Month: January 2012

  • Vinaigrette Recipe – Salad dressings No. 1

    Writer and permaculture enthusiast Emma Cooper & her husband Pete came to us for a very enjoyable visit last year. We had lunch which included roast chicken, roasted pumpkin sourdough bread and a foraged salad. Emma asked me afterwards for the method for making the dressing. It’s taken me a while, but here’s the recipe…

  • Nettle & brocciu pasties

    This week’s Short and Tweet Challenge was a dream recipe for me. That’s because it gave me the chance to use so much home produced or foraged ingredients. The recipe was for Dan’s Spinach and Ricotta Pasties. A gorgeous ricotta/mushroom/spinach/garlic/chilli/oregano filling is encased in a tomato & cheese dough. I changed the dough recipe slightly…

  • January flowers on the Llŷn Penisula

    Wandering through the garden today I was amazed at how much was in flower. We’ve had a really mild winter so far, but cold is on its way and some of these flowers will not survive. How many can you identify?

  • Spelt, ginger and cardamom cookies

    This is the latest in the Short and Tweet Challenge. I just love using spelt in baking. I add it to yorkshire pudding batter, shortcrust pastry and love it as a percentage in my sourdough bread. We’d made these cookies when we first got Dan’s book and loved them. This time I had a look…

  • Vegetarian Haggis Recipe

    When I tweeted the meat version haggis recipe, I was asked on twitter whether I had a recipe for a vegetarian haggis. I did not and said that I would develop one. I’ve now done this and it’s below. Modesty isn’t going to prevent me tooting my own horn: I think it’s really good. I…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Another wonderful Llŷn sunset