Summer has arrived with a bang this year in Seattle, and we are already enjoying bounty from the garden (lettuce, spinach and strawberries). There is a small problem with the strawberries though … the problem being they are very small. They are literally the size of a fingernail. I shouldn’t complain though, as they incredibly sweet and tasty. Every time I step out into the garden I find myself eating them straight from the plant. They are disappearing fast as a result, so this weekend I gathered a few and made these delicious strawberry and nectarine muffins. Continue Reading…
Last time I was home in Ireland, my Dad made his famous pavlova with strawberries, and I made a lemon meringue pie. When I tasted the two desserts together I realized that strawberries, lemon curd and meringue are an amazingly good flavor combination. So, that is basically what inspired this recipe for zesty lemon curd, fresh strawberries, whipped cream and crispy meringues. Continue Reading…
I grew up in county Wexford in Ireland, which is well known for its delicious strawberries. Wexford strawberries are indescribably good. In fact I have never tasted a strawberry that tastes as good as a Wexford strawberry. When I was growing up, we had a small strawberry patch behind our house. Continue Reading…
Last week, I started to make these éclairs as I have a book at home called ‘Last dinner on the Titanic’. I used the éclair recipe from the book, as April 14th is the 100th year anniversary of the Titanic hitting an iceberg. I thought it would make an interesting blog post that would reflect a bit on the last meal eaten by those poor souls that were lost that night. I was just about to pipe the éclairs, when I realised I couldn’t find my cloth piping bag. The best piping bag I have is this old cloth piping bag. I was delighted when I finally found it. This isn’t just any piping bag. This is my Mum’s piping bag. It’s the one she used to use when she made éclairs when we were kids. My Mum passed away last year, so now everything belonging to her is so full of history. I don’t think I’ve ever used this piping bag without smiling or crying and remembering and reflecting on her life. I love the way these types of benign artefacts take you away from the banal to a moment in time. I guess history is always around us, we just need to take a step back and tune into it.Other than the Titanic, there is another reason why April 14th is an historical day of sorts. Yesterday, the OH and I finally got married and had a beautiful marraige at my home. There was alot of cheese, and even the bride and groom wore aprons. It was so much fun 🙂 I promise to post some photos soon. Continue Reading…
