When the Quimper Club got together for their annual meeting in 2005 the host city was Chicago, IL.
Saturday, 27 February 2010
Shadow Shot Sunday with Harriet. Chicago.
When the Quimper Club got together for their annual meeting in 2005 the host city was Chicago, IL.
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Alphabe-Thursday ..............F is for?
Flowers, Fruit and Faïence some of my Favourite things.
We purchased this painting whilst living in Bavaria and it's one of my personal favourites.
Head over to Jenny's place to learn more about the letter F but do leave a comment before you go.
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Lemon Curd made easy.
In late 19th and early 20th century England, home-made lemon curd (also known in the UK as lemon cheese) was traditionally served with bread or scones at afternoon tea as an alternative to jam, and as a filling for cakes, small pastries and tarts. Homemade lemon curd was usually made in relatively small amounts as it did not keep as well as jam. In more modern times larger quantities are feasible because of the use of refrigeration.
Lemon curd is still a popular spread for bread, scones, toast or muffins. It can also be used as a flavoring for desserts or yogurt. Lemon-meringue pie, made with lemon curd and topped with meringue, has been a favorite dessert in Britain and the United States since the nineteenth century.
Curds are different from pie fillings or custards in that they contain a higher proportion of juice and zest, which gives them a more intense flavor. Also, curds containing butter have a smoother and creamier texture than both pie fillings and custards; both contain little or no butter and use cornstarch or flour for thickening. Additionally, unlike custards, curds are not usually eaten on their own.
Sunday, 21 February 2010
Le Beau Moulin
The house bears the VMF plaque, Vieilles maisons françaises (Old French Houses) which we also didn't know about.
Maybe that way we would be able to discover it's history, since we only have a very sketchy idea so far.
Saturday, 20 February 2010
Shadow Shot Sunday. Mexico.
Look closely, see the iguana?
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
E is for Eiffel Tower on Alphabe-Thursday.
In Paris, France, E can only mean one thing the 300 metre tall Tour Eiffel, situated on the Champ de Mars,designed by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 Paris Exposition.
Lancashire architects James Maxwell and Charles Tuke designed Blackpool Tower for the Victorian seaside town of the same name, it was opened to the public in 1894, at 158 metres it is much smaller than the Eiffel Tower which was their inspiration.
and this is my Eiffel Tower, it stands approx. 56 centimetres tall!
At the Quimper Club International annual meeting in Dallas last October, Susan & Sarah used these wirework Eiffel Towers, complete with a jaunty red stetson hats, as the table decorations at the Farewell Banquet. Members attending the meeting were able to purchase them as a souvenir. I didn't attend the meeting as I was enjoying some serious R&R on HHI at the time. A few weeks later imagine my surprise to receive an Eiffel Tower in the mail, sent by Sarah, a gift from two lovely friends Gay & Nina. Click here to see how Gay decorated her Tour Eiffel at Christmas.
Now, sans stetson, my tower is home to my small collection of miniature Quimper plates and feves, which I wrote about here.
Sunday, 14 February 2010
Mosaic Monday following PJ's Thursday
After spending Thursday literally in p.j's and staying warm by a log fire, Friday found me in need of a brisk walk in the snowy sunshine, so I grabbed Mr Ben & a leash and off we went, snapping pix around the village.
It is pretty isn't it but oh! I am longing for Spring.
I'm heading over to Mary's littleredhouse for Mosaic Monday as there's sure to be lots of pretty spring flowers there to start the week with a smile, so why don't you take a peek too?
According to Simon @ TravelMail -"The French term for rambler is 'randonneur' - so much more romantic and rugged than the English word, which conjures up images of Reader's Digest types in search of the nearest Cotswolds tea room."
Chocolate Valentines
Kate @ Serendipity wrote:
I want to get together a few food bloggers, send them all some dark chocolate, and we'll all make something for Valentine's day. And post it that day. It doesn’t have to be a new recipe, or an original one. It just has to be something that you love and that you’d love to serve to someone special on Valentine’s Day.
Would you be interested? Please say yes!
Did I need asking twice?? What do you think? I replied immediately and said "Yes, please!"
It wasn't long before I took delivery of this wonderful gift of dark Belgian chocolate gorgeousness.
Kates' very pretty card had this note attached:
" Maggie,
Here it is! The large dark bar is just wonderful chocolate. Me, I'd eat that one. The ones in foil are what use when I cook with chocolate. But they are good to eat too. The small one is handmade by Christophe and makes wicked hot chocolate. Whatever you do with the, I hope you enjoy them!
Kate".
How could I resist, especially as Kate almost insisted? I broke off a small piece from the largest bar, mmmmmm, heaven.
Chocolate expresso cake with caffe latte cream, so wicked, so decadent, so wonderful! From Nigella's "FEAST Food That Celebrates Life", see her recipe below.
When I removed the cake from the oven the top was firm to the touch but inside was all dark chocolate squidginess and mousselike. Once it was cool I dusted with cocoa powder and then just before serving piled the cream in the sunken centre of the cake.
The combined taste was very reminiscent of a Tiramisu dessert, thanks to the Tia Maria liqueur!
Cupid is never far away on Valentine's Day.
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Flashback Friday & Friends...........West Palm Beach 2002
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
D is for.......................Donkey
Thursday's here again so I'm off to Jenny Matlock's place for Alphabe-Thursday and a look at what this week's letter D stands for.
Around here D stands for my neighbours Donkey, who has a field to wander in but more often than not can be found standing by the fence watching the cars and the one lone pedestrian, me with Mr Ben, going by.
Looks like Spring isn't as ready to arrive as we thought at the beginning of the week. I took these pix just a few minutes ago. It has been snowing steadily all night long and shows no sign of stopping yet. My small, bijou (?) attic room where I sit and blog and scrap is freezing cold, the velux window in the roof is covered by inches of snow, there's hardly any light coming in from outside, so I think I'll take my laptop into the bedroom and have a day in p.j.'s
Saturday, 6 February 2010
Port en Bessin, Dimanche matin.
Also over at QCI this month our First Year Anniversary, and we're giving away a marvellous Henriot Bijoux necklace to one lucky visitor. Click here to find out how you can be our winner. The piece of Emmenthaler cheese in the above mosaic was huge, I wanted to make sure you saw how enormous it was!
If you've enjoyed the pix today please leave me a comment, you can leave one if you didn't like them too, if you must!! Then head over to see Mary & Susan and tell them I said "hi".
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
C is for.........................Camera
I'm also linking this post to Suzanne's Colorado Lady Vintage Thingie Thursday because it's not just the camera that's vintage, I am too!
Nana and me aged 3, in Torquay.
My Mum & me having a lovely day at the seaside. I love the handsmocked dresses and handknitted short sleeve cardigan that she made for me, so very 1950's.
Do pop over to Jenny & Suzanne's blogs and see who else is there, but not before leaving me a comment so that I know who came calling in Normandy today.