Friday Chat Day

Hello friends

How are you? 

Can someone tell the weather we are in Summer please.

Normal recipe service has resumed this week so

let's start with that.

Recipe:

Not dissimilar to my original Scone recipe, this week it is 

Cheesy Scones.

I don't think there is any point having a cheese scone unless you

can taste the cheese so these are a bit of a calorific treat.

You can also add a dash of cayenne pepper and mustard powder, 

my limited spice rack didn't run to that but I don't think 

it has impaired them..non nom!

125g self raising flour, 1tsp baking powder,

½ tsp salt, 55g chilled salted butter,

100g mature cheddar plus 50g (finely grated)

60ml warm mix of milk and water

Pop a baking sheet in oven and preheat

to 220C, 425F, Gas Mark 7.

Place flour, baking powder, salt and butter (cut into cubes)

Into a food processor, whizz until it looks like fine breadcrumbs.

(Alternatively place all dry ingredients into mixing bowl and

rub in butter with fingertips).

Tip mixture into bowl and and mix in the 100g of grated cheese.

Add the milk and water, mix together until it begins to form

a dough.  Bring together with your hands but try not to knead.

Roll or press out to 2.5cm thickness and cut out scones

with a 6mm cutter/mug/glass. 

Brush tops with milk and sprinkle the 50g grated cheese.  

Place apart on the hot baking sheet and cook for 15-20 minutes.  
Remove from oven and eat as soon as possible -

don’t hold back on the butter!

Click here for the Cheesy Scones printable.

This recipe has also been added to the Recipes page/tab 

at the top of the blog here.

Crochet:

Some progress with this striped blanket in the Harmony pattern

using Deramores DK Studio yarn.

This is an order so I really should crack on a little faster,

I keep getting distracted with gardening.

This is the current situation with my Harmony blanket,
the joining is sloooooow.

At the top of my blog you may notice the Crochet Project page
has a little addition...'For Sale'.

Despite my ambition to make the world's biggest blanket fort I've had 

to concede that we do have too many blankets.

I've decided to put certain designs up for sale starting with these two.

If either take your fancy, all the details can be found here.

There is just one of each but I do intend to add more blankets

so please keep checking back.

Garden:

My gardening bug is not abating.  
This week I ventured to a local garden centre (very impressed with
their management of spacing and safety so it was a double pleasure).
I came away with this beauty. I've never owned a rose bush before and
whenever I see the words 'hardy' on a plant label I am overjoyed!

Thank you to those who confirmed the name of my plants last week,

I'm loving Agapanthus 'Lily of the Nile' and 

I've just discovered they come in white too.

This week I decided to order a small bench for the garden, I'm hoping it will be nice

to sit outside with a cuppa and possibly crochet. 

I do have this bench but as you can see I've somewhat hampered the seating

with a Clematis.

I spent a lot of time online and found one I liked, ordered and then the boys suggested

this idea... I declined.

Telly:

Occasionally on a weekend afternoon I dig out an old

black and white film, it just feels right somehow.

Delighted to discover that on the BBC iPlayer they have many classics.

Suspicion.

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, a shy woman (Joan Fontaine) marries a charming 

gent (Cary Grant) but she then begins to suspects him of trying to kill her. 

I had forgotten how disjointed old classics can be,

the scenes seem to cut out when they shouldn't but putting that aside,

it's wonderful and who doesn't adore Cary Grant.

And keeping it diverse...

Ready Player One available on Amazon Prime.

Science fiction action film directed by Stephen Speilberg.

Set in a dystopia in 2045, follows a young man searching for 

an 'easter egg' in a virtual reality game.

(Not the chocolatey variety, instead a hidden object in a video game).

If I didn't live in a house of gaming fanatics I probably would 

never have seen this film.

Instead I could relate to it, loved it and watched it twice! 

Thank you for your telly recommendations too,

like me many of you have enjoyed The Detectorists and Sinner.

It was my Mum's birthday this week and we are celebrating

properly on Sunday with a safe distanced barbecue in my sister's garden.

I'm going to prepare some veggie kebabs and something far less healthy

in the form of a cake - I'll let you know next week how that works out

and possibly potential blog recipes.

Oh I nearly forgot the pooch (how could I?)

She's been pampered and been to the groomer.

(Us humans here are not brave enough to venture to hairdressers yet).

We call this her 'Meerkat cut'.

Until next week, whatever you are doing  

may it be enjoyable, take care, keep distanced and wear

those masks everyone.