rose petal jam

a surfeit of plums - part one

I know, I know, I have been away from this blog for soo long that I probably have no-one left reading! Well being pregnant just sucks your life away, FACT. I have no idea what I have done in the last few months but time and energy have seemed in very short supply! I most certainly have not had a surfeit of those! I do however have a newly decorated house, a beautiful nursery, a freezer full of batch home cooking, a massive bump and a million baby related essentials :-)

Anyway, onwards, hopefully this is the start of many more posts :-) and I promise they won't all be about babies and pureed vegetables! In case you are wondering, no, he isn't here yet. he is due on the 20 August and so far no signs to speak of... watch this space!

I think I have mentioned, but my sister and her partner Mark have an allotment. Having popped down there the other sunday eve to lend a hand, Dominic arrived home, 4 hours later, hungry, and with a carrier bag full of plums. I mean full. I mean, I weighed them and there were 10 and a half pounds of them!

So, Wwe spend a pleasant hour sat at our table stoning them all, except for the ones required for what I am about to share with you next. I totally forgot about the finger staining properties of plums and we both looked like 40 a day smokers by the end of it! Anyway, it was quite good fun to be honest. I did them one at a time, whilst Dom did the cutting bit first of a few and them stoned them. ever the competitor he even timed us doing ten each at one point to see whose method was fastest! His was, but by about 2 seconds so really, do we care? No we don't!

So, wanna know what I made first?

ta dah!

Welcome to Spiced Plum Liqueur!

aaaahhhh...

This is ridiculously easy, it literally takes 5 minutes.

1 lb of plums, washed and pricked all over with a pin (I was lazy and used a fork!)

6 oz caster sugar

A pint or so of spirits - I used 350ml vodka and 120ml of brandy (sorry for mixing imperial/ metric, I was born in the 1970s)

2 cinnamon sticks snapped in half

about 10 cloves

Place all in a litre kilner jar. Close tightly and shake up.

Keep in a dark place for 2 months, shaking every 3 days or so. Everything should act upon each other and the plums impart juice and colour into the booze.

The brilliant thing about this is that when it's ready, you decant the liquid bit into bottles as a drink (straining out the plums and spices) and then rebottle the plums in a light sugar syrup (maybe with more booze, a splash of ginger wine would be awesome) to eat as dessert with ice cream etc, so it's like two for the price of one! I am sure they would make EXCELLENT gifts for Christmas and the like. Unfortunately I am just not that nice! I intend to test the liqueur on bonfire night at the allotment (ok, I'll share it with those there!) and them keep the rest for Christmas, maybe take some to the cottage for our New Year break to sip in front of the fire... bliss! Can you imagine that boozy, spicy, plummy taste, slipping down very nicely... or the sodden, sweet plums with some cold cold vanilla ice or a dollop of clotted cream...

More plumminess soon... can't say when, ideally tomorrow but the baby might have other ideas!

baby flavour

I just realised that I forgot to say what kind of baby we are having. My memory is shot these days. Shall I tell you the one about where I booked a holiday in Andalucia at exactly the same time a dear friend was coming over to visit from Sri Lanka? Best not, I'll start hyperventilating again. Don't worry, it's all sorted, even though Easy Jet did partially remove my eyes for the privilege of changing our flights. Luckily the hotel were not so mercenary!

Anyway, here's a little something to help you guess...

What do you think?

Perhaps this might help?

Yup, it's a boy!!!

Ahhhh...

A boy who is very wriggly just now, constantly on the move - perhaps he is hyperactive!

I love this sign in particular and we have put it above the nursery door. When I say we, I really mean Dominic as I am hardly in a condition to be climbing on ladders etc! I bought it at Helen's spring open day and it seemed the perfect sentiment for our baby as to us, it is like a dream coming true. We have waited so long and had so many disappointments and setbacks in the last 2 years but we got there in the end and I have never felt so happy, or lucky, or blessed!

Right, we are off to bonnie Scotland for the weekend now, have lovely Easters one and all.

Sarah xxx

thoughtful present!

I love presents that just come out of the blue - so much better than those you know are to be given in a way - but on the other hand, I am not mad on surprises - so yes, contrary mary once again.

Anyway! I got an email last week from Vanessa at Do You Mind If I Knit If you haven't checked this blog out, do, because it's always a good read, she makes very beautiful things which she shares with us readers and also has two adorable dogs, Ellie and Douglas who quite often get a look in.

Anyway, the email. Goodness I am all over the place - combination of the hormones and the unexpected gift!

Vanessa and her lovely Hugo had just stayed at our cottage for the second time and had by all accounts had a marvelous time - see her blog for some great posts about the delights of North Yorkshire!

So the email. Again. Vanessa wanted me to know that a little something was winging it's way to us in the post. Excitement! What could it be? Excitement was delayed when i got one of those annoying red post office cards which meant I had to go to the depot to collect as it needed a signature blah blah..so off I went and then swiftly drove to my office where I ripped it open...

And see how I was rewarded for my trip? isn't this just lovely without even being opened?

and when I did...

no, it is not a hat, it is a tea cosy! More specifically, a tea cosy for the teapot in the cottage! And all handmade by Vanessa herself. What could be nicerer?

We had had some emails a while ago about me wanting to commissioned a tea cosy from her and I hadn't followed up on it, but clever girl that she is she remembered and knitted one which fits in with the whole Hideaway Cottage vibe perfectly!

And look at the sweet little tag she made!

So thank you SO much Vanessa. And in answer to your question, no I certainly do NOT mind if you knit!!

Gardens, books and biccies!

Oh look, she doesn't blog for ages and then does two at once! Well that's pregnancy for you, boundless energy one day, none the next so I am making hay whilst the sun shines :-)

We have been having a lot of fun recently and I just thought I would share some pictures I took last weekend on our jaunt to the Alnwick Garden.

This rather dramatic shot is of the central feature known as the cascade. The Alnwick Garden is the brainchild of the current Duchess of Northumberland who, with rather a lot of help I think! has created a beautiful garden and visitor attraction in part of the grounds of Alnwick Castle. It has lots to see and do in a very compact site so perfect for an popular with families and older people. There is a water sculpture garden, a poison garden (you can have a tour and find out all about some deadly plants) and a stunnu rose garden, sadly not yet in bloom but oh my! when it is it's one of the most glorious places in England.

They have also planted the world's largest cherry blossom tree orchard and that will be in bloom very soon.

If you want to find out more, have a look at their website it is a great place to visit if you are in the area. 

Another brilliant place in Alnwick is Barter Books

I apologise for nicking this photo from their website as I totally forgot to take a photo as I entered or left that day.

Barter Books is one of the largest second hand book shops in the country with literally thousands of books for sale.

As you can see, it's a rather magical and lovely place, where you can while away a lot of time browsing books and just enjoying the restful, friendly atmosphere.

and when you need a little fortification and a browse through your purchases...

you can sit in the station waiting room with a cup of tea and a biccie

I adore this room and the colour of the tiles. It's fab. Everyone whispers too, like in libraries in the good old days.

There is another seating area near the front of the shop with a fire and an help yourself tea and biccie bit with an honesty box.

To find out more about this fascinating place and how it came about go to their website and find out amongst other things how it was they who brought back this rather famous poster into the public domain.

Which is currently the motto for my hectic and rapidly changing life! Dominic even bought me a mug with this printed on whilst we were there!

Spring sunshine!

After a saturday of lashing rain and gale force winds, we in the north were treated to a perfect spring day today. you know one of those, good to be alive, blue sky, daffodils dancing, breezy, sunshiny days that just pop up out of nowhere?

So where better to go than to Busy Bee Studio for their spring open day!

Do you know my friend Helen who runs Busy Bee? No? Well she is gorgeous :-)

Busy Bee is many things, it's an online shop, it is a place that opens periodically for selling events and for all manner of craft workshops and most importantly it is a shabby chic haven and indeed a state of mind :-)

Excuse the photo quality but the damn sun wouldn't stop shining! This is a small selection of the things Helen had on display and for sale today.

The doorway in the background leads into her 'cowshed' which is where she runs her intimate workshops and also has even more gorgeous things for sale. If you'd like to see more, have a look at her website here and make sure to go on the virtual tours on the website as they show how heavenly the setting for the studio is - you will DIE when you see her swing...

She also writes a blog which is very funny and she will introduce you to her donkeys Bumble and Dylan who I didn't manage to snap as they were about a quarter of a mile away at the end of the field. But they are amazingly cute. She also has cats, dogs (including the inimitable Winston), geese, hens and lord knows what else.

But if you ever need a gift or a treat and you love shabby chic and all things countryfied Helen's your girl.

As it was such a nice day, a small portion of the garden was open to nosey parkers/ visitors! We decided to have a look. We came upon this sign...

and decided to head for the daffodil walk...

It was all so beautiful. If we didn't like Helen and her gorgeous husband John so much we would be very jealous indeed!

Of course it would have been rude not to make the odd purchase...

What do you think? I am going to fix it to the inside of our front door for the next few weeks. I love wreaths. If I were PM I would make them compulsory on everyone's door!

I also bought a couple of items for the baby which I will show you soon... the colour will give away the flavour of the baby :-)

Hope that you all had fun in the sun this weekend!

I am back!

hello!

I am sorry I've been away so long, yikes, it has been well over a month. I see from my stats that people are still coming to read which is lovely and I hope that I haven't disappointed with the lack of posts!

But I have a good excuse. The fact is, I have been right off my food. So disinterested in the stuff which usually rules my life I found I had nothing to say! Nothing to blog about!

What could have caused such a strange turn of events I hear you say?

What could it be?

Well, does this give you a clue?

Yes! I have a bun in the oven :-) which is amazing. Wonderful. Heart skippingly fantastic. A very much longed for and anticipated event in our lives. But on the food front, oh boy have I been sick! And the little one steals all my vitamins and energy and often words so that, dear reader, is the reason for my absence.

I feel much better now, apart from the draining tiredness, but Yay! The appetite is back and I have stopped feeling sick and so faddy about what I want to eat. I am not ashamed to say that I have eaten Birds Eye Potato waffles on more than one occasion in the last few weeks! Baked beans, mashed potato and broccoli have also featured heavily. Bacon, lamb, curry, or anything rich tasting were firmly off the menu. Poor Dominic has been deprived! Thank goodness its all back to normal. Well except for the gazillion things the government tell you you can't eat, all of which I love, raw oysters, blue cheese (most nice cheese in fact), rare steak, dippy eggs, pate... sigh... the list goes on!

So, do you want to know if it's a boy or a girl?

Hmmm...

Well you'll have to wait for the next post ha ha ha!

However, I want to announce something else, I think my blog is going to take a little departure from being just about food. That will of course still be very heavily featured, and I promise this will not turn into a pregnancy blog :-) but I have thought for a while about the blogs I love, like Lucy's at Attic24, Cherry Menlove's the two Janes at Posy and Yarnstorm, Alicia at Posy Gets Cosy. They write about a wider range of topics and I have so much to say about nature, home making, life's simple pleasures really that I feel restricted by writing about one of my passions, however overriding the passion is at times!

But for you foodies, I will leave you with a photo of something I cooked, photographed and never blogged about :-)

Maybe I'll share the recipe soon too.

see you soon! 

Simple pleasures

Porridge with nutmeg and a slick of golden syrup, what could be nicerer on these sub zero mornings we have been having?

Another nice shop

There are so many nice shop window displays! Here is the local bakers in Sleights. Not sure if you can see but this has a cute fireside scene and a wee polar bear. I just love the fact that they have made the effort ;-)

Stuffed

Merry Christmas from Hideaway Cottage!

Little Offerings

Aren't these little gifts sweet? I have made this chutney for a few years now, slightly varying ingredients sometimes, but keeping the same basic flavours which are very Christmassy, cranberries, cloves, cinnamon, orange. The house is heavy with scent of this which is generally made the first Sunday after bonfire night.

These two jars are going to two special homes; one to our next doors at the cottage, Dougie and Andrea, who are brilliant and perform all sorts if kindnesses through the year such as giving keys to guests who have forgotten there's and putting out bins when the guests didn't:-) We also swap books with them and covet their beautiful and slightly naughty dog Johnson. You haven't met him? Well I will rectify that at some point this holiday.

The last jar is for Julie at Becketts in Whitby, you may remember me blogging about Becketts, it's our favourite cafe in Whitby and the cakes are legendary. So this is a little thank you for all the cakey bakey pleasure this year!

Yesterday we went to York and there were any amount of gorgeous shops I could have photographed for you. However, there were so many people it was impossible to get a clear view!

Maybe today I will find one for you and I would love to hear about which shop display, grand or humble, has been your favourite of the season.

S x

Whitby magic

Hello there! I am now officially on holiday and in my favourite part if the world, north Yorkshire, more specifically near Whitby and at our Hideaway Cottage :-)

I am just back from a spot of shopping in Whitby itself, such a nice place to Christmas shop! It's full of Victorian charm, the smell of the sea and the sound of gulls. The festive lights are not flashy city centre types, but charming more gentille ones and the shops are beautifully calm with staff who aren't too busy to issue good service and a smile and even stop for a chat.

This picture is of one of my favourite shops in the town and a rare thing these days, an independent book shop, certainly in cities, and one that always takes a great deal of care over it's window displays, quite magical and of course designed to draw you right into the cosy store to look through it's selection of books, stationery and other gift items.

I love the fact it still has the old decorators sign up from years ago. Unfortunately due to the limitations of blogging on my iPhone I can only show one photo per post or they go really small and look a bit rubbish, otherwise I would have shown you a close up of the display, a sort of icy, twiggy wonderland with some gorgeous books, cards and calendars that look so bewitching. Maybe you'll just have to come to Whitby yourself and have a peek :-) it's on Church Street on the old side of the town. If you have ever seen You've Got Mail with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, it's a little like The Shop Around The Corner.

And what am I doing later? Why, going to a candlelight carol concert at little St Marys Church in Sandsend with mulled wine and mince pies!

The mysterious case of the egg nog latte...

Anyone who is friends with me on facebook will be wondering why I didn't blog about this ages ago, such has been my confusion and annoyance!

Even though I am usually a bit suspicious of big corporate type organisations and favour independents where I can, Starbucks has somehow caught me in it's evil web. I think this is partially because their chai tea latte is the best hot drink EVER but also, I like the comfy seats, the cosy atmosphere, the soft easy listening type music and the fact that they are a great place to just go sit and read, write, do work on your laptop etc and you don't get bothered and it all feels quite safe and nice. (Although I did once have a very strange man in a bobble hat staring right at me for about 20 minutes once which was a wee bit creepy).

Anyway, one of the other things they have me crazy about it the whole red cups thing. Genius. Only a truly evil marketeer could have come up with a whole global festive campaign which is mainly based around the fact that in November and December, the take out cups go from white to RED. Cool huh? I have no idea really why this engenders so much excitement in me, and others, it just does. In fact, me and a fellow Starbucks addict, Kala actually met up in the first couple of days of red cups to celebrate the fact and to try out the new seasonal special drink, Dark Cherry Mocha.

And this is where the story really begins.

Every year, Starbucks have two seasonal drinks, Gingerbread latte (not bad) and, star of the show, Egg Nog Latte which frankly is bliss in a cup and I'll fight anyone to the death who says it is not so. Anyway! this year... dun dun durrrrr...NO EGG NOG LATTE! It has been usurped by the aforementioned Cherry Mocha and, wait for it, some toffee nut nonsense - what the buggery hell does toffee nut have to do with Christmas? NOTHING. The dark cherry mocha I could go with and as an addition to the existing already perfect duo, I would have been happy. But no egg nog latte? Outrage. I joined a Facebook group (the modern day version of organising a rally) for folk like me who are admittedly sad, have too much time on their hands and also have a passion of the ENL. 

It seemed for a while that ENL was at an end. If you asked in store they said they weren't getting it this year (although one barrista told Kala that it was coming, but just not yet which just confused the hell out of me).

Calls were made to the Starbucks UK customer services team, even by myself to demand to know what was going on with the ENL. I realise as I write this I am sounding like a crazy woman but no matter. I know my faults. I was told that a small quantity would be released in early December, to selected stores, but it wouldn't be advertised and you had to ask for it - what the ??&*%!!

Sure enough, the day arrived and I walked into my usual branch and asked for an Egg Nog Latte - ever asked for something at a chain coffee store that isn't on the menu? it feels very weird. The girl behind the counter looked at me blankly and repeated my request back to me like I had spoken martian ... she then turned to a colleague who said quietly, "It's in the back of that top cupboard up there - make sure you put it at the back of the fridge when you're finished" - I mean, this is real cloak and dagger stuff for a milky, eggy, spicy drink!

No matter, I had my prize... and I settled down to enjoy it.

mmmmmmmmmm.

and look what I had in my bag to make the experience even nicerer?

Bliss.

But the whole ENL thing is just so curious. I can't decide whether;

a. it an evil viral marketing type thing to get people talking about Starbucks and the ENL and therefore driving sales (bit like when heinz said they were discontinuing Salad Cream).

b. they mistakenly thought it was time for a change, ditched it and have then had to quickly respond to customer outrage/ demand but don't have enough stock, hence the whole keeping it in the cupboard thing. (I happen to know they had it in the US all along, those sneaky Yanks :-) keep it for yourselves why dontcha!)

or

c. I just need to get a grip!

Have you had a red cup yet? I cannot try the toffee thing on principle and my desire to see it fail but the cherry mocha isn't bad at all. Hopefully next year ENL will be back where it belongs.

fusion cooking at it's peak?!

Hi all!

Ok, hands up who likes pie?

Hands up who likes curry?

Hmm... that's a fair few of us who like pie AND curry.

fancy a spot of that fancy fusion cuisine?

Ladies and jellyspoons, may I present...

The CURRY PIE!!

OH. MY. curry pie.

This was something Dominic dreamed up a while ago. We both love pie and peas (as in mushy) but being fans of spicy food and with a serious addiction to tarka dahl, what could be better than a curry pie with a dollop of dahl?

If you wanted to make these it's really easy. Cook up a batch of your favourite curry - ours is a Madhur beef one with lots of roasted and ground coriander seeds and coconut milk - and the only tweaking involved adding some slaked cornflour near the end to thicken it up to a pie filling consistency.

Buy some ready made, chilled shortcrust pastry (make it easy on yourself!)and some foil pie tins.

make pies!

Here they are sans lid.

what we do once the lids are cut out is we sprinkle mustard seeds and cumin seeds on top and gently press in with the rolling pin. Looking at my hand here I can totally sympathise with Lucy in her latest post!

Anyway, I digress...

So, the lids once on, look like this.

Don't forget to cut little slits for the steam!

We then freeze these - along with batches of dahl - again, a Madhur recipe, so that on cold winter days we can take out of the freezer in the morning, with nothing more to do but to shove in the oven when we get in after work. How satisfying.

There is something quite bizarre and utterly gorgeous about the short, crisp, buttery pastry and the rich, spicy filling that is just...mmmm...and with dahl on the side as a carb and to add extra comfort, what could be better on a horizontal raining day? I reckon these would go down a treat on bonfire night too :-)

I am trying to restock the freezer with batch cooked goodies at the moment and would love to hear what others cook up for their freezers.

If anyone would like the recipes for the curry and the dhal I am but an email click away :-)

Christmas begins...

As you know, I love Christmas and can't wait for it to get started each year! This year it begins today with the making of The Christmas Cake. I love Christmas cake and there was always a homemade one when I was younger and at home but I am surprised to say that I don't think I have EVER made one in my own home. Until now :-)

I decided to go for a fail safe recipe and turned to Delia, Saint Delia, patron saint of Christmas and more importantly of recipes that WORK. Apart from on the odd occasion which we will gloss over in the spirit of Christmas...

I won't give you the recipe, but a link to her website where you'll find it here . Delia first published this in 1978 so it's 30 this year and let's face it, it must work if she has never had occasion to tweak it. From the number of people who seem to use this recipe it would seem highly unlikely that anyone reading this would not have tasted it at some point, in someone's home, a cake shop or Christmas fete. Unless you don't like Christmas cake in which case don't bother reading any further cos today, it's all about the cake!

This is last night, as you have to add the brandy to the fruit so it can all mull overnight - aren't the colours outstanding? I love this bowl too, my friend Emma bought me it - it's actually a pasta serving bowl but it makes a great mixing bowl too. It's a pity this blog doesn't have a smell option as the combination of the gorgeous fruit and the kick of the rich scented brandy was wonderful.

It's not so much a fruit cake as some fruit with a bit of cake. As you can see from the picture below, it was totally packed with fruit and nuts. I actually did deviate from the recipe and used dark soft brown sugar rather than the paler kind - oh no! That means if it all goes wrong I can't even blame Delia! Ah well..

Another pretty bowl, this time courtesy of sister Helen :-)

The mixture was so full of fruit that it was actually really hard to stir and I strained my wrist a little - not joking!

I listened to Christmas carols as I made it (I know, a bit OTT) and it was fantastic, a little slice of Christmas in October!

mmmmm...!! There's something about greaseproof paper hanging over the edge of a cake tin that I love! Incidentally I had to buy a new tin as Delia was very firm on the point of size of tin and I didn't have a 7" square one. The only one I could find in town yesterday was in Fenwicks and cost £13.95. I nearly died. 

After I heaved it into the tin I had to lick the spoon and the bowl, quelle chore and Dominic wasn't even here to help. Shame :-)

So do you want to see it, all cooked up?

GORGEOUS! Ahhhh... Christmas has truly begun. Dominic found it really dreadful that there was such a thing as baking that couldn't be eaten straight away - but a little lesson in delayed gratification is good for us all I reckon! So, once cooled, I pricked it all over and fed it some more brandy, then carefully wrapped it in baking parchment and a double layer of foil and stored it away. Only 63 days to go until I can legitimately cut into it :-) I made a square cake rather than a round one because a whole Christmas cake is a bit much for two, even two as greedy as us, so I wanted to divide it up to give some to Helen & Mark and also to Dougie and Andrea, our neighbours at the cottage where we are spending Christmas this year - bliss!

Delia, don't let me down this time!

Lazy Sunday breakfasts

I think Sundays are the best days of the week and one of the best bits is having the luxury of time to make a special breakfast. Today we are at the cottage - bliss! And the sun is shining on pretty Iburndale so what better than blueberry pancakes in the garden! I always use Nigella's recipe for American pancakes. Don't get me wrong, I love ordinary shrove Tuesday kind of pancakes, but the thick, fluffy texture of these little gems is wonderful and I had blueberries and homemade blueberry jam in the fridge so... All that was required in addition was some creamy creme fraiche.

I find it best to make the batter in advance, because a. You can be extra lazy the morning of eating and b. The batter goes thicker, sort of doughy and sort of stretchy and makes a much better pancake. I think the baking powder reacts with the wet stuff and makes air bubbles which help the spongy texture along.

These are also lovely with crispy bacon and maple syrup.

Chick chick chick chick chicken...

Lay a little egg for me! Just wanted to show you these beautiful eggs from our new friends Helen and John and their chickens. I don't know the chickens names but I do know the rooster is called Mr Darcy :-) I wonder... Lizzie, Jane, Lydia, Kitty and Mary perhaps?!

Chillin n jammin

Here I am your roving blogger, sitting in her cottage garden, sipping a cold glass of white wine and listening to the babbling of the brook and the wood pigeons. Ooh last night we lay in bed listening to an owl! For a city gal it was quite extraorder! ( sorry, been reading the letters between the Mitford sisters all week and have developed a sort of upper class thirties accent - heaven!)

Anyhoo one if the things that makes staying at our cottage better than any other (she said, modestly) is that you get a jar of my homemade jam which is divine :-)

Sadly my deerlings we are now fully booked until the end of October. How beastly for you all.

MASSES of love from all at Hideaway!

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside...

Today we went to Scarborough which brought back lots of happy memories as I had many a childhood holiday and day trip there. You can't beat a proper English seaside town and Scarborough is a very good example if one. It has a fab golden beached bay, complete with donkeys, a multitude of fish and chip shops, stalls selling candy floss, whelks, donuts and the like. There is a sort of faded grandeur to Scarborough with it's Grand Hotel (once the largest hotel in Europe and extremely glamorous and now a little bit run down) and spa complex, both slightly dilapidated but really charming. As we walked passed the spa complex an open air concert of old fashioned music was about to start and rows of oldies sat in deckchairs with hankies on their heads, like they had been there for thirty years.

Something else which hasn't changed is this icecream parlour where little me once ate a knickerbocker glory the size of her own head ;-)

Today I had a strawberry shake with a scoop of vanilla icecream floating in it - sat at the yellow Formica bar on a red leatherette stool with the painted mirrors and menu boards to gaze at. This isn't a clever attempt at retro chic, it has just always looked like this to the point where you expect the Fonz to show up any minute or at least a Yorkshire version of him!

The icecreams, shakes and sundaes are all served in lovely pressed glass dishes and glasses and with long spoons to scoop, lick and lick some more.

And yes, I had fish and chips too, in the open air, overlooking the beach and the children riding donkeys.

A little something

My mum's friend Caroline is often in need of a 'little something'. By this she generally means a sweet snack, in the morning or afternoon. I thought of her today as I peered into the window of a very nice cake and bread shop in Helmsley called Cinnamon Twist. As well as some rather delicious looking raspberry and white chocolate buns there were these 'little somethings' - or rather 'big somethings' because did you ever see such whopping great meringues as these?!

We bought two from the nice woman who made them and I think we will have them tomorrow, maybe with soft fruits or maybe with chestnut purée and toasted hazlenuts - ooh now the latter sounds nice!

We also went to Rievaulx Abbey today which was lovely and we're going back on Saturday as we discovered that you can do Tai Chi in the morning followed by having a foot or hand massage - such a beautiful setting and serene start to a Saturday, plus it's totally free for English Heritage members.

Just follow your nose;-)

Fortunes kippers are literally world famous and all Fortunes kippers come from one little shed on Henrietta Street in Whitby. To find it, go to the foot of the 199 steps up to the Abbey and St Mary's church and then follow your nose! The rich, smokey aroma will lead you here.

Isn't it lovely? I wish this blog had a smell function so I could share it with you, that tarry, fishy smell...

As well as kippers they smoke other things including bacon which we bought for our breakfast tomorrow.

Some might say that whoever owns Fortunes is missing a huge financial trick to sell only from here, to not get involved with wholesale, franchising and merchandising. My marketeers brain whirrs with the ideas and possibilities of it.

But maybe the fact that you can only get Fortune's smoked goods by going to Whitby to their little shed during the few hours a day they are open is a good thing and part of their charm. But surely an e-commerce website wouldn't hurt? Yes it would? Oh ok then. Good job we find ourselves in Whitby often then. Roll on breakfast time.