Attic24

Rainy Day Baking

 

This happens to be a very appropriate book for this half term holiday, the weather has left a lot to be desired around these parts. Yesterday morning it was bloomin awful, and today is looking even worse. Along with the drizzle, we've got thick fog to contend with :: I'm up in the Attic and I can barely see my town, let alone the hills today.

But still, I am trying not to complain, because in actual fact I'm loving being home with the Little People, and the dire weather does kind of narrow down the indecision of the  what-shall-we-do-today question. 

Baking seems to be the In Thing in our house right now. I mean, I am always baking, and have often involved the Little People in this pleasurable activity. But as they grow older, baking is increasingly becoming something they want to do for themselves. Which is simultaneously great and alarming. 

Can you remember Little Man a few weekends ago, concocting his very own bun mixture in the kitchen All By Himself?? Well since then, he has really taken an interest in baking. I've written out a few simple recipes for him on squares of paper so that he can easily read the ingredients with their quantities, and the order in which they go into the bowl. He is doing great. He weighs meticulously, to the exact gram. He uses a wooden spoon vigorously, beats with gusto, so his buns end up light and airy. Of course, it's a little messy. Sometimes it's a lot messy. But oh, the joy! How can any Mum not be proud of her six year old almost daily begging to make buns, flapjacks, cookies??

Anyhow, back to the book. This is "The Rainy Day Book" by Jane Bull. I'm not sure if this book is still in print (we've owned it for quite a few years now) but I see on Amazon that she now has many other titles too, including a Baking Book, which will be a definite future purchase for my little Baker.

This book, and this page in particular has been so very, very loved over the years, not only by my Little People, but by various visiting Little Friends too. I've made this sweet dough recipe countless times when my two were little, and its a fantastic activity for children of all ages.

The ingredients are easy to remember, and the proportions are 1:2:3

1 part :: sugar (normal, white granulated sugar)

2 parts :: soft butter or margarine

3 parts :: plain flour.

For the quantity of dough pictured below in Little lady's hands, use 25g sugar, 50g butter and 75g flour. This makes about 8 medium sized cookies.

Simply put all the ingredients into a bowl together (make sure the butter/margarine is soft or it'll be hard work), and rub together with your fingers until the dough begins to form. For a little while it may seem like it's not going to work, it looks quite crumbly at the start. But the trick is to really work the mixture so that the butter warms up.

It ends up like a sweet, edible play-doh. Small children can just pull bits off, roll it into balls in the palm of their hands and then flatten/bang it into a cookie shape. when they are at pre-school/playgroup age, they are well accustomed to shaping and manipulating play-doh, so this comes naturally to them. Its a joy to watch.

For my two they will not entertain this slap dash method any more. Far too babyish.

No, they want a rolling pin and proper cookie cutters.

Ok, we can do that.

Little Lady chooses hearts, and little man goes for stars.

He does his completely unassisted and the cookies vary a lot in thickness, but it still all works out OK.

I resist the urge to neaten them up, to flatten the thick ones, to re-roll the thin ones.

The cookies get decorated before they go into the oven. Use whatever you fancy :: choc chips, sugar flowers, smarties, sprinkles.

Bake at a low temp 160/325/gas 3 for 15 mins.

 

You will undoubtedly have a battle on your hands trying to get the cookies from the baking tray to the cooling rack without little hands/mouths intervening.

They are perfect for a little Morning Snack with a glass of milk.

You may or may not wish to sample your Little One's baking efforts.

These are not the tastiest cookies ever made.

And somehow, the fact that the dough has been pounded between Little Palms and slapped around rather brutally kind of sticks in ones mind as one is chewing and swallowing.

But the Kids love 'em.

And thats what counts.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

On Sunday, after all the excitements and energy expenditure of the previous day, I was very glad to have a quiet day pottering around at home in my pyjamas. And part of my pyjama-pottering consisted of a spot of baking :: a cookie recipe that I've not made before. Now I am trying to remain calm here, but let me tell you, I am very excited about this recipe. Cos it is the absolute bees-knees. YES it jolly well is!! I tried it again this morning, you know, just to be sure, and Oh. My. Goodness. I was transported to Cookie-heaven.

Do you remember me telling you about my discovery of the perfect carrot cake recipe back in October? Remember the absolute delight and excitement that recipe generated? Well this is more of that. More delight, more excitement, more mmmmmmmmmmmmm. This, to me, is one Perfect cookie recipe. Simple ingredients, easy to make, and the resulting cookies are so utterly, deliciously scrumptious that one can hardly believe ones luck.

So...please do give this a go any time soon. You and your family will thank me wholeheartedly.

Heat oven :: 180C / 350F / Gas 4

Into a bowl ::

100g margerine

75g soft light brown sugar

I think the technical phrase here is "cream together"? Yeah, thats it, get jiggy with a big wooden spoon (or a turquoise silicone one in my case) and beat it all up till it's smooth, light and fluffy.

Into the bowl ::

2tbs golden syrup

175g self raising flour

100g chocolate chips (my preference is  plain chocolate chips)

Mix well until you form a stiffy mixture.

Line a tray with baking parchment/greaseproof paper, then using your fingers, scoop up small balls of the cookie mixture and plop onto the baking sheet. You don't need to flatten them or shape them, they only need to be in lumps, but spread well apart :: you should be able to get 18.

Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes. And NO LONGER!! They should be just turning very lightly golden, and will be very, very soft to the touch. They almost look like they are not cooked, but trust me, do not cook them for a moment longer.

Using a spatula/slice, remove them immediately from the baking tray (go careful because they will be very soft and quite delicate), and place them on a wire rack to cool. As they cool they will begin to harden slightly, but will retain that oh-so-good softness inside. You know, that light chewyness that is soooo good about cookies. That melt-in-the-mouth scrumptiousness that makes one moan out loud with pleasure.

These cookies are so very very good. They need to be eaten with love and abandon. Make yourself a mug of something nice to drink, take a warm cookie (or two) off the cooling rack as you leave the kitchen (no need for a plate) and go nestle yourself into the snuggliest, cosiest little bit of your home.

And enjoy The Moment.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Edited to add :: I've been asked by a couple of you about golden syrup which it seems is a very British ingredient. If you are in the US, I think the closest substitute would be corn syrup. Happy baking!

Loving Today

:: early morning sky ::

:: the view this morning from the end of my street ::

:: my walk home from school ::

:: noticing snowdrops growing in my front garden ::

:: wearing beautiful hand made jewellery ::

 

:: new pomegranate and raspberry hand soap in the kitchen ::

:: a vase of fresh flowers  ::

:: noticing the beauty inside these tulips ::

:: eating a home made bun  with my morning coffee ::

:: morning sunshine streaming in through the window ::

:: evidence of Little Lady's early morning play still on the windowsill ::

 

:: evidence of Little Man's early morning creativity still on the table ::

:: stitching orange beady bird feet ::

:: my growing pile of blanket squares ::

:: Finally planning the long-thought-about tea-towel quilt ::

:: a jar of sea glass, reminding me to make a visit to the coast very soon ::

:: shiny chrome and gleaming white ceramic in the bathroom ::

Hope you are Loving your own Today too?
xx

My Weekend

Early Saturday mornings often contain one of life's most perfect moments for me. First off I get that stomach churning feeling when I open my eyes and think for a brief moment that I've over slept and am late for the morning preparations for work/school. Then right afterwards there it is :: The Perfect Moment :: that slow, blissful realisation that the weekend is here and all is well and the clock can be ignored. Ahhhhhhhhhhh, what a feeling that is!

And on Saturday morning, I experienced that exact Perfect Moment, yes I did, and it was bloomin' marvelous! There's something wonderfully luxurious about waking up and digesting the knowledge that the next 48 hours of ones life is totally unplanned, unstructured and can be filled with whatever pleasures and activities tickles ones fancy. Within reason of course.

Now if one starts the weekend experiencing a Perfect Moment such as this, one has to go about making the right sort of Perfect Breakfast to follow. Them's the rules in our house. And in the absence of pain au chocolat (Perfect Breakfast of choice), I opt to make scotch pancakes. Such a lovely thing to be involved with at 8:45am on a Saturday morning. J is in the kitchen with me making coffee and I say to him :: there's something so Homely and Comforting about making these pancakes, something kind of simply wonderful about standing at the cooker, quietly dropping blobs of thick batter onto a hot frying pan and creating these golden, bubbly circles for my family to eat. The Little People adore these pancakes, they are quick and easy to make (recipe can be found here), and I think they would score a pleasure factor of 9/10, for both production and consumption.

The morning continues, leisurely and relaxed :: 10am and I decide I need to bake.

I go through various baking possibilities and opt for lemon cake.

I am dressed accordingly, in pj's, dressing gown and pink fluffy slippers, with apron slung over the top for good measure.

I measure and whisk and zest and squeeze and the house slowly fills with the delicious scent of Saturday lemony baking.

J and I have morning coffee together and chat about how we would like to fill our afternoon. It's decided that we would like to walk to town and Shop a little, which is quite unusual for us. So on the spur of the moment, he rings his parents and asks if they would like to come have lunch and spend an hour or two looking after our offspring whilst we go Shopping. Of course they agree (oh my in-laws are the most lovely wonderful people), and so on Saturday afternoon we find ourselves at the top of the high street with two child-free hours of shopping stretching ahead. But before hitting the shops we decide to call into the town church. For no reason, other than the mood took us. It was beautiful, peaceful, serene. Unlike the shops, which were busy, chaotic and er, well un-serene, whatever that word is.

I am trying to find my festive spirit, it continues to hide. The shops were so unmistakably shouting out the C word to me, yet I could not quite get into the swing of it. We bought clothes, food, logs. Nothing festive at all, although I was quite tempted by this chocolate army.

When we got home, I made mulled wine and even put on some Christmas tunes. Yet I am still not quite there with it yet. But it will come to me soon enough, I know it will. Maybe next weekend when we go through the Purchasing of The Tree. Maybe then I will be full of C-spirit.

Early evening, 6pm or thereabouts. We have a picnic dinner in front of the fire, then ,J and Little Man play dominoes and Little Lady and I snuggle on the sofa together.

She is telling me a story about something or the other (it was very long winded and involved various Barbie Dolls doing various things, I confess I switched off a little). We play some hand games :: round and round the garden, one potato two potato. There is quite a lot of tickling and giggling involved, and I am in the happiest place.

Saturday was a Great Day.

Sunday morning comes around, and all is well. Various children come and go throughout the morning. In and out, they alternate between playing outside in the remaining snow and coming inside to run and shout and invent games or sit quietly making Hama bead creations and watching films.

I choose to sit here and alternate my time between crocheting and losing myself inside the pages of my latest magazine.

I love the feature on Winter Roses...

...and these knitted cakes (a Christmas present suggestion).

I continue to really enjoy my weekly magazine-fest, enjoy immersing myself in the pages, drooling and swooning my way through the styling ideas, the shopping suggestions, the recipes, the seasonal inspirations, not to mention other peoples houses and lifestyles and creations.

Sunday afternoon, 3pm, and we wrap up warm in coats and hats and scarves and gloves and head out into the darkening day. It's our town's annual Christmas Festival. The high street has been closed to cars and filled with festivities. A brass band plays Christmas carols, and there are stalls selling Christmas wreaths, hot roasted chestnuts, mince pies, mulled wine. And lo and behold bits of a fairground have magically appeared...

...the Little People are so stunned to see all this where there is normally a road, they are lost for words. They can't quite believe what they are seeing. A carousel...

 

..and fairground games! They beg us to let them try their little hands at hook-a-duck and triumphantly  come away with a giant inflatable hammer and a cuddly toy dog.
 

4pm and we watch a procession of children walk up the street carrying hand made paper lanterns lit inside with candles. The brass band is walking too, and we all go up to the churchyard to sing Christmas carols. Little Man is busily chasing Little Lady around the gravestones with his giant inflatable hammer. They are shrieking with laughter, which clashes embarrassingly with O Little Town of Bethlehem.

 

So we leave the church and the town and head back in the dark to number 24, to hearth and home. We are loving our fire this winter, it's giving us endless, cosy, fireside pleasure.  It's hard to photograph though :: I wanted to try and show you the coloured flames produced by these but the colours didn't come out very well. Ah well, you can imagine me can't you though, curled up on the sofa in front of the fire doing my thing...

...yup, crocheting of course. I got myself into a little bit of a hooking frenzy this weekend as the end of the hexagon blanket came into sight. I don't think I've ever managed to crochet so fast and for so long. I  turned out hex after hex after hex until finally, finally, when my fingers were almost too stiff to do any more, the last one was completed at 10.30pm last night, just as the fire was dying down to embers,. I am now working a bit of an edging to it, and can't wait to show you when it's all completely finished.

Yes, Sunday was a Great Day too.

In fact, the whole weekend remains locked in my memory as one big long extended Perfect Moment. Hope yours was too?

xxxxx

Orange and Raisin cookies

Hello, how are you today? Good I hope, I really do.
All well here I'm pleased to report, I am feeling so very much better than I was on Friday, and I thank you for all your get well wishes. Little Man is no longer hot and limp (woohoo) and is happily back at school today, and although I am still sniffly with a funny deaf-in-one-ear thing going on, I think I am over the worst. And I am glad.
Its been a lovely morning here today, we have been blessed with such a lot of sunshine in my little corner of the world recently and oh I am so happy about that! I love this late Autumn sunshine very much, it makes daily life shine. And I do like Shiny Happy, especially on a Monday morning.

As soon as I came home from the school run this morning I decided to bake cookies. Aside from  wanting something nice to eat, I had an urge to fill the Attic24 house with the smell of baking and this recipe does just that. I can smell it now as I type, and it's quite wonderful.

I've been meaning to share this recipe with you for a week or two now, but have been slightly nervous. You see its my first ever "own" baking recipe and I needed to make sure it really was good enough to pass on. So this is the fourth batch I've made and yes, if I say so myself, I think they are scrumptious. They are sort of a cross between a rock bun and a cookie, they are soft and moist and really (what word to use??) well they are really mmmmmm. Yeah, thats just it, mmmmmm.

As well as being mmmmmm, these cookies are also lovely and orangey, and I am having a slight crush on all things orangey at the moment. Lemons have been left behind with the summer months and I am enjoying feasting on zesty clementines and big juicy orangey oranges which we always have in the fruit bowl.

So, into a bowl (red and spotty) put the following ::

• 100g plain flour

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 50g soft brown sugar
• 50g soft butter/margarine
• finely grated rind of half a small orange
• a little freshly grated nutmeg

Rub together with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Usually when I make cakes or biscuits, I tend to employ the mechanical whizzy method with a blender or processor or electric whisk. I had kind of forgotten the simple pleasure of using my fingers, of getting right in to the cookie mixture. It's great!

When the bowl is full of beautifully zesty crumbs, mix in 80g raisins, or dried fruit of your choice (I thought dried cranberries would work well here actually).

Then add 1 tablespoon (15ml) of freshly squeezed orange juice and mix quickly with a fork until the mixture starts to come together.

The mixture will be quite sticky, but don't worry, it will work out.

Heat the oven to 180 / 350 / gas 4, and line a  baking tray with baking parchment.

Then using your fingers or a spoon, dollop lumps of the cookie mixture onto the baking sheet, spreading well apart :: I manage to make 12 cookies in total. Do not squish the dough together, they should look rough and lumpy and should not be handled too much.

In my oven I bake for 15 mins maximum, but often check after 13 mins or so. You want the cookies to still be soft to the touch on top and only very lightly golden. Do not overcook or they will be hard and dry once they cool. And hard and dry is not nearly so enjoyable as soft and moist.

I think these are best eaten on the day they are made, and bestest still when they are warm from the oven. But be warned they are exceeeeedingly moreish. And are very likely to be snaffled by any Little People in residence. I do really feel appreciated in my house when I make these, I love to witness a good, satisfying post-baking Snaffle.

Sniffly-sneezy

We aren't well here today. I've got the beginnings of a sniffly-sneezy head cold and Little Man is home with me too, sitting on the sofa under the granny blanket in his pj's, looking decidedly limp. You know that particular way that Little People look when their Little Bodies are dealing with a temperature :: downturn of mouth, furrowing of brow, drooping of eyelids and limpness of body. We were both up for a considerable amount of time in the night, him with a body almost too hot to touch, and me struggling not to panic about it. Things do tend to get slightly dramatic at 3am.

We have baked some buns together this afternoon. I find I always have an urge to bake when the children are ill, a sort of stress reliever for me and a mild diversion for them. It works to a point.

But because I am not feeling great myself today, I find myself in the most unusual position of actually Not Fancying my own baking. I know, an exceedingly rare experience it has to be said. I have instead eaten a handful of mixed nuts, a banana and two satsumas. Hot water with lemon and honey to drink. Oh how very healthy and sensible, not like me at all, I must surely be under the weather.

I wanted to quickly show you my hyacinths again today :: they continue to provide a huge dollop of cheerfulness around here, which is most welcome on sniffly-sneezy days.

The flowers have begun to open, although sadly I cannot actually smell them yet. I don't know if its because they don't have a scent, or because my nose is stuffed.

They are beautiful in their freshness and simplicity.
And quite simply I am loving them.

And on a completely un-related note, with no relevance what-so-ever, please can I show you my latest bit of household kit?
Yes, it's my new feather duster. I've never owned one if these before and I am wondering how I ever managed to do Housekeeping without one?
Oh, we are great buddies already, it's amazing how much pizazz an implement such as this can put into the tedious chore of dusting and de-cobwebbing. Its enormous fun swirling this thing around the coving.

I also wish to say ((t h a n k  y o u)) so much for all your wonderful comments about my cosy homely home post yesterday. It was lovely to hear your voices echo what I do honestly feel myself :: that my home is turning out to be a rather warm, friendly, relaxed, cosy, colourful place to hang out.

Have a wonderful weekend my friends, stay warm and happy and don't forget to make some time to snuggle with your loved ones. Thats what I'm about to go and do. Right now :: the sofa, my Little droopy Man and my blankets are calling me.
See's you all next week.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Domesticated Sunday

I think we've forgotten how to go out. Another weekend and another stay-at-home fest for the Attic24 family. Well a part of it was spent at my in-laws eating junk food (pizza and chips) and drinking sparkling wine and allowing the Little People to sit wide-eyed in front of endless choices of children's channels on Sky TV. Fun of sorts, but oh I did enjoy coming home again :: there's only so much junk I can take in one day.

Sometimes on a Monday morning when I sit down to blog, nothing much springs to mind. If we've not done anything riveting over the weekend, the camera usually contains a hotch potch of Domestic images :: nothing specatcluar, just the Stuff of Life. But I love it, I continue to delight in all things domestic, I get my thrills from such simple, homely things these days. Trips to Paris? Wild Parties? Nightclubs? At one time in my life, yes, but these days, nope.

I am aware that my blog is showing repeat patterns, well it is bound to isn't it, to some extent? I am trying not to apologise for this, as the wonderful Mrs Magpie once said "blogs follow life and not vice versa", and I do try and remember this.

And I really enjoy photographing my home life. I've been inspired by some blogs recently that have been showing a series of photogrpahs documenting "a week in the life". I just love this whole idea, love that the ordinariness of life-at-home can become something special when photographed and shared :: warm, cosy, friendly, intimate. Have a look at Notes from my Days, The Ecstasy of Being Ordinary and Garden Nymph for some beautiful images of Domesticity.

So here for your perusal,  are some little snippets of my own Domesticated Sunday....

Sunday morning :: I bake banana bread, ((click)) I photograph it hot and fragrant as it comes out of the oven. Butter melts on the still-warm bread, just moments before it is devoured by the resident locust-children (and their father).

Sunday morning yarn :: after a visit to a little wool shop the previous day, I get the pleasure of opening the bag again on Sunday morning and force-feeding myself eye-candy. Gobble it up and then ((click)) take a  photograph.

A little lull in the afternoon :: I sit drinking tea and making hexagons. After showing off my blanket to the lovely ladies in the wool shop on Saturday, I have renewed enthusiasm for it.

Little snippets of yarn :: for some reason I just adore seeing these accumulate almost as much as I love seeing the hexagons themselves grow. ((click)) and capture it on camera.

I opened a new box of tissues yesterday :: I loved the design on the box when I bought it (roses again, my rose-fest shows no signs of letting up). It was only when I opened the box and took the first tissue out that I realised each one is decorated with rose petals. How thoughtful, how delightful! To blow ones nose on such prettiness! ((click)) that too, that rosy loveliness.

Browsing through the Laura Ashley catalogue :: we are gearing up for some major home renovations/decorations after Christmas and I am enjoying planning it out in my mind, thinking of paint colours, curtains, lighting, furniture...

Domestic chores still needing to be done :: early evening and I fold clean laundry in the bedroom, put away the piles, re-clothe beds with clean-cotton bedding. Think how I adore my ripple blanket and the smell of clean cotton laundry and ((click)).

And so to bed :: I go early (9pm) and sit to read a while.

A birthday present :: such a generous and unexpected gift from my friend Lovely C, this book is beautiful, interesting and thought-provoking. I love "nesting" in bed, snuggled up amongst crisp white cotton, CK roses and my ripple-stripes. Such warmth and happiness ((click))

And so to sleep :: thinking of roses and lavender, and looking forward to the week ahead.

It's half term week here, and right now I'm drinking coffee, typing this on the laptop at the dining table while the Little People are watching a film. I've been really looking forward to this week, I love the ease-up on routines during school holidays, the possibilities of simple fun with my Little People. 

Here's to a happy Domesticated Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday for us all. Enjoy!

xxxxxxxxxxx

Carrot cake

Ok, I am trying to think calm thoughts, to be quiet and calm and think straight so I can try and string words together coherently. But the truth is I am SO EXCITED I can hardly contain myself, can hardly type because I am brimming over with delight and happiness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And the cause for such celebration, for such complete joy?
A recipe.
A simple, beautiful, old fashioned, no-frills, wonderful, ecsquisite recipe.
I can't begin to tell you how happy I have been this morning :: apron on, radio on, pottering around in my kitchen, baking this cake. Happy, happy happy.

So. Let me elaborate before you shake your head and assume I have gone completely off the rails into loony-land. This is all about Carrot cake. Yes, carrot cake. Oh how I adore this cake! If you were to ask my Little People What is Mummy's Favourite Cake, they will instantly declare it to be Carrot cake. They know me, they know this to be The Truth.

But do you know what? Up until this very day, I have never ever been able to find a carrot cake recipe that produces a cake that works out. And even if the cake has somehow worked out (ie risen and been cooked properly, not too dry, not soggy in the middle etc) it is often not the exact sort of carrot cake I like. I don't like added extras (walnuts, sultanas, coconut, pineapple???). I prefer a light, airy sponge to  a dark, dense one, but it still has to be moist. I cannot stand dry cakes. And the frosting on top : I have never ever been able to make these work out either. Most recipes I have come across use a  cream cheese frosting, and for me this just does not work. The frosting never sets properly, it remains slippy and slidy and runny and just not right.
But today, in my quest to try just one more recipe to see if it could be The One, I hit gold.
I produced a cake which, in my humble opinion, ticks all the boxes of a perfect carrot cake.
Sponge :: light and airy, yet moist and tasty.
Ingredients :: simple.
Frosting :: NO cream cheese involved, this frosting recipe was a total revelation.

So let me share my find with you. It comes from a little neat booklet of recipes created by an old fashioned UK Flour company called Be-Ro.
One weekend when I was visiting the in-laws, M had produced the most amazing orange cake, so I asked if I could have the recipe. She showed me her little "Home Recipes" booklet from Be-Ro and I scribbled down 3 recipes that appealed to me at the time:: Moist orange cake, Strawberry Muffins and Carrot Cake.
I immediately liked the sound of the carrot cake recipe, because it is simple. I had quite high hopes for it being The One, just from looking at the ingredients list.

Into a bowl, put the following ::
225g Self Raising Flour
1/2 teaspoon ground mixed spice.

Stir in the following ::
150g soft, dark brown sugar (now I used light brown sugar cos that's all I had, and it worked great. Not sure how different the dark sugar would make it?)
150g grated carrot (2 medium carrots, I grated them very fine)

Make a well in the centre and add ::
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
150ml oil (now then, I used olive oil which is all I had, but truly this was not the best, should have been a light, flavourless oil)

Now Beat it! Yeah! Put music on and give it some welly! I used an electric whisk on High power, and really whisked it good. The mixture is sloppy, like a heavy batter.

Pour it into a lined tin (the recipe said an 11x7" tin but I don't have one, so I used my 8" square brownie pan).
Bake for 40mins, 180 C / 350 F / gas 4.

While the cake is baking, make the frosting.
Put into a heatproof bowl the following ::
50g butter
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
rind of half the orange.

Put in microwave for 45 secs or so until butter has melted.
Beat in 225g icing sugar until smooth.
This makes a lovely, pale yellow, orangey sweet topping. It is quite simply perfect.

Once the cake has cooled, spread the Frosting liberally over the top. My little touch was to add some finely shredded orange rind for decoration.

Cut into squares, and marvel at how light the sponge is, how well the zesty frosting sits in a  nice generous layer without sliding off.

Now make yourself a brew, sit in the sunniest part of the house and eat. Oh!!!! It is so so so perfectly cakey and good! Sweet and moist, light and airy. Almost too good to be true.
Eat one more piece just to be sure. Mmmmm yes it really is Delicious.

Ok, I need just one more bit to really, really make sure this is The One.
And it is.
The One.
Happy happy happy.

Shopping and Baking

 Ahh school days, they are treating us well right now. After a shaky start to the term, Little Man has delighted and surprised me by doing a complete turnaround and now appearing Keen to go to school each day. No more tears or mishaps, no hysterics and I am so glad of that fact. I don't think I could've coped with many weeks like that first one, don't think Tesco would've let me keep coming in to snot and weep round the fruit and veg each morning.
Little Lady is also very happy with the whole Going To School thing. She loves her uniform, loves her teacher, loves the classroom, loves her new friends. On Monday she started full time and it's taking some getting used to (for me, not her). No more dashing out at lunch time to collect her, I now have a straight six hours each day to do stuff. To be Me. And like I say, it's taking some getting used to.
I admit I have felt a little adrift at times, and to combat that I have mostly been Shopping and Baking.

Mondays is my usual day for food shopping and during the summer holidays I had been doing it the evening, which was quite a chore. But now the Little People are out all day I am back to morning jaunts to the supermarket with the old biddies and Mums-of-toddlers. I don't mind the weekly supermarket shop to be honest. I have been collecting the Tesco/Cath Kidston bags as and when they have appeared and it does jolly the whole event up quite nicely.

Yesterday (Tuesday) I decided to go off on a little solo jaunt. It was quite exciting as it involved trains and Big City Shops, and I had a lovely time :: nothing like a bit of travelling, browsing and retail therapy to lift the spirits. I browsed in Borders, bought this luscious pink glass cake stand from Paperchase. It perfectly matches my new cyclamen.

So this morning I couldn't really justify going shopping again (well I've run out of money). So I decided to bake and decorate buns. The Little People need buns, they are Essential and I had to make them.

But truthfully I really just couldn't wait to see what they would look like on my new cake stand. I've never owned a cake stand before, and I am actually thrilled with it. Best six pounds fifty pence I've spent in ages.

Looking at these photos, I think I need to invest in some proper coloured paste for colouring the icing, the sort that Jane uses for hers. My cheap strawberry liquidy stuff is just not cutting the mustard here is it? And talking of cakes and coloured icing, have you come across the baking over at Kitschen Pink? Oh my, this is one delightful blog and her baking is beautiful, truly beautiful. Yes I think I've just discovered a whole new area of retail therapy opening up before me :: icing colours and glittery sprinkle stuff and wafer roses and little sugar flowers. Mmmmm, bring it on.

In order to take todays photos I had to sweep off the coffee table and attempt to  make a teensy tiny area of my home look tidy. Serisouly, this pace is a mess and today I have had complaints from the Management. Have been told in no uncertain terms to do less shopping, less blogging and more housewifery. I need to dust off the Dyson and make the house a little more presentable or else The Management (ie J) may well get Stroppy.

I wish I liked housework more, wish that I could clean and tidy with the same passion that I shop and bake and crochet and blog. But sadly it just never appeals in quite the same way and I can always find nicer things to do with my time. No, I am not a good housekeeper, but I am quite good at purchasing pretty things. I bought this little enamel peg bucket yesterday from British Home Stores, and I think it's delightful. Yes, Purchasing Pretty Things is something I really am good at.

Our Summer :: the Rainy Days

Thanks so very much for all your warm welcome home wishes yesterday, for Little Man's Birthday wishes and for the hugs and sympathy for the start of school. OK, I have to admit that in the grand scheme of things, yesterday was not really so bad. I know there was snot and tears, but we are all still intact, no limbs were lost, and no-one was irreparably damaged in any way.  I kind of lost the perspective there for a while when I was writing yesterdays post, those darn emotions, don't they lead us a merry dance sometimes? Silly old me.
Despite the traumatic start, Little Man did in fact go on to have a "great" day yesterday, and this morning, well he was still extremely clingy but no tears thank goodness. I am hoping the morning drop-off will get progressively easier day by day. That I will not traumatise the poor teachers and other mothers by snotting over them again.

So :: onward and upward. The next few days, if it's ok by you, I feel the need to review a little. To do Closure of our Summer. I like the word Closure. According to the online dictionary, there are several definitions, but the one that's most appropriate here is this ::
"an often comforting or satisfying sense of finality"

Somehow it seems important for me to record some of the past six weeks, to remember the ordinary, every day bits of summer  '08 that would perhaps otherwise get forgotten. To sort of lay them out, view them, then wrap them up and store them away and get on with the activity of Autumn. I was looking back through photos and a few of my posts-in-draft yesterday and was delighted and surprised to see that our summer this year was really rather good, despite the weather. I feel as if we enjoyed it hugely, rain and shine,  and the time spent with my Little People throughout the six weeks was really great.

These pictures were all taken on one single day at the start of the holidays :: Wednesday 30th July.

This day was very typical of the Wet Days we spent together at home during the summer, although as August went on, we increasingly seemed to have more and more children in the house. Number 24 has become a magnet for children up and down the street as well as various ajoining streets. It's been great fun if not a little noisy and chaotic at times (yesterday after school I had 5 extra kids in the house as well as my two, I kid you not). And as much as I love that they enjoy coming to our house, I did like the days when it was just the three of us.

There was crafting :: I bought the Littl'n's a Craft Chest at the start of the hols, and pretty much left them to their own devises with it. I didn't really do much in the way of organised activity, only helped out when I was asked to, and it was great to see what they came up with. A spider named Harry (Little Man's creation), and two little pompom pets (Little Lady made these). And over the weeks there have been all sorts of wonderful things constructed out of pipe cleaners, feathers, sticks and straws, card and foam, string and selotape, glue and glitter. It's been very messy at times (there is still a sprinkling of glitter throughout the house), but good all the same.

There was baking :: I baked a LOT during the holidays, mainly to provide snack material for the hungry hoards, but also quite often as a rainy day activity to keep Little Fingers busy.

There's nothing like the promise of smarties, hundreds and thousands and Writing-Icing to bring excitement and creativity into the kitchen.

There was morning coffee :: my treat each morning when I was missing my regular cafe visits. I have this great coffee machine, its a Phillips Senseo.
I can highly recommend this machine. The coffee it produces is mighty fine and has this scrumptious creamy layer on the top :: it's almost (but not quite) as good as a cafe coffee experience.

And its one of those little things that makes me hugely happy, one of life's little luxuries. My favourite mug with a creamy cup of coffee with a sprinkling of chocolate powder, and perhaps a little caramelised biscuit to go with it..mmmmmmm. I sit at the table with the Little People, sometimes crocheting, sometimes blog-reading on my baby laptop, while they get stuck in with the crafting.

There were stories :: cosying up on the sofa under the Granny blanket, reading together.

There was "work" :: I found these books in the supermarket and they have been great. Little Man loves to work these pages, and Little Lady has even started to read and write using hers. It was delightful to watch.

There was counting :: coins emptied from the money box and painstakingly counted (several times) into little metal buckets. Later in the afternoon we went out in the rain, carrying the money buckets to the local newsagent to buy a few sweets. Counting out the coins on the counter, exchanging pennies for lolipops to suck on the way home.

There was Home Cinema :: on this particular late afternoon, the Little People chose the Nanny McPhee dvd.

We adore this film :: I particularly love the children's bedroom scenes, with the beds all decked out in patchwork quilts and crochet blankets, the huge light filled window and the delightful butterfly mobile.

 

It's a magical film, perfect for a rainy afternoon.
So, that was the rainy, wet day that was 30:07:08.
It was ordinary, but oh so worth remembering.
Tomorrow, a look at the Sunny Days........