This recipe is as old as the hills, hailing from a day and time when every Monday was Wash Day and women needed something quick and easy and that could basically take care of itself in the oven whilst they did the week's washing for the family.

I am just loving summer with all of it's fresh fruit and vegetables! It is by far and away the best time of year for fruit and veg just packed with flavour!



The supermarket shelves (not to mention my garden) are a dancing parade of delicious colour and taste, and I am love, love, lovin' every moment of it!

Back home in Eastern Canada, where I hail from, you can get these big soft white sugar cookies, filled with jam. Oh they are so yummy. I have been trying for years to replicate the recipe.

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!

When I was growing up I hated pumpkin pie.  I am not sure why.  It was just not something I enjoyed.  As an adult I have come to love it however, and every time I see tinned pumpkin in the shops here in the UK, I pick up a whole whack of it.  Because you can't ever have too much tinned pumpkin can you???  And also because it is also a very rare find over here.

I was recently invited to use some Creamy Leerdammer Toastie & Burger slices on a Pulled Pork Burger!  I love Leedammer Cheese.  Nobody had to twist my arm!

With thicker slices and a richer, creamier recipe for better melting, LEERDAMMER® Toastie & Burger is the perfect filling for a deliciously melty toasted cheese sandwich or cheese burger.

I was invited to a pot luck luncheon the other day, which ended up being a surprise birthday lunch for me.  I was so surprised and honored and thrilled that people thought enough of me to want to do that!  Colour me gob smacked!  I guess you just never see yourself as other people do and it really cheered my heart to know I am thought of in a very nice way.  Anyways, I had baked several tea breads/loaves to take and made some of this delicious Cinnamon Honey Butter to spread over it.

I had some lovely lemon curd left from the lovely pot I was given by the English Provender Co  and decided to put it to some good use.  Of course I could have just sat and eaten it with a spoon . . .  and I confess I have been seen doing just that  . . . I simply adore the stuff you know . . . but for today I decided to do something a tiny bit different . . .

I just adore these potatoes.  They are one of my favourite ways to have potatoes in the summer.  They're so easy to throw together and there is very little mess.   You simply wrap and cool in foil, throwing them on the BBQ with everything else.

Afternoon Tea Week takes place this year from the 10th to the 16th of August and as a proper English Institution it's only right that afternoon tea should be conducted with only the best ingredients.  The English Provender Co. has teamed up with Afternoon Tea Week this year to sponsor the tastiest week of the year for a week of activities, themed menus, exclusive offers and competitions.

I  was wanting a quick and delicious salad at the weekend and so I cobbled together this salad from a bit of this and a bit of that and it all worked together beautifully.  We (Myself and my next door neighbor) quite enjoyed it.  Todd, the great pasta hater, tolerated it and ate it.   Personally I thought it was quite delicious and was very happy with how it had turned out.

I'm almost embarassed to call this a recipe.  It's really more of an idea than anything, but what an idea it is and soooooo simple and delicious to make!  Donut Sundaes!  If you have these on the menu, you'll be the most popular cook ever!

Well, it's the weekend and we all know what that means.  It's baked treat in the kitchen time!  Oh, I try hard not to eat cakes and such during the week . . .  but at the weekend I like to pull out the stops and bake us something nice for a treat.   Tasty bakes like this Peach and Blueberry Breakfast Cake are something which we both enjoy!

I love Pizza.  No if's and's or but's about it.   Pizza is one of my favourite foods, which is interesting when you consider that I had never even tasted pizza until I was about sixteen and a boyfriend of mine made us a Chef Boy Ardee pizza at our house.  It was love at first bite (the pizza not the boyfriend.)  Anyways, I have come a long way since then.  I no longer use boxed pizza kits.  I now prefer to make my own crust.

When I first moved over here we didn't have a lot of money for going out to eat.  Todd was working as a parking lot attendant and I worked in a care home.  If we went out to eat at all, it was a very rare treat. 

There was a pub within walking distance however (we didn't have a car) that served up pretty tasty meals for pretty cheap prices.   You could get a mixed grill for about £2.99, which was an excellent price.  Itwas hearty and very tasty. Once you had walked all the way there, you didn't feel too guilty at ordering a hearty meal. You knew you would be burning the calories off on the way home!




 This wasn't a meal I had ever heard of before I moved over here to the UK.  I had never seen it in Canada, at least not in my experience.  We are known for being hearty eaters in the Winter months, but three pieces of meat on a single plate. Its just not done!

A mixed grill is a plate containing a grilled sausage, a grilled chop, a piece of grilled steak, grilled mushrooms and grilled tomatoes, along with the usual chips (fries) and peas.  Meaty and incredibly hearty. And quite delicious I have to say.



Traditionally, the mixed grill was cooked over charcoal in the chop houses and grill rooms of our cities here in the UK.  If you have a grill don’t be afraid to use it!

Likewise if you have a griddle plate on your cooker, try using it for this dish as well, it will work perfectly!  You will be in for a real treat either way, I can assure you!




As always, it's important to use the best quality meats available, and that you can afford. It is so disappointing when you realise-from that first bite-that the meat does not match the amount of effort you’ve put in to preparing the meal!

Cheap and pasty sausages are a definite NO NO!  You want something rich and meaty.  This is where your local butcher can become your best friend! Our local butcher makes many different kinds of bangers (as they are loving called over here.) Meaty and delicious with skins that snap when you bite into them!


You can tell a good butcher from the quality of the sausages that he produces.  A good butcher will have several signature sausages on offer. Over here in the UK, a sausage/banger is much more than a piece of meat. It is a celebration for the mouth!


There really aren't any fixed rules when it comes to the meats you use, but generally speaking it will be steak, chop and sausage . . .  but you can also have ham steaks, bacon chops . . .  lamb's kidney's are also popular.  (Not in this house though.  ugh! I am not a kidney fan!)



The important thing is to have fun with this dish.   If you are a drinking person, a cold ale would go well with this.  An ice cold lager would as well.

The meats needn't be overly large bits.  Just go with what's comfortable.  I guarantee this tasty pub meal will become a favourite, and something your family will ask for again and again!




Heat 4 large dinner plates. On each place one lamb chop, one piece of steak, and one sausage.  Top the steak with a thick onion slice.   Place 1/2 grilled tomato on each plate along with 2 mushrooms, if using.   Add chips and peas and serve immediately!

 
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