I wonder if you like cinnamon like I like cinnamon . . .
It is one of my favourite flavours. I don't just like it, I lurve it!!



I love it sprinkled on my oatmeal. All hot and steamy and covered in brown sugar, cinnamon and cream . . .



I love it on my French Toast, all buttery and eggy and doused in maple syrup . . .



I love it on toast! That buttery, sweet gritty feel in your mouth with the crunch of the toast and the warmth of the cinnamon. Oh but it is good . . .



I love it in cinnamon rolls, all buttery and filled with lots of raisins and nuts . . . and slathered in sweet, sweet icing . . .



I love the smell of anything filled with cinnamon in it baking. It always makes me smile and feel all warm inside.

Back when I used to live in an old farmhouse with a wood stove, I often kept a pot of water on the back of the stove simmering away, filled with water and cinnamon sticks, a few cloves and some nutmeg. It always smelled like I had something delicious in the oven . . .



Cinnamon smells like home. Cinnamon smells like love. Cinnamon is the ultimate comfort spice.
If you like cinnamon, like I like cinnamon, you will love this bread. All rich and buttery and filled with a delicious cinnamon swirl.

You'll want to keep it all to yourself . . . but alas . . . it is TOO good not to share . . .



*Cinnamon Swirl Tea Bread*
Makes one 9 by 5 inch loaf
Printable Recipe

Terrifically tasty. Moist, yummy and oh so cinnamony!

4 ounces butter, softened (1/2 cup)
2 large free range eggs
250ml of sour cream or plain yoghurt
2 tsp vanilla extract
7 ounces caster sugar (1 cup)
8 1/2 ounces plain flour (2 cups)
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
6 TBS soft light brown sugar, packed
2 TBS ground cinnamon
dash allspice

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf tin and line with baking paper. Set aside.

Measure the butter, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, sugar, flour, soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Beat together until well combined, but do not overbeat. Stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice.

Spread half of the batter into the prepared baking tin. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Spread the remainiing batter over top. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar. Using a round bladed knive gently cut through the batter to swirl the cinnamon sugar through.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes until well risen and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Store wrapped tightly in cling film. Serve cut in slices, toasted or not, and spread with butter.

I think that Parsnips have to be my all-time-favourite vegetable! I know that I say that about a lot of things, don't I? I guess I just love food and have a lot of favourites! But seriously, I do love, Love, LOVE Parsnips!



Paler than carrots, but much sweeter than cooked, I just adore them in any way, shape or form. My mother hated them and so we didn't get them at all when I was growing up, although . . . I do remember her cooking them for us once, in an attempt to see whether her tastes had changed through the years . . .



I remember her peeling them and slicing them into coins, and then she cooked them in butter, until they were soft and caramelized. They were lovely . . . but, she still didn't like them, so that was that! She never cooked them for us again.



I always remembered how delicious I had found them to be though, and once I got out on my own, I took every opportunity to cook them that I could, slipping them into stews and soups, roasting them, frying them and even mashing them. (They are just scrumptious cooked together with carrots and then mashed with some butter and seasoning!)



We have all made carrot cakes, I am sure. They're really quite popular nowadays . . . moist and scrummy and topped with a creamed cheese icing. I cannot imagine anyone not liking them, but I am sure there are some exceptions to the rule!



Yesterday I thought . . . if parsnips are so much sweeter than carrots, I am sure they would make a delicious cake and so . . . I made a Parsnip Cake, using my favourite Carrot Cake recipe!



Oh my, this is scrummy . . . all moist and sweet, and stogged full of lovely parsnips, pineapple crush, toasted walnuts and warm baking spices!

We had the missionaries over for their tea and they screwed their noses up a bit in disbelief when I told them I had baked a Parsnip cake, but . . .



they ended up taking half of it with them when they left, it was sooooo good!! I think the Browned Butter Frosting was . . . well . . . the icing on the cake!

Oh yes . . . it is very moreishly scrumdiddlyumptious!

I'm sure glad that I am a cook who is not afraid to push the boundaries of what's considered to be normal at times. It makes life much more exciting, oh . . . and much tastier too!!!




*Parsnip Cake with Browned Butter Frosting*
Makes one 9 by 13 inch cake
Printable Recipe

Spicy, sweet and moist with a nutty frosting.

8.5 ounces plain flour (2 cups)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
5.25 ounces caster sugar (3/4 cup)
5.6 ounces soft light brown sugar (3/4 cup packed)
3 large free range eggs
6 fluid ounces of canola oil (3/4 cup)
1 tsp vanilla
3 medium parsnips peeled and grated
1 (435g) tin of pineapple crush, drained (1 cup)
2 ounces chopped toasted walnuts (1/2 cup)

Brown Butter Frosting:
2 ounces butter softened (1/4 cup)
pinch salt
16 ounces icing sugar, sifted (4 cups)
75 - 100ml of cream (1/3 tp 1/2 cup)

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking tin and lightly dust with flour. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda, salt, and nutmeg together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, caster and brown sugars and vanilla until smooth. Add to the flour mixture and stir together just until moistened. Stir in the parsnips, pineapple and nuts. Spread into the prepared baking tin, leveling it off. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, heat the butter over medium heat until it turns a nutty brown colour. Be careful not to burn it. Add the sale and then beat in the sugar and the cream until it is cold, creamy and thick enough to spread. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake.

Cut into squares to serve. Store in an airtight container.

As you all must know by now, I live in Chester, which is right on the doorstep of Wales. In fact, the Welsh border is but a five minute walk from my home. I love that, coz I love Wales!! It's beautiful, quaint and very rustically rural in many places.



When we lived in Kent and wanted to go to the seaside we would go to either Hastings or Eastbourned and we loved them. Up here we like to go to Prestatyn, which is not as big as the more popular seasides, but again . . . it's not as crowded either. Down in Kent I would have opted for chips or ice cream as a seaside treat . . . but here in Wales, it's Bara Brith . . . EVERY time!



Also known as "Speckled Bread," Bara Brith can either be a yeast bread enriched with dried fruit or something like a quick bread/cake made with self-rising flour. Traditionally using vine fruits and candied peel, it involves soaking the fruit mixture overnight in hot tea. I generally always opt for the quick bread/cake one as it stores a lot longer, whereas the yeast version needs to be eaten pretty much right away.



This particular version is very low in fat as well, as there is no butter involved at all in it's creation . . .which leaves one free to totally indulge in spreading it with lots of cold butter when it's warm from the oven, or when it's cold for that matter, with a clear conscience!!

Bara Brith and a hot cup of tea, herbal or otherwise. It's a good thing.



*Bara Brith*
Makes one 2 pound loaf
Printable Recipe

The quick bread version of a traditional Welsh cake using whole wheat flour, vine fruits, chopped peel and soft brown sugar. Low in fat, high in pleasure. Eat sliced and spread with softened butter. Delicious! Plan ahead as the fruit needs to soak overnight.

4 ounces dried currents (1 scant cup)
2 ounces raisins (1 scant half cup)
2 ounces chopped mixed peel (1/3 cup)
(chop your own)
400ml of hot strong tea (1 3/4 cup approx.)
12 ounces self raising whole wheat flour (3 cups)
4 ounces of soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)
1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp mixed spice ( a blend of sweet spices, see column on right side of page)

Weight your fruit out and place it into a bowl. Cover with the hot tea and leave to sit overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 5. Butter a 2 pound loaf tin and line with baking paper. Butter the paper.

Whisk together the flour, brown sugar and mixed spice in a bowl. Drain the fruit, reserving the soaking juices. Stir this into the flour mixture to coat. Add the beaten egg and enough of the soaking liquid to make a soft batter. Spread into the prepared pan, evening off the top.

Bake for 45 minutes, until risen and firm to the touch. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean. Remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool. Allow to cool for ten minutes in the pan before removing to finish cooling completely. Store in an airtight container.

I have made no secret on here of my love of lemons. It's very clear that I can't get enough of them! Todd . . . well, he says lemon is not his favourite thing, but that fact doesn't seem to stop him from indulging in my cakes and cookies . . . it is my dream to have a lemon tree, filled to overflowing with lovely organic and unwaxed lemons . . . sigh . . .



This recipe is nothing more than a glorified Swiss Roll, scented and lightly flavoured with fresh lemon zest and filled with fabulous lemon curd. With it's crunchy coating of caster sugar, it's a delicious teatime treat!



Lemon Curd is something I always have in my house. I keep jars of it in the larder and then . . . I am kinda known for my own delicious Lemon Curd that I make myself from scratch . . . so good in fact, that you will be sorely tempted to eat it with a spoon! (You would be forgiven for doing so surely. It's that good!)



Lemon Curd is not that hard to make and once you have had homemade you will be kinda spoiled for ever truly being satisfied with store bought, seriously. It does make rather a lot, but you will be able to find lots of great uses for it, I promise.



You can fill little tarts with it, or fill ginger cookies with it . . . there is no end to it's tasty uses and in fact, you can find a whole list of recipes here that I use it in! (Enjoy!)



I love Swiss Rolls because they are . . . one-quick and easy and two-tasty, tasty, tasty!



This one goes down a real treat with a nice dollop of creme fraiche or even clotted cream if you should be so lucky. Alas . . . I didn't have either in the fridge today so we had it plain. We enjoyed it all the same, with nice hot cups of lemon ginger tea!!



Note to self** Don't forget to pick up some clotted cream asap.



*Lemon Swiss Roll*
Makes one 9 inch roll
Printable Recipe

If you love lemon like I love lemon, you will adore this delicious swiss roll! If you like you may use orange zest instead of the lemon and fill with orange marmalade for a change.

4 large free range eggs, room temperature
4 ounces caster sugar (a generous 1/2 cup)
the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
4 ounces self raising flour (1 scant cup)

For filling:
4 heaped dessertspoons of good quality lemon curd

Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Grease a 9 X13 swiss roll pan and then line with baking parchment.

Break the eggs into a large bowl and combine with the sugar and lemon. Beat with an electric whisk until the mixture is light and frothy and the beaters leave a trail in the beaten mixture when lifted out. Sift the flour into the mixture, folding it in as you go along. Pour into the prepared pan. Shake gently to level out.

Bake for 10 minutes in the heated oven until the sponge is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched.

Have a piece of baking parchment ready and laid out on the counter that is larger than the cake tin. Dust it with granulated sugar. When the cake is baked, invert the tin onto the sugared baking parchment. Quickly loosen and peel off the paper from the bottom of the cake. Trim off the edges with a sharp serrated knife. Make a score mark one inch from one of the shorter edges without cutting through the cake. Allow to cool slightly then spread with the lemon curd and roll up tightly from the cut end. Allow to cool completely before slicing to serve.

If you like you can dust with some icing sugar to serve.

One thing that I always do when I am frying bacon, is to fry extra. It just makes sense. If I am going to to the trouble and the mess . . . why not fry the whole pack instead of just a few slices.



The extra gets carefully wrapped and sealed in a zip lock bag and then frozen so that I have already cooked bacon to hand anytime I may need it. Why pay premium prices for already cooked bacon in the shops when you don't need to.



Cooked bacon is so handy to have in the freezer. Ready for sprinkling on salads, or casseroles . . . the perfect addition to grilled cheese on toast . . . chopped and sprinkled over pizzas . . . or chopped and stirred into these moreishly scrumptious savoury scones!!!



Crunchy on the outside and so soft and flakey on the insides . . . all buttery and stogged full of strong cheddar cheese and . . . lovely bacon. As we all know . . . everything tastes better with bacon! (Peanut butter, cheese, chocolate . . . even jam. Try it some time. You'll see I am right!)



These tasty scones are the perfect addition to a soup meal . . . or with a hearty stew. Great for breakfast . . . on their own or with an egg, scrambled or otherwise. Try making your own breakfast sandwich using these. Just fry an egg (or two) and sandwich them between one of these lovely scones, after having split and toasted it.

Oh man . . . sooooo good! Your husband will love you even more than he does now. I guarantee! They do say the secret way to a man's heart is through the stomach . . .



*Cheese and Bacon Scones*
Makes 15 to 20, depending on how big you cut them
Printable Recipe

Scrumdiddlyumpitiously savoury. Perfect with some sliced ham or cheese, or both. You can vary the spiciness of them by adjusting the amount of cayenne used.

16 ounces (1 pound) plain flour (about 3 1/2 cups)
1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 level tsp of cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 tsp salt
1 ounce of cold butter, cubed (2 TBS)
4 ouces bacon, grilled and finely chopped with a sharp knife, or
in the food processor
4 ounces strong cheddar cheese, grated (1 cup)
1 medium free range egg
375ml of sour milk or buttermilk (1 2/3 cup)

Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Dust a large baking sheet lightly with flour. Set aside.

Sift the flour, soda, cayenne pepper and salt into a large bowl. Drop in the butter and then rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine dry bread crumbs. Stir in the bacon and cheese.

Whisk together the egg and milk.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet. Mix to a soft dough with your hand by running it around the bowl. Try not to knead it as this will develop the gluten which will toughen the scones. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. (The dough will be quite sticky) Pat out with floured hands until you get a square 3/4 inch thick. Using a pizza cutter, cut it into 15 to 20 squares. (Alternately you can cut them out with a sharp knife or a 2 inch round cutter) Place onto the floured baking sheet leaving about 2 inches between each.

Bake for 10 to 14 minutes until well risen and golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

It is rumoured that there are over 900,000 poppy seeds contained in a pound of poppy seeds . . . I've never actually counted them, nor am I likely to, so I'll just have to take the rumour monger's word for it.



What I do know for sure is that I love poppy seeds in baked goods. Always have done, probably always will. (although to be sure they aren't necessarily ideal to serve in dinner party foods . . . a poppy seed caught in the tooth can be quite disconcerting to your dinner time partners!)



When I was a much younger (ahem) woman I was lucky enough to live in the foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains of Alberta for a time . . . while there I used to ubdulge myself in these lovely sweet pastries that were sold in most of the bakeshops . . . filled with a sweet and scrummy poppy seed filling . . . no doubt a tasty treat come down from the traditions of Eastern European settlers that filled the Canadian West . . .



Oh my . . . but they were soooo delicious . . . I could never quite get enough of them . . . the pastry all buttery and the filling so sweet and yet crunchy at the same time, with a distinct almond flavour and a lucious glaze gilding all of that goodness.



They were so good that some 30 years later I am still thinking about them . . . or is that just the power of a rose coloured food memory clouding my culinary vision . . . I am not sure.

I only know for sure, that I do have a special fondness for Poppy Seeds that goes way back.



They make quite a lovely showing in these delicious breakfast or teatime muffins . . . the muffins all buttery and sweetly moist . . . and at the same time tangy with lemon, both in flavour and the scent . . and then with those pretty blue seeds scattered throughout . . . a feast for all the senses . . . and lets not forget that lemon sugar crunch topping!

These go down a right treat with your morning cuppa!



*Lemon and Poppy Seed Muffins*
Makes one dozen
Printable Recipe

Light and sweetly tangy and filled with lots of poppyseed crunch, and a scrummy lemon sugar topping!!

3 tsp finely grated lemon zest
220g caster sugar (1 cup)
335g of self raising flour (2 1/4 cup)
2 TBS poppy seeds
80ml of fresh lemon juice (1/3 cup)
250ml of milk (1 cup)
60g of butter, melted (1/3 cup)
2 large free range eggs, beaten

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Butter a 12 cup muffin cup pan really well. Set aside.

Place the sugar and lemon zest into a large bowl. Rub the two together with your fingertips really well. (This smells great!) Remove 3 TBS of the mixture and set aside. Sift the flour into the remainder. Stir in the poppy seeds. Whisk together the lemon juice, milk, beaten eggs and melted butter. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the liquid all at once. Stir together only to combine. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups, dividing it equally.

Sprinkle the tops of each with the reserved lemon sugar.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for ten minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling. Serve warm or at room temperature.

One thing that I love about food blogging is that it's not about me. It's not even about you . . . it's about the recipes and the food!



It's about being able to cook and taste some of the best and most indulgent foods ever . . . and exploring the culinary delights my adopted country has to offer me.




It's about stretching my skills . . . both in the kitchen and . . . behind the camera . . . and about making food that not only tastes delicious, but food that looks good.



It's about waking up every morning and making YOU believe that what I am presenting to you on this page is the absolute best thing ever . . .



and about making you want to go into your own kitchen and cook it for yourselves, because you have just got to taste it for real, and because I have inspired you to do it, and given you the confidence to believe that you can!



Your comments are like me winning the "X Factor of food" every day of my life, and I thank you for that. Here's to 2011. Let's begin as we mean to go on.



Cream Palmiers . . . tasty little bites of fluffy crisp buttery pastry, filled with a soft cloud of sweetened whipped cream and sticky sweet strawberry jam. Kind of like a de-constructed jam tart . . . with puff pastry . . . and CREAM. A delicious teatime treat.



The only down side is they all have to be eaten on the day they are filled . . . so NOT a problem!



*Cream Palmiers*
Makes 8
Printable Recipe

Absolutely delightful on the tea tray!

225g (1/2 pound) of all butter puff pastry
1 1/2 ounces granulated sugar (a scant 1/4 cup)
1 TBS icing sugar, sifted
400ml of double cream (1 3/4 cups)
a few drops of vanilla
2 TBS strawberry jam

Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Slightly dampen a baking tray. Set aside.

Dust the work surface with half of the sugar. Roll the pastry out on the sugared surface to a rectangle 10 by 12 inches in size. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining half of the sugar. Gently press the sugar in with a rolling pin. Starting at the short sides, roll the pastry towards the middle from both edges into the centre until they meet. Press together gently. Cut across the rolls into 16 slices. Place onto the baking tray. Press down to flatten slightly.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes until crisp and golden, turning them over halfway through the baking time so that they caramelize equally on both sides. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Whip the cream along with the icing sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Sandwich together pairs of the palmiers with some of the whipped cream and some of the jam. Serve immediately.