My gardening heritage

Whilst on holiday in London recently I decided to visit the house I was bought up in from the age of 5 ....... post war council housing estate in south east london.     I was curious to see if the garden my dad had built was still there.  It was and here are a few pictures.  It was a mamoth construction so i hadn't really expected that the new owners would be able to dig it up even if they had the inclination to try.  The lady who lives there now was really welcoming and so excited to let us round the back for a look around.

Above is a picture of the front garden,  it had a pond with a bridge over, wishing well by the side, filled in now, there was once a waterfall.   How 70's is that!

Out to the back, a large paved area leading down to more crazy paving with raised beds, another pond with waterfall, wishing well,  ending at the back ....... the nerve centre of all operations, the shed.

It looks tiny from this view, covered in Ivy ..... but after 40 ish years it was all still there and sturdy as a rock.... they don't buildem like that these days!

My mum tells me that when they dicided to take on the task,  they ordered as much crazy paving as they could afford, it was smaller than they had expected and not being able to afford more, they collected what ever they could from where ever they could.   If my mum saw some on the street, she'd pop it in the pram and bring it home!.  Granite squares were used to build the raised beds ......  My dad had noticed that contractors were digging up an old cobbled street in east london, a word in their ear and the cobbles were his.   Take a look at the garden and be amazed at how many trips he made to get those cobbles home on his moterbike through the balckwall tunnel!  As he'd had half the street, the contractors insisted he take the street name, carved into a block of granite and now cemented into one of the raised bed walls.   Unfortunately I didn't realise that while I was there and so missed the opportunity to photograph that bit of history .... next time.

Cake decoration, back to basics

When I started making cake for people,  I'd thought I'd be doing  cupcakes, tray bakes deserts and the like,  but everyone I speak to invariably asks me if I do celebration cakes.  Yes I can do celebration cakes is my answer, but nothing fancy.  I don't know why I say that as i'm a good cake maker and have made some great cakes resulting in lots praise.   But am I a confident cake decorator? - no,  so I thought right, go and learn properly and build confidence.

This week I signed up for a 12 week evening class in cake decoration at Ayr college.   In Scotland we can apply for an ILA grant of £200 per year and luckily that has paid for the course.    Once the 12 weeks is up I may move on to advanced cake decoration- lets see how I get on.

There were 18 of us in the class with ages ranging from 16 to 60 ish, men and women.  Over the weeks I hope to get around and find out why people are there.  My companion this week was hoping that by the end of the course she'll be able to make and decorate her daughters wedding cake in May..... how lovely is that!

We started with the basics, butter icing which we flavoured, coloured and piped on to sheets of greaseproof paper.  We then refilled and repiped to perfect the toppings on our imaginary cupcakes.  I've topped a few cupcakes in my time, but wasn't initially that impressed with my offering.   My nozzle was too small.  Still, by the fourth go I figured out how to work with the smaller nozzle and was happy with the result.   Normally at home I wouldn't mess around like that, get the job done and not waste time or buttercream ..... so on the one hand it was great to be practising but then devastating to have to throw it all away at the end of the lesson!.   Some who were driving managed to pack their icing away for use at home.  I had a cold wet rainy walk home so it wasn't possible.

Next week we'll make cupcakes and fondant icing, It was really nice to spend time with other bakers and get back to basics.  Can't wait for next week.  I wonder if they'll mind me taking my camera.

Homebake Heaven

I have always cooked, particuarly cake!   but since having children I have been particuarly keen, wanting them to learn and appreciate that the homemade way is not only the healthiest but the yummiest way.   I've been lucky enough to be able to stay at home with them.  This has been partly due to circumstance - a husband who works in overseas development and frequently travels, but also, the desire to do so.

Now as they get older and become more independent ... the pressure is on to get a job!.  The trouble is  I've got used to staying at home,  doing my own thing -  and want to continue to do so.   I'm trying, therefore to make a go of selling the thing that I am best at - cake!  I don't say this often about myself, but I am good at baking and I hope others will think so to.

I took the Hygiene course and had environmental heath round to check me out.  That was the easy bit, now I need to do the marketing ...my weakness!   I may be good at making cakes but am hopeless at selling myself.   I've used one of the free templates to set up a website  www.homebakeheaven.co.uk/
and made a facebook page Homebake Heaven, Ayr    Take a look and let me know what you think.  Any constructive criticism and help appreciated!

I pretty much like all cake! .... but am rather partial to cheesecake ... of the baked variety!  How about you?

Summer fair Tanzanian style

I was recently sorting through my photo stock and came accross these of Moyo in Tanzania.  

They were taken whilst we were exhibiting at the bi annual Makutano fair.  It's a showcase for tanzanian artists and crafters with NGO's and small businesses attending from all parts of Tanzania and Zanzibar.    

 It's not so hot in Tanzania, but very humid,    If I'm ever complaining about being cold in Scotland I try to check myself and remember that humid heat.

thats me looking very hot!

Ayeasha, the very talented designer at Moyo. They are working on a website of their own, but if you want to see just how talented she is, take a look at her designs on our website  Kibibi designs completely original, contemporary African design you won't find anywhere else!

As with most of these events we had a tiny space to fit in all our products it was quite a squash, barely any room for the customers to walk around.

We were able to display it all though.  Now when I attend fairs, I only have a table and have to leave most of my home decor, cushions etc at home. 

Happy days, I miss them!

pesto

We love homemade pesto sauce in our house .....  eating it with pasta, on toast, in sandwiches with cheese or chicken, it's truly yummy and nothing like the shop bought variety.

During times we have lived in warmer climes we've been able to grow huge amounts and have experienced plants growing up to a metre high.  I've tried cultivating it here in Scotland but even in the greenhouse, have never quite been able to produce enough for even one helping.

I'm reduced to buying it from the supermarket .... besides being expensive, especially in winter, I do worry about the amount of chemicals that may have gone into its production.

I feel bad throwing away the plant once I've picked the leaves so have tried to keep it going by leaving it on the window cill.  That's never worked for me.  It hasn't grown and usually results in a soggy mess, covered in those little flies you sometimes get on houseplants!  Recently though, I have been repoting and growing on in the greenhouse.  So far it's working well.    I pick off all the taller stems with big leaves so I'm just left with the shorter stems and tiny leaves.  I then repot into larger containers using some new compost.

I bought these at Morrisons yesterday where they are selling for 50p ......  if you buy basil regularly you'll know thats a bargain!

I've taken off the big leaves and the taller stems and will repot them to grow on.

I have 6 pots regrowing now

To bulk out the basil I use mint from the garden, I think this is apple mint but I'm sure any type will do.

This is the recipe we use

60g Fresh basil leaves
20g mint leaves
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp pine nuts
100ml extra virgin olive oil
7 tbsp freshly grated parmesan
Salt to taste

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and liquidise.  if you like your pesto crunchy, you could hold back a few pine nuts, chop them roughly and add at the end.

and Hey pesto!  .... sorry I couldn't resist!

kids doing fairtrade

For a few months now I have been volunteering at my childrens school, helping the teacher run a lunch time fairtrade group.  We spent the first year working on gaining fairtrade status for our school.  You can of course still do fair trade without getting the status,  but it was a good process to go through as it gave the group a focus to get us started and warm us up for future activities.

Now that our application has been submitted we are looking forward and making plans for the next school year.  At our weekly meetings the ideas flow freely.  We have a long list of exciting options and next week we'll have a planning meeting to narrow them down and decide which ones we want to move forward with ....

I'm not sure there are enough days in the school year to cope with it all.  One of the best ideas has been to do an interactive assembly around fairtrade, something along the lines of who wants to be a millionaire where the audience votes...... a message i think,  to us adults that our usual assembly offerings are boring and old fashioned!  Along side this they are working on a fairtrade section for the school website and developing lesson plans for the geography teacher to use with first years.

In writing this blog I've been trying to think about why they are so enthusiastic in their participation.  It goes without saying that they are all fully on board with the principles of fair trade... being acutely aware of the unfairness of it all.  But it's more than that.  Participating in the fairtrade group allows them to put into practice a whole array of things they are learning at school.   We have the computer expert who is doing the webpage,  the mental maths expert who loves to do the tuck shop, the artist who is making our banner,  the ideas person who is listened to.  The group allows them all to do what they are good at and be listened to by their piers.   They run the group, chair it and take the minutes .... they are in charge, they are awesome and they love it!

One of their favourite activities is to face the public.  We run a Fair trade friday tuck shop and sell tea coffee and snacks at parents evenings and other school events.  These are always the most popular activities and the kids are queuing up to volunteer.  So that I don't have to 'choose' someone,  we have a points system (inspired by another FT school, Stonelaw high) whereby points are given for the least popular activities and the students with the most points get to do the things they want.   ..... not sure quite how this will work at the moment, the problem being that they all attend every activity and so all have the same number of points!

I'm told that exciting things are being planned for fairtrade, ethics and the curriculum so hopefully there will be updates on this topic.

Exams are over.

My oldest child and favorite son! or so he likes to call himself (my only son, ) went back to school today after over a month of exam leave.  The school seems to have prepared them well and he's a bit of a bright spark so we had none of the stressed filled days and late night panics which were common in my teenage years.  Now its all over we are getting the inevitable queries about what  his reward will be for academic success?  Everyone else, I am informed,  gets one ......  with amounts ranging from £10 to £100 or an expensive piece of electronic equipment.  He had various suggestions for me to consider.

It's a dilemma, I want all my children to take responsibility for their own success and have pride in what they have achieved.  I explain they are doing it for themselves not me.  I am just so darn proud of him and he is proud of himself ...... yeh yeh yeh, whatever,  is the reply i get  and it still doesn't stop him from chancing his arm.

I tell him there is no money in my purse and that there is also the question of fairness to consider.  They watch each other like hawks with an acute sense of fairness, possessed only by siblings.  Everyone needs to be treated the same, given the same rewards, punishments and praise.  The perfect mother needs to be a statistical genius with the memory of an elephant!  I am neither a statistical genius or an elephant and so need to keep clear of rewards,  because you can bet your life someone is taking notes.

Ever the chancer, his next move was to tell me his girlfriend had a reward.   Knowing the mother  I expressed disbelief and questioned further ... he confessed that it was a Mars bar!  Ok, thats fine, we settled on a snickers bar.