Marmalade Memories. 🧡🍊

Every Spring Dalemain Mansion in Cumbria turns  Orange 🍊, the stately home near Ullswater hosts it’s famed annual World Marmalade Awards! A highly regarded competition in any marmalade makers calender, the awards have evolved over 19 years, attracting entrants from as far away as Brazil, India & Taiwan. There are even sister festivals held in Australia and Japan.

🍊Homemade Marmalade making categories include Tea Time marmalade, Merry Marmalade, Unusual additions marmalade, Octogenarian & Upward marmalade, Man Made marmalade, Children’s marmalade, Camponologists marmalade and Prison marmalade.

The Awards & festival were held a couple of weeks ago and the prize winning  Marms are available to buy online here , some lucky winners creations even make it on to  the shelves at Fortnum & Mason. You can also purchase winning jars of the orange stuff at Dalemains Tea Room. As we were in the area last weekend , we bobbed in after a bumble with Hugo along the lane to nearby Dacre. For an extended walk why not try The Four Bears Marmalade March, a lovely addition to The Ullswater Way.

The Barn Tea Room is a fab place for a brew after a walk and currently you can sample the award winning marvellous marmalades for free. What a treat! 🍊

The biggest ever  fan of marmalade of course has to be Paddington Bear himself. Apparently he does attend the event personally every year. I was almost tempted to purchase my own Paddington.

Wil and I couldn’t resist sharing a piece of sticky gingerbread topped with marmalade. Yummy. 😋 Dogs are welcome in the tea room , very handy for walks with the pooch.

Wil even had a moment of marmalade madness and bought 2 of the winning fine cut marms. A Seville Orange & Lime with chilli and a Lime with creme de cacao. Plus he treated me to a box of Blood Orange Marmalade Organic Fruit Tea. Happy days.

I recall picking up a recipe for marmalade on a previous visit. I’ve never attempted to make any though!

Are you a fan of the Orange 🧡 Stuff?

January ~ Round Up. 💖

I thought I would do a little round up post at the end of every month. Who else thinks that January has whizzed by!

READING ~ It’s been a gentle month of reading, easing me into 2022. Luckily there has been no need to buy new books or borrow any books, just yet. The first month of the year lends itself perfectly to making a start on lovely Christmas gifts , such as Angela Harding’s beautifully illustrated ‘ A Year Unfolding ~ A Printmakers View ‘. This gorgeous publication is packed full of Angela’s stunning prints of the wildlife she sees from her home in Rutland , her adorable hounds and holidays on the coast. Though late to the party I have also just finished reading Richard Osmons ‘ The Thursday Murder Club’ which I loved too.

WATCHING ~ I have watched quite a few good dramas on the box recently including ‘ Rules Of The Game’ starring Maxine Peake and David Tennant in ‘ Around The World In Eighty Days’ . My favourite show to binge watch in January was the excellent ‘ Afterlife ‘ on Netflix. I couldn’t help but blub at the end though. : ( And as for Guilty Pleasures ~ can’t help it, I’m becoming addicted to The Masked Singer as usual. 😋

A Mitton Circular Walk.

WALKING ~ There have been a couple of gentle walks this month, nothing too strenuous though. I blogged about hikes in Lytham, Paythorne and Skipton Castle Woods. Hugo the Labrador always makes sure I get my steps in!

EATING ~ Wil made a delicious Burns Night Pie using Veggie Haggis , which went down well. I can’t find the actual recipe online but theres a similar one Here.

A friend and I had a delicious Belgian Waffle Breakfast at The Chocolate Works in Clitheroe recently. It’s the photo in the post header. All that fruit has got to be healthy, right. 😋

ENJOYING ~ Regaining my sense of smell after covid and loving the scents of these Lakeland Lights Candles. Hand blended in Cleator Moor in Cumbria, I fell in love with these gorgeous creations after receiving two off my brother for my birthday in November. I treated myself to a couple more recently too. Ullswater ( Grandeur) and Whinlatter ( Forest ) are my faves. So far. 🙂

Lakeland Lights Company Candles ~ Photo From the Facebook page.

~ Tartan. For some reason I am totally in love with tartan! I own a lovely tartan thermos flask and a snuggly & soft tartan blanket, both presents off my other half. They are perfect for keeping me toasty through the winter months and taking out on walks too.

~ Wordle. Google Wordle and find the online word game that everyone ( it seems like! ) Is becoming addicted to in January. The premise of finding a 5 Letter Word in less than 6 goes is both surprisingly simple yet sometimes frustratingly difficult. Enjoy!

Thanks for dropping by. 🥰

Festive Friday Photo ~ Clementine Biscuits. 🍊🌲

Photo courtesy of Erol Ahmed on Unsplash.

Instead of posting photos on the last Friday of the month, Kate is asking us to post one or more each Friday for her popular Scavenger Hunt. Today’s prompt is ….

Baking – festive or otherwise and may be share the recipe so we can all have a taste 🙂

Well I am not a good baker. As you can see below my Clementine Biscuits look nothing like they should !

My biscuits.

What they should have looked like…….

The only change I made to the recipe was to use grated Clementine zest instead of orange zest because I had bought a couple of Clementines from the market . Although they tasted nice , asphetically pleasing they were not. The recipe can be found here. 🍊

The Christmas tradition of putting an orange ,clementine or satsuma in a stocking possibly dates back to the 4th century. A prosperous Greek bishop known as St Nicholas tipped gold coins down the chimney of a man who had been unable to raise the money for his daughters dowries. The coins fell into the girls stockings that were hanging by the fire. Oranges became representative of the coins and stockings continue to be hung by the fireplace on Christmas Eve.

Have you ever received an orange in your Christmas stocking?

🍊

Hawthorn’s Photo Scavenger Hunt ~ September.

I am loving Kate’s words for September, they are giving this post a glowing Autumn vibe. If you would like to see more interpretations of the prompts that Kate chose , please pop over to her lovely blog.. ☺️

Cosy. Here is Simba the cat looking very cosy in his usual spot, on a table at the entrance of an Amsterdam restaurant. It was definitely his presence that attracted us there……..and the cheese!

Changing foliage. Autumn colours in Clitheroe town centre. After the glorious Indian Summer type weather we have recently experienced, it does feel more Autumnal now.

Scarf. I do actually have a recent photo of myself wearing a scarf. This was taken on Allonby Beach in Cumbria. In the distance you can make out Scotland, separated by the Solway Firth.

Baking. I’m not one for doing much baking ( as you can probably tell!) but this prompt did encourage me to bake this pear and ginger loaf cake. Hurrah! A recipe can be found here.

Cobweb. A misty Monday morning walk down by the river gave me ample opportunity to photograph cobwebs……….as there were thousands of them! It’s scary to imagine how many spiders are out there. 🕸️

My Own Choice. This was taken last night on a Bat Walk organized by the Ribble Rivers Trust. My niece and nephew with Bat Detectors. Bats love water apparently and trees ( especially in hedges and on the edge of woods) as both attract insects. They can eat up to a thousand pesky midges a night, as well as other insects and even small fish. The Bat detectors enable the human ear to listen into bat calls which are mostly too high pitched for us to hear. We were able to detect Common Pipistrelles , Noctules and Daubenton’s Bats ( water bats) with the help of the detectors. It was an amazing and fun experience. 🙂

Thanks for dropping by.

Sunday Sevens 14th October.

Today I thought I would round off my week with a Sunday Sevens, seven or more pictures from the last 7 days.

A Witchy Walk.

Even though we are busy decorating the kitchen at the moment ( when I say we, I really mean Wil ! ) , we did take time out for a walk in Aitken Wood near Barley. Pendle Witch country, the little conifer woods here are home to a spooky sculpture trail that tells the story of the Lancashire witch trials of 1612 . I have now reached 1300 miles walked in 2018, so still hoping to complete 1500 by the end of the year.

Guilty Pleasures. 😈

So I’m in love with the devil ! Fantasy horror writer Neil Gaiman is one of the creators of the supernatural characters in Lucifer, a TV series about the original fallen angel, the devil himself. Now residing in LA, Lucifer is keen to learn more about humanity and is even using his devilish powers for good ( well kind of 😉 ), working as detective Chloe Decker’s wickedly sexy sidekick. Swoon! I am late to the party as usual…but totally loving this show. ❤️ You can watch it on Amazon Prime.

Witchy Read.

Also very appropriate for this time of year, how about a supernatural romance that begins in Autumn and is set in historical Oxford? Diana Bishop is a young scholar ( and reluctant witch) , who unwitingly stumbles upon an ancient enchanted manuscript, buried deep in Oxford’s Bodleian library. It’s discovery both thrills and disturbs the supernatural community, who all want to get their hands on both it and the young witch who summoned it. Diana finds herself being both hunted and protected by an ancient brooding vampire called Matthew Clairmont. This book has apparently just been made into a fantasy series on Sky, so one to look out for. For now though, I’ll just curl up with this couldron bubbling paperback romance. 🕸️

Skipper Stew.

The first recipe we tried from The Little Book Of Hygge was a success! We made Skipper Stew which is a winter warming stew, perfect for Autumn and Winter. As its name suggests Skipper Stew was originally made on ships. The main ingredients are brisket ( though any meat will do), chicken stock, onions and potatoes. We served it with sourdough bread and pickled red cabbage instead of the suggested Pickled beets and Rye bread though. You can also find the recipe online here.

Wine Tasting. 🍷

Yesterday I was lucky enough to go to a Wine Tasting in Waddington with some friends. At first we were all very professional , swirling our glasses round and declaring ‘ I detect hints of elderflower’ , but it soon descended into chaos when we realised there were fifty bottles to try, in a two hour time slot. Haha. Great idea! If your thinking about wine now , check out www.winesbytimbyrne.co.uk

So that was my week, how was yours?

Wild Garlic & Cheese Scones.

Today I reached a little milestone. I am currently participating in the #walk1000miles challenge , which I started in the New Year. I have just become a Proclaimer. I have walked 500 Miles! To celebrate, I thought I would do a little baking , so I made some Wild Garlic & Cheese Scones. Wild garlic has speer shaped leaves and is abundant in woodland at the moment. In fact it’s white pompom shaped flowers are just starting to appear. I foraged some leaves whilst out walking locally this afternoon.

Wild Garlic & Cheese Scones.

I found this recipe in the Ribble Valley Magazine and it is one of wild food forager James Woods , from www.totallywild.co.uk

Ingredients ( 8 Scones).

250g plain flour.

75g unsalted butter, small chunks.

1tsp baking powder.

1 tsp salt.

50g mature cheese, grated.

15-20 young wild garlic leaves and stems, finely chopped.

150ml milk.

Method.

Place the flour into a large bowl and add the butter. Rub the flour into the butter until it resembles fine bread crumbs.

Add the salt, baking powder, grated cheese, chopped wild garlic leaves and mix.

In the mixing bowl.

Make a well in the middle and add the milk, a little at a time, mix with your hands or a large spoon.

Flatten the dough into a thick round on a floured surface. Ok!

Remove and form it into a ball in your hands, then flatten the dough into a thick round on a floured surface and cut into eight wedges ( I only managed 6). Place on a lined baking tray.

Scones…..that actually look like bannocks. Ready to go in the oven.

Bake in the middle of a pre-heated oven, 180 C , for 15 to 20 minutes until risen and lightly browned.

Happy 500 Miles!

I found the scones to have a subtle garlic flavour. They are really good with butter! I think I should have tried to cut the wild garlic leaves finer, but all in all I am quite pleased with how they turned out. 😁

Heres to the next 500 miles!

A Winter Warming Links & Likes.

 Hello my festive followers!  I thought I would post my last post before Christmas today and spread some Yuletide Blog Love.  ♡ Here is a Christmas Combo of some of my favourite posts through December , so do grab a Mince Pie with your brew and enjoy browsing through these winter warmers. 😁

 

Those Greedy Sisters make a boozy Mince Pie Martini. Sounds scrummy.

On Too Lazy To Weed some surprising Evergreens are found in the garden. 🌲

Meanwhile in New Zealand kristah’s Garden is bursting with Summer blooms and a recipe for Strawberry Shortcake. 🙂

 festive Tiffin on Mathilde Heart Manech.

From Sunshine to  Snow on Paula’s blog where her gorgeous part of the world has been transformed into a Winter-Wonderland.

Stunning pictures on Hike Minded when Santa visits the residents  of  a Berlin Wildlife Park. 🙂

Get an informative low-down on Winter Seasonal Veg over at Roots And Toots.

And heres a Simple Tasty Potato Stew on the Alfresco Family blog. 

Still looking for Christmas Gift Ideas ?  Lots and lots at the  Forkward Thinking Foodinista.

Very hygge pictures on Simple Natural Handmade.

 Simple Natural Handmade is a lovely blog to follow if you love pictures of cute dogs and crochet. 🙂 

 A Winter Walk isn’t quite the same without making one of Lisa’s yummy Walk And Eat recipes. Decembers treat is Festive Tiffin. 

And if you are out walking in the cold make sure you Layer up well !  The Helpful Hiker shows you how. 

 Fancy a winter break in Edinburgh? The Dickins Blog can show you how to spend a cosy day in this charming city. 🙂 

Stunning wildlife shots on Hike Minded.

The Glasgow Gallivanter shares her summer memories of a trip to a Scottish Island, I personally had never heard of.

 And last but not least , Christine shares her wonderful  Wildlife Moments of 2017.  🦋🦎

 Merry Christmas and thanks for reading. X

 

 

 

 

 

Links & Likes ~ October. ♡

Wow we are really rushing through October!  Everyone has been up to some good stuff this month. So please make yourself a nice hot drink and settle down for a read of these lovely blogs. ♡ 
Apparently BottomlessBrunch is the New Afternoon Tea ! Kellie gives it a try. Yum. 🙂

Theres a Quick and Easy French Toast Recipe on Wonderfully Bookish.

I had no idea that in Scotland Mums To Be recieve  a very useful and cute  Scottish Baby-Box.  Nina shows us whats in hers…

Apples galore on Christine’s blog.

Eunice shares a Missing Pooch Story  with a Yappy Ending. 🙂 

 Christine searches for her favourite Apple varieties at an Apple Festival in the Gorse Hill Nature Reserve. 

Fancy a mug of tea and a hike round Rufford Old Hall.   Melodie’s blog Tea Bee’s Trips explore’s the English countryside, holidays abroad and her tipple of choice  ‘ Tea.’  🙂

An Idylic Hideaway  in Bodmin  ~  My Little Country Life.

Emma stays at the most perfect little holiday cottage in Bodmin . I really want to book this place ! 

 I love the look of  this wonderful journal reviewed on  Made by Mi. 

And this delicious Ginger and Syrup Sponge on Emily Llou’s blog.

 

The Breathe journal is reviewed on Made by Mi.

 Theres a great little review on the recent H is for Hawk documentary on Only Natural, which I still need to watch.

I really must get round to visiting the  Yorkshire Sculpture Park which appears  on Down by the Dougie.

Lets end with the cats of Monmartre Cemetery

  in Paris, who live and prowl amongst the graves of famous Parisians.  
 

 Thanks for reading and hopefully see you soon. 🍁

 

 

Macmillan World’s Biggest Coffee Morning.

Hurrah for Macmillan Coffee Mornings !  Not only are they a brilliant and social way to raise money for a fantastic cause,  they are also pure heaven for those of us with a sweet tooth.  This morning I dropped in at my friend Nicola’s Macmillan Coffee morning…and stuffed myself with cake. Nicola , who is a Queen Baker ( as well as a busy Mum of 4! ) made all these goodies. 🙂

Lemon Drizzle.

Coffee Cake.

Chocolate Fudge Cake.

Take me to the Cake!

Our hostess got some recipe inspiration from the Macmillan Coffee Morning Recipe Page, which features quite a few recipes contributed by celebrities , such as Julie Walters and Amanda Holden.

Afternoon Tea anyone?

Ginger and Salted Caramel Cupcakes.

Victoria Sponge.

Pear and Ginger Cake. My personal favourite. 🙂

Cookies 🙂 The dark chocolate and ginger biscuits on the left, another favourite of mine , this recipe provided by Harry Potter star Rupert Grint. 🙂

Nicola was sent a Coffee Morning Kit when she signed up to host this event, and this  included table cloths, bunting & cake toppers etc, as well as ideas for fund raising games and raffles. She had such a successful morning that she raised an amazing £270!

Cake really is best enjoyed with friends.

You can host a Macmillan Coffee Morning whenever you like, and help raise funds to support people with cancer. The website is Here. 🙂

Links and Likes, Lately.

Im Spreading the Blog Love and adding a few other links in this post. Enjoy!                        How lovely that Roots and Toots&…

Source: Links and Likes, Lately.