For the love of Jam...

I am a huge jam fan and nothing tingles my taste buds more than a deliciously sweet home-made jam.

Whether it's drizzled on ice cream in the Summer or to melt into steaming porridge as the mornings get colder, there is nothing that takes me back to childhood more than a home-made jam.

Mayflower's Apple and Damson Jam

When I visited my friends at Mayflower Events in the Summer their kitchen was a hive of activity with gorgeous vintage jars being filled up with red syrupy goodness and a pan on the cooker, releasing the sweet smell of apples and damsons boiling in sugar. It could only mean one thing. Jam time.

Mayflower's Apple and Damson jam wasn't quite ready back then, so I waited patiently until my very own jar arrived on my doorstep this month...

Vintage style jar with handwritten label completes the package

It was worth the wait. It tasted just like I thought it would, the right amount of sweetness with the delicate taste of the damsons. It was like a complete Summer country harvest in a jar.

A swirl was just the thing to finish off my first bowl of porridge this Autumn, served with seeds, dried mixed fruit and goji berries. A perfect start to any October morning if you ask me.

Delicious swirled into porridge 

It's not going to last long in our house though, it's perfect on a doorstep slice of toast and I am sure there's been talk of scones being baked especially for it....now where is the clotted cream?

You NEED to try in on a slice of crusty white bread too.

Follow Mayflower Events on Twitter HERE or on Facebook HERE or visit their brand new website HERE 

Let’s do breakfast...

....at the S&M Cafe, London

My vote for the totally British brekkie at the S&M made the Top 10 Breakfast Destinations in Delicious Magazine's feature...and what a breakfast it is....

And I maintain that the ALL-DAY VEGGIE BREAKFAST (£7.50) crammed full of veggie sausage, egg, baked beans, mushroom, tomatoes, hash browns and toast  (no mushrooms please) is the best start to any weekend. It comes with a FREE cuppa or filter coffee too.

Feeling less hungry? The WORKERS BREAKFAST (£4.95) with any three items and some yummy toast is a great middle-man between  the big boy and my 'health concious' morning coffee and BOILED EGG AND TOASTED SOILDERS (£2.75)

Or suppose you're feeling a bit ropey? Get a Bloody Mary down you or go all out with an AM Bucks Fizz! If you can't quite face the hair of the dog, just get another banger ordered and the super staff will wing it straight over to your table. As the gals and guys at S&M promise, you do 'come sad and leave happy!'

Have a look at the full menu and get your day-break juices flowing LOOK AT THE MENU 

The Essex Road, Islington cafe will always have memories for me of lazy days in N1, but it's served its last banger, so Spitalfields it is...48 Brushfield Street, London, E1 | 020 7247 22 52  FIND IT HERE

After all, who doesn't love a little S&M in the morning?