chiffon

my mother scanned her recipe, i made the pie.

her notes in there, i know that handwritting, i remember it.

gypsophilia bouquet, paid in flowers again. i'm not complaining.

okay so it's fall now, pretty much. or should i say autumn, the brits think 'fall' is quaint. either way, been ill for a week, and chai tea and pumpkins have made their way into my kitchen. soup and soda bread, early to bed and all that. and lovely medicines which make me all dopey before we sleep.

he cut his hand, deep, today. he's tougher than me though, at the sight of blood. we're both ill now, and it just won't go away.

wild flower

Photos from the talented Amy Merrick, An Apple a Day

all i can think of is flowers as of late. sweet smells, blooming white gardenias and pots of pinks. getting up at seven am to haul buckets and squeeze sunflowers and lavender and succulents into the back of her purple truck. getting paid in bouquets and bakewell tarts, and what am i really going to do with the rest of my life/september is coming quick.

enjoying whatever kind of summer this is, i miss canoes on lakes, but ocean waves will do nicely.

red sunday

i keep seeing poppies growing, beside the road usually, just out of my grasp. in small clumps they seem to grow, except for that one field we saw last weekend, near bath. but that was unusual.

and all i want is to pick them, but i know poppies, and they never last in a vase. the petals fall too quickly, the stems are too soft to hold.  i don't even like red but for some reason i like poppies, their dark centres and willowy shape.

via pininterest via latartinegourmande

weekend warmth

we always wait for that first day. the first day of sunshine, it draws us out, stumbling into the street, without a coat, and sunglasses perched.

meeting my friend atop the hill, we had a cheeky pint, and then we had another.
touch of pink and i'm tipsy, back on my couch.

i clutched my my groceries after the sunday market, hurrying home to make lunch, don't want to miss the sun. lay in the park, jacket off and on and off. i made him this cake, and he came home to me by the evening.

Coconut mik Cake with Choco-Chunks

via Bon Appetit

one and three quarters cup flour

one teaspoon salt

two teaspoons baking soda

one cup shredded coconut

three quarters cup sugar

half cup unsalted butter

two large eggs

one teaspoon vanilla extract

one cup unsweetened coconut milk

six ounces chocolate

half cup shredded coconut

preheat oven to 350°F.

butter spring form cake pan, dust pan with flour, shaking out excess.
mix flour, baking powder, and sea salt. stir in shredded coconut and set aside. beat sugarand butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. add eggs one at a time and vanilla, and beat well.
add flour mixture in three parts, and add in coconut milk, beating just until blended.
fold in half of chocolate pieces. spread batter evenly in prepared cake pan. sprinkle remaining chocolate pieces over batter, then sprinkle with a touch of shredded coconut.

bake cake for sixty or seventy minutes until golden on top and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. cover with tin foil if top browing too quickly. transfer cake to rack and cool in pan for an hour

oven warm and still light out.
the best cake i have ever made, no joke. you really should make this.

dip dye

fallen ombre petals from my congratulatory bouquet, one week to go and the new job begins !

just peachy

plain and simple, peach smoothie, two peaches blended with soy milk and a spoonful of yogurt and a spoonful of honey. no lavender, bee pollen, or rosemary, just pure sweet fruit. he wasn't keen, so i had enough for two.

some sun shone today, which meant head to the park, two cans of cider, try to catch some rays. later wandering around the industrial parkway, and into the burbs, had a flash of ontario streets on wider sidewalks and houses pushed back from the curb. then slowly back to the row houses, the wind was picking up, and we are home.

may days

lemon meringue and chocolate truffle

it's hard to surprise someone in such a tiny flat, especially when it's half empty at the moment, and not a closet in sight. but he did.

a birthday in the grey wet, a birthday by the river, drinking cider and eating olives and sourdough and champagne and sharing soft fluffy bites of cake. had the chocolate one last night at midnight, in the middle of this white washed home.