Our allotment - home grown fruit and veg

In 2009 myself and my boyfriend bought our first allotment. The idea behind it is, not only do we want all our veg to be home grown and organic we would like all our fruit to be as well, we plan to use all of our fresh fruit in my cakes. I am so excited to be able to say that all the fruit and jam I use, I have actually grown myself!

Believe me we are no experts and it is very hard to manage when you are busy like we are, but we just get down there whenever we have the chance and its so lovely watching things grow; I have to be honest I am very impatient and want to see things growing immediately but what can you do! So far we have strawberries and raspberries, we did see some crop last year but not much, so this year we will have LOADS! We also have the pick of the blackberries, damsons, plums and apples on the nearby bushes and trees, happy days!

It is funny having an allotment as you have to follow certain rules and I have noticed there is definitely a bit of shed envy going on amongst the men.. men and their sheds! Personally I just like to go there and relax as things at home get quite hectic as I work there, so it is blissful to get away and get a bit of good old fashioned hoeing done!



This year we have planted lots of veg and we hope to see some English roses too, which will be lovely with vintage vases in the centre of an afternoon tea party.

I will be writing regular blog posts detailing the progress of the Vintage and Cake allotment so watch this space for fresh strawberries, raspberries, roses and veg galore!

A very blue afternoon tea party

I had a mini photo shoot yesterday that I thought I would share with you. This blue is very popular at the moment, especially for Mother's Day presents. This china is 'willow' and so pretty. I thought a splash of red would work quite well against the blues. Just to say thank you to my lovely boyfriend who does all of my photography and is totally self taught, bless him! it makes a huge difference having someone to take good quality photographs.



I suggest to anyone who is reading this to stop working immediately, grab a cuppa, sit down and plan when you will have an afternoon tea for friends and family this Spring/Summer, go on do it! If you need any help you can ask me!



Your comments would be welcome

x

We love cupcakes

It has dawned on me that I am making an awful lot of cupcakes recently, so I thought I would share some of my latest creations with you. people love cupcakes at the moment and they are very popular for weddings. The majority of wedding orders I have had over the last few months have been for cupcake towers and a top tier. I absolutely love making cupcakes and decorating them, they look so sweet and taste amazing. They do work out cheaper than a traditional tiered wedding cake depending on how many you have of course.


Here are some of my creations for you to enjoy

Tea at the Ritz

I have always wanted to go to The Ritz for afternoon tea and now I think I will be going this year! Its my boyfriends Grandma and Grandad's 70th and 80th birthday this year and to really treat them we have decided to take them to have afternoon tea at the Ritz. A bit pricey but they are worth it, you don't turn 80 and 70 every day do you! Plus it will be research for me too, well no not really I just want to go and eat cake and drink tea!
I will report back when I have been.

A menu for a very nice afternoon tea with suggestions for appropriate teas

Traditional Afternoon Tea
A selection of freshly prepared finger sandwiches (crusts off, preferably cucumber or fish paste)
Warm scones with clotted cream and preserves
A variety of home made cakes (coffee and Victoria sponge are delightful)
Your choice from a range of teas

Here are some of the more common teas but of course there are so many to choose from out there.

Darjeeling
An aromatic and astringent tea from India, with a hint of almonds and wildflowers.


Earl Grey
A blend of black teas scented with oil of bergamot named after Charles, 2nd Earl Grey, who was Prime Minister from 1830 to 1834.


Lapsang Souchong
A Chinese tea fired over smoking pine needles, which produces a striking smoky odour and flavour.

A delicious coffee and walnut cake recipe to go with your tea:

Coffee and walnut cake

250g butter
250g soft light brown sugar
4 eggs
300 self raising four
200ml strong coffee
50g walnuts chopped

Buttercream

225g unsalted butter
3 teaspoons strong coffee (dissolve the coffee in just enough water to make a paste)

Aunt Sally's Afternoon Tea Dance

The tea dance is all set to go, I am working with The Moorside Grange Hotel. to bring this event to you, I think it is needed!

It will be held on the 9th May from 2pm until 5pm, there will be lots of live music, tea, cake and old time dancing, with a special treat for you too!

Come and join us!

The hotel is situated on the edge of the Peak District National Park, minutes from Lyme Park, where the BBC’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ series was filmed.

Tickets are £19.95 and this includes the following;

As much tea and cake as you like, all served on exquisite vintage china - All china provided by Vintage and Cake. Cakes and scones will be provided by the hotel.

A Dance show put on by the amazing Blackpool Latin champions Mel and Tia

A dance workshop from a dance professional, so you can learn some moves yourself

Music by a live band all afternoon

Dancing! Including Jive, Waltz, Quickstep, Cha Cha Cha, Tango and Rumba. (no dad dancing aloud!)

The hotel are also doing an amazing deal for rooms, £25.00 per person based on two people sharing, breakfast is included in that price.

So come along perhaps on the Saturday and make a weekend of it, you could also visit the absolutely stunning Lyme Park and take a walk through the breathtaking scenery.

If you would like to book your tickets to this wonderful afternoon please email Rebecca a;

salesmgr@moorsidegrangehotel.com

or call 01663 764151

She will be on hand to help you out with tickets, information and hotel rooms.

I really hope to see you there for some good old fashioned dancing!