There are souls in this world who have the gift of finding joy everywhere, and leaving it behind them when they go.
―
Hey, Lovelies.
I received a delightful gift in the mail yesterday. The author Mary-Lou Stephens had a give-away for readers of her newsletter, and I was fortunate enough to win a copy of her latest book The Last Of The Apple Blossom. It’s actually a fortuitous replacement for me – I loaned my own copy of the book to someone, and forgotten who took it. (If this was you, please keep it – I have another copy now, and this one is signed by the author!).
The Last Of The Apple Blossom is a great read. It’s set in Tasmania, Australia, and weaves history, family, love and friendship into a tale of hope and resilience – it’s about women who stitch lives and families and communities together after loss, and you will keep thinking about Mary-Lou’s characters long after you turn the last page.
Mary-Lou was also kind enough to include a recipe book she had used for her research into the Tasmanian Apple industry, titled The Australian Apple Recipe Book. I decided to open the book at random, and make a recipe from those pages.
This is what I will be baking today. I’ll let you know how it goes!
It sounds yummy, and very old-fashioned, which is how I like things. I have all the ingredients to hand, and I love trying new recipes. I think this will go very well with a cup of tea. I’ll just have to approximate how big to make the baking tin!
If you love books you may also enjoy Mary-Lou’s memoir Sex, Drugs and Meditation, which I reviewed in a blog post here back in 2013.
May today bless you with kindness too, and something tasty to go with a cup of tea.
Love, hugs and the crispy sweetness of good apples, Nicole xx
Two of my favourite things, cooking and reading, great weather for it too xx
How lovely indeed