Oh berries, how I’ve missed you. The best Spring/Summer treat.
Such a lovely, light, sweet breakfast from the gorgeous Sophie Dahl (I have a girl crush) and her new cookbook From Season to Season. I’ve never made strawberry pancakes before and I can’t think why, they’re delightful.
(I initially didn’t post the recipe however have cooked this a few times since and made it my own by changing the method/ingredients)
I spotted this artist via eatpress, who thoughtfully offer music with their lovely recipes.
Kelli’s sweet, sunny, yet slightly melancholy voice makes me think of Sundays and university and trips to the beach. Have a listen to her here:
Mmmmmm dessert for breakfast. You could also, obviously, serve this as dessert and nobody would mind.
I use a yoghurt which isn’t too sweet as it’s a cool and tangy relief combined with the crunchy granola and sweet, luscious fruit. And it’s really just a simple layering in a cute glass:
Blueberry sauce
Greek yoghurt flavoured slightly with honey, vanilla or use plain (for Australians, Barambah Organics is a lovely brand)
Home made maple nutty granola
Repeat.
If you haven’t tried this refreshing, very English drink, you really should.
One cool but bright Sunday afternoon we went for a walk in the Spring sunshine, enjoying the heat on our skin …
Then we had Pimm’s and Limonata, picking strawberries out of the glass afterwards. Just perfect.
I made a batch of dreamy brownies to celebrate my move to A Splash of Vanilla and also to celebrate a year of blogging (I’m a bit late but then I’m hopeless at remembering anniversaries).
Now I made these purely because I accidentally bought a tub of cream cheese. I have no idea why or how but it appeared in my fridge and as I don’t use cream cheese a lot, I thought I’d make cheesecake brownies, as you do. I also had sour cream for no apparent reason so I used that as well.
You might say I impulse buy a lot when I do the grocery shopping. You might be right. Anyway, think fudgy chocolate cake with a layer of cheesecake and tart raspberries.
Thanks to all the lovelies who visit my blog ◕ ‿ ◕ ✿
I’ve come to realise I really enjoy the change of seasons even more than the actual seasons themselves. You know, that first hint of coolness in the air signalling Autumn, or after a long, coldish winter you walk outside and have to take your jumper off because it’s too warm and you can smell spring, feeling the heat on your skin. After a couple of months you start complaining about the weather but at the start, it’s just magical.
One of the best parts of Spring is the vegetables. Fresh, sweet tasting, and you hardly need to do anything with them.
I thought I’d throw together a simple pasta dish with some flavours of spring and a lemony kick. It’s a tiny bit early for tomatoes but the little baby ones are tasting great already.
I could live on granola (or toasted muesli as we call it here). I love how crunchy, sweet and satisfying it is. I love that you simply pour some milk on it and have a healthy breakfast, or have it with Greek yoghurt and berries, or use it to bake muffins or sprinkle it over stewed fruit or just eat it out of the pack. I sometimes eat it for dinner when I just don’t feel like cooking.
I do buy it quite often (I usually have 2-3 packets of muesli hanging around in my cupboard – I like different flavours). I mean there’s so many well made, lovely toasted mueslis out there now. Even so, I make this a few times a year because even the healthiest cereals have their share of sugar and things that you have no control over, unlike home made which can have whatever you like in it. It’s also embarrassingly easy to throw together and all you need to do is think up creative ingredients to put in it (Nigella puts chocolate in hers! Respect).
I’m of the view that granola needs to be a bit sweet, I mean that’s the whole point but in saying that, this isn’t an overly sweet muesli. It lasts a couple of weeks in the fridge. It could last longer for all I know, it rarely lasts a week around here.
Nigella never fails me. She somehow manages to make food which is both easy and decadent.
Her chocolate peanut butter sundae is no different and it’s one of those desserts where combinations are really important; The hot sauce competing with the cold ice cream, the dual flavours of chocolate and peanut butter, and the sweetness and richness of the dessert compared with the salty peanuts.
I have to say, as much as I was dubious, the salted peanuts are really necessary so don’t be tempted to buy unsalted.
Salty and sweet as they say, is the ultimate combination.
This movie cracks me up. Every time. What a funny, funny man Leslie Nielsen was.
When you read these quotes, try to imagine Frank Drebin’s voice (if you know what I mean).
[offering a cigar] Vincent Ludwig: Cuban?Jane: I’ve heard police work is dangerous.
Frank: It is. That’s why I carry a big gun.
Jane: Aren’t you afraid it might go off accidentally?
Frank: I used to have that problem.
Jane: What did you do about it?
Frank: I just think about baseball.
Boom boom.
Image and quotes from The Naked Gun, From the Files of Police Squad, 1988, Paramount Pictures
I spied this simple, delicious recipe from raw foodie Celia Eddy. I add a handful of early blueberries or figs in season and bam – fruit intake for the day and an intense chocolate fix.
You won’t believe how divine this is, I confess I skipped the refrigerate part, I just had to try a bit and it was too good to stop.
