Pretty in pink

Every Spring I forget how much I adore the taste of rhubarb & while this year was no different it was in a most spectacular style. Last weekend I had THE most delicious dessert at No Man's Grace, of vanilla creme brulee, rhubarb doughnuts & rhubarb sorbet. Of course there is no photo as it was eaten far too quickly.

Obviously the next day I hit the local green grocers & purchased an armful of Yorkshire's finest. So far it's been roasted with vanilla to have with yoghurt or icecream...

Chopped up & added to gin

Helpfully the only jar I could find was pink, so it's a bit difficult to see the gin turning colour! Recipe based on this one, minus the sugar which I'll add when the fruit is taken out.

Cooked, whizzed up & frozen for sorbet..

I made the mistake of starting this off late at night & so couldn't do the mixing hence why it looks a bit strange. It doesn't make it any the less tasty though. Recipe source

And while I was on a rhubarb kick, I saw this in the local supermarket & snapped it up. It's very tart & very delicious.

2015

Less a set of resolutions but more about being positive and making life more simple.

1. De-clutter
This is a big one. I'm messy and untidy, doesn't matter if it's at home or at work, you will know about it. Having less 'stuff' means less to actually make untidy, at least that's what I'm hoping.

This also applies to my on-line life. So far this year I've unsubscribed from various emailing lists, muted, blocked, unfollowed Twitter feeds & blogs that were no longer interesting or having a positive impact on me. And deactivated Facebook, this was kind of on a whim and so far the world hasn't ended.

2. Be more conscious when spending
Following on from number 1, simply buy less things. Now I'm not one for spending hours and hours going round shops, but I too easily end up picking up bits and bobs in my lunch hour and doing quite a lot of on-line shopping. This all adds up and most of it isn't even needed. Currently I'm trying to do a bit of a spending ban, basically no new clothes, unless spending a voucher and only purchase new beauty items when something needs replacing. I'm hoping with a bit of patience I'll get out of the habit of spending but it's not as easy as I was expecting.

3. Positive body image
I've been going to Pilates for about a year now and while there's definitely been improvement in terms of strength, physically there hasn't been the changes I would have liked. I spend a lot of time looking on the ingredients of products that I use on my body and around the house and now need to focus on what goes in. Finding better alternatives for the food that I crave (such a sweet tooth!) with my activity levels should leave me feeling happier in my own skin.

Graffiti on Picton Street, Montpelier

Elderflower syrup

Gin is my numero uno summer time drink and one of my favourite combinations, among many, is to add a splash of elderflower syrup (cordial) to a G&T. Having spotted a nearby elderflower tree was in bloom, I set about making my own syrup. I am always one for making life simple and as many online recipes require citric acid or other random ingredients, the recipe I've based my syrup on is this one, who in turn based hers on a Sophie Grigson one. Last years batch of syrup I made was a little sweet for my taste and so this time I decided to drastically cut down the amount of sugar involved.

Ingredients
5 large elderflower heads
350g granulated sugar
300ml water
1 lemon

Follow directions as explained in the link above.

And this is the final result:

To be honest it's still very sweet and if I get chance this year I'm definitely going to try making it again but with less sugar although I am tempted to give elderflower champagne a whirl too!

In the meantime, let's pray for the sun to come back out again and there'll be G&T&E's all round

The Ethicurean

It was a special mans special birthday this week, so on the hottest day of the year we cycled off into the depths of Somerset to the one of the most beautiful restaurants settings you'll ever see, The Ethicurean.

View of restaurant & walled garden

And in celebration, here is my first ever GIF.

Somerset Affogato

Introduction to forest gardening

Picture source

The idea is to replicate the natural soil structure above ground, the above photo is an example of 'lasagne' mulching. This amount of mulching only needs to be in the first instance, once established you should only need to add the top 3 layers year on year to upkeep the natural soil ecology.

Example of the principles in practice at St Werburghs City Farm. Photo was taken before for the final layer of mown grass was put on top.  To plant, first make a hole through the cardboard and add an extra handful of compost before placing into the space you've created.

Stretch it out

Photo source

City foraging

Wild garlic patches, Brandon Hill  My stash has since been turned into a number of glorious dishes as well as a huge pot of wild garlic pesto.  Top tip for pesto: use walnuts instead of pine nuts in the recipe, this discovery was a delicious accident when I couldn't find what I was after in the supermarket!

Sensory herb garden, Castle Park Bed after bed filled with beautiful smelling herbs, not too sure on the etiquette of picking these so only took a cheeky sprig of dill to spruce up a fish dinner.