Blackberry Fairy Cake Buns (Blackberry Muffins) Blackberries or brambles, as we used to call them when I was growing up, are natures way of thanking us at the end of a (hopefully) hot summer; just before the children start back to school, and in a myriad of lanes, back roads, gardens and hedgerows, glossy purple…
Snack
Country Cottage Comfort Food: Nanny’s Pan Haggerty
Country Cottage Comfort Food: Nanny’s Pan Haggerty Layers of meltingly tender potatoes, tasty onion slices and molten cheese in one pan, that’s what “Pan Haggerty” is all about, a frugal “end of week” family dish that resonates with me on every comfort food level. I was raised on food like this, and simple though it…
Cheesy Coddled Eggs with Smoked Fish, Sorrel & Dill
Cheesy Coddled Eggs with Smoked Fish, Sorrel & Dill I remember an advert, when I was growing up, it was by the British Egg Marketing Board, and went like this: male guest in a typical boarding house, sits at the breakfast table, the harridan land lady marches in and barks……..“how do you like your eggs,…
Tian Provençal (Summer Vegetable Gratin)
Tian Provençal (Summer Vegetable Gratin) I am avid collector of what is commonly known as “Kitchenalia” nowadays; even before I started to use various bits and bobs for my food styling photos, I was always drawn to a dusty flour dredger or a set of teaspoons, as well as anything resembling an old baking tin. For…
Bed & Breakfast Cheese, Tomato and Garden Herbs Omelette
Bed & Breakfast Cheese, Tomato and Garden Herbs Omelette Close friends (and family) and some of my readers will know that when I am in South West France, I run a Bed and Breakfast. It’s our home too of course, but was bought specifically to run a Chambres d’Hotes as well as a cookery school over…
A Secret Recipe for Meat-Free Monday: Chole Chaat (Chickpea Curry)
A Secret Recipe for Meat-Free Monday: Chole Chaat (Chickpea Curry) Apart from Fish on Friday, a series of fishy posts on Lavender and Lovage inspired by the historical tradition of eating fish on Fridays, I’m not usually a lover of being “spoon fed” into writing posts (and recipes) based on “blogging dietary days of the…
Provençal Stuffed Apricot & Goat’s Cheese Salad with Edible Flowers
Provençal Stuffed Apricot & Goat’s Cheese Salad with Edible Flowers Edible flowers seem to be the “New Black” lately, with many top chefs using them in their Michelin Star restaurants; pubs, cafés and even commercial “refectory” kitchens are adding them to dishes for staff, as my daughter confirmed recently, when she sent me a photo of…
Lobster Newberg with Fresh Scottish Lobster
Lobster Newberg with Fresh Scottish Lobster My mum remembers being treated to freshly cooked lobster served with hot melted butter on her sixteenth birthday; my grandmother used to buy fresh lobster straight from the quayside in Sunderland, where they cost only a few pennies each – they were certainly not just for the wealthy and…
Västerbottensost Cheese and a Swedish Midsummer Menu
Västerbottensost Cheese and a Swedish Midsummer Menu Today, the 19th of June, is Swedish Midsummer……it marks the start of the summer holidays for most Swedes, as well as weekend of revelry, with Maypole dancing, singing, picking berries and flowers as well as enjoying food with family and friends, always outside, weather permitting. By way of…
Butter Griddled Asparagus with Lemon and Aioli
Butter Griddled Asparagus with Lemon and Aioli British asparagus season is between April and June and with just two weeks left in June, I’m grabbing the opportunity to enjoy as much British asparagus as I can. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to buy locally grown Yorkshire asparagus in the farm shop down the road…….as…
A Sultry Summer Salad: Heirloom Tomato & Chive Flower Salad
A Sultry Summer Salad: Heirloom Tomato & Chive Flower Salad Summer has definitely arrived now, with long days of sunshine and fluffy white clouds sliding around azure blue skies……meals have been taken outside mostly – the barbecue has been dragged from its winter storage place, with a view to an abundance of al fresco grilling. My…
Serrano wrapped Asparagus with Baby Gem Lettuce, Bronze Fennel, Aioli, Chives and Goat’s Cheese
Serrano wrapped Asparagus with Baby Gem Lettuce, Bronze Fennel, Aioli, Chives and Goat’s Cheese British asparagus, a seasonal gem and a culinary treat that I look forward to with anticipation. In my part of the world, namely North Yorkshire, we have numerous asparagus farms, so being able to source locally is not an issue, and as the…
Get Summer Started with a Picnic in your Garden with Lots of Picnic Recipes
Get Summer Started with a Picnic in your Garden with Lots of Picnic Recipes Summer is a time for lazing in the garden, taking trips to the seaside, fishing by languid rivers, barbecuing bangers, enjoying fish and chips on the quayside, late night drinks on the terrace and picnics. I don’t have a favourite season really,…
A Carb-Free Snack: Mexican Egg Salad Lettuce Wraps
A Carb-Free Snack: Mexican Egg Salad Lettuce Wraps Eggs are a staple ingredient in my kitchen, mainly due to the fact that we keep chickens, at the bottom of or garden, and as they are nature’s best fast food package – easy to cook and essential for baking. My chickens have been on and off lay…
The Summer Spice Club: Sticky Pulled Chicken Sliders
The Summer Spice Club: Sticky Pulled Chicken Sliders Well summer is almost officially here, not so much based on the date, but on the fact that my husband has dragged the barbecue out of its winter hidey hole and is practising like an ancient “Fire God” on his charring skills. Not a day goes by when…
