It’s a busy time here at Bustle & Sew HQ (aka Station House) this weekend as the steam railway hold their annual gala. There are whistles and hootings, shunting and chugging, and lots of excited enthusiasts running up and down along the line trying to get the best photographs. We enjoy sitting in our front porch watching all the activity.
The Engineer is immensely proud of the front garden, which is his responsibility, and rightly so I think. He was aiming for a traditional English cottage garden effect and it’s looking so pretty, the photos really don’t do it justice. He’s let some wild flowers grow in amongst the cultivated ones and walking down the path the sound of the bees buzzing among the blooms is just wonderful to hear. The grass will be cut in the next week or two now that no-mow May has come to an end. We had lots of cowslips which have now seeded, but sadly no return of the orchid that grew there a couple of years ago.
The clump of wild oxeye daisies to the right of the path against the house wall inspired one of the patterns in this month’s magazine..
A soft felt glasses case embroidered with daisies. The finished sample above is going to be put to good use in my embroidery box to protect my sewing glasses. As I’ve got older I find I need a higher magnification for stitching, but not for reading so my sewing glasses live permanently in my box and have been at severe risk of getting scratched by my scissors – but not any more!
Meanwhile, thinking about the magazine… the June edition was published on Thursday so if you’re a subscriber you should have received your copy by now.
If you haven’t seen it yet then please do let me know so I can make sure it reaches you safely.
Rather like the Engineer with his cottage garden flowers, I’m immensely proud of my rhubarb patch. I brought just a few stalks inside yesterday and took a photo to show you their size….
The variety is called “Goliath” and I would say it’s certainly living up to its name! The image next to my photo is a painting by early twentieth century Cornish artist Thomas Maidment. I included it as it really appeals to me and I hope you like it too. (although the stalks of rhubarb on the windowsill are puny compared to mine haha!). The painting is called “The Kitchen Sink” and it does remind me a great deal of my Grandma’s kitchen more than half a century ago.
Anyway, I think I’m starting to ramble a bit now, so I will leave you with a rhubarb tart recipe to enjoy…
Rhubarb Tart
I haven’t included instructions for the pastry case as it’s just a basic sweet shortcrust pastry. Blind bake first.
Preheat your oven to 190C. Lightly beat 3 eggs and mix them with 275ml double (heavy) cream, 50g sugar, the grated zest of one orange and a few saffron strands. Cut 450g rhubarb into roughly 2.5cm (1″) lengths and arrange them on your pastry base (I must admit I just randomly chucked my rhubarb chunks into the pastry case with almost no attempt at arranging them!). Pour over the custard mixture and bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 180C and continue to bake for about 10 minutes until the filling is firm with just a little wobble at the centre. Serve at room temperature. I found the custard was sufficient to fill two shallow 8″ cases.
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