Well the sun has been shining again, and looking at the group of friends in my back garden this evening a little too much sun has been had from all the red sunburn patches I can see. ‘Oh that is definitely going to hurt later!’.

I have prepared some tasty delights which will suit all of my guests, as some are vegetarian. The bbq has been on for hours now and sizzling away on top now are some homemade lamb & mint burgers I have made. The jacket pototoes which were wrapped in foil in the coals have come out now and are keeping warm while my mexican delight is finishing in the oven.

While the weathers hot and the wine is flowing, my friends love their spicy flavours to come across in their food. With a large salad freshly prepared I have some homebaked baps, which I have to say are a little on the large side. But I am not going to hear the fella’s complaining and has it happens they have turned out to be the perfect size for my homemade lamb & mint burgers. In these baps I have chopped cucumber, sweet baby plum tomatoes, watercress and cubed feta, on top of which I shall place the lamb & mint burgers which I am serving with a mint & yogurt dip I made earlier.

And for my dear veggy friends mexican potatoes, with a crop of new potatoes fresh out of my garden. I have taken these around a pound in weight and sliced them, added around 5 floz of homemade chicken stock, 1 tin 14oz of kidney beans, 1 tsp of marjoram, 1 - 7oz tin of red pimientos (these make the dish), 1/2 - 1lb of rich smoked bacon from my local butcher & parsley to garnish. Place all this in a casserole dish & cover place in the oven at gas 3/ 160 c / 325 f for about an hour and this is delicious served with salad and a chunk of homemade bread.  (For your homemade bread try my blog loafing around in the morning, about bread machines with recipes for making your own bread as this will go down a storm at your bbq’s)

Although the tequilla should be served after you have eatten, but someone forgot to tell Aidy that one!!

Check out  my previous blog bar-b-q funtime for a great bbq with every practical part to make bbq safe and easy, so if your looking for a bbq to add to your household cooking appliances make sure you read this first, as everyone voted this BBQ a Winner!!. With fathers day just around the corner why not check out my apron blog for a great idea for that special man in your life.  Another blog you may want to visit from a while ago is my man size burger blog your fella will love you for it!

Why not send in your bbq ideas and what your friends and family enjoy at your bbq’s??

I was recently talking about how a smell, a particular food dish, a place or even a tune for example can make you recall a magic moment!

For instance when I smell bread and cakes cooking, I can see my gran, as if it were yesterday. There she is in her best flowery piny (apron as its known today) in full cookery mode in her small but loving farmhouse kitchen. Big cooking pots on the agar, a roaring fire in the open fire place where a shiny kettle hung. Strings of onions hung for drying in the corner and rows of big plates and dishes were displayed upon her kitchen dressers.

The kettle was always on, ready to mash a cup of tea in an instance if a visitor came along with freshly baked cakes or scones freshly baked too. There would always be that baking smell wafting throughout the kitchen, which filtered throughout the entire house. You could smell my Grans cooking as you walked up the long drive to the house. Your mouth would be watering at the thought of what was on offer as soon as you entered the back door and entered the kitchen.

I can remember as a little girl how big that old kitchen farmhouse table was and that I had to stand on tip toe to see what was going on upon the table itself. Gran would grab a stool and then while placing me on top she would go about wrapping me up in one of her enormous pinnies, so I looked the part, of course!

There are some fantastic aprons available in all sizes. Of course to keep you clean but in such fun designs for all the family just take a look here - Cooking Aprons.  There are some great childrens aprons, soyou can involve your younger members of the family into enjoy cooking and baking with you too here  - childrens aprons.  I love this childrens monkey apron. Children will love wearing this apron while helping you out in your kitchen.

Once wrapped in my apron my Gran would place me right in the centre of the action. Within moments I would have my hands in a bowl of mixture, have a rolling pin given to me, be peeling vegetables or be simply putting meat through the mincer (do you remember those hand held mincers?).

It was a true home cooks kitchen. Fresh vegetables adorned the vegetable baskets still intack with the fresh dirt on them, where we had picked or dug them up hours earlier. Fresh bread was always in the oven or on the bread board. The pantry was full of endless preserves of all vegetables, fruits, jams, pickles, all lovingly hand prepared by Gran so we could enjoy seasonal offerings throughout the year. I use to love doing the paper tops and creating the labels for her to dress the jars. Of course game hung in the pantry the odd rabbit, pheasant even goose was always in there. A tin bowl of fresh eggs was always on the side, some of them were still warm.

My Gran taught me how to cook, she made it fun. We had countless sessions at the agar. She taught me about seasonal produce, how to shop, how to preserve and budget for the household. How to grow my own vegetables and what to look for in good produce. I have in turn passed this knowledge on to my children.

She was a  home cook and she would prepare wholesome meals for a family no matter what their age or size. I hope my children will pass on this knowledge again to their children  and I have passed on to them, for there are many a magic moments made while cooking or baking in the kitchen.

Send me one of your fond memories and the food you associate with this memory.