September 12, 2011

Prudence Magazine Article!


This month there's a four page spread of my house in Prudence magazine! I'm delighted that my gorgeous dog Bo got to be in it, even though she was beside herself with excitement she does look calm in the photos, phew!Thanks to Annette O'Meara who wrote the article and Paul Sherwood for the lovely photos.
Lilly x

September 2, 2011

Free Calender Desktop Background: September

A few months ago a blog reader emailed me asking if I could send her a high resolution photo of one of the cakes on the blog so that she could use it as a desktop background on her computer. She said that it would brighten up her office and I've been sending her photos ever since! So now I've decided to make it 'official' and I've added a calender so that you too can have a lovely desktop background!
I love doing things like this and putting it all together so will  upload a calender each month, I actually can't wait to do a Toffee Apple one for Halloween and a Coconut Snowball one for Christmas! Hurray!
For September's calender I've used two of my favourite flower photos (above). It's actually the same bunch of flowers but one is a close up of the sage, fennel leaves and flower.  You can download them on Flickr:


I'm using Flickr as I think thats probably the easiest way to download them. I'm going to move the calender up slightly this evening so it should suit all general computer screens.
Have a lovely weekend!
Lilly x

August 15, 2011

Easy Indian Flatbread & The Loaves & Fishes August Menu


UPDATE: The Supper Club is now booked out for August and as I'm going on maternity leave we're taking a break till next year but I'll keep the blog updated about future events! Thanks! x
Mango Fool with Coconut Biscuits
  I've been doing loads of cooking and recipe testing in preparation for the next (and last for a while!) Loaves & Fishes Supper. As usual there will be a loose theme and the planned summery evening will be Indian! Nothing will be too crazy hot or spicy so everyone should enjoy it. I'm using the amazing spices from Green Saffron, a Cork based company that import and mix the most amazing fresh spices.

  • Cucumber and Elderflower Champagne Cocktail
  • Mini Poppadums with fresh mint, red onion and mango chutneys
  • Chola Tikki (Indian Falafel) with salad
  • Green Saffron Red Lentil Dahl with Pilau Rice, Banana Raita and Coriander Flatbreads
  • Mango Fool with Coconut Biscuits
  • Tea & Coffee with Eastern Mendiants
Everything is homemade and it was great to practice making everything, especially the flatbreads! I've included the recipe below.I think they'd be perfect with dill added for a greek meal or chilli flakes. It's similar to a scone recipe and very versatile.

July 31, 2011

Brilliant News & The Best Chocolate Cake


So some brilliant news to kick off the week! We have a publishing date for the Make,Bake,Love book: 21st October and to top off all the excitement of that we're having a baby in December! Yay! We're so delighted and can't wait for both brilliant new arrivals; book and baby! So I'm taking 'maternity leave' from the Supper Club for a few months, August is our last and is fully booked. We are having a Tea Party in aid of Down Syndrome Ireland in the supper club on 27th August and there's still places left, Read about it here! To celebrate here's the most amazing chocolate cake recipe, it's flourless, a dream to make and tastes even better when kept in the fridge overnight. Hurray!

July 23, 2011

Come to our fundraising Tea Party for Down Syndrome Ireland!


We are having an afternoon tea party and you are all invited!
My sister Raedi and my Dad are two of the 150 cyclists completing the Tour de Munster, an epic 600km cycle, over 4 days, taking in every county in Munster. The Tour is in aid of Down Syndrome Ireland, a brilliant organisation which provides information and advice, influences policy, raises public awareness and works towards the improvement of education and services for children and adults with Down syndrome.
Each cyclist pays their own way on the Tour and has to raise 1000 euro for DSI. So we've decided to do what we love doing the most: bake! We're transforming our usual supper club venue into a tea parlour for the afternoon. There will be loads of delicous sandwiches, cakes and tea!
Tickets to the party are 20 euro and all of this goes toward our fundraising target.

Our Afternoon Tea party will take place on Saturday the 27th August from 2 - 4pm.
Please email Raedi at landfafternoontea@gmail.com if you'd like to come along! Thanks & see you there! x
 


July 17, 2011

Cider soaked Ham: Perfect for every occasion!


My mother always seems to have a ham in the fridge. It's the best thing ever. As you're waiting for dinner to cook or whatever you can cut a slice off, spread it with mustard and down the hatch. But it's not just for snacking: a few slices of ham with new potatoes, parsley sauce & spring cabbage is amaaazing. A sandwich made with real crusty sourdough, mustard, a strong cheddar and some of this beautiful smoked ham is the nicest lunch ever. When you don't feel like cooking a dinner on warm summer nights just assemble a ploughman's platter: basically anything that's in the fridge will work. Pickles, salads, cheese and a little dip made by mixing some honey with mayonnaise and mustard. It's so nice! I actually am not big into meat, I don't really like beef or chicken but real cooked ham will always have a place in my heart. It was always a mystery to me how my mother cooked the ham but she told me how the other day and I went out and got some of my own in The English Market in Cork.


What you'll need:
1 piece of ham (mine was around ten euro, I forgot to weigh it)
6 allspice berries
4 cloves
1 tin cider
1 oven proof pot with a lid

Simply place everything into the pot, cover and place in an oven preheated to 180C for 1 hour.
And that's it! Oh and it also makes a gorgeous addition to eggs benedict!
Lilly x

July 7, 2011

Flowery Ice Cubes to make your day!


I know now that there are much more important things going on in the world but every now and again it's great to just immerse yourself in a seemingly trivial project like.... Floral Icecubes! Yes! It's barbeque and afternoon tea party season. Jugs of lemonade are made even more gorgeous with some citrus slices suspended in ice. Pitchers of Elderflower cordial are unbearablely cute with little borage ice cubes. The possibilities are endless! I've looked on the internet at lots of different variables so don't worry; You don't have to now!