Shortbread and beans

July 20, 2008

This has been a week of a million loose ends and not enough time to tie them up. With such a shortage of minutes I rely even more on the throw-it-together school of cookery. There’s a perfumed aunt who’s coming to tea and I think she will approve of some really easy peasy buttery shortbread:

• 100g butter
• 50g caster sugar,
• 150g plain flour

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Mix in the flour and then using finger tips, shape into a smooth ball. Press into a greased 18cm sponge tin. Prick all over with a fork. Bake for about 40-45 minutes. Cut into triangles while still warm and allowto cool in the tin.

It’s so good to hear from other bloggers and especially maria who has just written a glowing piece about Pure Style. I was in one of those frazzled moments before her email pinged into my inbox and now my spirits are soaring!

I read that house prices in Britain are tumbling, and although I wouldn’t say that it is altogether a good thing, at least it might stop the endless obsession with property prices that has dominated dinner party and school gate gossip over the last few years. Rather than endlessly aspiring maybe we should make the most of our homes, enjoying them, even, rather than treating them as assets.

Now that Spring has sprung and sunlight is dancing all over the house again I can see just how grimy and grubby the walls are. Ok they’re white and what should I expect in a house with children and animals? But as I explain in my books, there’s no need for our homes to be perfect little domestic palaces. Who wants to be some kind of Stepford wife? I don’t. Nor do you. However, like re-touching grey roots, a spot of simple spring cleaning make can make a big difference. Nothing too drastic, though:

• fill a bucket with hot water and a little detergent and sponge all paint surfaces (my walls sparkle after a good sponge down)
• use vinegar to clean glass and mirrors
• wash all your cotton cushions and covers
• hoover or sweep the floors
• fling the windows open and let in the sweet spring air

The bean seeds I introduced you to last week have sprouted and filled their trays like a roomful of gangly teenagers. I’ve potted them on and now that the weather’s warmer have taken them out to the little shed at the bottom of the garden. It’s light and dry in there and the cooler conditions will stop them from getting too leggy and unruly which they were in danger of becoming if left to their own devices in the utility room.
It’s all hotting up now on the growing front and I know that the coming weekend will find me digging, weeding and eating shortbread to keep me going.