The Great British Bake Off: My Mary Berry Inspired Florentines Recipe with Stem Ginger This week on The Great British Bake Off it was “Biscuit” week…….as in cookies, for my North American readers, and not scone type quick breads! The programme opened with a challenge to make one of my favourite types of biscuit, savoury biscuits,…
Thanksgiving
The Great British Bake Off and my Mary Berry Cherry Cake Recipe
The Great British Bake Off and my Mary Berry Cherry Cake Recipe Last week saw the start of The Great British Bake Off, and along with many thousands of others, I sat transfixed as the start of series five started to unfold. As the twelve contestants started to bake their way through week one of “Cakes”,…
August Thrifty & Organic Meal Planner: An American Style “Pot Luck” Summer Supper
August Thrifty & Organic Meal Planner: An American Style “Pot Luck” Summer Supper Core Ingredients for August: Minced Beef, Courgettes, Red Peppers, Onions, Pasta and Raspberries Meal Plan and Recipes for August: Hidden Veg Baked Meatball Subs (Sandwiches) Amish Style Macaroni Salad Raspberry & Almond Crisp “Pot Luck Supper” “A potluck is a gathering of…
It’s always Pimm’s O’Clock! Raspberry & Elderflower Pimm’s Cocktail
It’s always Pimm’s O’Clock! Raspberry & Elderflower Pimm’s Cocktail Let’s just set the scene……..a hot English summer’s day, leather on willow, floral tea “frocks”, stripy deck chairs, lazy days in the garden, the chink of ice on glass, full-blown roses and scented lavender, the buzz of bees, Wimbledon, strawberries and cream, old straw hats and…
Thrifty & Organic Meal Planner for July: Peas, Roast Fennel, Cheese Pie and Cherry Cake
Thrifty & Organic Meal Planner for July: Peas, Roast Fennel, Cheese Pie and Cherry Cake Core ingredients for July: Cheese, Spinach, Peas, Tomatoes, Fennel and Cherries Menu Plan and Recipes for July: Pea and Mint Pesto Roast Fennel, Tomatoes and Onions Cheese, Spinach and Dill Filo Pie Fresh Cherry Loaf Cake Welcome to July’s Thrifty…
June Thrifty & Organic Meal Planner: Salmon, Watercress & Strawberry Delights!
June Thrifty & Organic Meal Planner: Salmon, Watercress & Strawberry Delights! Welcome to June’s Thrifty and Organic Meal Planner; this month I have created three simple recipes that won’t break the bank or take up too much time in the kitchen; and, one of the component parts of the salmon recipe, the watercress and spring…
Better with Brita: Watercress Soup with Chives (5:2 Diet)
Better with Brita: Watercress Soup with Chives (5:2 Diet) Welcome to my SECOND Better with Brita recipe post! When I was deciding what to make for my next recipe, I thought of soup straight away, as soup is made with water and what better way to showcase Brita filtered water then with a soup recipe. And,…
Thrifty & Organic Meal Planner for May: Chicken, Exotic Spices and Floral Fruit
Thrifty & Organic Meal Planner for May: Chicken, Exotic Spices and Floral Fruit Hello and welcome to my FIRST Thrifty and Organic Meal Planner for 2014! As regular Lavender and Lovage readers will know, I worked with Organic UK throughout last year with a series of special menus based around key seasonal organic ingredients, and…
An Old Fashioned Kinda Pie! Heirloom Apple or Fruit Tart Recipe
An Old Fashioned Kinda Pie! Heirloom Apple or Fruit Tart Recipe Damp tea cloths are drying on the handles of an AGA range, and as well as damp linen the air is full of baking aromas……cinnamon vies with apples and the vague scent of buttery pastry is also omnipresent in the old cottage kitchen; it’s…
St George’s Day & A Spring Salad Recipe: English Apple and Walnut Salad
St George’s Day & A Spring Salad Recipe: English Apple and Walnut Salad Salad days…….hot, balmy days with fluffy white clouds and the drowsy distant buzz of bees……the early morning translucent light that awakes me along with birdsong and the pale warmth of early sun beams that dance along the old oak beams and form…
For your Easter Table: Cream Cheese & Cheddar Spread with Bacon and Herbs
For your Easter Table: Cream Cheese & Cheddar Spread with Bacon and Herbs Time to forget all that chocolate, as well as any cakes, biscuits and scones that are kicking around, we are on a cheese mission today, and it doesn’t get cheesier than this recipe, as Greg Wallace (of Masterchef) might say; it’s packed…
Organic Easter Menu: French Herb & Garlic Lamb and Pots au Chocolat
Organic Easter Menu: French Herb & Garlic Lamb and Pots au Chocolat It’s with great pleasure that I announce my continuing collaboration with Organic UK throughout 2014 – more about that to come in May, but for now I wanted to share some great indulgent recipes for people to enjoy with their family over Easter weekend,…
Saturday Breakfast and Brunch Memories: Smoked Salmon “Egg in a Basket” (Egg in a Hole)
Saturday Breakfast and Brunch Memories: Smoked Salmon “Egg in a Basket” (Egg in a Hole) Saturday and Sunday mornings used to be a treat for me when I was little; when we lived in Shatin (Hong Kong), every weekend, if my dad wasn’t working, we would get up late and have breakfast together. Sitting at…
Floral and Flavoured Butter: Rosemary Flower Butter with Grana Padano Cheese
Floral and Flavoured Butter: Rosemary Flower Butter with Grana Padano Cheese Sometimes an idea comes to me in the middle of the night, when I am tossing and turning, reflecting on events that have happened, or worrying about things that may not happen……..the night is still and my thoughts seem to hang in the darkness…
French Sunday Lunch: Guinea Fowl with Apples, Prunes and Armagnac Mustard Sauce (Pintade aux Prunes)
French Sunday Lunch: Guinea Fowl with Apples, Prunes and Armagnac Mustard Sauce (Pintade aux Prunes) Dawn breaks, sending fiery rays of blood-red rays through the old lace curtains……it’s a Sailor’s (or Shepherd’s) warning morning, and then I hear the patter of rain as it hits the window, driven by blustering winds. The duvet clings to…
