Sunday 27 November 2011

Silver Creek Mountain Band Sunday

If you missed our fabulous humdinger of a Sunday here at Lowlands Country House I am so sorry for you!  We put on a laid back Sunday show featuring the Silver Creek Mountain Band and had close to 90 people turn out for some serious fun. Everyone arrived and found their spot under trees, on the lawns or in the tent.  We served a variety of breads (made by my husband Dave who had many hats on that day!), butter, cheese, preserved figs and jams. 

The band played wonderful music which everyone remembers from the good old days when music was great (the sixties, seventies, before and after).  If you are looking for foot tapping, singing, drinking, eating music then the Silver Creek Mountain Band is a must.  And man, can those three guys do the job!!  Even the younger people love all that music and I know that it was thoroughly enjoyed by absolutely everyone – our staff included who were hopping and bopping in the kitchen.  What a day in many ways.  We had been praying for good weather and up until that very day we had great weather but as lunch was being served outdoors, a gale sprang up out of almost nowhere accompanied by driving rain.  So it was a mad scramble to get the food under cover, the guests out of the rain and umbrellas saved from a journey to outer space. After a short while calm returned, the band cranked up again and we relaxed and had a great afternoon.  For those of you who missed this, we will do it again and again in the future as I can’t think of a better way to chill!  In fact I was so chilled I felt like dancing in the rain and being the latent hippie I most probably am at heart and do the Woodstock thing with no shoes and lank wet hair dotted with flowers.  I’ll tell you it was quite tempting but then I remembered just in time that I am respectable(?) granny and the kids toes would have curled in horror!

Silver Creek Mountain Band have been around forever and now live in Cradock from where they tour around the country.   Do yourself a favour and check out their website to see just how dedicated they are to damn good music and down to earth living – fabulous guys!

The children also had a great time running around, playing and at times listening to the music in fascination.  So good to see teenagers also joining in and enjoying a day on the farm listening to music. 

This darling little boy above, Matthew, was one of the children having a great day out on the farm - chasing chickens, pretending he was a warrior with a reed as his sword and generally being edibly cute!  
We partied until rather late, although there were a few farmers who couldn’t resist a late afternoon kip once tummies were full and went home (you know who you are, you faders!). 
And funny thing about the chickens – while we were setting up, they were fascinated with the activity and insisted on hopping onto every table, chair and lucerne bale checking what these foreign things were on their turf.  Once the music started I imagine they were foot tapping under the bushes in between being chased by the youngsters.  I told one of our little guests how the chickens were born in the basket of pot pourri in the dining room (check back a few blogs) and he is now pestering his mother to borrow the basket so he can also have some chicks ‘borned’ in it.
And I just can’t resist sharing a cupcake recipe with you – actually not so much the cupcake as the icing and decorating which Kate did.  So pretty and quite a good look for a vintage style party or wedding.  The ‘leaves’ are slices of green fig preserve with tiny fresh briar roses.

Cupcakes
125g Butter
155g Caster sugar
2 eggs
115g Flour
1 1/2 t Baking pwder
150 ml Milk
  • Preheat oven to 180 and line muffin tins with paper cases
  • Beat together butter and sugar with an electric beater until pale and creamy
  • Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition
  • Stir in flour and milk and spoon into cases
  • Bake for 15 minutes until skewer comes out clean
  • Take out of muffin pan and cool on a rack
  • Ice when cool with vanilla flavoured butter icing and decorate
I make double quantities every time as they are delicious and get snapped up in no time at all.
Till next time when we have a look at some farming activities keeping farmers extremely busy at this time of the year.
Regards,
Anne




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