One of the things that Robert and I missed the most while he was away in hospital were the times we pottered around the kitchen cooking together. The other evening after the kids were in bed we went out to one of several Damson trees in our back garden and began picking. The Damsons are ripe and ready and falling from the trees so to not pick them and cook with them whilst they are at their very best would have been a shame.

Damson Pots

Makes four portions -
500g of Damsons
8 tablespoons of soft brown sugar
half teaspoon of Almond extract

For the crumble -
150g of plain flour
100g unsalted butter
3 tablespoons of oats
3 tablespoons of soft brown sugar

Top with whipped cream and a yellow raspberry & serve in a jar with a spoon

Method -

• Wash the damsons and place them whole in to a pan on a very low heat with the sugar and the almond extract

• Allow to stew for approx 10 minutes

• Place the flour, butter, oats and the rest of the sugar in to a bowl or mixer and mix together until you have a crumble consistency

• Bake this crumble mixture on a baking tray for 25 minutes at 180 c

• Allow both the fruit and the crumble mixture to cool

• Remove the stones from the fruit mixture and spoon in to jars

• Sprinkle the crumble mixture on top of the fruit

• Top with whipped cream and a yellow raspberry

Enjoy!

Robert and I had these for breakfast and I think they work really well as a weekend treat or a holiday treat or even just a treat for you because you’re beautiful!.

The tart soft damsons, the sweet crumbly crumble and the smooth lightness of the cream. Three entirely different tastes and textures that go so very well together.

All of that in a jar!

The best of the season, served in a glass jar, with a spoon…..and some sun in the early morning.

Thank you for life.

I love you, thank you so much for reading. I’m sorry that the treat I had for you all wasn’t shoes, but I hope you like these just as much. They’re certainly cheaper.

See you next time. Cherry x

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Robert is still in hospital. Tomorrow he will have been in for three weeks. Unfortunately I have not seen him in person for a week as my heavily pregnant sister has just had a very bad cold and as Robert has no immune system to speak of it was best not to take any chances.

Robert’s white blood cell count has risen from 0.0 to 0.1

When it reaches 0.5 he can come home.

It’s been 0.1 for days and there’s talk of taking another bone marrow sample. Our fear is that the chemo has wiped his bone marrow out and a transplant will be needed. But that hasn’t happened yet so we’re certainly not going to act or think like it’s a foregone conclusion. Doing that would make us feel worse in an already hard situation.

SKYPE has been our lifeline. Robert sits on the iPad and joins us at the table for breakfast and dinner. He is also propped on the back of the sofa and he watches them play. At nighttime I put him in the cots and he watches from inside as I change the nappies and put the children in to their pj’s before bed. Then I stand at the door with the iPad held high in one hand and we both say “goodnight” before I close the door and go downstairs.

It’s a wonderful way of keeping sane but I want him home.

I’ve found that I have been doing what I do best and enjoy most – cooking, feeding my children, pottering and a bit of decorating in the evenings when I’m alone. An event such as your young husband being treated for Leukemia does make you think about other areas of your life and I believe that both Robert and I are on that journey. It makes you want to slow down and enjoy the ride a bit more because you never know when it will be your turn to get off.

The pictures that I’ll be posting while Robert is still in the hospital are for him. So he can see how it’s all going and what’s happening outside in the garden and inside the house. It’s a lovely way for him to feel involved and it means that I get to bash out my thoughts on to this keyboard, which is most cathartic, so it’s win win.

It’s broad bean season. I made a dish with broad beans in it the other evening and gave them to the children to eat. I’m pleased to say they ate every one put in front of them. I think I’d be a touch worried if they threw them on the floor in disgust because we live on them at this time of year.

I boil them until the outer skin crinkles and then peel them back, revealing the bright green bean inside. With it’s nutty taste and lovely texture it makes the best side dish when sauteed with garlic or chopped up with mint.

Sorry, Robert, I know you’re dealing with hospital food right now. I’ll make you whatever food you like when you’re home. I give you my word.

The garden is looking a lot more colourful too. Which means I get to have cut flowers in every room for free. All of those pots on the windowsills during the early days of Spring suddenly become very worthwhile indeed.

Dahlias, Sweet Peas, Verbena, Hydrangea, Roses, Stocks.

Colour, colour, colour.

So it’s broad beans, with basil and garlic, new potatoes and some chicken for tea. I’ll sit at the table with the babies in their highchairs and the iPad, with Robert on SKYPE, at one end.

It has to be as normal as it can be for the children and we have to stick to our little routine as much as possible at the moment. They’re not stupid. If I was walking around looking and acting like the world was coming to an end they’d pick that up.

Our garden is producing some wonderful food right now and I want to cook for my kids in the knowledge that it will nourish their tiny bodies.

And that is what I’ll do because it gets the focus and the thoughts off of me and Robert and on to them.

Boy, do I need the distraction.

When we’ve eaten our tea I’ll potter again until late in the evening, planning for when Robert comes home. I’ve moved bedrooms around, started painting walls and generally getting it ready for him to be welcomed in to to heal. I don’t care that his blood count hasn’t gone up for days, we’re not giving up, he will come home. I have a goal that I’m working towards and that is my husband’s homecoming.

And that’s enough for me.

Thank you so much for reading. I love you terribly.

Cherry x

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It was a day to be in the garden with the kids and lashings of suncream. It was also time to get the paddling pool out of storage and fill it up from the hose.

It struck me as Jodie, Robert and I stood there taking turns to blow the paddling pool up how fast this time in our lives has come around. What I mean by that is that only five minutes ago I was waking up in my bedroom as a young girl to see the sun streaming in through the curtains on a Saturday morning. I would race out of bed, throw on my swimming costume and my sister, brother and I would all BEG our parents if we could have the paddling pool out for the day.

They’d often say yes, unless we were still in the month of February, and the paddling pool would stay out all day long. In fact Jodie and I would still be playing in it long after our brother Nathan had gone to bed and often our pajamas fell victim to some of our dramatic little games.

But on Saturday it was finally our children who were loving the feeling of the water running from the hose in to the plastic pool that sat on the grass. They splashed and giggled and my twins stood up at the side of this inflatable God and tried their hardest to fall in.

Many of you will know what I mean when I say that this small plastic receptacle and a bit of water kept these kids happy for HOURS!

After pool time and as the afternoon began to fall in to a rather spectacular evening, Robert and I decided it was ‘Nappy Off ‘ time for our two. So they crawled all over the blankets and grass, totally carefree and unabashed. And not one bit of sunburn! I’m a bit paranoid about that and it was hot on Saturday. So I kept lathering everyone up good and proper and luckily we had no “Hot Sleeps”. You know how it goes, you get caught out in the sun and nighttime is awful as the bedclothes hurt your skin – a Hot Sleep.

Uncle Garry offered to help out with the lawn and used it as time to take his girls for a ride and when he was nearly finished Robert hollered out that he was going to get the Barbecue on and I took that as my cue to do something with the glut of Peas that Jo had brought with her. Her girls had been Pick Your Own picking the day before with Grandma Joy and had come back with a whole bag full of the seasons first Peas.

I can do something with those while we wait for the BBQ to heat up, I thought. And with that I took myself off to the kitchen. I have to say taking myself off to the kitchen is not a hardship as we have windows that look out on to the entire garden, so I can keep an eye on what’s going on and still get to potter and cook till my heart is content.

To begin with I toasted / griddled an olive ciabatta loaf that I had cut in half.

When that was nice and crunchy I laid the slices out on to the plate that I was going to serve it from and drizzled them with a peppery extra virgin olive oil and then set them aside.

Taking a large frying pan I sliced up some chorizo and added it to the pan along with …….

A large splash of chilli oil……

The Peas that the girls had picked and we had all podded on the lawn earlier in the day and two sliced plump cloves of garlic.

I softened all of the ingredients in the oil for several minutes on a medium heat.

And then tipped the contents of the pan over the top of the slices of bread. The peas tumbled every which way and the red oil from the pan soaked up in to the bread.

This snack looks beautiful, is tasty, and only takes a few moments to make. Which means it’s great for a pre-BBQ snack or a light lunch.

As I walked from the house across the lawn to the table with the plate I could see that Ned was holding court. I think he was discussing the fact that his second tooth is coming in from the top as opposed to the first tooth which appeared from the bottom.

I made the mistake of announcing my Chorizo, Pea and Ciabatta snack as I arrived at the table’s edge and thus interrupting Ned in full flow. The look I received admonished me suitably and I carried on with my business of feeding people silently.

Luckily Anaïs launched in to her version of Lakme’s ‘Flower Duet” and all was forgotten as it really was rather good.

I believe that Jodie’s twins find it fascinating but a little odd to be the older children nowadays. They make an effort to pay attention to the baby babble and are gentle with my children who can sometimes grab at them without realising that there is a person on the other end. They seem to be happy simply to hang out.

But wouldn’t you be if you got to dress in nothing but your knickers for the whole day under the wonderful heat of the sun?

I’d LOVE that.

To feel the air on my skin, to be carefree under the open sky and not have anything sitting tight on my waist.

When we’d finished devouring the ciabatta snack it was time for my two to head off up the Wooden Hill. Mummy needed a drink and Daddy needed to get grilling.

So we took them up.

A day in the sun was tiring enough for the adults so needless to say Ned and Nye slept really well that night. They looked happy and content in their cots when I checked on them a bit later and had that delicious grubbiness on their cheeks that comes from a day outside and no bath at the end of it.

I kinda missed them when they were gone because they’re good company.

I needn’t have worried. There was another set of twins just as keen to keep us entertained.

I was especially taken with the game of ‘Let’s Pick our Nose’ that ensued after supper.

Especially with the additional round of ‘And Let’s Pretend To Eat It Too’.

Jodie found it all a little nauseating but perhaps that’s because she’s growing another human being inside of her.

Some people!

Don’t forget to check out today’s Behind The Scenes.

I love you all for reading and why give not give the recipe a go at the weekend?

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But Spring & Summer foods and dishes inspire. They make me want to go further and experiment. They excite me in to trying new ingredients and methods and the days are filled during these times with all sorts of new things coming out of my kitchen and in to the mouths of anyone who happens to be around at the time.

Today I give you my recipe for Panna Cotta.

Panna Cotta is translated from Italian to mean ‘Cooked Cream’ and is a visually stunning dessert that melts smoothly in the mouth. It’s a real treat and should be savoured because I wouldn’t recommend eating it daily.

Put it this way, it’s not calorie free.

But with all that gardening we’ve all been doing I’m sure we’ll burn off the calories in no time, yes?

What you will need for this recipe:

Makes 6 Panna Cotta portions.

• 4 Leaves/sheets leaf gelatin
• 400ml Double cream
• 100 grams Caster sugar
• 1 Vanilla pod
• 100ml skimmed milk
• 6 small ramekins/pots

Start by soaking the gelatin leaves in a bowl in some tepid water to soften them up.

In a pan over a low heat warm the the double cream, skimmed milk, caster sugar and a whole vanilla pod (use a sharp knife to cut a line all the way down the middle of the pod, without splitting it in half, so that it releases all of its wonderful flavour as the mixture warms).

Allow the cream mixture to start simmering and then remove the vanilla pod and discard it.

Remove the pan from the heat.

Draining any excess water from them, add the gelatin leaves to the warm pan.

Stir the gelatin leaves until they dissolve.

Pour the mixture into your panna cotta pots, (I used 4 aluminum ramekins and 2 white porcelain ramekins. They are avaialble at all good cooking & baking suppliers), filling to around half way.

Place them onto a large plate or tray and pop them into the fridge.

Chill the panna cotta pots for approximately 2 hours or until set.

When they are set use a warm knife to slowly ease the desserts from their pots or place them in a bowl of hot water for a few moments in order for them to slide out of the ramekins and on to the plate.

This dessert works amazing well with my wonderfully zesty Raspberry Coulis.

Eat it out of doors so that you can see the sky in your spoon.

Watch the evening slip away, forget about the calories and give thanks for good food. Grab a cardigan or blanket, anything that allows you to be outside for as long as possible. Listen to the noises change as the evening draws in. Welcome your eleven month old son down for a moment as he awoke when he should have been asleep and then, when you’re dead beat, blow out the candles. Clear the dripping wax, that you’ve been picking at all night, from the table  and retire.

Decide at that moment, when the light goes out, that your sleep will be uninterrupted by worry. That no matter what is coursing through your mind it can and must wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day after all and you need rest in order to be able to do the day justice.

I love you and am very grateful to you for reading this website. You have no idea.

Cherry x

Fancy a sneak peek inside? Check out today’s Behind the Scenes.

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Anyway back to the bar-b-q plans. If you are planning on eating outside this weekend and have already ordered your ribs and sausages from the butcher then these Stuffed Peppers will make a fantastic accompaniment and is a welcome change from bread or salad.

They are beautiful on a plate, very easy to put together and, most importantly, they are TASTY! I’m so over beige when it comes to food so when I see a plate that is predominantly red with a flash of green I can feel my body thanking me.

Forgive the ‘food in the sink’ picture. I just love the boldness of these peppers and was feeling a touch creative that day.

What you will need for this recipe:

Serves 3-4 as a starter but can be accompanied with other vegetables or meat for a main dish.

• 6 Romano Peppers (approx 360g)
• 200g Quinoa
• 200g Queen pitted olives
• 140g Pancetta
• 100g Feta cheese (crumbled)
• Basil leaves for garnish

And another food shot. Basil, you bring me great joy. You set my taste-buds on fire and fill my kitchen with your heady aroma. You epitomize the goodness of great food and all that it does for us.

Pre-heat oven to 200c

Rinse the quinoa and boil over a medium heat in the required amount of water until soft but not mushy.

Wash the peppers and cut off the tops. Then slice the peppers in half, length ways, and remove the seeds.

Open the peppers out without completely splitting them so that the inside of the peppers cook evenly but they are still joined together, then lay them on an oven tray and bake in the oven for around 10mins.

Whilst the peppers are cooking, fry up the pancetta in a little olive oil in a frying pan over at medium to high heat. This should take around five minutes.

Drain the olives (no need to rinse) and empty them out onto a chopping board. Use a sharp knife or mezzaluna to roughly cut into small pieces.

After 10 minutes, remove the peppers from the oven.

In the frying pan you have used to fry the pancetta, empty the the quinoa and roughly chopped olives into it, then stir all of the ingredients together.

Divide the quinoa mix evenly between the peppers, ensuring each open pepper is fully stuffed.

Crumble some feta cheese over each of the open peppers and then top with freshly torn basil leaves.

Serve immediately.

Quinoa is a complete protein while doing the job of a filling carb. I eat a lot of Quinoa and would recommend it.

Have a wonderful weekend. I can see the sun already high in the sky over West Sussex and I can see Sweet Williams, in plug plant form, wilting. Where’s my trowel???

I love you and would like to direct you to today’s BEHIND THE SCENES.

Cherry x
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Click on the link at the top of the post today and every day for a simple snapshot of what’s going on here at the house.

This is a sandwich that has you salivating as it cooks.

First there comes the smell of the ciabatta gently toasting.

Then the aroma of the garlic as it’s rubbed on to the warm bread.

The chicken, as it’s griddled, fills the kitchen with the smell of goodness.

And the basil, both in the pesto, and in the torn leaves that sit inside the sandwich. It’s enough to have you running for the market no matter the time of day.

This is what food should be all about every time we eat. We should be sitting there waiting to devour every single morsel with enthusiasm because the mere smell of it being prepared has got our juices going.  It may not always be like that in reality but believe me if you make this sandwich you’ll know exactly what I mean and you’ll want that experience again and again and again.

I can sum it up by having a craving for freshness, taste, natural flavours and simple cooking.

And all I’ve done is make a sandwich.

But what a sandwich it is!

What you will need for this recipe:

(The ingredients below will make one large sandwich, cut in half)

(Note:  You will need a griddle for this recipe)

• Ciabatta bread (enough for one person)
• 1 free range chicken breast
• 1 clove fresh garlic, peeled
• 5 plum tomatoes, cut in half
• 2 tsp of my homemade pesto (one tsp per half of the ciabatta)
• 6-7 basil leaves
• 100 – 125g mozzarella cheese

Cut the ciabatta in half length ways and pre-heat the griddle.
Lay the ciabatta onto the griddle and toast only the inside of the bread.

When the ciabatta is lightly toasted, remove from the griddle and use the peeled garlic clove to rub over the toasted side of the bread, so that the garlic melts into the bread, ensure that garlic is rubbed onto the bread as soon as it is removed from the griddle.
Set the ciabatta to one side for the time being.

Next, use the griddle to cook the chicken breast (using the lid to push down on the meat),
Using a medium heat this took around 20 minutes (10 minutes for each side of the chicken) – yours may take a little longer.

When you are satisfied that the chicken is cooked, remove from the griddle and use a sharp knife to slice the chicken into strips.

Now we can start layering the panini.

Take a generous teaspoon of my homemade pesto (or a good quality shop bought pesto) and spread it over one half of the ciabatta, (the side that has been rubbed with garlic) and then repeat on the other half of the ciabatta.
Take the mozzarella and cut into slices and lay the cheese slices onto one of the of ciabatta halves, ensuring it is fully covered with the cheese.
Take the chicken strips and lay them on top the cheese.
Cut the plum tomatoes in half and then lay them on top of the chicken.

Tear the fresh basil leaves and lay them on top of the tomatoes.

Lastly, lay another layer of mozzarella slices on top of everything and place the second ciabatta half on top of the sandwich.

Pre-heat the griddle once more and then lay the stuffed panini onto the griddle placing the lid firmly on top.

Griddle on each side on a low/medium heat for approx 7- 10 mins each side, or until the cheese starts to melt and the ciabatta bread starts to turn a golden brown.

Once cooked, remove from the griddle, cut in half and devour immediately.

It’s just one of those sandwiches that’s “right” in every sense of the word.

And it has me craving more basil, more garlic and more tomatoes.

All I can say is that it’s a good job Summer is right around the corner.

Bring me those flavours.
Let me wallow in their taste and colour.
Let me create, cook and be happy.
Let life be as simple as I can make it for just one moment.

Is there anything you cook that makes you feel like this? Tell me as I’d love to try it in my own kitchen.

I love you. Have a fantastic Tuesday and don’t forget to check out my new daily link – Behind the Scenes!

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Normal kitchen activities have resumed and are getting off to a flying start with this South West Chicken salad. I’m proud of this recipe because Robert loved it and as he is so in to food and cooking himself I like it when he likes a dish I’ve made. It’s an easy dish to put together and is filling, boy, is it filling. A hearty salad, more hearty than a Caesar even. I don’t feel you need to add a side of bread or potatoes or any other carbs but you may feel different. Feel free to go to town but I think that this salad is perfect as a main dish and not just a side.

This marks the first of many dishes that my new kitchen has inspired me to get down and dirty on. And if you thought my fabric from yesterday was a bit “Sleeping With the Enemy” you wait till you see my kitchen when I’ve finished. Julia Robert’s psycho husband has nothing on me! You’ve been warned, I’m a saddo for forward facing jar labels.

What you will need for this recipe:

For the salad -

Serves one, so increase according to guest requirements

• 1 free range chicken breast
• 100g mixed crispy salad leaves
• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
• 10g coriander, roughly chopped
• 3 cherry/plum tomatoes, cut in half

For the peanut dressing -

The ingredients listed below will make enough dressing for 6 salads

(You will need a food blender to make this dressing)

• 300g smooth peanut butter
• 40 ml dark soy sauce
• 1 red chili (no seeds)
• 1 freshly squeezed lime (approx 30ml of lime juice)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 50g creamed coconut
• 1/2 – 1 cup water (added bit-by-bit)
• 60-70g dry roasted peanuts, finely chopped

(Note: The salad quantities is for one person, although the dressing will easily serve up to 6 people)

Griddle the chicken breast until cooked, allow to cool slightly and then slice the chicken. Set to one side for the time being.

For the peanut dressing, add the peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, creamed coconut and crushed clove of garlic all to the blender.

Slice open the chili, remove all seeds and add to the blender.
Start by adding just half a cup of water to all the ingredients and blending them together, the aim of this dressing is so that it can be drizzled over the salad, so the consistency of it needs to be a little runny, but not liquid thin. If necessary, add more water to the dressing and keep blending until you reach your required consistency.

Transfer the dressing to a bowl/pouring jug.

Use a chopping board and a mezzaluna or sharp knife to finely chop the dry roasted peanuts.

Add around two thirds of the peanuts to the dressing and stir together, this will give the dressing a crunchier consistency.

Take your salad bowl and add the salad leaves, chopped red onion and coriander and use your hands to toss together.

Add the cooled sliced chicken breast to the top of the salad, along with the chopped cherry tomatoes.

Generously drizzle some of the the peanut dressing over the top of the salad (according to your own taste) and finally sprinkle with some extra finely chopped peanuts for a garnish.

If you have any coriander left over sprinkle that around the sides of the bowl also. It looks lovely on white china.

Serve immediately.

I feel like we’re getting back in to the swing of things here at the house and on this website. There’s a whole house and garden full of possibilities and this moving thing is addictive as it’s so creative. Which means that I’m going to love you all very much but leave you to go and get on with it all. There are still many boxes to deal with and I spent ten minutes looking for a pen this morning. WASTE OF TIME!

I love you. Have a wonderful day.

Cherry x
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My mum tells us that she can’t cook or bake. But when she makes a cheesecake we tend to disagree. My mum used to bake this cheesecake every summer when we ‘was kids’.

As she was a HUGE lover of blackberries and my dad was HUGE lover of cheesecake they were both happy. Which made us happy. A happy family covered in cheesecake.

Today I want to share it with you because I love you!

This cheesecake is utterly decadent. It tastes good at any time of year but especially if made now as blackberries are in season. It is one of those recipes that has been in my family for a long time and I have very fond memories of eating it.

Note: For best results this cheesecake should be chilled in the fridge overnight before eating.

What you will need:

For the cheesecake base -

• 14 digestive biscuits (large)
• 80g unsalted butter
• 1tsp vanilla essence

For the cheesecake filling -

• 500g cream-cheese (go for full fat for fuller flavour!)
• 200ml double cream (lightly whipped)
• 2 large free range eggs
• 120g caster sugar
• 2 tblsp plain flour
• The zest of 3 limes
• 2 tsp fresh lime juice

For the topping -

• 450g fresh blackberries
• 2tbsp caster sugar

Pre-heat your oven to 150c

For the cheesecake base.

• Start by whizzing the digestive biscuits in a food processor until they resemble a fine breadcrumb consistency.
• Then empty them into a large bowl.
• Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat and add the vanilla.
• Pour the vanilla butter over the digestive crumbs and stir, allowing the butter to be absorbed into the biscuits crumbs.
• Line a 9inch round pie dish with parchment paper (I like to use parchment paper as this ensures that the baked cheesecake will not stick to the dish when it is time to remove it), and empty the digestive mix into it.
• Use the back of a spoon to pack the mixture down evenly over the base of the pie dish, thus creating the cheesecake base.
• Pop the cheesecake base into the oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely but still in the pie dish.

For the cheesecake filling.

• Take the limes and zest all three of them!
• Crazy lime taste is added by doing this and makes it almost too delicious to bear!
• Set the limes to one side ( as we’ll be juicing them) and the zest to another!
• Using a food mixer lightly whip the cream until it forms soft peaks, then remove from the mixer and place into a separate bowl.
• Next, add the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, 2 teaspoons of lime juice from one of the limes and the lime zest to the same mixing bowl you whipped the cream in.
• Change to the paddle attachment & beat until soft and smooth.
• These two stages are done separately to avoid curdling of the double cream.
• Then add the whipped cream and and mix slowly  until combined with the rest of the ingredients – ten seconds max. Do not over mix.
• Pour the cheesecake filling evenly over the cooled cheesecake base and use a pallet knife if required to spread the mixture flat.
• Return to the oven and bake for one hour.
• Once removed from the oven allow the cheesecake to cool completely and then cover the dish with cling-film and place in the fridge to chill overnight.

For the blackberry topping.

• Wash the blackberries thoroughly before adding them to heavy bottomed pan with the sugar.
• Stir the blackberries and sugar gently over a low heat. This will soften the blackberries ever so slightly as well as helping the sugar the macerate into the fruit for extra sweet taste!
• Remove from the heat and allow the blackberries to cool.

• Remove the cheesecake from the fridge and transfer onto a cake stand.

• Spoon the blackberries evenly over the top of the cheesecake.

• Serve immediately and you can guarantee it won’t last long.

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How to Make Bruschetta – A Family Favourite

Hello and Happy Friday!

Do you like the look of my Bruschetta? This is a real family favourite and is a snack that I rustle up for lunch to keep us going as we work out in the garden or as a side dish to a barbecue that we might be throwing. Bruschetta is one of my favourite things to eat and I ate so much of it while I was pregnant with my twins.

I grew all of these tomatoes myself in hanging baskets around the house. I LOVE growing them this way as it’s so blooming easy. And that’s all there is to it.

It also means that I get to take pictures of tomatoes, which is very fun!!!!!

If you’re just getting started with photography then take pictures of tomatoes, strawberries or cherries. You’ll feel like Annie Leibovitz as it’s super hard to take a bad picture of any of these fruits.

Look at them. Beautiful red orbs of tasty goodness. The summer sun waiting to burst in your mouth…..OR, be roasted with garlic and oregano. Which is exactly how I make MY Bruschetta. As it’s exactly how my family LOVE IT!!

• Start by washing the cherry tomatoes and adding them to a baking tray; sprinkle the fresh oregano over the tomatoes and drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil and a good helping of salt and pepper.

And there you have it, a beautifully tasty Bruschetta. Cut and serve immediately.

I use the word ‘serve’ very loosely here as it’s much more of a case of grabbing a hunk of the good stuff and shoving it in our mouths. The basil gets stuck in our teeth and the garlic infused olive oil drips down our chins.

Family, Life & Food.

My three favourite words.Delicious!

It’s a long weekend here in the UK and there is huge amounts of resting, eating and hanging out with family to be done. The thing about being a new mum is that when it dawns on you (which it does daily) that you have these two fabulous people around you and that you get to hang out with for the rest of your life and I’m not kidding, it feels like waking up in August and realising that it’s actually Christmas Day.

Have a wonderful weekend.

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Cherry Menlove

Nowadays I can often be found wandering around the house lamenting the lack of time I have and wondering what I did with my days before we had the twins. I believe the answer to this is that I watched a great many re-runs of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. But seriously, I don’t know how the heck I managed to fill my days. With the new arrivals I have found that there is less luxury time. What I mean by that is that I have to use the time I have pretty well or I get thrown off course, nothing gets done and then I have to watch re-runs of Eastenders instead and NOBODY wants that. What is it with that show? If I lived there, with such moany people, I would have to spray the whole of Albert Square in Sunny Delight. Yes, they may be sticky and covered in wasps but hopefully they’d be in better moods!!!!

Anyway, back to today’s dessert, which because I now have babies, no time and am covered in poo, is perfect because it is super quick, super sweet and super in season.

And I know you don’t come here for the grammar!!!!!

• I took 2 ripe peaches and three ripe apricots.
• I sliced them in half and took the stone out.
• Then I sprinkled two teaspoons of sugar over them and placed them on a lined baking tray.
• I baked them slowly in a cool oven for about forty five minutes.
• I brought them out and served them warm with Elderflower Sorbet.
• Although they would be just as perfect served with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Soft fruits, blooming hydrangeas, cooler mornings, being covered in poo and puke. Gosh, these halcyon days, I hope they never end! Although they will and this is probably a good thing as poo is not a good look with the Autumn fashions.

Enjoy the sun on your faces and the green of your surroundings. Enjoy your babies if they are small or big. Enjoy your body both before and after babies. And enjoy your iPhone with filmed footage of your babies when they were only a day old before it crashes on you and looses everything!

No matter who you pray to, please put in a request for me to be able to recover my footage & do let me know how you get on.

My husband asked me only yesterday if I had backed my phone up on the hard drive.

The answer was no…..

I love you all,
Cherry xoxoxox

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Click here for our weight conversions chart

Pre-heat your oven to 200c

Note: I used a 9 x 12 inch oven proof dish for my cobbler, but one of a similar size would work just as well.

• Start by cutting the peaches in half and taking the stones out.
• Slice the peach halves thinly and transfer into a large bowl.
• Add the caster sugar and the vanilla essence and stir gently together, letting the peaches macerate in their own juices, then set the bowl to one side.

• Melt the butter over a low heat in a saucepan
• In separate large mixing bowl pour in the butter, add the flour, sugar, pinch of salt and milk.
• Mix all the ingredients together until there are no lumps, I used a whisk to beat mine together, you should be left with a runny batter like consistency.
• Pour around a third of the batter mix into your oven proof dish, then pour all of the peaches into the dish, spreading evenly.
• Finally, pour the rest of the batter over the top of the peaches.
• Pop the cobbler into the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the top of the cobbler starts to brown and the peach juice can been seen bubbling at the sides of the dish.
• Allow to cool slightly before serving with freshly whipped cream.

Click here for our weight conversion chart

This salad will serve 6-8 people

• Start by cooking the two types of rice according to the instructions on the packet
• Drain and set to one side

• Peel and thinly slice the two red onions and fry lightly in some olive oil and splash of balsamic vinegar until the onions have softened.
• Thinly slice the block of tofu and in the same frying pan as the onions, fry the tofu slices for a couple of minutes on each side until they are browned.
• Add the rice, caramelised onions and tofu to a large serving bowl.
• Then add the pine nuts, feta cheese (cubed) and basil and mix all the ingredients together.

• Drizzle the salad with a generous helping of chili oil and serve straight away.

I tried waiting for Robert the Husband to join me for this dish but he was running late……..

….and it was too good not to scoff!

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Welcome to my first video, the first of many I hope.

Go easy on me as we get to grips with the brand new and very exciting medium of film (we’re working on the sound, it was a breezy day!)

One of things I love about having this site is being able to communicate and chat to you guys. Well, I suppose there’s nothing more life-like than chatting to you through a lens and then uploading it on to You Tube!

Have fun and I hope you also enjoy this brand new recipe. It was a tasty day in the paddock, I can assure you of that!

Broad Bean & Rocket Salad With Chili Dressing

If you have been growing your own broad beans and peas like we have, it is always nice to harvest them the same day you plan on eating them, this way you will be getting the very best from your vegetables. This light and crunchy salad will serve 2.

Click here for our weight conversion chart

• Once you have removed the broad beans from their pods, add them to a large pan of hot water and boil for five minutes.
• After five minutes add the fresh peas to the same water and boil a further five minutes.
• Remove from the heat, drain and allow to cool.
• Once the beans and peas have cooled you will notice that the outer shell on the broad beans has loosened and is starting to peel away, some people eat broad beans in their outer shell but I prefer to take the outer shell off.
• Add the shelled beans and the peas to a large serving bowl
• Thinly slice the red onion (half of it) and chop the chives and the coriander; then add them all to the serving bowl.
• Finally, add the rocket and the mange-tout and mix the salad together.

For this salad I used the same chili dressing I used to go with my Crab Salad and it worked beautifully drizzled over the top.

As an accompaniment I also served my bean and rocket salad with some of my home grown Charlotte potatoes garnished with chives, sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil, a lovely dish to have at the end of a long, hot, summer’s day. This dish is light but filling enough to see you through until bedtime and great with a grilled chicken breast if you know you’ll still be hungry!

You can also check out the filmed version of this recipe on my brand new YouTube channel.

Have a great day.

Cherry

x
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I seem to be eating Cherries by the punnet at the moment and considering it a meal. I’m not kidding. I’ll pull a whole punnet of cherries out of the fridge, wash them and then eat the whole lot. Of course my tummy will begin to hurt a little bit due to the vast quantities of Cherry juice making its way through my intestines but when fruit is at its best eat as much of it as you can is my motto.

It’s worth the tummy ache……..sort of.

Of course you could actually bake something with the cherries and save yourself the discomfort and others the bother of having to listen to you. With this in mind I thought we should bake some very British Cherry Bakewells with our very delicious homemade cherry jam.

Easy to make and easy to scoff.

Even more easy than 2lb of cherries funnily enough!

Here’s how to make them.

Cherry Bakewell Squares

Pre-heat your oven to 190c

Click here for our weight conversion chart

For the biscuit base:

• Start by sifting the flour into a large mixing bowl then add the sugar, salt and butter. Use your hands to mix the ingredients together until it forms a sticky dough ball.
• Turn the dough mixture out into a non-stick baking tray/cake tin and smooth the mixture evenly over the base of the tray so that it is totally covered, I used my fingers to do this.
• Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and allow the biscuit base to cool but without removing it from the pan.

For the filling:

• Lightly toast the flaked almonds in a non-stick frying pan and set to one side.
• In a food mixer, cream the sugar and butter until it is light and fluffy.
• Then add the ground almonds, eggs, no need to beat them first, and lemon juice and mix well. The mixture should remain a little runny.
• Allow the biscuit layer to cool a little before spreading the cherry jam evenly over the top (while still in the cake tin), this will form the middle layer of the cherry bakewell squares.
• Next, poor the butter/almond mix over the top of the jam and smooth out with a pallet knife to ensure an even coverage.
• Finally sprinkle with the toasted, flaked almonds.
• Bake in the oven for a further 40 minutes or until the top starts to turn a light golden colour and the jam begins to bubble up at the sides.

Once removed from the oven, allow the cake to cool completely before removing it from the cake tin.

When removed from the tin, cut the cherry bakewell into 16 squares.

And then devour in the sun.

There is just time to say that my Strawberry Shortcake recipe that we made in honor of Breast Cancer Care is now on the official Strawberry Tea website and is the second one down under Delia……..I’ve ALWAYS wanted to be under Delia *sigh*

Have a great Thursday folks.

Love

Cherry

x

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Good morning! Can you see me squinting in the sun? Those eyes are tired eyes. Eyes that are a wee bit itchy all day long. Eyes that don’t fully open no matter how much coffee or tea I drink. On Saturday morning Robert woke up with the babies and gently tried to wake me up. I’m not kidding, I literally could not get out of bed even if I’d wanted to and that, you’ll know this if you’ve been reading for any length of time, is not like me. I love the mornings. I still love the mornings. I miss the mornings. But my body was taking back some sleep and my darling husband was on hand to let me take it. It’s been the most ridiculously lovely summer so far here in West Sussex. The weather has been nothing but glorious and this means that the fruit and veg that we have been growing has done so well. Just before the babies arrived I bought a Cherry tree. It’s a small tree right now which means that we had to stop at the roadside and visit our Cherry seller to pick up the Cherries for this recipe. Hopefully next year we’ll have enough homegrown Cherries not to have to buy from outside our own back garden…….that’s the plan anyway!

And so one day last week Jodie and I set about coming up with an easy to follow Cherry Jam recipe. The babies watched on in-between feeds as we tasted and tested and finally spread the recipe we loved on to white crusty bread. I’m very lucky to be doing what I love with my babies by my side. You may remember that last year we made homemade strawberry jam, As this year we decided to opt for Cherry Jam, I also designed a brand new jam tag/label that you can download for free if you’d like to make your own. See the bottom of the post for the link.

Homemade Cherry Jam Recipe

Click here for my cooking & weight conversion chart if you are outside of the UK

• Take 200g of granulated sugar and around a third of the cherries and add them to the maslin/jam pan.

• Over a low heat, use a potato masher to gently squash the cherries whilst they are heating.
• Allow the cherries and the sugar to start to bubbling and then leave to simmer very gently for a further 5-6 minutes. This will create a syrupy juice which in turn allows the rest of the fruit to macerate and boil in.

• Next, add the rest of the cherries, jam sugar, granulated sugar and lemon juice and stir well.
• Use the potato masher to crush the cherries again if necessary.

• Leave the fruit to simmer for around 30 minutes allowing it to macerate with the sugars.
• Remove the pan from heat and leave to cool slightly before transferring it into your sterilized jam jar(s)
• Chill jam in the fridge and serve cool on fresh bread or scones.

Note: I used a 635ml air tight La Parfait jar and the amounts stated in the red box filled the jar with the jam to the top.

Wonderfully sweet with a tartness that stops the jam from being sickly.

Delicious! In fact it revives tired eyes. I’m not kidding, it’s THAT good.

Do you like the tags? Yes? All you have to do is click here for your free downloadable Homemade Cherry Jam labels. Cut them out and stick them to parcel tags. Add a ribbon and tie them to your jars. Simple! Cherries are in season right now so now is the most perfect time to make this jam. Have fun today whatever you decide to do. My beautiful little girl, Anaïs, has actually grown out of her first baby nappies and has to go up a size. This makes me happy and sad at the same time. And when I think about her never being in them again it makes the tired, itchy eyes very much worth it!!!!!

Lots of love

Cherry

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You will need an 8 inch round, non-stick cake tin for this recipe.

Pre-heat your oven to 190c

• In a large mixing bowl, sift in the flower and then add the baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar and mix together.
• Cut the chilled butter into cubes and add to the mixing bowl, then use your fingertips to to crumble the flour mix and butter together until combined and you are left with a crumble mix that resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Next, add the buttermilk to your crumble mix and use your hands to mix together until all the dry bread crumbs have been moistened with the buttermilk.

• You should then be left with a ball of dough with a slightly sticky consistency to it.
• Remove from the bowl and add the dough to the non-stick cake tin, smoothing down so that it covers the entire base.

• Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the top of the cake has turned a light golden brown.
• Allow the cake to cool a little before removing it from the tin, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
• As there are three layers to the strawberry shortcake, you will need to bake two further shortcake layers before you create the filling.

For the filling -

• Wash all the strawberries, cut them in half and set to one side.
• Empty the the whipping cream into the bowl of your food mixer (or a large mixing bowl if you are using a hand held whisk), then add the almond essence and whisk until the cream has thickened.
• Place the first layer of shortcake onto a large cake stand and then start spooning (about a third) the whipping cream on to it, smoothing it out with a palette knife.
• Cover the whipped cream with a layer of fresh strawberries, spacing them evenly.
• Repeat this process with the last two layers of the shortcake.
• Finally, sprinkle the top layer with the flaked almond pieces.

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Last year we went down to our local pick your own site for our strawberries – you can read about it here, so this year we decided to grow our own strawberries, and they are doing very well indeed.

So red and incredibly juicy.

So, we figured what better way to enjoy them than within a refreshing summery cocktail.

And you can’t get much more summery than a Strawberry Daiquiri.

You will need a blender to make this drink as it involves crushing the ice; pour all the ingredients into the blender and mix for around 20 secounds. Pour the cocktail into your chosen glasses and serve immediately. The ingredients in the red box makes two large glasses of the cocktail.

It’s set to be a bit of a scorcher this weekend for many of us, and this would make a perfect Barbeque drink.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the sunshine wherever you are.

Jodie

x
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This past Saturday we made the most of the sun and had our lunch outside. I bought my twin girls and husband over to see Cherry & Robert (Cha-Cha & Rot-Bot as they are more commonly known) and we cooked them lunch. Our motivation was that this would most probably be the last time my girls saw Cherry with her enormous belly and it was also a good opportunity to try out a burger recipe that I have had brewing for some time.

The Roquefort Cheeseburger that we’re featuring today is my favourite type of cheeseburger as the cheese is inside the patty and infuses every part of it with its rich creaminess. To make them I used the same ingredients as we did for our classic burger which we featured here last summer, the only difference is that I filled the middle of each burger with Roquefort cheese before they were cooked, and let me tell you they did not disappoint. The ingredients in the red box will make 6 good size burgers.

• I started by puréeing the onion, because let’s face it, no-one wants to find large pieces of onion in their burger unless you placed them there on purpose as a garnish. You want the onion to infuse the meat and sit with it, not apart from it in lumps! If you do not have a food mixer, chop the onion into very fine pieces.
• Once the onion was puréed I removed it from the mixer and put it into a large mixing bowl.

• Then the oregano, coriander, paprika, black pepper and salt were added to the mixer

• And all blended together.

• All the flavourings and the breadcrumbs were added into the large bowl with the puréed onions.

• I then added the meat and whisked egg to the same bowl. I used my hands to mix all the ingredients together, the egg created the wetness needed so that the meat would stick to the other ingredients.

• When all the ingredients were blended together, I formed the round burger patties and made a hole in the middle of each one.

• Then I filled the hole (generously) with the Roquefort Cheese and used my finger to push it down through the middle of the patty.

• I repeated this process with all the patties.

• Then, the patties are ready for the grill.

• Cook according to how well done you like your meat and serve on ciabatta bread with salad and olives.

A Pimm’s works pretty well with this combo too….

Have a great day.

Jodie

x

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Cherry Menlove

Spinach, Prosciutto & Goats Cheese Salad – serves 2 adults

Click here for our cooking & weight conversion chart

There is a certain spinach salad that I order every time I eat in a certain Italian restaurant. I eat it with such gusto that even though I order a large portion I nearly always contemplate ordering a second one. Possibly because the first hasn’t even touched the sides but one thing’s for sure, I love that salad.

I also love eating dishes at restaurants and then coming home and trying to make them for myself. This is what I have done with this salad. Although it should be said that even though I adore the restaurant version I felt that I could make a few improvements according to my own particular taste.

• Slice and dry fry the goats cheese until it has melted in the middle but browned slightly on the outsides  - set aside to cool.
• Grill the prosciutto for a few minutes on either side and break up into smaller pieces
• Chop the avocado in to slices
• Put the baby spinach leaves in a bowl and add the avocado & prosciutto – toss gently
• Place the sliced goats cheese on top of the salad and drizzle the dressing all over

For the dressing, add all the ingredients to a mixer/blender and whiz until smooth

Cherry xoxox

P.S.
We will be updating my homepage with a ‘Baby Watch’ update as and when things occur so you can keep up with events. I expect things to happen fairly quickly when they do decide to kick off.

When you are pregnant all of the foods that you are supposedly not ‘allowed’ to eat suddenly become irresistible. Take this Crab Salad for instance. Shellfish is not encouraged during pregnancy and so I had to make myself a tiny wee portion of this salad ‘sans crab’. It was important that I had at least tasted it so that I would know it was good enough to go on to my site as a recipe. I can only imagine what it was like fully loaded, so to speak, as it was utterly divine without the meat.

Crab is tasting great right now so do try making this little beauty when you get the chance. It’s best eaten outside in the sun at lunchtime when you’re surrounded by folk you love. If there are people there you don’t love then serve them a portion with no crab. They will then know and understand what I had to endure and it will serve them right for not being more lovable.

• Chop the iceberg lettuce into strips and place in a large serving bowl
• Grate the carrot in to the bowl
• Add the bean sprouts
• Finely chop the spring onions / scallions and add to the bowl
• Add the peanuts and sprinkle in the sesame seeds
• Gently fold all the ingredients together with salad spoons
• Spoon the crab meat over the top of the salad and then top with a generous sprinkle of fresh coriander

For the dressing -

• Finely chop and de-seed a red chill
• Grate the fresh ginger into smallish bowl and sprinkle the chopped chili pieces over the top
• Pour in the Japanese rice vinegar and a tablespoon of caster sugar
• Add the oil and mix well
• Decant into your favourite oil pourer or small jug

Drizzle the dressing over the salad and enjoy.

It feels great to be heading out of a glut of heavy foods that are designed for keeping us warm. Soon we’ll be indulging in soft fruits, smoothies and salads galore. The outside grill will be on permanently and I’ll constantly have corn -on -the -cob kernels in my teeth.

Hopefully this lighter, super tasty salad will act as a vibrant segue in to welcoming Summer food back on the menu and back on to Cherry Menlove.com

I’ve missed it!

Ah, before I go let me remind you of another beautiful and easy Crab recipe that I developed last year. Click the picture below and you’ll be taken right to it…….

Lots of love,

Cherry oxoxox

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