DAPHNE'S ORANGE CAKE

Good morning to you,

Have you heard the latest news with regards to interiors?

Apparently the art of Macrame is coming back into fashion, albeit in a more up to date form.

.... and here I am, old enough to remember when Macrame was trendy first time around, in the early 1970's.  

When Macrame first appeared, it was such a contrast to anything our parents had in their homes, along with Peacock chairs and rattan tables.... it was an era of change. We did not want the same furniture and accessories, we wanted to be completely different. Practically every young couple seemed  to have Macrame decorating their home, in one form or another. Honestly everyone seemed to be Macrame crazy. I remember Phyllis thought the idea was silly and did not embrace the new fashion, in any shape or form, in fact I think it would be fair to say she hated it.  She could not understand why we youngsters wanted plants hung from the ceiling, it completely mystified her.

Macrame plant holders were the most popular item amongst my friends, filled with trailing plants and hung from the corner of the ceiling. With the more adventurous of my friends, having two or three holders suspended from the ceiling filled with plants.... and this could be hazardous, depending on the type of ceiling you had. I remember George screwing a hook into the ceiling, assuring me that it would be fine.  I did mention that the holder would be heavy because I intended putting fruit into the baskets, but he told me I had nothing to worry about.  So the macrame holder was hung, with the fruit placed into the baskets.... and what happened?  Yes you are right, it crashed onto the floor with the fruit rolling around the room. So it was off to the hardware shop where we discovered the type of fixing George needed. Due to the type of ceiling we had, we needed a butterfly screw. When the butterfly screw was inserted into the ceiling, all was fine, although to be honest, I did avoid walking underneath the Macrame holder for a little while, until I was fully satisfied it was secure.

... and what type of plant did we use to fill our Macrame holders. I remember my friends added Spider plants and instead of removing the new plants, they allowed them to grow. By allowing the baby Spider plants to grow, they created a trailing plant, from what should have been an upright plant, 

Another popular trailing plant was Devils Ivy, this was because the leaves were a glossy green and by regularly applying a little Baby Bio cleaner, the leaves would remain shiny. When the plant became too long,  it was re-potted and a moss pole was introduced, so the trailing plant, became a climber. The ivy was tied to the moss pole and  the size of the moss pole,  dictated how large the ivy grew.  Some friends managed to grow plants up to six feet tall.

It was always a trailing plant that was used.... although I was slightly different, because as I mentioned earlier, I inserted three different woven baskets into the circles and used the baskets to store my fruit.  The baskets were hung from the ceiling, over the the kitchen counter, which I thought was very chic.... it was so different to how my friends used their macrame holders. Over the years, I've always created a twist to whatever is in fashion, thus creating my very own style.

My mind is racing now, as different thoughts are popping into my head.

Do you remember the Macrame owls which were hung on everyone's walls.  The owl was hung from a horizontal twig which was attached to the top and bottom of the owl.  Actually if I remember rightly, I think the Macrame owl started life on the top twig and finished off on the bottom twig.

Oh and those long handled Macrame shoulder bags were very much in vogue.  If you were a follower of the 'Hippy style' then this was the bag for you.

.... and my absolute favourite, was a Macrame belt I owned, which I loved and used as a hipster belt for my hipster jeans.... does anyone use such a word nowadays.... hipster, I think it has been relegated to the 'old fashioned' section of our vocabulary. Oh and of course the jeans had to be bell bottomed jeans, the bigger the better.

From reading one small article, it brought back a memory, which was tucked away and something which I had not thought about in years.

.... and something which has been around for much, much longer, is an ingredient we are using today.... oranges.

Because today we are using oranges to bake,

an Orange cake. This may look like a very plain cake, but a cake does not have to be 'all singing and dancing' to be an enjoyable cake.  When time is of the essence, this is an easy cake to put together.

So without further ado, it's on with the pinnie and time to organise my ingredients.

INGREDIENTS 

YOU WILL NEED

TO MAKE

DAPHNE'S ORANGE CAKE

200g plain flour 

2 teaspoons of baking powder

200g caster sugar

4 large eggs

150 ml sour cream

1 large orange ~ juiced and zested ~ you will need 4 tablespoons of orange juice

150 ml sunflower oil

THE SYRUP

2 tablespoons caster sugar

6 tablespoons of orange juice

You will need 1 x 23cm loose bottom sandwich tin

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/160C Fan 

HOW TO MAKE

DAPHNE'S ORANGE CAKE

Oil a 23cm sandwich tin and line with baking parchment.

Sieve the flour and baking power into a large mixing bowl.

Add the caster sugar and mix to combine the ingredients.

Using a separate medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs, sour cream, orange zest, orange juice and sunflower oil.  Whisk until combined.

Pour the wet ingredients, into the dry ingredients and thoroughly mix together, making sure there are no lumps of flour in the mixture.

Pour the cake mixture into the pre-prepared sandwich tin.

Place in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until the cake is thoroughly baked.

 When the cake has been baking for 30 minutes, make the syrup.

 Pour the orange juice into a small saucepan and add the caster sugar.

Stir, using a low heat, until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer for 3 minutes.  Set aside for the moment.

 When the Orange cake is baked, remove from the oven, leaving the cake in the cake tin. Using a cake skewer, prick holes over the surface of the cake and brush with the orange syrup. It will seem as if you have too much, but as  the cake cools, it will absorb the syrup.

 When cooled, remove the cake from the cake tin

 and all there is left to do

is

 enjoy.

I thought I would show you a close up of the Orange cake and as you can see, the cake has a lovely texture.

Before I leave you, I think I should explain why I was not with you last week. My only excuse is the weather.... yes the weather. After so much dreadful weather, we had the most glorious week, so both George and I spent our time working in the garden.  We worked hard everyday and to be honest, by the time Saturday arrived, I  was so tired. I never let my age restrict me from doing anything, but I am being honest when I say, sometimes I push myself too far and last week was one such week. 

Also,  because I wanted to get so much work done in the garden, I did not go to my new craft group either, but I fully intend to go this Thursday, so I promise to let you know how it goes.

Until then, take care of yourself and I will catch up with you next Saturday.

As Always,

DAPHNE PLANTING SUMMER FLOWERING SEEDS

Good Morning to you,

My mind is wandering....

I close my eyes, take a breath, and allow myself to travel to warmer times.

I am not visiting India, America, Italy, Cyprus or some other exotic place.

Today, I am much closer to home.

Today I am walking in my summer garden, which is overflowing with beautiful flowers.

Some flowers are tall and sway with the breeze, whilst others have self seeded and find their own place in the garden.

The clematis are busily scrambling up their supports, covering every spare inch of space.

Whilst roses, with their vibrant yellow, bask in the glory of the sun. With each passing day they become paler in colour, until their beauty fades and the petals float to the ground.

.... but whilst some roses have finished their display there are others, who are just learning to climb, stretching their branches towards the sun.

It must be summertime, as the fragrance of roses fills the air

and containers are filled to the brim with petunias, fuchsia and geraniums.

Where old containers are not thrown away, but placed on their sides and filled with flowers.

.... and Evening Primrose, always a welcome sight, stands alone unsupported. As the evening sun goes down, they light my garden with their beauty.

                 

I watch as this young clematis, the Star of India, finds its way through the old plum tree, striving to reach the very top.

I feel so content and so very happy.

.... but then I pause, open my eyes and look out of my window.

This garden I am describing, is not my garden anymore, this is the garden I loved and cherished for so many years, which now belongs to someone else. 

The space I see in front of me, is very different.  There are no billowing flowers, no climbing roses, no flowers swaying in the breeze.

.... instead there is a garden which needs my help. I look closer and I can see the changes we have made, the borders have been dug, bushes have been planted and autumn planted bulbs are beginning to peek through the ground.  This garden is not the same as it was last year, it is slowly changing, and with my help, it will be as beautiful as my previous garden.

There is no sadness for my lost garden, because I look forward to re-creating the style of garden I love, here in my new garden. It will take commitment and energy, and this excites me.

So my first task of the year, is planting as many seeds as possible. When there are large spaces to fill, this is the cheapest way to create colour.

Every seed I plant will be wildlife friendly.... and my first packet of seeds to be planted are,

Cosmos

I agree with my favourite gardener, Monty Don, when he says 

'With lovely ferny foliage and elegant blooms in any colour you like that’ll keep on flowering for months, cosmos are just out of this world'.  

(Mailonline 15/5/15)

With a smile on my face, I know these tiny seeds, will gift me with the most beautiful flowers this summer. I have so many seeds to plant, that I am utilising every empty container I can find.  As you can see these egg boxes work perfectly.

.... and to keep me on track, I have a beautiful garden book, 'at the ready'  to record my plants

and I cannot wait,

to once again, see the cheery, bobbing heads of beautiful flowers, waiting to welcome me, when I walk into the garden this summer.

But for now, I just need to be patient..... oh and believe me when I say, I have plenty of patience, because I know with patience, my new garden is going to give me so much joy.

With patience, my newly planted seeds will grow. With patience, the roses and clematis, I was given for my birthday, will grow. With patience the plants I brought with me, will settle and grow. This is such an exciting time.

How about you? Are you planning your summer garden? Are you reading seed catalogues deciding what seeds to buy, or is your garden, already filled with summer flowers just waiting to burst forth?

Before I leave you, I just wanted to mention that I will not be with you next Thursday, as I have been invited to join another crafting group.  I've met the ladies and they are lovely, so I will have much to tell you when I write next time. I will be returning the following week, but on a different day.  My new day of writing to you will be Saturday. So I will catch up with you on Saturday 21st April.... my goodness that does seem a long way away.

Until then, take good care of yourself.

As Always,

DAPHNE'S VINTAGE CUTLERY (FLATWARE)

Good Morning to you,

Yesterday, I decided to post something slightly different on Instagram. I thought it would be interesting to share some vintage cutlery which I own. 

.... and this is the photograph I added,

my vintage, fish knife and fork, which is part of a 6 piece set.

I had no sooner posted than my phone started to 'ping' with friends leaving 'likes' and also leaving lovely comments. 

I had written, 

'I realise it isn't popular nowadays to use

 a fish knife and fork when eating fish, 

but I love the right cutlery 

for the right food.'

.... and it seems many of my Instagram friends felt the same way.

So I thought it would be a nice idea, before I cleaned the cutlery, to show you some other pieces which are tucked away in my drawers.

Now as you can see, this knife and fork along with most of the vintages pieces I am going to show you, need a good clean, but I thought you really would not mind, because the patina is lovely... well that is what I am telling myself.... and in actual fact, the camera captured a lot of colour which I could not see in the daylight.

George loves uses these pieces (not uncleaned of course) because he says, unlike a lot of modern forks, this fork fits his hand beautifully.

.... as you can see, I gave in, and decided to clean this knife because I wanted to show you the detail. The design, although worn in places, is still beautiful.... and this is the reason I do not clean my cutlery too often, because the design will wear away, if I am not careful.

These dessert spoons are not vintage, they are from the 1960s.... does that qualify for vintage.... I am not sure. The shape of the oval spoon is beautiful and again they feel lovely in the hand.... and when cleaned, they sparkle.

Now I have to be honest, I am not really sure what this lovely little spoon is used for.  It is too large to be a jam or marmalade spoon,

and too small to be a serving spoon.... but again, the design is beautiful and I adore the detail on the spoon.

I tend to use this spoon for serving double cream. As the handle looks lovely against the pale colour of the cream.

.... and aren't these servers beautiful. There is so much detail incorporated into each piece. I have just noticed, I seem to be using the word 'detail' quite a lot. But there is so much detail in everything I am showing you.

Now, I have a little story to tell about this pair of servers.  Well it wouldn't be Ivy, Phyllis and Me! if I didn't have a little story to tell.

I have a love of vintage cookery books, as does my daughter, Natasha. Roughly, 3 years ago, I discovered,

this 1982 edition of Cooking with Robert Carrier with parts of the book originally published in 1965.

.... but the important thing is, do you recognise the servers on the front cover? Yes, they are the same as the set I own.  So when I discovered this book and noticed the servers on the cover, I just had to give them to Natasha, as part of her gift. The servers were a lovely surprise.

So if I gave Natasha my servers, why do I have another set.  The reason is, when I was visiting Danielle a year or so later, we went to a huge car boot sale.... and there they were.... these servers, loosely wrapped in paper, laying in a box of oddments. When I pulled back the paper, I knew exactly what they were, and I was so excited to find them, but I had to calm myself down and not appear too keen, because as you know, if a seller feels you are keen, the price will go up.  I just mentioned how dirty they were and I offered £2, never thinking for a moment, that the seller would agree, but I think he had experienced a slow morning and he agreed the price.  I could not believe I had snapped the servers up, for the princely sum of £2 . I have to tell you, I walked away from the stall quite quickly, in case he changed his mind and decided to chase after me and increase the price. Truthfully, I do know, that  he wouldn't do that,  but I was so caught up in my excitement, I just had to get away from the stall. I have to say, I get a thrill of excitement just talking about my marvellous bargain.  

.... and you can see why, I feel they are so special. Take a closer look, they are stunning.  Once I clean the servers, they will be shiny and bright and will look beautiful on my Easter table.

Now I could go on and show you more of my vintage pieces, but I feel, like me, you are probably very busy with your own Easter preparations, so I will save the rest for a later date.... and to be honest, I really need to crack on and clean my cutlery.

So for now, I will love you and leave you and wish you a very Happy Easter.

Take care and I will catch up with you again next Thursday.

As Always,

DAPHNE'S DECOUPAGE EASTER EGGS

Good Morning to you,

Oh dear me, I know, I'm a little late this week, but oh so glad that I have finally managed to catch up with you. 

As you know, this blog is predominantly a cookery blog, with a few other things thrown in for good measure. Sewing, a little home life, travel and the occasional shopping trip.

.... but one thing I have never shared with you.... is crafts.

That is until this week, when I mentioned on my Instagram account, that I was going to create a little Easter something on Ivy, Phyllis and Me! which at the time, felt like a very good idea.

.... and it was, except I hadn't taken into account the time element.

So Thursday came and Thursday went.... and the craft was not finished.

Friday arrived.... and finally on Friday afternoon I managed to  finish my creations.

.... and here we are, on Saturday, with something to share with you.

Now please don't misunderstand, it was not that I did not enjoy making these decoupage Easter eggs, I had just forgotten how long the process took.  I have not made these little Easter Eggs for about 35 years.... honestly it has been that long. 

I used to have fun making these with my daughters when they were little girls. So the length of time it took to make these Easter Eggs, completely slipped my mind.

But now that I am here, I think I had better hurry up and show you how I made these cute little Easter Eggs before another day passes by.

SUPPLIES

YOU WILL NEED

TO MAKE

DAPHNE'S 

DECOUPAGE EASTER EGGS

6 egg shaped polystyrene balls

Pair of sharp scissors

Paper napkins with an Easter design

6 pencils

PVA glue

1 small paint brush

coloured ribbons ~ 1cm in width

and cut into 15 cm lengths

6 pins.

HOW TO MAKE

DAPHNE'S

DECOUPAGE EASTER EGGS

Cut the napkins into 4 cm squares ~ I found it took 6 squares per layer.

Push the pencil about 2.5 cm into the centre of the rounded end of the polystyrene egg. 

This keeps the egg in place whilst you are

gluing the napkin pieces to the egg.

Brush the egg with a thin layer of glue.

Place the first piece of napkin onto the glue

 and brush with the glue brush. 

Don't worry if glue is showing on the napkin, because the glue is clear when it dries.

Continue until the whole egg is covered.

  If you find there are parts of the napkin 

which don't adhere, brush a little more glue onto the napkin.

Repeat with another layer of squares, so that you have 2 layers.

On the 3rd and final layer, tear pieces from the napkin, because you want the edges to be blurred, without

 any lines showing.

When finished layering, add another layer of glue over the finished egg.

Place the pencil with the egg still attached, into a jar and allow to dry.  

Repeat the process with the rest of the polystyrene eggs.

 When each one is finished, place into a jar and allow to dry.

Leave the eggs to dry overnight.

The next day, remove the pencils.... they might need a little tug.

If you find that small pieces of serviette have come away with the pencil, don't worry, you can brush on a small amount of glue and cover the space with a torn piece of napkin.

Place the eggs into egg cups with the hole facing you.

Fill the hole with glue.

Fold your first ribbon in half and pop both ends into the glue, push to make sure they are secure.

Do you see my mistake, I placed the ribbon in the hole with both pattern sides facing me.  Luckily I noticed this in time and corrected my mistake.

I left the mistake, because I felt 

it was easily done and anyway,

it is best for me to be honest

and highlight my mistakes,

which you will then avoid.

Continue to add ribbon to the rest of the eggs.

Leave the glue to dry overnight.

Whilst the eggs are drying, tie the ribbon into bows

then,

the next day, attach the ribbon with a pin as I 

have done in the photograph.

then hang your Easter eggs onto Pussy 

Willow branches

or

if you are lucky enough to have a Forsythia bush

growing in your garden,

then cut a few sprigs and bring indoors.

When I used to make these Easter eggs with

my daughters, I always used

Forsythia, because

it was the first yellow bush to

flower at this time of year.

Add any little Easter Eggs

which you might have
along with a large bunch of Daffodils.

.... and there you have it .... a lovely Easter table decoration.

Now I have to tell you, I did make a bit of a mess, which isn't like me, but I was so wrapped up in what I was doing, that I didn't notice bits of napkin dropping onto the floor.  Not to worry it was easily swept away.

This was so much fun and I really think your children or grandchildren will have as much fun making these Easter eggs.  What I enjoyed was the unexpected results which the design on the napkins created.  The eggs did not turn out as I imagined, but that is the joy of crafting. I loved what I created.

.... and will I be making anymore.... absolutely.  I think I will be 'doing away' with my bought Easter eggs and creating more of my own.

I hope you have as much fun as I did.

Oh and just before I leave you, my featured post this week is Easter Simnel Cake.... a delicious cake which I make each year at  Easter time.

Take care and I will catch up with you next Thursday.

As always,