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Pop Up Christmas Market Been making lots of food for sale and here are some of the examples ...

Recipe #203 - Blackberry & Thyme Syrup So I had a bit of a giggle doing this recipe around Halloween. The final product is, I have to say, divine! You can find the recipe in the section on cocktails and Liqueurs (page 100) of homemade by Yvette van Boven.

Recipe #201- Doggy Biscuits Made with just flour, beef stock, olive oil and an egg these little treats are super easy to make. Here I have wrapped them for a pop- up Christmas market I am organising in my home for the 6th of December. I am doing this event in aid of and to raise money for local independent beekeepers in west London. Anyway, I digress; this recipe marks over 200 hundred recipes I have now completed out of Yvette van Boven's homemade. You can find the method to make 'm for yourself on page 399.

Recipe #200 - Chicken Biscuits For this milestone I decided to make some treats for my canine friends. On page 399 of Homemade by Yvette van Boven you can find how to make three types of dog biscuits that dog will love. Easy to make and ever so cute shaped into this little mini bones.

Recipe #199 - Morning Smoothie Well it's a glorious crisp sunny morning in London and that can only get better with this pretty in pink smoothie. For full recipe refer to homemade page 42.

I was really looking forward to making and eating this and it’s probably the most expensive recipe in the book. Maybe I am a bit of a Bouillabaisse purist but I just felt it was lacking richness and depth. So whilst I am without doubt will return I the slow version of this soup at least JM my fancy Frenchman loved it.

Recipe #197 - Lamb Balls with Sesame & Coriander Salsa. You can find the instructions for this easy recipe on page 122 of Homemade by Yvette van Boven. These got the big thumbs up by T &Y who would like them served at their wedding as part of the canapé offer. I really liked making these and the spice blend is fantastically aromatic.

For this recipe you need to make some caramel sauce which is the only calorific and tricky bit. JeanMarc is often subjected to eat the dishes I cook at weird times and I made him eat this dessert for breakfast. He didn't complain and pretty much wolved it down. Hurrah!

I ❤️Beurre Blanc and the whole dish just works so well together though I dread to think what it will do to my arteries and my waistline! Altogether I cannot wait to make it again as I know I will improve my technique. When all is said and done I would still give it a good 8 and would really enjoy eating this again.

Cucumber Salad.

Recipe #194 - Parisian Apple Tartlet(s) I had been putting of making this recipe for a long time as it appeared a little complicated to make at first. I should have made it a long time ago as it was really quite easy there are just a few components to it. My French lovely rated this 8.5 with his sweet palette but I actually thought it was really really good on the account that the apples retained texture and were nice and tart.

Recipe #193 - Smoked Mackerel with Watercress, White Beans and Tasty Tomatoes This dish is super easy to assemble and great to hold on to the the fast disappearing summer. For me the recipe lacked seasoning and I think that's probably because mackerel in Holland has a much stronger smoked flavour to the one I bought in the UK.

Part of why this challenge has been taking as long as it has is because I try to use seasonal ingredients from the allotment. This recipe was made out of nearly three kg of yellow frying tomatoes. Mr Heinz can keep his version for this one is way more delicious.

Recipe #191 - Chunky Chowder We ate this with my old friend Dawn from Dublin. Throughout the meal she did her best Nigella expression. I really like this. I replaced the ham with a smoked trout and added some prawns which really worked. When I asked Dawn to rate the chowder she said it was yum out of ten!

Recipe #190 - Apple & Date Chutney I fully intended to upload this one tomorrow. I made it to accompany some herby pork sausages on a barbecue /picnic with friends but I figured I would be to busy enjoying their company and so decided to give you a little preview of the picnic basket in its infancy. I will let you know how friends rate this easy recipe soon.