I'm home!

I was on holidays! That's where I was. I know you were probably wondering. I was supposed to have a post ready to lock and load and pop up when I was away but then my poor old Grandaddy gone and left us. After 92 brilliant years on earth he decided that July would be a good time to drift off to Valhalla. So blogging took a backseat. I did do a massive wild flower display for him and was tempted for a second to take a photo and show you but then I thought, No.That'd be bad taste. Damn. I also made him a wreath out of toffees. This was all preplanned with him beforehand of course. He had been instructing me how to do the sweet wreath since he was in his 80's. There was alot of debate involved in what sweets would work best, we settled on his favorite Scots Clan toffees. We had planned how best to construct it. If ever you find yourself in this situation just get an oasis wreath and use toothpicks to 'pin' the sweets in their wrappers to the wreath. And hey presto! It was a real celebration of his life though, a whirlwind of baking, tea, snuff and whisky; as all Irish funerals are!

Rose Petal Jam: Romance is in the air!

Any recipe that has sugar and rose petals in the ingredients list has to be sweet. Rose Petal Jam has it all. A delicate rose scent, a sweet floral taste, and a romantic glowing pink colour. Capturing summer in a jar has never been so easy!

My mother used to make this when we were small and I remember seeing her pulling the bitter yellow ends off the rose petals before covering the pink petals in sugar. If ever there is a relaxing job then preparing the velvety petals for the jam is it! And as your jam bubbles away on the cooker the whole house becomes drenched in the heady smells of roses and lemons. Beautiful!

Apple Hand Pies : My 50th Post!

Are you looking to increase your daily intake of golden buttery pastry? I was too! And I found the answer in these darling apple hand pies! I first came across the brilliant idea of hand pies over on Amy Karol's Blog. Genius. An apple tart with a heart, just increase the proportion of pastry, decrease the fruit and you're on to a winner. You probably think they're just normal but I have to tell you that the day I made these I ate three. I know. My photo shoot was interrupted by a visitor that informed me I had sugar and crumbs on my face, I was mortified, hence the consumption of a third pie.

Garden Mint Lemonade

There's a load of mint taking over my garden and I absolutely love it. I'm putting it into everything and the more I pick, the more it grows. Mint is one of those brilliant things that just thrives no matter what, my kind of plant! I used a mixture of spearmint and peppermint for this gorgeous summer drink.

Side of the road Strawberry tart

This lovely tart came about because of a boy. Sitting on the side of the road selling glorious Wexford strawberries. Every summer there are horse boxes, trailers, and car boots brimming with wexford strawberries and new potatoes parked on the roadside all over the country. When you see the handwritten signs advertising this seasonal wonder you just have to stop as it's a traditional herald of summer. I know I'm such a brat because I was eating strawberries way back in March! These strawberries were nicer though, sun ripened and plump and also they cost a fortune. Funny how those cute handwritten signs never have any price and how you have abandoned the car on the side of the road with the hazard lights on so have to justify your risky detour by grabbing 4 punnets...

Lavender Madeira: The taste of Summer!

Another Cake? I know. I'm addicted. It's just that butter is the perfect consistency for cake making nowadays, what with all this lovely weather we've been having. Anyway I was flicking through Country Homes & Interiors Magazine, as I'm sure alot of twenty six year old girls do, and I came across this freaky little recipe, so I had to try it.

Pride Cakes

Pride Cakes. I bet you were expecting photos of a gathering of lion themed cakes? Nope. Instead it's Pride Cakes to celebrate the start of The Dublin Pride Festival which starts on 19th June. The Cork Pride parade was on last June the 5th and was a beautiful bright and happy family day out with gorgeous weather. The theme for this years parade is family. I heard Oisin from Dublin Pride doing a great interview on Newstalk last week and I instantly thought: I must make some sort of cakes!