A rainy day

At last we've got a rainy day, drizzly and dreich.

So much time has been spent in the garden lately, yet there is still so much to be done, but we're getting there, slowly but surely. It's nice when people comment on how much we've changed the place, I met more friends of neighbours at the weekend and the first thing they commented on was how much we had improved our little corner and tidied it up, all the hard work is at last starting to pay off.

We at last relaxed for a bit on Sunday afternoon, a walk in the bluebell woods and then a pub tea in the Taybank in Dunkeld, my favourite (reasonably local) pub. Friends visited yesterday so the house got a quick tidy and much coffee, tea, scones and cake were eaten!

Here's a picture of my favourite tool at the moment, my riddle, I've been using it loads lately, great for getting nicely toned arms!

Sewing today, and then a visit up to Glenshee Pottery to collect some more stock this afternoon. If the rain stays on we'll hopefully get a bit more work done on the website, which desperately needs updating, when will there ever be enough hours in the day?!!

L xx

For Robin........

Robin, as requested, here's the recipe for the sponge and butter cream icing from my previous post..................

Victoria Sandwich Cake

175g butter or marg. softened

175g caster sugar
3 medium eggs beaten

175g self-raising flour, sifted

Grease and base line two 18cm sandwich tins.
Beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition.

Fold in half the flour, using a large metal spoon or a plastic spatula, then fold in the remainder.

Divide the mixture between the two tins and level off the surface with a palette knife.

Bake in the centre of the oven at 190 degrees C (375 degrees F) or gas mark 5 for about 20 minutes. The cakes should be well risen, golden on top and spring back when lightly pressed in the centre.

Loosen the edges with a knife and leave in the tins for about 5 minutes.

Turn them out of the tin, remove the lining paper and place on a wire rack to cool.

Putting it all together.

For the buttercream icing put 75g of soft unsalted butter in a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Gradually add 175g of seived icing sugar, a few drops of vanilla essence, a splash of milk and the tiniest little drop of red food colouring. Beat well until nice and smooth.

I used some home made strawberry jam to sandwich the two sponges together or alternatively you could use rasp jam too. Then spread the butter cream icing over the top of the cake. I used mini eggs dotted around the cake but frosted violas would also look very pretty.

Mass baking

Last night I took myself off into the kitchen to have a mass baking session. I love baking, especially when it involves using up lots of our free range eggs. So, I asked the birthday boy (Gregg) what kind of cakes he would like for his birthday as I was planning on making him one to have tonight and one to take into the office with him today. The request was for a carrot cake and a sponge cake and I also suggested I'd make him a tray of mars bar crispie cake as he rather likes that too.When we were at the CL Fair last week he kept pestering me for mini eggs as I'd made some little jars of treats - jam jars filled with mini eggs with a fabric lid, tied with a ribbon and a cute little hand written tag. Like last year they sold really well and we also had a little bowl of eggs on the counter for people to help themselves to, quite a nice little touch I thought. So he knew I had a bag stashed in one of the boxes but I wouldn't tell him where they were as I knew he'd eat them all! I'm such a spoil sport aren't I?!! So I've made him what looks very much like an Easter cake for his birthday to make up for my stingyness last week! It's just a simple victoria sponge with home made strawberry jam in the middle and pink butter cream icing on the top, not quite sure what he'll think of that little touch!!

As promised, here are some photos of the pots that I did for display at the fair, just another little touch that I though looked rather sweet dotted around the stall. So many people asked if they were for sale and there were nearly a few flower heads pulled off as people were convinced they were artificial - really, what next?

Birthday boy and I are are heading out tonight, we thought we'd head down to Dundee for a bite to eat, we've been recommended to go to a Turkish restaurant, so we might give that a bash.

Speak to you all tomorrow!

L x