Yellow Wall. Blue Wall. What Wall Next?

As the days get warmer and longer the colour of Bumble Bee Cottage changes from yellow...

... to blue. The grape hyacinth blooms are starting to fade now so I thought I should get a photo before I need to deadhead them and start to turn my mind to summer planting.

Please note the artfully placed, colour co-ordinated chair and trampoline, and a little sneaky peak at the 3/4 complete cottage garden. The non-mulched patches are still waiting to be planted out. I have planted a few summer bulbs and I mulched the area as soon as I planted to ensure I did not dig them up in my enthusiasm.

A new lease on life

I have been undecided about whether to paint the side tables in our bedroom for quite some time. My husband went on a business trip to Brussels for four days so I decided it would be a good time to make a decision, spur myself into action and give these side tables a new lease on life.


These were given to us by my parents-in-law. They were updating their bedroom and asked us if we wanted them. In Australia our bedroom had a 'jungle' theme (for want of a better description), it was tan, olive green, teak furniture and large potted plants. It was time for a change and to be honest my taste has moved in a very different direction.

Four coats of paint later; much improved don't you think?

My thrifted birdies are happy in their new home. The concrete bird in the pot plant is something my husband gave me fourteen years ago. He met me after work one day, not with a bunch of flowers, but a lovely basket with a pot of baby's tears (not the white flower used by florists but the low growing ground cover). The baby's tears were covered in tiny white flowers and nestled in amongst them was this little bird. The plant left this world many years ago but the bird has graced a pot plant in our home ever since.

When I decorated our bedroom my husband said that he didn't mind what I did; I knew he was just being considerate, so while there are roses they are red not pink. I think he sighed a silent sign of relief when he saw it. The rose pillowcases are from America. In the 1940s and 1950s ladies in America would purchase linen to embroider. It would have a stamped outline of a pattern and they would simply follow the outline. I own quite a few of this type of embroidery, some of the workmanship is beautiful and you can be guaranteed no-one else has one quite like yours as although the pattern may have been the same the colours chosen and the little extra embellishments made each item individual to its maker.

There are two lovely ladies who make cushions on Ebay (juliescushions and kimberley*dawn*cushions). I purchased all of the cushions, except the white crochet one, from them. I picked up the crochet cushion at a charity fair for £1.00. It was stained but a good soak in hot water with napisan can fix all manner of problems. (Remember you can click on any photo to enlarge it).

One of my favourite possessions is my rose quilt. It is for a single bed so I have it folded in half at the top of the bed to add a bit of colour to the room. I searched Ebay for nine months to find just the right pattern. I adore barkcloth and wilendur fabric and this quilt has a similar look. There are a few worn bits and some of the hand quilting is loose but I don't care it just adds to the homey appeal. I think having hand-made things in your home, be they second-hand or newly made, gives a home a sense of itself; choosing them certainly gave me a sense of myself and how I have changed.

(It is only now, after, I have finished this post, that I have noticed one of the paintings is crooked - how very annoying, if you can live with it I can!)

So simple even a man can do it.....

There is a very strong morning tea tradition at my husband's office. If there is a reason for a cake to be baked someone will make one. A lady brought in morning tea last week and one of the men (not my husband) in the office made a derogatory comment about the cake; that was it, the challenge was on. The women of the office challenged the men of the office to see what they were made of, or at least what they could bake.

My husband is a very good cook, although he always doubts this when I tell him, but he has only baked once before. For the 'Man Baking Challenge' he baked my chocolate brownie recipe; the only help he received from me was answering his questions. They were very well received; he was more than a little proud. He said I should stipulate that the chocolate brownies were so simple to make 'even a man can bake them!' - I made sure I put his comment in this post so you didn't think I was being hard on the opposite sex's baking ability!

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake

We had friends over for dinner so I have a few new recipes to share. The nibbles at the beginning and the dessert were new, untried recipes; always interesting/stressful/insane. I can't help myself really, I start to peruse my recipe collection and always become drawn to something - 'Oh that looks good. I haven't tried it before. I think I'll do that.' I have made alot of baked cheesecakes before but never ventured into the 'gelatine-set-in-the-fridge' type. Let me just say despite my previous jelly post about my excessive use of gelatine in the past - GELATINE IS NOT MY FRIEND.

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake

250g plain sweet biscuits
90g unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons gelatine
500g cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup lemon juice
½ cup caster sugar
1 ¼ cups/315mls cream, whipped
250g frozen raspberries
2 tablespoons caster sugar, extra for with the raspberries

Grease and line, with baking paper, a 23cm spring form tin. Finely crush the biscuits (a plastic zip-lock bag and a rolling pin are great and non-messy for this). In a bowl mix the crushed biscuits and melted butter. Place this mixture into the tin and press it up the sides and base as evenly as you can. Refrigerate the base for 20 minutes or until it is firm.

Prepare your gelatine, follow the instructions on the pack you have as some are dissolved in cold water and some are dissolved in hot. This was a revelation to me as I had only come across those dissolved in cold water before but I used a new brand for this recipe and its instructions required you to dissolve the gelatine in hot water. DO NOT allow your gelatine to ‘set’ before you mix it into the rest of the filling ingredients. I was not paying attention, in a rush as usual, and I added the gelatine without really having a good look at its consistency. The phrase cream covered elephant boogers comes to mind – perhaps there is an opening in the gourmet food market there somewhere, but where escapes me at this particular point in time. Well after I removed all said ‘boogers’ I added the mixable type of dissolved gelatine as opposed to the disgusting brown lumpy type and I continued with the cheesecake.

Whip the cream and set aside. The recipe did not stipulate what type of peaks were required i.e. soft or nearly butter, so I just went for medium and that seemed to work. Beat the cream cheese until creamy then add the juice and sugar and continue to beat until smooth. The recipe suggested low fat cream cheese but low fat and cheesecake do not really go together as far as I’m concerned. Let’s be honest, it is not really going to matter how low fat the cheesecake is if you spend the next few days consuming the leftovers. My Mum’s technique is to eat a half of a slice at a time, the only problem is you always go back for the other half! Gently fold in the whipped cream and half the non-set gelatine.

Process the raspberries and extra sugar in a food processor until smooth and then push the puree through a sieve to remove any pips. Fold the remaining gelatine through the strained raspberry puree. Alternate blobs of the cheesecake mixture with the raspberry mixture and swirl with a skewer. Do not use a fork, as I did, as the raspberries blend more than swirl.

Refrigerate for four hours or until set. I decorated the plate with a swirl of whipped cream and more raspberries, although a swirl of raspberry puree artfully dripped around the plate would also look good.

Important tip: make the gelatine mix after you have fully prepared both the cheesecake mix and raspberry puree as between mixing the gelatine into the cheesecake and sieving the puree so it was ready for the gelatine, my gelatine set once more. I had to make the gelatine mix three times before I was finally able to finish the cake

I gave this recipe 8/10. It was very nice but I think I will try to add more raspberries next time for an even more intense raspberry taste. This recipe came from page 51 of 'The Essential Dessert Cookbook'. There are quite a few books in this series. We have five of them; I can highly recommend them as a very good start to your cookbook collection. They contain a good mix of recipes.

May your cheesecake always set and its fat never find your thighs ;)

Bluebell Wood

Last year we visited Bluebell Wood in the first week of May and we were too late; the best of the blue blooms had faded. This year we were determined to see the wood in its full glory. We set off from home at about 8.30am and our feet touched our chosen path to floral loveliness by 8.40am - no where is far on Guernsey; or as some of my Guern friends say 'Everything is 'on' the way (to where you are going)'.


We found a beautiful blue bunch of bluebell blooms on the steep climb up from the bathing pools in St Peter Port, where our walk began.

This bode very well for our visit to the wood.

Anticipation was mounting; even the kids were looking forward to seeing the blue carpet of flowers that awaited us at the end of our 20 minute climb.

This is the sad sight we were greeted with. No bluebells. A few here and there; too early this year and too late last year.

This is the view through the hawthorn looking out towards the Island of Herm. We have been to Herm on daytrip with my Dad in 2007 when he visited. It is just on our doorstep, I really need to get more organised and take the kids for another visit.

This is looking out to the Island of Sark, you can just see it in the distance.

The view was beautiful but still no blue!

There was white.

There was yellow.

Finally, at the bottom end of the walk, in the morning sun, we were greeted by our elusive blue treasures, not quite the carpet I was hoping for but lovely none the less. I dreaded having to ask the kids to come back again, after the protests we had listened to before the walk this morning. Then I was pleasantly surprised; my son announced 'This was the best day of my life!' So I guess coming back next weekend to try again is something we are all looking forward to.

Kumara Wedges with Pesto Mayonnaise

These are delicious, quick and very easy. I gave this recipe a 10/10. I found it in 'The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook For All Seasons' (p19). I write a score out of ten next to all the recipes I make out of my cookbooks, well they are my cookbooks and I'll write in them if I want to. I also write how I think the recipe could be improved next time I make it or, in fact, if I would ever bother to make it again. I have quite a few recipes that have scored six or less and I have very clearly indicated never to make them again. It is very easy to be wooed by a delicious looking picture in a shmicko recipe book only to find the reality of the end product was not worth your time to make it or the cost of the ingredients.


6 or below - I wouldn't waste my time to make it again
7 - I would make it again but only if I thought I could tweak the recipe enough to improve it. I would only give a recipe like this one more chance and if it didn't work the second time I would not bother to make it again.
8- these recipes are tasty
9- these recipes are very tasty
10- these recipes work everytime and could not be improved in anyway; delicious



Kumara Wedges

2 large, approximately one kilogram, kumaras/sweet potatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons ground black pepper


Peel and slice the kumara into wedges about 2x8cm. I sliced mine a bit thin and they cooked down too much to be used as wedges for dipping so I just gave people a plate and fork, problem solved. Place the kumara on a baking tray in a single layer and coat it in olive oil and black pepper. I used ground black pepper as I didn't know if our guests liked hot and spicy food but if we were just making this for ourselves I think using coarsely ground black pepper would be very nice, with the different sized chunks of pepper resulting in the occasional rather hot bit. I do not think white pepper would give the same depth of flavour.


Bake the kumara in a very hot oven (240*C) for about 20 minutes or until they are slightly browned and tender. They are served with a pesto mayonnaise.


Pesto Mayonnaise


1/2 cup firmly packed basil leaves
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise


Blend the basil, garlic, oil and parmesan until it makes a smooth paste and then stir it through the mayonnaise. Do not use a cheap or low fat mayonnaise for this recipe. Try to find a whole egg mayonnaise or very creamy mayonnaise; I used Hellmann's.


The wedges are best made just before serving. Serve them when they are warm rather than steaming hot straight from the oven. The mayonnaise can be made one to two hours before serving. I do not like 'cooking' food when the guests have arrived. I try to have everything ready so I just need to dress the salad or pop something in the oven as opposed to standing at the stove missing out on all the conversation. These are a lovely starter as you can place them in the oven so they come out of the oven just as the guests walk through the door, then while you are organising drinks they will have cooled enough to be ready to serve.


Important tip: Cut your wedges generously or they will not be able to be picked up and dipped. I suggest you make cut some up for dinner one night so you can get the cooking time and thickness needed correct. I wish I had done this but once again I cooked something new for guests I had never cooked before. Would it work? Would it be tasty? Nothing like a little pressure.

Chalkware Obsessions

Damn you 'Country Living'. Why do you have to be so full of wonderful ideas and inspiring photographs? If you could see me now I am shaking my fist at the sky for dramatic effect, well ceiling of the study actually. I read an article, which of course I am unable to find at the moment (but I will add the issue later), about an artist who painted pictures all over the walls of her cottage. She had the most beautiful wall of vintage chalkware displayed in her kitchen.


Her walls were plaster pink. While I did entertain the idea of a plaster pink kitchen I settled on blue, my favouritest of colours. I was hooked, off to Ebay I toddled.

I have eight chalkware pieces at the moment, although there is wall space for more; of course. What makes this collection all the more special is that I purchased six of the pieces from the one seller. The two bossons round ones were purchased separately. They are displayed in my kictchen; you can see them here.

Two ladies were selling their great Aunt's collection, which they had inherited. The ladies were in their seventies and the great Aunt had been in her nineties. When I purchase the entire collection by good fortune (I say good fortune as the most expensive one cost £2.60), I emailed them to ask the story behind them. I love to know the history of things I buy, it makes them more part of your home, rather than just a decorator item.

The great Aunt was a gypsy from eastern Europe who came to the United Kingdom with a carnival in the 1930s, met an English man and settled there.

The chalkware is her collection of carnival prizes she had won during her time working for the carnival. Until the nieces told me I was unaware that this type of chalkware were given as carnival prizes.

I have scoured Ebay for more 'shaped' chalkware, as opposed to the round ones, but to no avail. I do like the round ones as they give a nice contrast to the brimming baskets of flowers, but deep down I love shaped chalkware best. The pink poppies at the top are my favourite and the fourth one down is my next favourite. Good grief Charlie Brown, listen to me talking about my next favourite; I sound like I'm eight......but it is true it is my next favourite!

I love that it is chipped. I love that it is hard to find; as I imagine alot as been damaged beyond repair in the past 80 or so years.

Most of all I love that I have, by chance, ended up with a woman's life-long collection. The nieces were so pleased I had managed to buy all of them and that they would being going somewhere they would be loved as much as their Aunt had. Things like that make me smile :)