butterflies and bunting

After a week of doing nothing in Devon it was my intention to come home and not leave my sewing machine for days however the amazing weather we've had today has meant any sewing attempts have been futile.

I sat in the garden with a pair of scissors and a pile of fabric cutting triangles for this bunting I've been making out of old embroidered tablecloths. Ever since Julie Arkell taught me that it is ok to tear up old books and make them into bits of art I have a new approach to anything old.

Meanwhile the children spent a happy morning waving fishing nets in the air trying to catch butterflies. I love the way such simple past times can amuse the children for hours and with The Bumper Book of Nature we have we've endless fun ahead of us. It's got plenty of ideas of things to do outside, much of which wont be new to anyone who grew up in the country, but it is a great reference book from bugs to birds, butterflies and wild flowers, and nicely presented to boot!

plums

I never knowingly miss a bit of a forage - its the northern in me, I love something if its free! Anyway I keep driving past this tree which borders a rather smart private golf course, when I say borders it is actually within the borders (technically!) anyway it was heaving with ripening plums 2 weeks ago. every fews days I have been past and noticed the plums just falling on the ground. well I could bear it no longer I hitched up my frock and legged it over the wall and picked up over a kilo of windfalls, they are tiny, super sweet and slightly almondy.well I made some jam (just boil equal quantities of fruit and suger for about 5mins and push through a seive and put into sterilized jars) and I also made the most gorgeous plum tart - a mixed bag of a recipe taken from Nigella and the lovely valentine warner.

I am rubbish at pastry so I always do Nigellas shortbread for any kind of sweet tart and just squish it into the tin in a haphazard manner making sure all areas are covered.

100g plainflour

100g soft butter

50g cornflour

50g icing sugar

blitz all in a food processor till it makes a dough, push it into a 25(ish) cm flan tin (I favour the john lewis silver anodised ones) it really doesn't matter if it is just on the base or up the sides either will do. put a piece of greaseproof on top and cover with baking beans, blind bake 150 degrees for about 15mins (everybody's cooker is different so till it is slightly golden).

for the filling

175g soft butter

175g caster sugar

175g ground almonds

65g plain flour

1/2 teasp baking powder

2 eggs

a few drops either almond or vanilla extract (will still be delicious without)

5 generous tablespoons jam (pref plum but any will do)

little plums or halves without the stones

handful flaked almonds

cream butter and sugar till fluffy, add the eggs, add the almonds,flour and baking powder and the drops of extract.

generously spread jam over the cooked base, spoon in the almond mix and spread roughly over the base. squidge plums in at regular intervals sprinkle on flaked almonds and bake at 180 for about 30-45mins till golden and no longer wobbly in the middle (if it looks a little bit underdone in hte middle it will probably be ok - best to take it out, i overcooked mine and it was a bit dry and crumbly around the edges).

It absolutely MUST be served with ultra fattening thick cream!! (preferably from Woefuldane dairy in minch if you are a local reader)

note: I had eaten so much roast dinner on sunday that I failed to give this the proper enjoyment it deserved, Mr H had thirds though!!

a bucketful of mackerel

Mackerel is a cheap, plentiful, sustainable fish, and when it is super fresh you can't beat it for flavour. We were give a big bagful of freshly caught mackeral by the skipper of the 'mary-kate' in Padstow. Which immediately made us think beach barbeque. We gutted the makeral and gave them a swish around in some olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, some chilli jam and a few sprigs of thyme.

I think camping brings out a certain make-do-and-mend in one, so the bucket had been making sandcastles all day, but was just the job for mackeral!

A sprinkle of sea salt, a disposable barbeque.

A spritz of lemon, and alot of napkins for sticky fingers.

We took a big bag of french bread, a bowl of ceaser salad a bag of fresh prawns and lots of cold wine down to the beach, and a good time was had by all, impromptu beach cooking at its best (and a little bit of a headache in the morning!!)

food for free

I am quite a fan of foraging and quite a fan of hugh fearnley whittingstall - i admire what he has done in taking on the supermarkets with his 'chicken out' campaign (there really is no excuse for the supermarkets to be selling battery eggs). Anyway it was HFW who first got me into the idea of foraging with the river cottage series which i watched back to back while struggling unsuccessfully with trying to feed my first baby). Anyway I am a bit of namby pamby whimp in some areas and wouldn't go scraping up roadkill, however there is some excitement in our house when the wild garlic starts to sprout!

Mr H is a big fan of wild garlic flower fritters so I am giving you the recipe, with the idea that they are sort of crdit crunch nibbles. In fact we have got friends coming for dinner on friday and these will be on the menu!

first gather your flowers - pick from an area not too close to a tree - you don't want dog pee on them!

make a batter from equal quantities of cornflour and plain flour - i usually use an american 1/3 cup measure, and do a measure of each.
Add a biggish pinch of salt.
Heat a small deep saucepan with about an inch of sunflower or vegetable oil, get the oil nice and hot.
mix ice cold lager into the flours to get the consistency of paint or double cream. (it needs to be ice cold)
give the garlic heads a shake to dislodge any wildlife and dip in the batter. deep fry a few at time till puffed and golden (only takes about 30 seconds) take them out of the oil with tongues and drain on kitchen paper. sprinle with a bit more salt (this is not one for people with heart problems!!) and scoff while hot.

I also make a nice sage/ anchovy combo using the same batter, sandwich half an anchovy fillet in between 2 large sage leaves and do the same as above. mmmmmm eat with large glass of wine before dinner!