Sunny day in Dublin

Since the gazebo was finished a couple of months ago, it is amazing how quickly the various plants have established themselves! The downside is that it means even more places to maintain - and my family and friends are planning even more parties to be held out there!

These photographs of the back of my house were taken by a friend of a friend - Barbara Corsico - recently, on a break between showers of rain - summer in Dublin! I love her photos... and she really liked the strawberry shortbread that she and Jacqui ate with a cup of coffee - recipe came from Sarah Raven's Garden Cookbook. The shortbread base has both orange rind and semolina flour in it, which makes a very light and yet really tasty base. Instead of the double cream in Sarah Raven's recipe however, I used Greek Yoghurt, and then topped that with lots of strawberries - everyone agreed that the yoghurt was a better option, as it added a nice bit of tartness to the whole dish and took away the really guilty and heaviness of the cream option!