The March Loaves&Fishes Menu

For some reason no photos will load! The server is 'rejecting' them apparently, how embarrassing. Anyway we are really looking forward to Loaves&Fishes next weekend and here is the menu:

Antipasto

Four Cheese Tortellini with sage butter

Pollo al burro with roast cherry tomatoes & Herb Tabbouleh

Sicilian Wedding Cake

Homemade Cantucci

Tea & Coffee

A few years ago we went to La Sostanza in Florence and had the most amazing steaks. The house red wine was beautiful and served in little glass tumblers, there was a big open grill in the kitchen where everything was cooked. The whole atmosphere was so relaxed, I really loved it. We went back a few times and every time the people at the tables around us were raving about the Pollo al burro. Chicken soaked in a buttery bath. We had to get it! It was absolutely gorgeous and I've been making it at home ever since.

Last year we went to a beautiful wedding in Tuscany and at the end of the night we had the most amazing berry Wedding Cake. I've been trying to find a recipe for it everywhere and just recently figured out that the filling is like the Scilian Cassata cake. Anyway it's gorgeous and I'll post the recipe with photos here next week!

Lilly x

We have a title! It's MakeBakeLove!

Thanks so much to everyone for all of the brilliant book title suggestions! I never really considered calling the book after the blog but ye all thought of it. Go Team! So since the blog is called 'Stuff I make, bake and Love' the book will be called the shorter version 'Make.Bake.Love'. You make it, you bake it, you love it. I think it's a grower. 100 sweet baking recipes and jam packed with photos.

I'm just at the 'typing up and checking everything twice over and over' stage so here are some photos I won't be putting in the book. Bo loves to help when I'm taking photos. She's lurking in the background of every shot, she knows not to go near me when I have the camera in my hand!

Thanks a million to my talented beautician sister Rosie (above)  for using make up artistry magic and to my Colm for taking the photos of me for the book. Blogging can be a solitary and very personal hobby and it can sometimes appear like it's not part of the 'real world' but coming together to make this book has brought it all to life for me. I always write these posts for you to read but now other people will be able to read the book too! So come September we'll have to share! Thanks for all your support!

Lilly x

Drop Scone Tuesday is upon us!

I absolutely love pancakes. A day where you just have to have pancakes is my dream come true. For about six months we had pancakes every Sunday morning with apple sliced or grated into the batter. Like this lovely recipe. I love adding fruit to the batter as it makes them 'healthy' and then you can drench them in glorious maple syrup. But for the past few months whilst I've been writing and baking up the book there has been nothing but cake in the house. We have lost our appetite for sugar. It's a sad day when you realise that no, you don't feel remotely like having cake or biscuits with your cup of tea. I had to make a new house rule: Nobody is to leave empty handed. If someone calls, give them cake. So the run up to lent and the symbolic pancake making has never been so apt. I am giving up sugar! Hurray! But first I must eat loads of drop scones.

Mexican Recipes

 The Mexican L&F dinner was lovely! Massive thanks as usual to my brilliant sisters who were decked out like Mexican ladies with flowers in their hair and beautiful mexican dresses. We started the night with Tequila Spritzers. It was basically a big jug of margarita mix (cointreau, tequila & lots of fresh lime juice). A shot of this was poured into each glass & then topped up with lemonade. Very drinkable and I'd imagine a real winner for summer barbeques!

Loaves&Fishes Love Mexican Food!

Thanks so much for all of the brilliant name suggestions for my book! I really loved reading through them and will let ye know as soon as we've decided on the best title. Thanks a million!x

Now back to the business at hand: The Loaves & Fishes menu for next weekend. The loose theme will be Mexican so feel free to dust off your ponchos! I've resisted the temptation to make a huge pinata but there's a few days to go yet so you never know! Nothing on the menu will be crazy hot and loaded with chilli. It'll all be lovely and full of fresh lime,coriander and my favourite secret ingredient in the kitchen: Cacao!

Black bean Sopa Azteca 

Guacamole, Salsa, Torilla chips and other lovely bits & pieces

Chilli con cacao, Green Rice and homemade cornbread

Citrus Tart

Homemade Chilli chocolate truffles

Tea & Coffee

Help me name my book please! x

So my lovelies I have exciting news! Eeek! I know.

I've been writing a book. All about Baking. For the past few months there have been four tier black forest gateaus,Banoffee Cake, Coffee Cakes, millions of muffins, tons of tarts and some gorgeous breads rising in the hot press! The whole house smells amazing and hopefully masks the fact that I've been neglecting the hoovering! The publishers, Gill & McMillan contacted me about the blog and would I like to do a book etc. so I decided on Baking as being what The Book would be about. But we simply cannot come up with a name! So I'd love if you would let me know what you think. Hopefully from reading the blog you know what the style of the book will be: gorgeous photos, approachable recipes and lots of beautiful baked stuff! Here are the suggestions so far. Please let me know any comments you have and let me know which one you think is best!

1. Baking Power

2. Bake it Easy (Lorriane Pascal kind of beat me to it with her new book 'Baking made Easy'.Doh!)

3. Bake, Eat, Love

4. Sweet Dreams

5. Flour Power

And if you can think up a completely different name do let me know too,The book will be out in the Autumn so the sooner the better!
Thanks a million!
Lilly x

The L&F Aftermath: alot of Rambling & Recipes!

I have brilliant excuses for being so late in posting recipes from this months Loaves&Fishes Supper! They really are great. After 'the big clean up' on Sunday morning we made a massive brunch. Ate loads and then packed up all of our worldly goods (saucepans, favourite knives, 1 chi-russell, 1 jack russell and laptop).All set for the drive home. But when we drove through the 1st toll bridge at Portlaoise smoke started billowing from the engine and a loud knocking came from the glove compartment. That's what happens when your engine overheats apparently. So I had to pull over, call the AA who insisted on calling me MRS Higgins and hope for the best.

My sister Rosie was with me too and her two dogs were, in fairness, so good! They did go ballistic when the AA man did eventually show up and they were in 'miniature dog protective mode'. So we all piled into Michaels van with the lights flashing and the car on the back of the thing.We chatted about yorkshire puddings, Brian Cowen, tourism in Portlaoise and the downturn in the construction industry. We were beeped at going through two different roundabouts as Michael was taking his time. No-one rushing this guy. We were towed to Portlaoise train station where the ticket man charged me €88 euro and told me to get on the train that pulled up at platform 2, which we did. Only to find ourselves in Limerick an hour later. Some other poor boy (James) also was told the train was headed to Cork. I kicked up a fuss.The train men said there had to have been announcements because the train is a machine?!