Patricia S.

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Snowdon Pudding - Pwdin Eryri.

Patricia S. posted an article on - Feb 6, 2012, 6:23 pm
Snowdon Pudding with Lemon Toffee Sauce set against a background of my own design fabric at Spoonflower Eliza Acton gave the ‘genuine’ recipe in 1845, asserting that it was ‘constantly served to travellers at the hotel at the foot of Snowdon -Yr Wyddfa ’ - the ‘Pen-y-groes.’ I looked ...
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A new design for Green Hive Honey Farm.

Patricia S. posted an article on - Jan 26, 2012, 6:33 pm
Green Hive Honey Farm of Camden, Maine found some lovely 1lb Muth bottles for their delicious raw honey and asked me to redesign the original label (see a few pics down) to suit this new silhouette - an arched label for the front and a narrow label to hold the ribbon around the neck.The neck label l...
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Steamed Apricot Pudding - not so pretty but soooo good on a chilly day!!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Jan 20, 2012, 5:59 pm
Hello my little Steamed Pudding sitting in a pool of luscious Pouring or English custard - hot pudding and hot custard or cold pudding and cold custard or hot and cold together - any way works with this beauty, I prefer cold and cold - she may not be much to look at but as 'they' say "the proof is i...
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Procure your Valentine's gifts early...

Patricia S. posted an article on - Jan 7, 2012, 1:12 am
...and Ye shall be rewarded by only having to pay economy rate shipping - for we all know how expensive express shipping can be. All these products are also print on demand so the more lead time the better to receive your gifts in time for February 14th 2012 which is a Tuesday by the way - Tuesday s...
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A Poem for the Old Year

Patricia S. posted an article on - Dec 31, 2011, 5:04 pm
  The Old Yearby John Clare - the Northamptonshire Peasant Poet The Old Year's gone awayTo nothingness and night:We cannot find him all the dayNor hear him in the night:He left no footstep, mark or placeIn either shade or sun:The last year he'd a neighbour's face,In this he's known by none....
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Earl Grey Tea Chocolate Truffles and Biscuits - for the New Year!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Dec 30, 2011, 8:38 pm
Earl Grey Truffles and Earl Grey Biscuits/Cookies - very subtle and sophisticated!Earl Grey Chocolate Truffles adapted from the book "Chocolates and Petits Fours" by Beverly Sutherland SmithStart this recipe at least 4 hours before you want to serve the truffles as the chocolate needs a good amount ...
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Do you know the difference between British and American Robins?

Patricia S. posted an article on - Dec 23, 2011, 8:20 pm
 Here's a beautiful photograph of a British Robin Redbreast taken by 4eyes photo in Kensington Gardens, London.As you can he is quite different to his American cousin pictured below - especially so in stature - they do say everything is bigger in America but who thought that pertained to the wildli...
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A Winter's Eve in Maine

Patricia S. posted an article on - Dec 20, 2011, 6:31 pm
I love the look of trees silhouetted again the twilight sky.As the winter solstice draws near - December 22nd 2011 UTC (Universal Time)The crest of Blueberry HillAhhhh....pink!!  The path up Blueberry HillGreat looking berries!!    As the ground freezes harder and harder here in Maine it raises...
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Brandy Snaps - burnt and not!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Dec 17, 2011, 7:08 pm
This is how a Brandy Snap should look!! Crispy, lacy and oozing with lovely whipped cream!! They are half way between being a sweet/candy and a biscuit/cookie - if you like crunchy caramelly things - you'll like Brandy Snaps! In my experience Brandy Snaps actually don't have any brandy in them and m...
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Recycling my own artwork - and having fun in the process.

Patricia S. posted an article on - Dec 15, 2011, 7:25 pm
Many moons ago - yes, maybe actually 10 whole years ago - I created this tabletop pattern "Homespun", comprised of 20 different but related individual designs, for a company called PTS America and they in turn produced the ceramics and sold them through Bloomingdales - wee hee. Lately I have been pe...
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Bara Brith - Fabulous Raisin TEAbread and an industrious squirrel.

Patricia S. posted an article on - Dec 8, 2011, 2:39 pm
Bara Brith atop one of my fabric designs at SpoonflowerOh My Goodness this is such an excellent recipe from a copy of British Country Living (the BEST magazine in the known universe) from February 2008 - why have I not made it before - was I leery of it's easy peasiness - perhaps - but now I make th...
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Fragrant Quince and Ginger Cake for Thankies!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Nov 18, 2011, 9:02 pm
Quince and Ginger Cake with Poached Quince and delicious Quince 'sauce' If there were indeed such a thing as a runcible spoon I might perchance know it's whereabouts!First we begin with the preparing of the Quince - an oddsome looking large pear shaped article which needs must be poached for a goodl...
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Cool new products at CafePress...please take a look see.

Patricia S. posted an article on - Nov 10, 2011, 6:06 pm
What I love best about having a CafePress store is that I am free to do more designing whilst they take the unenviable (at least for me) responsibility of applying my uploaded designs to their products, shipping, gift wrapping, payments and returns...plus everything is done by 'print on demand' ie a...
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An Irish treat for Hallowe'en - Barm Brack and the return of Pumpkin Boy 2009!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Oct 27, 2011, 9:56 pm
Barm Brack, steaming hot tea, lashings of butter, autumn leaves and PUMPKIN BOY - my pumpkin from 2009 who spent the entire winter outdoors, miraculously became freeze dried and deteriorated no further once I brought him back indoors - he's been happy ever since! Barm Brack or Bairin Beac is a tradi...
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The Colour of Autumn Leaves

Patricia S. posted an article on - Oct 26, 2011, 6:45 pm
Yea - I found some pink leaves!Fall/Autumn has been slow coming along this year and colours have been in short supply. There are still a lot of green trees out there - which seems awfully late to me - so maybe there'll be more colour to come. Tomorrow we are looking forward to our first snow - not a...
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Apple Parkin Slice

Patricia S. posted an article on - Oct 22, 2011, 4:19 pm
Apple Parkin slice is an old Yorkshire/Lancashire recipe by way of Australia. Growing up in the north of England every bonfire night we partake of parkin - a chewy, oaty, dense, molassesy slice ( a 'slice' is halfway between a cake and a scone I'd say) - recently I espied this recipe in British Coun...
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Apple and Lemon Curd for Great Maine Apple Day

Patricia S. posted an article on - Oct 19, 2011, 2:09 pm
 As you can see Great Maine Apple Day is coming up pretty sharpish and I have two recipes in store to celebrate this day - today it's Apple and Lemon Curd, a recipe adapted from "Country Harvest - A Celebration of Autumn" by Linda Burgess and Rosamond Richardson - and then Friday I'll post the reci...
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Sticky Toffee Pudding.....yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Oct 6, 2011, 7:24 pm
Here it is  - a slice or rather chunk of the iconic British Sticky Toffee Pudding - a moist, date laden cake with the most perfect sticky toffee sauce bubbled under the grill/broiler - you melt when you taste it, especially the day after it is made. DON'T let the idea of dates put you off...they ar...
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Flowers and Frogs - oh my!!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Oct 5, 2011, 8:07 pm
I don't know how I got this picture or what I did to make it so painterly and impressionistic...it just happened....it like how the green foliage has greyed out and the asters are in movement - but really it had nothing to do with me, I just clicked! The Asters (or Michaelmas Daisies) signalling Au...
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Pear and Almond Cake.

Patricia S. posted an article on - Sep 30, 2011, 2:20 pm
 Here is my delicious Pear and Almond Cake with lovely caramelly slivered almonds covering it's nonce and a layers of ripe and luscious pears in the centre...yum!! The recipe is from an old British Country magazine...one of my go to resources for British 'pudding' (the catch all word for all Britis...
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Having fun with Spoonflower!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Sep 9, 2011, 6:09 pm
The actual fabric swatches laid out with the print outs from my computer...a pretty good match here!Spoonflower is a print on demand company based in Georgia, USA. It's a wonderful idea and is an excellent resource for artists who want to sell their work directly to the fabric buying public and grea...
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Banana Raisin Tea BreadCake...so goood!!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Sep 5, 2011, 4:24 pm
Does my puppy really think she's getting a slice of this divine Banana Raisin BreadCake...I think not!! - especially so as raisins can be lethal to our furry dog friends...but that aside this is a really divine cross between a teabread (a sweet loafy thing with yeast) and a fruit cake...it's really ...
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Dancing flowers, rowan berries and a new friend catching rays before Irene!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Aug 27, 2011, 3:31 pm
All along the roadsides in Maine right now are swathes of Queen Anne's Lace dancing and bobbing...when the wind catches them they look like plates spinning on poles - just like you used to see in old fashioned circuses and variety shows (showing my age now aren't I?)  Close up the flower head of th...
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Now THIS is a blackberry!!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Aug 18, 2011, 4:43 pm
Isn't this a thing of beauty? A truly ripe blackberry waiting to be picked in my neighbours garden across the street. The last time I had blackberries this good was when I was about 11 years old and went blackberrying with my friend, Helen, near the Twelve Pins Mountains in Galway, Ireland. We wande...
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A pictorial ode to a humble flower.

Patricia S. posted an article on - Aug 3, 2011, 12:19 am
“He is happiest who hath power to gather wisdom from a flower.”Mary Howitt     The Clover...small, unassuming, sweet and so very pretty close up. It is one of the main nectar sources for honeybees..... Here is a link to "Clover-Blossom" a poem by Louisa May Alcott...........about clover and ...
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Blueberry and Apple Charlotte made with solar baked bread!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Jul 29, 2011, 6:46 pm
The finished Charlotte with apples and blueberries bursting forth.First I decided to try baking bread in our little solar oven...would it work here in Maine?As you see below...YES it did...and what a wonderful loaf...I didn't get a brown on it but it was baked through and just delicious. This bread ...
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Images from a burgeoning Blueberry Hill, Maine

Patricia S. posted an article on - Jul 19, 2011, 10:32 pm
The blue's but a mist from the breath of the winda line from the poem "Blueberries" by Robert Frost I went for a walk up blueberry hill next to our house today and this is what I saw...ahhhhhhh!!! The whole hill is exploding with life and the blueberries are so beautiful...they are green with red ed...
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The Creation of the "Let Them Eat Cake" Logo

Patricia S. posted an article on - Jul 5, 2011, 6:16 pm
This is a poster of the logo now available in my Esty storeLindsey Schortz of Let Them Eat Cake Bakers in lovely Belfast, Maine really liked the looks of my "Just Call Me Cupcake" design below and wondered if we could use the cupcake and the retro style of the design to create a nice logo for her wh...
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A Plethora of Pink and Red Poppy Pictures

Patricia S. posted an article on - Jun 19, 2011, 7:51 pm
Now isn't this how the hats at the Royal Wedding should have looked? The pink poppies, for which I have waited quite the number of years to bloom, are THE perfect pink, no really they are...in person they have an inner glow that makes themalmost neon (in a good way) and they are a little more satura...
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Rhubarb and raisin squares baked in a circle and cut into triangles...

Patricia S. posted an article on - Jun 14, 2011, 7:35 pm
Oh yeh...this is a good one based on an old fashioned British recipe of raisin squares....definitely try this if you like both rhubarb and raisins...what a wonderful combination...I am sure you can do this with all raisin...I'd say two cups if you go that way...or another fruit than rhubarb like apr...
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Visions of a picture perfect day in Maine...ahhhhh!!!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Jun 5, 2011, 1:31 pm
We wait sooo long and work so hard for these pristine days in Maine and yea today finally we have one....Sunday June 5th 2011 is PERFECT and how lucky am I that I can walk out my front or back door and take these photographs of the glory that is today! I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I d...
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Chocolate Biscuit Cake a la Prince William's Groom Cake....and it's no bake!!

Patricia S. posted an article on - May 28, 2011, 6:57 pm
Here is a picture of the finished cake...if you like fudgey, chocolate, flourless cakes then this is the cake for you but with an added crunch of biscuits/cookies. Prince William choose this as his Groom cake for the recent Royal Wedding and the Queen herself is said to be very fond of it and is qui...
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The rain in Maine....

Patricia S. posted an article on - May 17, 2011, 2:25 pm
When the humid shadows hover Over all the starry spheres, And the melancholy darkness Gently weeps in rainy tears, What a joy to press the pillow Of a cottage-chamber bed, And to listen to the patter Of the soft rain overhead! Every tinkle on the shingles Has an echo in the heart; And a tho...
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Pure beeswax, lavender buds and lovely ribbon

Patricia S. posted an article on - Apr 27, 2011, 7:02 pm
Have you ever smelled pure beeswax? It is a beautiful and cozy aroma and is such a lovely warm colour too. Our good friends Magy and Clay owners of Green Hive Honey Farm of Camden, Maine were wondering what to do with all their beeswax and James and I came up with the idea of custom sculpted beeswax...
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Images from Maine on a beautiful Earth Day 2011!!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Apr 22, 2011, 11:42 am
I love these double daffs and have no idea where they came from... they smell just lovely!!Happy Daffs standing proud against the bright blue skyRhubarb, rhubarb what shall I make with thee...as you can see my rhubarb is not very far along today, it'll be a while before I can do a rhubarb post!!Lots...
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Let them eat PIECAKE on April 29th!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Apr 19, 2011, 4:46 pm
Here is a pencil sketch I recently did for a very good client of mine...we ended up going in a different direction than this and I suddenly realized this would be a good image for this particular post!! FYI I usually do all my lettering by hand but as this was a quickie for this post I did break dow...
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A British recipe from an Australia magazine with an Irish Custard for Maine Maple Sunday!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Mar 24, 2011, 11:33 am
 And there we were thinking Spring really had arrived and all the snow would go away and the birds would be singing and the sun shining...silly us!! Next thing you know the snow is falling with a vengeance and my little (and yes they are little) pails are full of snow along with sap. This year so f...
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Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Lá Fhéile Pádraig

Patricia S. posted an article on - Mar 17, 2011, 10:09 am
Happy Saint Patrick's Day - Lá Fhéile Pádraig (Gaelic with the name pronounced Pawrick...one of my brother's has the name) one and all...above is a logo I designed a couple of years ago which celebrates the deep friendship between Eire and The United States of America. I circled the flagpoles w...
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The Bees Knees revealed....

Patricia S. posted an article on - Feb 23, 2011, 12:57 pm
Green Hive Honey of Camden, Maine has a new product and I am the happy one who had the enviable task of designing a new label for The Bees Knees "A Sweet Arthritis Remedy"!! Yea for me....below is the original label/logo I created for their raw honey and we used this as the starting point for the ne...
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I posit a POSSET for your Beloved....

Patricia S. posted an article on - Feb 4, 2011, 1:06 pm
 How simple can a dessert/Brit pudding be? So simple it needed a colourful and fun background to give it some counterpoint, and hey with all the snow here and lack of colour I need something bright to revive my eyeballs. ELIZABETHAN POSSET:OED definition is: Drink made of hot milk curdled with ale,...
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Kentish Pudding for National Pie Day!!....huh??

Patricia S. posted an article on - Jan 23, 2011, 12:45 pm
This is Kentish Pudding...and yes it is a pie or tart, it's one of those English colloquial anomalies that continue to confuse us all but rest assured it is quiet, simply elegant and most delicious!This recipe is from Yorkshire TV's "Farmhouse Kitchen 2" and is attributed to Mrs. M. White and Mrs. S...
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Green Hive Honey Farms Valentine's Special Edition packaging..."Honey BEE Mine"

Patricia S. posted an article on - Jan 19, 2011, 11:51 pm
 Here is the finished product "Honey Bee Mine" how can you resist buying this for YOUR Honey for Valentine's Day? A jar of Green Hive Honey Farms Raw Honey with 4oz of delicious Honeycomb, a special label, a heart shaped tag, a cellophane bag, dried rosebuds, a sparkly ribbon and the inestimable ad...
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Flapjacks, British Country Living and a cup of tea!!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Jan 11, 2011, 8:17 pm
 British Flapjacks, an oaty biscuit/cookie….not pancakes which are sometimes called flapjacks in the US and Canada….you'll love them!! I don’t remember eating too many Flapjacks in Blighty…AND WHY NOT I now ask myself…they are really delectable!! They are crunchy, chewy, buttery, sugary a...
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A 'wassailing into 2011!!...or... so long 2010!!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Dec 30, 2010, 11:01 pm
And so another year comes to a close....and it's time to make a Wassail Bowl.This is a traditional English drink partaken of at Christmas, New Years and sometimes in mid-January which can be traced back to as early as the 14 century. The name derives from the Old English "Wes hal" meaning "be in goo...
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Blizzard 2010...still going...

Patricia S. posted an article on - Dec 27, 2010, 4:46 pm
Yea here comes the snow plough!! I have to admit I LOVE snowstorms/blizzards and I am particularly fond of seeing the snow plough go by...especially at night when I peek out one of the frosty windows like a 5 year old  - watching for the headlights loom out of the darkness, see the snow swirl ahead...
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Last minute Golden Crimbly Cake...

Patricia S. posted an article on - Dec 24, 2010, 10:46 am
Ta dah...my last minute Christmas Cake...isn't she pretty!!Most Christmas (Crimbly as one would say colloquially in Blighty) are made months ahead and are well treated and ‘fed’ the occasional spot of whiskey or brandy…this little delight is made only a couple of days before…or today, Christ...
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Creating Limited Edition Holiday Reserve Packaging for Green Hive Honey Farm

Patricia S. posted an article on - Dec 10, 2010, 7:38 pm
WHAT a fun project!! Here is the finished packaging for Green Hive Honey Farm's Limited Edition Holiday Reserve luscious honey with honeycomb. There are only 120 jars available of this nectar, the last bounty of a wonderful season, packaged with a special label, gift tag, hand numbered with tissue c...
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Thankful for the beauty that was Fall/Autumn 2010

Patricia S. posted an article on - Nov 25, 2010, 1:37 pm
Visions of beautiful leaves from Fall/Autumn 2010...please enjoy this Thanksgiving Day!!
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Steamed Cranberry Pudding with Green Hive Honey Sauce for Thankies!!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Nov 23, 2010, 7:37 pm
Oh no!!! I appear to have steamed up the whole neighbourhood!!Actually this little delight only takes about 1/2 hour of steaming instead of the usual 3 hour puddings I make here on my blog so one doesn't have to wait until the cows come home for Steamed Cranberry Pudding with Green Hive Honey Sauce ...
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Coventry Tartlets made with Green Hive Honey...yum!!

Patricia S. posted an article on - Nov 21, 2010, 1:35 pm
How lucky am I that I get to make delicious Coventry Tartlets using Green Hive Honey which is not only raw and local but also packaged with a label I designed...this is the Bees Knees for me!!! This is a simple and really delightful recipe which could be an easy addition to your Thanksgiving array o...
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