"With Pomp, Power & Glory the world beckons vainly, In chase of such vanities why should I roam?While Peace & Content bless my little thatched cottage,And warm my own hearth with the Treasures of Home."*Beatrix Potter

Tuesday 19 May 2015

Country Days in May

I always think May is the loveliest of all months.
Here at the cottage all those beautiful May flowers are in full bloom with all their perfume, the beautiful Lilac scents the garden.
We have many bushes of white & lilac.
Butterflies have gathered & this time of year are laying their eggs.
There is much to do outside, the sunflowers, marrow & bean seeds that the twins have planted are now popping their little heads out of the soil in the greenhouse.
Sweetcorn is ready to be planted & the tomatoes are growing well.
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The cottage garden is an abundance of blue's at the moment.
Bluebells & sweet Forget me Nots.
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A light fruit cake from a wartime leaflet.
This recipe used very little sugar.
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Coconut Buns for Saturday tea.
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We had a lovely few days when Andy's parents visited from Scotland.
I made a wartime dinner of potato & cheese pie.
This was found in a new wartime leaflet that I found a month ago.
We were given a huge bag of potatoes by the local farmer so this was an ideal recipe to try. lots of mash potato.
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Mash some potatoes, mix grated cheese, salt & pepper in to it.
Then layer potato, slices of tomato, potato again then top with more grated cheese.
I did use more cheese than the recipe called for with it being a wartime recipe.
It was very tasty, Kitty who is not a great meat eater loved it so I will be making it again.
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Planting cress .
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They chose some antique tea cups to sow them in.
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The girls cress in egg sandwiches for Saturday tea.
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I received some lovely old magazine's from the 1930's & 1940's in the post, also a new knitting book.
The knitting book is full of vintage patterns & some useful information on using vintage patterns.
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More rhubarb & more jam.
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Another batch ready for the pantry.
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Another tea cosy, this time I chose Spring colours from some left over wool.
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A quick chocolate cake for tea.
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An afternoon spent making pretty dresses.
They love cutting & glueing.
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A little early morning visitor in the rhubarb patch.
The baby rabbits are so sweet but they do like the beetroot seedlings, so Andy has been making arches from chicken wire to protect them.
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Danny turned fourteen on the 12th of May.
He chose a chocolate cake with butter icing & sweets on top.
We had a lovely evening celebrating with family.
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Trying out different ways of using my basic bread dough.
I used cinnamon, sugar & butter to make a cinnamon swirl loaf, we toasted it for Sunday tea.
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Freshly cut Lilac from the garden.
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Wellington Cake.
This is a cake I have never baked before, it is an old 1950's recipe.
It was as light as a feather, I will make it many times as Mary loved it.
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Recipe for Wellington Cake.
8 ozs self raising flour.
pinch of salt.
4 ozs margarine.
8 ozs sugar.
1/4 pint of milk.
2 eggs.

Cream the margarine & sugar together. Then gradually beat in the beaten eggs. Fold in the flour & salt & then add milk to give a soft dropping consistency.
Bake for 30 ~ 35 minutes in two lined 8 inch cake tins at 375 degrees F
Sandwich together when cooled with jam or other filling.
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More experimenting with my basic bread dough.
This time I added sultana's, cinnamon & honey.
The girls do not like mixed peel so this recipe worked out well for them.
They made a lovely breakfast treat.
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Learning to crochet.
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I made a couple of dish cloths, I am hooked & find it so much quicker than knitting especially for things like dish cloths. I have bought the girls some crocheting hooks & they can't wait to get started on some more dish cloths.
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Thank you my dear readers for all your lovely comments, I do love to hear from you.
Enjoy this beautiful Springtime day.
Fondly Michelle
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43 comments:

  1. I am in awe of all your beautiful bread making, I am afraid I cheat and use a bread making machine. The potato and cheese pie looks delicious and is now on my menu board for this week to use up an abundance of cheese I seem to have accumulated.

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    1. I am so glad you are going to try the pie, I am making it again Friday.
      Fondly Michelle

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  2. Hi Michelle, Lovely to hear what is happening in your part of the world. You are definitely far ahead of us with your May happenings. Love that little bunny and all your pics. I am going to try that potato and cheese pie as well. I am not a big meat fan either.
    Your girls look so sweet and Happy Birthday to Danny. My oldest grandson will be 14 in August.
    Take care
    mary

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    1. I am so glad you are going to try the pie too, I am doing it again I still have lots of free potatoes to use up.
      Thank you for your love comment Mary.
      Fondly Michelle

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  3. A lovely post!!! I just love May as well. Your lilacs are gorgeous! I just love them. I do think I need to plant a lilac bush here since I enjoy them so much (as does my daugher)! How fun that you are learning to crochet! Knitting is dear to my heart and my favorite but I took up crocheting some too for the same reason you did....it can be a lot quicker ~ it's nice to be able to whip up some dish cloths lickety split! :) The sun is shining here today and I have spent much time outdoors...mowing, watering the flowers and weeding the garden! :) I hope your day is enjoyed!

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    1. I prefer knitting too Katy but crocheting a dish cloth is so much quicker & it makes a change to learn something new.
      Hope you plant a Lilac, we are lucky that there were five large bushes here already.
      Fondly Michelle

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  4. Dear Michelle, his blog is a temptation for the hungry one! Already I have taken note of the Wellington Cake and am going to bake it this week for my family. The breads also meet magnificent. It has to be a real pleasure to open the windows in the morning and that the house is filled with this fragrance of the garden! I wish them to the whole family a happy week. Mary Carmen.

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    1. Thank you Mary for your lovely comment, I am so glad you are trying the cake.
      Fondly Michelle

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  5. Hello Michelle, what a lovely post. The dishcloths I really like the look of. Such straight edges, much more so than my knitted ones. Good idea to vary the bread. As we're having a do for our son Michael at the weekend I might borrow some of your ideas if you don't mind. Enjoy your garden...Jackie. x

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    1. The one's with sultana's, cinnamon & honey were very nice, I will do that again. I would love to hear what things you try with the dough.
      The dishcloths are so quick, I started another one tonight, they just take a day.
      Fondly Michelle

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  6. Dear Michelle I have just recently found your blog, its beautiful, love it :)

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    1. Thank you, I am so glad you are enjoying it.
      Fondly Michelle

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  7. What a lovely post! I love lilacs and forget-me-nots.
    I will give the potato and cheese pie a try tonight. :-) Sounds good!
    Cute tea cosy. Can I find the pattern somewhere, or is it one of your own making?
    Thank you for the Wellington Cake recipe too.
    Very nice dish cloths and your breads look great.
    Such a treat to visit here.
    Enjoy your day!

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    1. Hello Anne,
      I found the pattern for the tea cosy's on Ebay UK, they are so easy.
      The potato & cheese pie was lovely, I am making it again on Friday as we still have lots of free potatoes to use.
      Thank you for your lovely comment.
      Fondly Michelle

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    2. Hi Michelle,
      I didn't do the potato & cheese pie yesterday, as we had some leftovers I wanted to use up, but will have it tonight. I did make the Wellington Cake, and everyone loved it!! I don't have 8" cake tins so used one 9" instead and cut the cake in half with floss to make two layers. I filled it with raspberry jam and topped it with a dusting of powdered sugar. It was great, so light and very good taste. I will definitely bake it again.
      Thanks for the recipe. ♥

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    3. I am so pleased you made the Wellington Cake, you could use a 7 inch cake tin too. It was such a soft cake & I still have a slice left for Mary tomorrow & it is still soft.
      Fondly Michelle

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  8. Your lilacs and bluebells are very lovely, how lucky you are to be able to grow them. Danny choice of cake was a very good one, it looks delicious. I recently learnt to crochet too. I have made a small throw to put at the end of my bed, and now am working on a scarf.

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    1. Thank you Sherri for your lovely comment, I am really enjoying learning to crochet. I bet your scarf is pretty.
      Fondly Michelle

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  9. Michelle, all your food always looks so delicious. I'd bake more if I had a family to help me eat it!

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    1. Thank you Cathy, I enjoy baking so much but one day I won't be as busy I know, so I am enjoying it while I can.
      Fondly Michelle

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  10. You can never have too many maltesers on a chocolate cake!
    I used to love cutting and sticking too - we made scrapbooks all the time when we were little - still cutting and sticking for cards now. We have some lilacs in the garden but my mum would never bring lilac indoors as it's supposed to be unlucky, she was very superstitious. I've just googled " lilac unlucky" and there are all sorts of old sayings about it. Yours looks lovely and I'm sure it's all old wives tales.

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    1. Oh I didn't know that! I brought some in last year & we are all fine.
      Cutting & sticking always goes down well, they seem to do it most days.
      Fondly Michelle

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  11. Isn't the lilac lovely this year? I love the flowers, but am less enamoured of the bush itself, which is not so pretty.
    I never thought of crocheting dishcloths. I usually knit them on large needles, but they are not as neat as yours.
    I'm afraid I am not as pleased to see a rabbit in my garden as you!
    Gill

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    1. I know Gill but we have now covered everything we can & as these one's grow older they move on. The burrow is under one of our fences so there are lots of them.
      The dishcloths are so much quicker to crochet than knitting.
      Enjoy this lovely day, the sun is shinning this early morning.
      Fondly Michelle

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  12. I remember knitting dishcloths when I was a child!

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    1. I love home made dishcloths, so much nicer than you can buy in the shops.
      Fondly Michelle

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  13. I've never thought to crochet dish cloths, so must try my hand at that - I knitted a few as gifts - one had a lighthouse on it for a friend whose father was a lighthouse keeper.

    What lovely baking (as always) and I bet you are finding it hard to keep your nose out of those vintage knitting magazines.

    I LOVE that teacosy - very springlike.

    Your cottage is so lovely - and your photos look like illustrations for Country Living magazine : )

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    1. I have never knitted dishcloths but the crocheted one's look they would be thicker than knitted so maybe stronger.
      Thank you for your kind words.
      Fondly Michelle

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  14. Hi Michelle
    Your flowers are glorious! And what a cutie the little baby rabbit is!
    Your baking looks utterly delicious! And I love how you make old wartime recipes quite often.
    Love your tea cosy, and your crochet work looks very neat.
    Happy birthday to Danny! :-)
    Love the magazine's and book you received!

    I hope you are having a lovely day,
    Take care,
    Melanie x

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    1. Hello Melanie,
      Thank you for your lovely comment, I do love using old recipes & find them mostly cheap too, they did not waste a lot in those days.
      Fondly Michelle

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  15. Oh Michelle, I do enjoy visiting your cottage. Everything just looks so delicious and comfortable too. Like you, crochet is my go to also. So much faster than knitting ;). Blessings ...mari

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    1. I am so pleased you enjoyed your visit Mari, thank you for your kind words.
      Fondly Michelle

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  16. I also find the month of may so beautiful!What are the girls creative!And what you bake delicious cakes, and also the breads look delicious!You really inspire me!Thank you!

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    1. Thank you Carolien for your kind words.
      Fondly Michelle

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  17. Hi there.. Sorry I am so late checking your lovely post but our internet has been off for several days and we also were away to the farm again.. Love all your doings and your pics are wonderful.. How I love your teas and garden... xo

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    1. Thank you Faye for your lovely comment, I am late to replying after an illness, sorry.
      Hope you enjoyed your days at the farm.
      Fondly Michelle

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  18. I love visiting your blog. It's like being back at my great grandmothers. Thanks for sharing such sweet posts.

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  19. Oh Michelle, what a delightful tea cosy and my, what a stunning cake! I bet it was a very tasty treat :)

    Your place is such a sweet and cozy place to visit... I always enjoy popping in to see what you have been up to.

    Thank you for the kind words concerning my dear Grandpa Don - I truly appreciate them. I was sorry to hear you have been ill and I hope you are feeling much better! Thinking of you! Hugs!

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  20. Looks like you've been busy! Everything looks so delicious!

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  21. I am catching up, missed this one whe my computer was out for repair!!
    I love all your yummy bakings and all the sweet things that you share with us!
    xx oo Many Blessings warmth and JOY!!! Linnie

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  22. Dear Michelle, I recently began crocheting my very first dish cloth using 100% cotton yarn, which I have not used before. It seems to be splitting some and has a somewhat rough texture. Your dish cloths look soft and lovely ~ do you use cotton yarn or another type? I almost bought a cotton/wool mixture but wasn't sure how that would do for a dish cloth. With kind regards ~ Lynnea

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