A good beer and a bit of murder...

Had some very tasty Hogsback Gardener's Tipple last night - i'm not usually a massive ale fan but this was really nice, not too strong at 4%, very fruity and easy to drink. Also it makes a nice change from all the cider i've had recently - as soon as the sun comes out in London cider sales must skyrocket, everyone seems to be drinking it. This beer is made in Surrey too so i am doing my bit to support local brewing!
And alongside my beer i am reading The Invention of Murder by Judith Flanders, which is a fantastic book about the Victorian's obsession with grisly murders and how the reporting of them became a huge money spinner for the press, just as it still is today. It's a great book, full of bloody murders and dark humour, and i am thoroughly enjoying it! It feels a bit like i should be reading it in the winter by a roaring fire, but you can't have everything.

Elderflower Champagne - first attempt

Thought i'd make the most of the few remaining weeks of having an Elder tree in the garden by shamelessly stealing the flowers and making them into booze!
I've never tried to bottle anything that turns fizzy before so i'm hoping it won't explode in the airing cupboard. Hopefully not and i'll have lots to drink just in time to help me throught the trauma of moving house... Fingers crossed!
After looking at lots of recipes decided the easiest was from Home Brew, a great book on how to make all sorts of lovely stuff to drink by Doug Rouxel & Sara Paston-Williams.

Back, with changes!

Wow, can't believe it's been over a year since I wrote on here. A few changes - have put the cake business on the back burner as have had a pretty busy year or so - job change, getting hitched, house hunting etc. So instead am just going to be randomly posting on tasty things i'm eating, fantastic books i'm reading, and possibly even the odd piece of amateur allotment news...