Me and Mr Jones (45 page)
Hollandaise Sauce
2 large
egg yolks
1 dessertspoon lemon juice
1 dessertspoon white wine vinegar
115g butter
1. Start by making the hollandaise sauce. Blend the egg yolks in a food processor or blender for about a minute.
2. Heat the lemon juice and white wine vinegar in a pan until it begins to bubble.
3. Add this mixture to the egg yolks in a slow stream, while the blender is running.
4. Melt the butter over a gentle heat. Once it starts foaming, pour it slowly into the egg mixture, again while the blender is switched on. Slow, steady pouring is the key here!
5. Leave the sauce to one side now while you poach the eggs. Fill a deep saucepan with water and add the vinegar. When boiling, swirl the water to create a vortex (trying not to scald yourself in the process).
6. Break an egg and tip it in, holding the shell as close to the surface as possible.
7. Cook for about 2 minutes and remove with a slotted spoon. (Or, of course, buy yourself an egg poacher and use that, which is what I really should do here.)
8. Repeat with the other eggs, one at a time. Meanwhile, split and toast the muffins, then butter them and add a slice of salmon to each.
9. Top each muffin-half with an egg and then pour over the warm hollandaise to taste.
Blueberry Pancakes
Who can resist a fat fluffy pancake in the morning? Even better, these ones have blueberries in them, making them officially healthy. Well, that’s my excuse anyway.
Serves 4
80g butter
250g plain flour
½ tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
4 tsp caster sugar
2 large eggs
300ml whole milk
A few handfuls of blueberries, plus some extra to serve
Greek yoghurt
Runny honey or maple syrup to serve
1. Melt the butter over a low heat.
2. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl, add the sugar, then form a well in the centre.
3. Beat the eggs, mix with the milk and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter then gradually pour this mixture into the flour, stirring to form a thick batter.
4. Grease a non-stick frying pan with a little of the melted butter and put it on a moderate heat.
5. Fold the blueberries into the batter then spoon 4 separate tablespoons of batter into the pan, leaving space between them.
6. Cook for a minute or so until bubbles begin to appear on the surface, then flip over and cook the other side for another minute.
7. Stack on a plate until all the batter is used up, re-greasing the pan with melted butter between each batch.
8. Serve each pancake with a dollop of yoghurt and fresh blueberries, and drizzle over the honey or syrup to taste.
By the same author
Any Way You Want Me
Over You
Hens Reunited
Sweet Temptation
The Beach Café
Summer with My Sister
Acknowledgements
Enormous thanks to my family, who put up with me while I was writing this book: my husband Martin, and my children Hannah, Tom and Holly. You are all brilliant and lovely people, and I am lucky to have you.
Thanks to the fabulous Lizzy Kremer, my agent, for pep talks, ‘compliment sandwiches’ and all your help. I’m so glad to have you on my side. And thank you, gorgeous Rowan Coleman for introducing us in the first place! The rest of the team at David Higham are wonderful too – thank you, Laura, Ania, Tine and Harriet for all your work on my behalf. I appreciate every single bit of it.
Thank you to my fantastic publishers, Pan Macmillan, in particular Jenny Geras for your wise and perceptive editorial input (and lovely lunches). I’d also like to thank Natasha, Ali, Chloe, Isolde, Jeremy, Geoff and Matt – what a brilliant team. It’s an absolute pleasure to work with you all.
Thanks to everyone at the Bay Hotel in Lyme Regis, which is where I finished writing the last chapters and finally discovered how the story was going to end (thank goodness! It was touch and go at times). Your eggs Benedict breakfast is amazing – every author should start the day with one.
Thanks to the genius children (who wish to remain unnamed) for letting me pinch their carefully crafted Scooby-Doo lyrics, which weren’t at all annoying when sung repeatedly on long car journeys at top volume. I’m certain you all have glittering song-writing careers ahead of you. Or perhaps as foghorns?
Thanks to everyone who has emailed or tweeted me to say they’ve enjoyed my books, or has come to a book signing and told me in person. Your support makes all the hard slog worthwhile. Thank you so much.
Last but definitely not least, a million thanks to Mum, Dad, Phil, Ellie, Fiona, Saba and Ian. You all rock.
First published 2013 by Macmillan
This electronic edition published 2013 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
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www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-4472-3769-3
Copyright © Lucy Diamond 2013
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