Spring, anyone...?

I have been trying to be very strict with myself about unnecessary purchases but today the desire to have a bit of Spring won...

This has been a particularly miserable weekend and even my go to baking therapy was something of a disaster so I needed something cheerful to look at. I was experimenting with eggless lemon cake for a friend but mine looked nothing like the photos on the website! I suspect its that old issue of US measurement conversion - I appreciate for those familiar with it it must be a simple method but for those of us that don't have a supply of 'cups' (even assuming you can work out what size cup exactly you are supposed to be aiming for...or how full/packed etc they are) it has always struck me as a particularly haphazard way to bake and so much messier than scales! Give me ounces (or ok...grammes if we have to) and a very basic set of scales, tablespoon and teaspoon and I am fine.

Rant over. If anyone knows of a good, reliable and impressive eggless cake suitable for a birthday cake (and a recipe a middle aged Brit can interpret!) do let me know... :-)

S x

something about bread...

There is something particularly pleasing about the smell of freshly baked bread. And even more so if it is made at home.

Some time ago I came across this recipe for 'Crusty Bread' via Sue at The Quince Tree and after some trepidation it has become my 'go to' easy bread recipe. My reservations stemmed from the fact that it just looked so unlikely to work somehow - sloppy looking mixture rather than 'proper' dough, no kneading, only one rise, unconventional baking method...

But actually it suits my inability to measure things properly or stick to a recipe perfectly! I am often trying to cook when I'm a bit tired or doing things from memory or am a bit slapdash about measuring. And even if I read a recipe I often don't quite read to the end or I don't have exactly the ingredients I'm supposed to (don't know why I'm so shoddy with cooking! I'm really not in general - but maybe because I sort of feel its not an exact science and I quite like to cook by feel?).

This bread has never failed me. I have made it too sloppy and added extra flour, too dry and added more water. I've done the basic recipe but also added whatever happens to be kicking around - different flours, olives, seeds, nuts, fruit, dried tomatoes, herbs, oil, spices... This week I didn't check I had enough bread flour first... So it was 2/3 bread flour and 1/3 all that was in the cupboard - which happened to be self-raising!! Plus some fairly ancient poppy seeds and the end of a packet of sunflower seeds...

The only problem is how much gets eaten at once. We don't always even manage to wait until its cold...!

Yum,

S x

getting out and about...

I know the weather has been pretty grim, especially for those in the South West, and I can't say it has felt particularly nice here - cold winds and bursts of rain but when I looked at my camera for the last few days actually there was quite a bit of blue sky. Got me wondering about whether we capture what we'd like to remember as much as a true record of life? Or is it just that when its really grim I have a tendency to hibernate indoors?!

Anyway, at the weekend I got up early and walked into the city beside the river. I love that I can be at the market in just over 5 minutes and love even more that I can take a variety of routes in and out. I appreciate the novelty may wear off but for now I'm enjoying my wandering.

Whichever way I go I pass churches. On Saturday the blue sky was stunning...

The riverside area has been redeveloped over recent years - it used to be old industrial sites but now is the site of modern housing developments.  Norwich had a thriving brewing industry for many years and I love that distinctive remnants of those old buildings remain...

This rather ornate gateway leads through to the riverside path. I presume the letters relate to the industrial past but no idea what.

The walkway looks very modern now and I'm not sure if I really love it but I do like that this area has been given a new lease of life; it seems entirely appropriate that cities evolve and are reinvented to meet the needs of the current population, provided that the character of the area isn't lost. 

On Sunday I took a very different trip out. I was awake at silly o'clock (for some reason I seem completely unable to sleep properly at the moment!) so I got up and drove to the coast with no particular destination in mind, just a desire to see the sea. I ended up at Happisburgh (pronounced haze-bruh in case you wondered!) which was a regular haunt when our kids were small. It has a striking lighthouse on the 'high' point...

Anyone remember Challenge Anneka?!!! This was one of the subjects of her programme when it got a makeover in 1990 (having just looked that up, I am slightly reeling at how long ago it was!!) - unfortunately, it seems the wrong paint was used and the 200+ year old lighthouse had to have a complete repaint a few years later. It is real landmark; you can see it a way off on a clear day as you approach the village.

The village has been in the news repeatedly over the last 20 odd years as the sea has eroded the coastline by huge chunks, swallowing up coastal properties as it goes. The beach is unrecognisable from that I remember taking the boys to. The original road to the beach has vanished and there is now a mud ramp down to the beach...

There used to be a long line of original wooden constructed sea defences which provided great shelter for small boys to dig in the sand. Now there are a few piles of rocks, dropped in an attempt to stave off the power of the sea a bit. 

It is a beautiful bit of coastline and at 9am it was just me and a few hardy dog walkers, bliss.

The erosion is starkly obvious though. It looks a little like a mini Grand Canyon, with the top end of the beach covered in sticky mud that has slid down from the overhanging fields. Apparently well over 120 metres have disappeared since the early 1990s, which is a huge amount when you think about it.

I wonder how safe the lighthouse is as the sea creeps further inland?

I think this is probably all that remains of the old sea defences...

Something quite poignant about the debris of houses that have gone 'over the edge'...

...and the warning signs on the attempts at sea defences...

The blue sky is deceptive - after an hour walking I was absolutely frozen! Nothing for it but to head home for a cuppa and a bit of Sunday baking!

Peanut butter and chocolate cookies with lunchboxes in mind...

This little rose on my windowsill has replaced the daffs that were a bit past it. It makes me chuckle every time I look at it - it arrived beautifully packaged from a florist. Goodness! Who could possibly be sending me flowers?! (this just about never happens in my world!) 'Have you got a secret admirer?' Tom wonders... And the answer is...? No! Turns out these were from the estate agents that sold the house to me!! How bizarre! I can only assume they took a handsome fee and thought they could spare a bit! Anyway, its a pretty rose, so I will enjoy!

And for a bit more randomness...a bit of crochet...

I had a fancy for making something useful. This cardigan was dead easy, if a bit boring, and I think I quite like it. Only I have to confess to not being quite sure about crochet clothes. They always seem a bit sort of 'boxy' somehow. And even though I added extra to both the sleeves and the body, both are just a teeny bit short. Hoping it may 'relax' a bit when I wash it...

This afternoon was beautiful again with more blue skies. This church is on my alternative route home...

I have a bit of a thing about skies and clouds and almost walked into someone looking up as I walked...

And finally, my clock is going again! The nice man that repairs old clocks came and worked magic with a bit of oil and tweaking and this is ticking away so contentedly in its new spot. I so love the sound, the question is, will we hear the strike all night?!!

Off to bed to see now...

S xx

the good days...

Having just transferred the photos from my camera and my phone, I suddenly realise I have loads of things I meant to blog about! The time just seems to be scooting by and I feel I barely have time to draw breath at the moment.

So this is a bit of a 'mixed bag' post I'm afraid - I have had busy days and relaxing days and there is a bit of each in here, plus a nod to the relentless surge towards 'you know what' day...

A couple of weeks ago, I hopped on a train to Cambridge to meet my sister who lives in the Midlands. Sort of half way house for us both. It was such a beautiful sunny day (feels like it might have been the last one we had!!) and as I walked in from the station I was looking forward to just spending a bit of time together.

Cambridge is full of such beautiful buildings...

...and bicycles are an integral part of the surroundings...

We talked a lot, walked, shopped a bit, talked some more, walked some more...

We stopped for coffee, lunch and tea (well, you have to don't you...!), listened to the earnest, clever undergraduates that wander along having intense conversations and got snapped by an art student who wanted to take photos for her coursework! (We were 'papped', dahling!!) We laughed a lot and hugged a bit and I was reminded again of just how much I love my big sister. She has been there for me consistently and without judgement and knows me better than anyone else. All in all a Good Day...

As was the next day... I had set myself a bit of a challenge to do all the normal stuff that I do for Christmas, even though this year I think it is going to be anything but 'normal', whatever that is now. I have always made mincemeat, christmas puddings and christmas cake - partly because I just always have (as did my mum, never have been able to get a taste for shop bought mincemeat) and partly because my eldest son has Coeliacs disease and has to have gluten free. Although there's a lot more around now than there was when he was diagnosed 21 years ago, we always had a bit of a policy of him not being the odd one out in his own home so I made GF for all of us.

So I filled the house with Christmassy smells... apples, cider, orange and lemon zest, cinnamon...

...soft brown sugar, raisins, sultanas, currants, almonds, cherries, mixed peel, ginger, mixed spice and grated nutmeg...

This is a suet free recipe - I have really struggled to get suet that is GF for the last couple of years but actually, am no longer convinced you really need mincemeat swimming in fat. This all gets brought to the boil and believe me, at this stage smelt divine!

I tend to do this a bit by guesswork and was a bit worried that it was a bit 'liquidy' but left to its own devices off the heat for a while, it just absorbed all that yummy spicy juice to plump up the fruit...

It just got a good slosh of brandy before potting up - why is there always just a bit over that doesn't make a full jar?!

Christmas cake and puddings next. Didn't take photos of everything but the boys humoured me by stirring the pudding mix and by the time the cake was baked and the puddings steamed I was actually beginning to feel a bit festive!

I'd had a bit of a 'need to get out of Norfolk' moment - actually, to be fair, its not really the county, more that I have days when I can't bear the thought of being cooped up in my house with no prospect of speaking to anyone unless I do an impromptu trip to the corner shop to check my voice works... (or I start talking to the radio...!). Anyway, on the spur of the moment I arranged to meet a friend in London for the day. What I hadn't realised was that she decided to treat me to lunch in Covent Garden (look at these for baubles!!!)...

...followed by the matinee of Mamma Mia (fab! and yes, I do still know all the words to all the Abba songs!) and then dinner in the evening with another friend who happened to be in London too and joined us. These are the people whose friendship I value hugely and are soooo good at thoughtful pick-me-ups. It was a lovely day and even the train journey back was OK. I had time to pick up a coffee and a couple of magazines at the station so spent a pleasant hour or so flicking through looking for inspiration...

I can't say I have been enjoying this autumn with its inevitable slide towards winter - it has just felt cold and dark, and a bit miserable. I think I have struggled to get out and even when I have, I've not felt much like taking photos. But this little bit of blue sky and the last few autumn leaves did catch my eye...

And finally... a bit of crafty stuff. I wouldn't say I've exactly got the bug again, but 'necessity is the mother of invention' as they say and I'm on a bit of a creative present haul right now...

These are the gloves I made with my Mum in mind...

However, in spite of me doing a tension square (I never normally bother!!) this pattern knitted up on the big side. I don't have particularly big hands but they are definitely bigger than Mum's and they were huge on me...

Don't ask me why I carried on and made both gloves...not one of my brighter moves... And after much deliberating, I decided I couldn't possibly give these as a gift, so rather than waste the lovely Rowan (bargain bin!) yarn, I pulled them out again and have started again with a different pattern...

Can you see that rather delicious stripy yarn in the background of this photo? This is a bamboo/wool mix and is gorgeously soft (although not much stretch I've since discovered) - bargain bin again (I am a regular rummager just lately...!) and intended for something for a friends little girl whose birthday is Boxing Day. But about at this point I realised they were just shouting 'Socks!!!' at me! So I am having a badly timed self indulgent moment here and making myself some socks with it. These are not subtle, shy retiring socks, but I am loving them so far...

I've had the sewing machine out too... Bit of recycling of an old pair of jeans into something for my nephews 6th birthday...

He's got into cooking just lately so I got him some baking things (found some great smiley face silicone mixing spoons) and thought he could do with his own pinny, with elastic and velcro so he can get it on himself. 

Looking back at this, feels I have got more done this month than I thought! Some nice days out, some seasonal kitchen time, progress on presents...

On the down side, some pretty low days, lots of grey sky and rain, a complete inability to make any progress towards sorting out my home situation, huge amounts of stress at work... But I have deliberately not taken photos of the miserable stuff and even that bit of blue sky in these pics has cheered me up.

Just this I had to take...

I live in a terraced street and I came out to go to work last week to find this! I hadn't parked like that for sure! And when I looked at the back...

Some charming individual had hit my parked car, shunting it into the one in front! No sign of the culprit of course and no details left... So this has cost me £400 in insurance excess, lost no claims discount and I am currently car-less while it is sorted out, meaning my planned trip to see middle son in time for his birthday is off. Not happy.

Am trying to tell myself, its only a car and only money (!!!) but when I finally resolve the details of dividing our house/finances/etc etc and look for a more long term home, secure parking is up there on the list of must haves!!!

I am taking the view that these things are sent to try us and that life has a way of keeping going... So I will look at the pictures of blue skies and enjoy my bright stripy socks and not let it get to me. 

Til next time, then...

Sx

PS this has taken me forever to write because I have had such a job to get photos to load tonight. Has anyone else had this problem? I've ended up having to pay for extra Picasa storage but it still seems to be slow and a bit temperamental. Grr...

weekend moments...

Saturday morning was so bright and sunny that I couldn't stay in bed (I am a rubbish sleeper and always awake early) so I got up at about 6.30 and went out on my bike. I really love that early morning time when the light is beautiful and it is so quiet (I live in the middle of nowhere - believe me really quiet!).

Ears of wheat catching the early sun. I'm no farmer, but it looks to me as though its all a bit short this year - I'm guessing due to the dry weather we've been having.

Pretty wild roses in the hedgerows...

I stopped at the allotments on the way back...

Found some self sown lupins by the fence...

I love their furry seed pods...

Back in the garden a bit later in the day, the sun was sparkling on the pond...

The delphiniums are just beginning to flower...

I found a pure white foxglove that I don't remember planting - I love the 'freebies' nature throws up...

With a visitor while I was sat there...

There is honeysuckle everywhere in the garden just now, it smells gorgeous, especially in the evening...

And then a little bit of yummy-ness...

Delia calls these Welsh cakes but my Mum used to call them Singing Hinnies - I've no idea why, maybe because they make a kind of sizzling noise as they go on the hot griddle? I love cooking on this old iron griddle pan - it is so well seasoned (and the pesky men in my house know it is more than their lives are worth to go near it with a brillo pad to 'scrub all that black off'!) that nothing sticks and it gives you such a lovely big surface which has quite an even heat once its properly heated up. When I was a child we had an Aga (a temperamental old coal fired beggar but I would love one!) and the griddle was the perfect size for the hotplate.

These are so quick to make and perfect warm, with naughty amounts of butter...

I don't think any got cold!

Til next time

Sx