All posts tagged: Featured

Gluten Free Courgette Cake with Lemon Poppyseed Icing

Gluten Free Courgette (and Stripy Beetroot) Cake with Lemon Poppyseed Icing  This is a gorgeous recipe I have been meaning to share with you for quite some time now! Its been sat in my drafts folder, but now is the time to share. So if your home-grown courgettes and zucchini’s need a suitable recipe to be incorporated into, look no further. This rustic country courgette cake, can be made with either gluten free or regular flour, perfect for baking for yourself, or for a friend with intolerances.  I baked this cake with a fellow photographer friend of mine after having a glut of courgettes in the garden (she took the shots of me baking – rather handy!) When I bake, this is the typical kind of cake I bake – quick, rustic but full of flavour. I grow most of the vegetables for me and my husband, so courgette or beetroot cakes are a regular delight. Adding courgette to a cake ensures it is moist, and you can therefore do without some of the butter. I …

Bramble Bomb Cocktail

                Bramble Bomb Cocktail There is a cocktail for every season – and for September I give you the Bramble Bomb. A delicious mix of fresh bramble berries, gin and syrup. Here at Camera and Clementine I work with the seasons, even with regards to cocktails! There is always a twinge of sadness when we realise summer is coming to an end, but nature gives us gifts with every season, and for September the top seasonal gift has to be Brambles! Sweet, juicy and just beautiful to look at, they are amongst my top fruits. I foraged for these brambles just down the lane from my cottage, adding to my love of brambles (they’re free!). Every year I collect enough for a large batch of homemade bramble jam, and found I had a little left over for a cocktail or two..perfect!   Bramble Bomb Cocktail Serves 1 40ml/ 1 ½ oz gin a squeeze of lime juice 15ml/ ½ oz monin syrup (sugar syrup) 20ml crème de mûre brambles …

Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto

  Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto. Butternut Squash is one of my favourite vegetables (but hey, I love pretty much all veggies!) So if you have ever wondered what to do with a butternut squash or winter squash, then I have just the recipe for you – Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto = yum! Roasting your butternut squash first, might seem like an extra step in the cooking process, but it actually makes it easier! How? Well you don’t need to battle with the tough outer skin of the squash, as you roast it skin n’ all! Then all there is to do is scoop out the flesh and add it to the risotto. Roasting the squash until tender also brings out the sweetness, and really enhances the flavour of this Italian inspired dish. I have been lucky enough to have travelled around Italy 3 times, although I was more obsessed with vegetarian ravioli, stuffed with sage butter …drool.. than risotto at the time. Italian food, as you can imagine has a very special place in my kitchen, …

Danish Strawberry Tart – Jordbærtærte

Strawberry Tart – Jordbærtærte. When I think of Denmark I think of red things – the flag, the Christmas Nisse and of course Strawberries! Groundberries as they are known as in Danish are synonymous with summer in Denmark. They are a treasured fruit, savoured by all and made into many delicious dishes. But none come as close to perfection than the majestic Jorbærtærte, ie a Strawberry Tart. It is perfect in every way. It is fruity, sweet, tart, chocolatey, creamy, light and crisp. The only drawback is it does need to be eaten the same day as cooking….What a shame! Despite not being in Denmark, but rather Scotland, and despite not having as good a summer here than in Scandinavia, I did have a fantastic crop of strawberries this year. The birds and the mice also took a fancy to my red berries, but I still got a few kg for myself. And what better dish to serve my homegrown fruit in, than this summer desert. If you don’t have strawberries growing in your garden, (do it …

Portuguese Chickpea Salad

For the first two night of our Portuguese Honeymoon we stayed in Caldas de Monchique, a mountain spa town, nestled into a lush green subtropical jungle – a perfect get-away for a newly wed couple. It’s a little rough round the edges, but it is full of charm and amazing flora and fauna. We took the time there, to just decompress after a very busy 3 months of wedding arrangements. We loungeing by the pool, had massages and romantic dinners in the 16th century courtyard. We also sampled a delicious Cod & Chickpea Salad in their tapas bar, which is a traditional Portuguese summer dish, served with crusty bread and lots of wine! After our stay in the mountains, we travelled to the south coast of Portugal where my criteria for accommodation included a kitchen. I can’t not cook on holiday..!       And the first thing I whipped up was a vegetarian/vegan version of that delightful Chickpea Salad we sampled in Monchique. Everywhere you go in Portugal you’ll see orange sellers, and often they will also be …

Lemon & Basil Martini

Its been a while since I last posted a new recipe, in fact it feels like forever! A lot has happened – I got married (!) went on a honeymoon and have now sort of relaxed back into the routines of our life again. Ali and I had our dream wedding, in a walled garden full of flowers and friends, children and dogs! Our wedding was a diy wedding, with all the emphasis on YOURSELF. There wasn’t a part of it we didn’t do from scratch. I can now see the appeal of buying a package deal..then all you need to think about is your appearance and when to turn up! But we (I) had a real fixed idea of what kind of day I wanted – a whimsical, romantic summers day, centered around botanical flowers, lemons, lavender and love. So.. I had my mum sew my dress, I did my own flowers, hair & make-up, I in-listed an Italian to make delicate table decorations out of ribbon and vintage Italian lemon paper, I sewed …

Roasted Heirloom Tomato Tart with Pesto and Dill

Last weekend, my fiancé and I got our dates completely mixed up and thought it was Easter. So we exchanged easter eggs, and had a nice dinner. Then yesterday, we realised it is this coming Sunday! Oh well, we’ll just have two Easters this year! I love this time of year, where daffodils are peeking up, the birds are chirping and spring is in the air. And I really love easter as a way of celebrating all that the new season is giving us. This delicious Roasted Tomato Tart isn’t strictly a spring dish, it is in fact a summer dish that I made last year, with my bountiful amount of homegrown tomatoes. I adore growing tomatoes, as the colour varieties are endless, and it makes for some really vibrant dishes. Chocolate Cherry, White Cherry, Yellow Grape and Beef Steak Tomatoes where just some of last years produce – they almost made up the entire colour wheel. For this homemade quiche, I added homemade pesto to the recipe to give it an extra punch of …

Green Vegan Spinach Crépes

A friend of mine has recently started on the Hay Diet. Not for weight loss, but for general well being. I’m not overly familiar with the rules, but I do know that mixing protein and carbohydrates, is not allowed. So the other day, whilst her husband served up a big batch of pancakes, she couldn’t have any, as the egg and flour combination is off the menu. I felt a little guilty tucking in to the warm sweet desert, (but not guilty enough not to have any!) so I thought I’d try my hand at making her a pancake/crépe recipe she could enjoy. I experimented with egg free pancakes, and the results where really rather good. However, I’m still not sure weather these vegan crépes are Hay friendly, as the almond milk may be to protein rich..But they are definitely vegan! And they are definitely tasty, and absolutely green! I also cut back on the amount of almond/soy milk needed by blending up a cup of ultra green spinach juice. This works amazingly well in …

Blueberry, Lemon and Buttermilk Cake

Ever since my mum brought back a small vintage cake tin, from Canada, I’ve been on the lookout for a recipe to test it out on. It’s probably the top tier from a wedding cake pan set, somehow separated from the rest, but as it turns out, is the perfect size for two or three people. There is something so pleasing about making small individual cakes, like this one. And very manageable too. But it did make me think of a book Delia Smith wrote back in the 80’s called One is Fun! But seriously, if you like baking, and don’t need to feed a crowd, I can highly recommend getting a small tin like this one, and start making smaller cakes. (otherwise you just end up eating 8 pieces..) I have been on a mission lately looking for lemon inspired recipes, for my very soon to be wedding. Lemons and all things Tuscan & Botanical seems to be my theme for the wedding, so as the desert option, I have roped in all my …

apricot sorbet, Camera and Clementine

Roasted Apricot, Peach and Vodka Sorbet

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 …