Hi there, Reader

And here I am, working in my office for the first time in over three months, because Chester got the all clear on Wednesday! 🥳 His bones have healed, his metal work is perfectly in place, and he can gradually return to normal activities over the next 4 weeks.

That means things (life, work/new recipes, etc) can start getting back to normal. I'm so relieved that this period of our lives is coming to an end. I even bought myself a bottle of bubbly to celebrate when I left the appointment with his surgeon!

With longer days and some sunshine finally here, I hope you’re finding time to enjoy being outdoors this month. I know we will be, in between catching up on some recipe development that is!

Let's take a look at some of May's highlights!

MAY'S MOST POPULAR RECIPE 🏆

GET THE RECIPE

This easy wholewheat bread recipe has been most popular this month.

Demetria says, "This is my first time making bread, but it will not be my last. It came out amazing. Thank you for sharing this easy-to-follow recipe!" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alice says, "It was my first time making bread at home - made a perfect magnificent loaf of bread, will keep making this!!!" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nathalie says, "Just made this bread for the first time, and it came out perfectly! The instructions were so simple!” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TOP 10 SAVED RECIPES IN MAY 💜

Click the little floating purple heart on my website to save your favourite recipes to your own recipe box!

RECIPES PUBLISHED/UPDATED IN MAY 🏆

(In case you missed them the 1st time around)

⭐️ FAVE READER REVIEWS ⭐️

For a chance to have your comment featured, rate & leave feedback on the recipes you love on my website!

PORTOBELLO POT ROAST

"This is delicious!! I love traditional Pot Roast, but I'm looking for ways to decrease meat in my diet. This is the first vegetarian/vegan recipe that comes so close to the meat dish that it actually satisfied my craving for it!! Thank you for such a brilliant recipe. I can't wait to try more of your recipes!!" - Becka ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BANANA SMOOTHIE

"You're not kidding Mel - this 100% tastes like banana bread! 5☆" - Boston ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A large pot filled with creamy, orange-colored chickpea curry with visible green herbs and sun-dried tomatoes. A wooden spoon rests inside the pot, suggesting the dish is freshly prepared. Next to the pot is a bowl containing mashed potatoes seasoned with black pepper. The scene is set on a wooden surface with a beige napkin in view. — 📌 PIN FOR LATER

MARRY ME CHICKPEAS

"This was insanely good and I'm about to make it for a second time in as many weeks." - Rachelle ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

CHOCOLATE COCONUT BANANA BREAD

"Amazing, thank you for another wonderful recipe!" - Angie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THIS MONTH'S 5⭐️ READS 📖

These are my 5-star reads this month (if you didn't know I'm a huge bookworm!):

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
The Favorites by Layne Fargo
The Names by Florence Knapp

I had someone moaning at me after one of these emails, because "buying books is not eco-friendly," and I thought I'd take their negative assumptions and turn them into a positive, by letting you all know about the Libby app (in case you're not already aware of it).

It's free and can be used worldwide. Search for it in the app store, join your local library, connect it to Libby, and you can borrow audiobooks or Kindle books free (with one caveat if you're in Canada - you can only send the Kindle books to a phone, tablet, or Kobo ereader. You can't send them to a Kindle).

And that's where all the books I read come from, so put that in your pipe and smoke it, Susan...🤓