If you start looking for crab apples in the Autumn, you will be amazed at how many you will find. A couple of years ago my friend Gilly gave me a large bag of pink crab apples from her mum’s… Read More ›
autumn
Apple and Elderberry Crumble
When you are out picking blackberries, don’t forget that elderberries make a good addition to a crumble too! Elderberry trees tend to be found in the same sorts of places as blackberry bushes so if you are lucky you can… Read More ›
Making Blackberry Gin and Vodka – and Llama Trekking…
You may recall that recently I have given tap dancing, cheerleading, indoor sky diving, wakeboarding and singing a go, all thanks to a group I belong to with the aim of trying out new experiences. Each month or so one… Read More ›
Pear and Blackberry Muffins
So the days are drawing in and the air and light are different. Autumn is on its way. Which, while it means an end to the long days of summer, is still a good thing in itself. New fruits and… Read More ›
Blackberry Cake Bars
In my memory, blackberry picking always took place in the cold on the windswept downs of the Isle of Wight. So every year I am surprised when blackberries appear in abundance in August. Luckily we have some at the end… Read More ›
Sloe Gin revisited – and Happy Christmas to all!
I made loads of sloe gin in the autumn with the express intention of giving it as presents. So I have been really pleased with how well it has turned out and how beautiful it looks in proper sloe gin… Read More ›
Vegetable Box Cooking – Butternut Squash and Goat’s Cheese Risotto
I have my lovely cousin Kimberley to thank for teaching me how to make risotto. I have always avoided it because I didn’t think I really liked it. I think the one time I tried to make it I may… Read More ›
Chocolate Brownies with beetroot – shh, don’t tell the kids!
I had some beetroot in my vegetable box this week, which always seems like a good thing at the time but I generally spend a week wondering what to do with it. Last time I had beetroot I made a Chocolate and… Read More ›
The Ultimate Winter (and Autumn) Couscous – and a trip to Ottolenghi
Those of you who regularly follow my blog will know that main dishes are not my forte. And cooking for vegetarians, despite having spent 8 years as a vegetarian myself, really throws me into a tailspin. Add in a cookery book… Read More ›
Deep Blackberry and Apple Streusel – or posh crumble, perfect for entertaining
The picture really does not do this dessert justice. I had thought I would try to take one of a slice the following morning, in the daylight and with time to set it up nicely. As it was I barely… Read More ›