky.

My mood definitely lifts when I reach mid-February...the sun is out today, I hope it's warmer where you are too.  I'm off to do a bit of gardening now!

~Time for Tea - Jan event~

Six ladies sat down to tea today, for a lovely afternoon where we all tried (hard) to forget about diets just for a couple of hours...
Thankyou to all who attended and of course J for her help and donning her trusty apron again! Guests included Anne from Marmalade & Catmint blog, who has taken some photos and posted on her blog too here... Thankyou for the tulips Anne, seen on my new header, and also the wine encased in a cosy garter-stitched jumper!
The table was set with a red and green theme, using some of my favourite china and linens, including this Woods ware green cup and saucer.  Thankyou to Teapigs tea for their support too - guests took some teabags home too, along with polka dot packets of veggie seeds and leftover cake.

The theme was 'Comfort Food', so I had to include my favourite nostalgic treat - Battenburg!

Also a very rich Brownie Cake...

I ended up substituting Yorkshire Fountain's Gold cheese for Swaledale, also from Yorkshire and still as tasty with the green tomato chutney.

Looking forward to February's event - time to get my thinking cap on!

~Thrifty quilt TaDa ~

Thankyou for all the lovely comments on my last post - I think we're all floral fabric addicts, and it's clear that there are lots of us with unfinished projects too!
Today whilst 9 year old J used all the blankets and cushions in the living room to make 'Yoda's Hut' (?!?) I escaped upstairs to finish my quilt, first sewing achievement of 2012!
I'm proud it's not cost anything to make;  a real make-do-and-mend affair, I love it though it's not perfect and a bit wonky in places! The backing fabric is an old sage green cotton sheet that I was given - it's really good quality, soft and well-washed.  The padding is an old synthetic single duvet cut down to fit with the raw edges zig-zagged on the machine.  It'll be easy to machine-wash when needed. I then machine sewed the patchwork to the backing, leaving a gap to slip the duvet in - I slip-stitched the opening...

Then pondered about whether I should quilt through the layers...Eventually I decided to just make 6 suffolk puffs (or yo-yo's) out of some lovely Robyn Pandolph paisley fabric. Each suffolk puff has a vintage mother of pearl button at the centre, which is sewn through all the layers to keep the padding in place.

So here it is on my bed....

Overboard on the chintz and florals do you think? ...Never!

I think it'll be a lovely snuggly lap quilt when I get my caravan...

All the fabric has been bought second-hand - the Sanderson curtains were charity shop bargains last year and the Cath Kidston and eiderdown fabric were York car boot sale finds. A nice way to use and look at your very favourite fabrics.

Then I had a cuppa and a slice of this...

Hope you've all had a lovely weekend x

~Time for Tea anyone?~

I hope you will forgive me a bit of blatant self-promotion! I'm not sure whether you've gathered I have a healthy appetite for all things bakey-cakey, vintage china, fairy lights and doilies...Maybe you've read about my 'Time for Tea' underground tearoom events before here & here and also about attending Clandestine Cake Club here.
I'm a member of http://www.supperclubfangroup.ning.com/ where you can locate all the secret supperclubs and tearooms around the UK and beyond. This is my avatar below if you have time for a look...

a thrifted teapot with a handknitted cashmerino wool tea cosy!

I would love to welcome you into my home for my 2012 events. I have tickets for 3 dates available - Saturday Jan 21st 2pm

Saturday Feb 25th 2pm

Sat 24th March 2pm

I can seat 8 at each event. You can book tickets via the supperclub website or click on the link on my homepage.

A great place to read about the growing popularity of secret dining clubs is Kerstin Rodgers' book SupperClub - Recipes and Notes from The Underground Restaurant

I did wonder whether it would be a lovely opportunity to meet up with some of you out there in blog-land; a kind of bloggers AGM perhaps?!?

You can attend as a lone diner, or in pairs or groups; all that's needed is a willingness and desire to meet and chat with fellow afternoon tea guests, and of course, a love of CAKE!

~Nostalgia - Dylon Dye~

The last time I used Dylon Dye was in the 1980s when I dyed all my clothes black (even the black ones) during my obligatory teenage goth years.  It's been around since 1946 but appears to have been given a revamp and relaunch see http://www.dylon.co.uk/  I came across it in a local shop, and bought a few packs.
The colours have all been 'sexed up' with more appealing names and package designs...

Dylon Handwash Dye - I paid £3.35

 I set to work dyeing doilies Powder Pink and Tulip Red - so many not-quite white crochet doilies languishing in my sewing room...time for a bit of make do and mend!
Best results are on cotton, linen and viscose, with a paler colour take on other fabrics. (I also dyed a thermal vest, which has turned out a lovely pale pink).

I prefer the Tulip Red result; very seasonal doilies I think...

But the Powder Pink is very pretty too...

They'll brighten up the table when I host next year's Time for Tea events.

If you're not familiar with the Underground Dining & Tearoom movement visit http://www.supperclubfangroup.ning.com/

~A *Pear* of Recipes~

A quick post to share some recipes for the welcome Autumn glut of pears. The recipe for the Italian Pear Cake I baked for Leeds Clandestine Cake Club can be found on this coffee website and is attributed to Anne Willan's Perfect Italian Country Cooking.  I thought it had coffee in the recipe until I realised it was a cake to eat with coffee...
The only addition was some amaretto when caramelising the pears.

Tomatoes optional! Lovely served warm with craime fraiche.
I tweeted last night about Pear Vodka too...I tripled the quantities of the recipe below as it only makes 1 kilner jar's worth and I wanted more!
Pear Vodka Recipe - Peel and dice some pears and measure quantity in a jug to about the 500ml mark. Mix 30ml brandy and 250ml vodka, add to clear kilner jar with 125g sugar. Add the pears - they should be submerged. Keep in a cool pantry/garage for a good few weeks, then strain into sterilised bottle through muslin. 

I use Ikea vases, like this Snartig at 59p

and buy wine corks to seal them.

I'm saving my Pear Vodka to have as an aperitif for Christmas Day.

~Cake, cake and more cake in Leeds...~

Just a quick post to pay homage to the Clandestine Cake Club held in Leeds tonight, hosted by Lynn Hill.  It had an Italian theme as was held in La Bottega Milanese in The Light, on The Headrow, Leeds - an Italian espresso and cake shop (see here for a recent review in Yorkshire Evening Post).

My cake all ready to go....

An Italian pear cake - the pears were caramelised in butter, sugar and amaretto. The cake was a dense one made with plain flour - recipe to follow later...
My first beverage was a skinny latte - how ridiculous and pointless in the face of such colossal calorie intake!

Some of the cakes....

Clever creative people....

My 2 favourites taste-wise - this pistachio & raspberry cake (lovely) and Italian tricolore cake (flavours were really intense and fruity).

J (left) gladly accepts the cake from Lynn (right)

 and as you can see, my guest (best friend J), was really chuffed to win Lynn's fab Lemon Drizzle Cake in the raffle for Marie Curie proceeds.

~Time for (afternoon) Tea - 2nd event! for Macmillan ~

What a busy weekend...After baking on a hot Friday afternoon I welcomed very generous guests to my kitchen (and garden) where we had alfresco tea and cakes, with all proceeds from the afternoon tea and the raffle going to Macmillan Cancer Relief. I loved the Fountains Gold  cheese sandwiches with homemade (and homegrown) green tomato chutney. Dry cure ham sandwiches were delicious with homemade piccalilli too...Fine Yorkshire fayre!

St. Clements drizzle cake with candied lemon peel...

Mini Victoria sponges...

Scones with cream & local tayberry jam and cherry bakewells...

Pretty vintage china...

Crocheted doilies in pinks and greens...

A lovely time was had by all - and we raised £130.86 for Macmillan.

Many thanks to my friends, family and work colleagues, and special thanks to my lovely friend J for helping on the day and being prepared to wear an apron and a flower in her hair!