A nasty taste...

Dear Lucy,
As you can probably tell from my lack of haste to shout from the roof-tops, I DID NOT win the cake bake-off at work. The judging was intense, and you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife, but my offering was deemed to be lacking. In what area I shall never know, as the judges did not return the score sheets to the entrants with their comments. We were only told which were the best two cakes, much to the annoyance of some who entered and were left feeling that their previously scrumptious cakes were less than satisfactory. I suppose that if one puts one's head above the parapet, one must expect it to be shot off, so to speak. Such is the lot of the valiant loser, as I have discovered...
Attached are some photos to show you the standard:

The winner:

The runner up (most annoyingly, it was her first ever go at a Victoria Sponge):

All the entrants, with mine to the right of the winning cake:

I have to say that there was a real sense of anticipation that morning and that the fact that we raised £69 for a local hospice (the cakes were sliced and sold off to all the staff who chose not to enter), took away some of the disappointment of not winning.
There has been a call for another round of charity bake-off in the autumn. It has been suggested that we make scones next time, which would leave a bit more room for creativity, but I wonder if I can take another blow to my ego...
With love,
Cathy x

Hello, Lucy, dear!

How lovely your buns looked! I am so impressed with the uniform nature of the piping - what sort of a bag and nozzle combination do you use? I'm yet to purchase a piping bag, I don't know why icing isn't a big favourite in our family, but I do think it adds a touch of glamour to an otherwise ordinary offering.
So good of you to let me know the competition guidelines for Victoria Sponges. Thanks to your information, plans have moved on apace: I have organised judges, emailed everyone at work and chosen the charity that our funds will help; so far 8 responses! I am very excited, but now feel the need to practise my sponges so that I can feel a little confident of doing a good job. I have to say that I am most concerned about losing marks because of my 'rustic' presentation; I want to be assured of a flat top but don't want to over-cook it by having it in too low an oven for too long. The last VSC I baked looked fabulous, but was a tad on the dry side - just what I want to avoid. Previously, they have been beautifully moist but with a peaked top due, according to Mary Berry, to one's oven being too high... I've got over a week to perfect my technique and will post pictures of my efforts in the meantime. We shall all be using Mary's recipe, from "Simple Cakes", to create a level playing field; I know that there are some who'd like to take a gamble with butter icing, so I may benefit from their hung-ho attitude, but I would so love to play by the rules and WIN! I shall pop out and buy some eggs later and practise. I can't believe that I've never entered a competition of this sort before...
As I sit and write, it seems incomprehensible that it will be June in a matter of days: the rain is quite persistent and the central heating is back on. Thankfully, earlier on, I managed to find a gap in the precipitance in which to walk the dog. Cats are SO much easier in that respect, but I bet nobody got firm thighs from walking a cat across the fields and hills! How are your doggy plans going, incidentally?

I'll write again, soon; in the meantime: ta-ta!

Cathy x

Competition Guidelines

Dear Cathy

I am SO sorry! Would you believe that I wrote to you weeks ago and forgot to post!

Since then I have been baking for Brownies again. You may remember that every now and then we have to bake 48 cakes for the little darlings to gorge themselves on at the end of a meeting. To keep things simple this time I decided to make all my cakes the same, and didn't they look pretty!

I dug out my copy of 'On With The Show' the W.I. Handbook for Exhibitors, Judges and Show Committees. Herewith, some pointers for you:

Cakes - General
Schedule should specify type of cake and may specify a recipe or tin size.
Unless otherwise stated, cakes should be presented on a plate with a sweet doiley

Victoria Sandwich
Filling: Raspberry Jam - sufficient and evenly spread
Topping: Light sprinkling of caster sugar

Points to Consider when Judging
No cooling rack marks
Pale golden brown colour, evenly baked
Flat top, no air bubbles or crumbly edges
Both halves same depth
Fine even texture
Delicate flavour

The book also states that the lining paper should be removed from the cake - what good advice!

Hello, dear!

Yorkshire calling, come in Lucy!

My dear, Lucy it's been so long since I wrote and no reply; I do hope that all is well, dear, and that you've not been stricken by some nasty illness caused by scavenging the lanes of Shropshire for foodstuffs. I only ask this as I saw an old Hairy Bikers edition on TV last week and they interviewed some people who did just that and it reminded me of your whinberrying and I began to worry.
I'm still waiting for your advice about the rules of Victoria Sponge-making. Do let me know what you advise, dear, or I fear there may be an element of the 'bun-fight' in my charity cake-baking foray.

Much love,

Cathy x

Banana Marble Lemon-Drizzle Brownies!

My dear Lucy,

I do hope that you and the Lattes have thawed-out by now; I must say that we were very lucky - we just had to brave Siberian winds - and totally escaped the snow. We did, however, have to cancel our trip in the caravan: 15 foot snow drifts would have prevented us reaching our Scottish campsite. As a result, we have had a few nice day trips and it feels like the Easter break is a long one. We walked the city walls at York two days ago and the youngest Chino children returned from their historical foray bedecked in Viking garb (the eldest is far too sophisticated for that kind of thing now he is 12). He is having a sleep-over party next week, which I hope will go well. We have decided not to let the boys sleep downstairs as that is where the TV, PS3, Wii and computer are; far better to have them upstairs where there are fewer distractions and more inclination to sleep, I think... It feels strange to have a child of that age, although it has made me wonder how my own dear mother feels knowing that her eldest child will be 50 this year. Will I be sanguine when I'm in that situation, I wonder?

I have done quite a bit of baking recently, all thanks to Marry Berry's "Simple Cakes". They couldn't be more straight-forward and I love the photographs - I am totally with you on cookery books and photos, it puts me off even trying a recipe if I can't see what I'm meant to be aiming for. I have been delighted with the Banana Loaf and Marble Loaf; the Lemon Drizzle tray bake and Chocolate Brownies have been requested on a number of occasions and will no doubt prove to be enduring favourites. I love the way you just whack it all in the mixing bowl and give it a good old beating. No faffing about!

I did have to laugh when you told me about the 'fool-proof' cake-baking method your friend told you about! Poor you: egg on your face there, I think! Apparently, (I have never tried this method myself and only heard about it recently) you are meant to weigh the eggs in their shells. I am sure that this slight adjustment to the weights would make all the difference to the result. What a shame it was Mr Latte's birthday cake that had to suffer for this misunderstanding.

I'm planning on organising a cake-baking competition at work in aid of charities yet unspecified (and hoping to win!). The idea is to bake a Victoria Sponge and a guest judge will decide whose is the winner. Entrance will be £1 and the cakes will be sliced and sold off after the winner is decided. I'm yet to make my mind up about whether to allow variations like butter cream. Can you advise following your village show experiences?

Much love, Cathy x

Mr Latte's Birthday Cake

Dear Cathy

I write on the occasion of Mr Latte's 45th birthday. We are knee deep in beautiful white snow, and the birthday boy is about to take the children out sledging. In my opinion he ought to have gone first thing this morning rather than wait until three o'clock in the afternoon when the light is fading, and frankly, so are the children, but what do I know?

For the birthday cake, I took a tip from a friend of mine who is relatively new to baking. She said she had it on good authority that the following was a fool-proof method of producing a fabulously impressive cake every time:

Take three duck eggs (which as I'm sure you know are huge) and weigh them. Whatever, they weigh, add the same of flour, sugar & fat, and slap in the largest cake tin you possess for an amazingly well-risen, moist and delicious cake, which cuts easily into two halves and can then be sandwiched back together with a filling of your choice. Now, as a rule, Cathy, I never use this crude 'cutting in half' method, favouring instead the rather more elegant option of baking two separate cakes in sandwich tins, designed for that very purpose, but I thought 'who dares wins'.

My duck eggs weighed seven and a quarter ounces without the shells, so I added the same of self-raising flour/cocoa, sugar and fat (with a teaspoon on baking powder for good luck). The mixture looked a little stiff to me but I popped it in a deep round nine inch tin (the one I use for my christmas cake) and popped it in the oven at gas mark 4. Twenty minutes later I could smell burning. I checked the cake but it was still wobbly in the middle, so I had no choice but to leave it in the oven. When it came out, it was not particularly well-risen and the sides were burned. I cut them off, covered it with chocolate and put it in the pantry.

At lunch time the cake was brought out and I think it's fair to say that every member of the family was under-whelmed. I think it will do as a pudding if we warm it in the microwave and dump some ice-cream on it. Not sure whether to try again as my novice baker friend says she has produced three amazing cakes using this method. Where did I go wrong? Can I blame the oven - again? My friend baked hers in a Rayburn and she said it took an hour and twenty minutes! Perhaps you could try and let me know how you get on.

Much love, Lucy x

PS I have never wilted spinach in my life! I am rather partial to a slice of Spanakopita but I've never made it myself. x

Jasminder's Chicken Pie

Hello, Lucy!
Thank you for such a lovely day; I can't tell you how joyous it was to be in the (very ample) bosom of your home! All of us had such a wonderful time, which is testament to your skills as a hostess and your warmth as a person. Be assured, we shall take you up on your open invitation whenever time allows. I have to say that the Cappuccino cake was indeed delicious - one of the Chino children has very simple tastes and he could have eaten thirds! Have you thought of letting MB know of your alterations, I'm sure she wouldn't mind...?
If you should ever venture north, then I may well rustle-up another of Jasminder's Chicken pies. I did this last week, fortunately on the very evening when we had an uninvited unexpected guest to tea: the eldest Chino child brought a friend home after school and there was plenty of pie to satisfy us all. Like you, I made some adjustments to the recipe - Mr Chino only eats 'green things' if they are round and a variety of pea (petits pois, garden or marrowfat, he's not fussy which), therefore I had to omit the spinach; he has also, for some reason, taken against nutmeg, so I had to be careful not to add too much; I began to make the pie before I'd checked my pantry and found I was short on plain flour, so had to make up the measurements with plain wholemeal. Poor Jasminder, I fear I did not make the pie as she intended, and she looked so proud of it on Page 219...
Well, the nutmeg slipped in under the radar and I seemed to get away with it, as everyone cleared their plates. I had some wilted spinach on the side, although I so seldom cook it that I can't say I've perfected it yet; any suggestions?

So sorry to hear about the panto palaver - I do hope you weren't too heavily involved. It's unfortunate in such small communities when people get precious about these things, there's little chance of avoiding the fallout. But at least you do all get involved, our local secondary school has to keep cancelling events due to lack of support; to quiz or not to quiz, that is the question.

Today I am enjoying the tranquility of an empty house as Mr Chino has taken the boys out for the day. I have tackled some of the ironing, walked the dog in local woodland, read a few chapters of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and written to you. I can't decide whether to bake a cake today or wait until tomorrow when I get my copy of MB's "Simple Cakes". Happy Mother's Day!

Much love, Cathy x

Dear Cathy

How lovely to see you last week for lunch and a walk over the local hills. It was such a success that I would like to extend an open invitation for the whole family to come for lunch whenever you are travelling down to this part of the country. It's the perfect start to your trip - I suppose the only down side for you is that the rest of the holiday must seem a little dull in comparison.

I took a photo of the Cappuccino Cake that I made especially for you - well what was left of it anyway. The recipe was from my latest purchase, Mary Berry's 'Simple Cakes'. The Lady in my local bookshop, 'Brilliant Books', recommended Mary Berry's 'Fast Cakes' but that particular volume has no pictures, and in my opinion, one must have pictures in a cake book! Dare I mention, however, that I made a couple of minor alterations to Mary's recipe? The cake was superb as it was but I wasn't quite happy with the filling and topping, it was neither sweet enough nor coffeeish enough for my taste. I added an extra teaspoon of coffee granules mixed with warm water along with a couple of tablespoons of sieved icing sugar and crossed my fingers. The result, I think, was quite perfect - I do hope Mary wouldn't mind.

I must tell you about the latest debacle in the village. The annual pantomime has just closed and there have been all sorts of tensions running throughout. The scripts are being scrutinised, the choreography has come in for criticism, and there have been some critical comments concerning the casting! The various factions are all trying to gather support for the Amateur Dramatics Committee Meeting later this week. More on this next time darling!

Ta ta for now, Lucy. x

Hibernation

Dearest Lucy, How are you? I feel like I've just emerged from hibernation - where did November and December go? - but, in truth, I could sleep for a couple of months. I've just surfaced from a nap on the sofa to make a cup of tea accompanied by a fresh bread roll slathered with Lemon Curd in order to have the energy to write to you. I do hope that you got my Christmas card so you know I hadn't totally dropped off the radar...
I really feel as though Christmas crept up behind me and took me by absolute surprise, despite the fact that I'd bought cards last January and the presents were all wrapped three weeks before the big day. The Chino children decorated the tree, so my tradition of playing Dean Martin's "My Kind Of Christmas" with baubles in my hand was ignored, and the poor tree was heavily decorated in one spot and virtually bare the rest of the way round - I spent the next few days surreptitiously moving decorations to fill in the blanks. I have baked - boy, have I baked - but I don't have any photographs to prove it, so I shall add some 'professional-looking' ones to illustrate what I've done.
I made Margot's Sticky Marmalade cake for a friend;

a Raspberry Clafoutis (although it's not strictly called a clafoutis unless you use cherries, apparently)

and a Lemon Meringue Pie.

I have resorted to shop-bought pastry cases and have had none of the disasters that befell me when I made the whole thing from scratch.
Chino child number one had to produce a model of a specialised cel for Science, so I made a square sponge cake and he iced, decorated and labelled it. He dyed some royal icing yellow, used a strawberry shoelace, jelly tots and a giant chocolate button for the various parts and finished it with white royal icing. I do so wish we had a photograph, but it was whisked away by a teacher and returned a week later in an inedible condition.

He did terribly well, getting a 6A, but a friend of his (whose mother made the whole thing out of jelly for him) got a 7A. I was gutted, but proud that my son had earned his mark, not me! I don't think we teach our children anything by doing everything for them, to which end, the little Chino children were wielding the vacuum cleaner yesterday. They declared it to be 'very hard work' and now have a bit more insight into what mummy does.
We were away skiing in France for the Christmas week (where I indulged in the most fabulous chocolate and almond gateau), nevertheless, the Chino Family hosted our annual tradition of a New Year's Day walk and feast so as to allow us to catch up with friends in our town. What a triumph! After a bracing walk on Redcar beach, Mr Chino served a chili and a prepared selection of M&S nibbles, while I delighted our guests with another Clafoutis, Lemon Meringue Pie and a Death by Chocolate cake.

Other offerings to the banquet were a Turkey Curry, home-made Christmas pudding, mulled wine and a Pineapple Cheesecake; our friends are so generous! (As are the people whose pictures I've used to illustrate my efforts)

I was delighted to hear of your dancing success and envision Mr Latte and you to be very much like the triumphant Louis Smith and Flavia in Strictly 2012! Well done you!
And now, I am in need of much rest before next Monday when we all return to school.
Off for another nap; much love Cathy x

'Loosely' Come Dancing

Dear Cathy

I am so pleased to hear that you are alive and kicking - speaking of fancy footwork, it was 'Loosely' Come Dancing last night. No high kicks but a few flicks of the ankles and a couple of heel turns!

In rehearsal, our Foxtrot had ranged from really quite nice to really quite shocking, but since I began suffering from motion sickness about 20 minutes into each session we were not able to spend hours at a time dancing in order to perfect the routine. In the end, we thought that if we looked the part we'd be half way there, and I must say we scrubbed up quite nicely. Unfortunately, Mr Latte and I had to dance first, and my nerves completely got the better of me. Cathy, my heart pounded and my body trembled. The only thing that kept me on my feet was Mr Latte who held his nerve and guided me around the floor. He even managed to lift me at the end of the dance, which the audience seemed to like. What a hero! Other dances included an excellent Jive, a Rumba, a Cha Cha Cha and a Military Two-Step danced by a pantomime dame and her/his (?) side-kick.

There were two judges, Sid Sidebottom who was most ungenerous and scored us 5 (he scored every couple 5 so that was alright). The other judge was very experienced and kept a close eye on the technical aspects of the dance. She was very kind and encouraging, and scored us SE-VEN! A very good score, I thought, considering what a cock-up we made of it. We had been told that the two highest scoring couples would take part in a dance off at the end of the evening, and when the Scottish dancers scored an 8 and the Flamenco dancer scored a 9, I knew I was safe to enjoy my dinner and wash it down with a few buckets of Pinot Grigio. However, it turns out I had misunderstood. The audience was asked to vote for their favourite routines after dinner and the top two couples had to dance off, and you guessed it, the Lattes had to dance again! I have to say that I think we made a slightly better job of it second time around because I really didn't care by then, and everyone seemed to enjoy our performance. Alas, the glitter ball did not come our way, but neither of us fell over and we helped raise much needed funds for a local childrens' charity.

My baking has enjoyed highs and lows this month. The highs were the fabulous flapjacks I made. I think you can appreciate the quality from the picture.

My halloween pumpkin shaped cakes were less successful. They didn't bake as one would expect and they stuck to the silicone bakeware that I purchased specially. A Halloween Horror!

I tried two batches and all the cakes stuck fast, a problem I have never encountered with good old fashioned tins and greaseproof paper. They were stuck so hard, that Little Latte resorted to eating them out of the moulds with a teaspoon! Do you have any experience with silicone Cathy?

That's all for now. I'm off for a well-earned rest. I do hope that little Chino if coping with his nut allergy. Are you sure he's not just putting it on to avoid your baking dear???

Lucy x

Totally nutty

Dear Lucy,
How long it has been! I am ashamed of my lack of support for you in your hour of need. Home improvement upheavals, aged relative relocation AND the challenge of learning to foxtrot all in a matter of weeks and without the support of your old friend. I am so sorry. I do hope that it has all sorted itself out and that your home is tidy and spacious enough to practise your routine in. How I envy you the opportunity to learn to dance; the last time I took lessons was about 10 years ago...

Mr Chino and I had the opportunity for a weekly night out following the birth of Chino-child number 1; Grandma Chino came over every Wednesday to babysit for two days, so we sashayed on down to a local hostelry, the upstairs room of which was the venue for Salsa lessons and the scene of the destruction of my illusions. I had always imagined myself to be rather a good dancer, but I became aware, in no uncertain terms, that I can neither follow instructions nor anyone's lead! Do you remember "Steptoe and Son"? When Harold was taught to ballroom dance by his father? On a night out with a lady he took her in his arms, the music began and they both danced backwards away from each other! He had been taught the woman's steps! If only I had been so successful... Mr Chino and I argued that it was the other who was in the wrong but, eventually, I was forced to concede that it was I. And now 'Strictly' season is upon us again and I am dreaming of sequinned frocks and Anton, but inside I know it will never be me in his arms. I do so hope that you and Mr Latte are fairing better.

As usual, I am missing more television than I manage to catch, but I did see a few Bake-offs and found them to be very good, the men were so dominant this series. They were so imaginative; I can't see myself knocking up anything as exotic as they did, although I did make a very yummy chocolate cake for the Chino twins' birthday, but it was eaten before it was possible to photograph it. It will sound very silly, but I made butter cream for the first time EVER! Very tasty it was, too, and everyone ate it.

Unfortunately, we are having to check every food label, now, however, as one of the Chino twins has been diagnosed as allergic to pistachios and cashews. We have been advised to avoid nuts altogether and now carry antihistamine and an Epipen wherever we go. It's such a faff but, as there is a risk of anaphylaxis, absolutely necessary; we know he is allergic,  but there's no telling how severe a reaction he might have. Who knew there were nuts in so many things?

I do hope that you are well and hope to hear from you sooner than you heard from me.
Much love, Cathy x

Strictly Done Baking

Dear Cathy

I do apologise for my long silence, but it seems like only yesterday that we spent a sunny afternoon together at Attingham Park. I always look forward to the tea rooms but I'm often disappointed. The proof of the pudding really is in the eating isn't it?

It's been a busy summer. Grandma Latte has moved to a little town just down the road from us so that I can keep an eye on her. She is becoming quite obstreperous in her old age. She 'couldn't be bothered' to take her life saving medication one day last week, but insists on a daily ritual of rinsing out the previous days knickers by hand! God help me! Our place is full of half emptied moving boxes which we're sorting through in an effort to persuade her to chuck some stuff but she won't hear of it. There are two broken irons, a coffee percolator that hasn't been used since 1982, and several souvenir magazines commemorating the death of Frank Sinatra, who she loved, and Princess Diana who she loathed! Not to mention souvenirs from her travels including all the African carvings that Grandpa Latte liked so much and some pornographic postcards from Pompei. On top of all that we've got the builders in. I don't know how I cope sometimes. Towards the end of the holiday we spent a few days at the Trefeddian Hotel in Aberdovey which was lovely. A fantastic beach and five course dinners - what more could I ask for? The only down-side was that we never made it to the cheese course as the children were always asleep before it came.

To other news - Mr Latte and myself will be taking part in a local 'Strictly Come Dancing' in a few weeks time. We had our first ballroom lesson on Saturday but I can't say I'm terribly optimistic about our chances of not coming last. We are attempting a Foxtrot, in the manner of Fred and Ginger, but at the moment we couldn't even give Hinge and Bracket a run for their money.

Anyway dear, to baking. I have hardly done anything with all this chaos, but I did make a Quiche Lorraine for a picnic at the weekend. I must say it was scrumdidilyumptious mainly due, in my opinion, to the excellent streaky bacon obtained from my local butchers, and the tasty Gruyere Cheese.

What do you make of the bake-off this year? I rather like the nice young man with glasses and the nice old man with the glasses!

Bye for now, Lucy. x

See you soon!

Well, Lucy, you really are NOT to be out done, are you? I'm impressed, but not a little surprised: how can you be complaining that the house is a mess when you are, seemingly, never there? Your work isn't keeping you that busy, is it? I fear there's a touch of 'pot and kettle' going on when you criticise my domestic standards... But never mind, I'm giving you a few day's notice to get your house in order; the Chino children and I are venturing south on Monday and would love to see you and our mutual friend, Darjee Ling, for a good old chat. Can you arrange that? If the house is in too much of a state, what with the demolition and all, we could meet elsewhere. Talking of demolition, when might you need refuge from Mr Latte's lump hammer? We can always make room for guests, as long as you and the little Latte's don't mind sharing. How exciting!

You asked about my food processor - it's a Kenwood multi-pro - so far I have proven that it grates cheese and makes delicious cakes. NOT as fancy, and nowhere near as expensive, as Margo's machine, but it is good enough for me. How thoughtful of Mr Latte to think of such a lovely anniversary present; Mr Chino would never have come up with that, but, then again, he would never have taken half the house to the charity shop! We can't have everything, can we?

Toodle-pip, for now! REALLY looking forward to seeing you next week.

MUCH love, Cathy x

Dear Cathy

Thank you for your advice regarding the home. I will try to relax a bit - now I understand how your house always gets in such a mess.

You sound very busy this holiday but the Lattes are not to be outdone:

JULY
21st - Delightful 'street party' in neighbouring garden - I took a trifle.
22nd - Barbecue and swimming at a friend's - I drank a whole bottle of Pimms.
23rd - Idyllic picnic on a nearby hillside in warm sunshine.
24th - Dentist.
25th - To Cardiff by train to see first event of the Olympic Games - womens' football.
26th - Haircuts and a visit to Grandma's.
27th - Friends to us for a barbecue and Olympic opening ceremony.
28th - Raspberry picking at a nearby fruit farm then baking - Raspberry and Almond Cake.
29th - Visit to Park Hall Farm to watch pig racing - our pig came last.

I am interested in your new food processor because Mr Latte is thinking of a Kenwood chef as my eleventh wedding anniversary present (steel apparently). I do like the look of those posh Kitchen Aid ones (like the one Margo has) but I am reliably informed that the whisks on those do NOT reach the bottom of the bowl!

Hurrah for our third follower! Actually, Cathy is our first real follower as we know the other two don't we? I therefore calculate that at this rate we will both be dead before we attract 100 followers. Never mind - onward and upward ladies!

With love, Lucy. x

PS How are you fixed for putting up one adult and two children should we venture up north while Mr Latte demolishes the rest of the house?

PPS Would you believe it? I've just returned home from a hard days work to find that Mr Latte has taken a boot-load of things to the charity shop without checking with me first. Now I'm going to have to have the day off work tomorrow to go to the shop when it opens at 10am to find out what he's given them and/or buy it all back - if any of it is still there. I'm SO angry!!!!!

Summer is here!

Hello, Lucy!
So glad to hear that the job is going well, although I feel that your boss has seriously underestimated your talents - time will tell and the truth will out! Chin up dear. And as for housework, look to my motto - perfection is not all it's cracked up to be - that'll do will have to do; don't beat yourself up. Do the grocery shopping on-line; teach the little Lattes some responsibility by having lists of things that they need for that day on the door. Mummy can't and shouldn't be responsible for everything, should she? I firmly believe that, if you're not looking after yourself, the whole family unit will crumble. Do take care of yourself. I shall be visiting shortly to check up on you!
Life has been lovely up here, lately: I have finally treated myself to a new food-processor after struggling on with only a Sainsbury's Basics whisk for a couple of years; Mr Chino and I thoroughly enjoyed Mrs Brown's Boys, but I couldn't possibly repeat any of the jokes to you - far too 'earthy'! We also went to see Tom Jones in concert a couple of weeks ago - what a great show, although I don't think he topped Barry Manilow, if I'm totally honest; and went camping for the first time in a couple of years. I went on a spa day for the bargain price of £25 and, yesterday, we saw a chimney being demolished, a first for us all; it was very graceful and, somewhat, sad - it only took seconds to destroy something that has dominated the Hartlepool coastline for years. As a result of all this galavanting the ironing has piled up and I've only baked one batch of chocolate muffins, but I don't care! We're having a MARVELOUS summer, the sun has shone and the Chino children are managing to behave so far...
More exciting news! We have a new follower! I believe your Herman The German experience may well have been the bait that drew her in, but, whatever the reason, welcome to Cathy! I hope that this is the beginning of a better friendship than Margo and I share... (She's always so critical of my baking efforts!)
Well, Lucy, dear, that's all for now. I'll be seeing you soon, so make sure you are, indeed, looking after number 1.

Much love, Cathy x

School Summer Show Success!

Dear Cathy

Last week was the school summer show which last year, you may remember, was quite disastrous for me. This year I entered one cake only - the classic Victoria Sponge.

I'd had a very busy week and we had visitors so I couldn't take as much care as I might have liked. Nevertheless, I came away with a very respectable second place! First prize was awarded to one of the school teachers - need I say more?

Thank you so much for asking about my new job, at last. It's been a great success so far. I'm doing lots of writing - publicity, press releases and website content. The graphic designer rather pompously told me that he had done all the hard work designing a template and all I had to do was 'colour it in'. He also cautioned me against including 'huge chunks of copy' that people wouldn't want to read - bastard!

Apart from that it really is very satisfying, and my work thus far has been well received. The down side is that domestically, things have spiralled out of control. The kitchen looks like a bomb site, I haven't done a proper grocery shop for weeks, the washing and ironing is piled up in huge bundles (don't tell me not to bother with ironing - I can't bear crinkles) and I seem to forget something crucial for one of the children every day. I am flying by the seat of my pants. Frankly, I don't know how other girls manage!

Anyway, that's all for now dear. I hope to see you in the summer.

Lucy x

Jumbles

Hello, my dear Lucy!
I can't believe that a month has gone by; how naughty of me not to write before now. The terrible thing is that I really don't have an excuse - I can't claim to have been washed away by flash-floods; to have been partying on the Isle of Wight in all that mud, or anything remotely interesting. Life has been rolling along here in its usual way - work, washing, ferrying the Chino children hither and yon to parties and activities, walking the dog between downpours... the usual. I did manage to time it just right this morning, and walked about four miles along the beach from Marske to Saltburn. The weather was glorious (although it's always a little 'fresh' on the Northeast coast) and it only began to spot with rain as I climbed up the sand dunes back to the car. Muffin, our Cocker Spaniel, had a lovely time and is sleeping off her exertions as I write. Every time I go to the coast, I marvel that we used to spend a good 2 hours in the car to Barmouth as children; now it's a 20 minute journey and the children take it for granted! You really must come up and visit over the summer if you can...
This week has been Olympic Week at the children's school - most of which has been rained-off, unfortunately; one saving grace was that, on Tuesday, I was standing behind a fence and could not be dragged into the Mothers' race - skipping this year - I still feel the ignominy of that previous year's event!

I have baked a couple of new things this time - both delicious! Jumbles and Pistachio and Carrot cake, pictured above, from the Great British Bake Off book. The only problem with the Carrot Cake is that I discovered that I'm the only one in the household who likes the stuff; unfortunate as it makes 20 slices! I managed to give most away, having reserved a not-indecent 8 pieces for myself - well I had 4 days in which to eat it! I am going to have to be careful, however, as I recently had a healthy heart check at work and discovered that I have high LDL cholesterol. Is it true that 95% of high cholesterol is due to heredity? I'm hoping so, but am rationing the cakes just in case.

Enough about me, dear; what about your new job? Please don't think that it was ignorance that caused me not to ask, rather I was giving you chance to settle in to it; after all your time not working, I thought it might be a bit of a struggle for you and didn't want to tire you by asking for too much information too soon. Have you read any howling errors? Unintended double-entendres? Do let me know!

Mr Chino and I are off to see 'Mrs Brown's Boys' at the theatre this weekend - I shall have lots of smutty jokes to tell you next time I write!

Write sooner than I did; Cathy x

PS: can you Hula Hoop? I am desperate to learn after watching Grace Jones at the Jubilee concert...

It's a Miracle

Dear Cathy

It's a Miracle you managed to get any baking done you sounded so over-excited in your last post. I have been a huge Barry Fan ever since mother introduced me to 'Manilow Magic' some years ago, and even now I still adore him. I do wish I'd been with you! Did you manage to get backstage?

Last weekend was little Latte's birthday and I've never had such a ghastly group of children in the house. I was sure there was going to be an accident but everyone went home unscathed at two o'clock. 'Looks like we made it' I exclaimed to Mr Latte, only for little Latte number two, to injure her ankle on the trampoline a nano-second later. Mr Latte took the damaged child off to A&E and I asked him to keep me posted via text. He was gone for ages and all the time I was waiting for an update. Finally, she came home - on crutches! Little Latte was holding up very well. She told me all about the lovely nurse called Mandy who plastered her up. 'I wish you'd been there though mummy' she continued, 'I can't smile without you'. It will be a while before she's ready to take a chance again on the trampoline - if I don't burnt it to cinders first that is. We put the children to bed and unfortunately, somewhere in the night Little Latte became quite melancholic. By daybreak however, she had recovered and was looking forward to showing the plaster to her friends at school. Apparently she has to keep flexing her muscles and wiggling her toes. When I asked her what she was doing she said she was trying to get the feeling again. She can't run around in this lovely sunshine so she's spending a lot of time with her leg raised listening to beautiful music - like Barry Manilow!

Anyway, party picture attached - chocolate cake - obviously!



This one's for you, love Lucy.

PS I am slightly miffed that you haven't asked me about my new job - do you even read my letters or are you too busy at the Copacabana to bother?

Baztastic!

Dearest Lucy, I must tell you about my FABULOUS night out last night: Mr Chino, and I travelled to Manchester with a couple of friends to see the rather marvellous Barry Manilow! What a night! Mr Chino was entirely sceptical about the whole thing, not manly enough for him, I fear, and bemoaned his lot the entire journey south. He was able to sympathise with the wife of the couple we went with, as she had bought the tickets as a surprise gift for her husband; both he and I were giddy with excitement and burst into impromptu renditions of "Bermuda Triangle" at the slightest provocation!
We arrived at the Arena after having had our tea at the 'Blue Diamond' chinese restaurant in Rochdale (should you ever be in those parts, let me recommend the Satay Chicken, Mongolian Style - delicious!) and quickly found our seats high up in block 204. We had a good view of the stage, I'm pleased to say, and any action was shown on two large screens on either side; the warm up act was a comedian (I use that term loosely) but he wasn't on for too long, thankfully. Anyway, with glow sticks firmly in hand the excitement grew and I was all of a dither when the legend, that is Barry, came on to the stage. No sooner had the opening bars of "It's a miracle" been played, than Mr Chino was waving his glow stick in the air and singing along; he was even on his feet and dancing when, later in the set, 'Copacabana' was played! I must confess that Mr Manilow is not a natural dancer and that anything above his lips failed to move all night, but he knows how to belt out a tune, doesn't take himself too seriously and puts on one heck of a show. I can thoroughly recommend him for a good night out.
Basking in the after-concert glow we wended our way northwards and home, the haunting strains of "One voice" ringing in our ears. It was a night of musical magic and, for one night only Mr Chino had become a Fanilow! Alas, he soon returned to his normal gruff and crusty self, almost as if he and Barry had never shared the love, and I fear that tomorrow morning he will deny all knowledge of our shared experience. Never mind, I will always have the vision of his smiling face by the light of a thousand glow sticks as we sang "Mandy" together...
On the baking front, I've had chocolate muffins coming out of my ears having baked for my Year 11 leavers and number 1 Chino child's post Year 6 SATs celebration: 56 muffins in two days! I did try making a Chocolate Fudge topping to decorate them with, which was very well received, although, as usual, it all looked a bit rustic.
I'm hoping that your life is ticking along nicely. Do let me know all your latest news. Have you seen Margo lately?

Much love,

Cathy x

England 1 - Germany 0

Dear Lucy,
Fancy that! We have made a Herman the German friendship cake, too! It was a bit of a faff, stirring etc over the 10 days, I agree. But what I found most difficult, was trying to find three other people to take the cake off my hands after 10 days; the north East of England seemed to have suffered an invasion of German cakes!
Tell your little Lattes that a much nicer, and quicker, alternative is the Apple Scone Round in our baking bible. Yum.
Will write again, soon.
Much love,
Cathy x