What is it about summertime and soft fruit desserts! I just can't get enough of them! I guess that is because it's when they are readily available locally, fresh and ripe for the eating!



This is another recipe that I flagged from the latest issue of Jamie Magazine. As you know I really do like that magazine. And yes, I have now remembered to subscribe!! (yipee!)



The picture of this dessert in the magazine immediately caught my eye for several reasons . . .

• It was pretty
• I love berries
• I love cheesecake
• I love easy
• I love shortbread biscuits!

You can almost fool yourself into feeling selfrighteous when you are eating this because it is so light and healthy looking . . . minus the cheesecake cream of course . . . oh, and the shortbreads.



Sigh . . . this really did taste like cheesecake! There was none of the trouble of having to bake it and then having your dog eat half of it. I had it on the table in about half an hour actually . . . it was fabulous!

Try it! You WILL love it!



*Cheesecake Cream Topped Summer Berries*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Its like cheesecake without any of the faff!!! Delicious!

300g of fresh blackberries (about 1/2 pound)
300g of fresh blueberries (about 1/2 pound)
1 to 2 TBS caster sugar, or to taste
the finely grated zest and juice of one orange
a splash of Grand Marnier, or other orange liqueur, if desired
shortbread biscuits to serve (optional)

For the cheesecake cream:
190g Cream cheese (3/4 cup)
75ml of double cream (about 1/4 cup)
a few drops of vanilla
60g of caster sugar (scant 1/4 cup)
a squeeze of lemon juice

Place the berries into a large based saucepan, along with the caster sugar, orange zest and juice, grand marnier (if using) and a small splash of water. Heat over medium heat just until the berries hit a very gentle bubble and immediately remove from the heat, cover and set aside to cool.

To make the cheesecake cream. Whisk together the cream cheese, cream, vanilla, sugar and lemon juice to get a thick and smooth mixture.

Serve the berries warm or at room temperature, spooned into bowls with a dollop of the cheesecake cream on top and a few shortbread biscuits on the side. Nom Nom!!

I am not actually here at the moment! I'm down in Ipswich with my friend Julie, visiting Jimmy's Farm as a part of the Put Pork On Your Fork Campaign! We travelled down by train yesterday and have spent a lovely night in a local hotel, been treated to a spectacular breakfast and are spending today touring Jimmy's Farm, having a special butchery class, eating in his fab restaurant, speaking with and grilling Jimmy and in general being made to feel very special indeed! Don't look for a post from me tomorrow as I won't be home until late tonight, but watch out for Wednesday! I'll reveal all then!

One of my favourite cooking magazines has to be Jamie. I can't wait for it to hit the shelves each month. I really need to subscribe! (I tell myself that every month, and then I forget!) If I don't there will come a month soon that it will be sold out at the newsagents and I won't be able to get my hands on that issue.



I always, always, always end up cooking at least a third of the recipes in the magazine, if not more. That's the truth. His food is fresh, innovative and delicious and there's not an awful lot of faff involved either. Anyone can cook it.

The latest issue is the Barbeque issue/June/July 2011 and it's filled with some lovely stuff.



As soon as I bought it I earmarked several recipes to try. This was one of them. The picture in the magazine looked so fresh and delicious.



I was not disappointed. I always have a bottle of Limoncello in the larder. (Doesn't everyone?) You can easily make your own so it needn't be expensive. Giada has a recipe here. I love fresh raspberries. I love lemons. Combining the two with a creamy limecello spiked syllubub is genius, pure genius!



Just be careful not to overwhip your cream though, or you'll end up having to throw it away. It's really, really important that you only whip it until it is light and frothy. Lemons react with cream and thicken it pronto, so you do NOT want it whipped even until you get soft mounds . . . just light and frothy. Trust me. It will work.

This dessert was light. It was delicious. It was easy. I was quick. In one word . . . Perfect!




*Lemon, Limoncello & Rasberry Syllabub*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

Creamy, delicious and refreshingly light (texture that is!). Perfect dessert for after the Barbeque.

70g of caster sugar (a scant 1/3 cup)
the juice of two lemons
100ml of limoncello, plus extra to serve (optional) (1/3 cup)
350ml of double cream (1 1/2 cups)
400g of fresh raspberries (about 3/4 pound)

Place the caster sugar, lemon juice and limoncello into a saucepan. Gently heat over low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar completely. Taste and adjust amount of sugar as necessary, if you would like it to be a bit sweeter. Set aside to cool.

Whip the cream just until it is light and billowy. You don't want it to form even soft peaks as it will thicken greatly when you add the lemon syrup. Pour the cooled lemon syrup into the cream, folding it in gently as you go. It will thicken remarkably. You may or may not need it all. You want a softly whipped consistency.

Mash the raspberries lightly with a fork. Gently stir them through the cream to cause a ripple, without over stirring. (You don't want your cream mixture turn pink.

Spoon into shallow glasses and chill until you are ready to serve. If you want you can serve these with an additional splash of limoncello on top. I didn't do this as I had extra lemon syrup and I just drizzled a bit of that on top. Delicious!!

.Oh my . . . it is the most delicious cake. All buttery and moist, and studded with sweet yet tart black currants . . . 

As you have probably all surmised by now, I love to feed the missionaries from our church and I do it fairly often. I think it's because I miss having a home filled with young people . . . a leftover from my days as a mum to five hungry teens . . . it's also be cause I really respect and love the missionaries and have a great heart and love for their cause and I like to do whatever I can to help them out.



I also love to cook and well . . . you know how it is . . . when you are cooking for your husband you have a tendency to cook the same things . . . and it's always nice to have company so that you can stretch your wings a bit and cook something different!



I did a Cottage Pie today for the lads, using my ragu recipe for the base and a parmigiana mash for the topping . . . along with a variety of vegetables from the garden, some coleslaw and some rolls . . . hearty food, just perfect for two strapping lads and the Toddster . . .



I wanted to make a special dessert and I came across the perfect one in this the August issue of Delicious Magazine . . . a recipe for a deliciously indulgent cheesecake with blueberries and mascarpone cheese. I had all the ingredients in and so I went for it.



It turned out gorgeous, if I don't say so myself. Beautifully coloured and chock full of beautiful berries . . .



Something bad happened to it though . . . you know that little minx we have living with us, otherwise known as Mitzie? Well . . . whilst the cheesecake was cooling down in the oven with the door propped open, that naughty little girl proceeded to eat about a third off the top of it!

We've sure been enjoying our garden so far this summer. We've dug up half of our early potatoes now . . . and this week we've been harvesting sweet English Peas!



I just love fresh peas. They are so sweet, raw or lightly cooked. Delicious with a butter and chive sauce . . . or some dill.



Great blanched and tossed into salads! So colourful and they add a beautiful flavour and texture. Try them with some baby spinach leaves and pesto for a quick and easy salad.



You can use the pods and peas to make a delicious early summer pea soup that is to die for! There is an excellent recipe for that here.



Today I decided to bake Todd a delicious tart with them. I used basil from our garden to make a tasty fresh Pesto, spread over puff pastry . . . and then I combined some more pesto with some of our new potatoes ( boiled and chunked), some lightly blanched peas, and some grated strong cheddar cheese.



Oh my, but it turned out very pretty to look at, and moreishly tasty too!!



We sat down and feasted on this with a lovely garden salad on the side. I just love summer, don't you? (The black currents are ripe now and I am going to be using some of them soon!!)

We've had some lovely salad weather these past few days, albeit not as horribly warm and humid as the South East has had. I'm not complaining . . . I hate hot and humid together. I don't find that pleasant at all.



I will take sunny and warm over that any day of the week!!



Today for our lunch I made us a delicious salad, using Baby Gem Lettuce from our garden . . . with some fresh yellow and red cherry tomatoes and a fantastic hot bacon and mustard dressing.



Add to that some creamy sliced ripe avocado and a few chives and we had a fabulous salad that was tasty, colourful and quite filling!



Of course the Toddster wasn't overly happy about the idea of having salad for lunch. Meh! You can please em all!
It didn't stop him from scarfing it all down though.



The bacony mustardy dressing was delicious sopped up with some crusty bread. The tomatoes get a bit squidgy too, but still firm. Don't overheat them . . . you don't want them to cook, just release a bit of their juices. Oh so scrummy!!



Quick, healthy, colourful and very, very tasty!



*Avocado and Baby Gem Salad with a Warm Pancetta and Mustard Dressing*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Quick to make and very summery! We had this with some crusty bread. Perfect!

4 TBS olive oil
8 rashers of good quality back bacon, cut into small cubes, or the equivalent
in Pancetta lardons
16 cherry tomatoes, halved (I used a mix of yellow and red)
2 TBS red wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp grainy Dijon mustard
2 ripe avocados, halved, stoned and sliced
1 TBS coarsely chopped chives
2 baby gem lettuces, washed, dried and leaves separated
4 TBS toasted pinenuts

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon or lardons and cook, stirring occasionally until crisp. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil and mustards. Allow to simmer for several minutes. Arrange the lettuce and sliced avocado on a large platter. Stir the pinenuts and chives into the warm bacon and tomato dressing and pour over top of the salad. Serve immediately!

Sometimes I just fancy a good biscuit . . . or cookie as they are known in North America. I do love me a custard cream . . . or a jam filled biscuit . . . sometimes only a chocolate chip will do.



It goes without saying that homemade are infinitely better than store bought, as I am sure you will agree.



Today I fancied something that was wholesome and yet moreishly decadent at the same time . . . but not chocolate.



These great biscuits fit the bill on all counts! They are at once chewy and crunchy. Crumbly and moreish. You get a yummy crunch from the cornflakes . . . a hint of chewyness from the coconut . . . some wholesomeness from the oats . . . don't get me started on the gumdrops . . .



Oh my . . . the gumdrops . . . they are sweet and chewy and fruitily addictive. Of course you can't buy the right gumdrops over here in the UK, so I bring back bags of them whenever I go over to Canada for a visit. That way I can always make these cookies and my favourite gumdrop cake . . .



But . . . the other day I discovered that lemon and orange slices work perfectly! You can get these over here and as they are my favourite flavours of gumdrops, I'm a happy camper as my gumdrop supply is rapidly dwindling and there is no trip to Canada on the cards in my near future at all . . . sigh . . .

You can get packs of orange and lemon slices in the cake decorating section of Morrisons over here. They are little mini ones and are just the perfect size for these cookies. Oh so scrummy!

Of course if you live in North America, you can just use gumdrops. Just don't use the black ones. They have a tendancy to bleed into the cookies and turn an awful colour. Just eat those while you are putting the cookies together. That's what works for me!



*Gum Drop Biscuits*
Makes about 3 dozen
Printable Recipe

Colourful, chewy and yet crisp at the same time. Very Moreish!

4 ounces white vegetable fat (Trex or Crisco) (1/2 cup)
3.5 ounces soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)
4 ounces granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
1 large free range egg
3 ounces rolled oats (1 cup)
1.5 ounces of cornflakes (1 cup)
5.2 ounces plain flour (1 cup)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 ounces flaked coconut (1/2 cup)
4 ounces cut up gumdrops (no Black) (1/2 cup)
(I have found over here in the UK that those lemon and orange slices work
really well. You can get mini ones in the Cake decoration section at Morrisons.
One packet is just about the right size for what you need.)

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line a couple of baking trays with parchment paper and then butter the paper. Set aside.

Cream together the shortening and the sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Sift together the flour, soda, baking powder and salt. Stir this into the creamed mixture until well mixed together. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Drop by heaped spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottoms. Remove from the oven. Let cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store in an airtight container.