All posts filed under: Summer

apricot sorbet, Camera and Clementine

Roasted Apricot, Peach and Vodka Sorbet

Published by

Yes its still winter, and its blowing a gale. But that doesn’t mean desert is of the menu. If you are lucky enough to have an apricot tree in your garden, save this recipe for the summer. Or if you are lucky enough to live in Australia (!) then now is the season for these fabulous little stone fruits. Or so I’m told by Sam at Nourish Food Life, who is living the dream – in an orchard no less! This is a delicious and refreshing Peach, Apricot and Vodka Sorbet that a put together last summer for a magazine recipe. I made it sugar free, and sweetened it with the help of honey and agave syrup. I also made it for ‘adults only’ by adding a dash of vodka to the sorbet mixture. This gives its a smoother more luxurious texture, as the ice crystals don’t freeze too hard. I also roasted the apricots first, before simmering them in the honey, to get them really soft and bursting with nectar-like aromas. ____________________________________________ Serves 6 12 or 500g apricots …

Homemade Organic Tomato Ketchup

Published by

This summer has produced a fabulous amount of tomatoes in my greenhouse. We have been eating fresh organic tomatoes in our salads all summer long. But about 3 weeks ago, I just couldn’t keep up with the bumper crop, so I took to slow roasting my tom’s at 50 degrees for 2 hours in the oven with garlic and olive oil, and then freezing them for sauce later on in the year. We ate tomato pasta…tomato tarts..and finally I also made two large batches of tomato ketchup, one yellow and a classic red. And they are amazing! This homemade tomato ketchup recipe is sweet, tangy and very aromatic. Adding star anise, cloves and fennel seeds makes this ketchup sit in a league of its own. Since making this delicious condiment, I’ve been looking for excuses to make all kinds of breakfast eggs, just so we can have more of this wonder sauce! And of course you can add it to veggie burgers, hot dogs and other things too. But it is best served over eggs, with …

Yellow Squash and Lemon Pasta with Creamy Rocket Pesto

Published by

If I’m not entirely mistaken, putting raisins in pasta (or Pizza) dishes is a Sicilian thing. And I’m glad I discovered it. Its not that I’ve got a sweet tooth, I just love food that has a sweet/savory combo going on. And this dish definitely does. I pulled this dish together the other day, as my yellow ‘crook neck’ squash’s are producing lots of small tasty fruits, and they taste best lightly cooked, and al dente. I also have a fantastic amount of peppery rocket needing eaten. And so often when I’m gardening, recipes make themselves out of what fruit and veg is ripe just that very day.   This pasta dish is fresh and light, perfect for the middle of summer, but filling and satisfying all at the same time. This is definitely a dish to enjoy outdoors on the terrace on a hot day – dreaming yourself away to Sicily…. ________________________________________________ Serves 4 500g farfalle pasta 1 medium yellow squash 1 small courgette 1 garlic clove a handful golden sultanas a small handful …

Garden Salad with Elderflower Vinaigrette

Published by

The peak of the growing season is upon my garden. I am now able to harvest more that 2 or 3 bits of produce from the plot at any one time, as this Garden Summer Salad demonstrates perfectly. This is a salad to be proud off, as everything ( eggs-cept the eggs, get it?!) has been grown or harvested by me. The olive oil, is strictly not our own, but is from our friends own olive grove in Italy, and as they put it- is 3 times Extra Virgin Organic olive oil, and it tastes heavenly too. The peas, potatoes, dill, salad leaves, cucumber, and edible nasturtium flowers and corn flowers were all picked this morning, in preparation for lunch. I love how you can tuck into a portion of food, knowing that is was growing barley an hour ago, cool right?     The peas are an exciting rare variety called Champion of England, dating from the 1840’s and are from The Real Seed Company, an innovative British family business who see the soil as a living organism …

Panzanella – Italian Summer Sour-dough Salad

Published by

Panzanella – Italian Summer Sour-dough Salad Its hot! And its gorgeous outside! And when it’s hot for days on end, my tastebuds always hunger for light ‘salady’ type foods, that are fresh, aromatic and seasonal. This ‘salad’ could almost be called a de-constructed Bruchetta,  and is an absolute winner if you are hungry rather than peckish, as the bread is already inside the dish. The chunky sour-dough soaks up all the rich olive oil and vinegar, and combined with fresh tomatoes from the garden, you have yourself the perfect salad. _______________________________________ Serves 4 1 organic loaf of sour dough bread or ciabatta 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 750g ripe tomatoes, halved 100ml organic extra virgin olive oil 2tbsp white wine vinegar 10 or so basil leaves salt and pepper   ___________________________________ Combine the halved tomatoes and garlic in a bowl, with the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix well using your hands to release the flavours. Stir well, then leave the salad for 10 minutes, to infuse. Meanwhile chop the bread into cubes, and lightly fry …

Strawberry Rhubarb Summer Cordial

Published by

This year has so far been a top year for berries. My strawberries have produced a bumper crop of delicious deep red fruit. However…just as they were 1 or 2 days away from perfection, something began to ‘nibble’ them. And after a close inspection I found a mouse hole, right in the middle of the strawberry patch! A great home indeed! Lovely warm straw, and plenty of fresh berries on the door step, well I couldn’t blame them really! But, I wasn’t going to leave the remaining crop to the greedy mouse, so I picked every ripe berry and had enough to have with meringues and make a summer cordial too. Paired with my last remaining rhubarb, this is summer preserved in a bottle. _____________________________________ Makes 1.5 litres 300g  strawberries,  roughly chopped 3 sticks of rhubarb, washed and chopped 300g caster sugar 2 lemons, juice and zest of 1 liter water _______________________________________ Tip the fruit into a heavy-based pan alongside the lemon zest and pour over the sugar. Simmer over low heat  for 10 minutes …

Pumpkin Seed Pesto Pizza with Yellow Squash and Goats Cheese

Published by

  Pumpkin Seed Pesto Pizza with Yellow Squash, Goats Cheese and Dill My garden is thriving, as the summer is at last here for definite! I’ve got various salads, including hot and peppery rocket, butter lettuce, chard, spinach..to name a few. And of course dill, which I use as a salad ingredient most days. Freshly picked, nothing beats the aromatic flavour of dill. It adds depth and contrast to this pizza, and is a match made in heaven with goats cheese. This pizza came about as Al Fresco dining was on the cards last week, as it had been a hot afternoon, and the promise of a warm evening was guaranteed! But after the decision had been made that pizza was on the menu, I realized I didn’t have my store cupboard staple – Pesto. But as I mentioned above, my rocket and spinach was doing well, so I quickly threw one together. The lack of pine nuts didn’t put me off, I just substituted them with pumpkin seeds, they do the job nicely! Here’s …

Roasted Cherry Tomato and Aubergine Bruschetta with Rocket

Published by

  Roasted Cherry Tomato and Aubergine Bruschetta with Rocket   Its hard to beat freshly picking your own salad leaves, and rocket is at the top of the list for flavour and bite.  Last spring my good friend and ‘Bridesmaid to be’ sent me a packet of wild rocket seeds, and being a lover of variation, I sowed them beside my already thriving lettuce’s. Well, 12 months later and the rocket is still thriving, having survived the mild winter, it is looking and tasting better than ever. Add rocket to these warm and juicy bruschettas,  and you have a match made in heaven, with the sweet tomatoes,  and lovely fresh pepper punch from the rocket. I like my bruschetta oily and warm with lots of garlic, so if you are like me, dont hold back on the organic extra virgin olive oil. ________________________________________ Serves 4 as a starter or 2 for lunch   250g grape or cherry tomatoes, halved 6 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp sugar 1 tbsp oregano 2 cloves garlic, …

Fig and Honey Yoghurt with Poppy Seeds and a Taste of Portugal

Published by

  I am back from a most wonderful time in Portugal. The weather was magnificent, gifting us with pleasant warm breezes and cloud free skys. It wasn’t easy adjusting back to the autumn weather up here in the more northern latitudes of Scotland, but I can comfort myself with the knowledge, that under this thick fisherman’s sweater, I do indeed have a tan! The best thing about taking a trip away, for me, is forgetting all the everyday tasks of home life and work, and allowing yourself to fall into a new more relaxed routine. Our routine whilst away, was to be woken up at dawn by the local cockerel, make our sleepy way to the balcony and watch the sunrise over freshly made coffee. When I’m on holiday, breakfasts are my favorite meal, they are a chance to sample the county’s freshest produce, usually in a way which requires little preparation or cooking, and usually in its most simple of forms. I spent lost of time traipsing through local vegetable markets, and filling my …

September Lagkage – Danish September Birthday Cake

Published by

  The brambles are thriving this year in the woodlands by our house, a lovely sight reminding us that there is still food to be found during the seasonal change from summer to autumn. And so, for the birthday cake I made last week, brambles seemed a fitting ingredient, providing tangy notes to an otherwise very sweet Danish cake. Lagkage translates as Layer Cake, and consists of 3 thin sponges, layered up with either a whipped cream filling or a custard filling. In addition to that, fruit and jam are added to make this cake a special occasion cake, not only for the time involved in making it, but for the sheer number of calories! No birthday in Denmark will usually go without a Lagkage, and neither does a birthday in our house. _____________________________________________________ Ingredients 150g plain flour 150g butter, softened 150g sugar 3 eggs 1 tsp baking powder Filling 700 ml whipping cream 250 g amaretto biscuits, crushed 3 tbsp brandy 1 mango, diced 100g brambles 4 tbsp icing sugar For the top 75g …