You’ve left it WAY too late to book anything so what are you going to do???? Or maybe you never had any intention of going anywhere and just want to stay in and be good to yourself.

BE romantic.

Get some ingredients together to make some amazing food, set the scene with candles and put on a romantic soundtrack.

I can help you with the soundtrack – some beautiful tunes (21) are on my spotify playlist for the book – Good Enough Novel, my favourite is track no.17 The Promise by Tracy Champman. – click HERE for the most romantic spotify playlist in the world.

Another favourite is Feeling Good – Nina Simone – get a feel for the vibes from that chapter in the book by checking out my instagram reel for Chapter 20 – click below to view.

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Wondering what to cook – can I suggest Fillet Steak with a Jameson Jus as featured in Chapter 6. For lots of other food options check out lots of other recipes right here on the blog through menus or search box.

Speaking of the book – it’s not too late to get hold of a digital copy of Good Enough or maybe even a paperback could be delivered on time too. (Currently available from various sources online and in Dubray book store in Cork City).

Or how about some Damien Rice Vibes

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For dessert there needs to be chocolate and maybe something light like these Trio of Valentine’s Millefeuille Hearts

♥♥♥Happy Valentine’s to you ♥♥♥ xx Sheila

So yes, I brought my romance novel Good Enough on a trip to Berlin just before Christmas 2021 and we thoroughly enjoyed the trip. My daughter had arranged a jam-packed itinerary for us and we had barely dropped the bags before we were out the door again for brunch and then heading East to see the wall.

Berlin is vast and the size of it really struck me. It does not have the intimacy of neighbouring capitals like Paris or Amsterdam but it is a mecca for the history lover.

Museum after museum and then the Christmas markets and shopping followed. Plus eating of course. There was lots of eating and we made it our business to sample local fare. As my first experience of German Christmas markets it superseded my expectations, bustling Christmas villages in effect, some with ice-skating, fully functioning restaurants and all with numerous stalls of Christmas paraphernalia and abundant food stalls.

For me, one of the highpoints of the trip was the hotel. Sheer decadence. After lots of walking during the day it was the perfect sojourn for the weary traveller. Chosen for its location I was a little hesitant at what lay in store for us as the website for the hotel seemed so risqué (or am I a prude?). It is fabulous. The rooms are luxurious, (I do love a well stocked mini bar) and the restaurant food was excellent.

Located close to the underground ( U-Bahn at Konstanzer Str ) and within easy walking distance of Kurfürstendamm (the Ku Damm) where we explored every floor of the extravagant department store Kaufhaus des Westens (Ka-De-We) – which I can only describe as being like Harrods on speed, incredible. I can highly recommend Provocateur especially if you would like to stay somewhere romantic in Berlin.

xo Sheila

‘Apple Crumble’

You will need:

2kgs of cooking apples
50g caster sugar (for cooking the fruit)
100g plain flour
50g wholemeal flour
50g porridge oats
100g unsalted butter
200g light golden brown sugar
Butter to grease baking dish

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170oC/Gas Mark 5.
Core, peel and chop the apples into smallish chunks and cook in a saucepan with a splash of water and the caster sugar over a medium heat until softening (still with a bit of bite and not a pulp). This takes about 5 minutes.
Put the plain and wholemeal flours and the oats into a mixing bowl and chop in the butter.
Use your fingertips to crumble the flour, oats and butter together until it starts to resemble breadcrumbs.
Add the brown sugar and mix well with a fork.
Place the cooked apples in a large greased baking dish and scatter the crumble mixture on top – press it down lightly but do not over-compact it.
Bake for 35–40 minutes.
Delicious on its own, even better with custard or vanilla ice-cream.

After eating a couple of the freshly baked sausage rolls for tea, Eva tucked into a portion of the crumble. Adorned with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream it was delicious.

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Click here to find the romance novel ‘Good Enough’ by Sheila Kiely