Spring Snow

I’m sitting here sipping hot chocolate made with squares of dark chocolate, honey and brandy, feeling the warmth seep back into my hands as I type. I hadn’t seen the weather forecasts so I wasn’t expecting the thickly falling snow I woke up to this morning. I think I’ve told you before how snow brings out the child in me and this morning was no exception. I wanted to capture this beautiful moment in time so I took my camera and macro lens to a local park.

I thoroughly enjoyed my solitary walk, looking out from under my colourful umbrella, crunching snow underfoot, passing children making snowmen, a father and daughter having a snowball fight, a fellow photographer (with a larger lens then me, I’m rather pained to report). The scenery was wonderful under its blanket of snow. Blossom-filled trees dipping with their heavy loads, flowers in full bloom peeking out from beneath cotton wool snow; how beautiful snow is in the springtime.

Let me share with you a handful of the photographs I took. I hope you enjoy them.

Easter Cake Bake 2008 - The Round-Up

Last year I found it immensely difficult to choose a winner from all the fabulous entries in my Easter Cake Bake event. This year I find it impossible, so I’m not going to choose a winner.......you are! I figure you, my dear readers, are the very best judges of good food and therefore I open the voting polls to you.

Here's a slideshow of all the entries and a list of the blogs they came from (click on the slideshow to pause it or navigate back and foward):



A Yankee In A Southern Kitchen
Airy Fairy Cupcakes (listed on the poll as 'The Airy Fairy', I can't change this as voting has started so please accept my apologies.)
Antics Of A Cycling Cook
Bakergirl Creations
CorumBlog
Domestic Goddess In Training
Feeding Maybelle
Fruittart
Good Things Catered
Grey Salt Is My Favourite
I Think I Have A Recipe For That...
Isa's Cooking
Kitchen Delights
Megan's Cooking
Mele Cotte
Mera Pyaar
Morsels & Musings
Munchkin Mail
Not Quite Nigella
Notes From My Food Diary
Passionate About Baking
Soy & Pepper
Spoon & Fork
Sugar & Spice
Supplicious
The Well-Seasoned Cook
Tinned Tomatoes
You Say Tomato.....You Say Tomato

To vote select your choice on the poll on the left hand side menu. The poll will close on Friday 11th April.

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time and trouble to enter. Every single entry is a winner in my book.

Knife Skills

Knife Skillsis collaborative book from Charlie Trotter, Lyn Hall, and Michelin-starred chefs Marcus Wareing and Shaun Hill. Together they tell you everything you need to know about buying and using kitchen knives, with clear instructions and step-by-step photographs.

This extensive book covers every aspect of kitchen knives, from their anatomy and history through to how to choose one, safety, storage and caring for them. It even covers other cutting accessories, such as graters, peelers and slicers. The part on using knives is vast and covers general handling techniques and has sections on specific skills for vegetables; fish & shellfish; meat, poultry & game; doughs & desserts; and fruit. Butchering is also covered, such as how to joint a chicken and butterflying a leg of lamb, as is how to carve different meats.

This is a fantastic book, and one that I know I’ll refer to time and again. It’s the essential guide to kitchen knives and skills, and a must-have for keen cooks.

In the Bag: Cooking the Month of April

Did you see the round up over at Real Epicurean of March's 'In the Bag' entries? There were some fabulous dishes made with one of my favourite vegetables, purple sprouting broccoli. It's still in the peak of its season, so why not grab some and head over to the round-up for some inspiration?

We've got a nice early start for this month's bag, and it's full of seasonal produce I just know you're going to love. Take a look:

Jersey Royal Potatoes
Watercress
Feta cheese

I'm already thinking of the possibilites. Now that the clocks have changed and the weather's getting brighter these fresh ingredients will marry together perfectly for spring.

As usual, to enter you just need to create a dish using these ingredients, then post about it on your blog or website and drop me an email. Enjoy!

Entry Details
Send an email with ‘In the Bag in the subject line to asliceofcherrypie AT yahoo DOT co DOT uk by Wednesday 30th April with the following information:

• your name
• a link to your post
• the name of your dish
• a picture of your dish

Rules
Here are the loose rules - but ultimately remember the objective is to have fun whilst highlighting seasonal food:

1. Participants should attempt to use all the ingredients 'in the bag' for that particular month, but may leave one out if they prefer. The dish should be based around the seasonal ingredient, with it acting as a central ingredient.

2. Participants can include any "extra" ingredients that they see fit.

3. Entries should include a link back to the host for that month, and the post should be tagged "In the Bag".

4. Entries can be written any time during the month, as long as the URL is emailed to that month's host before the closing date.

5. Particpants from outside of the UK are most welcome to join in and substitute an item from their own local seasonal produce if necessary.

'In The Bag' is a food event run monthly by 'A Slice of Cherry Pie' and 'Real Epicurean'.