The Gods of Chance

...Really were smiling down unto me yesterday afternoon!

Me and my other half went blackberry picking in the woods next to his house on the beautifully rainy afternoon, to console me for my rotten luck of being able to find no damsons this summer. I searched, and i complained many times when i realised that i would be without my beloved home-made damson jam for an entire year (unless, i resorted to the tooth-meltingly sweet store bought crap). So we set off, me looking like little red riding hood in my red coat, aiming to get enough to make at least one pot of bramble jam. Luckily, we got absolutely tonnes, enough for two, maybe even three pots.

AND, to top it all off, coming back to Mr Jess' house, his dad came across a person at work with 2 kg of damsons, after i'd searched all over for some. Lucky or what :)! Needless to say i made a BIG pot of jam to keep me going for a while, which is delicious, if i may say so myself :D.

As for the cake, after a few problems with bad feelings it was undercooked, it came out quite well, it tasted quite yummy, and it's long gone :)! Hooray!

And here it is...candles and all! Ready to be covered by the tin lid to go on the train just before i left.
 
Peace.

JR 

Mint Leaves Ahoy

So far today, I have stood and painted about 50 mint leaves with chocolate, and felt like i've achieved absolutely nothing. Oh dear lol.

I'm really not the most refined of cooks, and i'm ridiculously clumsy, and messy, so this job was not designed with me in mind. And, thinking I was being clever, I decided to try and shape them so they would look arty and nice for the top of the cake, alas, I didn't think of how I was supposed to chill them and couldn't get the extra long rolling pin in the fridge, so, it had to abandoned, and i hung them over knives and forks instead...not quite so cool.

But hey, hopefully they'll look okay and won't break in transit on my way back to Uni today :)! I'm betting 4 hour train journeys with 2 suitcases, a huge laptop and a backpack isn't the best environment to keep delicate things safe.

Hey ho, let's hope they make it :)

JR

So i set up a blog today...

Obviously :). It won't be a online whinge-fest, so hopefully it might be quite fun. 

I know it's not particularly original, but it'll be tracking my cooking ventures across the course of this year and beyond. So, gloves on and ingredients at the ready, i thought i would start tomorrow with a bang. I'm making my "Forest-Floor" decadent chocolate cake for my other half's 21st birthday on Saturday, hopefully he'll like (and be conscious for) it.

I'll keep my back story short, so to not bore you. I adore cooking, i adore food shopping and i think i might have an unhealthy fetish for cake...i think that's all you need to know for now.

Peace.
JR