A patchwork bag, and recipes

A couple of weeks ago I bought some curtains from the charity shop with a lovely old rose pattern.  I fell in love with the fabric but couldn't think what to make with them and then I saw some more curtains at the car boot sale and thought I would make a patchwork bag using them both.  The second pair has  flowers in separate colours so I cut the pieces to just use the blue, pink and white ones.

I started off making the semi circle bit and added the three rectangles above it but it wasn't big enough for what I wanted, so I added another row of three rectangles.  I wanted it tall enough to hold a bottle of water and as you can see below, it does.  I used a duvet cover for the lining.

A few of you asked for the recipes for the blackcurrant cake and loaf from my last post.  The cake recipe is from the June issue of Prima and is actually for a Strawberry cake but any seasonal berries can be used.

Strawberry Cake

150g/5oz self-raising flour

100g/4oz pack of ground almonds

175g/6oz butter

150g/5oz caster sugar

1tsp baking powder

2 eggs

2tbsp milk

400g/14oz punnet of fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped

icing sugar to dust

23cm/9in square cake tin, lightly greased and lined with greaseproof paper

Preheat oven to gas mark 4/170 degrees C (150 degrees C in a fan oven).  

Add flour, ground almonds, butter, sugar, baking powder and eggs to mixer bowl of food mixer.

Beat gently for a few minutes till pale and creamy then add milk and beat again briefly till combined.  Fold in strawberries (or whatever berries using) till all incorporated, then spoon into prepared tin.

Level surface of cake, pushing any strawberries down into cake mix.

Put in oven and bake for about 45mins - 1 hour or till golden and cooked through.  Test with a skewer, if it comes out clean the cake is ready.  Leave to cool for 10 minutes then remove from tin and leave to cool completely.

Dust with sieved icing sugar to serve.

The recipe for the loaf is old so the measurements are only in ounces

Cheddar Sunset Loaf

2 eggs, beaten

4oz Double Gloucester cheese, grated

1oz fresh breadcrumbs

1/2 level tsp oregano

1/2 tsp soy sauce

1 small onion, chopped

salt and pepper

6oz self-raising flour

2 tomatoes

3oz Cheddar cheese, sliced

Mix together the eggs, Double Gloucester cheese, breadcrumbs, oregano, soy sauce, onion and salt and pepper to taste.  Work in the flour a little at a time to make a soft dough.  Knead well and divide into two pieces.  Place one piece in the base of a buttered 1lb loaf tin.  Skin and slice the tomatoes and place over the dough.  Arrange the cheese slices on the tomatoes and top with the remaining dough.

Bake at 180 degrees C for 40-45 minutes or until firm and golden.

Cool on a wire rack.  Serve sliced with butter.