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Having followed a strict régime minceur for three weeks, I am in a sentimental mood, remembering all those toothsome carbohydrates and their seductive charms. A wise man once said that the discontents of the present can be alleviated by memories of past pleasures, and anticipation of future ones. So I’ll put it to the test…

I grew up in Florida eating big bowls of ice cream for dessert, and discovered in Wisconsin that there’s either a beer tavern or an ice cream shop on every corner. Thus I learned that our national love for ice cream is unaffected whether you live in a hot or a cold place.

Graeter’s is a family-owned Ohio ice cream maker, famous for its Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip flavor, but I like this Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip.

“I’m waiting for Graeter’s new flavor: chicken liver giblet chip!”

Every so often, I make meringue kisses with Eggs from Happy Chickens. For these, I swirled a little blackberry jam on top, and they turned out looking like roses! I have loved these treats since learning to make them in Girl Scouts when I was ten.

A dozen fragrant beauties…

After inheriting some Swedish Berggren china, I made this fika with scones, mascarpone to stand in for clotted cream, molasses cookies, and Wasa bread with orange marmalade.

Note to self: do not use whole wheat flour in scones. But the cookies were good.

I still have a powerful sense-memory of the perfume in these rose and violet-infused chocolate creams from Fortnum and Mason.

Out of this world with black tea.

Jerome goes into oracular mode and signals that I should be consuming more carbs, in the form of French boules, or perhaps cinnamon rolls.

These miniature lemon pound cakes were easy to make in a mini-muffin tin. All you have to do is reduce the baking time to about 12 minutes.

Lemons: the one item you should always have on hand in the kitchen…

“I am a nudist voluptuary and highly recommend it…” #NoBodyShaming

I left the best till last: ginger almond nougat. It cannot be had for love or money here, and making nougat from scratch is a job for experts.

Surely you have guessed by now that the reason for my régime is so I can eat whatever I want in London? PS: London, I LOVE YOU