Witches Noses and Halloween Razberry & Pumpkin

by Karen B

I love a pointy hat; have an affinity for black cats,  cauldrons of stew full of ‘Witches Noses’ purple carrots and I would LOVE to fly on a broom stick.

But I do like my Halloween cats and pumpkins to be soft and cuddly to hold. I made my gentle monsters (with teeth) from soft fleece and felt and the cat is called Razberry and the pumpkin, is called, well, just Pumpkin.

But just incase the going gets a little bit tough at the witching hour, this little picture, which was  left in the house for me by the previous owners, will help to keep me safe.

SO LONG AS I DO NOT VENTURE OUTDOORS!

♥

 William Cartwright, English poet, dramatist, churchman. 1611-1643.

♥

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL MY FRIENDS 

These local, Cornish Flowers just keep on Blooming….

by Karen B

 

6 days in and these fabulous flowers from www.theflowermillcornwall.co.uk just keep on blooming!

With home grown  Chrysanthemums, Dahlia, Zinnia, chocolate scented Cosmos and wild Cornish hedgerow ferns and flowers, this bouquet has a natural grace which regular florists simply can not match. Its wild beauty takes us right back to nature; like walking through a flower meadow on a sunny day.

Make yourself smile and love flowers!

Otto and the Ghostly, Green Pumpkins…..

by Karen B

Sharp, shiny and savvy and still in my tuxedo after a night patrolling the Karen B Vintage storeroom in the studio, I decide to take a nap on a blanket. To be frank, the way vintage quilts, blankets, toys and stuff keeps piling up in here, it’s sometimes hard for a big guy like me to find a place to stretch out and get some rest.

Things were getting really crowded, and then just when I thought things could not get any worse in rolls a plant stand full of ghostly, pale green pumpkins. More disruption. This is too much! Time for some sleep and a dream of my summer dacha in the greenhouse. There, snoozing on a bed of sweet meadow hay I can hear the buzz of the bees and the song of tweeting birds. (But where there are, most definitely. NO, scary, green pumpkins.)

 The variety of pumpkin I have grown is called Invincible and it is claimed that its flavour is superior to the King of squash; Crown Prince.

Friendship Cake…..

by Karen B

It’s my Birthday and I am playing Russian roulette with a new cake recipe and I am far too excited by the whole day to really get into a baking zone. The kitchen is in chaos; and my happiness endorphins after an early power walk see me as high as a kite.

I look up and Vanessa from http://www.theflowermillcornwall.co.uk is standing at my door with a huge bunch of her beautiful flowers from her cutting garden! In she comes with her partner Phil and suddenly the cluttered kitchen is full of love and laughter and fun, just at the moment that the cake mix hits the tin.

The scent of baking cake, with lemon and honey, fills the air as the coffee machine gurgles and I serve toasted Swedish Limpa with melted butter. And the Birthday cake, fresh from the oven and made in a special mould embellished with honeycomb and bees pops out of the tin with ease and we raise a toast to friendship.

It’s cosy by the Rayburn and there is plenty of cake and Devonshire clotted cream which I would love to share with my friends from the blogosphere- go on, pull up a chair and lets celebrate the ingredient which put heart and soul into my Birthday cake; Friendship!

The French Laundry…..

by Karen B

My lavender-scented laundry starch clouds, thickens and then just as quickly clears as I stir in the hot and then the cold water. And like a modern day alchemist, I submerge each item of vintage linen into the soft, glutinous liquid which will transform the fabric from limp, everyday Damask to sharp, crisp, glamorous linen, fit for a table rich with roses, sparkling glass and pretty candle light.

Special linen requires select treatment and this linen is truly special for it is French, monogrammed trousseau linen; linen fit for a princess.

Timing is everything when starching linen. Trying to iron it when it is too wet is impossible; too dry and the iron will not remove the creases without damping the fabric again. And if the iron is too hot it will burn the starch. But get it right and the linen is glazed and stiffened, sharpening the folds and totally enhancing the beauty of the cloth and its detail.

In everyday life, the ironing board and I are happy to be estranged. But once the warm iron and my hands begin to work instinctively together, smoothing out wrinkles from this beautiful, pure white, embellished cloth, I am suddenly totally at peace. But as I move each carefully laundered item onto the rail of my Sheila Maid to air, it is not without paying silent and respectful homage to my Great Grandmother, Lydia for whom washing was not a relaxing indulgence, but a form of income. For, like many other women in the early 1900’s, taking in washing and making use of the copper boiler and mangle which every woman possessed, was the only way to earn a little extra money when there were many young children at home.

I think of her as I pack away the Damask into a tissue lined box and realise that despite the years which lie between us and all our differences that this hardworking woman and I share a bond and connection  which is palpable as I  wash, starch and iron as she too would have done so many years ago.

 

Hydrangeas; with “colours as washed-out as a pinafore”

by Karen B

Their mopheads drooping and dipping as they grow heavy with rain, I gather these pastel shades of Hydrangeas and bring them indoors. As if the colour has washed from one petal to another, I lose myself in their water-colour tones and set about preserving them, by letting them dry naturally in an inch or so of water, so that their gentle beauty and grace can go on and on…..

 

BLUE HYDRANGEA

A spoiled green paint left over in a jar

has coloured these dull leaves, so dried and wan

under the flowers that no longer own

a blue, but still reflect it from afar.

 

As if through tears, smudged and approximate,

faint as the blue of letters from the past

as if, perhaps, it would be better lost

decaying into yellows, greys and violet;

 

colours as washed-out as a pinafore

outworn, outgrown, discarded utterly,

showing how short the lives of children are.

 

But of a sudden blue seems born again

within one cluster: then, surprised, you see

a tender blue rejoice beside the green.

 

Rainer Maria Rilke

Translated by Stephen Cohn.

Saying Goodbye to Ossie….

by Karen B

With his sweet, gentle, loving nature and fur softer than the most luxurious silk- velvet, my cat Ossie and I made a soul connection.

Together with his brother Josef, we all cuddled our way through good times and bad; through my divorce and a period where I could not walk  due to a broken foot.

 Ossie loved being with his brother Josef.

But, most of all, Ossie’s favourite place (and mine too) was on my knee.

He is so very missed……….x

Fabulous; it’s Friday and it’s Deliciously Fragrant with Coconut Milk, Ginger, Chilli and Garlic!

by Karen B

 Chicken fragrant with coconut milk, ginger, chilli and garlic, a salad of watercress and Asian pear with a mint and coriander dressing.

Chic, pretty and stylish and with a wardrobe of clothes to match, my friend Rebecca is a true girl- about- town who loves to dine out on her buying trips to London. Enjoying a light, one- course lunch between business meetings helps to keep her in touch with all the latest dining trends without challenging her waistline. Always hungry for news of the latest culinary zeitgeist in the city, I beg her for details of what she ate and how it tasted and this latest dish sampled  at Granger & co gives me just the buzz I am looking for. Get ready for some mouth popping flavour, because you are going to LOVE this dish!

 RECIPE

4 chicken breasts, skin removed

4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

I tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped

1-2 fresh chillies, finely chopped

3-4 kaffir lime leaves

1 tablespoon soya sauce or coconut amino

1 tablespoon sea salt flakes

1 stalk lemongrass

400 ml can coconut milk or cream

 

SALAD

Watercress

Asian Pear

Avocado

 

DRESSING

5 tablespoons of oil

1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar

I teaspoon of Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper

Freshly chopped mint and coriander

 

METHOD

  1. Place chicken, garlic, ginger, chillies, lime leaves, salt, soya sauce and coconut milk in a pan.
  2. Bash the lemongrass with a meat tenderiser and add that as well.
  3. If necessary, add a little water so that liquid covers the chicken.
  4. Cook on a moderate heat and bring to the boil. Then cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
  5. Allow the chicken to cool.
  6. For the dressing, simply whisk the oil, vinegar, mustard and seasoning together then stir in the herbs
  7. For the salad, core and slice pear and add to the watercress and toss in the dressing.
  8. Place half an avocado on each serving plate and drizzle with dressing.
  9. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and arrange next to the avocado. Spoon some of the sauce over the chicken. If the sauce is a little too thick, thin it down with a little coconut milk. Then, finally make a little pile of salad on the plate to finish.

Saturday Secrets………

by Karen B

These rich, complex, dusky damask roses with their headily scented folds, draw me into a world of passion and glamour and their myriad petals seem to curl themselves around a whisper, an intrigue, a secret. These roses, this vase of burnished gold belong on a fantasy table laid for imaginary guests. And within moments my guest list is made up and I am sipping champagne with Gustave Flaubert’s Emma Bovary and Mikhail Bulgakov’s Margarita.

Elegant and opulent, these flowers exude a sense of luxury which would lift Emma Bovary above the  bourgeois society she so detested, but would they appeal to the daring and passionate Margarita, the hostess of Satan’s Grand Ball in The Master and Margarita?  For those of you unfamiliar with Bulgakov’s novel, the inspiration for the ball scene was a Spring Festival which Bulgakov attended at Spaso House, ( the residence of the U.S Ambassador to the Soviet Union), Moscow, in 1935. Hosted by Ambassador William Bullitt, an event was created which surpassed every other Embassy party in Moscow’s history.

The decorations included a forest of ten young birch trees in the chandelier room; a dining room table covered with Finnish tulips; a lawn made of chicory grown on wet felt; an aviary made from fishnet filled with pheasants, parakeets and one hundred zebra finches, on loan from the Moscow Zoo; and a menagerie of several mountain goats, a dozen white roosters and a baby bear. The festival lasted until the early hours of the morning. The bear became drunk on champagne and in the early morning hours the zebra finches escaped from the aviary and perched below the ceilings around the house.

With guests with such creative and literary associations, my imaginary dinner could well be one of the most exciting evenings I have ever had! Excuse me whilst I top up the champagne coupes and hand around the canapés!

Capture the Sun on Fabulous; it’s Friday!

by Karen B

 A double soup of roasted tomato with basil and roasted squash with ginger and coconut milk.

Sun soaked vegetables drizzled with olive oil and roasted until sweet and sticky, make fabulously quick and easy soups. Simply blitz in a blender and mix with vegetable bouillon. and voila!

As the summer takes on an Indian air and the days are hot, why not try something new and serve a chilled double soup?  Simply pour two different soups into a bowl simultaneously and watch the colours flow. Tasty, vibrant and a great conversation piece!

Have a great weekend!