![Four chocolate digestive biscuits on a blue flowered patterned plate](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="750" height="563"><rect width="100%" height="100%"><animate attributeName="fill" values="rgba(153,153,153,0.5);rgba(153,153,153,0.1);rgba(153,153,153,0.5)" dur="2s" repeatCount="indefinite" /></rect></svg>)
When I asked my grandaughter which biscuit was her favourite she said chocolate digestive biscuits. I wasn’t surprised as the chocolate digestive is the UK’s favourite biscuit. I checked out the supermarket but couldn’t find a brand that didn’t include palm oil in its ingredients. Even McVities, the makers of […]
The decorations have been taken down, the leftover food has been eaten, the thankyou letters have been written and we are already well into the new year and back in our usual routines. Part of my routine is starting the day with a mug of strong Assam tea and some […]
![Stuffed dates and marzipan sweets with glace cherries on a plate](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="750" height="422"><rect width="100%" height="100%"><animate attributeName="fill" values="rgba(153,153,153,0.5);rgba(153,153,153,0.1);rgba(153,153,153,0.5)" dur="2s" repeatCount="indefinite" /></rect></svg>)
My grandchildren came to help me put up my Christmas decorations this week as they are now on holiday from school. We also had time to make stuffed dates – a family tradition at Christmas. If you are in need of something to occupy the children or grandchildren over the […]
For me sausage rolls are an essential at Christmas. Like mince pies I only make sausage rolls at Christmas. A sausage roll still warm from the oven with a glass of mulled wine or a mince pie and a glass of fizz really are the taste of Christmas to me. […]
The tea rooms is now closed for the winter and we will re-open in the spring. This means that I can now spend more time preparing for Christmas. I was about to make a traditional fruit cake for Christmas as I do every year when I thought “Why not break […]
I think I have said before that mince pies are my favourite Christmas food, but only homemade ones. I have yet to taste a decent factory made mince pie. It is no wonder many people say they don’t like mince pies if all they have ever eaten are the ones […]
I just love making preserves – jams, jellies, marmalades, pickles and chutneys. They each have their season – jams and jellies mainly in the summer, marmalades in January and February when the Seville oranges are available, and pickles and chutneys in the autumn, ready for Christmas. When I look in […]
Now Halloween and Bonfire Night are over my thoughts turn to Christmas preparations. Mid November is the perfect time for making preserves so that they have time to mature and develop their full flavour by Christmas. Mince pies are my favourite Christmas food but only if they are homemade using […]
This week my friend Margaret gave me some apples from her garden. They were a variety I hadn’t heard of before, Cornish Aromatic. They have a firm fresh flavour with a hint of pineapple. The skin is quite rough and dry so they need to be peeled to use in […]
I found some Red Windsor apples in the supermarket this week and used them to make my version of an old fashioned pudding called Apple Dappy, which is made using a scone dough as pastry. I found the original recipe in the Pudding Club Cookbook by Keith & Jean Turner […]
