Cheese and Marmite Pastry Pinwheels

I enjoy making these using left over shortcrust pastry, I enjoy eating them even more.  I roll the pastry into a thin rectangle, spread in quite thickly with Marmite, then sprinke strong grated cheese over the Marmite.  I roll up the rectangle and cut it into pinwheels.  Place the pinwheels on a baking tin and sprinkle with more grated cheese.  You can also add seeds of your choice at this stage too, I like pumpkin and sunflower seeds.  Bake in a medium oven for 15 - 20 minutes.  They don't hang about for long.

If we can't eat this, we will never eat these....

Here is 'Charlie' the Chocolate Chicken, cute isn't she?  She has hung around since Easter when all the chocolate eggs are long gone.  It seems such a shame to eat her.  Where would you start?  The beak would be cruel, the tail undignified!  She has taught me one thing in my bid for self sufficiency, if we are having trouble eating a chocolate chicken, there is no way we would eat these:

They are now 8 weeks old and almost as obedient as the dog.  (Which isn't very!)  They like me and get excited when I walk up the garden, I would like to think it is the bond we have, however I suspect it may be the cress, or stale bread or cake crumbs they are after.  My oldest son was up the garden this evening chuckling away blowing raspberries to them!(Cute, but he is weeks off 15 and working on his GCSE's).  My youngest dutifully feeds them grass first thing in the morning before school, they are well and truly part of my peculiar family!

Pear and Vanilla Butter

I have always enjoyed making Jams, jellies and preserves of all kinds.  Using the internet gives you such  wide access to many recipes.  Last year I discovered 'Apple Butter' that can be made in the 'slowpot', 'Crockpot'.  My neighbour gave me a large bag of apples and they needed preserving.  The Apple Butter made the house smell fantastic as it slowly cooked away, spiced with cinnamon.  This week I had a punnet of pears, they quickly turned too soft for school lunches.  I am trying hard to be thrifty and did not want to throw them away.  So I made 'Pear and Vanilla Butter'.  I am very pleased with the result, it tastes delicious.  I made it in the 'slowpot'.  I peeled all of the pears and put them in the pot on the high setting, without any liquid.  I added roughly the same volume of sugar to pear.  Then I added a couple of splashes of 'real' vanilla essence.  I cooked it on high for approximately 3 hours and then propped the lid for a further 2 hours, until the mixture had reduced, thickened and reached a setting point .  The result was one jar of thick, sticky, Pear and Vanilla Butter and it has a lovely hint of toffee and caramel flavour.  I have had some good advice that it is delicious on 'Blue Cheese Scones'.  I feel another 'Scone' recipe coming on!

My first Crochet Commission - via my Blog

Anyone reading the comments from my last post will understand my skills are finally in demand.  I was approached to make a hat.  Ok I will 'fess up' now, it was my Dad nagging me to make him a hat.  He asked for it, so I got straight to work with the hook!   This morning I presented him with this rather fetching fruitbowl, I mean hat.

As you can clearly see he was as thrilled to be presented with his hat as he was to be photographed first thing in the morning.  I offered to make my Mom a matching one with a flower embellishment but she just rolled her eyes, so I took that as a 'No'.  I thought the crochet 'his n her' look may catch on!  I have a feeling she will be offering my Dad a bribe or an ultimatum not to wear 'that' hat when he is with her or it is daylight!  If you too want to delight your loved ones, I have provided pattern links!

Here is the Ravelry link to the pattern

Here is the pattern on Crafty Christina's Blog

Get your orders in soon as I am expecting to be swamped by the demand for this fetching headwear.  Demand appears to be particularly high in the sweltering Spring/Summer months!

WSD Guild Meeting - A talk by Louise Claire A Contemporary Textile Artist

"Louise Claire is a contemporary textile artist based in UK. She specializes in creating highly detailed drawings, beautiful handmade printed accessories and embroidered artwork of Architecture.
Louise Claire has attracted the interest of companies who have requested a bespoke service of designing exclusive hand made products featuring their well-known building."   Louise Claire.
Today at Birmingham and District WSD Guild's meeting Louise Claire gave a talk and shared her textile work and designs with us.  I am not an embroiderer and I have never done any screen printing.  Also my dyeing knowledge is limited.  I had much to learn.  Louise Claire works from her own drawings.  She works predomimantly on buildings both in the UK and abroad.  She draws sections of buildings and creates a 'Motif' to reproduce in print and dye, using various materials, colours and embroidery techniques.  If you click the link above you will see a range of her work that I would find difficult to explain.  It is interesting to look at Design 'scrapbooks' and see how other people get their ideas developed from start to finish.
    It is always good to chat to other guild members about the projects they are working on and I also managed to work on a pair of Crocheted Socks I am currently making.  I hope to show you at least one finished sock soon!

Digging For Victory

I thought I would give you a tour of my garden in this post.  I have been busy and have lots to show you.  I use 'Deep Raised Beds' to grow vegetables in a small space.  These have several advantages.  They are easy to maintain, easy weeding and no digging and the soil warms up a little quicker to give the plants a headstart.  I read a book 'Square Foot Gardening' and follow some of these ideas, as plants are finished more get poked in.  I get a reasonable amount of produce from a small space although it does become haphazard.

I rotate what it is them each year as vegetables do not like to grow in the same space year after year.  The Potatoes are taking over here but there are also Parsnips and Courgettes.

This bed is home to Spinach, Onion, Turnips, Beetroot, Broad Beans, one or two Lettuce, and a Tomatillo.  It also has the Cold Frame that I use for salad crops, Rocket, Radish and Chives.

 The last one has Runner Beans, Peas and Kohlrabi.

 I also have ten Tomato plants in gowbags, in the Greenhouse.

A couple of Cucumber plants.  I am not very good at growing cucumbers but I try every year.

And five Chilli plants.  The Greenhouse is long overdue a clean and tidy up.  It is on my list of things to do.

I have this little Fig Tree that hated the harsh Winter, even the leaves aren't enough to cover your modesty!

The little Apple tree however, promises a bumper crop.

I have one blackcurrant bush and it is a really heavy 'cropper' I will get 5-6 pound of fruit from it. 

I also grow a few herbs, this lovely Sage bush attracts all the pollinators, the bees love it (so do the chickens!)