Summer sweet peas!

The advanced copy of my latest book The Gluten Free Baker has just arrived - It is so pretty that I haven't stopped smiling since I opened the parcel. These are just a few of the recipe pictures - lavender shortbread, cream slices (with gluten free puff pastry!), macaroons and stollen. I do hope you like it! It will be available in the shops in a few weeks time I imagine - hurrah!

More 4th July festive fun - LOTS of puddings, Elderflower punch and Pandora the Dog with an American bandana - so cute!

Happy 4th July readers. My brother and his lovely wife Amy are visiting and yesterday we had a 4th July party. Lots of delicious ribs, burgers, pecan pies, apple pies - it was a feast fit for a king. We also had a 4th July cake (with a few USA and UK flags on - not quite sure that the uk flags are really appropriate for independance day but hey ho!) If you are celebrating today, have a very happy 4th!

Last week I held an afternoon tea party for some work colleagues to celebrate a deal that completed quite a while ago. It was a very overdue celebration but I hope they thought it was worth the wait. The menu comprised smoked salmon and nasturcium flower tarlets, welsh rarebit crumpets, cucumber sandwiches with micro herbs, vanilla meringues, lemon and lavender drizzle cakes, almond fondant fancies, a plum and cherry cake, white chocolate brownies and raspberry scones with clotted cream! What a lot of goodies!!! All washed down with champagne and elderflower liquour and pots and pots of tea - it was a very nice end to the week.

Last weekend we went to a lovely Strawberry Fair at Yelden - lots of lovely stalls, a jazz band and of course lots of delicious strawberries. It was a classic English Country Village Fair with stalls in all the villagers' gardens - including knock the rat and nails in a haybale and a traditional coconut shy. What a lot of fun we had!!! There was also a classic car show and it was the first time our little car was shown! Sacha was very proud. What a lovely setting next to the old church. There was also a wonderful acrobatic air display, just as we arrived - death defying spins and drops made by a very talented pilot! We will definitely be returning next year!

A few little cakes baked this weekend - some rather yummy almond fondant fancies (with cute sugar toadstools and leaves and pretty sugar flowers) and a cake for for a work colleague who likes fishing. It was very easy to prepare with a large grass nozzle and some green buttercream for the lake bank and I used blue edible lustre spray and some edible glitter for the top of the "lake" which made it quite shimmery. If you have not tried edible lustre spray yet, do - you will love it!

People often ask where my creative side comes from. It most definitely comes from my Mum and Dad - they were both art teachers and are hugely more artistic than I am. This is a picture that my Dad did at the weekend for an art exhibition - it is for a charity exhibition of tiny pictures in CD cases. Some famous people are taking part and also some less famous people like my Dad. This is his picture made with shredded bank notes (it is my Dad's favourite art medium - he gets them from the Bank of England - shame they have to be shredded first!) The picture is called 21st Centurary Banker and the portrait is of Fred Goodwin (aka Fred the Shred - for his leathal cost cutting - shredded bank notes - get it?) former CEO of RBS in the UK. Anyway, irrespective of your political views of banks, I hope you like my Dad's picture! Very proud of him xxx

This is probably a sad confession to make - I love Glee and I particularly love the Warblers. Imagine my excitement when I spotted this CD in the service station on my way back from Suffolk yesterday. Ok, Ok - I know I am a completely sad case, but for any Glee fans out there, I can definitely recommend this. I sang along all the way home!

My lovely brother Gareth recently gave me the cutest of presents - this little japenese toy box call Bread and Butter - you don't know what's in the box until you open it - a bit similar to Kinder Suprise toys but soooo much better. Mine was from "Uncle Will Famous Cookie shop" and contained, two trays, 9 different cookies (including some very topical cookie pops) and a bag to put the cookies in. OK so I know this was just plastic but my word it is just the cutest thing! Perfect for a dolls house or toy shop! If you see one of these boxes, buy it - the contents are sure to make you smile!

The perfectly situated Castle Menzies where the wedding was held. It doesn't look haunted at all, does it? It is just near the village of Aberfeldy - which has one other very important claim to fame - JK Rowling of Harry Potter Fame has a house there ( one of her three houses!) We took a short detour past her house but no sign of her or any witches or wizards! Still we were excited just to see where she lived and I imagine it is the perfect quiet spot for writing.

Finally!!!! I have been able to get back onto blogger again. I don't know whether any of you have suffered similar problems but an upgrade in Internet Explorer was incompatible with blogger and despite my best efforts I just haven't been able to log on for ages. I had almost given up but the problem finally seems to have resolved itself and I can happily get back to blogging again. In the intervening time I have finished and submitted my final book - hurrah. Popcorn was such a lovely book to create recipes for that I ended up doing 4 extra recipes - I just found it a bit hard to stop once I had got into the swing of popping corn! It now seems very strange not to have to be cooking all the time but I must admit that it is nice to have a bit of a rest and catch up with friends and housework (very overdue)! Last weekend we went to the Highlands in Scotland for my friend Sonya's wedding. She got married in a castle (Menzies Castle - apparently the second most haunted Scottish castle - I turned up to help with the flowers the night before the wedding and was asked if I was there for the ghost hunting tour!!!!!) It was a truly memorable day and Sonya even arrived in a glass carriage with white horses and her wedding dress was worthy of a princess. Kate Middleton would have been proud! Happy Wedding memories Sonya and Dan xxxx

Ever since I ate at the wonderful Soho restaurant Bob Bob Ricard, I have been dreaming of their seductive sweetcorn mash. Who would have thought that the addition of some golden creamed corn to mashed potatoes could create what is in my view the ultimate comfort food. Rather than just dreaming about the mash until my next visit to Bob Bob, I decided this month to try and recreate their recipe. Whilst eating it at home doesn’t quite have the restaurant atmosphere (they have blue leather banquettes and very plush wallpaper!), this mash tastes almost as good as theirs, and for a girl who doesn’t travel to London that often, it will do me just fine. Served here with some lip smackingly good lamb, cooked in treacle and mustard for a “tex mex” feel, this dish is perfect for a casual supper with friends, with a large bowl of tortilla chips, soured cream and guacamole served alongside.
Blackened Lamb with Sweetcorn Mash
Serves 2 Preparation time 20 minutes cooking time 30 minutes
2 small racks of lamb, French trimmed (approx 200 – 300g in weight each)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 heaped tbsp treacle
1 heaped tbsp muscovado sugar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
200ml red wine
Juice of 1 lime
For the sweetcorn mash
500g potatoes
50g butter
285g sweetcorn, drained weight
Salt and pepper to season
Equipment: Food processor
Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6/200C. For the mash, boil the potatoes in a pan of salted water until softened, then drain. Whilst the potatoes are cooking, heat the sweetcorn in a separate pan with the butter and cook over a gentle heat for approx. 5 minutes. Blitz the sweetcorn and butter in a food processor until you have a smooth puree. Add the cooked potatoes and blend again until the mixture is smooth and has no lumps. Return to the pan, season with salt and pepper and keep warm until you are ready to serve. To prepare the lamb, heat the oil in a frying pan, then brown the lamb rack for about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to a roasting pan and season with salt and pepper. Mix together the treacle, mustard and sugar and spoon over the lamb to glaze. Pour the red wine into the pan around the lamb and cook for 15 – 20 minutes if you like your lamb rare to medium and 25 minutes if you prefer your lamb well done. Remove from the oven and stand the lamb for 5 minutes to rest. Whilst the meat is resting, heat the juices from the roasting pan with the lime juice, adding a little water if the sauce is too thick. Cut the racks into individual cutlets and serve with the sweetcorn mash and sauce spooned over.

Ryland Peters and Small have very kindly said they will publish another of my book ideas - this time its "Popcorn"! If I had a £1
for every popcorn kernel I have popped in the last week I would be a very rich woman indeed! It has been a while since I made popcorn and I had forgotten how fun it is waiting for the popping to start and then when it stops lifting the lid to see all the delicious white kernels. Sadly I had also forgotten how addictive popcorn is - we have eaten rather a lot!!!! The inspiration for the book came from the wonderful Zaramana pop a cobs that I posted on my blog a few months ago (whole dried corn that you pop in the microwave and the little kernels pop off the cob - so much fun). Amelia from Zaramama has very kindly given me lots of hints and tips and has also sent me an enormous box of popping kernels - pop by her website and have a look if you have a minute http://www.zaramama.co.uk/ . I took 6 bowls of popcorn to our sewing circle last night - Raspberry and white chocolate was the most popular as that bowl was the first to empty! The book will be out in Spring next year - what fun!

The bluebell woods near our cottage are in full bloom. Everytime I pass them, they take my breath away seeing the bright blue carpet underneath the trees. It is one of our long term plans to plant bluebells in our woodland but we never seem to find the time - perhaps next year! This lovely photo of my Mum was taking by her friend Linda in the bluebell wood at Coton Manor not far from where we live. What a pretty picture! The bluebell season never lasts long so if you haven't been out to a bluebell wood yet, you'd better be quick!

Like many of you I'm sure, I am so excited about the Royal Wedding tomorrow. I have spent this evening hanging bunting and flags ready for our Royal Wedding Brunch tomorrow. What fun! I have baked a little cake (with sultanas and coconut soaked in gingerbread liqueur - delish) and have lots of other goodies on offer. I will be making red white and blue popcorn tomorrow for us to munch on whilst waiting for Kate's dress to appear! Have fun with your celebrations xxx

It seems to be not just raining but pouring cook books in my life at the moment. This is definitely not a complaint and something I welcome with open arms! Sadly it means that the other loves in my life, blogging, sewing and seeing friends are all taking a back seat at present. In addition to having to finish Sweetie Pops and Milkshake bar by early May (I only have 7 recipes left to do before writing everything up - woohoo) both my Gluten free and Mini cake books are also in the final stages before going to print. I am spending every hour that I am not lawyering, working on books. I can't complain as it is so much fun to see my little books coming to life! I am pleased to be able to share with you the cover of my Mini cake book which is now available to pre-order on Amazon - I do hope you like it, particularly the little sugar strawberry decorations on top of the cakes which I made and sent by courier down to London wrapped in bubble wrap for the shoot!

You may remember my German friend Maren who regularly features on this blog. Maren loves all things English and has now bought herself a cottage in Norfolk - isn't it pretty! Just a few miles from Wells Next the Sea with its lovely beach huts - I know she will get to spent many happy holidays there. She picked up the keys this weekend and we went with her to help her "move in" (this consisted of unpacking a kitchenaid mixer, blender, kettle and some beautiful strawberrry crockery - a woman after my own heart). Happy Housewarming Maren xxx

Channel 4's food website now has a few of my whoopie pie recipes on if you want to give them a try - click here for a link to the recipes - popcorn caramel pies, ice cream pies and classic chocolate marshmallow fluff whoopies!

Earth to planet Hannah...Earth to planet Hannah...is there anyone out there? Yes is the answer - I have not disappeared but I am snowed under with recipe testing at the moment. I don't think I have mentioned it but in addition to my Milkshake book I am also writing a book of "Sweetie Pops" - yummy cakes and biscuits and sweet treats on sticks. Baked alaskas and jam tarts and profiteroles as well as some cute decorated cakes and biscuits! I have just reached the half way stage in recipes - 37 done, only 33 more to go (what a relief). These are some little carrot cakes I made last week with piped icing leaves and fondant carrots. This is now my 7th book which is still quite hard for me to comprehend - 7 books!!!! - if you had told me this when I was on Masterchef I would never have believed it! The book is being published by Anness and should be out later this year or early next year - will keep you posted!

Today I can give you a quick sneak peak of my lovely Gluten Free book - The Gluten Free Baker - which is just about to go to print! I am so, so thrilled with the wonderful pictures that Megan, Joss and William have taken and I really hope that this will give people suffering from Coeliac disease some nice new recipes to try! It is a book that I am very proud of - achieving puff pastry and bagels that work without gluten was no mean feat I can tell you - I am sure Heston would be proud of my lower bagels into a jug of boiling water on a spoon technic! Out in August 2011 and available to pre order on Amazon now - plug plug!

For the last few weeks my life has been taken over by Milkshakes - one of life's greatest pleasures. What a hardship it has been (not!) It is the topic of my next book (The Milkshake bar) and I don't need to tell you how excited I am to be working on this project. Lots of lovely thick shakes, thin shakes, fruit cocktail juices and ice cream floats! Last weekend I made 32 drinks - by Sunday evening we were all feeling just a little sick! The problem with a good milkshake is that you think you will just take one sip to taste but somehow one sip becomes three and before you know it the glass is empty! I dread to think how much ice cream and milk we consumed. Luckily I had some helpful milkshake tasters on hand - Sacha (pictured here with a mango lassi - it is his recipe and he was very proud!) tasted every single one (that is true dedication to your wife!) and our other neighbours tried lots too - including baby Josef who was keen to try the watermelon cooler! I have one milkshake left to test - a doughnut milkshake - and the recipes to write up and then the book is finished - out new spring published by lovely Ryland Peters and Small, hurrah!

I suppose this tale could start something along the lines of "you can't consider yourself to be a cake decorator until you have made a compost site cake" except that would probably leave me in a category of one as I can't imagine that there is much call for cakes in the shape of compost sites! Jason was however delighted with his cake - what a beaming smile. The "compost" was crushed oreo cookies and even had aeration pipes made with liquorish tubes and litter netting. It was a far cry from my usual pretty flowery feathered cakes but fun to decorate all the same!

I recently spent a lovely afternoon with budding young cook, Kate. She is only 8 and yet is such a good cook that I am sure she could give some of the Masterchef contestants a run for their money. Kate bake two cakes (with a very tiny bit of help from me) - a cute teddy bear cake that she iced and decorated all by herself - don't you just adore the little necklace with the ladybird locket in the centre and the cute iced paws. We also made her dad a birthday cake. Kate was very good and planned out the design of the top of the cake by laying the decorations out on a plate before she put them on the top of the cake - John Torode would have been so proud of her. I held the icing bag and she piped all the green grass on top of the cake herself. What a lot of work for little hands! The cake looked very lovely when it was finished. Her Dad has since reported that Kate decided to cook again last week but this time took her planning to a new level designing her presentation layout for the dish (Haddock Mornay) on the computer! I was seriously impressed! Everything was plated up perfectly and everyone was ready to tuck in when Kate said she had forgotten the last detail - she then sprinkled a little edible glitter over the fish for extra decoration - a girl after my own heart - you can never have too much edible glitter, even with fish! Well done Kate for your wonderful cooking!