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After making my Yellow Carrot Tart with the barley flour crust, I started thinking. That crust base was unique, with a bit more bite and a bit more sweetness to it than regular crust. At some point when nursing in the middle of the night (sometimes that's when the best ideas happen, the problem is holding onto them in the morning) it occurred to me that the crust modified slightly would work nicely for shortbread. After thinking of it it kept niggling me until I tried it. So I did. It also dawned on my while making them that if I can get the barley flour fine enough, barley, with less gluten than regular flour, is a great replacement as in shortbread everything is done to prevent gluten chain formation (soft butter, no kneading). Starting with something even less likely to do that has the potential for even crumblier, tenderer biscuits. Ingredients: 2/3 c barley flour 2/3c flour 1/2 c butter, very soft 1/4c sugar 1/3 c dark chocolate chips 1) Place flours and butter in a bowl and mix until smooth. Add sugar and chocolate chips. Mix. Press together into a dough. Do NOT knead. 2) Turn out onto a clean surface and roll out to about 1 - 1.5 cm thick and cut into rounds of the desired thickness. Place rounds on a cookie sheet with wax paper and chill 20 minutes. 3) Bake at 190°C for 15-20 minutes until golden. These were very tasty and the flavours came together as I had hoped. The biscuits could have been a little thicker though. Also, in terms of the texture, these didn't melt in your mouth the way regular shortbread cookies do. I need to grind the barley flour a little finer next time as it had too much bite, but otherwise, I am delighted with these!

I love my morning porridge, and the Baked Porridge we've been having recently has been very tasty, but once in a while it's nice to switch it up. I don't tend to buy breakfast cereals because the sugar content is through the roof, and instead decided to make my own granola. It's been ages since I last did it, but I am rather pleased with how this came out. Little Bit and I were snacking on it dry when it came out of the oven, and it's been a hit for breakfast in yogurt. The clumps are quite small, but if you want them bigger, just add more of the molasses. Ingredients: 2 c oats 1/2 c almonds, finely chopped 1/3 c walnuts, finely chopped 3 tbsp chia seeds 1/2 c hazelnuts, finely chopped 1/4 c pine nuts, chopped 3/4 - 1 c tahini 1/4 c raisin molasses 1) Mix all ingredients together on a baking tray. Bake at 170°C for 30-45 minutes until toasted and golden brown. Allow to cool and then serve with milk, yogurt or plain. The raisin molasses hadn't been the plan, but I picked it up in the Turkish grocery story strapped to the tahini as though they belong together, so when I put the tahini in, I figured that the raisin molasses might as well follow. It is not too sweet and has a relatively light flavour. I quite enjoy the combo and think it came out well in this, but the granola could work well with honey instead. I plan on playing around a little with different combinations over the next few months for different granolas, so stay tuned!

Tattie scones are an essential part of a full Scottish breakfast. Browned on the outside, soft on the inside and warm enough to melt the butter a little, I've made them myself since leaving Scotland, but it occurred to me recently, with all the sweet potatoes on sale, that a sweet potato version of these could be tasty. With my sister's recent return from the UK with a delivery of Cumberland sausages and British bacon, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it out. We had a full Scottish breakfast - or as near as possible over here where black pudding isn't available. The Tattie Scones came out beautifully. The sweet potatoes needed more flour to come together than regular ones, but the texture was good and they were a little sweet without being overwhelmingly so. Ingredients: 400g sweet potatoes 2 c flour 3 tbsp butter Salt and pepper to taste 1) Boil the sweet potatoes until soft. Mash in butter (peeling or leaving the peels of the sweet potatoes as you prefer). 2) Mix in flour to form a dough- enough for it to be non-sticky but not so much as to make it dense. 3) Roll out the dough to about 1 cm thick on a clean, floured surface. Cut into large circles (I used a soup bowl) and score quarters on the surface. Melt a little butter on a gridle or frying pan and cook over medium heat on both sides until golden. I am really happy with how these came out. The taste wasn't slap-you-in-the-face different but did certainly have its own twist on the originals. Certainly an alternative which will be making it into the repertoire!

For World Environment Day on June 5th I was invited to take part in a collaboration making plant based, sustainable meals, and this is the one I came up with. Everything , or very nearly, was locally sourced from local farmers or foraged by Little One and I. After a visit to a local farmer, where I picked up yellow carrots, I started playing around with ideas of what I could make using those. Then there was local barley from the mountains on sale in the grocery store, so I decided on a tart, grinding the barley for the crust. For the other components of the tart I decided to go pick nettles for a pesto, which eventually ended up being nettle and dandelion, and to make ricotta with milk from the local dairy. I found other edible wild flowers too, so those were incorporated into the plan. I am really glad that I agreed to take part in that collaboration as otherwise I wouldn't have necessarily put all these components together, and it was really fun and came out super tasty! Ingredients: For the crust: 1 c barley flower (I ground up whole barley in the coffee grinder) 1 1/4 c whole meal flour 1/4 - 1/3 c cold butter 1/3 c milk For the pesto: 3-4 c nettles, washed in vinegar and then steamed til just wilted 1-2 c dandelion leaves 2 cloves garlic 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp vinegar juice of 1 lemon a little water Salt and pepper to taste For the tart: 7-8 yellow carrots, quartered or eighthed lengthwise 1 c pesto 1/2 - 1 c ricotta OR Goat cheese 1-2 tsp wild thyme 1 1/2 - 2 tbsp honey 1 tbsp olive oil salt and pepper Wild flowers to top: Clover Wild thyme Wood sorrel 1) Make the crust: Place flour and barley flour in a bowl and cut in the butter in small dice. Rub butter into the flower with fingertips until a crumby mixture forms. Add milk and mix until just combined. Chill 30 minutes. 2) Make the pesto. Place all ingredients in a blender and blitz until smooth. Taste test. Dandelion leaves can be a little bitter, so add some lemon juice to counterbalance this if necessary. 3) Assemble the tart. Roll out the crust to the size of your tart plate, and line the bottom of the dish with it. Spread the pesto over the base and then arrange the carrots over the top radially. Dollop the honey and drizzle the olive oil over the carrots. Mix the wild thyme into the ricotta and then spread the ricotta over the carrots. Salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 190°C for 35-45 minutes, until the crust is golden and the carrots are tender but not soft. 4) Allow to cool a little and arrange the wild flowers over the top (optional). This was beautiful! All the flavours balanced each other beautifully, with the bitter dandelions and sweet carrots and honey and the acidic lemon and the creamy cheese. The tart was hot, the flowers fresh, the pesto deep, the lemon bright. And the colours truly popped! Eating it, it occurred to me that goat cheese could work very nicely on it, so when we heated it up on day 2 I added some and it did indeed work very nicely. Otherwise, more ricotta could be nice but is certainly not essential. I was really interested to see how the crust would come out. I don't often cook with non-wheat flours, and some I have used, like rice flour, I am not a fan of. Grinding my own grain into flour was certainly a first too. It came out very well. A little toothier than regular crust because there's only so fine I can get flour in a coffee grinder, and a little sweeter. It was a bit darker too, and I must say that it came out looking a little rustic (which matched the wild flowers, so that's fine.) The only potential change I would make otherwise would be to begin roasting the carrots ahead of time, or parboil them next time to kick start their cooking process. Otherwise, I am thoroughly delighted with this dish, as were Hubby and Little One.

Or something... I am not sure what to call it, but it was easy, delightful and based only on pantry ingredients, so Hubby insisted I include it. After getting back from visiting friends for the week-end, we had almost nothing in the house and wanted something plant based and not too heavy. Digging through the fridge and cupboards, this is what I came up with. It was warm, which was perfect when the evening cool was just hitting at the end of the day, but not overwhelmingly heavy. It is vegetarian, and can easily be made vegan by omitting the cheese. The cheese I used was my first attempt at Ricotta Salata, salted ricotta. It is the same as regular ricotta, but then you put it on a rack in a sealed container in the fridge, salting it every day for a week, then letting it ripen for 2-4 weeks. Ingredients: 1 c chickpeas 1/4 c millet 1/4 - 1/2 c barley 1 l chicken stock 1/2 c canned corn 1/3 c artichoke hearts, chopped 6-8 sundried tomatoes, chopped 2 celery sticks, chopped 1/2 - 2/3 c raisins 1 - 1 1/2 tbsp sage 2 tsp nigella seeds 2 tbsp olive oil (I used the oil left from the jar of artichokes Red pesto spice mix (basil, powdered garlic and onion, pine nuts,) Salt and pepper to taste 2 nectarines, quartered 1/2 c ricotta salata 3/4 c almonds, roughly chopped and toasted 1) In a saucepan, mix the millet and barley, add the raisins and chicken stock and bring to a simmer for about 20 minutes, until tender. I added a little water before it finished cooking and didn't drain it to that the flavours and a little moisture came along too. 2) In a baking dish mix the other ingredients except the nectarines, ricotta and the almonds and stir. Place in the oven at 190°C for about 40 minutes total, stirring occasionally. Add the millet and barley to this dish once it is tender and stir. 3) In a skillet, grill the nectarine quarters until they are a little browned and the juice starts bubbling in them. 4) Serve by spooning some of the chickpea mix onto a plate, then place a few nectarine quarters over the top, sprinkle with almonds and dot with ricotta. This came out beautifully and there is actually nothing I would change. It was a satisfying mix of colours, textures and flavours, with some sweet, some salt, some bitter, and a whole load of goodness on one plate. It was moist and rich without being heavy. We had this as our dinner, but in smaller servings, I could see this working really well as a side to roast meat or as a starter. Fully endorsed by both Little Bit and Hubby, I am very pleased with this. The ricotta salata was my first attempt at it and our first try of it. The rest is back in the fridge ageing a little more. I made it using the whey from my mozzarella a few weeks ago. Based on this ricotta, I may have to revise my opinion of whey ricotta. It may be that the whey from making mozzarella is richer than that from making ricotta, but I found that I got enough curds and that they were big and soft as they should be. The ricotta then went on a rack (of sorts) in a container in the fridge. I salted it every day for a week and then left it for two more weeks. The instructions said 2-4 weeks so we are leaving it a little longer to see how it evolves. This was my first taste of ricotta salata, so I am not sure how right I got it, but we enjoyed it! Book Pairing: I was listening to Dante's Purgatorio while making this one. As with the Inferno, I greatly enjoyed Dante's descriptions and have found both his cosmology and theology interesting. I wonder whether Dante believed his journey to have been allegorical fiction or whether he believed himself to have made the trip... I hadn't gotten this far when I read Inferno before, so I am enjoying being on new ground here.

This next pantry ingredient I'd like to share is the humble nettle. I had heard for a few years that it makes a great tea, and that it could be used in soups and things, but hadn't ever tried it. Then last year I decided to hack into the nettle patch at my parents' house and tried it out. It is like spicy, peppery spinach. You have to be careful not to get stung when picking them, and then have to either wilt or dry the nettles for safe, non-stinging storage. They have to be cooked to denature the stinging agents, but otherwise can be used in much the same way as spinach. I have enjoyed getting to know this plant in the last year, and have been out foraging for it while on walks with Little Bit (making sure he is first occupied with something else so he doesn't decide to get involved with the leaves directly.) I have been cooking only with the leaves, but the whole plant, from flowers to roots, are edible. Here's how I prep it: 1) Pick carefully. I wash the nettles in water with a generous dash of vinegar, trim the leaves off and rinse them, discarding the stems. 2) I tend to steam the leaves until just wilted and then freeze them for future use if I am not planning on using them immediately. Otherwise, once steamed they are ready to use, or you can sauté, stew or boil them directly, depending on how you are going to use them. I have found that nettles work well in tarts, soups, and pestos to name just a few. Here a some of the recipes from the blog in which I've used nettles: Roasted Aubergine Soup with a Modified Nettle Harissa Pumpkin Pasta with Nettle Pesto Carrot Tart with Nettle and Dandelion Pesto and Wild Flowers

This started out as a trialled tweak of the Orange Date Cookies back in the autumn. In a taste test of the two, we liked the Orange Date Cookies better on certain characteristics. The rest of the Grapefruit Prune Cookie dough was put in the freezer and forgotten about. About a month ago though, craving some cookies, we pulled it out and had a few cookies, and it turns out that although very different to the Orange Date Cookies in taste and texture, they are nevertheless very good in their own right. I therefore set out to try to recreate the recipe and the tweaks I had made at the time. I ran out of molasses though, so this batch was half honey and half molasses. I have put a few away in the freezer again and will try a fully molasses batch soon to compare them. In the mean time though, friends we visited for the weekend were willing to be guinea pigs for us and approved the cookies, as did both their little one and Little Bit. Ingredients: 1 c butter, softened 1/2 c white sugar 1/2 c dark brown sugar 1/2 c oat flour ( I blitzed oats in our coffee grinder for these) 1/3 c molasses OR 2 1/2 tbsp molasses and 2 1/2 tbsp honey 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 2 eggs 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp cloves 1 tsp ginger 2 c flour 1/4 c dried grapefruit peel 3/4 c prunes, chopped 1) Cream butter and sugar in a bowl. Add oat flour and molasses (and honey if using) and mix well. Soak grapefruit peel in a cup of hot water. 2) Stir vanilla and eggs into butter mixture, then gradually add dry ingredients. 3) Drain grapefruit peel, and add with prunes to the dough. Mix well. Drop onto greased cookie sheet by teaspoonfuls. 4) Bake at 180°C for 8-10 minutes until golden on top. Cool for a few minutes then enjoy warm! These turned out very well. They are softer and spread more than the orange date cookies. I find them closer in texture, and sort of in taste, to ginger snaps than tollhouse cookies, Hubby finds them to more closely resemble oatmeal cookies. It's like trying to decide which facial features a child got from each parent though, and in reality the cookies are their own thing, not bastard versions of anything else. To make them a little firmer and have them spread less, I might try adding an extra 1/4 c of flour next time. They also came out darker than I had anticipated. Initially I though I had let them go too long, but let the next batch go less time and they were actually less good. Tanner it is then! I was then worried that they would be too hard and crisp, but not at all. They stayed moist over the next couple of days and were lovely and soft without being sticky. Overall though, I am delighted with these. Let me know what you think! Book Pairing: While baking these I was listening to Dante's Inferno. I read it before, years ago, but find that it stands up very well to a second reading.... well, listening. Dante and Virgil found themselves dealing for passage from circle to circle with the demons who guard Hell, as they pass souls in a a flaming pit. Dante's imagery is very evocative and he is an enjoyable narrator, I only wish I knew more about some of the historical figures he encounters as it would be easier to follow some bits. The verse nature of the book does well in audio version but the downfall of the medium is that I don't have access to text notes. Oh well.

A few years ago I needed rose petals or rose water for some recipe and didn't have it. My grandmother and I therefore dried petals from the roses at my parents' house, some yellow and some red and put them aside. I haven't used very many since, and seeing their container the other day, it occurred to me that with their delicate flavour, rose petals could make for a very nice ice cream. I had intended to use my sister's no-churn recipe, but then forgot that I was going to do that and added the condensed milk to soon. Instead, I used my parents' old ice cream maker which I have inherited. I don't think it has been used in my life time, or if it has , not since I was very little. As it turns out, it was really easy, and has come out very nicely! Ingredients: 2 c cream 1 c (ish, I just used a full tin) sweetened condensed milk 1 c (ish) dried rose petals (I used mostly yellow, but a couple red ones snuck in there) 1)Mix cream and condensed milk together in a saucepan. Tear up petals and add them. Stir and heat gently until warm, almost at a simmer and remove from the heat. 2) Leave to infuse over night. Cool. 3) Place in ice cream maker and process as per manufacturer's instructions. Freeze. ALTERNATIVELY (which I had planned to do but didn't) without a churner: 1) Place cream in a saucepan. Tear up petals and add them. Stir and heat gently until warm, almost at a simmer and remove from the heat. 2) Leave to infuse over night. Cool. Strain out petals and whip cream to stiff peaks. 3) Gently fold in the petals and condensed milk. Freeze. I am curious to see how different this would be if made with fresh rose petals. In any case it was really easy to whip up and certainly welcome! It is ages since I last made my own ice cream, but I don't think this will be the last for the season! The taste of this ice cream was very delicate and not too strong, but pleasant. It was creamy and not too sweet. All in all, very nice. Beware what you serve it with as some flavours would quickly overpower it. I decided to leave the rose petals in for a little texture, but they could easily be left out, or only half left in if you preferred. EDIT: We had this again the other night with baked apples and a little cinnamon. Well worth it!

I was looking for something hot for lunch, that would be satisfying but not heavy or overly caloric. With a head of broccoli in the fridge, I hit on this when I saw pastry in the store. I picked up some fennel to pair with it and quark for a base. Once home again, I popped the veg in to start roasting while I made the pastry dough and then assembled it. The whole thing took 20 minutes to prep and then a few more to finish baking, and we had a quick easy lunch ready to go. It would have been quicker still had I bought the pastry, but I rather like making my own. This one I made with whole meal flour too, so it came out of the oven with a rather rustic look to it. Things would have been even quicker had I not had help from someone in an observation tower... Ingredients: Crust: (you can use a store bought crust if you want, but this is also very quick and easy, I promise! It is better if you have a half hour to let it chill before rolling it out, but it still works if you don't) 3/4 c flour 1/2 c cold butter, cut into pieces pinch of salt 1/4 (approximate) milk Tart: 1 head broccoli, floretted 1 head fennel, roughly chopped 1 tbsp vinaigrette of your choice (we used one from a local monastery using vin cuit, a local molasses made from boiling down pear juice) 1 egg 1/3 c quark 1 tsp sumac Salt and pepper to taste 1) Place broccoli and fennel on a baking try and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Bake at 200°C 15 minutes. 2) In the mean time, place flour in a large bowl. Add the butter and mix with finger tips until a crumb like mix is achieved. Add milk and salt and mix with a fork to form dough. Let rest (if you have time) 30 minutes in the fridge. Knead briefly and roll out on a floured surface. 3) Line a tart plate with the pastry. Mix the quark and egg and spread on the bottom of the pastry. 3) Spread the veg over the quark and egg and then sprinkle with sumac, season, and bake at 200°C for a further 15 - 20 minutes until the crust is brown and the veg tender. I was very happy with this. It was tasty and hit the spot perfectly. The only tweak I would make in future would be to crumble feta or ricotta salata over the top of the tart before baking. Book Pairing: I was listening to the tail end of Jane Austen's Lady Susan while I assembled this. It is the first Austen I have strongly disliked. The main character was manipulative, conniving and egocentric. The epistolary form of the novella doesn't leave a huge amount of room for other characters to be fully developed and I can't claim to have enjoyed it. The reader also probably played a role in my dislike as I found the American accent rather jarring. Despite loving Austen generally, I cannot recommend this one and I'm glad it was only three hours long! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

We had leftover Broccoli and Fennel Tart for lunch, but not enough of it for a whole meal. We are going away for the weekend so I wanted to draw down on what we have rather than picking up more food. With a kilo of carrots in the fridge and a large chunk of ginger, a warm "salad" seemed ideal, especially for a cold, rainy day. It could just as easily be served over rice or couscous or something and become a more substantial meal though, or even have chunks of meat added to it to make it a main. We had it as described here below though, and aside from maybe a little fresh coriander, I wouldn't change anything. I spiralised the carrots and ginger (my first time spiralising ginger. I got mixed results), but they could just as easily be chopped or julienned. It was just the quickest, easiest way for me. Ingredients: 5 carrots, spiralised 3 inches of ginger (ish) spiralised or chopped 1/2 head of garlic, crushed (ours was a very big head. If yours is smaller, 1 regular head should do). 1 1/2 tbsp peanut oil 1 tbsp soy sauce 2 tsp pomegranate molasses 1 tsp nigella seeds 1/2 - tsp Aloha Chilli Spiced Cacao 1 tsp white sesame seeds 1 tsp black sesame seeds 1) Heat oil in a small wok or a frying pan. Add ginger and garlic and fry until fragrant, allowing a few of the pieces to brown a little. Add carrots and stir. 2) Add other ingredients aside from sesame seeds and cook for 5 minutes until the carrots are beginning to become tender. Add sesame seeds and cook for another minute, then serve. This was super tasty! I would not change anything. I had help cooking it (hence the second spatula in the picture) and Little Bit could stuff it into his mouth fast enough once it was ready (after brief protestations of "hothothot").