Monday, 31 October 2011
Spooky makes.
Little jars of Ooky SPooky magic potion to turn your bath water into a witch's brew!
Mix rock salt, bicarbonate of soda, food colouring and aromatherapy oil with some glitter.
I've used Lavender and Geranium for the Bleughhh Blue and Lemon and Bergamot for the Gruesome Green..judging by the reaction of the recipients this morning they were more than impressed!
Ghostly lollies.
Just pop a tissue over a lollypop, secure with elastic band and draw a ghoulish expression...et voila!
Batty bats.
Cut a template bat shape and attach your bat to either cotton to hang and fly or secure to a clothes peg and peg them anywhere you fancy...I'm wearing one as a brooch!
Bubbles are Magic!
Something in the air today...Hallowe'en eerieness all around..there were loads of birds in the garden yesterday feeding off the Rowan tree berries so I put bird food out to encourage more and the magpies came and ate the meal worms and then today..nothing, not one single bird to be seen anywhere..all a bit eerie...so we've made a start to the Hallowe'en festivities here...broomsticks at the ready..wands all sparky...
Ok so the magic ain't real... ;-)
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Hallowe'en
Autumn Afternoon
Something catches my eye
flashing between the skeleton trees
in the eldritch light.
A background hum
unsettles my being.
Breeze-blown strands
obscure my vision momentarily
and in the clearing I stand alone
Or am I?
A solitary ink-black crow
calls above cracking the air.
The echo returns eerily through
the gold-tinged remaining leaves;
still a visual treat.
My velvet collar turned up
fails to keep out the familiar shiver.
Something waiting to occur?
I am chilled to the bone.
Red devil horns flash in the
late sunlight, blonde curls dance
as she runs laughing away from me.
And I wonder did I see her or was
she just a trick of the Autumnal light?
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Leek and pea risotto and Parmesan crisps.
I first made this after watching the delightful Nigel Slater cook it up on his programme, I've adapted it by adding peas and parsley. It's very simple but so delicious and satisfying.
Fry sliced leeks in some butter and olive oil,
add arborio rice and saute gently before adding some white wine,
stir continuously adding vegetable stock by degrees. Lastly add chopped parsley and frozen peas and season to taste, keep stirring until all liquid is absorbed.
Grate some Parmesan cheese into mounds on a greased baking sheet, then press down gently and bake for about 8 minutes until bubbling and golden, remove when cool and serve with the risotto.
These Parmesan crisps are so easy to make but look so impressive..they'd be a good aperitif nibble too.
Lemon Drizzle Cake
My 6 year old son made this today, his favourite cake...it tastes delicious!
225 g butter
225g caster sugar
4 eggs
225g self raising flour
rind of 2 lemons
juice of lemons mixed into a syrup with some caster sugar to pour on top.
Bake for 45/55 mins @ 180C
Rice buns
I bought some Ground Rice last week to make an old childhood favourite Ground Rice pudding..which actually with the addition of nutmeg tasted exactly the same as it did when I was little..it's funny how tastes and smells can immediately transport you back. I think I made it a bit thick though because it set like Polycell! (wall paper paste!) Anyway we used it today to make Rice Buns..we had Bolo de Arroz in Portugal and really liked the plain taste...here's our version...they may need more tasting just to make sure the recipe worked...
Mmmmmm the ground rice gives a nice toothsome edge to the cake crumb.
Sunday, 23 October 2011
Rice Pudding
Pudding rice, whole milk, cream, caster sugar, butter floated on top and lots of freshly grated nutmeg...bake at a low temp 160C for 45 minutes to an hour. Mmmmmm.
Yorkshire Pudding
Ooh my Yorkshire puddings have risen beautifully today! I'm always a bit hit and miss with them (even though I am a Yorkshire lass!)
1 cup plain flour
1 cup eggs (usually 3 eggs)
1 cup milk
salt and pepper
pour batter into very hot oil in a muffin tin, cook at 220C until all puffed up (about 15/20 mins) served traditionally with roast beef..you can use beef dripping instead of hot oil.
Whoopie-Doo!
We made Whoopie pies this morning which turned out to be a bit like a cross between an American cookie and a macaroon...rather yummy..need a couple of cups of tea or coffee to wash them down with mind!
And a scrummy looking Betty Crocker chocolate cake.
Ogden Reservoir
We went to the woods at Odgen reservoir to look for pinecones, it felt quite eerie a bit like being in the Blair Witch Project film at one point! The trees looked very beautiful in the Autumn sunshine.
Sycamore shooting up from the stump after the main tree was felled.
Wow wonder how big the tree was?! Tee hee...
You can just about see the whirly gigs on the horizon.
Beautiful Begonias.
Saw a wonderful display of Begonias outside a church in Ilkley, a riot of colour in the Autumn sunshine.
Saturday, 15 October 2011
Sunstream sky.
Beautiful, sunlit sky on the way home, late afternoon.
I love this lone tree in a farmer's field..every time I pass it, I think I should take a picture.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park today.
The trees are looking beautiful at the YSP in early Autumn...
Loved the long shadows.
A perfect circle of fallen leaves beneath this tree.
Beautiful veins.
Ladybird!
Sculptures lined up waiting to be put in situ or taken away..all numbered.
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