Water Lily Shortbread Cookies

These are so much fun to make, especially if you have kids. Start with a basic sugar cookie recipe, I prefer a rich shortbread such as empire biscuits. Cut into circles, bake and cool. Prepare royal icing, color and get creative! You can form little creatures as I did with sugar gum paste. I didn't have any on hand and settled for white chocolate fondant which gets very soft and is hard to handle. Regardless I was happy with the outcome. I hope you like them too.

Roasted Garlic, Fig Goat Cheese and Preserve

This is the perfect light lunch or can be served as an appetizer. Do not be afraid of the garlic, as it is roasted there will be no after taste, you'll still be able to attend that afternoon meeting and not worry about scaring people away. You can use any preserve you can find, I prefer to go with a higher quality artisan brand you can find in specialty stores, they also tend to have less glucose and preservatives you just can't avoid in supermarket brands. I used Plum Tart Jam. Serve with rosemary crackers, or crackers of your choice. Serves two.

Method:
Roll goat cheese into a ball, then roll in poppy seeds until coated.
Cut garlic head off by 2mm, pour olive oil over top, salt and pepper to taste. Roast garlic in oven on broil setting for 15 minutes or until golden brown and soft.