love those cupcakes

Filling in the gaps

The weather at the weekend was just how I like it, sunny but still bitterly cold, perfect for treating a little white car to a much needed wash and polish.  There was also a solitary afternoon drive to one of the many abbeys in these parts, with Barton Hollow at full volume on the CD player, and shopping for the dress with the bride to be (which turned out to be easier than anticipated).  We've had a family dinner in a North Yorks country pub where the wait was far too long for what turned out to be just so so food, not half as tasty as the cauliflower cheese we had for lunch.  Two cats and a dog have had their annual examinations and jabs  (one's too fat, one doesn't clean his nose properly and the other needs a special diet) and our bank account has been subsequently depleted.  Not much is happening in the garden (I didn't get round to planting any of the bulbs I'd bought) though the camellia buds are almost ready to burst into flower and the Corsican hellebore is brightening a corner.  Too many pancakes have been flipped and eaten with too much maple syrup. Biscuits, chocolate and cake will not be consumed until Easter Sunday.  

A special day

We don't do any of that Valentine's stuff here.

 

But we do celebrate Cake Tuesday.

 

Marmalade hiccups

Armed with a shiny new maslin pan, I spent the best part of today making my first ever batch of marmalade.  It could well be my last.

The first hiccup was not having any muslin for the pips so I just threw them in the pan of water and boiled them for about 10 minutes or so.  Unfortunately it wasn't so easy to remove them but I did, with the help of a sieve and a variety of spoons. 

A bigger hiccup was the discovery that, after adding the chopped peel and juice, the mixture was sticking to the pan despite lots of stirring.  Then, once the sugar had been added and I achieved what I assumed was a rolling boil, the mixture at the bottom actually burned (and the new pan is now less shiny, more black).                                                                                 

I managed to salvage most of it as it didn't taste burnt (the black stuff stayed stuck to the bottom of the pan) and it looks like marmalade but I won't be in a hurry to have another go. 

Not least because, after I'd unpacked the pan, the Boy was heard to mutter "It looks like a cauldron".

 

Edited to add 12th February:  We had some of the marmalade on toast this morning and it tastes just like marmalade!  As for the pan, a good soaking in detergent and a gentle scrub has removed the black stuff and restored the shine.  Result.

 

A celebration

In answer to the question at the end of the previous post, yes, it could.  And it did.  Sort of.

Yesterday was the mister's birthday so, after he'd walked some of the dogs at the RSPCA shelter and opened his cards and presents, we popped up the road to Stokesley for a wander round and coffee stop.  I'd forgotten it was market day so we stocked up on fruit (I bought Seville oranges with the maybe overly ambitious aim of having a go at marmalade making), veg and flowers.   We took the scenic route back, through Great Ayton where the river was partially iced over and it was far too cold for an ice cream.  The day finished with the three of us going out for celebratory pizzas, the birthday boy's supper of choice, and then home for cake (Nigella's buttermilk birthday cake).  

Oh, I almost forgot.  I also got red hair.  How exciting is that?

 

Recovering

Thanks so much for your well wishes.   Still not firing on all cylinders (that was some bug the Boy brought home), I've continued to be housebound apart from a (makeup free because of the eye infection, quelle horreur) dash to the shop followed by a quick visit to check on Aunty M. at the weekend  

Of course, this means I've had no excuses for putting off the consultancy work I committed myself to and I think it's fair to say some progress has been made.   The laptop breaking down the other day and being carted off to laptop hospital might have been reason enough for doing nothing but, no,  I have a back-up machine so have been able to plod valiantly on. 

At other times I've been watching this, admiring the flowers on the only bulb I planted last year

 

and enjoying my first (free) snack box from here.

Can it get any more exciting?