Sunday - Funday! My Big Week-end!

This Sunday was a fun day and it was a follow-up to a fun Saturday! Yesterday was my birthday and today is Mother's Day, so I got a full week-end of treats! I gave heavy hints and helped get things organized so my expectations would not be disappointed - and it all went swimmingly!

I got gifts, homemade cards, and a pedicure along with lots of little indulgences. But the best (and most important) part was the desserts. I made my own cake, which I really enjoy doing. My daughters made a strawberry/rhubarb pie, and my husband bought a decadent little chocolate mini-cake.

I did my workout video this morning and really got my cardio going so I could burn some calories and make room for more!

Saturday Socializing - "The English Kitchen"

This is where I share a blog or website that I love. Today I want to tell you about a foodie blog that my daughter found when she was looking for a recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding. It is called "The English Kitchen". (click on the name to connect to her blog).

Like the author, Marie Rayner, says, she is "debunking the myth" that English food is tasteless and unhealthy. She has a great site with yummy recipes, fun commentary, and beautiful photos.

The photo at the top is from her site and features her Plum and Almond Crumble Cake!

We lived in London for a year and I never saw such variety of foods in grocery stores, markets, restaurants, dinner parties and television cooking shows. My favorite thing was the column by Nigel Slater in the Sunday paper. I knew I loved him when I got his cookbook called "Appetite"

and there was a photo of him wearing a dirty apron. A true cook, in my opinion, gets their apron dirty.

After mulling over this website, my daughter found this Sticky Toffee Cake (in the bottom 2 photos above). She made it and it was delicious. She also made the fish cobbler (which sounds bizarre but tasted like the perfect yummy comfort food for a cold spring night).

You need a kitchen scale or the ability to wing it because the recipes are written in grams etc. But it is worth trying because the food is genuinely the best of what you might see in a creative British kitchen or cafe. Scroll through the photos and the side bar to see past recipes. Enjoy the music while you do so!

Bon Apetit! (Where can I get my hands on some plums??)

Textile Tuesdays : #17 - Tea Towels

I love tea and, although I rarely use one with my tea, I love tea towels. They are a little bit of decoration in my kitchen and they are a tactile, textile bright spot. I always have them hanging off of my oven door. They get grundgey but they can be washed and the more you wash them the better they get.

The textiles most commonly used are linen or cotton. They are usually thick and absorbent, but not too thick. I don't like the ones that are too thick, terry cloth, or have a sheen like polyester! Yuck!

I love the vintage ones that have souvenir pictures on them. Also, any designer fabric that makes the kitchen look stylish is good. Hand embroidered vintage or new are priceless (especially if you or someone you know has done the embroidery).

There are 177 pages of items under the tag "tea towel". There are recipes and calendars, quotes and days of the week. There are funky, retro, shabby chic, and my favorite - kawaii Japanese!

Here is a sample of some that I found on Etsy.

Turquoise Lanterns by Soul Flower, Be a Lamb by little shout, Kitty does the Dishes by Cornflower Creations, Red Poppies by Michelle Brusegaard, Souvenir New Caledonia by fox and Thomas, Teacup by The Heated, Retro Birds by Melysbaby.

Sorry if they are out of order, I got overloaded with clicking and pasting and linking.