Esther's Marmalade cake from Mitford

Linnets And Valerians

 

 

Raspberry Cordial

From Anne of Green Gables

Beatrix Potter Party

My BABY turned 10!!!

 Watercress sandwiches, and strawberry jam sandwiches

 

Cucumber Water, Lemonade, Chamomile tea

“Peter was not very well during the evening. His mother put him to bed, and made some chamomile tea:" {Peter Rabbit}

 Tea cart with tea, with muffins and pie (strawberry, instead of mouse)

"Once upon a time there was a Pussy-cat called Ribby, who invited a little dog called Duchess, to tea.

"Come in good time, my dear Duchess" (said Ribby's letter), "and we will have something so very very nice. I am baking it in a pie-dish—a pie-dish with a pink rim. You never tasted anything so good! And you shall eat it all! I will eat muffins, my dear Duchess!" wrote Ribby."

 DoNUT Acorns for Squirrel Nutkin

 "Eating the berries they picked. But Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail had bread and milk and blackberries for supper." {Tale of Peter Rabbit}

"{Peter} rushed into the toolshed, and jumped into a can. It would have been a beautiful thing to hide in, if it had not had so much water in it. Mr. McGregor was quite sure that Peter was somewhere in the toolshed, perhaps hidden underneath a flower-pot. He began to turn them over carefully, looking under each.Presently Peter sneezed — “Kertyschoo!"" {Tale of Peter Rabbit}

 "This is a nice gentle Rabbit. His mother has given him a carrot." {Fierce Bad Rabbit}

"An old mouse was running in and out over the stone doorstep, carrying peas and beans to her family in the wood. Peter asked her the way to the gate, but she had such a large pea in her mouth that she could not answer." {Tale of Peter Rabbit}

 "The squirrels filled their little sacks with nuts" {Tale of Squirrel Nutkin}

 Abigail's Carrot Cake, that she made and decorated herself, and a pudding garden

 Favors for our guests- Beet and carrot seeds

 The inspiration, and cheddar bunny crackers

 

And we even arranged for some REAL bunnies to visit for the children to play with!

Berry Fool from A Fine Dessert

Blackberries won't be ripe until August, and we have run out of blackberries in our freezer, so we used Lingonberries instead. 

Abigail wanted to whip the cream by hand, but after 15 minutes decided to go with the mixer afterall.

 

 

Pickled Limes from Little Women

"Why, I owe at least a dozen pickled limes, and I can't pay them, you know, till I have money, for Marmee forbade my having anything charged at the shop."

"Tell me all about it. Are limes the fashion now? It used to be pricking bits of rubber to make balls." And Meg tried to keep her countenance, Amy looked so grave and important.

"Why, you see, the girls are always buying them, and unless you want to be thought mean, you must do it too. It's nothing but limes now, for everyone is sucking them in their desks in schooltime, and trading them off for pencils, bead rings, paper dolls, or something else, at recess. If one girl likes another, she gives her a lime. If she's mad with her, she eats one before her face, and doesn't offer even a suck. They treat by turns, and I've had ever so many but haven't returned them, and I ought for they are debts of honor, you know."

"How much will pay them off and restore your credit?" asked Meg, taking out her purse.

"A quarter would more than do it, and leave a few cents over for a treat for you. Don't you like limes?"

"Not much. You may have my share. Here's the money. Make it last as long as you can, for it isn't very plenty, you know."

"Oh, thank you! It must be so nice to have pocket money! I'll have a grand feast, for I haven't tasted a lime this week. I felt delicate about taking any, as I couldn't return them, and I'm actually suffering for one." 

Little Women Chapter 7

Trumpet of The Swan

 

Last week we read Trumpet Of The Swan. It was a quick read, and we really enjoyed it. 

To make it come alive, we used YouTube to look up videos of cygnets "beep"ing,  adult swans "koh-ho"ing, and we listened to every bugle and trumpet song mentioned in the book. 

We also found out the Swan Boats are still running, and saw photos of the boats over the years. 

 

Louis ate watercress sandwiches in the hotel, so we made watercress sandwiches, and found out watercress was quite delicious. 

We also knew that Trumpeter Swans winter in our area, so we read about them. We watched a big group of swans who have been staying on some farmland near us. We went back a week later, and found them swimming in nearby water. 

Then a couple days later, we found one swan, alone in a field and pulled over to watch him for awhile.

Snow Candy

"Grandma stood by the brass kettle and with the big wooden spoon she poured hot syrup on each plate of snow. It cooled into soft candy, and as fast as it cooled they ate it."
Little House in The Big Woods

DUNE

Our audiobook during our Oregon trip was Dune, by Frank Herbert. It was a LONG book, it  even lasted longer than our trip. We finally finished it over this weekend, and celebrated by having a Dune themed breakfast.
Spice Coffee,Spice toast, and Spice Cookies

BlancMange from Little Women

"That looks too pretty to eat," he said, smiling with pleasure, as Jo uncovered the dish, and showed the blancmange, surrounded by a garland of green leaves, and the scarlet flowers of Amy's pet geranium.

"It isn't anything, only they all felt kindly and wanted to show it. Tell the girl to put it away for your tea. It's so simple you can eat it, and being soft, it will slip down without hurting your sore throat. What a cozy room this is!"

Ranger's Apprentice Birthday Party

Andrew chose "Ranger's Apprentice" as his party theme.

 

My 11 year old Ranger

 

We chose a medieval looking backdrop,

 

and we made a chandelier.

  

We used metal {actually plastic made to look like Metal} and wood utensils and serving dishes, to be authentic.

 

With Ranger Apprentices around, you never know where you may find an arrow

 In the wall, or in the cake!

 I printed out selections from the book, to put near key themed items, since most of our guests had not read the series

  

Our cake was an archery target

 Oak Leaf cookies

 

Dried meat and dried fruit

 Chub's Pies

 Of course we had stew

 

Halt's Boar

 Cider made from Tug's apples

Rangers love coffee, sweetened with honey {We actually served hot chocolate}