Monday 29 April 2013

Woolly Monday...

Had a lovely time at spinning today turning my skeins of wool into balls of wool on a hand ball spinner, as well as making two ply yarn on my spinning wheel...



Tuesday 23 April 2013

Baptism on Sunday... Sweetest thing!

On Sunday, my husband Baptised the sweetest little girl who arrived on her daddy's hip in her lovely, old, long, Christening Gown. As she smiled at me she handed me a daisy chain that someone had made from the daisies growing in the lawn outside... and at that moment I knew I had found a 'kindred spirit' - she made my year! I chatted with her mommy and said that I was tickled pink at her giving me the daisy chain, to which she replied: 'Wait 'til you see the Christening Cake!' ... When we arrived at the party, the little girl was dressed in daisy colours, too! Just lovely!

May God bless them all. Amen.





For obvious reasons I am protecting the identity of the child.

Catherine...x

Coffee Ice-Cream...


Nigellissima


One-step no-churn coffee ice cream (v)


Nigella Lawson - Nigelissima




I’m almost embarrassed at how easy this is but, as you will find out, simple though it is to make, its flavour is deep, complex and utterly compelling.

Ingredients


Preparation method

  1. Whisk all the ingredients together until soft peaks form, and you have a gorgeous, caffè-latte-coloured airy mixture, and then fill an airtight container and freeze for six hours or overnight.

Coffee... Fascinating...


How healthy is your coffee?


Hands holding coffee beans

Greek coffee could be good for the heart, one recent research study suggests. Could all coffee be as healthy?

Macchiato, cappuccino, flat white, long black, latte, espresso - for coffee drinkers, there is a myriad of choices out there.

Everyday billions of us choose to overlook or embrace its addictive properties and down our caffeine hit, or hits, as the case may be.

But chances are, we are not choosing to drink it due for its health benefits. Or are we?

"I've never believed there is anything bad in drinking five cups a day," says Will Corby, a coffee "hunter" or specialty coffee merchant with Mercanta - The Coffee Hunters, and trainer at the London School of Coffee.

Get your fix:


One-step no-churn coffee icecream



Caffeine is such a powerful stimulant, people are known to have overdosed on espressos, and drinking too much has been associated with negative health effects, such as insomnia, jitteriness, diuresis and headaches.

Will Corby says quality is key. He can drink 20 cups of excellent coffee while judging, with no side effects. But what happens when he has three badly-brewed ones?

"I drink a lot of coffee, and I drink a well-brewed cup. I have no problems sleeping. But if you drink a badly-brewed cup, it has a bad effect on you," the coffee expert says.

In fact health research over the years has found good things in a cup of coffee - most recently in Greek-style coffee.

The coffee consumption of elderly people on the Greek island of Ikaria was linked to a reduction in one risk factor for heart disease according to a study in the Vascular Medicine journal.

Is Greek coffee special?

It is brewed in a stove-top pot known as a briki, and is very strong, with a heavy foam, and can be brewed with sugar to increase sweetness. It is also served with a glass of water.

Greek coffee maker known as a briki, coffee in a cup, served with a glass of water Greek coffee is brewed in a "briki" and contains high amounts of anti-inflammatory compounds

Brewed coffee is the richest in caffeine content (135mg per 8oz (227g) of coffee), the study reports, more than filter coffee (112mg) or percolated (74mg).

Greek coffee also contains a greater amount of anti-inflammatory organic compounds.

There have been plenty of studies over the years which show positive and negative health effects after drinking coffee.

That is explained in part by the lack of consistency in what we drink say experts.
Milk and sugar
Different roasts, species and varieties of coffee beans can have different caffeine contents and compositions too.

There is also added sugar, sugar syrups, milk and cup sizes so there are differing levels of caffeine but also of other ingredients, like proteins, fats and sugars.

On the plus side, coffee is known to be packed full of antioxidants, which stop other molecules oxidising and producing free radicals.

Women who drink two or more cups of coffee a day are less likely to get depressed, other research suggests.

There are plenty of reasons to love it, but perhaps the simplest are the taste, and the "lift" it gives to drinkers.

Brew it the best way:


Ground beans, two lattes
"Coffee hunter" Will Corby's top tips for a good brew:
  • Grind your coffee fresh
  • Use the right dose of coffee for water - weigh it and stick to 72g of coffee for 1L water
  • Use water at the correct temperature - 96C
  • Make sure the grind size is correct - it should take 3 - 3 1/2 minutes for water to pass through the coffee
  • Buy a hand grinder with ceramic burrs to ensure even coffee particles and an even extraction of caffeine
For as Will Corby says: "Coffee is one of the most complex flavour profiles on the planet, it has about double the flavour range in it of wines.

"The chemical structure gives you more flavour and it is full of caffeine, it wakes you up and gives you a buzz."

However previous studies have linked high caffeine intake to raised cholesterol and short-term high blood pressure.

In recent times however there has been a sea change in the debate over whether coffee is good for you or bad for you.

A recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health suggests there is no link between coffee and mortality.

Even drinking up to six cups a day "is not associated with increased risk of death from any cause, or death from cancer or cardiovascular disease", says Rob van Dam, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.

"This finding fits into the research picture that has been emerging over the past few years: For the general population, the evidence suggests that coffee drinking doesn't have any serious detrimental health effects," he says.
Regular or large?
Yet the experts still warn against drinking too much. As in most research, the Harvard study assumed six 8-ounce (225ml) cups, each containing 100mg of caffeine, "not the 16 ounces (450ml) you would get in a grande coffee at a Starbucks, which has about 330mg of caffeine," says Rob van Dam.

But his findings are backed up by a study in the Maturitas journal, conducted by the University of Valencia in Spain.

It concludes that "information gathered in recent years has generated a new concept of coffee, one which does not match the common belief that coffee is mostly harmful".

How much is too much?


Latte
It's difficult to suggest a safe limit for coffee intake because of the huge variation in caffeine content across different brands and an individual's sensitivity to caffeine.
People with high blood pressure and pregnant women are advised to limit their consumption.
  • A mug of instant coffee contains 100mg caffeine
  • A mug of filter coffee contains 140mg caffeine



It says: "Contrary to previous beliefs, the various forms of arterial cardiovascular disease, arrhythmia or heart insufficiency seem unaffected by coffee intake. Coffee is associated with a reduction in the incidence of diabetes and liver disease.

"Protection seems to exist also for Parkinson's disease among the neurological disorders, while its potential as an osteoporosis risk factor is under debate."

Psychologically and socially, coffee also has another benefit arguably on our mental health.

"If you look at European culture people go out and switch on when drinking coffee, while alcohol makes people lethargic," says Will Corby.

"Coffee is a means to communicate. It's why people love coffee, it aids social interaction," he explains.

The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) has 5,000 members and recently held its Symposium, an international meeting of experts.

The SCAA's director Peter Giuliano suggested caffeine is useful in connecting people, as well as different areas of our brain, as shown in a University of California San Diego Department of Psychiatry study.

Despite the good news, many of those conducting the research say it "must be stressed that much still needs to be known".

Most clinical studies, particularly those with high numbers of participants, are only observational.

Time for a caffeine fix then.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/0/22167586


Coffee and qahwa: How a drink for Arab mystics went global


coffee pot


The Arab world has given birth to many thinkers and many inventions - among them the three-course meal, alcohol and coffee. The best coffee bean is still known as Arabica, but it's come a long way from the Muslim mystics who treasured it centuries ago, to the chains that line our high streets.

Think coffee, and you probably think of an Italian espresso, a French cafe au lait, or an American double grande latte with cinnamon.

Perhaps you learned at school that the USA became a nation of coffee drinkers because of the excise duty King George placed on tea? Today ubiquitous chains like Starbucks, Cafe Nero and Costa grace every international airport, and follow the now much humbler Nescafe as symbols of globalisation.

Coffee is produced in hot climates like Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Vietnam and Indonesia, and you could be forgiven if you thought it is a product from the New World like tobacco and chocolate. After all, all three became popular in Europe at more or less the same time, in the 16th and 17th Centuries.

In fact, coffee comes from the highland areas of the countries at the southern end of the Red Sea - Yemen and Ethiopia.

Coffee merchants (1850)

Although a beverage made from the wild coffee plant seems to have been first drunk by a legendary shepherd on the Ethiopian plateau, the earliest cultivation of coffee was in Yemen and Yemenis gave it the Arabic name qahwa, from which our words coffee and cafe both derive.

Qahwa originally meant wine, and Sufi mystics in Yemen used coffee as an aid to concentration and even spiritual intoxication when they chanted the name of God.


Three courses, and alcohol


Bekaa valley winery

  • The Arabs invented the concept of the three-course meal, with soup followed by fish or meat, then fruit and nuts - the habit was brought across to Moorish Spain in the 9th Century from Iraq
  • Alcohol may have been distilled in c800AD by Jabir Ibn Hayyan from Kufa in Iraq, and our word "alcohol" derives from the Arabic "al kuhul"... many Arab countries, like Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Morocco, make wines and beers, even though Islam does not permit the drinking of alcohol


By 1414, it was known in Mecca and in the early 1500s was spreading to Egypt from the Yemeni port of Mocha. It was still associated with Sufis, and a cluster of coffee houses grew up in Cairo around the religious  university of the Azhar. They also opened in Syria, especially in the cosmopolitan city of Aleppo, and then in Istanbul, the capital of the vast Ottoman Turkish Empire, in 1554.

In Mecca, Cairo and Istanbul attempts were made to ban it by religious authorities. Learned shaykhs discussed whether the effects of coffee were similar to those of alcohol, and some remarked that passing round the coffee pot had something in common with the circulation of a pitcher of wine, a drink forbidden in Islam.

Coffee houses were a new institution in which men met together to talk, listen to poets and play games like chess and backgammon. They became a focus for intellectual life and could be seen as an implicit rival to the mosque as a meeting place.

Some scholars opined that the coffee house was "even worse than the wine room", and the authorities noted how these places could easily become dens of sedition. However, all attempts at banning coffee failed, even though the death penalty was used during the reign of Murad IV (1623-40). The religious scholars eventually came to a sensible consensus that coffee was, in principle, permissible.

Coffee spread to Europe by two routes - from the Ottoman Empire, and by sea from the original coffee port of Mocha.

Mocha

Both the English and Dutch East India Companies were major purchasers at Mocha in the early 17th Century, and their cargoes were brought home via the Cape of Good Hope or exported to India and beyond. They seem, however, to have only taken a fraction of Yemeni coffee production - as the rest went north to the rest of the Middle East.


“Start Quote

Waiter pouring coffee
The coffee which is native to the Gulf is bitter and sometimes flavoured with cardamom or other spices”
End Quote

Coffee also arrived in Europe through trade across the Mediterranean and was carried by the Turkish armies as they marched up the Danube. As in the Middle East, the coffee house became a place for men to talk, read, share their opinions on the issues of the day and play games.

Another similarity was that they could harbour gatherings for subversive elements. Charles II denounced them in 1675 as "places where the disaffected met, and spread scandalous reports concerning the conduct of His Majesty and his Ministers".

A century later Procope, the famous Parisian coffee house, had such habitues as Marat, Danton and Robespierre who conspired together there during the Revolution.

At first, coffee had been viewed with suspicion in Europe as a Muslim drink, but around 1600 Pope Clement VIII is reported to have so enjoyed a cup that he said it would be wrong to permit Muslims to monopolise it, and that it should therefore be baptised.

Austrian coffee drinking is said to have received a big boost when the Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683 was broken, and the European victors captured huge coffee supplies from the vanquished.

Perhaps that is why, to this day, coffee is served in Vienna with a glass of water - just like the tiny cups of powerful Turkish coffee with its heavy sediment in Istanbul, Damascus or Cairo. Is this just a coincidence, or a long forgotten cultural borrowing?

Cafe Sperl in Vienna, Austria
Viennese cafes serve it with a glass of water

The beverage we call "Turkish coffee" is actually a partial misnomer, as Turkey is just one of the countries where it is drunk. In Greece they call it "Greek coffee", although Egyptians, Lebanese, Syrians, Palestinians, Jordanians and others do not seem to care overmuch about the name.


10 borrowed Arabic words


  • The word cheque comes from the Arabic word saqq, and reflects the sophistication of finance in Arab countries in the early middle ages
  • The word algorithm is derived from the name of Abū Abdallah Muḥammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi whose name (al-Khwarizmi) is, in Latin, Algoritmi
  • Cipher comes from Arabic sifr, meaning "zero, naught, nothing"
  • The word for cotton derives from the Arabic qutn
  • Ghoul is an Arabic word for "a desert demon which can appear in different forms and shapes; an ogre or cannibal"
  • The English magazine is a word borrowed from the Arabic makhzan, meaning "storehouse"
  • Nadir has its origin in Arabic nazir, indicating "opposite, facing, parallel"
  • Tamarind refers to Arabic tamr hindi, literally meaning "Indian date"
  • The word safari has its root in the Arabic word safar, which means "journey"
  • Tariff comes from Arabic ta'rif, which means "notification" or "definition"


But there are other coffee drinking traditions in the Arab world. The coffee which is native to the Gulf is bitter and sometimes flavoured with cardamom or other spices.

It is often served a decent interval after a guest has arrived - to serve it too soon might be an impolite suggestion of haste - and then once again before departure.

It often comes just before or after a small glass cup of black, sweet tea. The order in which the two beverages are served varies, and seems to have no significance. What is remarkable for a Western visitor is the idea that the two very different drinks should be offered in such quick succession.

Sadly, however, while coffee has gone truly global production has declined in Yemen, the victim of cheap imports and rival crops like the narcotic qat.

In 2011, Yemen exported a mere 2,500 tonnes although there are attempts to revive cultivation of the best coffee in its original home. Today, none of the Arab countries is listed among the world's significant producers.

John McHugo is author of A Concise History of The Arabs

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22190802


Last Updated: Tuesday, 14 August 2007, 13:44 GMT 14:44 UK

How much is too much coffee?


WHO, WHAT, WHY? 
The Magazine answers...


Coffee cup
Coffee has health benefits and dangers
A teenager has been taken to hospital after overdosing on espresso. So how much is too much coffee?In Italy seven double espressos might be considered tame. Robbie Williams would probably class it as such, he reportedly has a 36-a-day habit. But for 17-year-old Jasmine Willis those seven cups of strong coffee were enough to make her overdose. She says she was drenched, burning up, hyperventilating and laughing and crying at the same time in front of the customers.So with the British increasingly embracing the coffee culture, how much is too much?
THE ANSWER
No more than five single espressos, according to the DoH

The Department of Health (DoH) advises people not to drink more than five single espressos - roughly seven instant coffees - a day, although individuals vary in their sensitivity. The highest natural caffeine content is found in filter coffee, a mug of which contains about 120mg of caffeine. Instant coffee contains roughly 75mg and espresso 107mg."Provided it's taken in moderation we don't need to see coffee as a threat to health, but the recommendation is enjoy in moderation," says a spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association. LethalIndulging in a few mugs too many could result in symptoms such as restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, nausea, vomiting and a flushed face. The symptoms of a serious overdose include delirium and seizures.Among its effects on the human body, caffeine is commonly thought to increase alertness, attention and mental ability by stimulating the central nervous system.
WHO, WHAT, WHY?
Question Mark - from original architect's doodle design for BBC TV Centre
A regular part of the BBC News Magazine, Who, What, Why? aims to answer some of the questions behind the headlines
 But too much could be lethal. Such a dose is dependent on an individual's weight and sensitivity, but for the average person is about 90 milligrams per two pints of blood, according to coffee website Cofcaf.co.uk. This is about 200 cups of instant coffee in a day for an average sized person, it says. Death from an extreme overdose would tend to be due to ventricular fibrillation - an uncoordinated contraction of heart muscles, which could stop blood pumping.People can also become addicted to coffee. Caffeinism is thought to occur if you have an intake of above 600mg to 750mg of caffeine per day, says the DoH. That's roughly five to six cups of ground coffee or eight to 10 cups of instant. But coffee has also been found to have health benefits. Drinking a daily cup or three may reduce the risk of liver diseases in heavy drinkers and one study has shown it could protect against the onset of Alzheimer's. Last month a study suggested it could help protect skin from the sun. However, its famed effect of being a "wake up" drink was questioned earlier this year by scientists from Bristol University. They found levels of alertness among those who drank coffee were almost the same as those who had drunk none.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6945697.stm

Saturday 20 April 2013

Vintage Finds...


Vintage Bucket & Vintage Coffee Pot


Join 'The Country Girls'...


 The Country Girls Facebook Link

CountryByHeart | HomeGrown | HandMade | SmallHolding | FarmersMarkets | Foodies | Vintage

Eggs, Carrots, Coffee...

Shared from 'Positive Outlooks':

[This beautiful story has been circulating on Facebook. Unfortunately we cannot trace who wrote such a touching and insightful piece. Nevertheless, we are sharing it to those of who have not read it yet.]

Grandmother Says…
Carrots, Eggs, or Coffee; “Which are you?”

carrots-eggs-or-coffee

A young woman went to her grandmother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.
Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her granddaughter, she asked, “Tell me what do you see?”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.
She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they got soft.She then asked her to take an egg and break it.
After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The granddaughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma. The granddaughter then asked. “What’s the point,grandmother?”
Her grandmother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity–boiling water–but each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.
The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.
“Which are you?” she asked her granddaughter.
“When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?”
Think of this: Which am I?
Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?
Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.
When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another level?
— AUTHOR UNKNOWN

Friday 19 April 2013

So lovely...


Today, I was given the most wonderful gift, by a lovely lady.

As we walked through her beautiful garden on her and her husband's farm,
she was picking flowers from the bushes and then, she picked rhubarb...
as we reached the front door of the old farm house, she placed them into my hands...
I looked at her and at that moment realised, she had been picking them for me. Catherine...x

Wednesday 17 April 2013

I'll have mine wrapped in a huge red gingham bow, please...


Chevrolet 3100 - 1953






How could you not love this little face!








http://www.collectormotors.com/1953truck.htm

PEACE...

My Prayers go out to all people who are ripped apart by war, violence, hatred and the unkind hearts of others. May God bring Peace to this world. Sad thing is - He did, but we seem to keep missing it. Help us to see Your Love and to know Your Peace dear Lord. I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. x

John 14 v 27
'27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.'





Monday 15 April 2013

And so it grows!

Having heard people say things like: 'My mother started with six and now has two hundred.' with such a matter-o'-fact tone, I can now see how one starts with six and then ends up with two hundred!

I started with six, two years ago... and suddenly, I find myself with fifteen... that is... forteen hens and a rooster!

And another thing; how does one go from really not liking marmalade, to loving it? Toast and marmalade is slowly becoming a favourite...

Life is fun-ny!
Catherine...x

Tuesday 9 April 2013

Morning has broken...

Good morning everyone!

The rain is back, but we've had some dry days which has given some relief to us, thank goodness. We need rain to keep ol' England green and pretty, but Lord, we ask that it be intermitent rather than constant and boggy, please. Thank you.

Well, I'm waiting for the post to deliver some lovely fabric and am sitting with my morning tea, having just done my rounds with the hens and Mr Roodledoo. Woof is curled up next to me and Puss-cat is grumpy due to the lack of sunshine. Aren't we all! The hubby's in his study preparing for today, sipping his usual fresh coffee in a large french style coffee mug.

It's quiet and peaceful... for now.
Catherine...x

Catherine...x

Monday 8 April 2013

Busy Day!

Hello to you all on this dry and fairly dandy day!

It's been all a go-go today... Started the morning with the usual run to the run, feeding The Girls and Mr Roodledoo, and then ordering some lovely fabric online for two new quilts... then dashed in to town to find something suitable to make an 'Eggs' sign which will withstand the delights of the British weather system. By chance, saw a friend and so we grabbed the opportunity to have a girly tea (camomile for her and a naughty hot choc for me!)... these unexpected moments are always such a pleasure, not so!

After tea, I got a bee in my bonnet about one of my new little hens who seems to be depressed.  I have seven new hens as I posted earlier. I thought if I got seven hens one of them would pair off with Mr Roodledoo, but it hasn't worked out that way, as Mr Roodledoo seems to not need a pairing off girlie. This means that the seventh little girl has no friend. I have watched her for a few days and have given her extra suppliments to help her as she is just not eating but drinks plenty of water, and as a result of the vitamins, she has regained some of the colour she lost. But today I just made my mind up and found her a little friend. I put the two into a separate little run and then later let them join the other six girls and Mr Roodledoo. I hope this will make a big difference! And just to keep you up to date, the two old girls have had to be separated from the new brood, because they were bullying them mercilessly. But I still love them, feed them and they seem happy together. So, I'm keeping an eye on the situation.

Later I popped in with hubby to a village tea and talked lots of quilting with one of the ladies there. It's fun to chat about the things you love doing with a fellow enthusiast.

On returning home, I jumped on to FB and a message was left for me by a dear friend of mine... (from school days) saying... she had exciting news!

Catherine...x








Tuesday 2 April 2013

The Egg Shed... Part II...

Good Morning!
'The Egg Shed' is up and running...

Still working on this project... I need to add cladding around the back and sides, in order to protect the eggs from the sun and rain... a work in progress!

For now, I'm happy with this!
Catherine...x

Monday 1 April 2013

Amen!

"Wimpy theology simply does not give a woman a God that is big enough, strong enough, wise enough, and good enough to handle the realities of life in away that magnifies the infinite worth of Jesus Christ." ~John Piper (2008)
This post was taken from http://www.proverbs31.org posted via Facebook