British Summer Time

The Start of Summer

Squirrel enjoying Summer

 

Great the first day of summer? Many parts of the country are still covered in snow, but it means we will have an extra hour of daylight. Hopefully the weather will improve and this year we might actually have something that resembles summer.

how to make a cup of tea

               How to Make the Perfect Cup of Tea

I love my cups of tea, and I suppose it stems from my childhood and the lovely cups of tea my grandmother used to make, she seemed to get it perfect every time, with me it is a hit and miss affair. She always insisted that only Indian teas made the best tea, though her favourite was Orange Pekoe, which I think comes from Sri Lanka. if we didn't have Orange Pekoe she would use Darjeeling or Assam depending on what was available. It also had to be  made with tea leaves and not tea bags, she didn't approve of the new fangled tea bags that were just becoming popular before she died, she claimed they restricted the tea from moving about and developing the flavour, and her recipe for the perfect cup of tea was-

•  Fill the teapot half full of boiling water and leave for a few minutes to warm the pot, then empty the pot.
• Put 3 heaped teaspoons of loose tea into the teapot and pour the boiling water on, the water should always be on a rolling boil when poured into the teapot.
• Stir then place the lid on the teapot and leave it brew for 5 minutes, at this point she always placed it under a tea cosy.
• After five minutes stir the tea in the pot again and then pour into the cups.
• Add just enough milk so that the tea is a rich golden colour
• Enjoy.

She always insisted that the correct way was for the tea to be poured into the cup before the milk because it made it easier to control the strength.

I have tried it both ways, but still find it hard to gauge the 'right' amount of milk. One day I might learn the secret of how to make a good cup of tea.

St. Patricks Day

St. Patricks Day

Happy Saint Patrick's Day to all Irish, wherever you are.. For those who don't know St. Patrick is the Patron Saint of Ireland.  He was born in Britain near the end of the Fourth Century. He was kidnapped by Irish Pirates when he was about 16 and taken to Ireland.. He managed to escape about 6 years later, but returned, to convert Ireland to Christianity. Legend also has it that he rid Ireland of snakes.

So, have a lovely St Patrick's Day, and I hope it turns out to be a great day for all the Irish.

Ides of March

                         Ides Of March

Today is the “Ides of March” one idea to celebrate it is with a cocktail, the most appropriately named cocktail I found was a ‘Bloody Ceasar’ and here is the recipe

                          Bloody Ceasar

1/2 oz. Vodka

Clamato juice

1 stick Celery

A dash of Celery salt

A dash of black pepper

A wedge of lime

½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce

½ teaspoon Worcester Sauce

Prepare a tall glass by rubbing the lime around the rim and rolling it in the celery salt

Fill ⅓ of the glass with ice

Add a stalk of celery, and wedge with lime

Meanwhile, and using two glasses, place the vodka, celery salt, pepper, Tabasco sauce and Worcester sauce in one of the glasses, top up with clamato, and pour into the other glass, keep pouring between the two glasses to get a good mix. Then pour into the prepared glass and serve.

Though it is hard to find in local shops, Clamato, can be purchased online, but it is a bit pricey.

Hmm... not bad tasting, but for me it has a long way to go before it can replace my favourite drink- a cup of tea!

So what is the Ides of March?  Basically, In the Roman calendar the Ides occurred on the 13^th of most months, but on the 15^th of March, May, July and October. Today the Ides of March are remembered as the day Julius Ceasar was assassinated.

Mothers Day celebrations

Mothering Sunday

Mothering Sunday, or Mother’s Day as it is now more commonly known in the U.K. is a Christian Festival that occurs on the third Sunday before Easter Sunday. During the Sixteenth and Seventeenth century workers were allowed to return home so they and their families could visit their ‘Mothering Church’ on this day. During Victorian times servants in the Great Houses were given the day off to visit their mothers. Young girls would bake a Simnel cake and take it home as a gift for their mothers. In the early Victorian period the cake was decorated with preserved fruits and flowers, but later on the custom was to decorate it with 11 marzipan balls (to represent the 11 disciples minus Judas Iscariot). Nowadays, though, the Simnel Cake is associated with Easter Sunday and eaten on that day. 

 Simnel Cake Recipe

Preparation time:
30 minutes, plus soaking and cooling

Cooking time:
135 minutes to 150 minutes

 Serves 16

Ingredients

• 175g caster sugar, plus extra to sprinkle
• 500g bag Waitrose Mixed Dried Fruits
• 150 g sultanas
• 5 tbsp orange-flavoured liqueur
• 175g unsalted butter, softened
• 4 pieces stem ginger from a jar, coarsely grated, plus 1 tbsp of the syrup
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 225 g plain flour
• 1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp ground mixed spice
• 500g Cook's Ingredients White Marzipan
• Icing sugar, for dusting

Method

1. Mix all the dried fruits in a bowl with the liqueur and leave to stand for 1 hour. Grease and line an 18cm cake tin with non-stick baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 150°C, gas mark 2.
2. Put the butter, sugar and grated ginger in a large bowl and beat well until pale and creamy. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little of the flour if the mixture starts to curdle. Stir in the flour and spices, then the dried fruit with any juices left in the bowl. Mix well.
3. Using about a quarter of the marzipan, make 11 oval balls, about the size of a mini egg, and set aside. Shape half of the remaining marzipan into a ball and roll out onto a surface dusted with icing sugar to an 18cm circle. Spoon half the cake mixture into the tin and spread in an even layer. Lay the paste over the cake mixture, pressing it down gently. Spoon the remaining cake mixture on top and spread with the back of a spoon.
4. Bake for about 2 and a quarter to 2 and a half hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin.
5. Transfer the cooled cake to a baking sheet and brush the top with the ginger syrup. Roll out the remaining marzipan as above and press down onto the top of the cake. Pinch decoratively around the edges. Arrange the marzipan balls on top, sticking them with a little extra syrup from the jar. Heat the surface of the cake under a moderate grill for 1-2 minutes, watching closely, until the marzipan starts to toast. If one area turns too dark, cover it with foil.
6. Transfer to a plate or cake board and dust lightly with extra caster sugar. Or to wrap, cut a large circle of clear Cellophane. Position the cake plate over the centre and bring the sides of the Cellophane up over the cake. Squeeze the edges together and secure with ribbon. Alternatively, put the cake, on its board or plate, in a small cake box (available from cake decorating shops), or in a gift box.

(copied from the website  http://www.waitrose.com/home/recipes.html)

This morning I received a bouquet of flowers and a card, so the tradition of giving of gifts to commemorate Mothers Day  continues in this house. But the nicest thing of all was my two and a half year old granddaughter who wanted to help me put the flowers in the vase, so I gave her a stem with a few leaves. She decided one of the leaves looked like a paintbrush and spent the next 45 minutes or so painting various imaginary pictures and making up stories. Just goes to prove sometimes children can find pleasure in the simplest of things.

 My Bouquet of flowers for Mothers Day

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Mad as a March Hare

The March Hare Myth

The  March Hare is a character from 'The Mad Hatters Tea Party' in Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures  in Wonderland' The term "Mad as a March Hare" is a myth, but was in common use in Lewis Carroll's day and refers to the female hare's behaviour during the breeding season. During this time unresponsive females use their back legs to drive off overenthusiastic males, but the breeding season is a long one lasting from February to September. So my question is- "why is it as mad as a March Hare?"

Badger Cull

The killing of Badgers to stop Bovine T.B.

I just can't believe that the Government intend to go ahead with the badger cull. There is no scientific evidence to support their claim that this will help control Bovine T.B. It could disperse the sett and affected badgers may escape to other non affected areas and spread the disease there

first day of the month

A New Month Begins 

Last month we had to get the car repaired, the oven on our cooker stopped working, then yesterday our fridge broke and we had to purchase another fridge. I was hoping that March would be an improvement, but the way the new fridge sounds, it doesn't look like my wish will be granted. Then again it might just be that the new fridge is settling.

St. David's Day

 The 1st of March

A happy St. David's Day (Dewi Sant) to all Welsh people everywhere. St. David or Dewi, who is the Patron Saint of Wales, was a 6th century monk who became Abbot of St. Davids. He died on March 1st 589 A.D. and is buried in St. David's Cathederal in Pembrokeshire.