Springtime

I love spring, it is possibly my second favourite season after winter. Our garden looks so lovely and bright after the greyness of the last few months, plus the sun is actually shining so I couldn't resist taking some photos. We seem to have lots of yellow flowers and then a few pink but not much else so I think I will be buying some more varied plants at the weekend.

We also have every kind of daffodil I have ever seen, these are my favourite with the white outside petals. We also have the normal all yellow one, yellow with orange middles, frilly middle ones, multiply layered ones that almost look like roses and tiny weeny ones. See I know all the technical names.

However this is my favourite plant in our garden at the moment (till my roses start coming through). I have no idea what it is, so if anyone does please let me know. The has long hard stems coming from the base with hundreds of these lovely yellow pompoms clustered around small green leaves. I know the sunshine is here when I see these flowers.

So heres to more sunshine and happy days. I was hoping to grow more veggies this summer but I think I am already a little late for most of them. I think a trip to the garden centre is needed soon to see what late bloomers I can get my little mitts onto.

Waste not want not

I am a huge believer in making the most out of what you have got. I love to cook and try to bring my resourceful nature through into my food. Every week we get a fruit box from one of the many food box schemes which seem to be growing ever the more popular. We only get fruit as it is the only thing that we can't buy a huge variety of from our food market here in blackheath. Anyway we always get bananas every week, and I love bananas, but sometimes it gets a bit too much so by the next weeks delivery we have two or three browning very ripe bananas in our fruit bowl. So I decided to look up on the good ole internet a recipe to use them up. I added a few of my own little touches too as I am a sucker for spices. It was so delicious that I thought I would share it with you. Eat it still warm with a big cup of tea, it will store in a tin or container for up to a week as it is very moist.

4oz Marg or unsalted butter

6oz Caster sugar

8oz Self Raising Flour

2 Large eggs

3 very ripe Bananas

2 teaspoons Honey

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg

Firstly grease a loaf tin, I add a small piece of baking parchment into the bottom so that it wont stick and pre heat the oven at gas mark 4. You will need 2 bowls, in one roughly mash the banana with a fork and add in the honey and spices. In the other bowl cream together the marg/butter and sugar until smooth and pale, then add in the eggs and beat until combined. Then mix the banana mixture into the other bowl and mix until combined, it may curdle a little but dont worry. The sift the flour and fold into the rest until completely combined.

Pour into the loaf tin and bake in pre heated oven for 40 mins then reduce the heat to gas mark 2 for a further 25-30min depending on your oven. If you are like me, and cant wait for something sweet, you can lick the bowl of cake mixture while you are waiting for the cake to cook.

It should come out looking a bit like this. The ends are the best bit as they are a bit crunchy and then the cake inside is really moist.
Please make this cake, honestly it is so delish I am actually hoping that we dont finish all our bananas again this week so I can make another one.

Busy, busy, busy

It has been all go here since christmas really, decorating many flats and sewing like a mad woman. Well better to be busy that not I guess. So I thought I would share what I have been working on. I want to build up the stock in both my Notonthehighstreet shop and my etsy shops so it has been pedal to the metal all last week. Also been trying out some new ways of photographing my products and been learning all sorts of new things about my camara which really I should already know.

Green and pink is my favourite colour combination. So when I found this gorgeous minty green and white flower fabric I new just what I was going to put with it. This is one of a new range of floral coin purses each with an amazing little button from kirsty at bigfish.

I have been making cover buttons now for quite a while and up until now have been really just using them on purses. I have been playing around with this felt flower design for a while and only just put 2 and 2 together. I really love the contrast between the felt and the pretty flower fabrics. Plus they are pretty big and bold which is just what I wanted.