Broad beans, bread bins and old tins

I love broad beans. Love the taste, colour, feel and love popping them from their pods. I love them hot, cold, warm, however they come. Friday night we had our first spring broad beans of the year. They were delicious, served warm with a oil, vinegar and fresh mint. Spring on a plate. Plenty of spinach too. Friday nights for us are usually big bowls of pasta, bottle of wine and bars of chocolate in front of the TV. Mr Ragged Roses was not a happy bunny, he was very poorly coughing, aching and feeling oh so tired. Having worked really hard for months on an end to get a book off to print, his precious day off arrives and he spends it under the eiderdown, dead to the world! Hence the overload of green veg. M had been suffering all week and had to go in to work and it seemed very unfair to be so ill on your longed for day off. By Sunday he was on the mend, chocolate was bought and enjoyed and all is nearly back to normal, except that Little Sister is now off school today feeling under the weather. Not sure she'd admit to any green veg craving though!



A bit of a grey Saturday morning spent painting the door knobs of the kitchen cupboards in an attempt to lighten up the room. After 3 I was bored stiff but managed all 20 by Sunday night. I popped into town and bought my new bread bin to replace the old terracotta crock that has now been moved to the other end of the room and now holds the mountains of biscuits we seem to get through. I love this enamel one, it really brightens up the kitchen corner.



Lovely and cheery in the morning, unlike the ragged roses household!



A quick trip to the car boot yesterday morning resulted in a horde of more enamel and tin. Will I ever reach a point when I say "enough - I really don't need anymore" - I wonder ... My only justification is that these were all too pretty and cheap to leave behind. The colours were just too delicious to say "no" to and besides - well actually there isn't a besides, except that I love them. Could you have said no? The enamel jug is the prettiest of blues and the old sugar storage tin (which was given to me because I bought all the rest) is that shade of green that is so evocative of the 30s and 40s.



Anyway this little red coffee pot now is now a flower pot outside.



My little nautical tin will sit on the kitchen window sill and matches a lovely deck of boaty cards I bought a few weeks ago.



M says he can remember these Birds Baking Powder tins, I can't. I can only remember the custard tins. They can't have been that old but the packaging is lovely isn't it.



A little vintage tin of clotted cream (empty thank goodness!). I love clotted cream, not sure what it would be like from a tin though.



So now I've got a recipe for sponge cake, baking powder and clotted cream. Had to have a cake tin to put it in didn't I? Especially one covered in roses too.



And finally not a new purchase but an enamel plate and cup that Big Sister got as a pressie when she was little. Too sweet not to show you.
Hope you're having a good start to the week. I'm off to play nurse to Little Sister. looking at all these photos of sugar and cake tins I have a good idea what she might be craving!