I love baking as regular readers will know and when I read the recipe for Ginger and Parsnip Cake in the current National Trust magazine. I knew it would be my next bake. 
This is the cake awaiting its cream cheese and ginger icing. 
Sadly, my new diet means I shouldn’t eat cake so I’ve enjoyed a delicious fruit platter.
Plum, satsumas, ginger pieces and toasted cashews
It’s Valentine’s day tomorrow and our day to volunteer at Community Roots so I have made some delicious, gluten-free and very crumbly heart shaped biscuits for the coffee break. 
It’s World Radio Day and Brian Bilston, poet, has given me permission to post his poem in honour of the day. I love how it reminds me of the time when you could turn the dial and hear all sorts of magic snippets and sometimes stopped on one that you weren’t looking for but found a programme to give you joy. I love his sense of humour too. .
We went to visit Dear friends today to catch up after many weeks and to meet their new kitten. We both fell in love with him!
Playing, very hard to get a photo
Maybe that’s enough
Feeling a bit sleepy
Nodding off
Out for the count
Isn’t he gorgeous?
Our lovely friend had been baking and sent us home with some of her delicious cookies.
Chocolate and ginger cookies
Later we visited the beach as the rain had stopped and is due again tomorrow so we seized the moment.
Porthtowan at dusk
Remembering my lovely Dad today on his birthday. Here is our bookshelf of his books.
I know it’s Tuesday but couldn’t make Plough Pudding for supper last night so here it is today. It’s a sausagey sage and onion bread pudding that is very tasty. We served it with maple carrots and French peas with lettuce. 
I found the recipe and its history in this year’s Almanac.
I made a Beetroot and Chocolate cake for the Volunteers at Community Roots today. It went so quickly I hardly had time to get a photo. 
I love the way almost every house through the village of Chacewater has a small Christmas tree outside.
I served our Pork Balls in Tarragon Sauce with some Tree Cabbage harvested from Roots this morning. Find out more about Tree Cabbage here.
We called at the station this morning to check on an upcoming journey and found Hector, the station cat, sitting all alone in the lounge. There’s a notice on the door asking passengers not to let him in as he has a kennel on the platform but I wasn’t about to sprag on him on such a bitter morning – if ever!
We only lasted at Roots for a couple of hours today as it was bone chillingly cold. We worked together on clearing old nasturtiums from the poly tunnels and generally tidying up in there. At coffee time, a charming little dog sat looking longingly at the cake that the lovely Mr S was consuming.
M had made a most delicious Orange and Almond cake and shared the recipe so, of course, I just had to try it this afternoon. It’s a really quick and truly scrumptious recipe.
Such a heavy frost this morning and beautiful patterns on the car reminiscent of the ice patterns on the inside of the bedroom windows when I was growing up.
After wiping the hob, the lovely Mr S drew a smiley face for me.
I have made our contribution to Christmas dinner, very delicious Sausage, Chestnut and Cranberry Stuffing using Nigel Slater’s recipe. They are now in the freezer ready for transporting.
I picked a little posy of Rosemary, Petunia and Wallflowers to take next door to remember Bill-next-door’s birthday. He was such a lovely man, missed by so many. Read about him here
It’ll be Market Day tomorrow in Redruth so I’ve made my usual Coffee Cake for the cake stall. I sprayed the top with edible gold as it’s a Christmas market..
Our Advent candle glows in the dark.
I made an ‘I love Beetroot” cake, to take to Community Roots this morning (made with beetroot collected last week) but for a couple of reasons, we couldn’t go. 
I’ve been working on angels all day today and watching the squirrels in the garden..
On our way back from posting the little hat this afternoon, I caught the skyline on camera. I love the two finials and the weeds in the middle. 
Last night, walking through Newlyn we spotted this lovely and dramatic stained glass window set into a shiny black front door.
We made Chocolate Beetroot Cake today to share with friends, enough mixture left over for little buns with cream cheese icing and crystallised beetroot hearts on top.
Today is the birthday of one of our Ukrainian friends, Danylo, and this little angel in the colours of Ukraine with a sunflower for its decoration is here for him. Happy birthday, Danylo. . 
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