Vintage Collections with Memories


Our children have returned to uni after their 2 week break and while doing the general tidy up I cleaned out a few to my cake tins - our son especially loves to find them full so he can have the pleasure of emptying them for me. That little job got me to thinking about my cake tins and the memories associated with some of them. So I decided to pile them up on the table for a photo. Long ago I realised that I was a collecter and a hoarder. I can't seem to help myself - I start with one item then another , and another. Things always look good in groupings of 3, 5, 7, right? How many cake tins does one family need but they do look gorgeous piled up in the pantry, on top of the cook book bookcase, filling up a small plate rack (no room for plates). Thats another collection! My friend Nic knows about and appreciates this passion and recently gave me two tins that belonged to her granny. Another one is from my mum and quite a few have come from friends. I will look after these treasures which have that extra special significance of being "given". But my absolute favourite is the green/blue one with the large red rose which I found in a great treasure shop in Waipawa (Hawkes Bay). Enough about the cake tins, one day I will write about all the other things I collect but maybe in a drip feed sort of way - it could get boring...

Yesterday, 25th of April was a very important day of remembrance for New Zealanders and Australians - ANZAC Day. Its a public holiday here so in between enjoying the beautiful sunny, autumn day we watched memorials from around NZ and the world - always a day of reflection for us, remembering those brave men and women.

Popular posts from this blog

Ginger Crunch

Image
Ginger Crunch - a New Zealand classic with a twist. Lois Daish ( much missed food writer for The Listener a couple of years back) says this version is from the Wholemeal Cafe in Takaka. It is absolutely delicious. Two good sized pieces have been eaten rather quickly already. Base: 150g butter 2 tbsp golden syrup 3/4 cup soft brown sugar 3/4 cup desiccated coconut 1 1/2 cups rolled oats 3/4 cup plain flour 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 2 tsp ground ginger Preheat oven to 175C Line a 20x30cm slice tin Put butter, golden syrup and sugar in pan and melt gently together. Remove pan from heat and mix in all the other ingredients. Press into tin and bake for 15 minutes - I find if I go over this time it goes too crunchy when cool. Mark into squares while still warm and spread with icing. Leave to cool completely (if you can!) before cutting through icing. Icing: 60g butter 120g icing sugar 2 level tbsp golden syrup 3 tsp ground ginger Melt together and beat till smooth.
Read more

Lavender Life

Image
 With the best will in the world, I still haven't managed regular blog posts here. Lots going on re: my lavender filled sachets so if you can please come and see me on my Instagram account you will see very regular posts there. Please click HERE  ðŸ’œ
Read more

The Wool Story

Image
Te Koha organic, biodynamic wool, fresh from the sheep. Cleaning and sorting the wool to use in my lavender and wool filled pincushions, see the previous post. One gorgeous pile of the softest, sweetest smelling wool for me to use. Now to the story which my friend Bev, of "French Street Plum Jam" fame, told me last week. I have typed it out exactly as it was written: I was five years old when my mum invited me and my five siblings to go wool picking and the wool would be made into half-quilts for our beds. Mum would make a picnic of fresh homemade bread, butter from our churn and delicious plum jam made into sandwiches and a bottle of cordial for each child which we stuffed into our leather school bags and slung over our shoulders. In our hand we each carried a sugar sack to gather our wool in. We walked up hills and around the fence lines picking the wool off the barbed wire fences where the sheep had stopped to scratch, leaving behind little tufts of wool snagged on the...
Read more