I am often asked where my love of cooking came from and sorting through some boxes of my old belongings at my Dad's on Father's Day gave me the answer. These were my two first cook books! And one even had an ice cream sundae Knickerbocker Glory in! See - it was destiny! It was so lovely to find these old books - I remember loving them as a child, particularly the teddy bear one. What a nice trip down memory lane!

Regular readers of my blog will already know Maren - my lovely friend from Hamburg. She has sent me this wonderful picture of her proudly displaying the salmon she cooked for a dinner party. I would like to say my dish at Waddesdon Manor was the inspiration and that I should take full credit, but sadly my only contribution was telling her to put some wine in the poaching stock. I think the fish looks so elegant with the green curls which are courgette spirals. Maren has a new machine for making these and I can't wait to give it a try when I go over in a few weeks time. Well done Maren for your impressive fish - I know your guests must have loved it! (p.s. I have kitchen gadget envy of Maren's Kitchenaid coffee machine in the background!!!)

Are you Hungry Caterpillar?

I have always been a big fan of the Hungry Caterpillar book by Eric Carle - I think it is the thought of the caterpiller munching his way through cake and cookies and lollipops that makes me smile. Today was Rosie's actual 4th birthday and I was so pleased to find these lovely hungry caterpillar polka dot cake cases and decorations - just so cute (available on line and in Waitrose if you want some!) My brother brought the rainbow chocolate drops over from a visit to the Bloomer chocolate factory which were the perfect addition on top of the buttermilk frosting! Happy Birthday Rosie Pea xxx

I know the rest of you are unlikely to find this as exciting as I did but you can imagine how thrilled I was to discover that my little book is on sale in Harvey Nichols Food Market!!! It is one of my favourite foodie places in the UK! I had to buy a copy and will put it somewhere safe with the receipt as a reminder! Here it is displayed on the bookcase there and I think it looks quite pretty! My Sister in Law Amy was also out in New York last week and spotted my book in the window display of a trendy antique shop! Feeling like a proud parent seeing my little book out there! I have been invited to talk about it on the Martha Stewart Radio Programme next month and will post a link to the show nearer the time. Hurrah for sunny weather and ice cream!

I think this might be the ultimate
"chocolate" brownie. I made it for our nephew Devan's birthday at the weekend. The brownie was made with milk and dark chocolate with milk chocolate chips and slithers of caramac chocolate (remember that? It used to be one of my favourites and I was so pleased when I found some). The brownie was topped with white chocolate and decorated with slices of twix, kitkat, crunchie, toblerone, ripple, oreos, snickers, double decker, bounty plus minstrals and maltesters and a little chocolate buttercream. So quick and easy to prepare but I dread to think of the calorific content. Worse still - we ate it with ice cream!

You may recall my tale of the funny little rooster I bought a few months ago that ended up going to live with our neighbours chickens as my old hens were none too pleased at his arrival. On returning from my holiday I was a little shocked to discover that Grasshopper (or Dick as he had been named by our neighbours) had moved back in with our girls of his own accord and they are all happily living together now. Here he is sitting with 4 of his ladies on one of our door steps! He is so tiny in comparison to my voluptuous hens and seems to crow all day long (luckily it is not a very loud crow!)

My latest Hannah's Kitchen column in Country and Town House is for Champagne poached salmon fillets with tomato roses. It is not often that I use champagne in cooking – it is far nicer to drink - but poaching salmon fillets for a special dinner party starter is one exception I make. You do not have to use champagne though and a sparkling wine will work almost as well. The recipe only calls for half a bottle of champagne so you can save the remainder to drink with the salmon. I was taught to make the pretty tomato roses by the talented chefs at Waddesdon Manor during my time on Masterchef. They look so pretty and delicate but are actually very easy to prepare and decorate the salmon perfectly!

Champagne Poached Salmon with Summer Herb Aioli
Serves 2, Preparation time 20 minutes Cooking time 5 minutes plus overnight cooling

2 salmon fillets, skins removed
400ml champagne or sparkling wine
2 large fresh plum tomato
1 tbsp smooth mango chutney
juice of 1 lime
2 egg yolks
½ clove garlic
½ tsp salt
250 – 300ml mild olive oil (not extra virgin as this gives a bitter taste)
1 tbsp chopped fresh summer herbs (chives, chervil, mint, parsley)
Juice of 1 lemon
parsley to decorate

Place the salmon fillets in a small saucepan so that they both lay flat on the bottom, cover with the champagne and add a little extra water to ensure that the fillets are completely covered (the amount of water needed will depend on the size of saucepan you have used). Place the pan on a medium heat and bring the poaching liquid to the boil, then immediately remove from the heat and allow to cool. When cool, transfer the fish to the fridge until ready to serve. Using a sharp serrated knife, gently peel the skin of the tomatoes into several long strips, ensuring that you take as little tomato flesh as possible (as if you were peeling an apple). To make the roses, start at one end of a strip, roll it up between your fingers to create a tomato rose as shown in the picture. Repeat with the remaining tomato strips. The roses can be stored in the fridge for a few hours before serving. Heat the mango chutney and lime juice in a small saucepan and then brush onto the salmon fillets using a pastry brush. Decorate the salmon fillets with the tomato roses and parsley leaves. For the aioli, crush the garlic clove and salt to a smooth purée, then whisk into the egg yolks using an electric hand mixer or food processor. Add the olive oil a little at a time, whisking continuously until you have a thick mayonnaise. Fold in the herbs and season with a little lemon juice and salt and pepper to season.

This weekend was my step sister Vicki's wedding. Perfect sunny weather with pimms and croquet and giant chess in the gardens of a lovely manor house made for a very special day. Vicki looked lovely and she and Sam are now off on their honeymoon - congratulations both of you xxx My contribution was making the wedding favours for the table. Vicki had asked for the heart biscuits from my baking book threaded with maroon ribbon to match the bridesmaids' dresses. We packaged them in little clear bags with a sticker for the date of the wedding. The shortbread is a simple 2, 4, 6 recipe with vanilla seeds to flavour and of course topped with a dusting of obligatory edible glitter. We ate them with the coffee - a nice end to a delicious wedding breakfast. PS - apologies for the poor quality photo of vicki and sam - my camera managed to reset itself and save everything as RAW data in huge files that my computer just won't upload so this is a photograph of a print out - not ideal but at least it will give you an idea of how lovely they looked!

This weekend I was asked to make a sweet covered cake for Rosie and Jo's joint 4th birthday (hence the two four candles - they were turned round in the end so it didn't look quite so like a 44th birthday cake!) I don't think I could have fitted any more sweets on if I tried. I just love the large chocolate buttons with hundreds and thousands and Rosie and Jo and their friends managed to eat all the sweets at their party! The cake itself was white chocolate chip with vanilla buttercream and peach jam. I really love peach and white chocolate together for a change from regular victoria sandwich cakes.

Kayaking in the Mangroves on Ko Lanta. Such amazing scenery. I was not very good at paddling my canoe in the right direction but at least I didn't fall in! I love the little floating houses particularly with the woven bamboo patterned panels.

Citrus Cooler

You need a cocktail shaker and glass and muddler (apparently this is what the pounding stick for making mohitos is called) or a rolling pin for making this refreshing summer drink.

Serves 1

1/2 green apple, chopped into small pieces
1/2 lemon, chopped into small pieces
1 tbsp fresh mint
1 tsp sugar
500ml mango juice
ice cubes

Pound the apple, lemon, mint and sugar in a glass with the muddler or the end of a rolling pin. Add the mango juice, top up with ice and shake well in a cocktail shaker. Serve with a straw!

One of the nicest things in the lovely Layana hotel are the floating flower arrangements - there are bowls of them everywhere and they are always different. So pretty and yet so easy. How I wish we had frangipane flowers at home.

I have always loved the Thai Hot and Sour Soup. When I have made it in the past I alway use coconut milk but the recipe I have learnt this holiday is made with evapourated milk, which I normally only use for ice cream bases and rice pudding. I have to say any reservations and using evapourated milk was dispelled the minute I tasted this soup. It is delicious!

Tom Yam Ghoong

Serves 2

750ml chicken stock

5 kaffir lime leaves (deveined and shredded)

1 cm piece of galangal, finely sliced

60ml fish sauce

1 stalk lemongrass, top and bottom removed, finely sliced

1 shallot, peeled and finely sliced

1 green and 1 red chilli, whole but sliced through lengthwise

10 mushrooms, halved

12 shelled prawns, deveined

1 tsp chilli paste

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp lime juice

125ml evapourated milk

2 tbsp chopped corriander leaves

Place the stock in a sauepan, add the lime leaves, galangal, fishsauce, lemongrass, chopped shallot, chillies and mushrooms and simmer for 5 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse. Add the prawns, chilli paste, sugar, lime juice and evapourated milk and simmer for 5 minutes until the rawns are cooked through. Taste for balance of flavours and add a little more fishsauce, lime juice or sugar if needed. Add the coriander to serve.

Thai Papaya Salad

You can make this delicious salad as spicy as you like - the below recipe is on the firey side so if you don't like too much chilli just use one chilli!

Som Tam

Serves 4 as a side salad Preparation time 10 minutes

1 large green papaya, peeled and seeds removed

1 large carrot, peeled

2 cloves of garlic

2 small red chillies

1 small green chilli

1 handful of raw green beans, topped and tailed

2 tsp palm or brown sugar (waitrose have started selling palm sugar)

1 tbsp roasted peanuts

1 tsp dried shrimp (optional)

2 tsp fish sauce

2 tsp lime juice

6 cherry tomatoes, halved

Finely grate the papaya and carrot (preferably into long strands with a hand serated peeler) and set aside. Place the garlic and chillies in a pestle and mortar and pound to a smooth paste. Add 5 or 6 of the beans and pounds again. Add the sugar, lime, dried shrip, if uing, fish sauce and peanuts and pound for a final time. Add the papaya, carrot, tomatos and remaining green beans to the pestle and mortar (or to a bowl if your pestle and mortar are too small) and toss through the dressing. Chill until you are ready to serve.

Twilight in Thailand (apt as I am just reading the Twilight series for about the nth time lying by the pool and sipping "Healthy Ginger Juice - fresh grated ginger with pineapple and soda water, shaken over ice - delicious) Thank you all for your kind wishes about my holiday and slight concerns about the fact that I am in Thailand. Rest assured that I am a long away away from Bangkok and, although the situation is being monitored closely, the area here is so peaceful and lovely and there is no evidence of any problems at all. I am glad that I came despite slight concerns before leaving the UK. Cookery course planned for later in the week so I look forward to passing a few authentic Thai recipes on to you lovely readers.

Most normal people two hours before a holiday are packing and getting ready to go to the airport. As two hours before heading to Heathrow I was making sugar vegetables, I do not put myself in the category of normal people. This is probably the reason that I am now sitting in Thailand with a random assortment of clothes and belongings that were very hastily thrown into my case. The cake was for Leon's 70th birthday - Leon is the head of Meat and Fish at our local Waitrose and during Masterchef very kindly gave me some training in different cuts of meat and tried to help me learn to identify fish on sight - I have to say I still have not mastered the later. Leon's wife Tracy is an expert in cheese and also gave me loads of help on cheese identification just in case they came up in the Masterchef identification round - sadly neither meat fish nor cheeses came up but at least I felt a little prepared! I have made this allotment cake several times before and yet everytime I make it, it looks a little different. I particularly liked the sweetcorn stalks. Happy Birthday Leon xxx

Pistachio Cookies

These little cookies are quick to prepare and perfect for elevensies!

Preparation time 20 minutes, baking 10 - 12 minutes

Makes 30

3oz shelled pistachios

2oz caster sugar

4oz butter

5oz plain flour

1tsp vanilla extract

200g findant icing sugar

few drops of green food colouring

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/350C/180F and grease and line 2 baking trays. Place the pistachios in a food processor and blitz to fine crumbs. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and creamy, then sift in the flour and add 2/3rds of the ground pistachios and the vanilla extract. Bring together as a soft dough with your hands. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll out to about 1/2cm thick. Using a 6cm cutter cut out 30 biscuits - I used a little flower cutter. Transfer to the trays and bake for 10 - 12 minutes until the cookies are golden - turn the trays half way through cooking for even colour. Transfer to a rack and place a sheet of foil or grease prooof paper underneath to catch the icing drips. Mix together the icing sugar with a few drops of green colouring (if using - I didn't, as I have run out of green after making very green whoopies the other day!) together with 2 - 3 tbsp of water - mixing until you have a smooth thick icing. Spoon the icing over the cookies whilst still warm and sprinkle with the remaining ground pistachios before the icing sets. You can use normal icing sugar but I prefer fondant icing sugar as this sets with a lovely glossy finish.

Last week was one of those weeks where everything electronic I touched seemed to go wrong. My camera broke, I lost the battery for my spare camera (even though I had it in my hand at the beginning of the week - I put it somewhere safe and now can't find it!!!), my computer didn't work for the cookery demonstration I gave on Wednesday (thanks so much to the lovely Kathy Brown for rescuing me at the last minute and lending me (and setting up) her laptop about 15 mins before I was due to start). Yesterday the trains weren't working and the website just said "no unplanned engineering work" not very helpful - so I had to drive Sacha all the way to Kings Cross to catch the Eurostar - not quite the afternoon I had been planning but luckily we just made it in time. All in all a little bit rubbish! My camera is now at the menders and, as they said it was going to take a month to repair, I have treated myself to a new cheap camera as a standby so that I can actually take some photos for the blog and for my holiday on Friday. I feel as if life has resumed to normal this week - lets hope so. My good news is that yesterday I finished the final edit of the manuscript for my book Whoopie Pies. It is just being proof read by my friend Jess and will then go to the publishers in the next few days. My favourite recipes in the book are the lime jelly pies which literally wobbly, the croquembouche tower (48 whoopies high in beautiful rainbow colours and ribbons - how I wish I could show you a picture but can't just yet) and Oyster shell pies with sugar pearls. So in lieu of the whoopie photos - here are a few inspirational cupcakes from a wonderful tea room in Bath - such vibrant colours and I loved the little sugar bows made from ready rolled icing - so simple to make and yet they look very 1950 vintage. Is it wrong to want one of these spiral staircases for displaying my cakes on!!!

Peach Melba Cake

At the weekend I watched James and the Giant Peach. I was in bed with a bad back and it came on to a channel I had been watching. I ended up watching the film to the end! Roald Dahl is one of my favourite author's, even as an adult. I grew up on his books! Watching the film left me with an overwhelming desire for peaches (not quite in season but the supermarket had some anyway!) So here is my recipe for Peach Melba cake - I am sure Dame Nellie Melba would have approved (her being the inspiration for the famous peach melba dessert). The amaretti biscuits give the cake a lovely almondy crunch.

Peach Melba Cake

Serves 6 - 8

115g butter

115g caster sugar

2 large eggs

115g self raising flour

2 tsp almond essence

40g amaretti biscuits, finely crushed

2 tbsp peach jam

3 tbsp double cream

1 ripe peach

100g fresh raspberries

juice of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180C/350F and grease and line a loaf tin. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and creamy, then beat in the eggs. Sift the flour and add to the bowl, together with the almond essence, amaretti biscuits, 1 tbsp of peach jam and the cream. Fold in gentle until everything is incorporated. Spoon half the mixture into the tin and then sprinkle over the raspberries. Spoon in the remainder of the cake batter. Cut the peach into thin slices and layer over the top of the cake. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until the cake is cooked and a knife comes out clean when inserted into the middle. When the cake is cooked, heat the remaining peach jam with the lemon juice for a few minutes, then brush over the top of the cake to glaze using a pastry brush. This cake is nice warm or cold and all the better for a dollup of cream!

Happy May Day Weekend to you all. I am up early finishing my cook book and suprise suprise it is raining heavily here! Why does it always rain on a bank holiday??? This is the May Day Dawn (6am!) Celebration at Ampthill Park in Bedfordshire yesterday. Sadly I was in Germany so missed it this year, but my Mum and Mike thought you might like to see their photos of the traditional English Morris Dancing on May morning! The event always ends with cooked breakfast in a nearby pub - a perfect start to the day and a reward for the VERY early start!

I am avid Twihard Fan ....I saw the last Twilight film three times in the weekend it released at the cinema (and queued for two hours to get in!!!)....I have read all the books over and over...I even have a Trollbead twilight bracelet....I am officially a VERY sad case! I was recently asked to make a Twilight Cake for a friend of a friend. It was rather short notice and I was really busy at the time, but this is what I managed to come up with - I thought the ribbon was very Culham Family crest like, I sprayed the cake with gold edible lustre spray for a vampire "twinkling skin" effect (lustre spray being my decoration of choice at present - I can't seem to get enough of it!) and topped it with an edible picture of Jacob, Bella and Edward. Edible pictures are always a good way of creating a quick cake on a theme. At some point when I have more time, I will do a proper Twilight cake - I quite like the idea of making the meadow scene complete with sugar wolves - perhaps for the release of Eclispe in July! Well see!

I am not doing particularly well at keeping this blog up to date at the moment! I had a busy, but lovely weekend, with my friend Maren who was over visiting from Germany and have also been trying to finish writing my book (almost there now - just a big push this weekend I should hopefully be done - I have written up a third of the recipes already which is a good way through). Today I am flying to Munich for a meeting tomorrow - what a jet set life eh (although sadly I don't think visiting a compost plant will ever class as being jet set!)

Maren and I spent the weekend antique shop hunting. I found a lovely oil lamp for the hut and Maren bought this very patriotic boat for her dinning room (if you didn't know she was German, you would think Maren was English). She sent me this photo when she got back of the boat in position in her flat and I think it looks great! I can't wait to see it in person when I am next in Hamburg (NB - Notice the Laura Ashley curtains - see what I mean about being English!!!!)

It is high time that I posted a recipe on this blog so here are some pistachio crips I made this morning.

Pistachio Crisps

Makes 16

Preparation time 10 minutes, baking 10 - 15 minutes

2 large egg whites

200g caster sugar

180g ground pistachios, plus 20g for decoration

50g hard amaretti biscuits, finely crushed

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp frangelico liqeuer or amaretto

80g plain chocolate, melted

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180F/350C and grease and line two baking trays (or line with silicon mats - I use them all the time and they were a very wise investment, particularly for merigues). Whisk the egg whites to very stiff peaks then gradually add the caster sugar a spoonful at a time until you have a glossy meringue. Add the ground pistachios, amaretti crumbs, vanilla and liqeuer to the bowl and fold in gently with a spatula. Place the mixture into a piping back and pipe 1 inch circles onto the trays leaving a gap between each as the cookies will spread during cooking. If you do not have a piping bag, use a spoon to make mounds of the cookie mixture. Bake in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes until crisp and golden, then leave to cool. Melt the dark chocolate and drizzle over the cookies with a fork, then sprinkle with the reserved chopped pistachios for decoration.

My brother has sent me the link to this cake pan from the USA. Is this not the coolest cake pan you have ever seen! It is right up there with the Baker's Edge Brownie pan which revolutionized my brownie making a few years ago. I just love the idea of a "cakewich" - you could make the largest peanut butter and jelly sandwich ever! Imagine taking a giant sandwich out of your hamper on a picnic - I am sure it would make your friends smile!

By the looks of the large scale potato planting operation that my Mum and Mike did on Monday at their allotment, we are going to have a LOT of potatoes this year! They planted 84 rows with 60 potato plants in each row - enough potatoes to probably feed the whole village. I am not knocking it - I love free home grown food and everything that comes from their allotment is delicious - but I do think when you are using a tractor this size you can't really call it an allotment any more, more a small farm!!

I am pleased to report that after two weeks of intense baking, I only have two recipes left to do for my Whoopie Pie book and should finish in the next few days. I have made over 350 whoopie pies - an average of 25 a day which has got to be some sort of record. Sadly I am not able to share any pictures with you just yet but I am very pleased with some of the pies - all very kitsch and OTT! Everyone has been playing their part - my brother has sent whoopie pie pans from America; my friends Lucy and David very kindly went on a research trip to Harrods to get pies from their Whoopie Pie counter, with Lucy grilling the man behind the counter about all things whoopie (I tried the Harrod's Pies with some trepidation but the overwhelming verdit from all who compared then was that mine were better - a relief I can tell you!) and the whole village has been tasting pies, although with so many pies on offer for the last two weeks, I can hear a collective groan of "No More Pies" as I go up into the village with trays of freshly baked pies!