Coloured Thursday - BABY PINK!

Babies are/were never my thing - not a maternal bone in my entire body!

But I do occasionally do girly PINK and childhood nostalgia.

What I would have given for a Dolls House like this one...

Or BABY girl dolls in PINK like these...I was certainly spoilt for choice re choosing a BABY PINK christening cake from the Celebration Cake Shop's window but settled on this particular bootie one because of who it's for...
My original meme 'True Colours Thursday' is now hosted by friends, the fun pups Doyle & Mollie @ Blue's Coloured Thursday, with me as Colour Consultant :)
Please do join in again!

Coloured Thursday - PUMPKIN ORANGE!

As the nights grow decidedly cooler & with Halloween this weekend, I've been thoroughly enjoying the perfect seasonal comfort food aka soup from the New Covent Garden Food Company's cauldron - it's described as a 'wickedly tasty PUMPKIN soup blended with tomatoes & mixed beans' - called 'Witches Brew' there's no 'wing of bat or eye of toad' involved but I love the hint of garlic to warn off the unwelcome... Heading through the Covered Market to that cake shop, came across these ornimental PUMPKIN coloured gourds...Plus this wonderful Autumn floral arrangement featuring ORANGE lilies...And for my cake - this is as good as it gets re PUMPKIN ORANGE & it perfectly expresses my wishes for everyone...My original meme 'True Colours Thursday' is now hosted by friends, the fun pups Doyle & Mollie @ Blue's Coloured Thursday, with me as Colour Consultant :)
Please do join in again!

Coloured Thursday - COFFEE!

When I came to post re COFFEE, realised I'd struggled back in May this year, it's last outing, but as due to my ever increasing short term memory I'd re-listed, had to give it a go!!!

This little fellow spotted on a shopping trip is showing all shades of COFFEE through Expresso to Latte'...At home I usually take my ground COFFEE black, but my local convenience store currently has on offer... Regrettably the end results aren't quite a good as this one was...And, on a few of my longer planned walks by the river I've been known to take along my multi COFFEE coloured mini flask filled with said beverage...
For the cake I'm reprising one of the Celebration Cake Shop's most famous pieces - the Radcliffe Camera with it's Latte' brickwork [my previous post which shows the various stages of the cakes construction and the actual building it's based on in Dreamingspires can be seen HERE]...
My original meme 'True Colours Thursday' is now hosted by friends, the fun pups Doyle & Mollie @ Blue's Coloured Thursday, with me as Colour Consultant :)
Please do join in again!

Coloured Thursday - BRISTOL BLUE!

Now with BLUE being my colour, Doyle & Mollie thought this week would be a 'piece of cake' for me but not necessarily!
Having listed this vibrant BLUE shade by many different names, many times before, I was nearly driven to drink this week re Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry in it's iconic BRISTOL BLUE glass bottle...However it is a tad too sweet for my palette but the coloured glass I do of course love & collect.
Quoted from the BRISTOL BLUE Glass companies 's heritage page...
"Nobody is exactly sure when Bristol Blue Glass was first made but we do know that the dazzling combination of the fine cobalt oxide with the recently invented lead crystal in the late 1700's gave the most remarkable deep, rich blue – the like of which had never been seen before".
This is a favourite piece of mine & the ONLY wine glass that I process that I never ever use as it's one of a kind...
Vibrant BLUE glass doesn't only come from Bristol, Venetian Glass often features it too.
This is my special pendant, purchased on my very last visit to Rome with Little Buddy in 2000...By rights he should have bought/given me the piece as we always star gazed when together!

But, he didn't, so sentimental me couldn't resist spending all her Italian Lira, as the design of the Stars & quarter Moon had another significance re our relationship @ the time.

It's summed up by this time quote from the final scene in the classic 1942 Black & White movie 'Now Voyager' starring Bette Davis... "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars".

Enough nostalgia, moving on to this ballerina in her tutu - she is Christmas Tree decoration of mine... And finally bears Woodstock & Master Bruge' wanted in on the act...

For my cake courtesy of the Celebration Cake Shop 's window I have Grandad in his BRISTOL BLUE jumper...
My original meme 'True Colours Thursday' is now hosted by friends, the fun pups Doyle & Mollie @ Blue's Coloured Thursday, with me as Colour Consultant :)
Please do join in again!

Coloured Thursdays - AQUAMARINE!

AQUA or AQUAMARINE is a difficult colour to define - its name translates as 'water of the sea' and it ranges from light blue through turquoise blue to a deep blue green!!!

Because the colours of the ocean are truly captured in the gemstone AQUAMARINE, it was believed that wearing it would give protection on sea voyages, hence it being carried by sailors as a talisman to give them courage & save them from the perils of the deep!

Sadly, despite my time in the jewellery trade and the 'Myth & Magic' world of Crystals I don't own a single piece, which is unfortunate as it is thought to provide emotional & intellectual stability and clarity & peace of mind, all of which I could do with :)

Onto my photo's - this very AQUA period ceiling...

And these interesting stained glass windows with hints of all the shades come from my stay @ the Ty'r Graig Castle in Barmouth, North Wales a couple of years back...

The dragon mosaic is from Barmouth too - their Arts Centre...

And finally me in Aqua - the dear, late WFT favourite Jackson was never allowed on the Red Sofa, so thought he was in trouble re this photo shoot, hence his reluctance to cuddle as we were good friends...

This week the Celebration Cakes Shop's window failed me!
Their website did have suitable images but regrettably of too poor a photographic quality for me to reproduce here.
So, as a last resort had to look else where - this wonderful creation is an image from Flickr ...

My original meme 'True Colours Thursday' is now hosted by friends, the fun pups Doyle & Mollie here @ Blue's Coloured Thursday, with me as Colour Consultant :)
Please do join in again!

Coloured Thursday - AUBERGINE!

When I first encountered/ate AUBERGINE, the vegetable in the early 1970's I hated it.
All the cookery books of the time then recommended you soak the slices in salt to rid them of bitterness - the end result still tasted horrible & naturally excessively salty to me!

Recall helping college friend Prudence with her A-level Catering examination - for her practical, she made a new fangled European recipe called Ratatouille!!!

We both thought her finished dish was truly revolting however she still managed to Pass.

But in hindsight, think it was the very alcoholic Rum-Baba desert that did the trick!

Since then the cultivation of AUBERGINE's has come on leaps & bounds making it more palatable.

So, now when I find an abundance of them on the Dreamingspires weekly Wednesday Outdoor Market...And the price is right I snap them up & I make my version of Ratatouille already posted HERE.

Or this tasty, if somewhat fiddly supper recipe - that is worth the effort ...

Aubergines filled with spinach & mushrooms

2 medium aubergines, halved lengthways
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
225g mushrooms, sliced
350g fresh spinach, washed
50g Parmesan cheese, grated
6 tbsp fromage frais
3 tbsp fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
grated zest 1 lemon
25g pine nuts, toasted
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Serves 4 [I make the full recipe, as like it Cold, but it would halve well!]
Preparation and cooking times
Prep 20 - 25 mins
Cook 55 mins
Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.

Bring a large pan of water to the boil, add the aubergine halves & cook for 4-5 mins.

Drain well & pat dry with kitchen paper.
Place the aubergines on a baking tray, brush with 1 tbsp of the olive oil & cook for 20-25 mins until tender & golden.

Scoop out the flesh (leaving about 15mm of flesh attached to the skin), then roughly chop.
Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a large frying pan, then cook the onion & garlic for 4-5 mins until softened.

Add the aubergine flesh to the pan & fry for a few mins, add the mushrooms, then cook for about 5 mins until browned and tender.

Add the spinach & cook for 3-4 mins until wilted, stirring frequently.
Remove the pan from the heat & stir in the cheese, fromage fras..
In a bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, pine nuts, parsley & seasoning.
Spoon the spinach mixture into the aubergine halves.

Sprinkle the top of each with the breadcrumb mixture.

Return to the oven and cook for 10-15 mins until the topping is golden.

I serve with a nice glass of nearly AUBERGINE shaded Red vino...

Moving on, AUBERGINE the colour, a deep BLACK/reddish/PURPLE, I found in the Dreamingspires Botanical Garden 's Cacti on a recent visit...

And in this Dahlia flowers heart, is from there too...Plus in the local hedgerows in the form of Elderberries...The closest I can get to AUBERGINE cake wise is this re dark red roses...My original meme 'True Colours Thursday' is now hosted by friends Doyle & Mollie here @ Blue's Coloured Thursday, with me as Colour Consultant :)
Please do join in again!

Coloured Thursday - LAVENDER with a touch of LILAC!

As usual I'm responsible for the latest Thursday colour confussion!!!
Sorry all :(
But, coming to plan my post, I realised that I'd & hence Doyle & Mollie had relisted LAVENDER a wee bit earlier in the colour scheme - we it did in the late Spring; so rather late in the day, I suggested that LILAC, another take on the shade might work better; hence you can now take your pick or do both as I'm going!!!

My LAVENDER's include the real thing in Trinity College's garden a scented paradise to me...A Teddy Bear hung up high, hoping for a winner to claim him @ this years St Giles Fair - sadly I didn't... And my LAVENDER Business folder with a postcard from friend Jeannie of Marvin fame...Re LILAC, I offer this fine bloom from a neighbour's garden - maybe someone can name it for me...
And of course a cake, from the Celebration Cake Shop's window...Isn't she just the funnest fairy you've ever seen but imagine she made some little birthday girl very happy!

My original meme 'True Colours Thursday' is now hosted by friends Doyle & Mollie here @ Blue's Coloured Thursday.
Please do join in again!

Coloured Thursday - BLACK!

A bit of an cop out today, as all my images are from those well used Photographic Archives of mine.
But, they are new or especially 'cropped' ones!!!

The fun that is Morris Mania takes place in Dreamingspires each April - from several years worth, I give you - Men in BLACK...And Ladies too...After and actually during the Morris dancing there's lots of drinks partaken - am sure Guinness is one of them...Will own up - this is not my own photo, but one stolen from the Celebration Cake Shop's website, as the day I found this cake in their shop's window I was minus my camera :( - a rare event indeed!

The original meme 'True Colours Thursday' is now Blue's Coloured Thursday - hosted by friends Doyle & Mollie.
PLEASE do join in again!

Coloured Thursday - CAMOUFLAGE!

This combination of colours aka OLIVE/BROWN & CREAM was chosen by Doyle & Mollie months & months ago.

I believe it's something to do with a Jungle theme relating to Mollie's 1st Barkday which was on Monday- so after a trawl through my Photo Archives came up with this...They are Giant Atlas Moths from South East Asia & are the largest moths in the World as grow up to 12".

I found & photographed them in the closest I'll get to a Jungle, the tropical paradise that is the Victoria Butterfly Garden on Vancouver Island, Canada - was there in the Summer of 2007, with Little Buddy on our last holiday together before his retirement.

Re more recent CAMOUFLAGE images, had lived in hope of finding a Serviceman in Combats to photo but no such luck, however my local Taxi Rank did come up trumps...I've looked no further, as my 'signature' cake was was tough enough to find!

The very best I can offer is this Pony Club event cake that with it's Olive green grass, brown ponies & cream birthday No's just scraps though as CAMOUFLAGE... Phew!!!

My original meme 'True Colours Thursday' is now hosted by friends Doyle & Mollie here @ Blue's Coloured Thursday .
PLEASE do join in again!

Coloured Thursday - WHITE!

When one thinks of Lilac blossom I for one, tend to think of all shades of LILAC, but the sweetest fragranced is often snowy WHITE...These rather elegant WHITE wrought Iron gates lead to house envyingly backing onto the River Isis...Where this fine Swan resides...Along with this little lost birdy - breed unknown...And, now for my second Wedding Cake of the week...When blogging, what would I do without the Celebration Cake Shop???

My original meme 'True Colours Thursday' is now hosted here @ Blue's Coloured Thursday - PLEASE do join in again!

Ruby Tuesday - Anniversary Greetings!

It's hard to believe it's 3 years since friend BJ 'virtually' tossed her Ruby Red Rose wedding bouquet across the 'pond' to me, in the hope that me catching it would bring now retired pilot Little Buddy & I finally together!
It was a lovely thought - it didn't work but I'll never forget the gesture.

I've no rose photograph to share today to celebrate her & Bob's anniversary but an appropriately decorated cake instead... A very Happy Anniversary to you both!