Sugary goodness

Lots of baking over the weekend. First up, this lovely fudge from Tiny Happy (http://tinyhappy.typepad.com/). So easy.

200-250 g dark chocolate
1/2 tin of condensed milk
2 tsps vanilla extract

Line baking tin with waxed baking paper. Combine chocolate and condensed milk in a double boiler (I used the microwave to melt the chocolate and then added the condensed milk afterwards). Stir continuously. When chocolate is melted, remove from heat and add vanilla extract. Pour into baking tray. Set for 1-2 hours. Cut into squares.

Thanks Melissa at Tiny Happy!


And then I made Elizabethan Fine Cakes. They are surprisingly good. I am always a little sceptical about very old recipes, thinking that things (ingredients, implements) have changed so much, there is not a huge chance of them turning out ok. These have changed my mind. I found them just by googling after having watched The Supersizers Go Elizabethan and feeling that I fancied some Elizabethan sweeties. This recipe is from http://www.seatofmars.com/index.htm

6 ounces of butter (1 and half sticks) at room temperature
Half a cup of sugar
1 egg yolk - beaten
1 and three quarter cups of sifted flour
Half a teaspoon of mace (can be replaced with nutmeg)
A Pinch of ground saffron (can be replaced with tumeric)
Egg white

1) In a bowl cream the butter. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy.
2) Add the egg yolk and beat until thoroughly blended.
3) In another bowl combine sifted flour and spices stirring to distribute evenly.
4) Sift dry ingredients into a bowl containing butter and sugar mixture. Combine by stirring with your hands.
5) Press mixture into a 9 inch square baking pan.
6) Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until the cake feels firm when pressed lightly in the center.
8) Cut into squares while the cake is still hot.
9) Cool in pan on wire rack.
Yields 25 small cakes

If you can find what the egg white is used for, let me know. I couldn't! Of course, not all Elizabethan food may be worth revisiting...

Free

Perhaps you've already seen this beautiful clip, which was in our online newspapers yesterday. A group of chimps who had been imprisoned from infancy in a medical laboratory have finally been freed, thirty years hence. They are now living at the Gut Aiderbichl Animal Sanctuary in Salzburg (http://www.gut-aiderbichl.com/page.home.php?start=) I can't help but feel that one day we'll be called to account for the way we treat animals.

A nice story to end the week. Have a lovely weekend.

Gently does it

A little bit of quiet in the Woods while I work through a headache. I am loving embroidery at the moment (though it probably hasn't helped the headache) and I am stitching this little guy on a brown wool cloth to read 'Everyone is someone at home' (it's a quote from The Edda). As you can no doubt tell, I am self-taught. I am hoping for a slightly rustic look here and not too prissy embroidery perfect but I can't decide if I've hit that note or if my self-devised lettering in a low-key chain stitch just looks messy! If all goes well, I will work on one for my In Dark Woods Etsy shop. If.

Some great vintage cloth thrifted recently. This nubby, orangey-brown number still had its measurements scribbled onto a torn-out page from a 1978 diary attached to it and this one is so pretty. It makes me think of the Finnish Marimekko designs.

I Dream of Doxie

Image from www.danbleudachshunds.com

I have lately fallen in love with dachshunds. Something about those big, sad eyes, crazy, floppy ears and the strident little strut on (seemingly) such a movement-challenged dog!

Image from www.dachshundlove.blogspot.com/

Image from www.vintagehomearts.com

If I get one, I am so knitting him this jacket.

Image from www.dogbreedsadvice.com

Someone has told me, though, that they are not very bright dogs. I don't really mind. What, are you getting a dog for the conversation?

Image from www.friedapup.weebly.com

Image from www.pinterest.com

And best of all? If my Google search is anything to go by, they are a very vintage dog!

Image from www.enjoydoxies.com

But I probably won't get a dachshund after all because I am committed to rescuing a dog from the RSPCA or a similar organisation when I do decide to get one and not many doxies seem to turn up at the pound! Oh well, I can keep dreaming of those determinedly trotting little feet and ears that blow in the wind...!

Starry, starry night

Two sweet little vintage finds today. I think I love the Van Gogh prints and the little old white frames in equal measure! We went to the Van Gogh museum when we were in Amsterdam in 2006, but I didn't really fall in love with his paintings until we went to the amazing, amazing Van Gogh exhibition at the Art and Science Museum in Singapore just recently (http://www.marinabaysands.com/Singapore-Attractions/ArtScience-Museum/Whats-on/).

Hope and other everday things

Two ring finds while thrifting this morning - the one above turns out to be silver and the one below is opal, an Australian semi-precious stone (I think this one will end up in my Etsy shop)


Listening to: Suede
Drinking: My old fave - milky coffee
Eating: Beans on toast for lunch - yum!
Wearing: Fewer layers - hello again Spring!
Hoping: Just hoping. It's a nice state to be in.

And what about you?

PS Thanks to Pip at Meet Me At Mikes (http://meetmeatmikes.com/) for this meme.

Happy Dance

A poppy in our front yard.

Spring is here! Welcome Spring.
And it feels good!

This image was sourced from Google. Obviously, I don't own it (I'd be very wealthy if I did!). If you object to my using it, please let me know.