Etta has never seen the sea. So early one morning the 82 year old leaves her husband, Otto, and their farm in Canada with a note explaining that she is walking 2000 miles to the water and that she will try to remember to come back.
Continue reading Etta and Otto and Russell and James Review
Guildford has a little secret.
If you wander down one of the picturesque backstreets off the busy high street in Guildford, you’ll find one of Surrey’s most treasured historic gems.
Continue reading Guildford Castle
I firmly believe cold and dark January evenings are best spent baking indoors. You need something sweet and understanding to lift you. That’s where these cookies come in: virtuously light and fluffy, like a cake in the middle, but with a crunchy exterior that gently crumbles.
Continue reading Crumbly Cookies
2015 marks the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Lewis Carroll spent a lot of time living in Guildford and he finished the second Alice book Through the Looking Glass during one of these stays in 1871.
Continue reading Lewis Carroll in Surrey
Here’s something to work up a lot of enthusiasm for (although I’m almost embarrassed to call this a recipe, as it’s simply a ‘meeting and heating’ of basic ingredients already in your cupboard and fridge that, when cooked together, creates a very quick and ridiculously easy meal in 10 minutes): no call for weighing scales and you make it in one saucepan. Perfect for a fast lunch that doesn’t compromise on taste!
Continue reading Cheat Macaroni Cheese
I visited Denbies Wine Estate near Dorking as I was keen to see the place where almost half a million bottles of wine were created during the last harvest in 2014.
Last year I posted this recipe for Cinnamon Buns (and it went down like a cinnamon bun should: a lip-smacking treat!). Since then I have modified the recipe slightly. Theme and variations of the cinnamon variety. I still love the original, but this new version is a lighter dough, less bready and more like a pastry in appearance. The outer edge is a little crispy and the middle remains a perfectly moist, plump dough.
Continue reading Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
Perfume is one of my favourite things. I’ve been fascinated in fragrance since I discovered Givenchy’s Tartine et Chocolat (or Eau de Chocolat) when I was a child. I like to think I have ‘The Nose’ as one of my party tricks is being able to identify perfumes while blindfolded! This obsession with perfume has led to quite a collection and although some scents come and go I’ve got some lovely favourites that have remained constant, like old friends.
Continue reading Perfume Notes: Dior J’adore
“Until I owned an Aga I never quite understood how Aga owners could be so ecstatic about a cooker. Now I totally understand and am devoted to mine.”
Well said Mary Berry.
Continue reading Cooking With An Aga
Happy New Year! I visited RHS Wisley gardens for a quick wintery walk. I love watching the way nature transforms our surroundings throughout the year and Wisley is such a beautiful place to observe these changes.
Continue reading Wisley Through The Seasons
