Saw a recipe in an English edition of a home and lifestyle magazine (sorry I forgot the name), and both the picture and the recipe drew me in. So, I made it the other night and I like it. I lightly toast a slice under the broiler and pat on a little butter . . . yum.

Honey, Sultana and Pecan Tea Bread

This is a moist and crumbly tea bread enriched with honey, mixed spice and the aromatic flavors of Earl Grey tea. This cake will become firmer with time and stores well for up to five days in an airtight container. Serves 10

7 oz. golden raisins (sultanas)
200 ml freshly brewed Earl Grey Tea
5 T softened butter, plus extra to grease pan
½ C (generous) packed light brown sugar
2 T honey
2 medium eggs
1 ½ C self-rising flour, sifted
1 level teaspoon allspice
½ C (generous) course chopped pecans

Put the sultanas (golden raisins) in a bowl with the tea and leave to soak overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees; grease and line a 8x4x3 loaf tin* with grease-proof paper.
Whisk together the butter, sugar and honey. Gradually add the eggs, then fold in the flour, allspice, pecans and soaked raisins with any extra tea.
Bake in the oven for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool in the tin, then slice and serve.

Source: English edition of a home and lifestyle magazine (sorry I forgot the name) citing Fortnum & Mason Earl Grey Tea recipe; I made the unit of measurement conversions as best I could, thus the “generous” notes.
*could use a 9x5x3 and shorten baking time slightly

  

Had a fun day yesterday at the Little Italy Art Walk in downtown San Diego. It's so colorful in Little Italy, and even more so right now with all the trees and flowers in bloom. I especially like this shot of the pastel buildings across the street reflecting onto one of the high-rise apartment buildings, and then the tent canopies of the artists booths below. It was a gorgeous day weather-wise and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Bought myself just a small piece of pottery to hold a few cut flowers from the yard.

My goal is that by next year Bentley will be trained enough to walk easily with me around the 13 blocks of the Art Walk. Lots of people had their dogs with them . . . maybe next year.

We spent three nights and four fun days at Santee Lakes here in the San Diego area. We were able to reserve our most favorite RV spot right by the babbling brook and were lucky enough to have no neighbors on either side, so was especialy spacious for us (and Bentley).

Our friends Christel and Armin joined us for burgers one night. They lavished us with flowers, cheese appetizers, homemade cookies and wine--they're welcome any time! We had some fun conversation around a nice little fire in the evening.

Was a great getaway

Took this picture of Bentley yesterday and love how handsome he looks! He's turning into a good boy . . . slowly but surely; very slowly . . . but surely.

What a treat to have Julie and the grandkids (Ian and Jack) here for a visit for a few days. The weather has been up and down these last few weeks, but fortunately we had a perfect day for Sea World. The Shamu show was a highlight, and so was the Journey to Atlantis roller coaster/water slide ride. The Penquin Encounter made for some good "Artic" pics. We played cards and dominoes and generally just had a good time the rest of the visit. Time goes by fast, but we're so glad they came.