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.