My mum loves Pea and Ham Soup.

The Campbell's tinned variety.

We grew up with this soup simmering away on the stove top making the house smell a little...how should I put it.....icky!  Needless to say, I never touched the stuff!

Home-made Pea and Ham Soup on the other hand...now that's a whole other story.....

I can't possibly believe that there is anyone out there who does not like Lemon Meringue Pie?

What if I was to give you one that you could fit entirely in your mouth, all in one go?

It doesn't get any better than that, does it?!

Growing up, one of my all time favourite desserts was chocolate mousse.  If it was on the menu, it was in my tummy.  I couldn't get enough of it.

I loved it most when it was light and airy, almost like a fluffy pillow, and not too chocolaty.

I loved it so much that I remember going into the local Taco Bills with one of my girlfriends, back when we were on our "P" Plates, and ordering 2 chocolate mousse desserts to take away.  No Mexican food, just the desserts!

We were the talk of the kitchen.

My aunty, (Hi Aunty V) sent me some money for my birthday back in May, and guess what I bought?

Yep, ANOTHER cookbook!

(I know I'm not alone in the "obsessive buying of cookbooks" department, am I Miss A)

The photos alone in this little book have won me over, let alone the beautiful and delicious recipes, as well as her belief in celebrating seasonal fruits and bringing alive ancient flours, such as rye and spelt, as an alternative to all the refined sugars out there in the market place.  Bringing more depth of flavour and texture to create a healthier way to bake.

I'm sold!

When planning the menu for my mum's Mother's Day lunch recently, I was told on the phone by my niece that in no uncertain terms, she would not be coming if there was no chocolate on offer.

Crap! I hadn't planned ANYTHING with chocolate.

I think these won her over on the day though.....

I'm finally back in the kitchen - Thank God! 

My fridge and cupboards are full. 

I've unpacked and found all of my pots and pans.

I'm finally home.

Enjoying the long weekend recently, I was able to finally get myself sorted, cruise around my new hood, and of course cook.  With a chill in the air, but blue sky's over head, I headed into the kitchen to make something warming and hearty.  Something fitting for this time of year.

Winter to me is walking to work on crisp, sunny mornings.  Snuggling under the blanket of an evening with a hot cup of tea, jazz playing in the background and my favourite cookbook of the moment.  And of course, my favourite, waiting patiently for my oven to do its slow cooking magic.

Remember my lip smacking mousse from last week?

Know what goes perfectly with it..... ...this week's recipe!  Der!

I'm one of those strange few people who tends to turn their nose up at Chocolate desserts.  Don't get me wrong, I'll each chocolate until it comes out of my ears, but put it in the form of a dessert......I'll pass.

Now a lemon dessert on the other hand....you have my full attention.

I've flicked passed this recipe numerous times thinking I must make it one day.  Sadly, that day never seemed to eventuate.  That is, until NOW!

Can you tell I'm excited?

Yes.  Another recipe from the cookbook I have fallen head over heals for.

I hope you're not bored yet, cause there is a lot more coming.

Each time I think I'll flick through another cookbook, I find I get a couple of pages in and then suddenly, low and behold, it's back in my hot little fingers once again.

I guess I can't really call it a "crush" anymore as I think we've moved more into "stalker" territory now.

My mum's birthday was back in January. 

It took us until this past weekend to celebrate it all together.

Mind you, she's been celebrating with us individually in between, so she hasn't done too bad!

So for our little family get-together, I decided to make some celebratory cupcakes.....

Whilst relaxing in the park one lazy Saturday morning (as seen here), flicking leisurly through some of my many French cookbooks, I came across this recipe. 

I'm a big lover of soup in Winter and I find it is my go-to staple for mid-week meals.  I'm not such a fan during the Summer time - go figure!  However this soup seemed a little different.  It looked fresh, light and packed full of yummy vegetables - and it was French.  I was sold.

Stew.

It's not a word I like. 

Having English parents, we grew up on stews and casseroles and I soon rebelled.  I refused to eat them.  Nothing to do with the food itself, I might add, but the word stew just didn't evoke a desire to eat.  At all!

Stew..Spew - that was what I called it.

Luckily I'm a grown up now.  I still call it "Stew Spew" but nowadays I eat it, and in fact I love, love, love it.

The humble peach.  After cherries, I would consider the peach as one of my favourite stone fruits on the market.  My preference leaning towards the beautiful rose blush of the white peach, but I'll still gobble down a yellow peach just as fast.

One of my favourite ways of eating peaches (well, most fruit actually, and to be honest, I did look at the manky banana sitting in my fruit bowl wondering how it might turn out) is poached.  It really doesn't get any simpler than that!  A couple of ingredients and you can turn humble piece of fruit into something drool worthy. 

So for this weeks challenge, I give you the simple poached peach.....

A cookbook writer that truly surprised me (in a good way) is Sophie Dahl.  If you're around my age, you will remember Sophie as being the +size model from England who caused a stir on catwalks all over the world. 

She now has two cookbooks on the market.  Both of which I have, and both of which I love.  Her recipes are lovely, simple and straightforward and quoting straight from the horses mouth, she is someone "who likes to cook and then write about what she's cooked, not a chef or a teacher."

I like that. It sounds like me.