29 Jul 2015

French Glacé Cherry Scones Recipe

Our guest bedroom is ready, The Man has chosen himself a nice barbecue, the fun can now begin!
Friends and family are booking dates to come and visit us, and our diaries are filling up with barbecue parties. 
...(happy sigh)...
I dreamed of having a house to share it with The Man and the people I love, so I could not be happier. 
We just need a bit more sun to make it a perfect summer in our new home. Well, that might be asking for too much... ;-)


 
Cherry scones recipe

French Glacé Cherry Scones

Ingredients:  
Make approx. 15 scones
450g self-raising flour
1 tsp de bicarbonate of soda
100g cold butter, diced
2 tbsp caster sugar
284ml pot buttermilk
2 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
220g 100% natural French Glacé Cherries, some halved and some quartered 

Method: 

1. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Put the flour, ½ tsp salt, bicarb and butter into a bowl and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in the sugar.

2. Quickly mix in the buttermilk, a splash of milk, vanilla and cherries and bring together to form a soft dough. Press out onto a lightly floured surface, to about 3cm thick. Cut out with 6-7cm cutters.

3. Transfer to a lightly floured baking sheet, brush with the remaining milk and bake for 10-12 mins until golden and well risen. Serve with clotted cream and jam.

French glace cherry scones recipe

french glace cherry scones recipe

15 Jul 2015

Dublin #2: restaurants, markets and shops

In my latest blog post, I was telling you how I recently rediscovered Dublin and fell in love with it. 
Compared to London, Dublin is minuscule, which makes it great to walk around and discover by foot in a few days. Provided you book in advance, you can also get a hotel in the city centre for a very decent price.
There are loads of lovely shops and cafes to try out everywhere. I even discovered a great flea market. I can't wait to go again.

Cafes, markets and shops
  • Fallon and Byrne: this Dublin institution is a kind of wholefood market which also has a cafe and a restaurant. You can buy food from the deli counter to eat in on bar tables or take away. Treat yourself to one of their delicious sandwiches or a chili con carne.
  • Avoca: lovely little department store which makes incredible cakes to eat in or take away. Tip: if the main cafe on the top floor is full (which seems to be the case on most weekends), you can enjoy most of their cakes in the food hall cafe on the lower ground floor. 
  • The Fumbally: a uber hispter cafe in Dublin 8, which is as charming as it is cliche. While you'll think you've landed in Berlin, you will enjoy simple freshly made food with a little bottle of cold pressed beetroot and apple juice.
  • Temple bar market: this little market tucked away in a little back square of Temple Bar runs every Saturday from 10.00 to 4.30 and sells local cheese and vegs alongside freshly cooked food to go. 

  • Dublin Flea Market: this huge "fleatastic" market runs every last Sunday of the month in Dublin 8 and sells everything that's antique, from decoration to clothes. Getting hungry while looking around? Buy some ethnic food one of the stalls in the Co-op.

Fallon and Byrne


Dublin Castle

Temple Bar Market


Irish cheese