Happy New Year 2010

You can't beat a Pavlova for parties and this was one I made earlier this week, eaten into of course, they don't last 5 seconds in this house.......

Recipe for my foolproof Pav follows:-

5 egg whites always free range and I use large ones
8 oz caster sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon corn flour

that makes the meringue and then it's up to you for the filling but double cream and Greek yoghurt in equal quantities work well and then add fruit of choice and sprinkle on grated chocolate or icing sugar.

4 oz double cream (you can use more)

4 oz Greek yoghurt (again how much you use is up to you)
fruit
chocolate or icing sugar


Method

Place egg whites in a spotlessly clean bowl and don't allow any yolk in there, then beat like hell until stiff.
I use a mixer. Once the white foam has turned into ripply looking folds and the mix is stiff (some people even turn the bowl upside down to see if it moves - they like to live dangerously ha ha...) -  add the sugar in 3 goes and beat in between additions.  Lastly beat in the corn flour and then beat in the vinegar. Spoon onto an oven proof container (I use a flat greased pizza tin) make a rough circle with a hole in the middle.
Bake at 180 deg for only 5 minutes until it just starts to turn slightly brown on the peaks of the meringue, then lower the temperature to 120 deg and cook for another 50 to 55 minutes. The thing is you are now very slowly setting the meringue.

Whip the cream until thick but don't over whip so it goes hard looking, then fold in the yoghurt. Spoon half into the hole in the centre and put half into a piping bag with a large star nozzle. Then pipe it in a swirly ring around the top of the circle of meringue. Decorate with fruit however you like, then sprinkle on the chocolate or sieve on the icing sugar. Enjoy as soon as possible.

Lastly, Sarah Payne one of the Advent Bloggers who did all the days, good show Sarah, is having a celebratory give away of some lovely yummy silk paper making goodies, beads and other stuff, so if you go to her blog you can enter to try and win the freebies.  I am going to go there now before the rest of you do...............
http://sarahlpayne.blogspot.com/

I hope you win, and have a happy and peaceful 2011.

Another quilt convert

Check out Lisa Lam at uhandbag who has just made her first quilt, and now she knows how addictive it is......anyway go see it on her blog, the colours are wonderful. Well done Lisa, join the quilting club....

Interestingly she has used the new Janome Horizon a sewing machine which looks awesome, I have had my eye on it......But where would I put it, maybe I need a bigger house?

Birdfeeder Battle! - More Nyger seed is the answer

Well this morning, 2 more Lesser Redpolls arrived, which now makes 4 and then 4 Siskins turned up.  All of them at the one Nyger seed feeder designed for a cosy pair......So after the inevitable tussles and wing displays and seeing each other off I darted out and took another feeder to them full of Nyger seed. I am now hoping they all settle down.  I was not able to photograph this as it's still snowy slush outside so was not in the mood for cameras too.  So the moral of this tale is if you want to attract Lesser Redpolls which are on the red endangered list then get in some Nyger seed, it's little black seeds, they don't feed on anything else at all. Lesser Redpolls it says on the RSPB site are often seen in flocks with Siskins, so I suppose my breeding pair of Redpolls were invaded this morning by a marauding flock. Anyway, I don't mind as long as they are all fed. Phew................ I am going to do some reading of the 5 books DH gave me for Christmas, he spoilt me with some new waterproof warm Gortex gloves too as I had been complaining about cold hands on the last two mountains I was up. Deliberate on my part I have to add ;-) because he had invested in a pair of waterproof gloves last month.

Day 24 Advent Challenge Made it, 24 posts and not one missed

Well I did it. I think in retrospect it is not as difficult as it seems. Next year you should try it too as I have had loads of fun reading the other blogs. So thanks to Gina for coming up with the idea and I hope she instigates one next year too.

Meanwhile I have a message to share with you via an ecard, if you don't like them then don't click on the link but if you do put your sound on and be ready to click your mouse on the snowballs...........

http://ak.imgag.com/imgag/product/preview/flash/bws8Shell_fps24.swf?ihost=http://ak.imgag.com/imgag&brandldrPath=/product/full/el/&cardNum=/product/full/ap/3166187/graphic1

Day 23 Advent Challenge A breeding pair

I can't tell you how much pleasure I am having from seeing the Lesser Redpolls come to the feeder each day. Yesterday I snapped away and when I checked the photos found some real gems. What I had hoped was true, they are a breeding pair, the male on the right with the pinker breast and his female on the left. With the wonders of Corel Photopaint I have slightly enhanced the colours so you can clearly see them. I am crossing my fingers for this pair to stay and breed next year and will certainly do all I can to encourage them. Meanwhile, we had another visitor to the bird feast yesterday, a male Reed Bunting, now I have had one of these in the garden before. I took a photo but he was on the ground and much shyer than the Redpolls so it did not pass my strict photo censorship as I like to try and keep standards up.....

I am also still working on the Christmas presents and I have done a few up, this one is under the tree awaiting it's fate. Strangely, this one was bought by Bella for DH. Now I wonder how a Border Terrier managed that!  hmmm and how did she know to buy something in '0' Gauge?

I am going to go for the Turkey Crown later today, we only have the 2 of us and Bella so a whole turkey would just be impossible to eat. I have opted for a free range, organic, Soil Association Certified, bronze feathered bird this year, but please don't mention this to my friends above.........shhhhh

Day 22 Advent Challenge Did the earth move for you too?

Well it did here in Keswick.... http://www.earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk/recent_events/uk_special/coniston_21_dec_2010.pdf

This link gives the info on last night's earthquake. It was at 11pm when DH said his door shook upstairs and I heard the rumble in my den.  Anyway, we looked out of the window and saw another chap doing the same but all was quiet on the street, no bedlam or panic, only our white icy winter wonderland which has gripped us now for what seems like a month!

I had been engrossed for the earlier part of the night in my floral arrangement above the mantlepiece in my den.  This is the before photo, and I hope you can see the different foliage I used, namely, holly, ivy, fir tree and Cupressus with a couple of candles for good measure, not to be lit mind....

The clock was made for me by DH after we collected shells whilst on holiday camping on the Dingle Peninsular years ago when we were right by the sand dunes which led onto the beach. Twice a day Jock and Bramble our two lovely Parson Jack Russell Terriers used to charge at full gallop down the beach. That's when we collected the shells. I am afraid they are now rather blacker and dirtier on the top of the glaze as the clock has been over the wood burner for about 8 years now! Never mind, I have a second clock constructed on similar lines in the hall which is pristine. The painting is by my Dad and it's a fox he did the winter before he died and I always keep it in my room. I love this little painting because I always think he was as clever as a fox.....He was only an amateur though not like DH who was an art student at Maidstone College of Art when I met him.

Anyway, onto the second photo which is the after..............what do you think? is it an improvement?

These are the lights I went to Ambleside to buy at Hayes Garden Centre, you see I used to have a set which did this lovely slow fade in rotation so not all the lights went out at the same time. They were leftovers from DD's move to California and I inherited them along with lots of other Christmas decorations when she went. But a couple of years ago some of the bulbs failed and I did't know which voltage to replace them with. So after searching in vain I decided to send them to the re cycling centre. That meant no slow fade lights last year and that meant no arrangement over my wood burner which kinda spoilt the effect in my den.......So I was really pleased to find a similar set when searching on the internet at Hayes. This is showing them all on together not on slow fade but I did need to get a lighter photo.