Just took a couple of quick snaps outside Tesco in Levenshulme, after I'd run in for a bottle of rioja. Red sky at night, shepherd's delight. 

The other Sunday evening, we were bored of sitting around so headed out to a favourite walk of ours. The weather looked like it was about to tip it down, but we headed out anyway towards the Peaks, through Stockport and Disley.

The black clouds and the sun setting created some really dramatic light on these photos. The walk was fantastic, although it was really windy at the top. At the top of the hill you can see right across Stockport and Manchester, and you can even see the Beetham Tower on a couple of the pics if you look closely.

Getting ready to celebrate National Cheesecake Day tomorrow (in the US, but am campaigning for it to be a national holiday here in the UK), I dug out my favourite recipe of all time.

I ripped this out of Delicious magazine about six years ago and it lives folded up inside my Delia bible cookbook and is covered in splatters of past glorious cheesecakes.

It's beautiful and rich because it uses full-fat cream cheese, double cream AND marscapone. I miss out the coffee because it's the work of the devil and I also experiment with different biscuit bases - Maryland choc chip cookies are one of the best.

Now lastly, the recipe includes a chocolate sauce which you pour all over the finished cheesecake JUST to make it even more indulgent and delicious.

Go and enjoy!

PS. No, I've never made the lemon and lime tart with Limoncello, but I intend to very soon!

This month I've been doing some PR work for the upcoming Threadbare exhibition by Debbie Smyth at Manchester Craft and Design Centre. She was given an award at last year's Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair (which I also do the PR for) - and this exhibition is her prize.

Debbie was one of my favourite exhibitors at last year's GNNCF because her work is just so unique and striking. The best way to describe it is drawings with thread, where she just works with pins and black thread but creates these really intricate images. Some of her work is 3d with the threads going right across a room.

She's been in the Craft and Design Centre all week installing her latest piece, which is inspired by her last two trips to the Northern Quarter. As she's on site working away all week, visitors have been watching her as they come in and are also able to talk to her.

I went down today to take some photos which can you see here. The exhibition launches on Saturday, July 3 and runs until October 30. Full details are here: http://www.craftanddesign.com/exhibitions/debbiesmyth

If you've not been to the Craft and Design Centre it's worth a visit, and try the black cherry ice cream!

This is my favourite shot from some photos I was taking down at Salford Quays on Friday evening. A hot sweaty day turned into a torrential downpour before the sun coming out again for some cloudy evening shots.

We also stopped at Cafe Rouge for dessert, but it's not to be recommended. Average desserts, slow service and a vile glass of wine made me wonder why there are no decent pavement cafes in this canalside setting. The whole area was so quiet, even on this sunny Friday evening but I enjoyed the solitude and pretended I was on holiday for a few hours.

Just paid a little visit to Ho's bakery in Chinatown. Two custard tarts and two pork buns only came to £3.60. 

Think I'll have to try out some more bakery goods for a full review. 

(This photo was taken with my Palm Pre, and am not v happy with the quality of the image.)

Walking home from work on a wet Monday evening, I thought the Manchester wheel looked pretty cool. Assume it was lit up pink for Valentine's Day.
Took this on my little cybershot so it's a bit blurry but I quite like it.

Manchester got some good snow today. Everything closed down, buses stopped running and no one could get to work.

Well, except me who works from home already. But I did take a lunchbreak to go for a stroll round Highfield Park and enjoy the Narnia scenes.

I've tasted the best steak in the world. Just look at these photos...

Down in the Cotswolds for a long weekend, we were mooching around Stroud because it was far too rainy and miserable to actually do anything. 

We called into Tony's Butchers to stock up on a few essentials ready for the week ahead in Manchester.

Just as we were paying, a butchered cow was brought in the shop in huge chunks. 

Tony told us this was a grass-fed rare breed Shetland cow, and he'd probably never have another one in his shop again.

Standing in the sandwich shop ever, the husband and I looked at each other, thinking the same thing: "I want some of that beef."

 We put in an order for two sirloins and went to sit in the car for half an hour to await our chunks of beef.

The two HUGE sirloins only came to £13 - and if I'd have known just how delicious it would be, I'd have brought home half the cow. 

The marbling was delicate and fine, like veins on a leaf, and the fat was a beautiful yellow colour. This cow was purely grass-fed, which is unusual for a beef cow because they are usually fattened up on grain.

Sizzled under a hot grill to crisp up the outside, and the inside soft pink, meant this was a rather superb and special meal, if I do say so. It needed nothing but a dab of homemade mayo, roast sweet potatoes and tender stem broccoli to make sure nothing overpowered the sweet fatty taste of sirloin steak.

I would happily eat mostly vegetarian food, if it meant that when I did eat meat, it was like THIS! Once you've had a truly good steak, there's no going back. 

Check out Tony's Butchers if you're ever loitering around Stroud.


www.tonysbutchers.co.uk.