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Meadow Update

We left the lawn to grow through the Summer and as a result (it feels) have seen a lot more wildlife. Of course what that means is a lot more bugs, but as long as it includes butterflies then I’m going to count it as a great success.

What we didn’t see was a great deal of wild flowers. There was a lot of clover, some orange hawkweed and a fair set of dandelions, but not much else. The grass grew to around calf height, so more rough around the edges than out of control wasteland. And two ants nests set up home.

We invested in hand grass shears which meant cutting it in late September was practical if not a pleasure. Thank goodness it’s a relatively small patch. The path through to the garden seat made it look more deliberate rather than accidental, which helped.

But I want to see flowers, especially Summer flowers and have decided nature just isn’t quick enough.

I’ve ordered some wildflower plug plants to be delivered next week, leaucanthemuma (basically large daisies) and foxgloves. The latter will be added mostly to the shade garden but I’ll plant a few in the meadow to see if they take.

But I’ve also ordered some bulbs that could be slipped into the grass, such as white anemone blanda (maybe some blue) along with some Eglihs bluebells. Both should flower in late March/early April.

I have crocus bulbs but was thinking to focus them in the front lawn again – last year the lawn was cut too early and their flowering was a bit wreaked.

The blue camassia (quamash) and leichtlinii (caerula) flower in late May/June. The alliums cowanii, roseum and sparaeocephalon, will flower from May through to July. Where the triteleia should pick up (June/July). I’m hoping that these will all be relatively at home within the grass and rather delicate looking.

Should I also chuck in some of the orange crocosimia for a contrast? They grow in the garden like weeds so maybe I should try a couple and see how they spread.

The foxgloves should spike in around June/August and the leucanthemum (ox eye daisies) should flower May through to September if they like the spot.

The grass will be cut back every September so there doesn’t seem much point in planting Autumn flowering plants or bulbs.

That leaves hundreds of tulips to be planted in the white rose border, under the wisteria and on top of the flat roof in the gravel. It’s a job my partner hates doing this time of year bt persists with because Spring is so lovely.

Food

Spicy Cucumbers With Yogurt, Lemon and Herbs

An easy bright salad that can be made a day or so ahead of time before dressing to serve.Spicy Cucumbers With Yogurt, Lemon and Herbs

This recipe brings together two contrasting components to create a bright summer dish. A simple yogurt sauce is dressed up with herbs and zest, then topped with cucumbers that have marinated in a spicy oil. Coriander, cumin and red-pepper flakes bloom in a neutral oil, and the cucumbers take on the flavors as they sit.

For the yogurt, a variety of garden fresh herbs work well, but dill and mint are crucial. Both the yogurt and the cucumbers can be prepared up to a day in advance and kept refrigerated until serving.

When you’re ready, spread the yogurt sauce in a wide bowl or plate. Spoon the cucumbers on top evenly so each each bite gets a little yogurt and a little cucumber: One will temper the spiciness of the other. Save a handful of the herbs for a fresh garnish.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ pounds Persian cucumbers (about 8), ends trimmed and quartered lengthwise into spears, then crosswise into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • ¼ cup grapeseed oil or other neutral oil, such as canola, safflower, sunflower oil
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
  • 2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt
  • ½ cup mint leaves, thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup dill, chopped
  • ¼ cup parsley leaves and tender stems, chopped
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  •  Black pepper
  • ¼ cup pine nuts (optional)

Preparation

  1. Toss the cucumber pieces with 1 teaspoon salt and set in a colander in the sink to drain.
  2. In a small pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the coriander and cumin, and toast until fragrant, stirring to avoid scorching, about 1 minute. Remove oil from heat, add red-pepper flakes and allow to cool.
  3. In a medium bowl, toss the salted cucumber pieces with the scallions, spiced oil and apple cider vinegar. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or overnight while you prepare the yogurt.
  4. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, half of the herbs (mint, dill and parsley), zest and juice of the lemon and the olive oil. Stir to incorporate, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  5. Spread the yogurt mixture on a plate or the bottom of a shallow bowl. Using a slotted spoon to drain the cucumbers and scallions of excess liquid, evenly place the cucumbers and scallions on top of the yogurt. Finish with the remaining chopped herbs and pine nuts (if using), and serve immediately.
Food

Almond, Black Pepper and Fig Cake With Tamarind Glaze

An easy cake to make, but with a sweet sour glaze.

Almond, Black Pepper and Fig Cake With Tamarind Glaze

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CAKE:

  • ½ cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), melted, plus more for greasing the baking dish
  • 12 to 14 fresh ripe figs
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 ½ cups/300 grams granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
  • 2 cups/225 grams blanched almond flour
  • 1 cup/130 grams all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 large eggs, chilled
  • 1 cup/240 milliliters full-fat plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract

FOR THE TAMARIND GLAZE:

  • 1 cup/125 grams confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 tablespoons tamarind paste (not concentrate)
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil

PREPARATION

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with a little butter.
  2. Trim and discard the stalks from the figs. Slice the figs in half lengthwise, and place them in a small bowl. Sprinkle the pepper and 2 tablespoons sugar over the figs, and toss to coat well.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sift twice through a fine mesh sieve to remove any clumps and return to the large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk melted butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar, eggs and yogurt until smooth and combined. (It will be very thick.) Whisk in the almond extract.
  4. Make a small well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the whisked liquid ingredients. Using an outward-to-inward circular motion, fold with a spatula until the mixtures are completely combined, and no visible flecks of dry ingredients remain. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Top the cake with the sliced figs with the cut sides facing up.
  5. Bake cake until the surface is golden brown and the figs release their juices and turn slightly caramelized, about 1 hour, rotating halfway through baking. If it’s browning too quickly, loosely tent the cake with foil. The cake is done when a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the baked cake and let cool for 15 minutes.
  6. As the cake cools, prepare the tamarind glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk the confectioners’ sugar, tamarind paste and oil until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, it can be thinned by adding a teaspoon or two of water.
  7. Once the cake has cooled for 15 minutes, pour the glaze over, and serve warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate any leftovers and eat within 3 days.
Food

Summer Buckle

American buckles are softer and more fruit-filled than a coffeecake, but with a higher percentage of buttery batter than a cobbler. Buckles are harder to describe than they are to make.

This one is tender, moist and filled with sweet summer berries. But feel free to substitute any other juicy fruit that you like: peaches, nectarines, figs, plums or pineapple. If your fruit is very sweet (figs, pineapple), reduce the sugar by a couple of tablespoons, while tart fruit (plums or tart blackberries) may need an extra tablespoon. Buckles are best eaten on the same day they are baked. But since they come together so quickly, you don’t have to plan ahead.

INGREDIENTS

  • ½ cup/114 grams (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing pan
  • ½ cup/100 grams granulated sugar, more for sprinkling
  • ¼ cup/55 grams light brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon/5 grams finely grated lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon/5 milliliters vanilla extract
  • 1 ¼ cups/156 grams all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • 4 ½ cups summer berries (a mix of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or use any one kind)
  •  Cinnamon, for dusting (optional)
  •  Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

PREPARATION

  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, add butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then add lemon zest and vanilla and mix until combined.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg and baking powder, and whisk to combine. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture and mix until just combined.
  4. Gently fold berries into the batter, then spread batter in pan and sprinkle lightly with more granulated sugar. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, or until top is golden and cake is cooked through.
  5. Allow cake to cool, then sprinkle with cinnamon, if using, and confectioners’ sugar.
Travel

Favourites (2)

Thinking about some of the most beautiful places in the world that I have visited, and it seems that mountains and deserts dominate.

Bhutanese Prayer Flags

It is difficult to find anywhere as beautiful as the Himalayan country of Bhutan, not just for the mountains, but also for the culture itself and the loveliness of the people who live there.

Shopkeeper, Punakha, Bhutan

From the iconic Tiger’s Nest monastery clinging to the mountain side,

Tigers Nest Monastery, Paro Valley, Bhutan

though to the incredibly beautiful and impressive architecture of the tzongs.

Thimpu Dzong Bhutan
Travel

Favourites (2)

Where is the most beautiful part of the world that you have ever seen?

Yosemite

Yosemite in California US has to come top of my list and though it’s a total cliche, there is such a sense of grandeur in the scale of the valley, that it really could be described as God’s own country.

Yosemite

It’s one of the few places that I’ve been back to, deliberately and consciously because it is so very beautiful.

Yosemite

Travel

Favourites (2)

If you had to choose your favourite places that you’ve visited where would they be? Lockdown seems to be the time for lists, especially when it comes to social media.

The most surprisingly beautiful place in the world, that I’ve been to is the Namib Rand desert in Namibia. Words cannot describe such a truly stunning the landscape.

Namib-Rand
Namib-Rand

There is a crest in the dunes where you arrive and pause for breath and the whole world seems spread out before you, the colours astonishing and the world seems larger somehow.

Food

Crispy Tofu With Cashews and Blistered Snap Peas

Tofu one pot dishes make surprisingly comforting suppers, for when you don’t want a big lockdown extravaganza

Crispy Tofu With Cashews and Blistered Snap Peas

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 (14-ounce) block firm or extra-firm tofu, drained
  • 3 tablespoons neutral oil, such as grapeseed, vegetable or canola, plus more as needed
  •  Kosher salt and black pepper
  • ¾ pound snap peas, trimmed
  • 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated (about 2 tablespoons)
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated
  • 1 (13-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk (light or full-fat)
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons molasses, dark brown sugar or honey
  • ½ cup toasted cashews
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup mint leaves, torn if large
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional)
  •  Rice or any steamed grain, for serving

PREPARATION

  1. Slice the tofu in half horizontally, and leave on paper towels to dry any excess liquid.
  2. In a medium skillet or cast-iron pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high until it shimmers. Season both sides of the tofu with salt and black pepper, place in the pan and sear without moving until tofu is browned and golden on both sides, turning once halfway through, about 8 minutes total. Move the tofu to a plate.
  3. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan, and add the snap peas. Cook, stirring occasionally, until blistered and just tender, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and move to a bowl.
  4. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, add the ginger and garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the coconut milk, soy sauce and molasses. Simmer, stirring frequently until the sauce reduces and its color deepens to a dark brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. It should coat a spoon without running right off. Stir in the cashews, break the tofu into 1-inch pieces and toss in the pan to coat with sauce. Remove from heat, and taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
  5. Toss the snap peas with the rice vinegar, scallions, mint and red-pepper flakes, if using. Divide among plates, along with the tofu and cashews. Serve with rice or any steamed grain.
London, Rants&Rambles

A little Bit racist?

Is it possible to be a little bit racist? A group of racist white men ran riot in London leading to a number of comments suggesting the UK was racist.

This was immediately followed by a whole series of replies saying that actually the UK was not racist, they were British and not personally racist. The people rioting in London were nothing to do with them, did not represent them so it as, apparently unfair, to describe the UK as racist. Because they do not see themselves as racist, the country they live in cannot be described as racist even when clearly racist white men are running around the capital city looking for black people to lynch.

& it’s taking me some time to process all of this.

Clearly I don’t feel myself to be personally racist. Who does? Even the white men running around London looking for people to lynch probably don’t describe themselves as racist. They probably call themselves “patriots” or some other co-opted word.

As a white person, immensely privileged when living in a predominantly white country, I don’t think that I get to decide for myself whether I’m racist or not. I can decide to try not to be racist, todo my best to be positively fair, open and accepting of other people whatever their ethnicity but I don’t believe that I get to decide whether or not I’m succeeding in not being racist. I don’t get to mark my own scorecard.

Passively doing nothing cannot equate to not being racist.

Not charging around the streets of London looking for people to kick, people to spit on, people to abuse, is a pretty low bar to set as a minimum standard on not being racist. It’s really not good enough.

& it also doesn’t really seem good enough to say that the rioting racists are nothing to do with me, therefore I don’t need to worry, or worse still, you don’t need to worry. We’re not racist so everything is ok. Even as racist white men run around on the streets looking for someone to beat up.

“Yes, but…” seems a peculiarly inadequate response to a racist mob.

And suggesting racism is someone else’s problem because “I’m not racist” is just another way of trying to make the victims responsible for their own abuse and is in itself, intrinsically racist.

Because it just isn’t possible to be a little bit racist, anymore than a woman can be a little bit pregnant: racism is racism. And we are all responsible, responsible for identifying what we’ve done wrong that has allowed this to happen, as well as working out what we can do better to prevent it in the future.

Food

Sfouf (Turmeric Cake)

Sfouf is a Middle Eastern semolina turmeric cake, made with simple cupboard ingredients, no eggs and no butter. It’s vegan-friendly, light and tasty.

  • 1 1/2 cup coarse semolina or fine, or mixture of both
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 tablespoon turmeric
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 cup canola oil or other neutral oil
  • 1 cups milk
  • 1 cup cane sugar
  • 1-2 tablespoons tahini to grease the pan can be replaced with oil
  • Handful of pine nuts or almonds

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF and grease a 9″ baking pan with the tahini sesame oil or other oil.
  2. Mix the dry ingredients (semolina, flour, turmeric and baking powder) together in a large bowl.
  3. Mix the wet ingredients (canola oil, milk and cane sugar) in another small bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved in the mixture.
  4. Combine the dry and wet ingredients until batter is smooth and bright yellow. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and sprinkle the pine nuts all over.
  5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes until the pine nuts are golden.
  6. Cool on a wire rack and cut into 16 squares or diamond shapes.

Recipe Notes

Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container. They will last about 7 days at room temperature or about 10 days in the fridge.

Substitutes: For best results, follow the recipe as is. However here are some common substitutes that would work well in this recipe.

  • For tahini, you can substitute oil or butter
  • For the coarse semolina, you can also use fine semolina, but don’t use flour instead of semolina because it will not yield the right results
  • For the pine nuts, you can use almonds. Silvered almonds work well and make sure they are raw since they will be getting roasted in the oven.