I love this time of year: the vibrant cocktail of Hebridean weather, woolly socks and snuggly snoods, candles and a glowing stove on dark afternoons, the gutsy flavours of Northern European peasant food, the indulgent aromas of spices and intense sweetness of dried fruit. I particularly enjoy Advent, I like the concept of looking forwards,
Recipes
Garden of Plenty
There are a series of landmarks in my gardening year and, however intemperate the weather, by late July, the croft vegetable garden has been transformed into a garden of abundance. The empty trugs of the hungry gap months become horns of plenty and we are sated with green comestibles. A pretentious little literary allegory which
Let them eat cake
We are now well into the hungry gap. The last knobbly celeriac helped stretch some frozen cauliflower purée into soup, the final half bucket of potatoes are beginning to sprout and I am left with a few small bags of broad beans lurking in the bottom of the freezer. In the absence of anything green
Soup for Solace
The season of the great darkness is upon us and the time of great hunger approaches. Whether the hunger pangs are caused by an empty vegetable garden after the December storms or the mortification of the flesh (January diet) after the seasonal indulgence, I prescribe soup. For those who have stretched the family budget or
Christmas in the Croft Kitchen
Back to Basics and a Masterclass. It is Christmas eve, the wind is rising to storm force, the surf is pounding the beach and there are squalls of sleet hurtling past the window. Strangely the croft kitchen is quiet, the larder overflowing and even if we could squeeze in another culinary delight more baking would