Good stuff going on

The last wee while has been busy but like everyone across the country we have been enjoying the fab weather!

The top pic is a lovely sunny pic of my mum (She is on the right, complete with flower in her mouth!) on a girls holiday abroad when she was about 17. By its tattered state you can see I love this picture and have kept it in a wee wallet with my other old pics since I left home. Its just such a happy, sunny picture and so totally the essence of my lovely Mum. To celebrate the sunshine this week it is currently residing on my favourite print from Kerry at Seventy Tree, bought for our re-decorated bedroom and so kindly customised for my colours (I have tried to photograph the whole pic but they didn't come out well- will keep trying!). So Kerry thanks again- we really love it.

The second pic is me and the kiddos fab Friday afternoon at a dear old friends house. It was a lovely catch up instigated by my bestie Richard. The kids and I had a ball in the sunny garden, great company, food and maybe a wee bit of wine for the adults!

The last pic well it wouldn't be a post from me without a weekly thrift shot! You know I saw this handsome Wade pair at the start of last week and only bought the wee bowl as my own words  from previous posts echoed in my head and well, like I needed another milk Jug........But I just fell in love with the James Borsay designed Raindrops pattern and by an amazing stroke of luck the wee jug was still there this morning and the two are reunited again! The blue green glaze is unusual and beautiful.

Hope you are having a great weekend,

Jo xx

Hydro - Therapy!

We had a wee break Sunday/Monday night. We went to Crieff Hydro. I grew up in Perth and the Hydro is a bit of an institution in central Scotland. It was originally a Hydro spa but has evolved into an amazing family hotel, with lodges, lots of activities for the kids and if you want it free childcare for the kiddos for a few hours a day.

It was the kids first time staying in a hotel and they were high as kites! We all had a great bit of r&r and are back home today re-charged and looking forward to Spring, that is definitely on its way!

1.Stop off at my folks en-route- my boy.
2. Play park fun.
3. Mothers day pressie.
4. Practising writing at High tea!
5. First necklace!

Jo xx

Ps that Urban Outfitters cardi is very rarely off my back!

Weekend bits

Hope you are all having a great weekend. We are loving the better weather, hence being out in the garden a lot and glimpses of sunshine- it's all good.

I am so happy how well the kids are playing and interacting together these days.

1. Admiring the newly swept garden stairs.
2. Snapped by boy, so no head! My new top with my lovely necklace from A Merry Mishap.
3. Loving this newly thrifted necklace- thinking its very 1980's, Rio!
4. Kiddos in the sunshine at Granny's.
5. Transport Museum trip.

My Mum's Pizza

{Mum and I circa 1976}



We all have family and heritage recipes. We all cook things that are dear to us.  The act of cooking and eating much more than that, as the as memory, the remembering, the loss, happiness, regrets of our lives are all wrapped up in what we feed ourselves and our loved ones.

My Mum has always made a very simple, plain scone based pizza. In it's essence it is part of the culinary landscape of the 1960's, where those that were adventurous cooked spag bol with mince and Tom sauce, curry with left over chicken and madras powder- these were all derivatives of the original authentic dish and massively adventurous for 60's Britain. And it is so, so easy to make a 'proper' yeast based pizza dough, but somehow the scone based pizza took off- a real 60/70's home cooking trend. And you know what the fact that I still crave it, cook it and write about it here is testament to the fact that it is more than culinary nostalgia. It might not be a looker but man it tastes good.

A plain scone base and a simple homemade tomato sauce topping and sorry, wait for it -a Cheddar cheese. You know its not that strange, I happily read Giorgio Locatelli say that in fact Italians don't mind pizza with a stronger cheese than mozzarella, and in fact Italian immigrants to the UK positively love pizza with stronger UK cheese on top- so hello authentic permission I believe!

When I grew up I lived right next to the school gates of both my primary and secondary schools. Coming home for lunch was a regular thing and my Dad came back too as he worked nearby. My Mum had a fine range of 70's dishes to feed us- Tomato Cheeseburgers (more later!), Leeks wrapped in ham with cheese sauce, cheese souffle, homemade Quiche and this gorgeous pizza.

Mum and Dad vacated the house for my 18th party and I asked Mum to make me some trays of this pizza. Many an inebriated teenage lad scoffed at the pizza but to a man they wolfed it down. Taste it and you will be hooked and if I tell you that it is totally storecupboard ready I will tempt you even further!

Recipe

Base

225g/8 oz self raising flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

50g/2 oz butter

about 150ml/1/4 pint milk

Sift the flour with the baking powder into a large bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Using a fork add the milk slowly to make a soft but not sticky dough. Roll out into a rectangle on a floured surface and carefully lift to a greased and floured baking tray.

Topping

One tablespoon of olive oil

One onion finely chopped

One 400g tin of tomatoes

Pinch of celery salt

Teaspoon of Italian herbs

Teaspoon of oregano

Fry the onion till turning golden in the olive oil, Add the tinned tomatoes and herbs and seasoning. Cook for 20 minutes on a low simmer till the sauce has reduced. Don't be tempted to add any sugar to the tomato sauce as you would for a pasta sauce. You want a tart, tomatoey sauce here as the scone base is ever so slightly sweet and its the taste contrast that makes it so yummy!

To assemble;

Smooth the tomato sauce on top of the scone base, add whatever topping you want. Mostly we have this with just the tomato topping, cheese on top and some black olives. Top with grated cheese- you can use mozzarella or better still strong cheddar. The recipe is easily doubled up and I often do this.

Cook in a moderate over for 20 minutes until cheese is bubbling- serve with a lovely crispy salad and coleslaw. Yum

Thank you for reading, have a lovely weekend when it comes, Jo xx

Till Tuesday

Now this all looks like an idyllic wee family day for me and the kiddos and well I suppose in a way it was- we were all together, we were warm and safe, in our cosy home........but were also all ill- snotty, coughy, achy and well grouchy, irritable and whingy. Them and also me by the end of the day! I seriously pulled out all the crafting I could muster, games and lots and lots of cuddles (and a lot of counting to ten, deep breath, cup of tea and time out for a harassed mum).

So all together now- BUGS BE GONE!!

1. Morning milk drinking hand holding.
2. Intravenous Coffee!
3. Potato print hearts.
4. Handmade kiddo Valentines.
5. See this picture- two dinners and lunch cooking all at the ONE TIME. Multi tasking fairy at work!
6. Thrifted plates from the weekend- washed and added to shelves.
7. Bumpsadaisy bear games.
8. New Hama.

The one about the gilt mirror...

So this mirror has been with me for around 15 years. It lived in my folks loft, an empty frame (the canvas that was in it destroyed by woodworm years ago) until I took it with me to my first flat in Glasgow's Merchant City. It sat propped against an immaculate white wall in my loft cum studio flat. An empty gilt frame saying something or nothing- well I thought it was a statement.....

When we moved to our house I painstakingly repaired the broken and missing mouldings, building them up with polyfilla. I also had a mirror put in it- bringing it properly back into use.

Originally it came down through my family from my fathers grandfather, who collected art, and in fact supported some artists. Taylor Brown, Christopher Meadows and Sam Fulton amongst others. he collected.  My great grandfather was a butcher, with his own business. Its intriguing isn't it to have such an interest in art- he must have been no ordinary butcher. I love hearing about it from my father and would like to know more one day.

Anyway I was thinking about that love of art as I painted the frame these last few days- my father has it and I have it. These traits must be deep in our make up, our DNA, and the sense of continuity I feel from knowing that is reassuring. Just as I felt contentment hanging the mirror back up in our newly painted bedroom this afternoon.

The colour of the bedroom- well will you laugh at me when I say we have painted it the same colour these last 8 years!! It was originally a Farrow and Ball special artist edition of Charles Rennie Mackintosh colours, (long since discontinued and colour matched over the years by me). Our colour is called 'Glasgow Grey'. It was supposed to be a particular violet grey that Mackintosh used and loved in his watercolours. It also looks good in the (little) light that we have on the West coast. Its restful and pleasing to me when sometimes all the white we have can be a little overwhelming. A chalky pastel palate has always appealed to me.

Now I am deciding what else to put back up on the walls- I have a reasonable collection of paintings, drawings and prints myself these days......