As you can see from the title I have received another brilliant book review which I am very proud of. I have a 5 star rating for my third book in the “Baking at its Best” series – Summer Picnic Recipes.

This is the review:-

Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers’ Favorite

Picnic lunches, or even lunches at home, are a challenge in creativity, especially when children are involved. All those picky eaters with ever-changing mood swings and culinary likes and dislikes make meal planning, at any time of the day, a chance for failure. But, there’s no reason one has to stick with the standard lunchtime fare, either at home or on a picnic. There are other options: like Scotch eggs, corned beef pasties, cheese crackers, vegetable tarts, and so much more. And don’t forget the chocolate chip cookies, a must in any child’s diet.

V. Dale has done it again. Using much loved family recipes from her own kitchen, this author has created yet another delectable little cook book. Baking at its Best: Summer Picnic Recipes is a small collection, only fourteen recipes, but is packed with useful ideas that will entice others to create their own unique lunchtime treats for picnics or for home. Each recipe is well laid out with clear instructions. There is a colorful image to show the finished product and a useful list of nutritional contents. If the product has the potential to contain allergens, the author makes a note of that as well. For example, for the mini picnic sausage rolls, she mentions that some sausages contain sulphites, an allergen, and in some people this can cause an allergic reaction. Also, following each recipe, the author provides useful suggestions on how to alter the recipe to accommodate different dietary restrictions, especially allergies. I found this particularly useful as, with multiple food allergies, I’m always looking for ways to alter a recipe so that I can enjoy it, too. As always, a neat, concise little book packed with lots of delicious ideas. 

My plans for this week are to bake some cake pops for “National Cake Pop Day” which is coming up soon. There is a “National Stuffed Mushroom Day” and “National Homemade Soup Day” too so plenty of options ahead for some interesting baking. I didn’t manage to bake anything for many of the Foodie Calendar Days so this next month I will try harder.

My latest video which I shared has been received very well. This “Cakes I have Baked“was a fun video which my husband made many years ago that I shared at the weekend. It has put me in the mood to record some more baking videos soon but I do have two which need editing that I can share in the near future.

Giant Doughnut Pizza

For the rest of today, I am working on my Giant Baked Doughnut Pizza idea as I am intending to add it to my webshop in the near future. I am going to bake some of my webshop ideas again but update the photos (with the help a photography friend ) to achieve better quality photos but as my new lighting has been delivered I might just have a practice today on my own and see how I go.

Page turning the new book

Also, I am re-writing and re-photographing some of my recipes in the books as I think they need a little tweak here and there but I have only noticed these changes I want to make because I have the paperback copies in my possession now. It is all go, go, go here at the moment.