Tuesday, 1 October 2013

BEETROOT & TARRAGON

Roasted beetroot & tarragon salad

Roast golden & purple beetroot until soft.  Peel.
Salad leaves
Chopped tarragon
Chia seeds
Toasted buckwheat
Dressing
½ tbsp cider vinegar
1tbsp avocado oil
Salt & pepper


We had to tiptoe. There were umbrellas & a walking stick in a china holder in the hall.
Edna O'Brien; The light of Evening

Tuesday, 17 September 2013

TOMATO & MANGO

Tomato on toast with mango chutney (Serves 1)

* ½ clove garlic, crushed
* ¼ tsp hot paprika
* 1 large plum tomato sliced in half horizontally
* Rye sourdough
* Mango chutney
* S & P

Fry garlic & spices in olive oil
Place tomatoes cut side down & gently fry 15 mins
Griddle the bread & spread with chutney
Top with tomatoes & season





The furniture was 
always a continuation of 
the architectural design, 
never stand alone.

Monday, 9 September 2013

ELDERBERRY & BAY

Elderberry & bay compote on brown rice pudding

* 300g elderberries
* 1tbsp red wine
* 4tbsp honey
* ½ lemon, juice
* 3 dried bay leaves

Simmer for 10 minutes


From an early age, she was mesmerised with the Chinese art of silhouette puppetry. Even building her own puppet theatre so that she could put on shows for her family and friends.

SQUASH & SUN-DRIED TOMATO

Roasted Squash & sun dried tomato
Adapted from River cafe book two

* 6 patty pan squash
* 8 sundried tomatoes, quartered
* 2 garlic cloves, chopped
* 1 red chilli, chopped
* Handful of thyme
* Salt & pepper

Cut the tops of the squashes & scoop out the seeds
Fill & roast 200ºC covered for 25 minutes
Lower the temperature to 150ºC, uncover & roast for 15 minutes




Rough scribbles of abstract shapes started to take on new forms & meanings.  

Wednesday, 4 September 2013

MELON & THYME

Melon, thyme & autumn berry salad

* 50g sugar
* 100ml white wine
* Handful of thyme
* ¼ gala or honeydew melon, sliced
* ¼ cantaloupe melon, slice
* Handful of blackberries / elderberries
* Thyme leaves

Heat the wine, sugar & thyme & leave to infuse.
Cool & strain
Pour over the fruit & serve with thyme


I can’t be clever and stand-offish with you: I love you too much for that. Too truly. You have no idea how stand-offish I can be with people I don’t love. I have brought it to a fine art.
From Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf

Saturday, 24 August 2013

MISO & HONEY

Miso & honey ice cream

1 cup milk
2 cups cream
¼ cup miso
¼ cup honey
Serve with honey comb & drizzled honey



It started on a perfectly beautiful Sunday afternoon in July – the very first Sunday afternoon in july. Two or three chunks of cloud floated white & tiny in a distant corner of the sky,
Haruki Murakami; Blind willow, sleeping woman

Thursday, 22 August 2013

GOOSEBERRY & HORSERADISH

Gooseberry & horseradish sauce with smoked mackerel

75g gooseberries
1tsp golden caster sugar
1tsp water
½ tsp grated horseradish
Pinch of sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
Serve with
Smoked mackerel fillets
Watercress / rocket

Put the gooseberries,water and sugar in a saucepan over a low heat for 10-15mins till soft.
Stir in the horseradish & seasoning
Grill the mackerel for a couple of minutes till warm


Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may think without being disturbed

GOOSEBERRY & ORANGE FLOWER

Gooseberry & orange flower compote on yogurt

* 200g gooseberries
* 2tsp golden caster sugar
* A couple of splashes of orange flower water
* Natural yogurt

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. 
Scatter the gooseberries on an oven tray and sprinkle with the sugar. 
Bake for 30 minutes until tender. 
Splash with Orange flower water & slightly squash the berries leaving some more whole than others.
Spoon onto the yogurt.


I remember reading in my room a lot. 

Wednesday, 21 August 2013

HONEY & SALT

Clover honey & sea salt on walnut bread




She accused him of accepting neither responsibility nor work.

CINNAMON & PEANUT

Cinnamon & peanut butter on rye sourdough



He accused her of interrupting what had been a perfectly lovely breakfast.