I’m delighted to be organising, with Rudd Moncrieff Lifestyle Workshops, a Blooming Great Tea Party for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The Tea Party will be quintessentially British and full to the brim with fabulous cakes and savories, vintage crockery, fabulous food and gifts to buy, flowers, bunting and much more!  Tickets are £10 each and include a fabulous goody bag and a drink on arrival.  Tickets are limited, so if you’d like to join us for a wonderful exclusive event click here to purchase your ticket.  The tea party is 11am – 3pm on Thursday 29th July in the gorgeous Shottle Hall Coach House Marquee.

I would like to say a huge thank you to Rudd Moncreiff, Beau Shabby Vintage China Hire, Dorset Cereals & Northern Tea Merchants, Artisan Biscuit Company, Clipper Tea, The Lavender Patch and Shottle Hall for being so incredibly supportive of the event.  A special thank you to Simon Partridge Vintage Vocalist.

I hope you can join me…it’s going to be fabulous!

Deb

I’m delighted to be organising, with Rudd Moncrieff Lifestyle Workshops, a Blooming Great Tea Party for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The Tea Party will be quintessentially British and full to the brim with fabulous cakes and savories, vintage crockery, fabulous food and gifts to buy, flowers, bunting and much more!  Tickets are £10 each and include a fabulous goody bag and a drink on arrival.  Tickets are limited, so if you’d like to join us for a wonderful exclusive event click here to purchase your ticket.  The tea party is 11am – 3pm on Thursday 29th July in the gorgeous Shottle Hall Coach House Marquee.

I would like to say a huge thank you to Rudd Moncreiff, Dorset Cereals & Northern Tea Merchants, Artisan Biscuit Company, Clipper Tea, The Lavender Patch and Shottle Hall for being so incredibly supportive of the event.

I hope you can join me…it’s going to be fabulous!

Deb

It’s that time of year when elderflowers are beginning to show themselves, so I thought it would be perfect to post a recipe for one of my favourites…elderflower cordial.

I used this recipe last year to make my first ever homemade cordial, which was delicious and extremely self satisfying to make.  The recipe will make approx 3 litres (5 pints) of cordial…plenty to see you through the rest of the year.

Here’s what you’ll need:

30 elderflower heads
6 pints (approx 3 litres) of boiling water
900g of caster sugar
50g of citric acid (you’ll find this at any local chemist)
1 unwaxed lemon
2 unwaxed lime

Gently rinse the elderflowers…this will remove any dirt and little critters!

Using a very large bowl, carefully pour the boiling water over the caster sugar.  Stir the mixture well and leave it to cool.

Add the citric acid, sliced lemon and limes and finally the elderflowers.

Leave the mixture to cool in a safe place for approx 24 hrs, stirring occasionally.

The final step is to strain the mixture through muslin.  Once this is done the mixture is ready to be bottled (bottles should be new and ideally sterilized).  What I love about the cordial is that it keeps well and it also makes a great gift presented in a bottle with a tag.  The cordial will keep for months and even longer if you freeze it (if you decide to freeze some, make sure that it’s in a plastic container or bottle).

Enjoy!

I am over the moon with how the fabulousplaces.co.uk Summer Fete went last Sunday at Shottle Hall, what a truly wonderful day and…it didn’t rain!!

A huge thank you to all the fabulous shops and producers who kindly gave up their Sunday to sell their lovely wares…there was an array of tempting goodies of offer including locally made ice cream, farm produce, delicious cupcakes, crafts and cards.  Thank you to everyone who joined us, I hope you enjoyed the day!

The idea behind the events I run through fabulousplaces.co.uk is to offer you an opportunity to enjoy local, independent crafts and produce.  I couldn’t have imagined it to be in a more appropriate setting…Shottle Hall is a stunning venue and I hope you all had a good look around and enjoyed the setting.  I’m sure you’ll agree the grounds are beautiful and the picturesque views made the Summer Fete a truly wonderful event to wonder around.  With over 4,500 visitors throughout the day I really can’t wait for the next event!

A huge thank you to Carol and her team from Polly’s List for the fabulous Polly’s Corner.  The games, bouncy castles, face painting and stalls were full of nostalgia and put a smile on so many little faces!

Thank you again to everyone who helped make the event a huge success!

Here are some photos taken by lovely Twitter friends @clairetweet and @dawn_e .  Thank you for taking the photos…they’re fab!

Win 1 of 10 fabulous hessian hamper bags full to bursting with treats!
For your chance to win, all you have to do is leave a review for a fabulous place or producer featured on fabulousplaces.co.uk Derbyshire or Nottinghamshire…simple as that!
Closing date is Friday 14th May 2010.

I would like to say a huge thank you to Honeybuns for kindly donating such a fab competition prize!  To find out more about Honeybuns click here to visit their website.

Happy reviewing!

Debs

With the sunshine comes the urge to get out into the garden and what’s better than getting family and friends together for a garden party…vintage style!

fabulousplaces.co.uk features a great Derbyshire based company called Vintage & Cake who offer you the opportunity to hire stunning vintage crockery in addition to having scrumptious homemade cakes made just for you.  Julie from Vintage & Cake has very kindly offered her advice, and a yummy cake recipe, to help you enjoy your own garden party.

The Perfect Afternoon Tea

Requirements:  flowers, vintage china, vintage cutlery, vintage vases, bowls and vintage cake stands plus some pretty bunting… its essential!

Traditional Afternoon Tea…
A selection of freshly prepared finger sandwiches.
Warm scones with clotted cream and preserves.
A variety of home made cakes.
Your choice from a range of teas.

Here are some of the more common teas, but of course there are so many to choose from out there:

Darjeeling
An aromatic and astringent tea from India, with a hint of almonds and wildflowers.
Earl Grey
A blend of black teas scented with oil of bergamot named after Charles, 2nd Earl Grey, who was Prime Minister from 1830 to 1834.
Lapsang Souchong
A Chinese tea fired over smoking pine needles, which produces a striking smoky odour and flavour.

A recipe for the perfect Coffee & Walnut Cake

Sponge
250g butter
250g soft light brown sugar
4 eggs
300g self raising four
200ml strong coffee
50g walnuts chopped (roughly)

Buttercream
100g unsalted butter
225g icing sugar sieved
3 teaspoons strong coffee (dissolve the coffee in just enough water to make a paste)

Method
Beat the butter and sugar together for 5 minutes.
Add the eggs and flour in one go and mix well.
Add in your walnuts and half of the coffee and mix until completely even.
Pour into 2 8 inch round tins and bake for 25-30 mins at 180c (160c fan oven).
Leave the cakes to cool in the tins for 5 mins, then empty them out onto cooling racks.
Mix the remaining coffee with 4 tbsps of light brown sugar and sprinkle 2 tbsps each over the sponges.
Leave to cool further

Buttercream
Cream the butter, icing sugar and coffee for 5 minutes until it resembles a whipped creamy texture.
Spread liberally inside your sponges and then on top.
Decorate at you please with walnuts
NB:  Always lick the bowl
You will be left with a ridiculously light and delicious cake to share with friends and family!

Here’s some information about the fabulous Vintage & Cake…

Julie, the owner of Vintage & Cake, says the company was borne out of a love of ‘doing things properly’ like her gran always did.  It’s about indulgence, enjoying life’s treats and celebrating a bygone era.  Vintage and Cake hires out beautiful vintage tableware for tea parties and tea dances and bake delicious cakes for all occasions, from lovely classic Victoria sponges to elaborate wedding cakes and cupcakes.  Individuality is very important to Julie, so each of her customers are more than welcome to pop round for a consultation, where you can eat cake, drink tea and chat about your ideas.  Click here to go to their page on fabulousplaces.co.uk.

Vintage & Cake will be exhibiting at the upcoming fabulousplaces.co.uk Summer Fete.

I’m delighted to announce the next fabulousplaces.co.uk event…the Summer Fete will be taking place on Sunday 16th May at Shottle Hall Country House Hotel.

11am-5pm, Sunday 16th May 2010
Shottle Hall Country House Hotel
Shottle, Derbyshire

I’m taking a traditional Summer Fete and adding a fabulous twist to bring you a perfect day in the countryside.  There will be scrumptious local food in the marquee, shops and producers selling their fabulous wares in the House and Polly’s Corner (Supported by Polly’s List) of fun for the little ones.   My aim is to bring you an event celebrating the most fabulous places and producers from fabulousplaces.co.uk and somewhere you can visit with friends and family and spend a few hours in the countryside.

Click here to go to fabulousplaces.co.uk Summer Fete information. The full exhibitor list will be added to the website in the next few days.

Please note:
Not all exhibitors will have the ability to accept card payments.  The nearest cash machines are in Belper…there will be lots of fabulous things to tempt you!
Dogs are welcome, but will not be allowed in the House and marquee.
There is a picnic area on the lawn, but this is only for use with food purchased at the event only.

Courgette Soup is a very simple recipe, which makes a pretty, creamy pale green soup:

• Slice and gently sauté an onion, a stick of celery, 2 cloves of garlic
• Slice and add 5, or more, courgettes of the 6” or so size
• When all are softened and starting to brown add a pint or so of chicken or vegetable stock
• Simmer for 20 minutes until the courgettes squash easily on the side of the pan
• Take off the heat and blitz up with a hand blender
• Add a handful or two of freshly grated parmesan and a glug of garlic olive oil
• Add plenty of salt and pepper to taste and blitz up again

We serve it with crispy pancetta on top and a drizzle of garlic olive oil and some parmesan shavings.

To speed this up even more use a few shallots which are quick to slice and cook, a stock cube instead of fresh stock and a big slice from a fresh green garlic head instead of cloves.  Here’s a link through to the recipe on Claire’s blog, Things We Make.  Here is a link through to the post where Claire shows you how to make the bread bowls.

Growing your own courgettes is pretty easy and this weekend is ideal to plant seeds.  Here’s a link to the BBC website where there is some useful information about growing courgettes.

Click here to go to fabulousplaces.co.uk.

Each month I award someone from the site ‘place/producer of the month’.  For March it’s Pumpkiz in Draycott.  Hidden away in The Courtyard off Market Street is a great place to head to for a cosy seat, coffee and a bite to eat.  If you’re a regular user of fabulousplaces.co.uk you’ll recognise the photo of the coffee and walnut cake…it’s one of my favourite photos and, of course, I love cake!

If heading to Draycott is a little out of the way for you, there are plenty of fabulous places nearby to visit while you’re in the area…Frox is just upstairs from Pumpkinz and The Beetroot Tree is a short walk down Market Street.  Near to Draycott is Breaston where you’ll find Andersons Deli and Cachepot.

Happy travels!

I am delighted to announce that the next fabulousplaces.co.uk event will be taking place on the evening of Thursday 4th March at the stunning Blackbrook House nr Belper.

Indulgence Evening
An exclusive evening of shopping, demonstrations & indulgence
Thursday 4th March 2010 (7-10pm)
Blackbrook House nr Belper, Derbyshire
Tickets are £5 each (event is free to Derbyshire Card holders)
Click here to get your ticket

Guests will receive a drink, mini cupcake & goody bag on arrival.  There will be a selection of fabulous places and producers to browse and there will be demonstrations being held throughout the evening.  Blackbrook House will also be holding cheese and wine tasting.  With the event being so close to Mothers Day, it will be the perfect opportunity to find something special for Mum.  Even better…why not take your Mum with you for a treat.

The event will be supporting the Wirksworth Rotary Club Aquabox Scheme, which sends vital resources and water filtering units to locations of natural disasters like the recent Haiti earthquake.  Proceeds from the entry ticket and raffle will be donated to the charity.

Exhibitors include:

Quirky Cookies & Cakes
Cocomine Chocolates
Lucy Sheeran Cards
Anney Grace Jewellery
Cameo Cupcakes
Housley & Co
Blossom Tree
Jamie Oliver Home & Giftware
Ribbon
Hearts & Homespun
Nina Carolyn Jewellery
Carol Cummins (handmade home accessories)
Lavender grey
Jack Rabbits
Eco Eco
Raggedy Homespun Crafts
Bow at the Printworks 

More fabulous businesses added daily…

Click here to get your ticket to the Indulgence Evening
Click here to get your Derbyshire Card.  If you are already a Derbyshire Card holder please click here to let us know you will be attending.

I would like to say a big thank you to the following businesses for supporting this event:
Blackbrook House, Belper
Dorset Cereals
Teapigs
Cameo Cupcakes
Quirky Cookies & Cakes