Blue July, bright July, Honey flapjacks Month of storms and gorgeous blue; Violet lightnings o'er thy sky, Heavy falls of drenching dew; ... So wrote George Meredith. I certainly saw some lightning in July but not here in Ireland. The spouse, the younger offspring and I were on the continent. Despite the time away from my own hob and oven, I still managed to get some baking done. Pecan toffee shortbread: a favourite My first offering consisted of honey flapjacks from a recipe in the Irish Times . You'll see that the basic recipe can be varied: butter can be replaced by coconut oil and honey by maple syrup. Four days later I made pecan toffee shortbread - a personal favourite. Prize-winners: apple crumble cake and plum and amaretti tray-bake Shortly afterwards I entered the local baking competition, making plum and amaretti cake for the tray-bake section and apple crumble cake for the miscellaneous section. Much to ...