Summer Loving....

Hello lovelies!

There's something special about summer living don't you think?

Time seems to pass that little bit slower whilst we while a few hours in the golden sunshine...

Summer brings so many smiles for me...

...beach

...picnics

...sea

...dreams

I'm a day dreamer as it is and summertime makes it even worse!

My little camera is always at my side for photos...you know...just in case...

I LOVE capturing my day with a series of pics regardless of what I will use them for!

My poor hubby is so used to hearing me say "textures..." "..patterns..." "..look at the colour of that!..."

I try to use my pics for inspiration for future projects or doodles in my sketchbooks or even adding to my Pinterest boards!

You can find me here...

The simple things in life do make me smile!

I don't know about you but I spend many hours in the darkness during winter wishing my time away until the lighter evenings, warmer weather and wanting to spend time outside in my garden.

I'm not really a summer girl when it comes to the hot sunshine as I go a gorgeous shade of scarlet which really isn't attractive!

So I enjoy the balmy evenings when I can sit and chill in the honeysuckle hues or enjoy watching the sun set over a sandy horizon.

My absolute of summer though is making all those gorgeous homemade goodies from the seasonal produce.

I'm going to be doing a few of my traditional recipes in future posts but in the meantime I 

do hope you enjoy this little gem to get you started with a little summer living....

This recipe is based upon a traditional Fen recipe which I have adapted and added my own take on it...

Tilly's Rhubarb & Ginger Cordial

* Stewed Rhubarb

* Orange Juice

* Ginger preserve

* Brown sugar

-Chop rhubarb into 1" pieces and stew with a little orange juice and a few tablespoons of ginger preserve

-Add some brown sugar to taste

-When soft, drain rhubarb through a sieve and save the juices

- Use stewed rhubarb for any recipe...crumbles, pies and tarts

-Allow rhubarb cordial to cool and keep in fridge.

* add rhubarb cordial to tonic water or lemonade with loads of ice to create a gorgeous refreshing summery drink!

Enjoy!

Tilly

xxx

Summertime is here...

Hello lovelies!

How are you all?

Are you excited?

Another season has left us and we are embracing a lovely new one....

....well in theory that's how it goes!

In truth and in reality we are actually still battoning down the hatches, wearing our thick bobble hats and sipping hot chocolate when we should be basking in the gentle sunshine.

I must admit that despite the coldness and grumbly clouds I do still love this time of year really.

I know 'Ol Blighty can be very unpredictable and provide us with torrents instead of 

gentle dribbly showers to cool us down but us true Brits always soldier on don't we!

Summer always makes me think of times gone by as I love watching all the different coloured blooms appear in my garden day by day and absolutely adore the short season for picking peas, strawberries, summer fruits, and so much more....

Every summer I love filling my  home with my homemade edible creations using homegrown delights just as my Nans would've done...

Jams, curds and jellies

Ice-creams, fools and stewed fruits

herb butters, flavoured oils and BBQ spice rubs

There is nothing more exciting than getting out all my books and deciding on which recipe I'm going to be using again or maybe an old favourite that comes out every year.

Sadly the weather is howling  like crazy outside while I write this and living in the Cambs Fens always makes things seem much worse....

The Fen winds whip across the flat lands creating eerie sounds which is certainly not what summer should be like!

But don't worry I'm undeterred....

my list has a gorgeous array of delicious delights so I will be ready for lazy summery days !

Fingers crossed the sun will return very soon and we can all enjoy some free Vitamin D, summer smiles and happy lazy times...

In the meantime a girl can dream :)

Happy Summer folks!!!

Tilly

x x x