Greystones

I visited my aunt during the week, and since it was the first of the lovely warm sunny (actually, quite hazy but still a vast improvement) day after some very cold grey days, I took an earlier train and went for a walk along the seafront first. I can't remember what the big tall plants are called - they have a single decorative flowering stalk. Anyway, they had obviously all been severely cut back and I really liked the way the wind over the winter had frayed all the ends.

I've been seeing plenty of bluebells out - which feels early as I think of them more as May flowers.

The first photo, it always amuses me to see now. This is pretty much high tide - and the chances of anyone diving in are slim and remote. But in my childhood days it was a bathing spot even at low tide.

Turnstones

Town Fox, Country Fox

I've been having great fun with the Tim Holtz Cityscape dies (as used in the Castles in the Air card last month).

The second card was a rare foray into an inspiration challenge. I used the artwork from the Mary Poppins album in Disney's Legacy Collection. I'm glad we don't have black smoke like that any more, though I could swear I smelled a little smog in the air today.  I substituted my cute little fox for Mary Poppins!

March favourites...

Here are my favourite cards for March - though I've already shared my two favourite projects, Castles in the Air and the Imagination canvas.

I don't normally include Christmas cards - but this following one was a failed St. Patrick's Day card. I laid on the Brushos and the bead medium with far too heavy a hand, but I thought the green would work with red for a Christmas card, and very judicious and careful positioning of the poinsettia obscured the Irish blessing which had been stamped in the centre.

Recipe time: Flaounes

A work colleague had a lot of cheese and eggs that she was bringing in to share around; I think that someone she knew in the food business had received stuff she hadn't ordered and was unable to return. There were some little tubs of  buffalo burrata, so I thought that I would make Cypriot cheese breads for lunch today - Flaounes. I've had this recipe, which originally came from a BBC Good Food magazine,  for about 25 years, and there are more authentic recipes available now - I had to look online because I wasn't sure I could find this one, scrawled on an index card. Halloumi is definitely easier to come by now, whatever about the esoteric Cyprus seasoning that should be used rather than mint, but I stuck with what I'm used to, after finding a scrawled index card tucked away on top of the microwave.

Flaounes are traditionally made at Easter.

12 oz strong flour, ½ tsp salt

1tsp yeast, 1 tsp sugar, (that is active dried yeast, use less for instant, more for fresh)

enough water to mix

1 tblsp olive oil.

Make dough and allow to rise

Filling: 4 oz coarsely grated cheddar

and 2 mozzarella,

mixed with two beaten eggs,

½ tblsp each mint and flour,

½ tsp baking powder.

Makes 7 or 8.

Divide the dough and roll into 4” circles. Spoon filling into the centre. Pull up four “corners” or the three points of a triangle and pinch together, covering most of the filling.

Allow to rise.

Brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 12-15 minutes in a hot oven (220°C).