One of the really great things about my job is that I get to meet so many interesting people. One of the first clients I had when I started my business over three years ago is well known in the world of preserves...if you know a thing or two about jam then you’ll probably have heard of Vivien Lloyd.
She makes the most divine jams and has just finished her first book, ‘First Preserves’. Last week I was delighted to be invited to the launch of her book at Topping bookshop in Bath. It was lovely to see Viv again and to partake in a spot of yummy jam and chutney tasting (her raspberry jam was my absolute favourite).
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| Vivien and I at Topping book shop. Image thanks to Rob Walster |
First Preserves is a great introduction to the world of preserves and is so easy to understand. Each recipe has step by step illustrations, so you can see exactly what your jam should look like at each stage, it’s jam packed (see what I did there!?) with information. I could have done with a book like this last year when my hubby and I decided we were going to make homemade gifts for everyone for Christmas. We made sweet chilli jam, whisky marmalade and Vivien’s apple chutney, it took forever to find the perfect recipes and, as we used the internet for most of them, the instructions were pretty sparse. Luckily, our gifts went down a treat, it was a lovely experience making them, far more enjoyable and rewarding than franticly buying present’s last minute like we normally do.
Cooking is a relatively new thing for me; I used to help my mum in the kitchen when I was little but that was relatively short lived.
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| Mum and I cooking Sunday roast. |
Busy lives and tight budgets have long been my (very poor) excuse for lack of culinary skills. However, my jam making last year re-ignited a love of cooking and since then I’ve been spending far more time in the kitchen. This year I’m going to make these Christmas cupcakes which I spotted on the very inspiring
I love Crafty blog What are you looking forward to giving this Christmas? Are you making your gifts?
