Flowers at Petersham Nurseries

I have long been a fan of Skye Gyngell who runs the restaurant at the Petersham Nurseries near Richmond. I dip into her two cook books more often than any other of my cookbooks and her natural and balancing way of cooking is just a delight both to cook and eat. I met Skye at the 50 Best Awards a few years ago and was so completely star struck that I could hardly speak! She must have thought that I was insane! Anyway, yesterday I was lucky enough to meet Syke again yesterday as Kathy Brown (pictured above), her daughter Suzanne and I all went to Petersham for lunch to celebrate (rather belatedly) our RHS Show success last September! Not the best day to visit London with all the G20 security and our round trip took 6 hours (about 3 hours longer than normal) but it was worth it for the lovely lunch we had. The restaurant is extrodinary - in a green house with a sandy floor - but it was a perfect setting for a relaxed lunch. We feasted on lemon marinated mozerella with Agretti, capaccio of beef with tardivo and salt cod croquettes, followed by lamb with mint salsa and borlotti beans and Sea Bass with preserved lemons. For desert, chocolate cake with devonshire cream and poached Nespole - a sharp plum like fruit. So many new tastes and flavours - we were in heaven! Just looking at the pictures is making me hungry!

This year I'm taking part in the Children's Society's St. George's Day Bake and Brew campaign to help raise money to make childhood better. It's easy to get involved at home or work. You can serve tea, coffee and delicious cakes - morning coffee or afternoon tea perhaps - to your family friends or colleagues for a donation. The Children's Society website has lots of ideas and print outs to help organise your event. You can order bunting, balloons and posters, print invites and download one of their lovely recipes (my red white and blueberry muffins are there!) - everything you need is at www.childrenssociety.org.uk/stgeorge

Sundae testing is in full flow now and I am having such a nice time! I saw my friend Jess yesterday and we photographed 6 sundaes - with about 15 different icecreams and sorbets, lots of sauces, fruit and sweets. We tested whether peanut brittle worked better with salted, unsalted or honey roasted peanuts (the result is a closely guarded secret!). The only downside is that when we had finished we had 6 ice cream sundaes to eat - it is a hard life!!!!

As you know, here in the UK, last Sunday was Mother's day. I had a special lunch planned for my Mum. Sadly when I woke up on Saturday I knew that something wasn't right - the house felt freezing - we had run out of oil so no heating and nothing to cook on! What a disarster! All my lovely plans went out of the window. Luckily we have a one ring camping stove and a BBQ so I have been cooking on these until yesterday when more oil was delivered. Actually, there were advantages to the camping stove - it meant that I could cook the ice cream bases in the lounge whilst watching TV!! On Mother's Day we therefore had our first BBQ of the year and even sat out in the garden. Sadly with no way of baking, I was forced to buy a cake (actually it was nice I have to admit - a Tesco's Finest Carrot Cake) but I managed to hide it under lots of decoration, flowers and tiny yellow birds and if I hadn't confessed, I don't suppose anyone would have known! Happy Mother's Day Mum xxx

Time is flying by at the moment...days filled with working and evenings filled with inventing ice cream recipes. I have to say it is an absolute joy to write although I am discovering that sorbets are very hard to photograph before they start to melt! Dry Ice would come in handy I think. It only seems like 5 minutes since Peapod arrived at our cottage and yet this week she had her first steps outside! Despite being very timid at first (and hiding under the BBQ for a long while) she has now discovered that there are plenty of things to chase in the garden which she loves. She looks like a proper grown up cat now although still tiny in comparison with Muffy who is enormous with her winter coat! Although I wouldn't say that they get on hugely well (Muffy is not a big fan of Peapod pulling her tail!!!) here was a rare moment of togetherness when they spotted a rabbit! I am hoping that one day they will be the best of friends!

Chocolate Ginger Cookies

Preparation time 15 minutes Cooking time 12 - 15 minutes

Makes 15

250g self raising flour, sifted

100g plain flour, sifted

pinch of salt

200g caster sugar

½tsp bicarbonate of soda

1tsp ground ginger

125g butter

1tbsp golden syrup

1 large egg, lightly beaten

200g plain chocolate, chopped into large chunks

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C/350°F. Grease and line two baking trays. Mix together the flours, salt, caster sugar, bicarbonate of soda and ground ginger in a mixing bowl. Heat the butter with the syrup until the butter has melted, cool and then stir into the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon. Beat in the egg and chopped chocolate.

Divide the dough into 15 balls and place on the trays leaving a large gap between each as the cookies will spread during cooking. Bake for about 12 - 15 minutes until the cookies are golden brown. Leave to cool on the trays for a few minutes then transfer to a rack with a spatula to cool.

One of our favourite breakfasts at the weekend is waffles. It doesn't take much for me to be pursuaded to make a bowl of waffle batter and with a clattering of plates we are sitting round the table with the waffle iron plugged in, everyone waiting their turn for a fresh waffle. Last weekend I went slightly "off piste" and made Chocolate and Coconut Waffles. The verdict was positively tropical!

Chocolate and Coconut waffles with coconut sauce

Serves 4

8oz self raising flour

3 level tbsp caster sugar

3 eggs separated

300ml milk

100ml coconut milk

55g dessicated coconut

100grams butter, melted

100g plain chocolate, melted

For the sauce

300ml coconut cream

1tbsp butter

2 tbsp caster sugar

In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, milk, coconut milk, egg yolks, dessicated coconut and melted butter and chocolate and whisk until there are no lumps. Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peak and then gently fold into the batter mixture. Cook on a waffle iron brushed with a little melted butter (or a frying pan for American style pancakes if you don't have a waffle iron) until golden brown. Add the sauce ingredients to a pan and simmer until the caster sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Drizzle the coconut syrup over the waffles to serve.

I always keep my eyes open for new cake decorations. Sometimes a really pretty chocolate with a dusting of edible glitter will transform an ordinary buttercream covered cupcake or muffin. These little white chocolate disks with sugar hearts looked just lovely on cupcakes that I took to the publishers last week - a fairy cake in the true sense of the word! They were in the Mother's day gift section at Waitrose in case anyone is interested (I am not on commission - honest!)

One of our favourite quick suppers is griddled halloumi served in pitta bread. Simply slice the halloumi into thick chunky wedges, drizzle a griddle pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil, add a sliced fresh red chilli to the pan and grill the halloumi for 2 - 3 minutes on each side. When the cheese is golden and starting to melt squeeze the juice of a lemon over the cheese. Serve immediately in pitta breads filled with salad, fresh herbs and hummos.

Yesterday, Mum, I and 4 girlfriends had a lovely girlie day out at the Country Living Spring Fair in London. By the end of the day we were all laden down with bags of shopping full of things that we didn't really need but just had to buy any way (we forgot about the credit crunch for the day). My favourite purchase was this cake stand (well that's what I am planning to use it for - it is actually designed as a winter scene decoration but I bought it without the houses and trees) I am already busy designing an Alice in Wonderland tea party to use it at and can see it filled with delicate meringues, cupcakes and fancies. At thirty pounds, it wasn't cheap but I am sure that by the end of the year it will have delighted enough people to make it a worthwhile purchase! I hope you all had a lovely weekend

Yesterday was a fairly monumental day - I went to London with my Dad to sign off the final photos for my cake and cookie book - that is it now! All finished! I was told the next time I saw the book would be when I received my first copy! We celebrated with a nice supper at Carluccios and also a trip to the British museum - I have not been before (which is rubbish I know) and was amazed that such an amazing museum was free. I also had a meeting with the publishers on the Sundae book and we have now agreed a final list of recipes - 8 weeks to write them but I don't think it will be anything other than a pleasure! I woke up in the night dreaming about sundaes, sundae glasses and sugar sprinkles! Yum yum!
I have also received a lovely present from my German friend Maren - I was talking to her the other day and saying that life was fairly hectic at the moment and she asked what I needed - I jokingly said cake but didn't think she would take this literally. The postman knocked on the door the other day and delivered the most perfect Sachertorte in a wooden box from none other than Hotel Sacher in Austria (the home of the ultimate Sacher Torte) - what a lovely surprise! I had no idea that you could order cake to be sent from them. I have to say this was THE most delicious Sachertorte I have ever eaten - thank you Maren for such a lovely gift xxx

I was in Suffolk yesterday for meetings and after we had finished I was lucky enough to be taken to the farm's lambing sheds where 2,400 lambs will be born over the next 6 weeks. The shepherds have beds in the sheds as they are needed 24 hours a day. Lots of lambs had been born already (this little black one was only a few hours old) and they were just adorable - I got to cuddle one and really wanted to bring him home with me. One of the shepherds said that she has a lamb that lives with her chickens....now there's an idea!

Aren't these the cutest little ducks - I found them the other day and couldn't resist buying them to decorate my Easter cake. Sadly Peapod couldn't resist them either and, in a fluffy of yellow feathers, one of them is now headless and feetless - I am hoping that the superglue is going to work! Naughty Peapod xxx

Last week I gave two cookery demos - the second one on Friday evening was unexpectdly for 95 people - luckily I found out with a few hours to spare (I was expecting 40 people) and was able to make enough lavender shortbread and other things for them all to have a try. By the end of the week I was exhausted! With the sun shining on Saturday and a quiet weekend ahead of us (what a treat) I decided to make some lemonade as it was gloriously sunny. Needless to say that by yesterday it was snowing and hailing - I had clearly aggrevated the weather gods by daring to presume that summer was on its way and making lemonade. Anyway - it was yummy so perhaps when the days are warmer you might like to try this. I love the way this drink transforms in colour!!!

Fresh Blueberry Lemonade

Serves 6

5 lemons

150g fresh blueberries

4 tbsp caster sugar

Peel large strips of lemon peel (making sure that you remove as much of the white pith as possible as this will make the lemonade bitter) from 2 of the lemons and place in a heatproof jug together with the juice of all the lemons. Cut all the blueberries in half and add to the jug with the sugar. Pour over 400ml of boiling water and leave for 2 hours until the sugar has dissolved and the lemonade has turned a wonderful purple colour. Top up with ice and cold water to serve.

Yesterday I received some wonderful news - that another of my books is going to be published next Spring. As my editor Allee said, I must be a glutton for punishment having only finished editing Cakes and Cookies this week! One morning before Christmas I woke up at about 6am with my head full of ice cream sundae ideas (strange indeed as it was winter and cold and not ice cream weather at all!!!) I wrote them all down and by 7.45 I had a list of 30 different sundaes ranging from Black Forest Sundae, Harvest Apple Sundae to Plum Crumble Sundae and e-mailed them off to lovely Heather and Elly who have found a publisher for the book. I can't tell you how excited I am at the prospect of inventing ice cream sundae recipes and testing them over the next few weeks and months. The sundae above is one that I wrote for Delicious magazine last year - the recipe is here if you would like to try it - Raspberry Fool Sundae with elderflower thins - although you may wish to wait until the weather is warmer!!!

Although it might be odd to be stitching Christmas projects in March I have decided that this year I am going to be more organised. Every year I stitch a small christmas gift for one of our neighbours - I know that they mean a lot to her - and every year without fail, I finish stitching it on Christmas eve in a mad rush. This year I decided things would be different and I have now finished her Christmas present - with 9 months to spare!! Luckily she does not have a computer so will not see this until December 25th but I thought I would share this jolly little beaded Santa with you! I am quite tempted to stitch another one for myself.

This weekends' baking project was a garden cake. It was similar to the allotment cake I made last year but much larger and I think I like it more. My favourite parts were the apple tree and pear espalier around the base of the cake! It only took two hours to decorate which I think is pretty good going and this included making all the seed packets and the tiny newspaper (all downloaded from google image searches for seed packets and mini newspapers). I will definitely be making this cake again!

Queen of Edible Flowers Kathy Brown (this is her lovely book if anyone is interested - it is such a nice read and has lots of ideas for planting your garden as well as recipes) came to tea last week and brought me a gift of these beautiful lily of the valley planted with moss and ivy. So simple and yet such a perfect spring time present. The flowers are sadly not edible but they smell absolutely divine.

Pick Me Up Cookies

These cookies do just as the name suggests - offer an instant "sugary lift" to those in need of some t.l.c. Next time someone you know is feeling a little down, why not bake them a batch of these cookies, wrap in a clear platic bag with a ribbon. Your friend will be thrilled to know you care enough to bake for them and is sure to feel much better.

Preparation time 10 minutes cooking time 10 -12 minutes

Makes 15

175g/6oz butter

200g/7oz cream cheese

115g/4oz dark muscavado sugar

225g/8oz self raising flour

55g/2oz cruched amaretti biscuits

55g/2oz shredded coconut

100g/3 1/2 oz plain chocolate chips

200g/7oz white chocolate toblerone, chopped into chunks (or white chocolate if you do not have white chocolate toblerone)

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5/190F/375C and grease and line two baking trays. In a mixing bowl cream together the butter, cream cheese, sugar and flour using a whisk until you have a light and creamy mixture. Stir through the amaretti biscuits, coconut and both chocolates. Place tablespoonfuls of the mixture into the trays and bake for 10 - 12 minutes until the cookies are golden brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the tray then transfer to a cooling rack using a spatula.

Well today could not go by without a mention of the Masterchef finale yesterday - my heart was pounding all the way through and it was as if I was transported back to all the stress again. The standard of the final this year is amazing and I would happily have eaten any of the dishes served. I particularly loved the lavender and bramble mousse and thought Mat was a worthy winner - although it was such a close run thing. Andy and Mat both have blogs if anyone is interested and I will be following them keenly to see where they go to work - www.thewildgarlicblog.co.uk and www.thecooksbroth.blogspot.com. I am sure over the next few weeks they will be posting interesting behind the scenes info on all their tasks. Well done all three of you!

Just one more cute picture of peapod! It is so rare that she is lovely and cuddly like this - normally she is running up and down the curtails, leaping round the sofas and has taken a liking to breaking Christmas baubles (which really should be in the loft and not in the spare bedroom!!) The other day we caught her swinging from the curtain pole about 2.5m above the ground peeping over the pole - if she hadn't looked so cute we would have been cross with her but she was just having so much fun! She keeps attaching the radio when it is on as she thinks it is a person!

This weekend I was asked to make a 70th birthday cake. In my defence it was fairly short notice and I knew nothing about the chap's interests (and as he was a chap, flowers were out!) It was one of those cakes where I started with a white cake, having no idea how it would end up, and dipped into my trusty cake decoration box! This was the result!! Now, had this been a cake for a cheerleader or a pep rally or the fourth of July even it would have been spot on! Nevertheless they seemed pleased with it, despite the mad feathers!

I take no creative credit for these cute little cookies. I saw them in Germany with Maren when I was there a few weeks ago and thought that I just had to try and make them myself - and they worked!!! These cookies would be perfect for a children's party - threaded with red liquorish boot laces for extra decoration.

Cinnamon Buttons

Preparation time 10 minutes, baking 10 - 12 minutes

Makes 15

55g/2oz caster sugar

115g/4oz butter

250g/6oz plain flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/350F/180C. Cream together the butter and caster sugar with a whisk until light and creamy. Add the flour, cinnamon and milk and bring together with your hands to form a soft dough. On a flour surface, roll out the dough to 1/2 cm thickness and cut out 15 round circles. Transfer to a lined baking sheet. Use a slightly smaller round cutter to make an indent inside each cookie - take care that you don't cut all the way through though. Make 4 holes - I used a 1cm round icing nozzle which worked well, but you could use a skewer if you don't have an icing nozzle. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until the cookies are golden brown.

Some weeks are just way too busy - this is one of those weeks. In addition to trying to proof read the book (I am so slow and it feels like I will never get to the end at the moment), I have two magazine deadlines today and rather than being organised and getting them done in advance, I have of course, Masterchef-style, left everything to the last minute. Yesterday evening saw some frantic apple and gingerbread muffins and potato and rosemary bread and this morning by 7.30 I had cooked rack of lamb with a spring bean salad. I had to drop the baskets of cloths, plates and the dish to Jess who very kindly does the photos for Country House before I started work at 8am. What a rush but at least I have got everything done and it feels a relief to be sitting at my desk. I have a meeting here at 9am and I am wondering whether my colleagues will think it strange that the house smells of roast lamb at 9am in the morning!!!

Steamed Ginger Pudding
Preparation time 25 minutes, cooking time 1 ½ - 2 hours
Serves 4
5 tbsp golden syrup
85g/3oz stem ginger preserved in syrup, chopped and syrup retained
170g/6oz self raising flour, sifted
85g/3oz vegetarian suet
100g/3½oz caster sugar
zest of 1 orange
55g/2oz dried cranberries or sultanas
125ml/4¼floz milk
1 tbsp lemon juice
Custard to serve

Grease a large pudding basin with butter and place the golden syrup in the bottom of the bowl together with 2 tbsp of the ginger syrup from the preserved ginger. Place the flour, suet, caster sugar, chopped ginger and cranberries or sultanas in a bowl and add the milk gradually stirring with a wooden spoon until you have a soft and slightly sticky dough. You may not need all of the milk. Spoon the mixture on top of the syrup, filing the basin three quarters full. Take a large sheet of baking parchment and one of silver foil and place one on top of each other. Fold a pleat down the centre of the sheets, to allow room for the pudding to expand. Cover the basin with the foil and fold tightly around the rim of the basin. Secure with string, adding extra string across the top of the basin to act as a handle. Half fill a large saucepan with water and place the pudding basin inside. Cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer for 1 ½ - 2 hours. You will need to check the pudding regularly to ensure that the water does not all evaporate. Top up the water as necessary. When cooked, the pudding should feel firm to touch and a knife should come out clean with no cake batter on when inserted into the centre of the pudding. Just before the pudding is cooked, simmer the remaining 3 tbsp of golden syrup with the lemon juice in a saucepan until the syrup has melted. Slide a knife around the edge of the basin and invert onto a serving plate. Serve straight away with the extra syrup poured over and custard.

I do apologise to anyone using internet explorer rather than firefox as it appears you haven't been able to see the above recipe as I posted in Linux rather than microsoft - hopefully this is resolved now!

Yesterday was a milestone day - I received the proof of my book in the post! It is the first time I have seen all the recipes and pictures together in one place and I was so excited to finally hold it in my hands. Allee my editor and Suzanne the designer have done such a wonderful job and have transformed my boring and rambling word document containing recipes into something that most definitely looks like a book! I am so pleased with it. With the release date now confirmed as October 09 for both the UK and the USA, the days have started counting down. My lovely publishers Duncan Baird (www.dbp.co.uk) have very kindly said that I can show you a sneak preview of some of the pages of the proof - Lemongrass loaf cakes, Attwood cookies (with white chocolate, sour cherries and almonds, named after the lovely Katie Attwood of Masterchef who called me to be a last minute stand in on the programme) and Key Lime Mousse cake!