Collections - Books

Collections just grow don't they?

I read a lot of Enid Blyton when I was little.

Noddy was a favourite.

Then Secret Seven and Famous Five

Did you read Jane and Peter reading books?

This book was from a car boot sale.

RIP mangetout

The mange-tout have been pulled out to make way for the leeks but I picked the remaining pods. Waste not want not. Mange-tout are versatile in that not only can you eat the pod you can also eat the peas inside once the pods have grown bigger.

We had these peas in a stir fry for tea tonight with home-made pasta (recipe here on Rhona's blog). Now we're ready to eat another part of the garden. The broccoli is ready. This is the head I photographed a few days ago. It's grown a lot bigger. It won't grow any more now because I picked it!

I also picked some strawberries. We had these for tea - with cream!

Naughty, naughty!

Bless this House

Bless this house, O Lord we pray,

Make it safe by night and day ...

Bless these walls so firm and stout,

Keeping want and trouble out ...

Bless the roof and chimneys tall,

Let thy peace lie over all ...

Bless this door that it may prove,

Ever open to joy and love ...

Bless these windows shining bright,

Letting in God's heavenly light ...

 

Bless the hearth, the painting there,

With smoke ascending like a prayer!

Bless the folk who dwell within,

Keep them pure and free from sin ...

                                    

Bless us all that we may be,

Fit O Lord to dwell with thee ...

Bless us all that one day we may dwell

O Lord! With Thee!

Words and Music by Helen Taylor and May H. Morgan (a.k.a. Brahe), 1927

Happiness is ...

Home made scones, home grown strawberries, home made jam, home grown flowers, friends and a good cup of tea.

Oh, and the fun of setting the table.

Oh, and the fun of a musical evening.

Oh, and laughter.

More Veg

Hey look what's been hiding amongst the foliage.

Yeah - more veg. This head of broccoli will be eaten tomorrow.

This lot of veg was eaten today. Wokked up mushrooms, mange-tout, baby carrots, garlic and onion. Add spices and soy and a little cornflour and water, serve with savoury rice and cauliflower cheese.

The Kitchen Sink Saga

I do like a clean and sparkly kitchen sink.

Left overnight - Last night's supper, last night's music evening mugs and teapot, yesterday's bread tins. No wonder it's always tidy up first thing in the morning.

Oh my goodness, everything's going on in the kitchen now. Cleaning the kitchen floor, ironing, last night's soup, today's lemon drink and coffee. Yesterday's bread tins and flan dish.

Here's another disaster view straight after tea.

I do like a clean and sparkly kitchen sink.

I don't see it that way very often though.

Thank you

Thank you to all the delightful people who became followers of my blog yesterday. I hope you've all received a personal message from me. 

Here are a few pics of my day.

Tomatoes growing well. I pick out the side shoots to help with tying up.

The plants are tied to overhead wires.

Courgettes for tea tonight.

Strawberries for lunch

The French beans are growing now so I can pull out the markers.

More mange tout!

Bread making day
(Note the product placement.)

Also ironing day! ARRGH!

Look at that - ironing done.

Mange tout packed for freezer

Lemon Coconut Slice

I got the recipe from Anne. It's definitely a keeper.

It doesn't look as good as Anne's though. Note: must try harder.

Gardens grow

Isn't it amazing! An empty garden at the beginning of the year changes into a riot of green plants.

Edible plants just waiting to be eaten.

In fact we're eating them already.

Who would have thought? Isn't it amazing? (And delicious - and nutritious.)

Bung it all in!

Quiche with salad for tea. I bunged in things lying around in the fridge and the garden. 

*handful of baby carrots

*handful of mange tout

*2 eggs

*1/2 pint of milk

* wadge of cheese (grated)

*8 oz shortcrust pastry (half fat (I used butter - tut, tut) to flour and a pinch of salt)

Assemble and bung it in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until set, at hot to start off with down to medium as soon as it's gone in. 

This is Auntie Katy's Farmhouse fruit cake

*6 oz margarine (I used butter - tut, tut.)

*6 oz castor sugar

*3 large eggs

*8 oz plain flour

*1/2 tsp baking powder

*1/2 tsp mixed spice

*10 oz mixed dried fruit

*2 oz peel or marmalade

*2 oz glace cherries

Bung the first group of ingredients in a bowl and whisk or beat until smooth. 

Bung in the second lot and mix in. 

Bung it all into a 7 inch round baking tin and bake in the oven at 160 degrees for a fan oven (170 degrees otherwise) for 1 hour or until done.

This is school bread. It can be made at a desk with minimum (ha ha) mess, all in one bowl.

*2 teacups bread flour (e.g. white, white/wholemeal, white/granary)

*1 level tsp salt

*2 level tsp lard or butter

*1/4 pint warm water

*1 level tsp dried yeast

*1/2 tsp sugar

Mix sugar, yeast and water in a jug. 

Mix flour and salt and rub in butter.

Stir together wet and dry ingredients.

Knead or play with the dough for 10 minutes.

Put on a baking tray, keep warm and leave until doubled in size (about 1 - 2 hours or until you remember you've left it somewhere).

Bake at 200 degrees for about 15 - 20 minutes or until done.

Final bung

These artificial flowers were 80p from the Junk Shop. Not being very good at flower arranging I bunged them in a vase and hoped for the best!

They look good to me.

For DH on Father's Day

My love is like a cabbage

Divided into two.

The leaves I give to others

But the heart I give to you.

(Author unknown)

xx

What I did Today

* had tea and toast in bed

* tidied up the supper things

* loaded the dishwasher

* washed kitchen floor (on hands and knees)

* took the cats for a walk in the garden

* picked a basket full of mangetout to freeze

* walked down to Lydl-iddle for some shopping

* called in the Charity Shop (left empty handed)

* made lunch (soup and fruit for me, salad for him)

Home-grown strawberries for afters

* did washing and hung washing out

* prepared veg for tea

* crocheted a square

I'm going to do blocks of 9.

Can't decide whether to have the blocks the same colour

or different.

* made a condolence card

* read part of a book

* rehearsed a music tutorial for video

* made tea

* took cats a walk

* collected daughter from work and wokked up her tea

* blogged

* friends round for the evening to help with voice overs for the video

That's it up to now. Time for a drink!