steam pudding

In my search for good puds to make over New Year am thinking of doing Ed Baine's steam pudding with golden syrup....mmmm....and possibly some chocolate cups [filling 1,filling 2].

pie

I am thinking of trying out Jamie Oliver's Steak, Guiness and Cheese pie for New Year...

tea for two

Last Saturday I met Mac for a Christmas afternoon tea at the Sheraton in Edinburgh. I love afternoon tea, spending time with Mac and open fires and comfy armchairs so it was a delightful combination.

We were both suffering from bad colds and so cocooning ourselves with an attentive waiter, lavish display of eats and hot tea was just the ticket.

Our waiter was a lovely chap who was happy to explain everything to us and answer any questions and was polite enough to not quarantine the two red nosed germ filled guests who had to have a constant supply of tissues at hand.

First, we had to choose our tea from a dinky tea chest. Each glass container was secured by a strap of leather and you could open them up and have a look and a sniff.


As we chose we were served with the most amazing yoghurty creamy taster pot with a plump semi dried apricot.

Mac went for a tea that looks like a shrivelled up flower that blooms in the hot water.



I went for Orange, Cinnamon and Roiboos tea which required careful timing...


My tea was amazing - it was warm and refreshing and was slightly creamy in texture. Really good for nursing my sore throat and cold, achy bones back to something resembling normality,

We were then presented with a three tier cake stand adorned with sandwiches [turkey, stuffing and cranberry, prawn, ham and mustard] and more cakes than you could shake a stick at. There was Christmas Loaf, Cinnamon Buns, Mini Mince Pies, Christmas Cake and these were supplemented with scones, clotted cream and jam. We had plain, sultana and champagne, and cinnamon scones - warm, fluffy and melt in the mouth. This was all topped off with small cups filled with Christmas Creme Brulee....yum.


The food was amazing - you wouldn't think sandwiches would be that exciting but they were wee mouthfuls of heaven. The cakes were so good we couldn't quite manage all of them.

Afternoon tea is just so lovely - you can chat away, relax and nibble delightful bites to your hearts content. Seeing Mac was great - it doesn't happen often enough - and it was fun to do something a wee bit different. The hotel is just perfect for hiding from the cold and it is nice to feel a bit pampered. Mac is definitely a good afternoon tea buddy!

After drinking enough tea to rehydrate a small army, we wanted to finish off with some coffee - and would you believe it it came with yet more biscuits and sweet things! You can never have too many sweet treats...

If you have an afternoon to while away with a good friend and want something different from the usual pub or cafe lunch I would definitely recommend the Sheraton's afternoon tea.

motifs

I don't go in for a lot of motifs but I like owls and I also like stags and thistles. Stags and thistles could end up being a bit stereotype scottish or a bit huntin', shootin', fishin'. Timorous Beasties has long been a favourite with me because of their modern take on traditional styles and designs and I am chuffed they have brought out this amazing thistle wall paper and textiles -

Wallpaper - small


Wallpaper - large


Cushion

lighting

We have been um-ming and ah-ing about lighting for the kitchen and dining areas on the first floor. This is the latest thought - copper shades by Tom Dixon -

paul smith for stelton

And after blogging yesterday about Stelton jugs -Paul Smith designs for stelton! The bar set is very funky -



But as it is rather pricey this might be more my thing although not in the pink - they do other colours but couldn't get a pic of them -

vacuum coffee press

A few years ago I spotted the sharp,crisp lines of the Stelton vacuum jug. I thought this was a clever idea - pop your hot drink into it and sit out in the garden on those days when it is autumnal and/or spring like e.g. not warm enough for iced lemonade but not so cold and wintery that you want to be housebound.

But at the time they didn't do one for coffee - I wanted one that I could use as a cafetiere rather than having to use my inside cafetiere then transfer the hot coffee to the jug. I know, I am quite picky. But also it cools the coffee having to mess about with it like that.

The I read Stieg Larsson's book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Blomkvist spends an inordinate amount of time drinking coffee on his balcony from a vacuum jug. I was jealous. And figured that as per usual the Swedish were ahead of the curve.


I am therefore really pleased to have found that Skelton have now released a coffee press version of the original Erik Magnusson design - and you can get it from John Lewis. Who wants a bog standard picnic flask when this wee beauty can take its place on your garden table? This is a definite buy for the new garden - I can read my book, take in the air and be warmed up with a lovely cup of coffee.