British Hops at their best

The hop cones appear so delicate

British hops are sought by brewers all over the globe. One hop farm, Stocks Farm located on the Worcestershire/Herefordshire border grows enough hops to create 48 million pints of beer each …

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Mulled wine pears recipe

Read to eat the mulled wine pears?

Spicy Pears, a perfect dessert If you’ve visited Morocco, I am sure one of your abiding memories will be the smell of spices in the souk. We discovered one tiny …

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Choosing a great gin for the summer

What's your tipple? Gin of course

Tasting at Gloucester Gin Festival

It is an exciting time for gin lovers as more and more distilleries open in the United Kingdom (233 according to HM Revenue and Customs at the end of 2015). With so many, how do you discover the gin for you?

What's your tipple? Gin of course
What’s your tipple? Gin of course

A visit to a gin festival is a must and luckily there are many planned across the UK. Jenni and I headed for Gloucester on one of the hottest days of the year on a journey of discovery. Something refreshing was our goal.

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Tasting and eating wine

White wish with rose wine recipe

If you’re not a wine expert, how do you discover a wine you’ll like? And will it inspire you to cook a great sauce?

In the pink. Make elderflower cordial

Elderflower cordial or syrup recipe

How to make elderflower cordial

If you want a non-alcoholic drink that is refreshing, what do you choose?  I often go for an elderflower option. Did you know it’s easy to make elderflower cordial or syrup at home? It’s the perfect time to go on the hunt and pick elderflowers.

Beautiful pinky purple elderflowers
Beautiful pinky purple elderflowers – perfect for cordial

What truly inspire me are the flowers on the purple leaved elder (sambucus nigra) in my garden. Each time I walk past, the flowers zapp their scent my way. I just had to do something with them. Of course, if you’ve not got a purple leaved elder, the standard white flowers will do very well. But as you see, the flowers from the purple leaved elder make a fetching pink hued drink.

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7 Tea Tips at National Tea Day

Imagine a beautiful garden with different courtyards, buildings dripping with wisteria, ducklings swimming in pools and even a few flamingoes and plenty of places to lounge. If I were to tell you that this was 100 feet up in the air from busy Kensington High Street atop a building would you believe me?

This is the fabulous Roof Gardens – now closed. A fitting place for this year’s National Tea Day in 2019

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