A few weeks back the people from Shrewd PR, and Eddingtons sent me a fabulous little meat thermometer to try out. I'd been waiting for one of these for a while and I was glad that they finally had them in stock again. Yipee!!

Cooking meat can be somewhat of a hit and a miss thing. As a trained Chef, I have my tricks that I use to determine this type of thing, but it can be difficult if you don't have the training or knowledge. Cook it too long . . . and it's burnt. Cook it too quickly . . . and it's raw in the middle. Now you can cook your meat perfectly to the desired doneness that you want. It's foolproof and easy to use. Guaranteed to work when cooking with the Barbeque, Stovetop, Oven or Microwave. This Cooked-Per'fect Complete Reusable Color-Changing Thermometer is good for Beef, Fish, Pork or Poultry.

Just insert it into your meat, wait three seconds and then remove the thermometer and it will indicate precisely by a visible colour change what degree of doneness you have.



I used it on our steaks last night and it did the trick perfectly. I was surprised that it was so accurate! It's also very affordable. You can buy one at Wheesh. com for only £4.95! I know mine will be getting a really big work out this summer as we like to barbeque a lot!



Of course I did not serve the steaks all on their own. I made a tasty potato salad to go along with them, using potatoes that we dug out of our very own garden, our first of the season!



There is no feeling on earth like growing your very own vegetables! It makes you feel very Mother Earth knowing that your very own hands and patience have produced something so tasty from the ground!



You just cannot beat the taste of potatoes that are cooked within minutes of being dug out of the earth. So fabulous. We had some simply boiled the other night (oh so good) and then last night I made us a delicious potato salad with them to go with out steaks. I created a deliciously creamy Caesar Dressing to dress them with and combined them with some shredded baby gem lettuce (again from our own garden) some spring onion (yep from our garden) and then some chopped egg and crispy cooked pancetta.



It was fabulous. Earthy and delicious . . . early summer on your plate!

I picked up a gorgeous cauliflower the other day at the Greengrocers, for only 98p! It was huge and so fresh, with really tight buds and a beautiful creamy white colour. I could hardly wait to get it home and do something with it.

I thought about a cauliflower cheese, which is a real favourite of ours. Then I thought perhaps a cauliflower curry, or gratin. I haved a whole host of Cauliflower recipes here, that I could have chosen from, each of them quite delicious in their own way . . . and then the weather turned quite cold and rainy.



It felt as if winter had returned and so I decided to make a soup.

A delicious Roasted Cauliflower Soup! Rich and velvety!



The cauliflower gets almost sweet after roasting it in the oven . . . as do the onion and garlic. (DO be careful not to let it overbrown, as that will have exactly the opposite effect and it will turn bitter!)



After roasting, you then simmer it all in a pot of vegetable stock along with some potato. Once the whole pot of vegetables is meltingly tender you then blitz it until smooth and velvety with a stick blender.

Finally you whisk in some cream and voila!! With a bit of seasoning your soup is done and oh so creamily delicious!!



I garnished ours with a bit grated cheddar and some minced chives, just for some colour.

Altogether it was quite, quite good, if I don't say so myself!



*Roasted Cauliflower Soup*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A deliciously rich and velvety smooth soup.

1 medium cauliflower, trimmed and broken into florets
olive oil
1 large brown onion, peeled and cut into wedges
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 medium floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
500ml vegetable stock (2 cups)
500ml of water (2 cups)
3 to 4 TBS of cream
sea salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste

To garnish:
grated cheddar cheese (optional)
finely chopped chives (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Have ready a large baking try with a rim.

Place the cauliflower florets onto the baking tray. Drizzle with some olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Tear off a square of alumimium foil. Place the onion wedges and peeled garlic in the middle of the foil. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and then draw the edges of the foil up to cover and seal tightly closed. Place on the baking tray with the cauliflower.

Roast for about 30 to 45 minutes, until the cauliflower is soft. It is ok if it is a little bit browned, but don't let it brown too much as it will turn bitter.

Move the roasted cauliflower, onion and garlic to a large saucepan. Add the potatoes, stock and water. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer and simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes until all the vegetables are completely softened. Blitz until smooth with a stick blender, adding more stock if need be to give you the right consistency. Add the cream and season to taste with some salt, black and cayenne pepper.

Ladle into heated soup bowls and garnish with cheddar and chives if you wish.

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered this washing up video on YouTube, that I thought was quite cute and funny. I followed the link to their site, "Stop Washing Up." They have a contest on their page running right through June, where if you join the site and answer a question, you have the chance to win a free dishwasher. You had to answer in 15 words, why you needed a new dishwasher.

I am always joking around with people when they get to talking about dishwashers. Ever since we got married, Todd has always done the dishes. He says that since I do all the cooking, he doesn't mind doing the dishes, which works for me. When people get to talking about their dishwashers, I have always said that I have a 72 year old dishwasher that still works like a charm. At first people look at me a bit strangely, until they realize I am talking about the Toddster, and they have a bit of a laugh about it.

So anyways, to make a long story short, I entered the contest by talking about my 72 year old dishwasher, and guess who is the Week 3 Winner of their dishwasher giveaway campaign??? YOU GOT IT PONTIAC!! It's MOI!! ME!! Yeppers, today was my lucky day!! Todd and I had just been out for a short walk with Mitzie along the River Dee and gotten into the house when the telephone rang. I answered it and it was a Zanussi PR person informing me that my entry had won for this week!! Can you say over the moon???

I am just thrilled. I have always wanted a dishwasher since I moved over here. It's been on my wish list, along with a clothes drier since day one. I already have a Zanussi washing machine, and we are really pleased with it, so I just know I will be pleased with this dishwasher. All I have to do now is to check out their site and pick which one I want!! Needless to say, this has really made my day!



Of course, I baked a cake to celebrate!! How could I not???



And not just any cake either. An incredibly tasty Toasty Topped Butter Cake, or what my mom used to call a Lazy Daisy Cake.



This is one of my favourite cakes. A moist and scrummy basic butter cake, topped with a lucious toffee topping that is applied after the main cake is baked and then broiled until caramelized!!



Mom always put just coconut in hers, but as you know, I like to take things just that little bit further, and so I use a mix of half coconut and half flaked almonds, for an extra depth of flavour and crunch.



This went down a real treat! Wow. A new dishwasher, a cute Pup, the Toddster and a tasty cake all in one day! I do believe I am just the luckiest woman in the world! (Todd is feeling rather lucky as well, especially now that he knows his dishwashing days are numbered!!)

Wandering through the grocery store as I am won't to do on occasion, I came across a real bargain. They were selling off turkey legs, and quite large ones too, for only £3. That is a large drumstick and a large thigh! There's quite a lot of meat on those you know!



I know that they can sometimes be tough, but this is nothing that a nice simmering won't help.

I came home and popped the two bits into a large saucepan along with some lightly salted water to cover, a few peppercorns, a bay leaf, a carrot, half an onion and a celery heart and then I brought it to a boil. Once it came to the boil, I reduced it to a simmer and then let it bubble away for a couple of hours.



Oh my, what a lovely stock I had at the end of it all, and a good lot of tender meat as well. Perfect stock for a soup and lots of nice meat for a tasty casserole bake!



I could have used it in sandwiches as well, had I wanted to . . . or a pot pie, but we wanted an oven bake.



A bit of rice, some cooked veg, onions, celery, cheese, a tin of soup and a few other bit and I had a delicious casserole that had Todd smacking his lips as it was baking . . . it smelled so good!



He licked his plate clean and went back for seconds. I ♥ it when that happens! I do love to please my man. It makes me happy.

Economical, delicious and easy.

This is a simple cake and very easy to make. Sometimes people think that if something is simple, then it can't be very good, but they are so wrong . . . wrong, wrong!

In my experience it is quite often the simplest things that taste the best of all!



Our local shops frequently have punnets of stone fruit on for £1 a punnet. They call it home ripening fruit, but . . . in my experience it never ripens. That fruit will rot before it ripens. It never gets soft or sweet. I am not sure why that is. Perhaps it is the stuff they spray on it to keep it so that it will store in their warehouses longer, I don't know. Maybe they don't really do that, perhaps it's nothing more than an old wive's tale or a nasty rumour . . .



Having said that one wonders why even risk eating it at all, I don't know! I expect if it is well washed it is ok for consumption. We'll just go down that route ok?



Anyways, just because you know it won't ever really truly ripen to the point where you could eat it out of hand, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't risk buying it. These fruits are quite often the perfect fruits to bake or cook with!



When you do bake a cake or a crumble, or a pie, it's quite acceptable and even desireable to use fruit that's not quite fully ripened. It holds it's shape better, and the cooking process makes it highly edible. A bit of sugar and it sweetens up quite nicely.



I got a punnet of apricots earlier in the week for a pound and they were just perfect for this cake. Plums would also work very well.



It's a flat kind of cake. I like to dust it with lots of icing sugar and then serve it up with dollops of creme fraiche. Todd would say it is one of his favourites. ☺ I ♥ that!



*Apricot Sheet Cake*
Makes one baking sheet sized cake
Printable Recipe

A sweet batter encasing lovely baked apricots. You will need a baking sheet approximately 10 by 15 inches in size.

160g of unsalted butter, softened (about 11 1/2 TBS)
240g of caster sugar (1 1/4 cup)
pinch salt
4 large free range eggs
the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
1 tsp almond extract
300g of plain flour (2 1/4 cups)
2 tsp baking powder
6 TBS milk
Enough apricot halves to cover the baking sheet when halved
sugar for sprinkling
icing sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Butter a baking sheet with a one inch lip. Lightly dust with flour. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggsuntil combines. Stir in the lemon zest and almond extract. Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, alternately with the milk, until all are well combined. Spread this batter into the pan. Wash the apricots and cut in half, discarding the pit. Lay the halves on top of the batter decoratively, rounded side down and open side up. Sprinkle with some sugar.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool completely before serving. Dust with some icing sugar before serving if desired.

We took ourselves into Chester today to have a walk around. We had been going to go for a drive into Wales . . . but it was Ladie's Day at the Race Course, and only a food would subject themselves to trying to drive through the middle of Chester in a car on race day . . . seriously. The traffic is insane.



So we went into town on the bus instead. We walked up and down the rows. There's a lot of neat shops there. We poked around and explored. We went to the market cafe and had lunch. (fish and chips with mushy peas, yum!) We watched all the ladies walking up and down the cobbled streets in their race day finery, high heels and fascinators. It was amazing.



And then we found a little Green Grocer's and they had fresh English Strawberries sitting outside, £1 a punnet. Oh, they smelled so good. Fresh English Strawberries, warm from the sunshine, so delicious. I couldn't resist and picked up a few punnets, of course . . . as well as a tasty looking cauliflower for 98p and a hunk of broccoli for Mitzie. (She's on a diet and it's supposed to be good for fat free treats.)



June traditionally means two things in the UK. Wimbledon and fresh strawberries. I know you are probably tired of hearing me say this . . . but we have got the best berries here. (I know, I am just a tad biased, but it's true!)



So anyways, after we came home, I decided to make us dessert for supper. (You should try it sometime.) We had had a big lunch and so we didn't really want much for our tea. When in doubt . . . have dessert instead! I thought some nice strawberry shortcakes would go down a real treat.



It was my first time making them this year. And . . . they were fabulous. Oh so tasty and delicious. We didn't miss supper at all. We just sat here watching a film on the telly and enjoying these beautiful berries.



It won't be the last time I make Strawberry Shortcake this summer, but the first one of the season is always kinda special, if you know what I mean.



*Strawberry Shortcake*
Makes 6 servings
Printable Recipe

Nothing but old fashioned, simple, late springtime goodness. Delicious!

For the cakes:
8.5 ounces plain flour (2 cups)
1 TBS caster sugar
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 ounces of chilled butter, cut into bits
250ml of milk (1 cup)

You will also need:
3 punnets of ripe strawberries (about 6 cups)
5 TBS caster sugar, divided
500ml of double cream (2 cups)

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark6. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Butter the parchment. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Drop in the butter and rub it into the flour mixture with yoru fingertip until the mixture resembles rough meal. Stir in the milk with a fork. You should have a soft droppable dough. Drop by six equal portions onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving some space in between each. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Remove from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cakes are baking, wash and hull your berries. Slice into a bowl and stir together with 3 TBS of the sugar. Set aide to macerate.

Whip the cream and remaining 2 TBS of sugar together until soft peaks form.

Slice the cooled cakes in half. Place the bottom halves of the cakes into dessert bowls. Top with some of the berries and then a spoonful of cream. Place the top halves of the biscuits on top and then top with more berries and cream. Serve immediately.

Time for a Saturday Teatime Treat! I actually made these to bring to a friend.

I just adore lemon anything, but Todd is not a real fan of lemon at all . . . so I thought that I could make these . . . just have one myself, and then give the rest away. That way I get to taste and enjoy a reasonable amount, and then they're gone, gone, gone and out of temptation's way! (Don't feel too sorry for Todd. I always bake him something he will like as well.)



I got to taste. My friend got to enjoy. Todd didn't have to suffer through any accidental lemon poisoning! It was a win all around situation!



I adore lemon curd and I had some lemons that were getting close to needing to be used up, so it was the perfect day to make some and these cupcakes are the perfect way to use that lemon curd up! Also win/win! (I love it when everything works out that way)



I also happened to have a carton of mini meringues that I had purchased a few weeks back, which was lucky!



I had seen a recipe similar to this somewhere, but couldn't find it. I found lots where you made meringue and baked it on top of the cupcakes, but none that used mini already baked meringues. I hate it when that happens, and I can't find what I know I've seen, but nevermind . . . . I just winged it, by baking my favourite cupcake recipe, and turning them into lemon cupcakes.



I then hollowed out the centres of the baked cakes, and then brushed a yummy lemon and sugar glaze on top while they were still warm so that all that lemony goodness was somewhat absorbed and the edges were all crusty.



I filled the hollows with some lemon curd and then plunked a tasty meringue on the top of each lemon curd pool.

Quick. Easy. Pretty. Impressive. And . . . very, VERY scrummy!!!!



*Lemon Meringue Cupcakes*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

Delicious cupcakes with a tart lemon glaze, a lovely lemon curd filling and topped with a crispy baby meringue!

For the cupcakes:
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature (1/2 cup)
4 ounces caster sugar (2/3 cup)
2 large free range eggs
the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
1/2 tsp lemon extract
4 ounces self raising flour (scant cup)
1/2 tsp baking powder

For the glaze:
the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
the juice of one lemon
1/3 cup caster sugar

You will also need:
a jar of lemon curd, homemade or storebought
a container of mini meringues

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4. Line a 12 hole bun tray with 12 cupcake cases. Set aside.

Place all the cupcake ingredients into a bowl. Beat well with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Divide the mixture evenly between the cupcake cases. Bake for 15 minutes, or until well risen and the centres spring back when lightly touched. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack.

Mix the lemon juice, lemon zest and caster sugar for the glaze together, stirring to combine well. While the cupcakes are still warm, and using a melon baller, remove a bit from the centre of each cupcake, and discard. Brush the edges and the centre area with the glaze. Fill the hollow with some lemon curd and pop a meringue onto the top. Serve immediately.