Christmas

Post image for Christmas Cupcakes to Celebrate Baby’s First Christmas

My husband and I are delighted to announce the arrival of our first child, a healthy and bouncing little boy, in late November. He has inherited his mother’s love for sleep and eating, except, of course, his mother has been doing little of either in recent weeks ;-)

In preparation for his arrival, I had lined up several posts in readiness for publishing on this blog in the coming months, but pregnancy is so often fraught with periods of distraction (particularly nesting in the third trimester) that my to-do list soon became a to-do item in itself. And since the Little One’s birth, I’m not even sure where that to-do list is anymore …

But as our Little One is approaching one month old (didn’t we just bring him home from the hospital??), bits and pieces of my former life are reappearing and I suddenly feel a sense of normality returning, if only very briefly. So I am stealing a moment right now to try and quickly post something, not to mention that I even found time to do some food photography this morning! Amazing how little sleep one really needs to function ;-)

{Continue reading…}

{ 39 comments }

Brittany, France and New Year’s Resolutions for 2012

2 January 2012 31 comments
Thumbnail image for Brittany, France and New Year’s Resolutions for 2012

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you have all had a good start to 2012 with lots of fine celebrations, good food and good company. Christmas for us is usually spent with our family in Brittany, a cold and windy region in the north-west of France. Except, this year, it was thankfully not so cold [...]

{Continue reading …}

Merry Christmas! And Fruit Mince Pies …

25 December 2011 8 comments
Thumbnail image for Merry Christmas! And Fruit Mince Pies …

Merry Christmas and Seasons Greetings to everyone! I hope you have had a wonderful season cooking and baking your Christmas favourites, as well as being inspired by some new recipes. More importantly, I hope you are all enjoying this Christmas season in the company of good friends and family. Thank you so much for being [...]

{Continue reading …}

Roast Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Soup

21 December 2011 20 comments
Thumbnail image for Roast Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Soup

The following recipe is inspired by one from Nigella Christmas, a book which is always a great source of comfort and inspiration to me at this time of the year. Nigella Christmas is a colourful and calorie-filled collection of recipes which are ideal at Christmas, but also for parties and entertaining in general. Oftentimes throughout [...]

{Continue reading …}

Swiss Walnut Christmas Cookies

18 December 2011 30 comments
Thumbnail image for Swiss Walnut Christmas Cookies

I have never really been a big fan of Swiss biscuits, Christmas or otherwise. In all fairness, I haven’t really sampled too many because, quite frankly, they are not always the most appealing when lined up next to the fancy American cookies or British biscuits. When presented with the choice between a cookie oozing with [...]

{Continue reading …}

Chestnut Soup with Bacon & Parsley

14 December 2011 15 comments
Thumbnail image for Chestnut Soup with Bacon & Parsley

As soon as the street vendors start setting up their chestnut-roasting stations in Zurich, I know that Christmas is around the corner. I adore these roasted beauties, their sweet and fluffy interior making for the perfect street snack when you need something warm and filling. Sometimes when the air is bitingly cold, a little bag [...]

{Continue reading …}

Little Gingerbread Cakes with Lemon Icing

26 November 2011 16 comments
Thumbnail image for Little Gingerbread Cakes with Lemon Icing

If there is one cake which I always look forward to making and eating at Christmas, it would have to be gingerbread. Whether it is gingerbread in the form of beautifully iced and spicy biscuits, or the more sticky and moist sponge cake, I love them all. Anything which is heady with the aromas of [...]

{Continue reading …}

White Christmas with Pistachios & Dried Cranberries

23 November 2011 16 comments
Thumbnail image for White Christmas with Pistachios & Dried Cranberries

If you are a fan of white chocolate, you will love White Christmas. I’m not sure where this recipe originated from and how the name came about, but it is ridiculously easy to make and serves well as a sweet treat throughout the festive season, not to mention that they are great as Christmas gifts [...]

{Continue reading …}

Cranberry, White Chocolate & Oat Biscuits

20 November 2011 22 comments
Thumbnail image for Cranberry, White Chocolate & Oat Biscuits

In a perfect world, my biscuit tin would be constantly stocked with homemade biscuits and cookies, ready for those moments when I sit down to my afternoon cup of tea or when friends and neighbours drop by unexpectedly. Unfortunately, my full-time job often prevents the opportunity for frequent baking during the week, something which I try [...]

{Continue reading …}

Date & Cinnamon Tart

16 November 2011 23 comments
Thumbnail image for Date & Cinnamon Tart

With Christmas looming around the corner, my thoughts have been turning to holiday baking and the return of seasonal favourites which make their annual (but much anticipated) appearance around this time of year. I always look forward to the first batch of fruit mince pies, which is a rather curious phenomenon for me considering that I [...]

{Continue reading …}