Flowers & Cakes

Cupcakes with sugar flowers! Simple and fabulous, dare I say! I made these flowers over a couple of days, in-between studying and going to work I took little breaks to make flowers and watch 30 Rock, I live a very exciting life! (".) I actually really enjoy making little flowers like this, and they can transform a dull little fairy-cake into something special! And I think the hungry artists that were involved in the eating process enjoyed the artistic element too! 

Coffee and Cakes

Dark chocolate tarts with vanilla bean pastry. One of the most simple desserts to make, with the added bonus that you can make extra ganache and keep in a jar for special treats, it holds really well! The ganache is a tried and tested recipe and extremely simple. 

Ganache

250g Dark Chocolate

300mls Cream

Simply heat the cream and pour over chocolate pieces, allow to stand for a minute or so and then mix together, this is a fail safe method, that has never backfired on me! If you require a little extra sweetness, you can add a little icing sugar.

Sweet Pastry

200g Flour 

100g Butter

75g Sugar

Vanilla Seeds/Lemon zest (for extra flavor) 

1 Egg

Touch of water if needed

Rub butter and flour together, until it resembles bread crumbs. Add sugar, vanilla, egg and water if needed. Gently bring together until it is all combined. Try not to over work, then wrap and chill until needed. 

The coffee is a beautiful Nespressio recreation! And goes delightfully with the chocolate tart.

Tasty Nature

Inspiration to cook and eat dishes using wholesome natural foods can be found in so many places, here are just a few images I find particularly inspiring! 

Marvelous Macaroons

They're bright. They're beautiful. (and) They're tasty! Macaroons are a very fancy treat, perfect for afternoon tea or even just as a very self-indulgent snack. Above we have berry tea served with lemon and raspberry Macaroons - delightful. Below a slightly more indulgent chocolate Macaroon with the most beautiful natural yogurt and raspberry compote! Simple yet delicious.  

Lazy Lunch..

The many delights of food! These are all styled with the help of my wonderful boyfriend. This colorful spread features some fantastic Irish products - Wicklow blue cheese and hand made Irish goats cheese, made extra special with other foodie delights - Italian salami and French olives among others, topped off with some fresh basil pesto. Mmmm..

Oats and More

Simple porridge oats made into something special. Thick creamy porridge topped with banana, wild flower honey and shavings of toasted brazil nut. Porridge is something most people think of as boring, but in reality it takes very little to make it into something very special! My favorite topping so far has been homemade crumble sprinkled over sliced banana, although alas I have no photos of it, as it didn't last long enough to take a picture! 

Playing with Spoons and Forks

Documenting my food and photography experiments, I'm going to blog about what Sheevs sees, not always terribly exciting, but hopefully sometimes a little interesting :)