For years my passions in life have been bottled up (in a vintage mason jam jar). It's as good a time as any to spread them on a plain piece of internet toast. It only takes a minute.
Homegrown & Natural.
Time to make the most of this beautiful season and busy days call for time savers. Cedar branches pruned from my garden, a few twigs, a favourite sap bucket and my front entrance takes on a Christmasy appearance.
New Post: Baked Goods.
Leading up to Halloween, the colour theme is definitely orange. This orange loaf is so easy, has a healthy dose of oj and a sweet addition to the morning. A slice with coffee sounds right. Here’s my recipe. Bon appetit.
Orange Loaf
1 egg
1 c orange juice
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp grated orange rind
2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c sugar
Heat oven 350 degrees. Line 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper or lightly
oil.
Beat egg, juice, oil, vanilla & stir in rind.
Sift flour, bk pwd, soda, salt, sugar and add to first mix and blend.
Bake approximately 40 minutes. Loaf is done when cake tester comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes then remove from pan.
Blog Post: With all the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee festivities this weekend, I dug out my own little piece of royal history. The little Hammersley English bone china dish that I found in a vintage shop somewhere in my travels has a special significance today. Dated Coronation Day, June 2,1953, the reverse side says, “Queen Elizabeth II, a perpetual Coronation Day memento.” My little bit of royal memorabilia!
New Blog Post: Happy Easter
Easter has always been special to me for several reasons. The emphasis of the season is new life, be it in the spiritual life or with the plants sprouting in my garden.
Part of celebrating the holidaywith seasonal fare. I think it’s a family gene thing.
During the busy days leading up to those special times, it’s so good to be able to count on those tried and true recipes, the simple and quick to do type.
A couple of my favorites are hot cross buns and easter egg bonbons. They’re esy to make, yummy to eat and fun to give to friends and family. Happy Easter!
Each Easter I bring out my one of a kind patchwork & rick rack trimmed eggs with their little chicks inside.
Their history is connected to L’eggs,the panty hose by Leggs Brand that were packaged in a plastic egg. Can’t remember how long ago that was (at least 25 years, oh dear!), but I do remember the fun it was cutting the cotton and trim and gluing them onto the eggs. I made mini chicks from gingham and bits of felt for each one.
My vintage Easter eggs!
It’s been a long time since I initiated putting myself out into the work force but the time had come. I am happy to say that my new found job is shaping up to be the perfect place to use my creativity and engage with people. “GREETINGS” is a new start up greeting card and gift shop just around the corner from our home. It’s opening in a few weeks so stay tuned!
When I was going to the office every day I got into the environmentally friendly habit of using a personal mug for coffee. To make coffee time more fun,I changed my mug with the season. Even though my schedule is different I still do my seasonal mug thing and my spring ‘edition’ is a favorite. Coffee always tastes better when I use it!
I love decorating the front door of my house to reflect the season and I think Spring has got to be my favorite!
In anticipation, I used some pussy willows that look like the real thing, a little spanish moss and put them in a rustic container that was my mother’s. (I still miss her but love seeing little reminders of her here and there.)
Even gaining an hour of light this weekend gets me excited about all that is lovely about spring.
Only in Canada! Summer on Wednesday, winter on Friday! (Taken with instagram)
Maybe it’s spring fever or just missing the blogging bug but it’s been too long since my last post. I’m reconnecting by sharing one of my passions, baking. Here is my simple recipe for Cinnamon Coffee Cake, a family favorite. Enjoy, and happy to be back!
Cream:1/2 c Margarine & 1 c white sugar
Add: 3 eggs well beaten
Sift: 2 c flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda
Add: 1 tsp vanilla, 1 c sour cream
Topping: 3/4 c brown sugar, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 2 tbsp flour, 2 tbsp melted margarine - mix until crumbly. Option,add 1/2 c chopped nuts.
Put half the batter in a lightly oiled tube pan and sprinkle 3/4 of the topping mixture.
Place remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining topping mix.
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes.
