For me, September is a month of transition, I feel an urge to desperately cling on to the remains of summer, but am also looking forward to Autumn’s harvest which promises to be extra abundant this year - the wild bounty of autumn berries and fruits have been much enhanced by the hot summer and... Continue Reading →
Fresh Raspberry Jelly recipe
Ingredients: Flavourless oil, such as groundnut, for greasing jelly mould 5/6 Gelatin leaves (depending on size, you need enough for 600ml if liquid) 500g Fresh Raspberries (or whatever you want to use) 140g of caster sugar juice 1 lemon Whole berries and mint leaves for garnishing ice cream or cream for serving Method: Lightly grease... Continue Reading →
A piece of family history put to use
My mum keeps everything... I often tease her about it, but a couple of years ago she unearthed a vintage jelly mould that had belonged to her grandmother. It is beautifully old fashioned, like something you would expect to see in an illustration from Bramley hedge. This beautiful piece of family history inspired me to... Continue Reading →
Homemade lemonade
Ingredients: 2 1/2 lemons 50g caster sugar 350ml water (still or sparkling) Cucumber slices, mint leaves and strawberries for garnishing Method: Cut one of the lemons into chunks and pop into a blender, add in the juice of the remaining 1 1/2 lemons, the sugar and 100m of still water. Blend well, until the lemon... Continue Reading →
Summery refreshments
Thankfully the beast from the east is a distant memory, but we have been enjoying at least one silver lining it left behind. The colder than average March meant that this year’s spring blossom has been condensed over a shorter time span - but has bloomed in absolutely amazing glory. The plum and crab apple... Continue Reading →
Gorse, glorious gorse
We have just completed another phase of drainage work at Lochaberfarm which is an essential part of the upkeep of the land, and will, we hope, provide a more fertile and productive area of land with which to farm. I wrote back in March last year a post about the wonder of drains - which I have come to... Continue Reading →
Gorse Flower ice cream recipe
Here's the full recipe for Gorse flower ice cream, as mentioned in Saturday 19th May 2018 edition of the Dundee Courier. Ingredients 2 cups of gorseflowers 300ml of whole milk 300ml double cream 6 egg yolks 150g caster sugar Method Gently heat the milk and cream together in a saucepan. When warm, add the gorse... Continue Reading →
Sampling Fife’s seafood
Living in Fife we are able to take advantage of the most amazing langoustines landed on our bountiful coastline. A large percentage of those caught in Fife disappear overseas - but they are available to buy here. There really is nothing better than fresh langoustine, and although appearances may be deceiving, they are easier than... Continue Reading →
3 ways with Rhubarb
This unusual vegetable, which is commonly thought of as a fruit, is one of the first beauties to emerge in the Spring garden. The early or forced shoots are tender and sweet and are a delightful pale pink colour. There are many uses for it. Rhubarb and ricotta bread and butter pudding * Serves: 8... Continue Reading →
Nutrient rich nettles
Cooking with nettles is not something new, and I have heard about it frequently over the years. However, I’ve never tried them before. In part, because I’ve been unsure how and when to harvest these little stingers, and, since having kids, have made every attempt to steer everyone well clear of them. But…nothing ventured, nothing... Continue Reading →
