Spring and Sweet Red Pepper Sauce

Spring is finally coming! It's nearly here - officially it arrives on Sunday.  After a long winter it's a relief to feel a small warmth in the wind.  It doesn't bite through your jacket like it did all through December and January, and February come to think of it. The birds are singing songs in the trees as I walk home from the metro each evening. 
Spring means summer. 
Youpee!
Red Pepper Sauce.
No better way to get ready for summer. It's a brilliantly useful sauce for cooked chicken or lamb.  It's great added to vinaigrette for a salad a bit different.

Orange Syrup Cake

Dear Hélène,
Here is the cake recipe that you asked for.
Lovely
P.S. even if your name is not Hélène you are more than welcome to try it. 

Mid-week Fish Dish

Dear All,

How are you this week? Did you get your ironing done? Are the dishes put away? Have you had time to make your bed yet? 

Please don't be afraid if you come over to visit. The ironing pile is hidden, we've shut the door to the bedroom mess and the dishes are clean (even if they are still on the bench). But that's the great thing about friends - we forgive each other if our house, life and sometimes our attitude isn't perfect.

Here is a new recipe just for you. It's even good enough to make for friends who come over to eat. 

From my busy life to yours

xox

Saturday morning Lemon Poppy seed loaf

Our week looked a little like this :

That would be more than one week's worth of ironing not done! No time. Too many other things to do.

So Saturday morning merited a little 'bonheur'.  We had our lovely friends over for dinner on Friday night and while the oven was on, cooking the most delicious leg of lamb greek style, I whipped up this little treat for breakfast on Saturday morning. 

Much appreciated by my handsome husband who is used to seeing baking come out of the oven and walk straight out the door to someone else's grateful stomach. He was very pleased that this cake was all for him (to share with me of course!).

Home made Mayonnaise - happy days!

It's good to share success with your friends I think.  I like being happy for you when things go right and a good friend will stick around and share the suffering moments too. So, let me share some good news with you...

I have learnt how to make mayonnaise. All by myself, without additives, without stabilizers, the real stuff. Simple I know, but oh how it tastes so good!

Heart Biscuits

I know that Valentine's Day was on Sunday and that it's a bit late to make heart shaped biscuits for the precious people in your life. But - life doesn't always happen in order.
Sometimes I wake up before my alarm.
Sometimes my tea goes cold before I drink it.
Sometimes your birthday present from me might arrive late.
I watched Ice Age 3 before I watched Ice Age 2.


So, you can make heart shaped biscuits for someone after Valentine's Day. Heck, you can even make heart-shaped biscuits just for yourself if you want. Everyone needs a little love.

Cranberry and cereal biscuits

Me and biscuits, we're back together. And I love them. And I think they love me.
Biscuits are coming back into fashion in my kitchen.  Many years ago I decided that making biscuits was too time consuming and it was far better return-for-effort to make a cake or a tray slice. You are able to cook the whole thing at once and then cut it into pieces. Easy, fast. Biscuits however, require individual attention at the making stage and I was often in a hurry to get it in the oven. I also have had a very small oven for the past several years which when making a batch of biscuits would require at least 3 separate baking trays cooked separately equalling three times the cooking time.