Peaches and Peas

Two of my favourite things about summer: peaches, and fresh peas still in their pods.

Patio Garden

On one of the few sunny days we've had this summer, I took a few snaps around my garden - or the patio at least. The constant rain has meant we haven't been able to get our garden finished as we'd hoped, but at least our patio looks pretty!















Currently growing:

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Various flowers

Potatoes

Parsley

Mint

Lavender

Raspberries

One red gooseberry

One blackcurrant

One jalapeno

Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream

I keep seeing bloggers around the internet posting about the most delicious sounding ice cream - chocolate coconut, I think this is the actual ice cream.

Dark chocolate and coconut is one of my favourite flavour combinations and I love that this ice cream is vegan too.



Ingredients:

150g dark chocolate (I used lindt)
400ml coconut milk
50g coconut butter or creamed coconut*
1 tsp amaretto, kahlua or malibu

Method:

Melt dark chocolate and coconut butter in a bowl set over a pan of boiling water, making sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl

When the chocolate and coconut butter has melted, whisk in a can of coconut milk and a teaspoon of liquer. Kahlua, tia maria or malibu would be especially nice but I used amaretto. You can't taste the liquer, but it just helps the ice cream to not freeze into a rock hard, solid block

Add to an ice cream maker and process according to the instructions, otherwise put it in a lidded container in the freezer and stir every 15-30 minutes until it reaches ice cream consistency

It's ridiculously easy and insanely good. It's a good job I wasn't making this for a special occasion because I ate half of the tub already. I forgot to freeze the bowl of my ice cream machine so just did it in the freezer, and I'd eat a spoonful every time I went in to stir ;)

So I urge you to make this. I promise you won't regret it!

*In the past, after being unable to find it in the UK, I purchased a jar of coconut butter from the US and paid a small fortune for it. I loved it, but didn't have the spare cash to buy more. Then I discovered creamed coconut (I used Pataks brand; it cost me about £1.50 from Tesco and is basically the exact same thing!)

Rain rain go away

The rain. So much rain. Normally I love rain but it has rained almost contstantly for the past two, maybe three months. In that time we've had probably no more than two weeks worth of nice days scattered throughout. Some summer!

Don't get me wrong, I do love rain. It's good for my garden and I get to wear my wellies. But it's barely stopped, the puppies are miserable having to go on their walks in the rain and it's killed off almost all of my plants.

Fingers crossed we get a few days of sunshine before the summer is over!