Sunday Observations

Hope you've all had a lovely weekend!

Here are a few observations from my Sunday....

Check out Stepack, located here in Vancouver, here

For more Walrus, click here.

That was some of my Sunday. What did you get up to? 

One last reminder to enter the give away (sponsored by Frances Lincoln Publishers) for the book

"About A Village", by Eamonn McCabe. Click here, to enter! I'll make the draw tomorrow.

Back soon!

janis

Welcome, Weekend

 In case you missed my last post click here, if you'd like to enter a contest for a beautiful book called "About A Village" by Eamonn McCabe. Give away is sponsored by Frances Lincoln Publishers.

Have a fun weekend! Back soon.
janis

About a Beautiful Book and a Give Away

I have a really special give away to offer one of you! I was sent this beautiful book, About A Village by Eamonn McCabe, by Frances Lincoln Publishers, and they kindly offered an extra as a give away. I love them.

Eamonn McCabe is an incredibly talented British photographer, and in this book he shares a beautiful photo essay on a tiny village called Firle, in East Sussex. He definitely answers the question "What is it that makes the ideal English Village?" It pleases me to no end, that places like this still exist in the world. Enchanting is not a word I use often, but it is the perfect word to describe this book. I want to step right into the images, and meet the friendly faces peering back at me. You can also purchase it here, if you can't wait for the give away. ;) For more of Eamonn's work, check out his portfolio of images he's shot for Elle, Vogue and Marie Claire, here. Pretty stellar.

Here is just a small sample of some of my favourite images from this stunning book....

© Eamonn McCabe from About A Village by Eamonn McCabe, $24.99 (27.95 Cnd) from Frances Lincoln Publishers.

© Eamonn McCabe from About A Village by Eamonn McCabe, $24.99 (27.95 Cnd) from Frances Lincoln Publishers.

© Eamonn McCabe from About A Village by Eamonn McCabe, $24.99 (27.95 Cnd) from Frances Lincoln Publishers.

© Eamonn McCabe from About A Village by Eamonn McCabe, $24.99 (27.95 Cnd) from Frances Lincoln Publishers.

Amazing images, yes? This give away is open to residents of North America only. To enter, please leave a comment. I'll make the draw on Monday August 15th. Good luck! Now, back to my book and my morning tea.

Back soon!
janis

Baked

Well, it's the start of the week and so far so good. How's your Monday?

I made some Plum Cobbler over the weekend, and tried using spelt flour (I had run out of all-purpose flour) this time. It turned out great, and I know it's just a wee bit better for you too.

Plum Cobbler - serves 6 to 9

7 cups sliced, pitted plums
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
pinch of cinnamon

Biscuit Topping:
1 cup spelt flour or all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1/4 cup cold butter
2 teaspoons orange rind
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400f/200c. Gently toss plums, sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon, in a large bowl. Pour into an 8x8 inch glass baking dish.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender, or 2 knives, until the mixture is crumbly. Mix together buttermilk, orange rind and vanilla then drizzle over flour mixture. Stir with a fork to form a soft, sticky dough. Drop dough, with a spoon, in 9 evenly spaced mounds over fruit.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until topping is light golden and cooked through.

This cobbler is super easy and quick to make. Not too bad for you either! ;)

Let me know if you try out this recipe, and if you use spelt or kamut flour instead of all-purpose flour.

Back soon!
janis

Sunday Observations

Hope you all had a nice weekend. It was pretty quiet for us, just lots of clean-up from my camping trip.

Here's a little bit of my Sunday....

If you're in the Vancouver area, I hope you'll check out this shop. They are at the corner of East 10th Avenue and Kingsway, and they'll be there until the end of August. They carry handmade creations by Henderson Dry Goods, Herriott Grace, Megan Hubert, to name a few, and the owners themselves, Hanahlie and Caleb, are the talents behind the grizzly bears, sofa and calendars.

What did you do today? Hope it was a good one! 

Back soon!

janis

Happy Camping

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you had a great week. I just got back from my camping trip, and I'm finding it hard to get back into the swing of things. Do you ever feel like that after a relaxing get away?

I absolutely heart Nicola Lake, located near Merritt BC. It's hot, dry, smells of pine, and there are pinecones everywhere. This is why I named my blog Pinecone Camp. Conjures up the best memories, and I'm always completely relaxed there.

View from our campsite. So pretty. 

A ranch on the way into town.

Hedley, BC is an old gold mining town. Tiny, friendly, and on this particular day, wildly hot. 

Bromley Rock is just east of Princeton BC. Breathtakingly beautiful. 

That's a small sample of this beautiful province. Have a lovely weekend! 

Back soon.

janis

Baked

Hello Monday! It's B.C. Day, so it's a holiday Monday. Sweet. How was your weekend?

I'm leaving for a camping trip, so I'll have zero access to internet. Feels strange, but it will be a nice break. Made heaps of food to take on the trip, and these biscuits are part of the hamper. They're really easy to make, and delicious. Love the kick of chili, but you could really put anything in these.

Cheddar Chili Spelt Biscuits - makes about 14

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole spelt flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dried chili flakes
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, spelt flour, baking powder, sugar, chili flakes and salt. With a pastry blender, cut in butter until crumbly. Pour all but 1 tablespoon of the milk over top of mixture, then sprinkle the cheddar cheese. Stir with a fork until a soft ragged dough forms.

On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently to come together. Pat out dough to about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thickness. With a floured 6 cm (2.5 inch) biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits, gathering and pressing dough together until finished. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Brush tops with remaining milk. Bake in a 400f/200c oven until golden, about 18 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Happy BC Day to my fellow British Columbians! Have a great week everyone. Back later this week!

janis
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