Archive for the ‘home’ Category

Throw in the towel

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

No, H is for Home hasn’t actually thrown in the towel – we’re just doing a short blog about the humble but sometimes wonderful, everyday object… the tea towel.

It was the acquisition of this example last week which brought it to mind. This vintage Irish linen tea towel was manufactured by ‘Old Bleach’ in the 1960s.

We already had a very similar one by the same maker – we love the period designs with their stylised birds and foliage.

They’re both in pristine, unused condition – we think we might get them framed.

Tea towels are always popular on the website. We’re always on the lookout for vintage aprons, cloths etc… They’re quite hard to find in excellent condition.

Here are a few favourites that have passed through the shop…

…and no blog post about teatowels would be complete without mentioning Skinny laMinx!

Her designs are fabulous!

Here are the tea towels we have in store at the moment!

Ring, Ring!

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

We bought this lovely vintage cream-coloured telephone yesterday. It was in a bit of a state when we got it – but it’s cleaned up beautifully.

This particular model is the BT 746 which was manufactured in the 1970s.

We’re always on the lookout for nice telephones…

…they’re functional items – and they’re also great for adding a vintage touch to home or office.

Phones have proved popular in our shop – we’ve had a variety of shapes and colours…

…even a fantastic leather clad model.

If you’re interested in finding out more about vintage phones, this book is a great place to start – Design Icons: The Telephone

Berry Delicious!

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

Our berry picking has started early this year. We were out gathering bilberries at the weekend. They love acid soil and are found on low-growing bushes in the surrounding area. The berries are small and picking them is quite time consuming – but, be patient, they’re well worth the effort!

We put some in the freezer for future jam making and used the rest of our crop to make this bilberry custard tart. Here’s the recipe:

You’ll need to collect about 225g/8oz bilberries. Remove stalks and stray leaves and rinse in a sieve. Dry carefully on some kitchen towel (Don’t use a tea towel unless you don’t mind it getting stained purple).

Shortcrust pastry
125g/4oz plain flour
pinch of salt
55g/2oz butter, cubed
30-45ml/2-3 tbsp cold water
(or you can buy a pack of ready-made in the chilled section of most supermarkets)

  • Put the flour and salt in a large bowl and add the cubes of butter
  • Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until you have a mixture that resembles coarse breadcrumbs with no large lumps of butter remaining
  • using a knife, stir in just enough of the cold water to bind the dough together
  • wrap the pastry in clingfilm and chill for 10-15 minutes before rolling out
  • flour the table and roll out the pastry to about 1/2cm thick and 25cm/10inches in diameter (or large enough to fit over the dish you’re using)
  • carefully lift the pastry and lay it over your dish, moulding it to the bottom & sides
  • cut off any excess bits using a sharp knife
  • pour in the fresh bilberries

Custard
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
475ml/1pt milk
55g/2oz caster sugar

  • heat the milk gently in a pan
  • whisk the eggs & egg yolks
  • slowly add the milk to the egg mixture whisking continuously (make sure the milk’s not too hot or the eggs will scramble!)
  • pour the mixture carefully through a sieve on to the bilberries in the dish

Preheat the oven to 175ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4. Cook the flan for 45 minutes or until the top begins to brown nicely. When cool sprinkle a tablespoon of caster sugar over the top.

The tart looks fabulous with the deep purple juice seeping into the creamy custard…

…and it tasted good too!

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Potato masher… we think!

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

Potato masher banner

We often feature mid-twentieth century items in our blogs, but we also have a real passion for old country furniture.

We picked up this wonderful piece of rustic kitchenalia – we think it’s a potato masher.

Perhaps Irish in origin, although we’re not sure at this stage… a bit more research is required.  It’s a very unusual piece.

BLOG UPDATE: 22nd  June.  We now think that the object in question is actually a cheese press. The wet cheese, contained within a cloth is pressed by the wooden block, the excess liquid draining through the holes. We’re still not sure about the country of origin. British/Irish is still likely, although continental Europe is a possibility – and we were also sent pictures of a very similarly designed piece which was in a U.S. auction of farm machinery. (Thanks to Erik Schepers).

If you like cottage interiors or country furniture, these books are well worth a look:


Irish Country Furniture (Amazon UK)

Irish Country Furniture (Amazon US)


English Cottage Interiors (Amazon UK)
English Country Furniture (Amazon UK)
English Cottage Interiors (Amazon US)
English Country Furniture (Amazon US)

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Piece of Cake

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

A new cake has been made for the tin by the kettle – a rather nice chocolate sponge with a coconut chocolate topping.

The recipe is taken from ‘Delia Smith’s Cookery Course Part Two‘ book. It’s based on her quick & easy ‘All-in-one sponge’ recipe:

  • 4 oz/110 g self raising flour, sifted
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 4 oz/110 g soft margarine, at room temperature
  • 4 oz/110 g caster sugar
  • 2 tbs cocoa powder
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2-3 drops vanilla essence

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 3/325ºF/170ºC

Lightly grease a 7-inch/18 cm sponge tin and line its base with greaseproof paper (also greased) or silicone paper.

Take a large roomy mixing bowl, and sift flour and baking powder into it, holding the sieve high to give the flour a good airing. Then simply add all the other ingredients to the bowl, and whisk them – preferably with an electric hand whisk – till thoroughly combined. If the mixture doesn’t drop off a wooden spoon easily when tapped on the side of the bowl, then add 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls of tap-warm water, and whisk again.

Add to the prepared tin, level off and bake on the centre shelf of the oven for about 30 minutes. When cooked leave it in the tin for only about 30 seconds, then loosen the edge by sliding a palette knife all round and turn it out onto a wire cooling rack.

To finish:

Melt 100 g milk chocolate in a bowl over hot water (bain marie). Add 1 tbs dessicated coconut to the chocolate and spread over the top. Finish with a further sprinkle.

It can be tweeked with all kinds of other flavours, fillings & toppings – vanilla, ginger, dried fruit etc. We also like the look of this new version that Delia has on her own website

If you prefer a thicker cake with a middle layer of butter cream, jam etc, just double the quantities, and use two tins.

It’s delicious – give it a go next time you have a few minutes to spare – and enjoy it with a nice cuppa!

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