Welcome....

I love recipe books!!!
If my friends and family are ever scratching their heads as to what to get me for a present (if they feel so inclined of course :o), then I'm an 'easy to please' receiver of any and all cookbooks and always have been.  Now I certainly don't claim to be any great culinary master in the kitchen - in fact, as it has been brought up on various occasions, my husband has been known to produce some far more tasty meals while slaving over the stove, but to be honest I've just developed over the years a love to spend time in my quaint little kitchen.  Some things don't always come out as I'd planned, and some things have been downright frightening over the years to be honest - thoughts of a certain shepherds pie still gives me the willies (ewwww), but on the whole I don't think I do too bad.  My husbands still alive after 22 years of marriage and hasn't ever been admitted to the emergency room with food poisoning so I think it's fair to say I can give myself a pat on the back :o).  In fact on occasions I can honestly say that some things even come out as roaring successes so I thought I'd share some of my edible treats with you all. 

I know that more and more over the years the need and desire to eat healthier, more organically and more socially responsibly has influenced many peoples eating habits and bravo for all those folks, but quite frankly it's not always feasible to go 100% along those routes.  I'd like to say that everything I cook or bake has only been either grown by myself or bought from an organic local farmer, or been religiously adhered to by the 100 mile diet rules (which by the way is an AWESOME idea, and one which although I haven't employed completely, I try to do as much as possible), but alas, sometimes I just don't have the energy or the finances and so quick, easy and cheap are the flavours of the day, with a quick run to the local grocery store to grab things that can be thrown together in the spur of the moment.  Sometimes those are the best concoctions that I've come up with.

So anyway, here's the beginning of what I hope will become not just another food blog but something that will let you see the ups and downs (hopefully more ups than downs) of life from my little cottage kitchen....