I sometimes get asked for some quick baking ideas, something that can be done simply and that kids can get involved with too. So this week I have made some little fruity pots that could be a scrum breakfast to start the day, or made in jars and taken on a picnic or put into bowls for an easy weekday pudding. This recipe also makes the most of the end of season British berries, which I think, should be celebrated right up to the last minute. There isn’t a lot of baking in thi

There was an abundance of blueberries in the shops this week and as they are in season they didn’t cost the world - hooray. So trotting home with a lot of blueberries in hand, I was thinking of baking something delicious, of course, but also something that kids could join in with whilst they are on their summer holidays. They make a wonderful breakfast treat when they are still warm from the oven. I’ve made a crunchy, topping including cinnamon which give them a lovely spic

Excitingly this week, , the blog turns one! For the past 52 Fridays, I have been sharing seasonally inspired recipes that I have loved making. I wanted to mark the occasion with a dessert, specifically - a summer pudding. We also saw the arrival of Summer Solstice, our longest day in the Northern Hemisphere. Along with the Summer Solstice also came the arrival of the red currants, raspberries, gooseberries and strawberries on the allotment - with all these amazing fruits it

The season starts to fade into the warmth of summer and I can feel it changing around me, all the visual clues. Joggers out for a run early in the morning before the heat of the day kicks in, holiday makers wandering along the promenade with ice creams in hand, BBQ’s on the beach and the British berries arriving in the green grocers and supermarkets. One of the many excellent qualities of a pavlova is it’s lightness. In this heat, after an evening meal, I crave something f

Hooray what a super week - it was my birthday this week, it was my sister's birthday the day after, my friend had a lovely wedding celebration and it’s a bank holiday weekend here in England. So lots of lovely things happening! For a celebration breakfast, I decided to go for french toast with berries. The bread is soaked in milk, flavoured with cinnamon and nutmeg, along with egg, and then fried in butter - heaven! For those who have been reading my blog for a while, you w

Every Friday this month, I will be sharing a recipe for a treat you might see at an afternoon tea. I LOVE afternoon tea, hooray for Anna, the seventh duchess of Bedford. Like any decent human being, Anna would get hungry around 4pm and need dainty sandwiches and tea. One of my best afternoon tea places is Fortnum and Mason’s in London; it is such a treat. The store alone is worth a visit if you are in the city, but if you have the time and can splash out a bit, then book i

Now I have to admit that I am not a big celebrator of the New Year, I like to keep things low key and reflective. Having said that, I do like to mark the change in the calendar and my way of doing this is with food! A popular choice in my house is a New Year's Eve BBQ, whatever the weather! But I think this year it might be homemade pizza; I enjoy making the dough from scratch….plus there is a lot of cheese in the fridge, left over from all the festivities. New Year’s Eve w

I don’t know if anyone else feels they do this too, but I have a habit of flitting from missing what has gone to getting excited about what is to come, which means I can miss out on the ‘right now’. I am trying to stay observant of the present, this blog and engaging in the activities I share is helping me to do that. A meaningful marker in my year is when the blackberries appear on bramble bushes. This to me is a sign that the summer season is fading and the autumn season