A summery fruit loaf

Summer has arrived with some hot days for us - the humidity is high & it is rather draining. 

Being the weekend, we felt like something with our tea, but in my view, it is too hot for cakes. However, tea loaves are much lighter & they give you that energy hit when you need it. 

I really just winged it - this is how I did it ... 

In a bowl combine

about 1 cup of dates,  1 cup of raisins / currants 

Pour boiling water over a large mug of 2 bags of peach &  orange tea (with citrusy baobab) or whatever tea you have to hand. 

Leave to cool & for the fruit to plump up. 

I left it for about 20 minutes but you can leave it overnight or for a few hours for really plump fruit.

I mixed 200 g of brown sugar & added the fruit & the tea liquid to the bowl, mixed it up (mainly to break up the dates) then added about 300g of self raising flour & 1 egg & mixed it all briefly. 

This was placed in a lined loaf tin & baked at 160-170 C fan for 1 hour or until a knife came out of the centre cleanly. 

The loaf cooling safely away from all the things that buzz about in summer ... 

I think the next one will have lemon or orange zest in it for a zingy summer taste. There is some variation in online recipes about adding butter to the recipe - without is obviously healthier but I have done it both ways & both work ... 

Definitely better option to cake in hot weather with an ice cold juice. 

What is cooling  on your baking rack at the moment? Tell all ... 

Dee 👩‍🍳🍞🍇🍊

A free motion 'threads bowl' workshop

The life long educator in me loves learning opportunities & I avail myself to local courses whenever I can.

A local haberdashery shop runs interesting workshops. I have done several there & I did my first free motion workshop there a few years ago. It was for a 3D tree in a tea cup & it was great fun & I was delighted with the result even though I had to work through my machine settings to get set it up. 

This one popped up for Free motion threads bowl & it looked absolutely gorgeous - making a bowl using soluble fleece & then shaping it. 

It incorporates a fabric pattern you might like so the possibilities are endless. You have to take your own threads to match the sample of fabric you wish to incorporate as well as a glass cereal bowl to dry your shape on. 

What fun it was, the machines set up for just 2 of us, what a privilege to have a small class. 

Bobbin & machine threaded with a grey thread to do the 'spiders web' support for the bowl & soon the 2 machines were humming happily with a steady sound. 

Tea & cake while colours were threaded, we both opted for the variegated thread in pinks which saved on winding bobbins & rethreading the machines. 

Free motion machine embroidery using water soluble fleece relies just on threads to hold it all together when the fleece is washed away so you have to concentrate on the stitches touching each other & sufficient stitches to maintain a shape. 

I rather liked the example with a flower shape in it so I roughly drew one on my fabric & embroidered it, going over the shape several times to give it support. 

The variegated thread gave a lovely tone of pinks. 

Using circular movements helps to give your shape more structure because, from past experience, straight lines tend to collapse because they are not joined at enough points. 

I had a few flower fabric shapes cut out so those were machine embroidered on lastly, more to check the technique than a must, being aware that the circular shape will become a bowl shape so placements need to be right for when it is done. 

Un-hooped, trimmed of the excess soluble fabric then a quick dunk in a basin of warm water before it is placed over the glass bowl & eased in to the final shape.

 I straightened out some of the lines of thread, flattened some of the circular bits I had embroidered around the top edge etc. 

The two bowls were then left to dry over a towel overnight.

 The fabric bowls are then eased off the glass bowls & only then do you know if your stitches will hold the shape you want or if there will be a collapse needing a starch spray ... 

I returned to pick up my bowl this morning & all is well. It came off the glass bowl easily & holds its shape well. 

It is a flatter bowl but with interesting edge details & I am rather pleased with this first effort at a new technique. 

Are you up for new challenges too? What is on your list? Thank you for stopping by, it is always appreciated. 

Dee 🧵🪡🧺👩‍🎨

A charming medieval church in the woods ...

 

Whilst out in the beautiful Shropshire countryside, we came across this 12th century medieval church down a peaceful green lane in the hamlet of Linley (meaning Lime Wood). It is a redundant, Grade 1 listed church under the care of the Conservation Trust. 

 It had a sign board at the entrance for The Churches Conservation Trust - Historic Church - open 

It is built entirely from local stone except the dressing stones & tiled roof. 

The Norman Church &  late 12th century tower served the medieval town of Much Wenlock. 

The strapped, studded wooden door opens in to a space that is not showy at all - it is where local people have worshipped for 800 years & has seen life through good & bad times. 

I always think - if these walls could only speak, what history they have been witness to .... 

Entry is via a south doorway with a half arched carving above, a similar doorway is found on the back of the church; the north door was blocked off when the tower was added centuries ago but it still has it weathered tympanum details. 

The blocked off door (top image) has more detailed carving than the door now used but their design is so similar, just on opposite sides of the church. 

The green man details on the north door is with his legs open & foliage in his mouth ...

The interior (according to the church website, no booklet available) has Romanesque carvings like the round tub font near the door. 

The tiled floor was a later addition in 1800's, made locally by Maw & Co near Ironbridge. 

The church was quite dark inside (I couldn't get the lights to come on) because it has rather narrow windows. The altar has 3 windows behind it & 2 narrow stained glass ones. 

However, the altar has a charming triptych panel of a cross & angels that was painted about 1870 by Harry Burrows. 

The gold paint glistened even in the low light, a really lovely painting. 

The tiles are again by Maws with some cross shaped patterns at the altar. 

We walked around the church & the narrowness of the windows is very evident from outside, as is the north door & its detail that was blocked off. 

You can see how the narrow windows are set in to the deep stone walls - a narrow band of window in the large recess (top right).

It is a charming setting amongst lime wood trees & has a lovely peaceful feel to it. 

Sometimes country lanes lead to unexpected spaces & this charming church is beautiful for its simplicity & understated details that belie its long history. These more simple spaces often feel more spiritual because there is no showy details that detract from the space.  

I hope you have enjoyed the visit with me, 

Dee 🪾🌳⛪️ 🙏

A perfect Solstice meal for hot weather ...

 I love to take my time over preparing a pretty table & menu for friends, even if it is a relaxed meal. It says someone has taken time over & given thought to many things like the weather (summer hot), the season (summer solstice) and the friends visiting.  

Using coloured glass brings in a freshness to a table setting & I enjoy using mine. It is not dishwasher proof so they are all rinsed by hand, a small price to pay for enjoying them. 

For the Summer Solstice,  my menu harked back to living in Africa & hot summers travelling in Europe ... 

This is what I made - 

Spatchcock chicken - with a zingy lemon, lime & ginger marinade, it always cooks better this way

New potatoes with lots of mint from the garden to give them that minty summer freshness 

Carrot & pineapple salad with an orange dressing - a summer favourite in Africa, made ahead so it is cold & refreshing. I did not add currants because not everyone eats them 

Green salad with cucumber, mange tout, green beans, tiny pepper rings, feta, radish, home made black pepper & thyme croutons. Salad bits served separately for choice because of guests preferences

Shopska salad (I enjoyed this in Sofia in Bulgaria) diced tomato, cucumber, peppers, red onion, feta, red wine vinaigrette . I added a little honey to take off the sharpness & made it ahead of time for flavours to develop ... 

 

A traditional Bulgarian restaurant & menu in Sofia on our trip across Transylvania. This very traditional restaurant was close to our hotel & it had beautiful authentic decor. 

Shopska salad was regularly served with our meals across Belgrade, Sofia, Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo & Arbanasi 

It was all absolutely delicious & light enough for a very hot summers evening while we mulled over how the first half of the year had been.  No year is without challenges & changes; it is how we ride the storms so they don't engulf us. 

We all agreed that it has been too hot for anything other than lots of salads with meat or fish, with jugs of iced water or tea.  

Pudding / desert was a British classic of Eton Mess. It is strawberry season &  they were just ripe.  

I made a mixed berry compote ahead of time to drizzle over it all & add that softness that is needed. 

All prepared ahead of the time & everyone assembled theirs as they liked. 

We decided on a refreshing mango sorbet instead of ice-cream.  It always looks better served in glass bowls  & these coloured vintage ones are perfect with their deep bowl. 

We took our pudding out on the patio to catch the early evening breeze - easy enough to enjoy outdoors in the cool softening light. 

 We enjoyed my friend's freshly baked lemon drizzle cake to finish it off - a lovely evening just catching up while the candles burnt low. 

The conservatory sideboard is the perfect place to set up & serve such meals from - convenient for everyone to help themselves to what takes their fancy & to return for seconds. 

This space is used the most for meals with its views over the garden & wide doors to catch the breeze too. 

I hope the next 6 months to the Winter Solstice is as blessed for everyone. Thank you for stopping by, each & every visit is appreciated. 

Dee ☀️🥗🏡💚

A colourful supper to start to Summer …

It is a bit of a tradition to embrace bright colours in summer. Ours is so short lived;  the warm days & long nights are a joy after winter. 

I'm having friends join us for supper, not dinner. For me, supper is a relaxed get together with generally only a main & pudding. It is a time to catch up on each others busy lives. Dinner is a bit more formal & is rarer. 

However, I still love to set the table. It was my ‘job’ as a child to set our long dining table for 7 each night or more if friends & grandparents were joining us. Supper was always at the table at home & it was a time to catch up on each others day in the era of no mobile phones.

I digress; pink table cloth & runner, green & pink placemats,  green tinged wine glasses & green glasses & jug that belonged to Olive. 

It is always fun to have lots of candles & my coloured glass ones do very nicely. Taller pink & green holders & smaller tea lights in pink, green & blue -  summery & fun. 

It has been a hot week so the menu is planned for a lighter meal with interesting salads. 

It is strawberry season so Eton mess  & fruit compote will be served in coloured vintage glass bowls. 

I think it is a good choice for a solstice meal that is wholesome without being heavy. 

What would your ideal mid summer meal be?  The updated Solstice menu is blogged here ... Thank you for stopping by, it is appreciated. 

Dee 🥗☀️🏡🫜