Lovely lazy Saturday

Saturday mornings are a pleasure all of their own, it is waking up with that feeling you don't have to rush anywhere. Weekend breakfasts are lengthy, tea in a tea pot, tea cups and the Guardian Quiz. (Only three correct this week!) I love scotch pancakes (or dropped scones if you prefer), these are extra good for you because they are from my low GI cookbook, I also make them with a little fruit sugar rather than normal sugar. They are filling and mean I can often last out to lunch. 

You simply put two heaped tablespoons of SR flour, Wholemeal Flour and one table spoon of porridge oats and Fruit sugar into a bowl. Add half a teaspoon of baking powder and mix well. Then add two large eggs to the centre, gradually bringing in the dry ingredients, add milk gradually until you have a thick batter. 

Heat a griddle or frying pan, and brush with  a mixture of oil and butter. (Butter creates a lovely buttery flavour to the pancakes, but you have to turn the heat down a little otherwise it smokes). Put a tablespoons of the mixture on the griddle - keeping them slightly apart. Watch the mixture turn from glossy to dull, then turn over to cook the other side. Leave on a kitchen towel to soak any excess oil, delicious to eat while warm. 

I have almost finished curtain wrestling, - I can't call it sewing there was simply too much material! Double width, 90" drop and lined with black out lining! I had to sew on the dining room table in order to have support for all the fabric! I shall let them hang for a while and then finish the bottoms. As you can see my beloved Bernina is back in action! 

One tip I learned from Maria from Clothkits is that she keeps a little pin cushion on her machine, it is an ideal place! This little lovely was bought at a craft fair quite a few years ago, it sits perfectly on that spot! It might be my imagination but I did not have quite so many pins on the floor afterwards! 

Cake is also the perfect pick me up - the rain might have been pounding on the windows, but you can't beat a nice home made Victoria Sponge, cuddled up on the sofa, yet another pot of tea close at hand, watching a good film. 

I used cocktail sticks to create a little design on the top. 

It looks like a firework! I used the plum jam I made a few weeks ago, it was nice and tart and a great contrast to the sweet icing. 

The weather outside might be frightful, but home is so delightful! 

Happy Autumn

September Seasons of Mists

September is considered the first month of Autumn here, but the Sep comes from seven, when it was the seventh month of the Roman Calendar! While the hedgerows are full of blackberries they are still not ripened, which is surprising given the long hot summer days we had.  I went to my Son's for dinner on Saturday and came to the realisation that Autumn is definitely upon us, I was chilly for the first time in months. I woke up this morning and put on tights - and was looking at all my summer dresses thinking that it was time to start putting them away, I told S and he smiled saying that maybe I might need them if we went somewhere warm! It cheered me up!

Saturday was the monthly table top sale at St Mary's church - there is a wonderful variety of stalls but I was delighted to find this gorgeous little sandwich plate, as you can see by my tea cup it matches perfectly with my little tea set. I don't think I shall ever grow out of playing with tea sets. A snip at £3! I also found a lovely wicker picnic basket, which I love to use for storage in my studio - it is just the perfect size another bargain at £2!

We had a lazy weekend really, just relaxing at home - the joy of working from home means that you can keep up with Domesticity without chores encroaching on your weekend. After visiting the table top sale we ambled over to Rose Green Centre of Art and Craft where there was an Autumn painting work shop taking place. The centre is wonderful selling lots of work from local artists as well as running regular workshops on different themes. I signed up for a printmaking course next Saturday - I have been wanting to explore printing for a long time so I am now thinking about what to design!

I love my new casserole dish - there is something fabulous about cast iron cookware. Yes it is very heavy but this is such a gorgeous shade of blue and cream - an addition to my pot I bought a few months ago. I love cooking with these pots, they keep such a great even temperature - you can switch them off or down low and they retain the heat for a long time. 

I have also been re-vamping some things... will post more soon but until then here is a tiny taster ...

Transitions Bread

I have been making bread for a while now, but I needed a little bit of hands on expertise which might give me the confidence to bake great bread, efforts up to now have been 'all right'. 

A great friend told me about Transitions Chichester which was set up a few years ago, it is a scheme where people share their skills to help one another, so you can offer your time which can be simple tasks such as babysitting to gardening and baking. 

So I was up bright and early Saturday morning, armed with pinny, a large mason cash bowl and a jug for Julia's bread making course held in her own kitchen. There were four of us in all and Julia quickly put us at ease - (once a teacher always a teacher!). Together we all made loaves with Julia's gentle guidance. I ended the morning not just with a loaf, but enthusiasm and new friends. 

The transitions scheme has its own currency, the chi, which Julia earned by hosting the course, chi's can be then exchanged for help or learning new skills. I think it is a great idea and one that had me wondering what I can offer. The great thing about sharing a skill with someone, is that you can gleefully delight in their success knowing that you were a tiny seed in their creativity. 

And here.. at last (third time lucky!) is a seeded loaf, made with honey not sugar! I am so proud! 

While out walking with the dog, I came across this lovely clump of snowdrops nestling among the shade, such a beautiful sight that I could not help but share with you. Sunday was a gloriously sunny day, A and I walked the dog along the sandy beach and I really appreciate how lucky I am to be so close to the sea, with a lovely man and the dog teaches me to enjoy each moment, as he chases his frisbee enthusiastically his face in a wide grin! 

Coffee Break

I have not abandoned my sewing machine, I have been busy stitching away, but I cannot really share what I am up to as I have to send it to be published! However, I can share with you my little coffee cosy which is published in Sewing World this month. I also wrote about our local sewing group called the Blake Belles.

I was inspired by a small box of ribbons!  This makes a good two or three cups so I needed to keep it warm, but coffee cosy sounds so odd! 

The weekend flew by in warm contentment, I spent most of Saturday playing around with fabric as it was too cold to go anywhere, the snow had settled - the roads icy and hard. 

 I made a fruit cake this week, with a few seeds and nuts in the mixture. I have quite a sweet tooth and so I try to have something on hand that meets my needs but isn't too calorific, but most importantly is good for me. 

Sleet settled in for the afternoon, but I took the dog for a walk in the wintry conditions but really did not stay out that long - the dog kept on stopping and looking up at me every few moments! 

I made some lovely red pepper soup - I really like the intensity of flavour you get from slow roasting peppers - they are so sweet. I am also trying my hand at bread making, with some success. It is very simple to make the hardest thing is having the patience to wait for it to rise. Like us all it is also about staying warm!