vanilla bean and espresso spelt scones

So, May. How did that happen?

This is most likely going to be my last post for a month or so.  On a purely practical level, we're moving in a couple of weeks and I've been told firmly and repeatedly that my normal technique of shoving my possessions in boxes and supermarket carrier bags as they are being loaded into a van is not going to cut it. We seem to have accumulated an awful lot of "stuff" in the last five or six years and most of my weekends are currently spent knee deep in bin bags and cardboard boxes rather than flour and butter, as I would prefer.

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smoked sea salt & olive oil chocolate tart

Considering the number of times that I've made this tart - or a version of it - over the years, I'm a little surprised that it's taken me this long to share it with you. 

Whilst I wouldn't go quite so far as calling it my signature dessert, it's what I used to bake for almost every dinner party and social occasion. We've celebrated several new years with this tart and more birthdays than I care to think about.

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green tea mojito

There is something rather disconcerting about sitting down for dinner with a group of people who have been your friends for a decade (or more). That's 10 years of friendship, right there! 

There's a special bond that you have with people who have seen you at your absolute worst - as my friends from university most certainly have. Through heartbreak and hangovers and all the angst of trying to work out what kind of person you are, we've always been able to go back and pick up where we left off. When one of number announced that she moving home to Spain for the next year, we couldn't let her leave the country without marking the occasion in a suitable manner.

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orange and almond brownies

We went to Newcastle last weekend for a slightly belated celebration of my birthday. We both skived off work early on Friday afternoon to catch a train that would get us there in plenty of time for dinner,such are our priorities. 

I always think that if you want to see England -  proper English England - then you should take a train. While my boyfriend worked, I sat with my nose pressed up against the glass watching as the patchwork of fields and rolling hills flew past. The sky seemed to go on forever. I'd turn to my boyfriend from time to time and excitedly announce that we'd just gone past a flock of tiny sheep. 

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spelt focaccia with goat's cheese and caramelised onion

While there are many parts of moving that are difficult/stressful/argument-provoking, the whole process of selling your home seems to me to be one of the very hardest. 

Our flat has been on the market for a couple of weeks now. We've had a fair number of viewings but no offers (unless anyone is on the hunt for a slightly over-priced 2 bedroom flat in W9?). Our estate agent uploaded the photographs of our flat to various property websites while we were on holiday. I looked at them like I was looking at a stranger's flat, noticing details that I've become blind to over the years. 

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