Oh what a beautiful day...

Frilly tulips...


Pretty forget-me-nots


This striking little fellow


does anyone know what it's called?


one of my car boot treasures, 20p unfortunately it has a hairline crack, and no saucer, but it is so beautifully delicate and hand-painted too, if you look carefully you can see the tiny brushstrokes.


The perfect lunch on a warm sunny day


I made this simple pasta sauce from a tin of sainsburys taste the difference cherry tomatoes (49p a tin) that I discovered the over day, a little bit more expensive than your bog standard tinned tomatoes, but definately worth the extra.
I made it with what I had left over in the fridge and what I had in the garden so very cheap and low effort.

1. simmer the tin of tomatoes on the hob with a few sprigs of thyme (or basil, parsley, oregano what ever you have in the garden) and a 1 or 2 crushed garlic cloves for about 10 mins, stirring occasionally, and squashing some the tomatoes with the back of the spoon if you want.

2. stir in about a tablespoon of low fat creme fraiche (if you have it) to thicken the sauce a little (although the sauce in the tin is quite thick already) season to taste, and heat through for a further 5 mins.

3. tip the sauce into the pan of cooked and drained pasta and stir through coating the pasta, letting it sit for a minute or two allowing it to soak up some of the sauce.

4. serve in a bowl crumbling over some feta or goats cheese (or grated Parmesan, what ever you have in the fridge really) sprinkle with a few fresh thyme leaves (or other fresh herb), bit of black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil if your feeling a bit like Jamie.

5. Crack open a bottle of chilled white wine!

I would say this would do two generous bowls of pasta, but for more, just double the quantity.