Why sugar plum fairy, you might ask. She's a character in Tchaikovsky's ballet Nutcracker. And she's a keeper of sweets. Such as the sweet I'm about to make - plum leather.

Today I worked all day in the hospice kitchen - believe it or not - a wonderful place to work.

As you will soon be able to see from my avatar - drawn by the incredibly talented Margaret Tolland - my universe is filled with food. If it was up to me this blog would be an edible one filled with gooey chocolate, freshly baked bread and home made pizza. Mind you, not all at the same time.