Orange and Almond Cake

We've got a bit of a thing for oranges in our house at the moment. Maybe it's their gorgeous sunny colour on these dreary days, maybe we need vitamin C to stem the running of noses or maybe we just need the feel-good vibe that comes from releasing that wonderful citrus oil scent. In any case, as well as the marmalade (which did set and has been given a thumbs up all round), P gets quite beside himself at the offer of a clementine- I'm sure would eat them until he burst given the chance, while I sometimes just want to juice them and drink the 'liquid sunshine' and sometimes, like last night, want to cook with them.
This is a 'Holy Eye' recipe in the sense that it was inspired by the baking ingredients I had to hand, but like any cake, the measurements need to be right. My measurements are all in old fashioned ounces because I based them on the sponge recipe I learned as a child, when metric hadn't really taken hold in the kitchen. Following a recent thread on Soulemama I'm going to attempt to give US measures as well, just in case someone from across the pond feels inspired to try it...
ORANGE AND ALMOND CAKE
Ingredients
4 oz (1/2 cup) butter or sunflower spread
4 oz (1/2 cup) soft brown sugar
2 eggs
3 oz (3/8 cups) self raising flour
1 oz (1/8 cup) ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 orange
2 oz (1/4 cup) flaked almonds
2 tablespoons any sugar

Method
Preheat oven to 180c
1. Beat the soft brown sugar and butter together until creamy.
2. Whisk the eggs and gradually beat into the sugar and butter mixture.
3. Fold in the self-raising flour, ground almonds, baking powder and the zest of the orange. Keep remainder of the orange for later.
4. Spoon mixture into a greased or lined cake tin, approx 20cm diameter. Smooth top and sprinkle flaked almonds over the top.
5. Bake for around 35 minutes until cake is risen and springy to the touch.
6. While cake is cooling, juice the orange and put the juice along with the 2 tbsp sugar into a pan. Heat slowly, stirring, until sugar has dissolved.
7. Using a sharp knife, pierce cake all over the surface. Carefully pour orange sugar syrup over so that it sinks into the holes. Leave to cool completely.

Sorry for the quality of the picture- there isn't a lot of decent light to be had around here. It's just a shame you can't smell it really- oh my goodness!

What's on your needles?

I've finally got a bit motivated about restocking my Folksy shop after my pre-Christmas success. A dinky little brown betty for one now has this 'beehive' style cosy made from Cornish Organic wool. To join it, the slightly larger brown betty is getting a humbug striped number made from more Cornish Organic and also some Sherington Flock Hebridean Wool, bought at last year's Woolfest to make a hat I never got around to (think I fell in love with the cute sheep more than the idea of the headgear!)
As the tea cosies can just about be managed with P running around during the day (only one ball of wool to keep out of his way) I'm keeping the evenings for the Fairisle. The latest update is, I've reached the armhole shaping, so I'm steeling myself for dealing with armhole shaping while working either side of the neckline separately, while maintaining the Fairisle pattern. Yikes!
What's on your needles?

Whatever the weather

When Wordsworth said his piece about wandering lonely as a cloud I find it hard to believe he was inspired by the Lake District. Clouds are surely rarely lonely up here!
Actually, while there have been some extremes of weather since we've been here- see flooding and the big freeze for example- there have also been some amazing days, even though most of our time so far has been in the darker, colder months of the year. I'm also determined that, unless it's really foolhardy, we should go out and get to know and love the amazing place we now live on the doorstep of, whatever the weather. That way, when we are blessed with those good days, we'll appreciate them even more.

So, just we two (well, two and a bump!) ventured out to Brockholes on the shores of Windermere. We were waterproofed up and buggy free, taking our time and walking by P's rules...

All puddles must be splashed in...

...especially when it means you can get to know the local residents.


...and benches are there to be climbed on, the better to view another local resident (bottom right hand corner)...

...and just occasionally, let mummy catch her breath and take in the view.

Breathe deeply

Winter sunshine, a frozen tarn, good company and a tailgate picnic including pea soup whipped up in the 45 minutes between arranging to go and hustling out the door (Thank you Nadine Abensur for the ever useful Cranks Fast Food cookbook). I didn't really get the photos to do it justice because I was too busy just enjoying the many spectacular views of Tarn Hows and breathing in all that wonderful fresh air. Snow and ice may be very pretty and snuggling in for a bit of winter hibernation is all very well, but I think the picture of our little boy sums up how we all felt. He ran on his not-yet-two year old legs all the way up that hill, shouting joyfully at the top of his lungs most of the way!

Marmalade

Making marmalade was an annual event in our house when I was growing up- the scent of it cooking holds all sorts of memories as a result. My mum used to joke that it was in her marriage contract to make it and back then I think my dad was about the only one who ate it. As they've got older, some of my siblings have developed a taste for it and in some cases make their own. I still don't 'get' marmalade but have married someone who does, so I thought this year I should give it a go.
Funny thing about Seville oranges- some family friends who have moved to Spain tell us that over there, where this sort of orange grows, and falls off, trees everywhere- in the streets, in town squares, in people's gardens- you can't actually buy them. They're regarded more or less as a waste product so unless you have your own tree- no marmalade! I think they've found some friends with trees in their garden to supply them, although those friends think our friends are mad to want them.
Anyway, having got hold of the requisite oranges over here easily enough I was very happy to have use of what I'd previously regarded as superfluous technology in our kitchen, namely a citrus juicer bought by C's Nana for extracting what she terms 'liquid sunshine'. That which normally takes up too much space in a cupboard was an invaluable time and hand saver when it came to juicing all the fruits.
I like the way that with marmalade you use all the fruit- the juice and skins in the marmalade, the pith and pips in a muslin bag to provide pectin. It feels a bit like alchemy, especially when using the good old brass lined 'cauldron' that I still have on loan from the farm (it had been languishing in the cellar under a layer of grime and is yet to be missed). Also in the style of the alchemist, I did struggle slightly to get the end result- setting point and still have my doubts about how solid the final product will be. Still, I'm sure it will taste okay and it does look very pretty, especially lit up by some gorgeous afternoon sunlight- we had snow earlier, so it's a day of weather surprises!
As to the housework...well, some of it was done this morning. Some I'm off to do in a minute. But I did get that last sewing job done- behold the 'Old MacDonald Had A Farm' bag! P was treated to a debut performance from both parents, with Daddy acting as animator to each animal as it emerged from the bag and Mummy joining the chorus from the kitchen as she stirred her cauldron. He seemed quite delighted- if a little bemused. Maybe the marmalade will make more sense to him.

All sewn up

I had a 'hang the housework' day today when I caught up on some napping and cracked on with the sewing. Even though I'm not going down to my Ma's for a few weeks to do the next stage, I just felt the need to get the quilt top finished and go back to working on my Fairisle in the evenings. No doubt C will be pleased as knitting is a lot quieter than the sewing machine. I think I can add 7 hours onto the previous time total to get to a result that I'm really pleased with. I can hardly wait to do the next stage- need to decide on batting and backing first. I'm thinking of a wool/cotton mixture batting and brushed cotton backing so that in winter it can be an extra layer and in summer a cover on its own.
Just one more bit of stitching I'm planning before the machine gets put away for a while- with more time at home with the boy coming up, I thought I would do something with these old shirts, a collection of toy animals and a certain well known song about a farmer. Had it not been for a phone call from a friend tonight I'd have got it done, but maybe I can fit it in around that still-waiting housework tomorrow morning. A more pressing job tomorrow is to go shopping for Seville oranges though- for until I heard someone mention it on the radio today I hadn't realised they were about and this year I'm going to make marmalade!

Hearts for Haiti

Here, as mentioned the other day, is the small effort I'm making towards the Haiti appeal. When something that huge happens it's so easy to feel so personally small and helpless- sometimes it's hard even to concieve of the utter destruction shown in newspapers and on television. That said, I truly believe that every contribution, no matter how small, is worthwhile. So when Williams Wools put out the call on Ravelry to knit 'Hearts for Haiti' I was very much up for it. The idea is that knitters visiting the shop knit hearts that the lovely Adrienne will then make into brooches. These will be sold for Valentines Day with proceeds going to the earthquake appeal- raising money and awareness at the same time.
So far I've made the three pictured, but as they take less than an hour to knock up I'm hoping to have more to contribute by Wednesday when we next go to Kendal. Just in case anyone out there wants to have a go, the following is a bit of a 'Holy Eye' sort of pattern. I've no idea if it would work with yarns and tensions other than those I used, but at least it gives a general idea.
HEARTS FOR HAITI
Using small amount of Rowan Kid Classic and 3.25mm straight needles, cast on 20 stitches.
Row 1: K2tog, knit to last stitch, inc. 1
Row 2 and every even row: knit
Row 3: As row 1
Row 5: As row 1
Row 7: Knit to last stitch, inc.1
Row 9: As row 7
Row 11: Knit
Row 13: Knit
Row 15: Knit to last 2 stitches, K2tog
Row 17: Knit to last 4 stitches, K2tog twice
Row 19: As row 17
Row 21: As row 17
Row 23: As row 17
Row 25: Knit
Row 27: K2tog, knit to last 2 stitches, K2tog
Row 29: As row 27
Row 31: As row 27
Row 33: K2tog twice, knit to end
Cast off
Make a second heart the same way, place two hearts together and sew all the way around. Place button on front of heart and attach, sewing through both layers.