A delicious and filling salad which makes a light main course, or substantial side dish.
Continue reading “Mixed Grain & Walnut Salad”Sweet Walnut & Apricot Balls
These Apricot Balls use walnuts, seeds and dried fruit to make a sweet and healthy snack. They will fill you up as well as satisfying sweet cravings.
Continue reading “Sweet Walnut & Apricot Balls”Candied Walnuts
A healthy recipe for a sweet treat.
Continue reading “Candied Walnuts”The Old Apple Tree
There’s nothing quite like crunchy, crisp apples straight from the tree. But if you ask your great-granny about her youth, I guarantee she’ll say, “Apples tasted better back then.”
And it’s true!
Since the 20th century we’ve let many old varieties of fruit and vegetables slip quietly into oblivion — and with them have gone taste… aroma…and diversity. Count up how many different apple names you can see on the supermarket shelves. You might see six, but years ago there would have been dozens throughout the country.
It’s both sad and dangerous for the environment that we’ve lost so much plant diversity in the last hundred years. That’s why we treasure the oldest tree on our farm.
Continue reading “The Old Apple Tree”How To Make Perfect Cheese Scones
Making a Savoury Cheese Scone
My daughters believe that I’ve always been able to make perfect cheese scones. When visitors arrive unexpectedly, or the family congregates, it’s no trouble to whip up a batch of scones and bring them out golden hot.
But, in reality, my road to the perfect cheese scone has been a long one. It started back in 1980 after a “bake off” with my boyfriend. At the time scones were the one thing I actually knew how to make. So when Neill showed me his scone recipe — which was very different from the one I used — I was somewhat scathing about it. I distinctly recall saying “that’ll never work.”
Naturally he challenged me to a scone baking contest. He cooked every day. I could barely boil an egg. In hindsight, I don’t know what I was thinking. Of course he won the contest, hands down. His scones were light, moist and HUGE. Mine were tiny and tasteless. Oh no! I buried the remnants of my pride and wrote down his recipe.
Since then, I’ve made countless batches of scones. And I’ve given out that same recipe to many, including my daughters. For some reason the results never seem to work out quite as well for anyone else. Last month, I finally realised why…
I don’t actually use that recipe to make my cheese scones.
Over the years I’ve slowly changed it to fit my somewhat haphazard cooking style. It’s similar, but with important differences. Oops!
So here — with apologies to Steph, Debbie and Jenny for not realising the truth earlier — is the ACTUAL recipe that I now use for making light and delicious, perfect cheese scones.
