A gentle, fragrant curd with freshly squeezed tangerines and their bittersweet zest. It was a good relaxing morning today: we listened to Drive-in Saturdays, a double-feature movie podcast by Dorian and Saoirse, Mr. Pear made me tea in my favourite mug, and I had crumpets with plenty of homemade tangerine curd. I was also at the same time reading a … Continue reading
Another wonderful preserve from Beatrice Ojakangas, this time a sweet, simple rose gold jam, one of my favourites. Perfect for brightening up the cold months. ‘You’ll love the aroma of this jam cooking,’ Ojakangas writes. Yes. Sour pink rhubarb, sunny pineapple and deep, rich vanilla come together in an unexpectedly lovely way: it’s truly lovely, so syrupy and … Continue reading
A classic Victoria sponge: light, tender, buttery cake sandwiching a tangy-sweet layer of raspberry jam and buttercream. Don’t tell any of them in the WI, but I filled the sponge with homemade raspberry honey lemongrass jam. You can of course use any raspberry jam you want–perhaps choose one which isn’t overly sweet so it balances the buttercream … Continue reading
Fresh-tasting, fragrant, and easy to make. Lemongrass and raspberries are lovely and bright together. If you’re new to preserve-making, this is one of the first you should try as it’s fairly quick (from raw fruit to hot, sealed jar of jam in 1 hour!), it’s a very small batch (one jar! one!) and is a little … Continue reading
My favourite salted caramel sauce, made with a goodly amount of golden syrup, and my second-favourite hot chocolate, the sort actually made from scratch. I’ll be straight with you: my favourite hot chocolate is a powder mix and I make it in a microwave. I sincerely love it, not just the associated nostalgia. Now, I … Continue reading
Quite unlike Tara’s charming rhubarb story, the main way I’ve come by rhubarb recently is squatting on the pavement, picking out stalks from a crate. Once I encountered a slug so tiny that it was like the crescent of dirt beneath one’s fingernail. It glistened on the rhubarb stem. I flicked it off: no need for a … Continue reading
I am newly 24.
This is what I remember:
1. At 17, a blistering scald on my finger from Italian meringue and Italian meringue buttercream, all for the sake of macarons. A plaster still on my finger when I went on that once-in-a-lifetime school trip to Florence. (Year 13 History of Art and Photography. We felt grown up drinking rosé in view of the duomo.) Continue reading
The tamer my love, the farther away it is from love. In fierceness, in heat, in longing, in risk, I find something of love’s nature. In my desire for you, I burn at the right temperature to walk through love’s fire. So when you ask me why I cannot love you more calmly, I answer … Continue reading
In my corner of the world citrus fruits are at their best at the moment, with blood oranges, Sevilles, and the best tasting clementines making their brief appearance in the markets and shops during these cold months. Clementines are sweet and mild when eaten fresh, but they make a dazzling marmalade. Nowhere near as bitter … Continue reading
With cranberries, sweet plums and tender pears warmed by spices and made lively with clementines, this is truly Christmas jam. It’s bold and red, shimmering like any festive ornament, and tastes wonderful. This was one of those recipes where I was reminded that I’m a beginner striking out on a more ambitious project, and that … Continue reading
The Furious Pear Pie 
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