18 Jan, 2012
Happy New Year Everyone! January has a lot going for it, I feel. When better to shake off a few dusty routines and habits than after a few weeks of glorious indulgence. I have always liked a fresh start – bring on the resolutions. Never mind if they fizzle or fade, a positive intention is still a wonderful thing. So much as I delight in the fairy lights and tinsel, I always feel happy to pack them away, dust off the cobwebs of the old year and move forward. And a delicious healthy regime is a great way to start – here are some of my favourite vitamin rich foods to celebrate the New Year.
I like to add a few sprigs of mint to my green tea. And a beautiful mug makes it even nicer – this one is a hand made Christmas gift by our talented (eldest) girl! And to go with the tea, how about a few nuts and seeds, dried berries and some squares of inky dark chocolate?
Hmm, what else? A dish of simply steamed Scottish salmon, with a little lemon and pepper. But surely this is still indulgence isn’t it? Especially with a drizzle of this magnificent, jewel green pistachio oil. I bought this bottle in France a few weeks ago. Such a rich, deep roasted nutty flavour.
A few slices of beetroot – more colour, more vibrancy, more flavour…
So that’s the view from my kitchen worktop this week.
As for other new plans and projects this year, well I have been busy and have made a good start. My new studio in the garden – a lovely Scandinavian log cabin – is all built and ready. I’m still working on the finishing touches, a bit of painting and organising all my props and stuff. Of those there are lots – it’s quite a task! I’ll make some photos of the studio in a week or so and post them soon.
What plans do you have for the New year? Drop me a comment if you like – I’d love to hear!
Pascale
Oh – I forgot the avocado! x
in Beetroot, Chocolate, Fish, Green tea, Lemons, New Year, Nuts, Salmon, balance, health, nutrition, resolutions, winter | Comments (6)
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06 Oct, 2011
Unexpected pleasures are so sweet, don’t you find? The glorious sunshine and unusual warmth of the past days have brought delight – just as we started to get entrenched in the routine of Autumn. And the garden of our new home boasts trees laden with an extraordinary crop of apples and the hedges are richly dotted with blackberries. These must be celebrated!
So, directly home from school, books and bags are cast aside and we make right for a lovely spot in the garden for a cool drink and a rest.
But little boys don’t really rest for long, do they? Our boy is lucky as he has quite a few little friends who live in the village. So after school, the garden is often buzzing with several little boys running around, building dens, climbing…. And feeling hungry – always hungry!
I’ve been reading a charming little book. It’s called ON A Stick! and it’s written by Matt Armendariz. Matt is the creator of the wonderful blog Matt Bites – do you know it? Well the book is just about what you would expect from the title – a series of quirky, delicious recipes and ideas – all of food on a stick.
Now I have yet to find a child who doesn’t adore food on sticks! Even healthy skewers of fruit and veggies. As long as you can trust little boys with sharp sticks (you can’t!) So with vigilance, I presented a garden snack inspired by Matt’s book. This isn’t actually his recipe, in fact it isn’t really a recipe at all. I simply assembled some berries and apple slices (from the garden), along with some little pieces of cake on wooden bamboo sticks.
The cake is a buttermilk and almond cake but I haven’t perfected the recipe yet. When I do, I’ll be happy to share it if you would like. Just let me know.
A quick chat, then back to running around!
A change of weather is forecast – back to the typical offerings of the season. Despite a little sadness to say goodbye to the bright warm days, I feel quite excited about the prospect of Autumn. It’s such a beautiful time of year – the splendid colours, the brisk walks, and of course, the delicious warming foods that nourish body and soul. More soon.
Px
in Apples, Autumn, Baking, Cake, Family, Growing Food, Picnics, School, berries, garden, sunshine | Comments (13)
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29 Jul, 2011
What can be more fun when out on a country walk than finding some gorgeous, sun ripened fruit just waiting to be picked? I recently had a lovely expedition along a local bridle path in search of these beautiful little wild plums. My new friend S – a friendship made on Twitter! – who lives near me, remembered spotting these little plums on a walk a year or so before. She couldn’t remember the exact location, so we set off to seek them out. Do you know, I walk along this path so often, and yet there are so many plants. nuts, fruits that I’ve just ambled past without noticing. Not any more! My walk takes three times as long now I am vigilant for the treasures that foraging will provide. We not only found a wealth of delicious plums, but also spotted cherries, sloes, hazelnuts, and walnuts. The walnuts are still very young, yet so promising.
But this day’s mission was for plums and so plentiful they were that we picked lots. Too many for my family to eat right away. So I decided to make a plum syrup to drizzle on some pancakes or perhaps some creamy Greek yogurt. This recipe was a bit of an experiment, but it worked really well and the result is delicious. Sweet, slightly tangy and fragrant.
As you can see, these plums are quite small – I think they might be called cherry plums – and round. I knew it would be difficult to remove the stones before cooking so I didn’t worry with doing that. As it would all be strained later it didn’t matter to just cook them whole.
This syrup is so pretty isn’t it? Such a vibrant colour and the flavour is just as intense.
Inspired by the walnuts on the tree, I toasted some walnuts to sprinkle on the pancakes along with a dusting of icing sugar and the syrup. So delicious and nutritious too!
This is one of the walnuts on the tree near my home. I’ll be keeping watch over them.
As for the pancakes – well who doesn’t love pancakes? Some people love big fluffy American style hotcakes and some prefer the thin English ones that you eat with lemon and sugar. I love both. This time I decided to make an in-between pancake, not big and fluffy but with a bit of leavening for a slightly thicker pancake. Here’s this recipe for the pancakes.
Mix together 200g of plain flour with a pinch of salt, 25g of sugar and a teaspoon of baking powder. Make a well in this mix, and drop in two eggs and 50o ml of milk. Whisk it all together well until it is smooth like thick cream. I fry the pancakes with a few drops of rape seed oil so they have lovely brown edges.
It has been a busy spell for me. I will write more soon about an exciting project that I am working on. It is lots of fun but very consuming – but that’s for next time! Hope you are all having a lovely summer. Please drop me a comment and let me know what you are up to.
Pascale x
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