Time for Tea

Of course the poem I had in mind when setting the hands on this clock was not Hickory Dickory Dock at all, but Rupert Brooke's Grantchester with its final evocative line ...

"Stands the church clock at ten to three?

And is there honey still for tea?"

Thinking of honey, there has been a lot of publicity lately about the mystery honey bee illness that has been decimating hives across America and now there are fears that it might have reached Britain. I was talking to a local bee keeper last week and thankfully there are no signs of problems in our locality as yet, and hopefully never.

Certainly the bees have been busy these last few weeks in the gaps between rainfall. First the lavender which thrives in the hot and (normally) sunny garden at the front of the house, and lately they have been drawn to the ice-plants which are just coming into flower. They are so funny to watch on these, they seem to adore the nectar, becoming drowsy and heavy, hardly able to summon the strength to lift themselves in flight!

Of course the ice-plants flowering is the signal that summer, such as it has been this year, will soon be over and autumn will be upon us. I love autumn, the whiff of woodsmoke on the wind as everyone begins to tidy their gardens, the first chill in the air and the woods just edged in gold. But I do hope we see something of summer first! I was asked to paint some beach huts for a local shop to feature on some bags ....

And then I considered all our usual summer treats that have sadly been few and far between this year ... eating in the gazebo, with the starlight and the moon and our delicate Japanese lanterns strung from the trees in festive fashion .... hot summer afternoons swinging gently in the stripey hammock .... sand between my toes and in the sandwiches at the beach ... but maybe September will be fine - there's still time...

Rosie returns from her gap year in three weeks time, it's hard to believe she's been away since January, the time has passed so quickly. She's spent the last few weeks in Thailand, and has ridden elephants, stroked tigers and enjoyed beach parties under a full moon. Returning to England may well be a shock to the system, but it will be wonderful to see her again. She's requested large quantities of Galaxy chocolate, and Mum's roast dinner to celebrate her return!

In the summer I often roast new potatoes with rosemary from the garden and will leave you with this easy recipe ...

You need a nice hot oven. Put your new potatoes (cut them in half if they're large) into a plastic bag with a tablespoon of olive oil, chopped rosemary (garlic too if you like), some sea salt and cracked black pepper, then squidge around in the bag until they're nicely coated. Tip onto a heavy baking tray and roast for 30 mins. Turn over and leave a bit longer if needed - and that's it. Lovely cold too - good to take on picnics (but watch out for marauding newfies - they adore them!). Happy days indeed!

After yesterday ....

"Diet, what diet?" said bear - and Amy too as she scoffed her third golden cheese dream biscuit!

Just like Children!

Sometimes I think that having dogs is just like having children. It has been raining all day today and the dogs were bored. Our walk was of the shortest as it really was throwing it down and the footpaths had all been transformed into glutinous mud. The tide was in, so heading for our beach was no good either! Then they weren't allowed to take up their favourite positions by the gate where they like to look out for our neighbours, the postie and anybody else who might come along.

So they fidgeted and wriggled, bounced and bickered and were generally annoying, rather like small children on a rainy day and, like small children, needed to be amused. Now, for Christmas, Amy received a rather good present - K-9 Cookbook - Easy to make Dog Biscuit Recipes. As she has finally managed to lose the weight the vet recommended, I thought we'd give one of the more luxurious recipes a try. "Come on dogs," I said, "we're going to make Spot's golden cheese dreams."

Boredom vanished in an instant as we all headed for the kitchen. We measured and mixed, patted and baked. They were allowed the scrapings from the bowl, and the picture above shows them enjoying the savoury aromas wafting through the air as they waited for the biscuits to emerge from the oven. Well, they were delicious. The recipe's below if anyone wants to try for themselves ... and I don't think they'll stay in our Pet Treat tin for long!

"Goodbye rainy day blues," said the newfs, "this is great, let's do it more often!"

Spot's Golden Cheese Dreams

3 cups (750 ml) whole wheat flour
2 tsps (10 ml) garlic powder
1/2 cup (125 ml) vegetable oil
1 cup (250 ml) grated (shredded) cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 cup (250 ml) milk

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and garlic powder.
2. Make a well in the flour mixture and gradually stir in vegetable oil, cheese, beaten egg and milk until well blended.
3. Knead dough on a floured surface, about 3-4 minutes.
4. With a rolling pin, roll dough to 1/2" thickness.
5. Cut with K-9 (bone-shaped) biscuit cutter and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
6. Bake 25 minutes at 400F 200C (we used Aga Roasting oven 3rd shelf).
7. Cool on rack (well out of reach!) and store in a container with loose-fitting lid.