Friday 31 May 2013

May Colour



 I noticed the variety of pink and red last night and zoomed in onto the tops of the trees on one side of my garden from a bedroom window 


The countryside is amassed with cow Parsley


and Horse Chestnut 


and May Blossom


and this picture that I found on Facebook is typical
Just a little aside before I sort some pictures from a lovely garden we visited today. If you like Wystera then you will love it

Tuesday 28 May 2013

The Old and the New with a Walk thrown in.

These photos were taken in September 2011 and have been waiting on the 'back burner' to be posted

Regular followers of my blog will know that I have posted on Leigh-on-Sea many times,
the reason being, that our closest and most long standing friends lived there and we stayed there over many years when they were away. It is also only 40 minutes from home



Summer 2011

This is the home that they rented for many years but had to leave when the owner died
The property originally consisted of 2 semi-detached homes which were eventually turned into 4 apartments, our friends living in the ground floor on the left


Summer 2012
As there were no children the property was left to 2 nephews and the above photo shows the two new houses that they built for themselves after demolishing the original property
Very modern and with great views over the estuary
I do miss the old one though as it was like a second home



Having parked the car we begin with a coffee
over looking the Thames estuary




We leave the restaurant and take a walk into the town from the parade where our friends lived







before returning to the top of the cliffs



and make our way down into the old town over the bridge on the left which crosses the railway line
It is high tide so the fishing boats are in





A restaurant selling freshly caught fish



and then we come to several outlets that sell all kinds of seafood



and beer and drinks



looking back



and here a tea room and ice cream parlour


next to a quaint cottage





and now the HQ of the local Sea Scouts






till we reach the beach 



in re-tracing our steps we take you down this corridor


onto the deck of a restaurant


where many people are enjoying drinks
The restaurant which is on the right is quite upmarket so a dress code essential but lounging out on the deck is casual
Hope you enjoyed yet another walk around Leigh-on-Sea




Sunday 26 May 2013

My Garden in 2004

I came across some garden photos from 2004 this week which give a very different view to how my garden looks today
I used to grow a lot of flowers but in recent years have reverted to less beds and only shrubs and roses
Quality of photos not so good as they have been scanned and from the days when my camera did not have as many pixels as now









Yes the potted lilies are taller than me




My local park is full of Cow Parsley and May Blossom this week
a taste of late Spring




Wednesday 22 May 2013

Lemony Lemon Brownies and Views from the kitchen.

If you like lemon then these are seriously lemony and delicious
I got the recipe off Facebook but I have changed the glaze to
2 teaspoons of lemon juice and not 2 tablespoons for as you can see here the glaze was too runny



Recipe at end of post


How do you think my teapot got out there?
Reflecting through the window!
Early evening sun after dull and wet days



Love looking out of the kitchen window this time of year

Lemony Lemon Brownies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup flour
2 eggs, large
2 tbsps lemon zest
2 tsps lemon juice
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

For the tart lemon glaze:
4 tsps lemon juice
8 tsps lemon zest
1 cup icing sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease an 8×8 inch baking dish with butter and set aside.
3. Zest and juice two lemons and set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the flour, sugar, salt, and softened butter until combined.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined.
6. Pour it into the flour mixture and beat for 2 mins at medium speed until smooth and creamy.
7. Pour into baking dish and bake for 23-25 mins, should turn golden around the edges.
8. Allow to cool completely before glazing. Do not over bake, or the bars will dry.
9. Filter the powdered sugar and whisk with lemon zest and juice.
10. Spread the glaze over the brownies with a rubber spatula and let glaze set.
11. Cut into bars and serve.