Tuesday 5 May 2015

Tagged!

Well hello there - how are you? Good I hope. I was so happy (and just a tiny bit astounded) to be tagged this week by Josie Kitten. As part of the tag I have to nominate 2 blogs that I enjoy reading - here lies the problem! I love so many blogs that it was nearly impossible to choose. In the end, I plumped for the following 2 which are relatively new discoveries for me:
First is Cathy at The House with the Blue Door: I love her blog for her knowledge of nature, her ability to quote bits of poetry and her absolutely gorgeous garden shed - I have serious shed envy! 
The second is Pat at Lilly my Cat: for the great makes, travel, books and, of course, the gorgeous Lilly!
So ladies, if you'd like to accept the tag you have to copy the logo below, link back to this blog and nominate 2 others to be tagged. Have fun!
Two good reads tag
My Bank Holiday weekend was a quiet, stay at home affair - partly owing to the weather:
This was taken at about 8am on Saturday - rain, rain and more rain!
.... and partly due to this:
Impending AS levels, meaning that E had her head stuck in a book for the entire weekend.

I decided that I'd just take a few snaps of what I got up to at home instead. It was rather cosy with the rain drumming down. So here goes - my weekend .......
Porridge with banana and maple syrup for breakfast:
Starting to stitch together my hexies:
Making Ottolenghi's caramelized garlic tart - it uses 3 bulbs (note bulbs not cloves!) of garlic - lucky we weren't going anywhere! It is delicious though; the recipe can be found here. I substituted cheddar for the goat's cheese as that's the one thing I don't like to eat - it smells of goat to me!

Lighting my scented candle to try and mask the smell of garlic!

Nipping outside to take a photo of the Wisteria - I do love it when it flowers but it takes an awful lot of watering. It's quite sheltered beneath the eaves and unless you water it like mad when the buds first start to appear the little blighters all fall off!
It smells lovely too:
Then back indoors for a cup of tea and a bit of this:
Sunday it seems lovely first thing - with that fresh, post-rain smell. This is a close up of the Magnolia which the girls bought R for Father's Day last year. We planted it in the garden but the deer decided it was delicious and ate it all! In an attempt to save it it's been moved onto the patio and look, it's starting to grow! Sadly, look at all my beloved blossom in the background. At one point, E looked up from her book and thought it was snowing.
Not long afterwards, however, and the rain's back:
A little baking was needed to cheer us up. This is the carrot cake from The Great British Bake Off book and very nice it is too!
I caught Hamish sitting on the sofa, in a rare patch of sun, having a look at one of my library books:

Borscht for lunch - recipe from Cranks to be found here. Delicious, but preparing all that beetroot does leave you caught red-handed!
I made one of attic24's jam jar cosies for a few small blooms. Such a quick and easy to follow tutorial and it uses those tiny amounts of yarn that are too small for anything else. I can see a few more of these springing up around the place.
Afternoon tea and crumpets while I ponder which loaf to make:

..... and here it is, my loaf of the week - Beer Bread:
Very easy to make, smells divine and doesn't, according to E, taste too 'beery'!

Well, that was my Bank Holiday. A very quiet stay at home one. It was lovely but, after high winds all yesterday (finishing off my lovely blossom completely!), I'm beginning to feel a little stir crazy. I think I need to get out and about a bit today - get some fresh air. I might get my bike out again and blow away a few cobwebs.
Whatever you get up to this week, I hope it's a good one. Toodle Pip for now. x

12 comments:

  1. What a lovely cosy weekend. I love the look of the garlic tart. My other half made something that was supposed to have a garlic clove in it once, and he put an entire bulb in! He said he thought it took a long time to peel them all. I know exactly what you mean about goat's cheese, it's just very goaty isn't it. Your wisteria is gorgeous, one of my favourite plants. I have a tiny white one in a pot that I have high hopes for. It's too small for flowers this year though. Enjoy the rest of the week. CJ xx

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  2. Hello. Thank you so much for the "tag" about my blog. That's very kind of you. Looks like you had a wonderful holiday. I loved seeing your pictures; the photo of the borscht is so artistic. And you shared such yummy recipe ideas. I'm going to make the cheese tart as I love both garlic and goat cheese. I remember years ago the beavers from the lake cut down our young fruit trees. They looked like the end of a sharpened pencil when they got done with them! I hope your tree continues to grow. My best to you. Hugs, Pat

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  3. cosy hexagon sewing inside whilst it pours with rain is lovely way to spend a weekend, and remarkable similar to mine. hope the exams go well x

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  4. Congrats on the tag! A nice selection of items in the post.
    Amalia
    xo

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  5. Oooh, I am very excited that you've tagged me as a 'Good Read' - thank you!!! It looks like you had a very cosy and creative weekend indeed. Your hexagon quilt is coming on a treat, and reminds me that I have last year's one still unfinished. My favourite photo is sweet little Hamish catching up on his reading - a rather erudite bunny! I have to say that I am very jealous of your gorgeous wisteria - it looks heavenly. The wonderful lavender blue flowers combined with that heady perfume makes it a thing of beauty. We had a similar-sized one growing on the front our our house until it died suddenly two years ago. We haven't replaced it because there are so many other plants in the border - we do miss it though. Glad you had a relaxing weekend :)
    Cathy

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  6. What a lovely post, lovely way to spend a drizzly grey bank hol. I'm intrigued by your garlic tart and beery bread - both sound worth further investigation! Beautiful wisteria - they are still in bud here, yours looks stunning x

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  7. My goodness friend!!! Where do I start! Your windows and those views are gorgeous! I wish I could just right there in one of those chairs and take in your garden! And the food!!! That cake!!! OH MY!!! All of it looks so amazing!!!! Sometimes I think rainy days are a really good thing so that you have time to sit, slow down and make! Thank you for inspiring tonight and I wish you all good things this week! Nicole xo

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  8. Hi there - I'm visiting via the Two Good Reads tag, which I started - I'm so pleased to be finding so many lovely new blogs to read. Your tart looks absolutely amazing, I'm very impressed. Not to mention the delicious-looking carrot cake as well - I am not one of life's bakers, so I'm always in awe of anybody who can product such a fine looking cake! Caroline x

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  9. I am going to have to seek out the recipe for that garlic and cheese tart - it looks yummy. I have tried to eat in Ottolenghi's restaurant in Islington, but have never managed to get in! We bought some cakes from there instead!

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  10. You seem to have had a very industrious bank holiday even though you stayed at home. Your garlic tart looks and sounds delicious. xx

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  11. What a lovely cozy weekend, so many lovely meals! Your hexies look so sweet!
    Oh...your wisteria took my breath away, isn't it gorgeous, I didn't know it liked a lot of water, I bought a small one last year so shall now keep an eye on it when the flowers form.xxx

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  12. It was so interesting to read about how you spend your weekend, and especially what you eat. I love to know what other families eat and your meals look delicious. I once made a chicken and garlic dish which used a staggering amount of garlic and it was so good and not nearly as garlicky as you'd think! xx

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