Bake some delicious Chocolate Chip and Cherry Cookies on Mothers Day

I hope that you are all having a lovely day and are being treated to breakfast in bed, some lovely flowers, a plant, maybe some gardening equipment, a day or Sunday lunch out. 

Last year I recall was a lovely day and I spent the day in the garden, after breakfast in bed of course, but this year we have a steely grey sky and a bitter cold biting wind with snow on the weather forecast.

If you are not going out why not have make some delicious Chocolate Chip and Cherry Cookies with your children to thank them, here’s the recipe:

Chocolate Chip and Cherry Cookies

Ingredients

• 75g butter/margarine softened
• 75g caster sugar
• 75g soft light brown sugar
• 1 medium egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 175g plain flour
• half teaspoon baking powder
• 50g glace cherries
• 100g chocolate drops

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C, 350F, Gas mark 6.
2. Mix together, in a bowl, the caster and light brown sugar with the butter/margarine until smooth and creamy.
3. Beat the egg in a dish or cup, add the vanilla essence and mix again.
4. Add the egg mixture a little at a time to the butter mixture mixing well.
5. Sift the flour and baking powder through a sieve into the bowl and stir in until the mixture is smooth.
6. Cut the cherries into small pieces and add to the mixture with the chocolate drops and stir well.
7. Put a heaped teaspoon of the mixture onto baking trays, lined with greaseproof paper, and flatten down with a fork.
8. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes until golden brown.
9. Leave them for a few minutes before removing with a spatula and putting on a wire rack to cool.
10. Makes approx. 24 cookies.

 Whatever your plans have a lovely day,

 Gill

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Grow Spring bulbs to cheer your soul

You may recall a blog that I posted in September 2012 ‘Plant Hyacinth bulbs for a stunning display and wonderful fragrance at Christmas’ with growing instructions for planting indoor prepared Hyacinths.

Newly planted bulbs in September 2012

To follow up this blog I thought I would show you how mine went on.

On the cool windowsill in January 2013

Although they did not quite meet the christmas deadline I was able to place them on the living room windowsill in early January, where they are fully appreciated and will benefit from the cool temperatures by the window which will extend their flowering period. All 3 bulbs were grown in a different container and were all successful, each producing a beautiful flower stem and wonderful fragrance.

Growing indoor bulbs is a great thing to do especially with children, the size of the bulbs make them easy to handle and they’re pretty undestructable - they just want to grow.

Indoor Minnow Narcissi Bulb Pot

Why not grow them in a clear container, children will be able to see their roots forming and growing.

The Crocus Glass Cube

The Tete a Tete Glass Cube

Indoor bulb kits make a unusual and attractive gift, it is still not too late to plant indoor bulbs, why not plant some now, they would make a lovely gift for Mother’s Day on Sunday, 10th March.

Gill

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Congratulations to our September/October Competition winners

The September/October School Zone Competition was to find 10 Hedgehog related words in our Hedgehog Wordsearch, the first correct winning entry pulled out of the hat was by Alex Courtman from Dane Ghyll County Primary School, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria and their fabulous prize is a Hogitat Hedgehog House, a Hedgehog Guide, a Hedgehog Snack Feeding Bowl and some Hedgehog Food – well done to them.

The September/October Family/Kids Zone Competition was a ‘Who am I? Wildlife Quiz’ the correct answers were  Q1 Ladybird,  Q2 Dragonfly,  Q3 Butterfly,  Q4 Toad,  Q5 Moth,  Q6 Hedgehog,  Q7 Bee,  Q8 Spider,  Q9 Bat,  Q10 Frog.

The first correct entry to be pulled out of the hat was from Taylor and Holly Rees from Gosport, Hampshire and they will receive a Mini Bug Bug Box, a Mini Bug Ladybird Tower and a Minibeast Guide – well done to them.

Thank you to everyone who entered these competitions, why not have a go at our

New Christmas Competitions

To enter our School Zone Competition all you need to do is to design a Christmas Card featuring a ‘Christmas’ Robin, it can be painted, crayoned, drawn in pencil/coloured pencil or could even be a collage. Our favourite card will win

• a Square Ground Bird Table
• a Discovery Seed Feeder
• a Discovery Window Seed Feeder
• a bag of Table Seed Mix (6 litre)
• a bag of Bird feeder Seed (6 litre)

To enter our Family/ Kids Zone Competition all you need to do is to send in a picture of a Christmas Robin that you have drawn, it can be painted, crayoned, drawn in pencil/coloured pencil or could even be a collage and our favourite picture will win

• a Discovery Seed Feeder
• a Discovery Window Seed Feeder
• a bag of Table Seed Mix (6 litre)
• a whole fat filled Coconut Feeder
• a Peanut Cake Bell

Have a look at the competitions pages for full details and an entry form, the closing date for both competitions is 31^st December 2012.

Good Luck

Gill

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Bonfire Night Crafts and Fun

Halloween has been and gone and Bonfire Night on 5th November is fast approaching, excitement is building again in our household or maybe it’s all those Halloween ‘treats’.

Here is a great activity for children of all ages to get them in the mood for Bonfire Night.

Make a Blow Paint Firework or Bonfire picture

You will need

• Coloured paper or card
• Runny paints in various colours
• Straws
• Glue
• Glitter

To make your pictures

1. Place spots of paint of various sizes and colours on your paper/card.
2. Use a straw to blow the spots of paint in various directions to make the fireworks or the flames of the bonfire.
3. Put different colours next to each other so that they mix together to make some great effects.
4. When you are happy with your picture let it dry then add some glue and sprinkle with glitter to make your fireworks sparkle.

We all love Bonfire Night, keeping warm by a nice bonfire, watching stunning and often noisy fireworks and eating lots of party food, sweets and treats (click here for some delicious Bonfire Recipes) but …

don’t forget the Wildlife in your garden on Bonfire Night

At this time of year hedgehogs, frogs, toads and newts are looking for a nice, cosy, warm and safe place to hibernate and to them your bonfire looks ideal so a few hours before your party and before it goes dark have a good look inside and at the bottom of your bonfire to check for any creatures and move them to a safe area of your garden.

Position your firework display away from trees and hedges where birds may be roosting.

your pets

Make sure that your pets are kept indoors as fireworks are a common phobia for dogs and cats as they often find the loud noises and bright lights frightening. Provide a safe and quiet place for them to hide, keep curtains and windows closed and leave the TV on or play music to mask the load bangs.

and your safety

Fireworks and bonfires can be very dangerous if care is not taken so click here for advice on bonfire and firework safety and follow the firework code.

Have a happy, safe and fun Bonfire Night.

Gill

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Make delicious Mini Halloween Pumpkin Cakes

If you have grown your own pumpkins this year now is the time to put them to good use and turn them into fantastic Halloween Lanterns, don’t throw away the lovely orange flesh, use it to make some delicious Mini Halloween Pumpkin Cakes.

Mini Halloween Pumpkin Cakes

• 250g Pumpkin Flesh (peeled weight)
• 150g Self-Raising Flour
• 150g Light Brown Sugar
• 100g Butter/Margarine
• 90g Sultanas
• 1 teaspoon Orange Juice
• zest of ½ Orange
• 2 Eggs beaten
• 2 teaspoons Mixed Spice
• 1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Line a 12 hole cake tin with paper cases.
3. Grate the pumpkin flesh.
4. Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix together.
5. Melt the butter/margarine in the microwave and then beat in the eggs.
6. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and mix together.
7. Add the orange juice, orange zest, sultanas and the grated pumpkin and stir well.
8. Spoon the mixture into the bun cases.
9. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and springy. 

The Topping

• 75g (3oz) Butter/Margarine, softened
• 2 tbsp Milk
• 225g (8oz) Icing Sugar, sifted
• Few drops of food colouring red/green

Beat together the butter, milk, food colouring and half the sugar to combine, then add the remaining sugar and beat until fluffy.

1. When the cakes are cool, generously spread them with the topping.
2. For ‘Snake Stew Cakes’ keep the topping messy and press jelly snakes into it or for
3. ‘Spooky Spider Cakes’ smooth the topping and add 2 round sweets for eyes and Liquorice Strips or Strawberry Laces for legs.

These cakes make an unusual alternative to sweets for your visiting trick or treaters.

Let’s hope that we have a moonlit, dry and crisp Halloween night, as being a soggy ghost, witch or skeleton isn’t much fun.

Happy Halloween.

Gill

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Make your own Halloween Decorations

Halloween is nearly here and the shops are full of scarey and wonderful Halloween costumes, masks and decorations, I am sure that there are lots of excited children all over the country, Thomas is very excited and so am I!

Every Halloween we trim up the front of our house, each year adding new decorations; these are either home-made or bought in the post Halloween sales the previous year. Making your own decorations is great fun and a great way to spend a cold afternoon, here is a crafty idea for this year.

Egg Box Spiders and Bats

You will need:

• Egg Boxes
• String
• Pipe Cleaners
• Paper
• Felt tips/Crayons
• Glue
• Paint
• Glitter
• Scissors

1. To make the Spiders cut up the egg box into its six cups, paint or decorate the outside as you wish and allow to dry.
2. Ask a grown up to make 8 small holes around the bottom edges of the cups and one at the top.
3. Carefully thread each pipe cleaner (4 per spider) through a hole at one side and out of the hole at the other side.
4. Thread a piece of string through the top hole and tie a knot.
5. Draw some eyes onto a piece of paper, cut them out and stick them on.

1. To make the Bats cut your egg box into 2 strips of three cups.
2. Cut out the front of the left and right cups slightly, and on their backs cut them out to leave a ‘V’ shape (as shown above).
3. Paint or decorate the outside as you wish and allow to dry.
4. Make a hole in the top of the middle cup and thread a piece of string through and tie a knot.
5. Draw some eyes and teeth onto a piece of paper, cut them out and stick them on.

Have fun.

Gill

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Grow your own new potatoes for Christmas Dinner

Delicious New Potatoes

Nothing beats the taste of freshly picked fruit and vegetables and the potato has got to be at the top of the list for taste in home grown versus supermarket vegetables, especially the new potato. I hate to mention Christmas in August, but why not spoil friends and family by serving up your own freshly harvested, home grown, new potatoes with your Christmas Dinner, they will be very impressed, and they make a great and healthier alternative to the traditional roast potato.

Carlingford Seed Potatoes

It might sound impossible ‘growing new potatoes in winter’ but it is very easy to do and they need very little attention, one of the easiest and most popular varieties to grow is Carlingford. To be able to harvest your potatoes at Christmas they need to be planted before the end of August, which doesn’t give you much time.

Potato Growing Bags

The best way to grow them is to plant them in potato bags or large containers in good vegetable compost. Once planted give them a good water, and place in a warm position outside where they will get off to a good start, make sure that they don’t dry out. As the weather turns colder protect the tops from any light frosts with fleece and then bring the bags/containers inside (greenhouse, polytunnel, porch, cold frame) before any damaging hard frosts and when the weather turns bad. The potato plants should have finished flowering after 12 weeks when they can either be harvested or you can cut the tops off and leave the potatoes in the compost until you need them. The benefits of growing them in bags or containers are that they can easily be moved indoors when the weather turns bad, it gives them extra protection from slugs and the harvested potatoes should be unmarked and look attractive.

Make sure that you grow enough, you don’t want to be short on Christmas Day, if you have a good crop they can be made into potato salad for your Boxing Day or New Year buffet.

Simply delicious

Gill

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Fabulous Fruity Father’s Day Flapjack

This Sunday on Father’s Day why not tempt your Dad out of bed with the irresistible smell of freshly baked home made Flapjack. This is a recipe that I use again and again and with delicious results every time.

Fruity Flapjack

Ingredients

• 200g (7oz) unsalted butter
• 6 tablespoons golden syrup
• 80g (3oz) light muscovado sugar
• 350g (12oz) rolled oats
• 100g (3.5oz) approx Raisins or Sultanas (add more/less if preferred)
• 10 approx Glace cherries chopped (add more/less if preferred)

 Method

1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5 /Electric Oven 190C / Fan Oven 170C.
2. Lightly grease an 18cm x 30cm (7inch x 12inch) tin and fully line with greaseproof paper.
3. Heat the butter, syrup and sugar in a large saucepan until the butter has melted.
4. Add the Raisins/Sultanas and Cherries and stir, then add the rolled oats and mix well.
5. Spread the mixture evenly into the lined tin and press down with a fork so that the mixture fills the corners and that any air pockets are removed.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden, keep checking towards the end of cooking as if overcooked they will not have that lovely soft texture (All ovens vary slightly I cook mine at 170C (Fan) for 10 minutes then turn the tray round and cook for another 10 minutes).
7. Once cooled you should be able to easily lift out the flapjack holding the greaseproof paper, and then cut into pieces.
8. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Flapjack is packed full of energy and will keep you going whatever you have planned on this special day, it also makes a perfect addition to a lunch box, family picnic or a day out.

Enjoy!

 Gill

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Perfect Father’s Day gifts for less than £10.00

With Fathers Day fast approaching (Sunday June 17^th) now is the time to get your Dad that perfect gift to show him how much he means to you.

At The Recycleworks we have lots of great gardening products that would be ideal and will suit everyone’s budget, here are a few of my suggestions for pocket money gifts, all for less than £10.00 each:

Wooden Diblet 

(Handy tool for planting seeds and seedlings)

 

Recycled Adjustable Bottle Sprayer 

(Perfect for spraying plants)

 

Non-Electric Propagator

(Budget propagator that does the job)

 

Growing Tray with 12 x 11cm Pots

(Perfect for potting up your seedlings)

 

Enamel Garden Thermometer

(A must in the greenhouse to keep your eye on the temperature)

 

Gardeners Dirty Work Gardening Gloves

(Ideal for doing lots of messy jobs)

 

Strawberry and Herb Planter

(Great space saving planter for your patio)

 

Car Boot Liner

(Keeps your boot clean and dry)

 

Grow and Cook Book

(Handy book for the gardener and cook)

 

Garden Tool Caddy

(Keeps all your essential tools in one place)

 

Plastic Soil Sieve

(Produces fine stone free soil for seeds and seedlings)

 

Self Watering Trough

(Fill with your favourite Herbs)

 

Orange Bead Hand Scrub

(Cleans dirty gardening hands a treat)

 

Kitchen Garden Propagator Kit

(A must for starting off seeds on the windowsill)

 

Stainless Steel Hand Hoe

(Handy size for weeding and hoeing)

 

Raised Bed Vegetable Seeds – Spring Pack

(Great starter pack includes Dwarf French Bean, Spring Onion, Carrot, Beetroot and Pea)

Take a look at our website too for lots more great gardening products.

Why not give your Dad a hand in the garden, I am sure he would appreciate the extra help and enjoy your company as well, let’s hope that we have a lovely sunny day and that we can all get in the garden.

Gill

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Gardening with Children – Perfect Mothers Day Gifts

This year Mothering Sunday is on 18th March, little over a week away, here are a few suggestions (which are also on my wish list) for Mothers Day Gifts available from The Recycleworks.

The Family Kitchen Garden. This invaluable book provides clear instructions on growing vegetables, fruit, herbs and cutting flowers including an A-Z of plants and month-by-month advise on what to do when. A must have book.

Grow your own gift pots, these seed kits contain all you need to grow either Basil, Cape Gooseberry or Chilli on your windowsill in a stunning hand painted terracotta pot.

Watering Cans are a very useful gift and are available in all sizes and attractive colours.No gardener would be without a good pair of gloves and these Rostaing Violette Ladies Gardening Gloves are perfect for protecting your mum’s hands and look great too.

Our Fairtrade products are currently on offer and our range includes some lovely handcrafted items, by buying these you will be helping the most economically-deprived people of the world improve their lives.

I hope that I have given you a few ideas but there are many more products available on our website so take a look for your perfect gift.

If you want to be creative and make your own gift click here for details of how to make a homemade card and a decorated windowsill pot.

So go on spoil your loved ones on their special day, and my idea of a perfect Mothers Day – a nice sunny afternoon spent in the garden, I am keeping my green fingers crossed!

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