Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Anyone want to come over for tea?

Although the weatherman said it was going to rain all week, it's looking beautiful outside. 

I thought I would go for a walk and take some pictures of sunshine and green for my poor friends in the cold dark corners of the world, battered by storms, early snow, blackouts and election blues.

So here we go, out the front door. Take a deep breath!
The Chinese star jasmine by our front steps is still going strong. Next to the port wine magnolia, its heady  burst of vanilla lemon is my favourite scent of Spring.
The bauhinia at the corner is already going to seed.
Can someone tell me why my bouganvillea doesn't look like this?
[Hint. Maybe because it's dead?]

Out by the church on Darling Street is my favourite Spring flowering tree, the jacaranda. 
Leaves are already starting to sprout.

*

No walk to Darling Street would be complete without a visit to a cake shop. This one has all my current favourites. Lemon mascarpone muffins. Glazed orange poppyseed cake. Fat carrot cake with thick mascarpone icing. Flourless dark chocolate cake. Simple treats, not like the fussy stuff that comes out of Zumbo these days. Baked at the back of the shop, sometimes cracked, burnt at the edges and imperfectly shaped. Just the way I like them.
See the loaf on the lower left hand corner, next to the glazed orange poppyseed slice? It's an apple plum bread and it just came out of the oven. Heavy, moist and almost too hot to handle.

I had to get a slice of course.
Did I say, a slice?
It looked so lonely in that box, I decided to get the whole loaf. 
Yeah, that's right. Wrap it up, Jo.

It should go very well with what's sitting in the bathtub, ripening away.
The Australian Kensington Pride or Bowen mango. 1 a day for as long as the season lasts. 
Have I mentioned I put on weight every Spring? 

I think I might need to go to exercise class now. Tchau! X



35 comments:

How Sam Sees It said...

Oh yum yum. I'd be torn between the load and the mangoes!

Sam

What Remains Now said...

The only problem I can see of having friends in the southern hemisphere...looking at your pictures of beautiful blooming, flowering things while I dig for coats and sweaters. It's worth it! Enjoy the lovely bakery items. Yum.

houndstooth said...

Oh, I can almost smell the flowers! I envy you! Spring is my favorite time of year when everything is greening up. And pass the cake, please! Gah! I'm drooling!

georgia little pea said...

Dear everyone, half the loaf is now in the freezer because Cushion refuses to get fat with me. He is no fun at all. Wish you were here.

Berts Blog said...

What beautiful pictures. The blossomes are incredible and man oh man, do we wish there was a cool bakery like that near us.
have a great day.
Bert

Jean said...

Glazed.Orange.Poppyseed.Cake. I'll be right there! (And I'll help with that apple plum bread, too. And the mangoes!)

Thanks for the glimpses of spring. We had one beautiful day yesterday and now we are back to rain, rain, rain. Blech!

Jan said...

We are still having 80 degree days in California, but soon the evil fog and cold weather will move in. So please keep posting pictures to assure us that spring and summer are alive and well in your part of the world. Oh, and the bakery is welcome too.

Kirsten (peacefuldog) said...

Thank you! That was just what we needed. I was just taking pictures of my dark and spooky and leafless outdoor world, beautiful in its own way but not like this!

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

what a relaxing respite from the pressures of the U.S. today!

Barb said...

It would be lethal for me to live on Darling Street! Carrot cake is my favorite, but the muffins and bread also sound yummy. Did you also say brownies? I'd have to run several more miles a day if I lived by that bakery.

georgia little pea said...

Come on over JEAN! It's the red house with the Chinese star jasmine growing up the steps. You can't miss it. Bring tea if that's what you're drinking! I only have coffee :D

BARB, I didn't mention brownies but yes, they have those too! Also all kinds of sweet and savoury muffins including a newish blue cheese and pear (a bit strong on the blue). Hot pies and sausage rolls. Banana bread (very nice). And (I must include this made-to-order deliciousness) - a French toast with crispy bacon, maple syrup, berry compote and a big dollop of cream.

I'm afraid it isn't the only bakery/patisserie/cafe on the street either. Baked goods are my downfall (I bet you guessed that already). Methinks I'll have to move out of this area before I get a heart attack or my cholesterol gets any worse!

Oskar said...

Wow, I wish we had blooming trees instead of everything dying because it's fall!

Nubbin wiggles,
Oskar

Karen Friesecke said...

I'm coming over for tea ASAP! Would you mind sharing some of that coffee cake, too?

georgia little pea said...

Dear Karen, I would love to share my artery clogging cake. See ya!

Jen said...

What lovely pictures (and BREAD, holy smokes!) I'm so glad that you shared with us ^^

chandra said...

Sniff. Sniff. Yum. Sniff. YUM YUM YUM. Drool.

Wish I was there!
-c at ddy.

georgia little pea said...

Ms C, you were! This wasn't my fave cafe back then though, or I would have pointed it out for sure. Next time? :D

Julie said...

Beautiful pictures . .and now I'm hungry :)

Tootsie said...

We want to come over for tea! Please! In answer to your note on the blog, yes; we are still in Switzerland! It's confusing, right? I love that you follow where I am in reality, and that you read me virtually! Thank you so much for the tea invitation. We'll be over soon.

:)
Toots & my mom

STELLA and RORY from Down Under said...

Oh how beautiful all those flowers and trees are. We LOVE the jacaranda and we have many many of them in Adelaide. The bakehouse looks soooo good. Mmmmm, drool, slobber, slobber. Thanks for sharing those lovely photos. No worries, and love, Stella and Rory

Kristine said...

Thank you so much for sharing these bright and cheery photos! November can be such a gloomy month in Nova Scotia and almost completely devoid of colour. It's nice to be reminded that life still exists!

I could go for some of that yummy bread right about now too...

ann @ studiohyde said...

I really enjoyed that walk, thanks. As for the cake shop!....yum.

georgia little pea said...

Oi Toosie! Is that you at the door? Arf arf.

Stella and Rory, I LOVE them especially when they're bunched together. Spectacular!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the sunshine and flowers from foggy England....I can feel a massive cake urge coming on- salivating over here! Lucky you!

Sage said...

Thanks for a great reminder of spring! And, OMD, those cakes. Would you send me one of each?

2 Punk Dogs said...

We would love to come over for tea! The company, scenery and bakery all sound wonderful! Better than the 3 inches of snow we had yesterday & the leftover Halloween chocolate I'm eating right now. :)

Rose ~ from Oz said...

Typist! Ms Pea! If I wasn't so darned busy having this break I'd come for tea.... and I'd sure go to that bakery with you too. I grew up with Gullivers Triumphs which are an even bigger Bowen special mango. Huge....huge sweet flesh. dribble, drool.
Hooroo...
xx

Friko said...

Hi Georgia,

Is it your typist who needs to stuff her face with these goodies? And then they say we dogs are greedy!

I am also just a little put out by your bragging about the wonderful trees and shrubs in your part of the world; everything here is beginning to die, but I am still managing to have a good time with these mugs who’ve taken me on.

Love, Millie.

georgia little pea said...

One each Sage? You're an even bigger piggy than The Typist!

Duke and Maggie, you poor things. We shall think of you while scoffing.

Rose, that name isn't familiar to me. They sound wonderful! I have a confession to make...I had TWO today. Cushion's been making nasty comments about the state of my tummy. Boo. Miss you X

Millie! I'm so glad you made it. Are you giving your new humans a hard time and taking over the computer already? GOOD! Haha! See you around :)

Elizabeth said...

Yes, I think Buster and I will take you up on your kind offer of a cup of tea and some lovely flowering plants to look at....and we'll come along to the cake shop too!
warm wishes from battered New York.

Kolchak Puggle said...

APPLE PLUM CAKE?! Yes, I would very much like to come over for tea. Plus, it looks WAY warmer at your house than it is at mine...

chandra said...

Did you see the eclipse?! I'll understand if you were too busy eating delicious things!

-c at ddy.

georgia little pea said...

Chandra, would you believe I only heard about it on the news this morning? It was a very cloudy day and drizzly, so the answer is NO. I did eat a lot though :) x

H and Flo said...

Oh the yummy mangoes! There are none left on the trees around work, most of them were scoffed by bats and lorikeets, but there are still plenty to be had from 'other sources'... I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you. This is the time of year when the lorikeets start eating the fermeted fruit and getting stoned. The vets call them 'drop loris' and they get sent to detox for a few days. I love this country! :)

georgia little pea said...

H, that is the funniest thing I ever heard! Stoned birds. Who knew? :D