Lemon Scrummy

One of the best things about the winter months, is the copious amounts of lemons in season!  There are so many uses for the simple lemon in the kitchen. I use them in baking recipes like lemon curd cupcakes, lemon slice and lemon drizzle cake; they are a key ingredient in peri-peri sauce; lovely squeezed over pancakes sprinkled with sugar; and with hot water and honey make a soothing hot drink for those winter colds.
Making lemon honey is one of my favourite ways to cook lemons.

Lemon Honey

4 Lemons
125 g Butter
2 cups Sugar
4 Eggs, beaten




Firstly, you will need to clean the lemons with a vegetable brush, and then zest the rind. Be careful to avoid the white pith, as this adds a bitter taste. Then, juice the lemons and pass the juice through a sieve into a bowl to remove any pips and flesh.

In a double boiler, melt the butter. I made my double boiler with a metal bowl that fits snugly into the top of a pot. It is important that this is not cooked straight over heat as it needs to be heated gently. To the melted butter add the sugar and lemon juice and stir together until the sugar has dissolved. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs together with a whisk.

Remove the lemon mixture from the heat, and very slowly pour in the egg mixture, stirring constantly. It is important to mix the eggs in carefully - if it's all chucked in at once, the heat of the mixture will cook the eggs and you end up with little bits of egg white all through your lemon honey.

Finally add your lemon rind, and return to the double boiler. Keep stirring while the mixture heats and thickens, and you get a deliciously thick and beautifully bright lemon coloured honey!  While warm, pour into sterilised jars. It pays to warm the jars before you do this, so that the glass doesn't crack.

Store in the fridge and enjoy on your morning toast.

A sewing machine, a sewing machine, a girl's best friend!

  I re-visited my fourth form sewing skills last year, feeling inspired after returning from a two-year OE in London.  A dozen wedding reception table runners and 30-something metres of pretty pastel bunting later, I had caught the sewing bug. It is immensely satisfying creating something yourself, and actually ending up with a commodity you enjoy!


 A year on, I have finally acquired my very own sewing machine.  Not being overly informed  on such things, I struggled with where to start looking. The only machine I have ever really known is my Mum's very old Nelco. However, I found a couple of very informed shop assistants who guided me towards an entry level Elna.  I went for the Elna 1000 over the entry level Brother, as I found I had a preference for the metal features on the Elna and it just felt like a more solid machine. The Brother did have a few more stitches, but I figured being the novice that I am, I won't really need the extras.


  Trying out my new toy at home later, I was more than happy with the stitch options that it gives me. It also comes with cool wee bits and bobs - a zipper foot, a blind hem foot and a sliding button-hole foot. The only thing I'd have to say I wasn't too happy with were the plastic bobbin reels, so Mum gave me a couple of her own metal ones to use. The instruction manual is super easy to follow, and within the hour I had hemmed my brothers jeans! The machine carved through two layers of denim no problem, and you can remove the base so I could easily fit the trouser leg around the machine.


  In other sewing excitement, Mum pulled out her sewing boxes for me and I scored some groovy fabric, a couple of half finished garments and some ace retro sewing patterns! Just a few things to get me started with. As for the first sewing project... watch this space!