Recently in the kitchen...

I haven't posted much of my culinary adventures here recently, and it isn't because I have given up on baking. If anything, my love for food and cooking is ever growing and I am always finding new recipes I want to try. I also got a subscription to Olive magazine for my birthday, which is the gift that keeps on giving, month after month! I love when it arrives through my postbox and I drool over all the recipes and plan what seasonal things I want to try that month.

This was the blackberry bakewell tart that I made last week. Or, really, Scott made and I merely supervised. I didn't even get to try any of it because I had a stomach bug, but I was assured it was delicious and the time in that it took to disappear also assured me it was delicious. Traditional bakewell tart uses raspberry jam, but after the glut of blackberries we had picked and made jam with, I decided to use blackberry jam. It is seasonal and cheap! I also studded the tart with fresh blackberries for added fruitiness. It gave it quite a rustic look once all the frangipane had rose over it.

This was the cover recipe of this months Olive, so we decided to make it for Scott's brother's birthday. I wanted a traditional layered birthday cake, but Scott wanted to try this, so we went with it. It was super easy and quite impressive! You simply mix together whipped cream and melted chocolate and leave it to set. Ta-da! Very, very rich though and is best served in a small slice with some cream.

I also experimented with making my own pizza base, using yeast for the first time. It was surprisingly easy, although yeast always strikes fear in me for some reason. Will it work? Will it rise too much? The anticipation! This was a perfect pizza though, with yummy mozzarella and cherry tomatoes and of course basil. I love basil, it is definitely my favourite herb.

I also invested in an ice cream machine, hoping for this heatwave of a summer we were promised by the weathermen. It never did arrive... The ice cream machine has made some lovely things still though. This was a summer fruits sorbet that was so delicious and refreshing. I also made a peanut butter ice cream that was gobbled up so quickly I didn't even have time to take a photo of it. However, I don't think a photo would do justice to it's tastiness so I shall leave it to your imagination. Peanut butter ice cream.... yum.

What have you all been cooking lately?