New Ticker Tape Parade Design and more free worldwide shipping

Welcome to my latest design "Ticker Tape Parade", so cleverly named by my Facebook friend Beryl! After asking for help naming this design Beryl came up with "Ticker Tape" which so perfectly captures not only the ebullient and festive New Year's Eve/somewhat retro spirit of the design but also the sense of traffic lights and busy sidewalks that also spring to my mind.
THANKS BERYL!!

I originally created this in design in gouache on paper before scanning, cleaning in Photoshop and then sizing and formatting for the items you see pictured here. I also made it into an allover repeating pattern for wallpaper and fabric too - doing the repeat is always fun for me as it has the aspect of puzzle piecing to fit the design side to side and top to bottom so there are no breaks or obvious joins in a length of fabric.

I love creating geometric designs like this as they are very meditative in their execution, I plan out the design in pencil line first and then enjoy the process of 'colouring in' the shapes just like a paint by numbers canvas - my illustration paintings/designs created in watercolour require constant mindfulness, and as such they can be quite satisfyingly tiring and time consuming to paint.

I have populated my online shops with Ticker Tape on all manner of items including, but certainly not limited to:

At my Society6 shop
where there is free worldwide shipping until Sunday February 23rd

As you can see I now have wall clocks available at my Society6 shop too

and from my CafePress shop:

"Ticker Tape Parade" is also available as fabric, wallpaper, wrapping paper and wall decals from my

SPOONFLOWER SHOP

...as a print on wood from my PRINTS ON WOOD SHOP

...and as signed archival prints from my ETSY SHOP

Next on the blog in terms of CAKE - my favourite thing - will be Honey Cakes for Saint David's Day March 1st and then Irish Marmalade Cake for Saint Patrick's Day - stay tuned!

A simply elegant Wild Maine Blueberry Spongecake with Sticky Toffee Pudding Sauce!

You can see why I'm calling this sponge cake! I have adapted and added to a very simple recipe called "Huguenot Torte" from the book "Sundays at Moosewood restaurant" - I made the recipe to the letter first time around and then second time I amended it with the addition of one more egg white for volume, twice the amount of blueberries and nixed the pecans as I felt the pecans overwhelmed the taste and texture of the cake, with just blueberries the flavour really shone through - then I added the piece de resistance of Sticky Toffee Pudding Sauce, for what couldn't be improved with it's addition??

Herewith I give you my version with the alternative of pecans if you'd like to try it that way too:

Before you start the recipe do avail yourself of a small - 6" round - baking tin, butter it and then line it with parchment which you butter again - the first time I made the recipe I didn't do this (the book did not mention doing it so I thought it was not necessary) and it was very hard to manipulate the cake out of the pan - with the parchment it was easy peasy!!

HAVE ALL YOUR INGREDIENTS AT ROOM TEMPERATURE this helps infinitely with the volume achieved when whisking the eggs!

Preheat oven to 325F

INGREDIENTS: Makes 4 small servings

1 whole egg

1 egg white

4oz/1 cup of blueberries

(or if you want to try as the original recipe 2oz/ 1/2 cup blueberries and 2oz/ 1/2 cup toasted pecans broken into pieces)

2 1/2oz/scant 1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon of baking powder

2oz/1/2 cup white flour

a goodly grating of nutmeg

a pinch of salt

1. Whisk, whisk, whisk the whole egg and egg white together with great aplomb until it achieves great volume - I found this was helped by popping the bowl with the eggs into another larger bowl with a couple of inches of warm water in it....

2. Add the sugar bit by bit and whisk in between additions until when you lift the whisk out of the mix it leaves a marked trail thus:

 3. Sift baking powder, a pinch of salt, grated nutmeg and the flour together and then fold into the egg mix in three batches - be gentle and don't mix too much or you'll deflate the volume - don't worry if not all the dry ingredients aren't perfectly mixed through - it will work out fine!

4. Add the blueberries in one go and gently fold through.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan:

6. Bob into the oven and bake for about 40 minutes until it smells good and the top is nicely browned and set to the touch:

7. Leave in the pan for about 10 minutes then remove with the aid of the parchment, remove the parchment and leave on a cooling rack until completely cooled.

In the meantime make the 

STICKY TOFFEE SAUCE:

2 1/2oz/ heaped 1/4 cup brown sugar

 1 1/2 oz / 3 tablespoons salted butter

2 tablespoons cream or half and half

1. Put all three ingredients in a pan to melt together, mix and keep mixing whilst letting it bubble a couple of minutes until it gets a bit thick - allow to cool and then pour on top of the cake:

Now whip up a good 1/2 cup/4 fluid ounces of heavy/double cream sweetened with a tablespoon or so of sugar and dollop on top of your cake in a random but pretty mound:

Here's a picture of the nice crumbly surface of the cake which has the texture of a macaron:

This is the one I had a hard time removing from the pan when I didn't use parchment so it cracked a lot and below is a pic of the original pecan and blueberry version showing the inside texture, it was a gloomy day so I took the cake outside to photograph:

..and the better, in my humble opinion, version with more blueberries and no pecans:

and a close up of the lovely light texture:

I do hope you try this cake - it's ever so easy - there's so little in it for the size of cake it makes and it's really very lovely. I also tried it again yesterday and this time I used raisins - it wasn't as good as with the blueberries but it was still VERY good.

BTW the blue pattern you see in these photographs, my "Blue Rhapsody" can be purchased on any number of items at my CafePress shop HERE and also on fabric, wrapping paper, decals and wallpaper at my Spoonflower shop HERE - thanks!! 

HAPPY BAKING!! Let me know if you make it - Patricia

The various colours of Wild Maine Blueberries

As you can see they're not just blue -at least not to start with - they go through a variety of delightful, mellowed shades from green and almost white through red, lilac and purple to finally end up that beautiful bloomed blue.

As you can also see in the picture above there's a reason why they used to be called Starberries - a name I think should be revived for it's romantic ring.

Blueberry barrens only bear fruit every other year - here's a link to the UMaine information on our wonderful wild berry and click on the name to visit one of our state's growers in Blue Hill, Maine: GM Allen and Son

Even navy blue and magenta...the one below I took at dusk and couldn't quite get the focus but the camera did capture the glow of these berries in the evening light:

I will have a new Blueberry recipe coming as soon as the crop is in probably around August 1st.

 I just recently created this logo for the Etsy Maine Team using a blueberry painting I did some years ago and I created a watercolour painting of the state bird, the Chickadee, especially for the logo:

This the Facebook cover above and the profile picture below:

 and a t-shirt design for the teamies to wear with pride!

And now there's an Etsy Maine Team CafePress shop too - hooray - click HERE! for t-shirts, mugs, bumper stickers and so much more

 This is the original blueberry painting I scanned and used for the background - I will be making an allover print of it soon for my Spoonflower shop.

and my best shot so far of wild Maine blueberries - available as a print in my Etsy shop HERE

These cool blue delphiniums are also blooming right now - their colour always amazes me - such a pure and glistening sky blue with a hint of lavender - so very pretty

Isn't this colour palette just breathtaking with the wild daylilies:

 

This post is part of the Rurality Blog Hop - click the picture link to visit the other participants:

A curated Mother's Day breakfast in bed - you have just enough time to pull it all together!

Doesn't your beloved Mum deserve breakfast in bed this coming Mother's Day Sunday May 12th - here's a smattering of items with links to help you pull it all together in a trice.

First of all get your Mum all comfy and cozy leaning against one of my own perfectly plumped pillows from Society6:

Next get your provisions in order - you'll notice only sweet treats are in order because that's what I would want :) - perhaps some Jammy Bakewell Flapjacks from Carrington Lane Bakery of Union, Maine:

 ...some Biscuits Roses from Histoire Sucree:

and some cupcakes from Aprilla Cakes of Casco, Maine:

but if you did have to have something non-sweet for your Mum's breakfast in bed you could get eggs from Farmetta Farm in Morrill, Maine :) - home of this chicken

  Then assemble a mug for your Mama's preferred libation, a coaster for said mug, a tray for said mug and coaster and a napkin/serviette:

Country Days Mug

From a selection of coasters and trays at my CafePress shop

Available HERE :)

Also give her a delightful and inspiring magazine to read, say perhaps British Country Living - subscription available HERE - best magazine in the world in my humble opinion :)

 ...and a stunning necklace to adorn her graceful throat from Jeweled Horizons

Later in the evening your Mater can relax in a luxurious bath and use her beautiful smooth as silk goat's milk soaps from compassionate goat farmer and soap maker in Winterport, Maine - Meadowfly Farm

...and before she goes to bed after a perfect day orchestrated by YOU you will call her on her mobile now adorned with a lovely case by yours truly :)

From my Society6 shop HERE

...and finally perhaps a Forever Bouquet of Flower prints from moi?

available in small and large sizes and in groups and individually too at my ETSY shop HERE

 Treat your MUM this Mother's Day!