Well, I finally bit the bullet and have done my first order to have groceries delivered to the house. I don’t really know how I feel about this. There’s something slightly exciting and decadent about the thought of our groceries being selected and packed, and finding their way at someone else’s hand through the rainy […]
Author: Nicki
Simple rye and wheat loaf
For the last two weeks I have had a single minded obsession with finding a simple, yeast leavened rye bread recipe. I’ve been repeatedly making loaves using different recipes, methods, cooking times, shapes and sizes, and none have been really great. I made a couple which worked out quite well, but trying to shape them […]
Chipotle baked beans
Recently our car has been acting far from right. As we travel along, it splutters and hiccups, actions which do not really instill a lot of confidence that you will, in the end, reach your destination. This probably wouldn’t be that big of a deal if it were just Buddy and I, but when you […]
Smoky yam and black bean burgers
First of all, a controversial question; In your world are these… …yams or sweet potatoes? Hmmm… In my world, and that of my family, they’re most definitely yams. But a growing number of people seem to be calling them sweet potatoes. Is this some weird Canadian thing to call it a yam? I would argue […]
Adventures in water kefir
A few weeks ago I saw an add on the local classifieds for someone giving away water kefir grains. Water kefir? What on earth is water kefir? I have wanted to try making milk kefir for a while, I have an ongoing love affair with yogurt, and the idea of a milky yogurt-like drink appeals […]
Chocolate spice cashew butter
I was browsing around on-line the other day and kept coming across blog posts about the making of nut butter. I really love nut butter (other than peanut butter for some reason, which I think is verging on vile), and have made various forms of it in the past. Several of the blogs talked about […]
Oatcakes
Before moving to Shetland I was completely unaware of the vast range of weird Shetland and Scottish dishes that exist. Dishes such as reested mutton, tattie soup, Shetland bannocks, clootie dumpling, clapshot, and sassermaet. I’m afraid to say though that as far as I’m concerned some of these can remain in the fog of traditions […]
Fig amaranth breakfast bake
I went through a phase a few years ago when I ate quite a lot of the tiny but mighty grain amaranth. Since then though, I’d kind of forgotten about it. But when I unexpectedly had three separate conversations about it in two days, and was given a bag full, clearly the time had come […]
Crunchy BBQ chickpeas
There are very few better ways to spend a rainy night than to cuddle up on the couch and watch a good movie. We’ve actually had a few really lovely days here in Shetland lately, but Sunday night was windy, a bit wet and generally, as a Shetlander would say, dreich. Perfect movie weather. I […]
Baked lentil and mushroom bulgur kofte
I have a confession to make. As a vegetarian, I kind of feel like it’s my duty, or should be somehow ingrained in my non-meat-eating make-up to be a great lover of all of the vegetarian staples, but here’s the thing, I’m just not. I’m not a massive fan of aubergine and (whisper it) I […]