Hello Blog Friends!
Welcome to August 😊. Although it certainly feels like high summer around here, with +30ºC temperatures for the past week, there is something about the way the light changes, when we enter August, that brings a whiff of autumn.
Around CTM, the main foci of August have always been the ending of the Day Camps schedule and preparations for residential camps. Nowadays both these foci are slightly different, in that, without the rigid travel schedule of the travelling teams, communities may choose to hold their Day Camps right up until the end of the month, which is what First Filipino Baptist Church will be doing 😊 and with only Junior Youth Camp (JYC) for which to prepare, there is certainly less chaos to handle!
Of course one misses all the food prep for the Senior Youth Camp staff training. For many years that was one of my responsibilities and I did used to enjoy it as I could focus completely on preparing and serving meals during that weekend without the additional role of being Director, as occurred during the Day Camp Training Retreats.
As mentioned in the last couple of posts, I do have some responsibilities relative to JYC preparations, mostly banking and office support, dealing with contracts, staff police records checks, etc. but I have enjoyed, as well, designing and lettering all the name tags. Last weekend, when chatting with my friend Michelle, in the UK, I was mentioning that task and said how it was special to feel that a tiny piece of myself will be at camp in the presence of those tags hanging around the necks of all the campers and staff. Michelle noted that I do have distinctive calligraphy and how, seeing a photo of the name tags in last week’s blogpost made her feel quite nostalgic for her years on staff at JYC 😊. This afternoon Pippa has arranged to come and pick up the tags, she had planned to bicycle over on Wednesday afternoon but we were experiencing thundershowers so it was not a good time for either cycling or picking up special sheets of paper! It has been raining again this morning so I’m waiting to hear if her second attempt will have to be aborted. The Brady family no longer owns a car and will be renting a van for the week of camp, as there will be five family members travelling to and from the site, but the van has not yet been rented so bicycling is the current modus operandi 😊.
Monday evening I tackled the quarterly task of scrubbing my pantry shelves and couldn’t believe it was three months since I last done this job. After the cloud of sandy grit,recently created by the plumbing contractors, this was one of the last areas that needed a deep clean and I’m happy with the results.at other odd moments, I managed to completed the first fingerless glove of the third pair I am knitting as Christmas gifts and have also digressed from knitting into making some vegetable-themed earrings in Fimo clay as birthday gifts for a couple of friends. Although I don’t mind knitting in the summer months it does become rather sticky when it reaches +40C 😊
Gardening this week has been confined to a very early morning time slot, as it is too hot and sticky (and buggy!) to work outside later in the day. Early Thursday morning I also cut flowers and foliage for 3 “30-stem Challenge” containers and took with me a large bucket of water in which to put everything to avoid immediate wilting! Several months ago I happened upon a lovely YouTube channel about a flower farm in Somerset UK. The florist who creates the videos also has an Instagram account and challenges subscribers to make “30-stem Challenge” arrangements by going into their gardens in all seasons and finding a mixture of flowers and foliage. I started doing this around Easter but have not posted my photos on Instagram although I love checking her account and seeing all the arrangements.
Despite the heat this morning I have, of course, been doing the weekly Bake- a dish of Breakfast Custard, a batch of digestive biscuits, 1 dozen sourdough bagels and a batch of peanut butter/chocolate chip cookies.. As the bagels are just about to come out of the oven (the last item to be baked 😊 ) we had better close off with a recipe.
Last Saturday my Bake included Tea Cakes. I have been enjoying them for breakfast and snacks and thought (if it is not too hot for baking wherever you are 😊) I would share my Mum’s recipe for them :-
Tea Cakes
- 2Tbsps. yeast
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup melted butter or olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/3cup raw cane sugar
- finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
- 1cup sultanas
- approx. 9 cups unbleached flour
Place the warm water in a large bowl and sprinkle with the yeast, leave until foamy. Add the milk, butter or oil, salt, sugar, lemon zest and egg, mix well. Add 7 cups of flour, first mixing with a spoon and then with your hands. Mix in the sultanas then gradually add more flour to achieve a soft dough that is no longer sticky. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Place in clean bowl, cover and allow to rise at room temperature until doubled OR place in the fridge to slow rise for up to 24 hours. If you have done a slow rise, remove the dough from the fridge and allow to sit at room temperature for 2 hours before shaping, otherwise proceed to shape tea cakes. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 9 equal pieces. Form each piece into a smooth, circular bun and place, well apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Gently press down each bun with the palm of your hand to flatten it. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 1 hour. Bake in a preheated 400ºF oven for 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through and being careful to see that the bottoms do not burn. Transfer to cooling racks and cool completely before slicing and buttering. Serve with honey, jam or cheddar cheese and, of course, a good cup of tea 😊.These freeze well, if properly wrapped. Makes 9 Tea Cakes.