A tangled bed of flowers and herbs gets muddled and buffeted by the wild wind and rain. Yet, as if by magic; its beauty gets refreshed!
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!
What is the Colour of Love?
With sweet, pale, hand painted daisies (“he loves me, he loves me not”) scattered on fragile vintage glass and roses with a blood-red hue evoking the passion of Carmen….I wonder…..what is the colour of love?
Fabulous; it’s Friday and it’s full of luscious Dartmoor Wildflower Honeycomb!
Brush nectarine or peach halves with a blend of honey and lime juice and simply grill until slightly softened and golden. Then top them with a generous spoonful of honeycomb for a dish which is fabulous with ham or grilled meats
Or……………….. add some cream and you have a luscious dessert!
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
Fabulous; it’s Friday and it’s all gone to seed!
The laid back approach to gardening brings true beauty to The Kitchen Garden when a few leek plants from last winter are left to run to seed.
Statuesque and sculptural they unfurled their millions of miniature florets at a graceful, patient speed. Why hurry? They had all the time in the world to flower, shedding their papery, protective cases like little flower fairies removing their hats. Giving them beans for company and bamboo canes with onion shaped terracotta finials; every stage of their growth was a wonder to behold.
This is easy gardening which makes a great show…why not try it?
Have an easy, happy weekend!
Sweet, Sweet Peas on Fabulous; it’s Friday!
Ruffled, sweet scented and as scrumptious as a raspberry ripple ice- cream, these beautiful blooms were a gift from the fabulous Vanessa Collins who grows seasonal flowers at a former flour Mill in Cornwall. www.theflowermillcornwall.co.uk is the ONLY place to buy real and edible flowers; old-fashioned favourites, often scented, that you just can not buy in ordinary florists. They are all grown with love without the use of chemicals or pesticides…and the bees love them too!
A day in the life of Karen B, or, Too Much is Never Enough!
Sometimes, if we are really lucky, the people who follow our blogs and the slipstream of our life stories step though the structure of the blogosphere and make a personal connection with us. And when they do, it feels like being given a HUGE gift; something priceless, something which just could never be bought. This has happened to me with thesnailofhappiness.com and when she asked me to take part in a blog hop I thought, yes! Let’s do it! Because only good things ever come out of this incredible lady’s blog; a place where creativity, recycling, living a green life and a love of nature all swirl round in a melting pot. And where inventive handiwork and cooking exist in a version of the good life which we can only look upon with awe. So thank you, thesnailofhappiness for asking me to take part in my first blog hop. Here is my little story of what makes me and my blog rock!
It’s summer; my meadow has been cut; and I wake yearning for a pair of my childhood sandals.
This evocative thought sets the mood for my day. I open my vintage bead box, pile on layer after layer of sweet, vintage necklaces until the petals and embellishments merge into a Klimt-esque mix of pastel millefiori and muted gold. And I don’t stop until I feel just right.
Like a happy Magpie, I have been collecting vintage clothes, linen, haberdashery, jewellery, furniture and china with a passion since my early teens. I don’t want to wear something with no past I want to feel close to the soul and rhythm of other eras and to soak up the loves, lives, passions and the very heartbeat of all those women before me.
My Gardens, cooking and preserving the produce from them or simply enjoying the flowers, are my passions; along with my love for my beloved cats, Otto, Ossie and Josef.
Sarah Bernhardt
Sweet Williams in the Kitchen Garden
Otto takes a nap
Asparagus Peas
Josef on the left and Ossie on the right. Sadly, Ossie is very poorly
Thank you for spending time with me today, but now it is time to do a little blog- hopping! So get ready to jump……..here we go!
Johanna’s blog, http://colorpencil2014.wordpress.com is an inspirational place to visit. Her style, creativity, aesthetic sense and eye for a bargain mean that you will find great tips for up-cycling on a budget. Her love of nature, wildlife and illustration mean that there is always something sweet and fresh to see on her blog
When it comes to gardening, there is a lot to inspire you on http://sliceofheaveninsweden.wordpress.com from the moment I saw photos on this blog I was hooked! The creator of the blog was a novice gardener and the posts tell the tale of building a garden from nothing in a part of Sweden so beautifully unspoilt that you really will think you are in heaven when you read about it. Too busy harvesting cucumbers and dill for pickling and a positive festival of every kind of vegetable and salad at the moment, Honey can’t join the blog-hop at this time, but she will love to welcome you for a visit.
I hope that you enjoy hopping round to visit them as much as I do.
Heartbroken……
My cat Ossie is very sick; so sick that the advice from my vet is that the cut-off point for a decision which I can not face is Friday. So what do Ossie and I do today? How do we watch this painful day tick away? The day which looks like being our last together. And how can I ever find a way to say goodbye?
Saying goodbye to someone we love whether it is a person or a cherished animal is a heartbreaking test which I so do not feel up to facing. I have loved this dear little cat and cared for him through so many illnesses. He has been my comfort and delight and I seem to have been his. His brother, Josef and I will miss him terribly.
But I must let him go, so that there will be no suffering and that will happen tomorrow. He will rest forever in my garden and he will go knowing that I loved him so.
But for today, he is still beside me. Perhaps tomorrow will not come.
Ossie’s food saucer
Fabulous; it’s Friday! Why not hitch a ride with me to Glastonbury….
Warm, toasted, cinnamon tea cakes from the artisan bakery at the Hundred Monkeys Café and sweet, organic, sun-ripened apricots in Earthfare are not the only things on offer in this early morning, sleepy Somerset market town. For this is Glastonbury; the world renowned focus for religious pilgrimage and where imagination, transformation, enlightenment and incense are as readily available as sourdough bread. Notable for its famous festival which now attracts over 200,000 visitors, for its myths and legends of Joseph of Arimathea, the Holy Grail and King Arthur and Guinevere, Glastonbury is a melting pot for all those seeking spiritual development and a closer connection with the sacred.
I have travelled here, not for the Hippie Message, but to visit my own personal Mecca; a shop called Dilliway and Dilliway which is an Aladdin’s cave of fabulously glamorous Indian goods both vintage and new. Inside and out the whole place vibrates with colour. Each item for sale has been personally sourced by the Dilliway team and although this shop differs from the rest in that it is not pedalling the overtly spiritual, each item holds a strong soul connection. Each hand-stitched throw resonates with hundreds of years of artistry and humble integrity and when you buy an item, however small, it carries with it the Dilliway ethos of a deep love and respect for the Indian people, their creativity and craftsmanship and their culture. Lost in my thoughts as I photograph, a procession suddenly passes the shop. The sound of pretty music rises above the sound of the traffic and I see a long crocodile of happy smiling Hare Krishna followers carrying coloured parasols to shade them selves from the sun. In the midst of this all is a diminutive figure in white robes. Terry Dilliway tells me that this man is called Baba.
As I leave the store, the procession has settled on the wide pavement and within minutes the whole area is transformed; street food has appeared out of nowhere and huge Indian carpets thrown down to sit on. Everyone is drawn to Baba and I can sense a deep connection between him and the folk around him. Suddenly I feel on the outside of something really special. And I get a real sense and understanding of what Glastonbury can do for people in this mad, chaotic world where so many have lost their spiritual connections. Suddenly, I begin to understand the Hippie Message.
Why not wander round the store with me?
Baba and his followers sharing street food and conversation
Gooseberry & Elderflower Cake…..
Moist and melt-in-the-mouth, with its luscious sponge sharpened by tart gooseberries and sweetened by a crunchy sugary topping; this lovely cake celebrates all that is English with its summer fruits fragranced with syrup made from hedgerow blossom. Here in England, Belvoir Fruit Farms make a dazzling array of “so long forgotten” non-alcoholic cordials such as Elderflower, Spiced Apple and Ginger or Rhubarb and Strawberry. This vivacious cake has the potential to be a great mixer and would love to mingle with a kaleidoscope of other fruits and cordials or liqueurs. What about trying cherries and Kirsch, summer fruits with raspberry and rose cordial or apples with Calvados?
Go on, toss a few berries in some sugar and make a cake to melt someone’s heart!
Gooseberry and Elderflower Cake
200g/ 7oz soft butter, plus little extra for greasing cake tin
150g/5oz caster sugar, plus 2 tblsp for dusting
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tbsp Elderflower cordial
220g/7 and half oz self raising flour
250g/8oz gooseberries
50g/2oz granulated sugar
METHOD
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F/ Gas 4. Grease and line base of 20cm loose based cake tin.
- In a bowl beat butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
- Gradually beat in the eggs and cordial. Then fold in the flour with a metal spoon.
- Carefully fold in three quarters of the gooseberries. Spoon the cake mixture into the tin and smooth the top. Toss the remaining gooseberries with the granulated sugar and pile all on top of the cake.
- Cook for 45 minutes, covering loosely with foil if it starts to go too brown.
- Remove from the oven and dust with 2tbsp of caster sugar. Allow to cool in the tin before serving.
“Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”…..
Fly as free and happy as this little golden bird and let’s all celebrate our INDEPENDENCE!
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
Dartmoor Flower Shed 