Creativity Bootcamp Day 9

I had to laugh when I saw the creative prompt for day 9: DRIZZLE
Would you believe it, the sun was actually shining?
Not a drizzle in sight.
Nope.
Not a drop.
Sun, sun, sun.
Me: at work.
Came home and looked longingly at this:

and found this:

I must be missing cake.
I had to eat toast and drizzle honey, instead.

I made the lemon drizzle cake today, as it is now Saturday, as I write this up.
My thoughts?
Read this:

Dear Jamie,
I love your book but I have to say, that your Nan's Lemon Drizzle Cake is a bit rubbish. I will eat this one, but have to make another one now as this one is flat.
love from Luci

All About The Cake.

It is all about the cake this week for me. I have the week off from work so in between relaxing, meeting up with family, friends and catching up with life, I am cracking on with the wedding cake for my niece.
She wants tiers and a mix of fruit and sponge cakes.
A huge and heavy 12" fruit cake, a 10" and 8" sponge cakes and then the cake topper is on a 6" base. I used recipes from these books.

The sponges will be Madeira sponge cake recipes, using the Cakes to Inspire and Desire book I borrowed from my friend Abbie. The Madeira sponge will stay fresher longer than sponge cakes. It will also be denser to balance in tiers, successfully. I hope.
I made the fruit cake a while ago, using the recipe from my Sweet and Simple Party Cakes book and have since added a bit more brandy to keep it moist!
I have been buying bits like cake boards, ribbon, icing, marzipan, edible glue (as I am nearly all out of glue), some essential cake boxes to transport the cakes to the venue and an edible writing pen to write a small personalised plaque for the big day.

The flowers will be fresh roses in a variety of sizes and shades of white and lilac: avalanche, ocean song and akito. I will lay them on top of each cake layer in between the pillars.
Pillars.
The bit that gives me nightmares.
I imagine doing a cake "toppler" and it all ending in tears and not a cake "topper" at all.
For the cake topper, the bride to be wants a bit of a surprise for the groom.
You might remember, she wants him to be wearing a football kit in his favourite team, West Ham United. Their colours are claret and blue. I have been worried that if I did a claret groom that it would clash with the purple and lilac theme, so I am using a little artistic license and using a purple shade of icing.
I have been working on the cake toppers.
The bride was lots of fun and I am very pleased with her.

I added a few blue flowers to connect her to the grooms colours.

The groom has been a challenge for me. Ideally he would need to remain upright (at least for the photos, right? and for the speeches, traditionally, eh?)

I made him in pieces, adding denture fixative powder to the icing for his body. This brilliant idea came from Sheila, who led the cake decorating course I did last year as evening class. She was full of cheap and practical tips like this one! I left him to dry for a week or too and he really is like porcelain!
The pieces are then sturdy enough to stick together. In theory. The arms seemed to go on OK, but the legs attaching are a bit of a cross your fingers and hope, thing. I have him balanced upright against a jar of jam at the moment, to encourage his legs to adhere to his body!

I just have to fix the happy couple in place, with all the lettering, spelling the word "UNITED" and the plaque with their names and the wedding date and add the football team emblem on the front. I keep making one, painting the castle in "cream" which looks gold in neat form, but then I keep splodging it before it dries, so have to re-do it! 3rd time lucky,eh?
Today I am going to bake the Madeira sponge cakes.

Tins ready.

Brr Monday

It may be May but it has been cold today.
Good job I had put on my slow cooker this morning.
Home from work and nice warm food to welcome me home.
Pork in Barbeque sauce.

A recipe from my Fix It and Forget It Book.
Pork, diced.
Onion, chopped.
1 x can/bottle of bbq sauce.
1/4 cup honey.
Cook on low 8 hours all day whilst you are cold at work.

Serve with fresh bread, a thick sweater, cosy slippers and TV whilst sitting on the sofa.
Yummy.
Click on the heating, optional but welcome extra.

A brr-illiant start to the week.

May it be warmer tomorrow.
Please.
At least I will have leftovers.
Brr

The Wedding Cake Begins

A couple of months ago, my niece asked me to make her Wedding cake.
I said yes!
The Wedding is in June.
This year.
Soon.
We chatted about ideas and she looked at some of the pictures of some of the cakes I have done previously(although a Wedding cake will be a first for me!)
She decided on a cake done in tiers and I am hoping that it will not all end in tears as I have never balanced cakes before on pillars.
She wants pillars in between the layers with fresh flowers in the bridal colours laid on top of each layer.
Lovely!
I did a little practise over the Easter holidays to see how it might all go together and remain balanced and upright and if the Bride to be liked it!She loved it and so this weekend I have begun.
The base cake is a huge fruit cake.
I used a recipe from this recipe book.
You can check out the author's blog for other fabulous ideas too.
So, today, I had a smashing time.I came up with an ingenious bowl to use.I am glad I have recently joined a gym as the cake was really heavy!My niece wants a cake topper Bride and Groom with a surprise for the Groom!
I have begun making the Bride and Groom today too.
I used the same design as for my Merry Monk I did a few months ago and am trying to be creative with colours and clothing, as the Bride would like the groom to be wearing something like this.

So I mixed, purple and blue and the Bride is coming together nicely. Just have the roses to attach next for her bouquet.
The Groom is still in pieces. I used some denture fixative powder to strengthen him. I am leaving him in pieces to dry before clothing and sticking him together.
I really really hope that he will be upright in the end - or he could look very drunk as a cake topper, photographed like that for years to come. Imagine.
Friends suggested helpfully that he could be kneeling in prayer or leaning on the Bride but I fear he might end up flat on his face!
I will keep you posted with how this project develops over these next few weeks.
The remaining layers of cake will be sponge cakes, so I will do those in several weeks' time.

Last Weekend I Made These Yummies.

Last weekend I made these Strawberry Scones. Yummy.
Can't belive that it has taken me a whole week to write about them for my blog.
Better late than never, eh?
Anyway, here are a few pictures of them and the recipe for you. Enjoy!

50g/2oz c.sugar
284ml buttermilk
50g/2oz butter
400g/14oz sr flour
125g/4 and 1/2 oz strawberries
egg yolk
1 tbsp milk
clotted cream and strawbeery jam to serve.

oven 180 C fan / 200 C/ 400F for 10-20 minutes.

1. add sugar and butternmilk together and rub butter into flour and then combine.
2. add chopped strawberries to the dough and pat out dough onto floured surface 2cm thick.
3. cut out scones and turn upside down onto lightly floured baking tray. Brush flour off scones and brush egge and milk mix onto tops of scones. Leave to rest for 6-8 minutes and bake for 10-20 minutes until golden.I used the recipe from my magazine that I am gradually making some of the inspiring recipes from.And afterwards, the washing up.If only I could train Tudur to do it, rather than just watching it being done. Do you think I have any chance?

Pear and Cinnamon Muffins

These are delicious!
I made them at the weekend and have been enjoying them ever since!
I found the recipe in this magazine that I got a few weeks ago because it had a yummy looking cake on the cover!
Pear and Cinnamon Muffins
3 small pears
2 tsp lemon juice
250g(9oz) plain flour
50g(2oz) oatmeal
1 tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnnamon
100g (4oz) caster sugar
25g (1oz) chopped almonds
65g (2 1/2 oz) butter, melted
284ml buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. heat oven 200C/180C fan/gas 6
Peel core and dice pears and toss in lemon juice.
2. mix flour, cinnamon, oatmeal, baking powder sugar and half almonds in a bowl.
stir in half the pear mix.
3. Beat butter and buttermilk and eggs and vanilla and add to dry mixture to mix.
4.put into muffin cases and add rest of pears and almonds on top of mixture.
5. bake for 20 minutes and serve warm or cool on a wire rack.

I say - resist - for as long as you can.

Happy St.Patricks Day!

Let's see. I don't have a shamrock,
but I did wear my green scarfand I did buy some of this!Oh, and I first saw these amazing,ridiculous, fabulous sounding cupcakes that I am going to make here!
Happy St.Patrick's Day!

Wednesday already?

When I was growing up, Wednesday was a big landmark day in our house. When I mustered enough coordination to stagger downstairs for school, still blearyeyed from sleep, my mum would say: "Cheer up, it's Wednesday."
Wednesday, signified that there was then only Thursday and Friday to go before the weekend.
It made Wednesday, then not seem so bad.
Today, is Wednesday but it is also half term week so I find myself saying I can't believe it is Wednesday already!
Wednesday, is probably thinking: "Come on, give me a break! You can't have it both ways!"
It has been a good day though.
For a Wednesday.
Relaxing.
I finished reading my book, Water for Elephants and loved it, loved it, loved it. You will either have to buy it, buy it, buy it and read it for yourself - or wait for my review on the next Turn the page Tuesday to hear more about it.
I went for a walk in the drizzly rain and the bitterly cold wind.
Brr.
No wonder Tudur has stayed in for most of the day!
I came home and made some more of these:

using some of these ingredients:

and the recipe is from this book: BAKE, by Rachel Allen.

The last time I made some, you may remember,was when the girly chicks came round to do some "bitch and stitch" on our banners. The remaining half, I reluctantly took the following day to church for our bring and share lunch....
I took them...
but I didn't share any of them.
I kept them in the tin.
I bought them back home again.
And ate them the next few days.
They were delicious.
I wonder how I will do at sharing them with the girly chicks tomorrow?
If there are any left.
These white chocolate and peanut butter blondies - are very moreish.

That Lovin' Feelin'

You got That Lovin' Feelin'?
Or do you see it as a huge marketing thing?
Those of us with a partner spend a fortune and those of us without save a fortune!

Typically, Valentines Day here in the UK tends to be very much for those wishing to declare undying love, secretly or for already existing couples and the marrieds.
Quite exclusively, it has to be said.
Very different from the USA, I think.
No buying Valentines for friends or children buying them for classmates.
Nope. Just the boyfriends/girlfriends/partners/husbands/wives.
Traditional cupid stuff.
But...
As you know, I am a bit of a rule breaker and love any excuse to get friends together!
This year I am planning, with the groovy girlie chicks, a yummy Valentines meal for our friends and husbands.
There should be 10 of us if everyone comes.
We asked more but some have other dates, it seems!
I am really looking forward to it - and excited to use all my new plates and bowls I now have.
I collected the rest of them today!
I had some money for Christmas to get some more of my chosen tableware I have been collecting these last few months. Sophie Conran in the Portmeirion range.
I love it!
I had some for my birthday after I ditched my old Denby at China Search and I went shopping the other weekend with my friend Tanya to get some more with my Christmas spending money.
I made my lovely purchases and opted to get it from customer collections later in the day after we had done more shopping.
A great idea, we thought... except that we were so busy gabbing and shopping elsewhere that we simply forgot the time.
When we realised the time and battled the car park and traffic to get round to customer collections... yes you have guessed it... they were closed.
Too late.
They had all my shopping.
I came home empty handed.
(Well, almost!)
This...

became my new challenge!
I managed to arrange for them to deliver it.
It arrived...yesterday - when I was at work!
A little frustrating as they said it would be either Friday or Monday. In a way, I had hoped for Monday as I am off work next week.
So I picked it up from the local parcel depot this morning!
It will be great to use it tomorrow, though!

Of course, Tudur was on hand to help with the unpacking!
He was just as excited as I was and jumped right in to help!

Once it was all unpacked and washed and put away, I got everything ready for the slow cooker - Beef Burgundy.
I used a recipe from this Fix it and Forget it.

A fabulous slow cooker book.
I also borrowed one of the girly chicks slow cookers as we need 2.
Friends will bring things to go with it - either savoury or a yummy sweet.
We will accept any food or flowers, wine or chocolates, most gratefully.
Will take photos and post them soon.
Happy Valentines Day, tomorrow!
x

Week 5 of 365

Quite a productive week, making more of dent in tidying and sorting at work and finding my feet. Have seen some friends and had friends round too, which is an improvement on purely coming home and collapsing on the sofa in a heap!
It has only taken me 5 weeks!
Here are my photos for the week:
Monday 1st February 32/365
The start of the new month and a new page in my calender of cats! I also watched a mr. bond movie - Casino Royale - with one of my friends,Ike, who was repeatedly biffed on the head by Tudur! Sorry Ike. I think he thought it was rude to snooze whilst watching such a great movie?

Tuesday 33/365
I met up with one of my friends after work to eat a yummy carvery, forgot my camera, so took this photo instead! (Well it is nearly Valentine's Day, isn't it!)

I transformed my Christmas wreath, having retrieved it from hanging outside on my front door. I threaded another heart decoration with twine to hang in the centre. I think it looks fab, so wanted to show you!
Wednesday.34/365
Another of my hanging hearts in my hallway. (bit of a heart theme this month!)

Thursday. 35/365
The girlie chicks night. Too busy eating cake to take a photo of the cake, so took this one instead. I love my friends. and I love cake.
This bit of the banner was done by the amazing Emily. Great patchwork! and great coconut and banana cake too Emily!

Friday. 36/365
Cooked food for friends in my slow cooker and took it round to them after work. Yummy beef with potatoes, carrots, red pepper, sweet potato, parsnip, onion and stock and ketchup. Yummy. I even remembered to take my camera, but forgot to take a photo and left it in my bag all the time! (It was Friday!)
So, I took this one of the slow cooker pot after I washed it all clean!

Happy memories, all the same and it was lovely to see Rachel and Mike and Jacob and Daniel! Thanks for letting me eat with you!
Saturday. 37/365
Time to relax, bake, sew, tea and cake and time to read my book.

Sunday.38/365
Survival for the week ahead. Some Fresh Fruit and Vegetables.Bliss.

Saturday Sew and So

So Today, Saturday, Abbie and Jen and I did some more sewing on these banners that we are working on for our church.

We had Fun!

We have been a bit frustrated that when we meet on a Thursday night, we seem to get so little sewing done. Also, we did start them ages ago and really want to get them finished by Easter if we can.
So, it was good to have a good few hours to sew and chat and mess around with fabrics and ideas.

Quite a productive day!

Here is how the 2 banners are looking now :-)


Of course there was lots of time for tea and cake and chocolate bread!

I also made these Peanut Butter and White Chocolate Blondies!

I used a yummy recipe from my Rachel Allen book called: BAKE!
There are just a few left to take to our bring and share tomorrow at church for lunch. If I manage to bring any, I will feel very virtuous. If I manage to share any, it will be quite a miracle.