The May Day craft show was judged today, and although I did not enter baked goods, I helped calm mum as she prepared hers. And what a result! 
She won the bakery section! First place for her four fancy cakes, Second for her Apple pie and also for her Birthday cake (a triumph of chocolatey delight - see the pic), and Third for her Tea for Two. I, however, somehow ended up stumbling into the floristry category, entering the floral arrangement, themed "Songs of Praise" and the "Garden on a Dinner Plate" category, just because my trip to Legoland reminded how much better things are in miniature.
She won the bakery section! First place for her four fancy cakes, Second for her Apple pie and also for her Birthday cake (a triumph of chocolatey delight - see the pic), and Third for her Tea for Two. I, however, somehow ended up stumbling into the floristry category, entering the floral arrangement, themed "Songs of Praise" and the "Garden on a Dinner Plate" category, just because my trip to Legoland reminded how much better things are in miniature.Unfortunately, this wasn't the case for my Dinner plate (sorry Port Merion). True, I came away with Second place, but there were only two entries. So it is like saying mine was the worst, despite what I considered to be my secret weapon - a tiny glass effigy of Otto that I purchased for $1.50 at a giftshop in Topsail Beach, North Carolina on one of the best days of my life.
Sarah's winning Entry. A stick fence!! A parasol! And her vegetable garden is superior.
She used Oasis - the wisdom of experience!
My effort, complete with 'Wee Otto'
And check out my flower arrangement! If the judge had known it was my first attempt she would have given me a Highly Commended I'm sure. And I quite enjoyed making it. It is basically sticking pointy things into a soft mound, not unlike voodoo in many ways. I even learnt some flower names. I used Sweet William (the pinky / reddy efforts) and September Flower (they look like daisies). If you can't read the card my chosen Hymn was "The Lord is my Shepherd". I only had two days to choose one and since I was doing the font arrangement, a hymn that included the line 'quiet waters' seemed like a good choice. You can't see it but there is water in the middle. And I made a good stab at making it look like flowers that might be found in 'green pastures', don't you think?
I'm expecting my next post to be cake-a-licious. I just bought a great cookbook that substitutes butter with various vegetables in the art of cake baking. My weird taste-combo radar couldn't let it pass me by, and I have already baked peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes (with butternut squash!). At first taste, without icing, they taste loverly. Hope they sell well atthe chapel cake stall tomorrow! Verity is going to help me with some more baking tomorrow, but I suspect we will mostly giggling, singing songs from Chess and turning the kitchen into a Tracy Emin installation.
