Summer Evening Light

It was the summer of 1988, or maybe 1989. I was nine or ten and shared a bedroom with my sister, Anna. Our room faced the street and it's huge west-facing bay window caught the full glare of the setting sun and the pink curtains gave the room a warm glow. We possibly had wallpaper which was pink with white clouds. That summer the local pub round the corner had a moment when it was the place to be. Every weekend (once Mum and Dad had tucked us in and gone downstairs) we would get out of bed, kneel up at the window and peek out of the curtains to watch people, couples and groups, walking to the pub. They were young, noisy and trendy, laughing and smoking. They stuck out in our quiet, suburban street. I thought they were utterly fascinating. We didn't know anyone like that. We knew children who went to school, played with their Sindy houses and rode their bikes. We knew grown-ups who went to work, went sailing, and had friends round for dinner. We didn't know anyone who went to the pub. 

The next summer it was quiet again.

Lately there are times when I am doing something very everyday with the children and I am taken straight back to a moment from my own childhood, like an echo. We are approaching midsummer and it's very light when the children go to bed and the light pours in around the edges of the black-out curtains, creating slanting patterns and dancing dust. Through the open window we can hear noise and activity - cars going up and down our road, bees, voices talking, birds, the occasional plane overhead. And that memory of going to bed when it was still warm and light outside, of long summers when it was endlessly hot and sunny for weeks at a time, comes back every time like a reflex.

52 Weeks of Happy...35/52

The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything.

Flowers and parcels seem to be the themes this week. Joining in with lovely Jen at little birdie, here are my happy moments from the past seven days:

1. Dahlias in the pots by the front door. They look so tropical. John and I recently painted the front of our house and I've re-stocked all our pots with fresh plants and planted a row of sunflowers along the front wall. I like to be greeted by cheerful flowers when I walk up to the front door, it makes me feel so much better.

2. A large wool order arrived this week, my biggest splurge yet. 26 balls of Rowan Pure Wool DK  - enough to make a large blanket for our bed, just like the one on the cover of this book. I know it could be made more cheaply with acrylic yarn but there will be hours of work in this blanket and I am in no rush to complete it. I want to enjoy the process, savour the feel of the yarn and cherish it for years to come.

3. The play of light in the shadows and reflections from these bottles of stocks. I know - they were on the coffee table on Wednesday but they were moved sharpish when John discovered that they interfered with perfect remote control positioning and his need to ALWAYS prop his feet up on the table.

4. Another parcel - a giveaway from Leanne of Today's Stuff, a little suitcase packed full with seeds, cards, candles and chocolate. So lovely. Thank you, Leanne. I love that she included some shells; Leanne lives in St Ives and her beautiful photographs or her local beaches feature regularly on her blog and always have me yearning for the sea.

Wishing you all a delightful weekend. Our plans depend on the weather. The sunshine vanished a week ago and we eagerly await it's reappearance. 

Three Things

One: I want to apologise for my altogether whingeing, whining tone yesterday. If life gets too busy I have no-one to blame but myself. I don't work. I am busy with childcare, volunteering, housework, cooking...the stuff of life, things I enjoy. It's just that you caught me in a sulk, when I was feeling tired, irritable and a little bit sorry for myself. Thank you for your lovely supportive words. 

Two: The print I showed you yesterday is by the artist Jeremy Speck and it's called Four Mugs. Fans of the St Ives Movement, Ben Nicholson, Eric Ravilious and Edward Bawden may like his work.

Three: Here is the recipe for the chicken and couscous I mentioned yesterday, and for the yogurt dressing should you want it. Quantities feed four people either as one main meal for four, or as one meal for two followed by salad for two the next day.

• 4 chicken breasts
• 2 tbsp harissa paste
• 2 tbsp plain yogurt
• 200 g plain couscous
• 100 g pomegranate seeds 
• 50 g flaked almonds
• bunch of fresh coriander

A few hours before cooking, put the chicken, harissa paste and yogurt in a freezer bag and mix it all together so that the meat is well coated with both ingredients. Leave in the fridge for a while to marinate. When you're ready to cook, remove the chicken from the fridge, butterfly the meat so it's as flat as possible then heat a little olive oil in a frying pan or skillet. Fry the chicken until it's cooked through, turning regularly. This should take about 15 minutes. While the chicken is cooking boil the kettle. Put your couscous in a large bowl and add 250 ml boiling water and leave it to stand for five minutes so it can soak up the water. Roughly chop the coriander. Then, just before serving, fluff up the couscous with a fork and add the pomegranate seeds, coriander and almonds and mix well.

For the salad, just add any leftover chicken (chopped), salad leaves, maybe some avocado, and toss together. It's really good with this yogurt dressing:

• 250 ml plain yogurt. I find the runnier low fat yogurts make a better dressing than the thicker, Greek styles.
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 1 tbsp finely grated or minced cucumber
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper 

Put all your ingredients in a jam jar and shake well or stir with a fork. It will keep in the fridge for three or four days. This is a cross between a dip and a dressing. It's thick enough to be spooned into pitta breads and runny enough to be drizzled over a salad.

Random Midweek Loveliness

It's Wednesday, it's raining and I am tired as Angus did not have a very good night's sleep, so consequently neither did I. I find myself wishing it was Monday just so that I could possibly fit in everything I hoped I would have achieved by today. Does anyone else wish there were just a few more hours in every day? Are we all unrelentingly busy, unable to say "no" to people, or is that just me?

So here are some random lovely things which are making me smile and have enriched my week enormously:

My granny blanket. I am nearly there, only seven rounds to go. It's currently only 90 cm by 100 cm so still a little too small. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with it at the moment; on the one hand I am enjoying the soothing repetitive rounds of trebles, but on the other I just want it be finished right now so that I can do something else.

A delightful and unexpected package of treats, sent by my best friend Abigail, just "because" and containing - among other things - this frankly stunning print...

...some Liberty print washi tape (could anything be more perfect? I am torn between wanting to use it on everything and wanting to save it for something special)...

...a new book...

...and this gorgeous brooch.

Abigail: one day we will live near each other, near enough to meet for coffee or lunch, for our children to play together, and not always be at opposite ends of the country. One day!

I bought some stocks. They smell heavenly but were not doing it for me in this vase.

So I put them in lots of little glass bottles. Divide and conquer. 

Yesterday I made couscous with coriander, pomegranate seeds and flaked almonds. The combination of textures and flavours is a winning one. The tart pop on the tongue of the pomegranate with the gentle crunch of the nuts and herby, soft couscous is good.

We ate it with chicken breasts which had been marinated in yogurt and harissa paste then butterflied and pan fried. 

If you have any left over chicken or couscous (you may have to cook extra for that to happen!) they are very good mixed together with some salad leaves and a yogurty dressing for lunch. That's what I'll be having today.

Wildflowers On The Dinner Table

My favourite part about having friends over for dinner is making the table look pretty. Not in a themed, party planner way, but just taking care with flowers and candles and colours, trying to aim for something seasonal without spending too much money. I'd rather spend that on the food and drink.

Yesterday morning Bella and I walked up to the shops. On our way home we picked cow parsley and buttercups, what you might call hedgerow flowers. Except hedgerows are few round here so we made do with the footpath at the top of our road and the grass verges outside the houses. I added to this with chive flowers from the back garden and put them in some half litre carafes which have small necks, making them ideal for holding the flimsy, wiry stems.

I'm still not tired of cow parsley, even if it does shed tiny little white petals over everything.

These posies set a soft, summery tone for the table, along with a pink table runner I've had for years, some tea lights, and my Grandma's silver cutlery.

I made a big jug of Pimms. We drank it in the garden even though it was really a bit too cold.

We ate salads, breads, smoked meats and dips to begin with, followed by a great big beef chilli that John made, with rice, tacos, guacamole, sour cream. 

Then for dessert John made an orange and almond cake, which he served with an orange syrup and marscapone. He's made it before and it's amazing. 

Good times with good friends. Although we were greeted by fuzzy heads and a frankly unfriendly amount of washing up when we came down this morning. How did we manage to use every glass, plate and chopping board in the house? But at least there is left over orange cake.

Joining in, a little late, with Lou's Nature in the Home series at her blog littlegreenshed.

52 Weeks of Happy...34/52

The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything.

What a lovely week it's been. We've spent most of our time outside enjoying the sun and warm weather. It's very easy to find things to be happy about when I'm greeted by blue skies upon opening the curtains every morning. So, joining in with the lovely Jen at little birdie, here are this week's happies:

1. Peonies. I love their pale colour and layers of delicate, frilly, silky soft petals. I bought these but I'd love to grow some.

2. Time spent with Bella and Angus last weekend in my in-law's garden. Bella practised her skipping and coloured. Angus spent every moment outside playing with their dog. Being away from home makes me sit still and just watch them play.

3. Weekend market find number one: four very kitsch corn-on-the-cob dishes. I've wanted some of these for ages. Now I just need some of those little fork-prong things you stick in either end so you don't get butter all over your fingers.

4. Market find number two: a screen print by a local artist, printed onto a page from a vintage atlas. It makes me think of jumping on a plane, freedom, unknown destinations, going exploring; basically a spontaneity and lack of responsibility that is impossible with children but ever so appealing. Also, I love old maps.

********************************************

Thanks for all your brilliant suggestions for gifts for teachers. So many good ideas! Edibles seem to be the most popular and the most practical. I will give jam with either some fresh bread or cake of some kind, maybe some fruit or a plant from the garden if we have something, and make sure I find a way to involve the children in the whole process. I know that gifts for teachers is a relatively new thing but honestly, I really like to do it. I think both Angus and Bella's teachers are pretty fantastic and have made this last year a very happy time for them both.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend. The weather forecast here is for more good weather so we will be pottering at home, gardening, cooking, preparing for some friends coming over for dinner tomorrow night. There might even be a jug of Pimms! 

Rhubarb and Vanilla Jam

This was one of those joyful kitchen moments when I had an idea of what something should be and it all turned out just as I had hoped. I am very much an everyday cook, learning as I go, and not given to moments of culinary genius. But oh this jam is good. I don't mean to blow my own trumpet, but really it is. 

My father in law gave me 2 kg of rhubarb from his allotment (it was just going to waste!) and so my first thought was jam and my second was pie. I've made rhubarb and ginger jam before, and rhubarb and strawberry but wanted something different. Then I remembered how well custard goes with rhubarb and thought about adding some vanilla to the fruit. The sweet vanilla, which can be a little sickly when paired with other less sharp fruits, is perfect with the rhubarb's tartness. It's a very happy mixture of flavours. I used 1 kg of the fruit to make the jam (my stock pot won't really hold more - I think I need to invest in a proper jam making pan) and chopped and froze the other half for future pies and crumbles. I love to see lots of little bags of fruit in my freezer, all lined up, labelled and ready to go.

To make the jam I used:

1 kg rhubarb

1 kg preserving or jam sugar

2 vanilla pods or two generous teaspoons of vanilla paste

I prefer to use jam or preserving sugar - which is just white sugar with added pectin - but you might prefer to use ordinary sugar and add your own pectin, or not add the pectin at all. I have had too many cross moments in the kitchen with jam that refuses to set so I like to use jam sugar. Also, I found vanilla paste much easier to use than fresh vanilla pods as the liquid surrounding the seeds helped them distribute more evenly throughout the fruit.

This amount of fruit filled about five standard size 275 ml or half pint jam jars.

To make:

• Make sure your jars are sterilised and ready to go.*
• Put a saucer in the freezer.
• If you are using vanilla pods, split them and scrape out the seeds and put to one side.
• Wash and chop the rhubarb into 2 cm or 1 inch pieces. 
• Put the fruit, sugar and vanilla into the jam pan and stir it really well so that all the rhubarb is covered in sugar and vanilla. Ideally you want to leave this for a few hours so that all the flavours have a chance to get to know each other, but you could just start cooking if you have less time.
• Slowly bring the mixture to the boil then let it bubble away. 
• After 15 or 20 minutes, start to check for setting point. Take your saucer from the freezer and put a small dollop of jam on the saucer. Give it a few moments to cool and set, then push your finger through it. If it wrinkles, then it's ready. If it's still runny then it needs longer.
• When you are satisfied that your jam is ready, remove it from the heat and leave it to cool slightly, say 10 minutes. Skim off any scum and then pour into your waiting jars. A jam funnel helps enormously here!

It's pleasing to look at too, a soft pinky-peach colour with tiny black flecks. Then my favourite bit - jam tops and labels. The fabric jar toppers let me indulge my country kitchen fantasies of AGAs and Welsh dressers. I experimented with a butterfly hole punch here - it would be great if I could find a fruity themed hole punch, I wonder if you can buy them.

I was also hoping to pick your brains; I want to make a gift each for Angus and Bella' s teachers. We have seven weeks until the end of term so I think I've got time. They are both women, in their early thirties I would guess, and I don't think the whole country/granny chic thing would really be to their taste. What could I make them that they would like and wouldn't go in the crazy handmade parent gift pile for the charity shop? Edibles like jam, fudge, cakes? Something crocheted or knitted? Something sewn? Any ideas would be very gratefully received. Thank you!

* I wrote about sterilising your jars here should you want more information.