Category: Winter
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Cider vinegar muffins, egg & salad
I was very keen to have a go at this week’s ShortandTweet Challenge as one of the recipes was for these muffins. And that meant I could use our hens’ eggs in the recipe and the cider vinegar I had made earlier in the year. A bonus was the chance to incorporate some foraged salad…
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Llŷn Peninsula sunset 12th January 2012
On our way back home tonight the sky was alight with the most beautiful colours. We drove down to the Promenade in Pwllheli to take these pictures from the beach. The dark lump to the far left is one of the St Tudwal Islands known for their wildlife. We often have spectacular sunsets: this was…
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A new haggis recipe from Wales, via London
Haggis is one of my most favourite savoury meat dishes. It’s spiced and has a nutty smoothness. It’s a great way of using offal and an economical make-ahead dish. Traditionally it’s made with a sheep’s heart, lungs and liver (the ‘pluck’), mixed with oatmeal, suet, onions and spices and packed into the sheep’s stomach. It’s…
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Chickweed recipes: pakora & hot dressed salad
I picked a load of chickweed (stellaria media) after I took all the pictures for this post on the 52 Week Salad Challenge. It’s a very versatile ingredient. When at its peak like this it can be easily eaten raw and is also great cooked. As the plant gets older it can get a bit…
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52 Week Salad Challenge – January pickings
Michelle over at Veg Plotting suggested on twitter the other day a challenge to grow or forage some salad every week of the year. It’s a great idea and so I’m joining in. I thought it would be fun to see what was available at this time of the year. We’ve had a very mild…
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Haggis Lasagne Recipe
I made a huge pile of haggis yesterday that we had with pearl barley risotto. To continue the Hibernian/Italian theme, I ‘ve paired it with home-made pasta today. The roasted tomato passata, dried tomatoes and preserved courgettes are all bounty from the summer: saved for a winter treat. I’ll add the recipe for all this…
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Mutton roasted with amaretti-date spiced marinade
I’ll confess that I wasn’t planning to blog this recipe. However, the reaction of friends on twitter and the team here was so good that I had to share. And that’s why there isn’t a fab picture of the cooked dish: it got eaten before the camera could record it. Sorry. I wanted to cook…
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Apple, almond & date cake recipe
This cake is so simple and stunningly satisfying. It has a crunchy top and moist inside. The flavours are pleasingly complex with spicy sweet/tart apples contrasting with rich toffee-like roasted dates. The spelt flour and almonds give the cake a substantial nutty body. It tastes great warm straight from the oven or cool later on.…
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Chestnut ravioli with brocciu
Like many English people, I have a love affair with Corsica. It’s partly because of this: Corsica has a fantastic blend of Mare et Monte: sea and mountains. It’s why I live in North Wales, to be with môr a mynydd. But Corsica smells different too: it has the maquis. The maquis is a mixture…