It may be slightly gloomier outside than we've become accustomed to over the last few months but that doesn't mean BBQ season is over. At least not as far as I'm concerned! There's not much weather that will stop my family from cooking alfresco; indeed one memorable snowy day saw us making gravy outside as the roasting tray was too big for the hob. Stokes sent me some yummy sounding products to try which lend themselves to a BBQ really well: Ketchup, Review: Stokes Sauces
It may be slightly gloomier outside than we've become accustomed to over the last few months but that doesn't mean BBQ season is over. At least not as far as I'm concerned! There's not much weather that will stop my family from cooking alfresco; indeed one memorable snowy day saw us making gravy outside as the roasting tray was too big for the hob. Stokes sent me some yummy sounding products to try which lend themselves to a BBQ really well: Ketchup, 
Scandinavian food interests me; cured salmon, pickles and dark rye are the things that immediately spring to mind. By coincidence I was sent two different crispbreads to try; some from Finn Crisp and some from Plain Tasty so it seemed the perfect opportunity to try and make a Smörgåsbord with a Swedish salad; Swedish style anyway! Something very different for dinner in the ATIE household.
Ingredients
You will need (make as many as you need):
Last year I went to the BBC Good Food Show courtesy of Barber’s Cheese and got to try their lovely cheese for the first time. This year, things got a bit more serious and I was invited to The Bath and West Show to take part in a cheese toastie off (as well as having a good nose around the show). For my toastie recipe I wanted to keep it simple so I went for a sort of croque-monsieur; smoked ham, Barber’s Cheese, English mustard and plenty of 
As you know I quite like tea. As part of this tea appreciation I have become a fan of the more unusual teas and seek to try as many different types as I can. I was invited to spend some time with Twinings and meet Mr Stephen Twining himself. Their shop on The Strand is long and thin and you could spend a long time smelling the different teas on the shelves. We were sat at the back of the shop; it was great to see Fiona again (from the blog London 
I find breakfast is sometimes a bit of an inspirational dead end. I might want toast but then if I'm having a sandwich for lunch I think it's too much bread, I like cereal but I begrudge paying the price for a box that lasts less than two weeks, fruit doesn't fill me up enough and I don't have enough time to do anything more involved. I could get up earlier and make something but I'll be honest; I stay asleep until the last possible moment. I always 
I've always fancied having a go at making an Easter egg but have never got round to it. When the guys from Stay in Devon asked if I would like to try one of theirs it seemed like the perfect chance to attempt it. The kit consisted of: chocolate drops from Choconchoc, sweets, mould, chef's hat and instructions. You can see the kit (I unfortunately ate it before I took a photo!) on their website. I have to admit that it took me a few weeks to get up 
As an avid tea drinker I like to think I've drunk my way through a wide range of teas on offer. One thing that is new to me are the teas which are in fact not tea at all. Called tea, I assume, because they come in a bag and you use hot water to extract the flavour. Higher Living sent me two of their herbal teas to try: Sweet Chai and Ginger Kick.
I liked the look of the tea bags; I'm a sucker for teabags with the dangly things and you could smell 
I learnt something about myself the other day: I am not a domestic goddess. Let me explain. I was sent some baking goodies from Baking Mad and I had chosen to attempt their recipe for Maple Pecan cupcakes. I planned to give them to my Mum for an early Mother's Day treat. I went for a walk to the pub last week and was offered a goose egg to take home; excellent for my cupcakes. All was going well and I was ready for baking. In my head I'm swishing 
Kulfi, lassis and other eastern sweet treats fascinate me. I've never attempted to make my own but any excuse to eat a pistachio kulfi is fine by me! For some reason I like lassis (as long as they are super cold) but I really can't abide milkshakes. Bio Green Dairy got in touch and sent me one of their lychee, mango and passion fruit lassi to try.
I like that these aren't too sweet and have a good creaminess but are in fact labelled as low fat. 
Cocktails are something that I like very much. I do attempt to make my own, invariably without the suave moves of a professional mixologist but with the same level of enthusiasm. One issue that I have with making my own is that it always involves planning. It's not a case of me fancying a mojito and happening to have mint, lime, ice and sugar all available at the same time. I can't simply think of pouring myself a Cosmopolitan as I know I won't even 
