love those cupcakes

Masquerade

Nearing home whilst driving from work the other day, I spotted a magnificent hare pausing at the side of  the road before disappearing into the hedge.  It reminded me of a long forgotten book nestled away on one of our bookshelves. 

 

 

Masquerade by Kit Williams hit the headlines and became something of a cult book way back in the late 1970's.  Essentially a children's book, but having much wider appeal, it tells the story of how the Moon, falling in love with the Sun, persuades Jack Hare to take her amour a bejewelled treasure but which, on his journey, Jack loses.

The book is beautifully illustrated by the author

 

 

 

and there is a work of art, and a hare to be found, with each turn of the page.

 

 

 

But this isn't just a story book.  There's a riddle to be solved

 

 

 

and the whereabouts of the story's lost treasure (the author had buried it somewhere on publicly accessible land in England) to be discovered.

 

 

 

The riddle was eventually solved and the buried treasure, an elaborate gold and jewel embellished hare pendant,  was unearthed several years after the book was first published.  Apparently, the solution involved drawing lines in each of the book's illustrations from the animals' eyes, through the longest digits, to a letter in the border.

 

This wasn't the end of the story, though, as there was some suggestion of dodgy dealings on the part of the person solving the puzzle and claiming the prize.  Despite this, Masquerade is a cracking book for both children and adults and I'm so glad to have rediscovered it.  If you haven't read it, do so.  I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

No boys allowed

On Saturday, the Gorgeous Girlie and I had a girls' day out in London.  We didn't intend it to be a big shopping event or plan to visit any of the big tourist attractions; the idea was to mooch around a couple of areas and spend some time together.

The day started at Darlington station to catch the 8 a.m. train to Kings Cross.

 

 

Just under three hours later, with the stack of magazines all read,  we arrived  in The Smoke and headed for Carnaby Street, although there was a slight detour en route.

 

 

 

Of course we had to stop and admire this blast from the past.

 

 

 

Cupcakes were spotted

 

 

 

and lunch was eaten alfresco.

 

 

 

We braved a very busy Oxford Street en route to Marylebone High Street.

 

 

 

But the highlight of the day had to be afternoon tea in the Winter Garden at the Landmark Hotel.  We started with some very welcome champagne

 

 

 

before launching into this (and another plate of sandwiches).

 

 

 

How about a closer look at those little cakes and pastries?

 

 

 

They were exquisite.

 

 

 

And of course there were scones with jam and clotted cream, and little teacakes.

 

 

 

We were also in the presence of the rich and famous as Brian May and his wife, Anita Dobson, were a couple of tables away from us, enjoying the same delicacies with what appeared to be their family.

So, all in all, it was a great day out.  And there was a little bit of shopping after all.

 

 

 

We plan to do this again soon but, when we do, I must remember to wear appropriate shoes to avoid another huge blister like the one I'm currently sporting on one foot.   Ah, the price of vanity.

 

Baking mad

In the mood for a little easy baking yesterday, I came across yet another recipe for chocolate chip cookies courtesy of  Be-Ro.  Unfortunately, there was no chocolate to hand but I did find a bag of M&Ms lurking in the kitchen so substituted those.  Whilst the results were not too pretty (some of the sweets melted, leaving unexpected splodges of colour instead of perfect little discs) they tasted fine and soon vanished. 

 

Recipe (adapted slightly from the original)

4ozs butter or margarine

3ozs light Muscovado sugar

2 tbsp golden syrup

6ozs SR flour, sifted

4ozs chocolate, chopped or chocolate chips (or M&Ms or Smarties) 

2 tbsp milk

 

1.  Heat the oven to 180C or gas 4  and line a couple of baking sheets with baking parchment.

2.  Cream together the butter and sugar until light and creamy, then stir in the syrup.

3.   Mix in the flour and milk and add the chocolate or sweets.

4.  Place spoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking sheets, leaving room for the cookies to spread as they bake.

5.  Bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown at the edges.  Don't overcook if you like your cookies soft and chewy.  They will firm up once cool. I lightly flattened each cookie with a fork about halfway through the cooking time.

6.  Remove the cookies carefully from the baking sheets with a spatula and leave to cool on a rack.

 

Decisions

Should I make a start on the mountain of laundry?

Should I  clean the bathroom? 

Should I vacuum and dust the living room?

Should I de-clutter the hall cupboard?

Should I blitz the bedrooms?

Should I settle down with the new magazines and a mint chocolate cupcake?

I've decided.

 

Have a good weekend, whatever you decide to do.

Ruby red slippers

This is one of the latest cupcakes.  No prizes for guessing what inspired it. The photograph doesn't really capture just how sparkly those little slippers are but I'm sure you get the idea. 

 

"Close your eyes and tap your heels together three times.

 And think to yourself, there's no place like home”.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Afterthought:  I should have pointed out that I made the little slippers out of sugarpaste.  Yes, all by myself.  You can't see but they even have little heels and silver "linings"!

Question:  Do I need to get out more?

 

A better start to the day

I'm not one for breakfast.  Never have been. I went through the whole of my school career without ever eating breakfast (which might go some way to explaining my, shall we say, under performance).  I don't even have a drink before I leave the house for work.  I know that's not a good thing (I do get rather peckish by about 11 a.m. and can be too easily tempted by some very unhealthy snacks from the coffee bar near my office) but I just can't bear the thought of eating or drinking just after getting up.   Weekends and holidays are a different story, though, and, after a leisurely potter, my thoughts can turn to breakfasting. 

 

The Bank Holiday gave me the opportunity to try a new recipe for oatmeal banana bread found here.  (I've been looking for low fat recipes generally as the Husband discovered during a routine health check that he has a higher than recommended cholesterol level.  This is very possibly a consequence of a penchant for huge chunks of cheese and hot, generously buttered toast!).  I didn't have the number of eggs stated in the recipe so substituted two whole eggs, and I also used sunflower oil, but it turned out really well.  So, my late morning breakfast today was a still warm slice with some strawberries and blueberries.

And there are individually wrapped slices in the freezer to take to work for the 11 o'clock munchies.  Bob's your uncle!