Foraging has long been a big love of mine ever since picking blackberries from the country lanes around my grandma’s house when I was little and seeing them cooked up into a crumble with apples from her garden. It’s magical to me that it’s possible to find such delicious wild ingredients sometimes right on my … Continue reading Coastal Foraging on the Isles of Scilly
Wild plums, or Mirabelle plums, can be found in hedgerows in the UK particularly in the south and the midlands - I believe they aren’t as widespread in the North. They are small compared to other varieties, more like a large grape or cherry (in fact another name for them is "cherry plum"), and they … Continue reading Foraging: Mirabelle Plums
I hadn't heard of wild chamomile/pineapple weed until coming across a post on Instagram by Wild Food UK. As seems to be typical with things like this, I suddenly started to see it everywhere! This hardy little annual loves harsh conditions and poor soil, yet manages to have such a lovely, delicate flavour. As its … Continue reading Foraging for Wild Chamomile (Pineapple Weed)
Yesterday we went on a lovely and somewhat windy walk in the English countryside. (I tell you what - the cup of tea at the end of that walk was the BEST THING!) Anyway, along the walk we came across some teeny tiny wild violets in the cover of the hedgerows. Wild violets are very … Continue reading Wild Violets
Autumn is slowly returning, but not before a bit more sunshine and a bountiful September harvest. Last weekend, Mark and I went for a long walk in the Berkshire countryside and couldn't help but do a bit of foraging. The hedgerows are bursting at the seams with blackberries, sloes, elderberries, hawthorn berries, rosehips and even … Continue reading Giant Puffball Mushrooms
Elderflowers have had a bit of a moment-in-the-sun lately after featuring in THE wedding cake of the year with their longstanding friend, the lemon. For me, like a lot of wild food, fresh elderflowers are hugely under-utilised by the general population. Elderflower cordial is very popular, but I am surprised that more people don’t make … Continue reading Tips for gathering elderflowers and making top notch elderflower cordial
We’ve been enjoying yet more glorious weather in the UK, and it looks set to continue. I’m as guilty as anyone of the typically British attitude of wondering when it’s all going to go back to being grey and dreary, but it seems to be here to stay. I fully intend to make the most … Continue reading Spring Salad with Asparagus and Wild Garlic
I never really came across crab apples when I was a child, they were just this mysterious miniature apple that people sometimes talked about. I never really thought about them until the last couple of years when I've been walking down our road stepping over tiny apples on the pavement in the Autumn thinking it … Continue reading Picking Crab Apples
I've had the bumper crop to end all bumper crops when it comes to my nasturtiums this year. I've grown them from the seeds I got in this Gourmet Flower Kit by Plant Theatre - my Mum said she has never seen nasturtiums take the way mine have this year. Endless garnishing possibilities!!! Delicate, young nasturtium … Continue reading Nasturtium scones
There's something about September. I'm almost even more excited to spend time outside in September than I am in July! I recently had a brief escape to the Cotswolds and spent an entire walk through the countryside staring, almost rubbernecking, at hedgerows full of hawthorn berries, elderberries and crab apples! One of the most abundant … Continue reading Gathering blackberries
A Year in Dinners 