August

From the bonny bells of heather, They brewed a drink longsyne,
Was sweeter far than honey,Was stronger far than wine…
From Heather Ale, by Robert Louis Stevenson

You know it’s August here at the cottage when the hills all around are carpeted with vibrant purple flowering heather - that tough traditionally Scottish plant used for centuries to thatch cottages, fuel the fire, to make ale, tea, honey, as well as being woven into fences around the croft. Today, here on the shooting estate, the heather is managed by game-keepers to ensure it is plentiful enough to feed the grouse and so maintain the local shooting industry. Which, come the Glorious Twelfth, is the reason we have so many tweed-clad trained guns trooping past our cottage and through our blooming heather until the grouse shooting season ends in mid-December!

In the cottage garden, early in the month, we harvested our not-so-early potatoes. I was a little late in putting them in the ground this year but this didn’t stop us getting several buckets full of delicious potatoes in return, which I have used, stored, and even frozen ready for roasting later in the year. As I might have expected, Polly and Ruby, who have made a great job of digging up the flower beds this month while persuing mice, voles, or even frogs and toads, wanted to help me dig them up.

Also in the garden, despite a summer of torrential rain and little sunshine, the Buddleia has been taking centre stage by flowering magnificently and attracting plenty of butterflies into the garden – which I then have to keep ‘rescuing’ when they flutter into the greenhouse!

The hens have been disgruntled with the wet weather throughout August. They hate it when their feathers get wet and, instead of trouncing through the muddy fields after juicy worms and bugs, they sit all dedraggled looking under the henhouse, complaining loudly. I do hope September offers us more in the way of sunshine...

Socially, the highlight of the month was a village wedding. Robert and Laura, a local farmer and his new wife, were married amongst the August summer flowers in their farmhouse garden and with the magnificent heather-clad hills behind them. Afterwards, they held a reception for everyone living in a twenty five mile radius, in their cattle barn. Except that, despite what it sounds like, this was no traditional barn dance! Everyone was taken by surprise when, upon entering through the flower festooned barn door, they suddenly arrived into a sumptuously decorated silk-lined and glass-chandelier lit marquee, fully carpeted except for the bedecked dance floor and stage, over which tiny lights sparkled and resembled a midnight sky. Seating was at one of the dozens of tables set for a what turned out to be a fabulous evening of celebration, great food, lots of drinking, and dancing to a live band. Not a hay bale or stray heifer in sight – and the only green wellies and waterproof jackets - were the ones Mr County Cottage and I took from the back of our Landrover at around two o’clock that morning in order to walk home over the hills. Congratulations to Robert and Laura and thank your for sharing your special day with us all in such fine style!

Back in the garden, the new greenhouse, a welcome addition to the cottage garden this year, has been a saving grace for the tomato plants. Last year, grown outside against a sheltered wall, the tomatoes rotted on their vines before ripening due to the wet summer. This year, the summer has once again been wet and, not particularly warm either, but the tomatoes have thrived and are ripening nicely. They are full of flavour and delicious in salads and summer soups just now and, the end of seasonal glut, will keep us in tomato based sauces for some time to come. So, this month's recipe, made mostly from the contents of my greenhouse, is called Greenhouse Soup...

Greenhouse Soup.

Ingredients:
1 Medium sized onion, chopped.
3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and chopped.
Dash of olive oil/butter.
1 kilo or approx 2lb of tomatoes.
1 sweet red pepper
2pts or approx 1 litre of vegetable stock (I use stock made with Knorr Stock Cubes).
1 tablespoon of tomato puree.
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
Good handful of fresh basil, washed and torn up.

Method:
Wash peel and roughly chop the red pepper, tomato, and garlic. Place in a tin and sprinkle with olive oil. Roast in a hot oven until starting to blacken. Remove from oven and allow to cool – then you will then easily be able to peel away the skins and discard them. Put the onion and potato into a large soup pan and cook in a dash of oil/butter until softened. Prepare the vegetable stock cubes (2 or 3) by adding 2pts/ 1 litre of boiling water together with the tomato puree. Add the roasted vegetables to the onion and potato in the large pan and pour on the stock. Add the tinned tomatoes and torn basil leaves. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Season to taste. Puree with a blender and serve up with your favourite crusty bread.

I hope you have enjoyed this month’s county cottage update. I’d love your comments and I have extended the preference poll until the end of September, so please do vote on what you’d like to see more of on a year in a country cottage blogspot before you click away!

Janice.

July

O flower of Scotland, when will we bee, your like again

They say, if you don’t like the weather in Scotland you should wait a minute… It’s very true that you can have all four seasons thrown at you in one day here. So, this month, when the sun was shining we went outside to enjoy the countryside – and when it wasn’t we stayed inside – with the Aga turned back on and the fire lit!

Polly and Ruby enjoy the July sunshine

At the start of the month, my dear mum came to stay for a couple of days with her little dog Bracken. Polly and Ruby were delighted to have the company of their boyfriend while mum and I went to explore nearby Drumlanrig Castle. As the castle is built entirely of pink sandstone, it is known locally as the Pink Palace. Nationally, the castle is known for its history, its antiques, and especially for its fabulous art collection. Drumlanrig was in the news a few years ago when one of its paintings, a priceless Da Vinci known as 'Madonna with the Yarnwinder', was stolen. Happily, the masterpiece has since been recovered and by the end of this year, it may be on display again. The formal gardens are also a great attraction and provide a lovely walk in the sunshine, so before mum and I went inside to enjoy our afternoon tea, I took a few photographs.

The formal gardens at Drumlanrig

Back home, the garden is blooming with annuals. My particular cottage garden favourites are the Antirrhinum or Snapdragon. I have memories of them from my childhood, when we used to pick them and use the flower heads as finger-puppets!

Another flower in the garden at this time of year is the one pictured below. It is a delicate tall, orchid-like plant, that enjoys having its roots in wet conditions. It self-seeds prolifically and, consequentially, the hedges and ditches are filled with them. It’s a breathtaking display to behold on a July day and I’ve seen motorists stop and get out of their cars just to admire them. But what are they? It’s not a trick question - we really do have no idea. So, if you can help us identify the mystery plant - please do!

A mystery plant in the garden...?

The hens have continued to enjoy roaming on the thistle festooned hills around the cottage. Sheep and their fully grown lambs, rabbits and their bright eyed kits, and a full compliment of pheasant and partridge, keep them company. In the July skies above the cottage, it is fun to see the swallows teaching their young ones how to master aerial acrobatics and, in the garden, it is fascinating to see the pied-wagtails demonstrating the best way to catch small flies and bugs from the clover heads and buttercups that cover our lawn.

Kylie, Britney, & Beyonce happily roam on the field and hill

In the vegetable garden, the runner beans are climbing up their bean poles and the little gem lettuce are all looking good. The tomatoes in the greenhouse are doing amazingly, displaying lots of lovely green tomatoes of differing sizes, which with care should start reddening up next month. The pumpkin is growing like a proverbial beanstalk and keeps flowering prolifically. I have to continually ‘nip them in the bud’ to make sure the plant's energy is directed towards the three biggest pumpkin buds to maximise potential for giant pumpkins come Autumn time!

Green tomatoes on the vine

Mid month, I attended a writer’s conference in Penrith, Cumbria. It was the Annual Romantic Novelist’s Association Conference and a wonderful opportunity for me to spend a whole weekend with fellow members and writer buddies. By day, I attended workshops and listened to talks from the industry professionals, top writers of women’s fiction, editors, agents, and publishers. In the evenings, I chatted to friends in the bar over a glass of wine and attended the late night kitchen parties afterwards. On the Saturday evening, I enjoyed the Annual Gala Dinner and on Sunday evening, I returned home to the cottage and to my family, having had an awful lot of fun, while learning much more about the craft of fiction writing. Hurray for the RNA!

While I was away in Penrith, Mr Country-Cottage was kept equally busy. As part of a champion Scottish axe-throwing team, he was booked to put on a demonstration of axe-throwing skills at the Village Gala, an important annual local event. I thought you might like to see a photo of the team, dressed in their tartan finery, and ready for action.

Ready for the Royal Highland Show, Edinburgh

The recipe for July is in celebration of my blackcurrant bushes, which are ‘currently’ weighed down with fruity produce - please do pardon the punnet! I will of course be making lots of jam and freezing as much of the surplus as I can manage to harvest. It’s handy having the boys home for the holidays in times like these. Blackcurrants freeze very well, and I think there is always something very special about defrosting them in the middle of winter, for a cheesecake topping or sorbet, and experiencing all the scents and flavours of a July day that has long gone.

So, here is the recipe for this month. It’s the one I use to make my own blackcurrant ice-cream. It’s a real taste of summer – whatever the weather.

Blackcurrant Ice-Cream
Ingredients:
1lb (450g) fresh blackcurrants
6 oz (175g) sugar
5 fl oz (150 ml) water
10 fl oz (175ml) double cream
You will also need a freezer proof plastic box with a lid and a nylon sieve.

Method.
Pile the blackcurrants, about one third at a time, into the sieve set over a mixing bowl, and mash with a wooden spoon until you have extracted all the pulp and only the stalks, pips and skins are left in the sieve.
Now place the sugar and the water in a saucepan over a medium heat, stir until all the sugar has dissolved, then let it come to the boil, and boil for 3 minutes exactly.
Remove from the heat and stir into the blackcurrant pulp.
Whip the cream until it just begins to thicken.
Fold the cream into the fruit mixture until thoroughly blended.
Pour it into the plastic box, and freeze in a freezer or in the ice-making compartment of a fridge turned to its coldest setting. As soon as the mixture begins to set (after about 3 hours) turn it out into a bowl and beat thoroughly. Then, return it to the freezer (in the box) until set, which will take about another 3 hours. Remove to the main part of the fridge about an hour before serving. Serves approx 6.

Next month, I’m sowing salad leaves and spicy rocket, to enjoy with our late summer salads. I’m hoping to harvest ripe tomatoes from the greenhouse and use up all the basil I’ve grown to go with them. Socially, we have a wedding to attend in early August and a dinner engagement mid-month, with some good friends. So, until the month end, do let me know what you enjoy about the country cottage blog. As you can see, I’ve gone all high-tech by adding the visitor map, a followers listing, and opinion poll that I hope you will all consider voting on.

Love, Janice

June

“And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden,

You will find yourself a partner In the Glory of the Garden.”
Rudyard Kipling

I’ve loved being in the cottage garden this month - busy planting bedding plants into pots and planters and, in the sunshine and showers, watching the flowers and vegetables growing as fast as the lawn and the field grass on the bankings. Of course, The Glory Of The Garden in full bloom can be an enormous pleasure as well as a real pain, as Kipling knew, especially when I put myself out of action for a few days after hurting my back lifting a batch of compost. Ouch!

I’ve lots of photos to share this month. Some of the plants I’m showing you have been established at the cottage for many years, like the red-hot-poker plant (Kniphofia) and the blue Lupins (Lupinus angustifolius) and some, like those in the flower border, were only planted out last year but are already giving us a colourful mid-summer display.

Red-Hot Poker

Blue Lupins

The Flower Border

Oriental Poppy

Leafy Hosta

Weigela

Ruby in The Blue Lupins

In the vegetable garden, the early Pentland Javelin potatoes are coming along nicely and their foliage is now filling the raised bed. I’ll be watching out for flowering soon, which will signal the onset of a bountiful and tasty harvest. The tomato plants in the greenhouse are at various stages of growth and I also have pepper and pumpkin to nurse to fruition. In the herb garden, I now have more coriander and basil than I have use for, and so intend to try to dry and/or freeze some of it, for later in the year.

There's plenty happening in the new greenhouse

And I have a old sink full of Coriander...

The hens are currently enjoying long lazy days out in the field. So much so, one of them caused me a little concern this month. Hens , you see, cannot see in the dark and so go to roost at dusk - but this month - it has been well after ten thirty when they have toddled back to the hen house to be shut in for the night. It was around the time of the longest day, when Kylie was not to be found sitting safely on her perch with Britney and Beyonce and I feared she had been taken by a fox. The whole family went out looking for her with torches, calling her name, (yes, she normally does reply when spoken to!) to no avail. Thankfully, as I had hoped, having not made it back to the henhouse in time for nightfall, she had sensibly found herself a place to hide and sleep until daybreak – which was at three thirty am - when she woke everyone by making an awful lot of noise outside the kitchen door. The chicken version of Mummy I’m Home!

This month, I’m thrilled to announce that my novel When We First Love, which was first published in 2004 but has since been out of print, is available once more both at on-line and from high street booksellers.

Available on-line or from highstreet booksellers

RECEIPE OF THE MONTH - Spinach Quiche with Bacon and Cheese.
This month’s recipe is inspired by the success of the spinach-beet growing in the old butler’s sink outside the kitchen door. It’s a hearty summertime lunch dish which I like to serve up with a tossed salad and slices of bread and butter. My Aga is off for the summer and so I cooked it in my stand-by electric fan oven. Hence it's a bit browner on one side. Never mind, it tasted good!
Ingredients:
A savoury short crust pastry to line your dish, part baked.
Bacon chopped and fried with 2-3 spring onions. I used smoked back bacon.
A good handful of spinach-beet or spinach leaves.
A helping of cheese, grated. Use whatever you have including soft cheeses like ricotta or feta.
Eggs, beaten. I used 8 – but you use however many you need to ¾ fill your pastry case.
Method:
Add the spinach to the pan when the bacon and onion are cooked.
Sweat down for one minute. Add to the base of your pastry case.
Beat together as many eggs as you need with a splash of milk.
Grate the cheese into the egg, bacon, onion and spinach mixture.
Cook in a medium-hot oven of around 200 degrees/Gas 6.

That's about it for June. Oh, I've played around with the blog settings again, after folk emailing to say they had tried but given up on leaving a comment. This time, I really think I done away with the complications - so please do feel free to leave a comment or a suggestion. I'd love to hear from you and I promise to reply.

See you at the end of July....?

Janice

May

The darling buds of my Clematis Montana open up in May. A wedding anniversary present from my mother fifteen years ago, it is growing up a trellis outside the kitchen door, it flowers prolifically at this time of year and provides a vanilla-scented home to a darling family of pied-wagtails.

There is so much going on outside in the garden this month but by far the most exciting thing for me is the completion of the greenhouse build. I was given the aluminium frame via our local Freecycle Group and, having bought some glass panes, glass clips, a door repair kit, and a base, (I’m still in need some shelves and a potting bench) I have sown some tomato seeds and potted-on the basil sowed indoors last month. Hurray - and more on the greenhouse next month..!

Interestingly, although not surprisingly, the outdoor sown basil has yet to make an appearance – unlike the spinach-beet, the spring onions, and coriander – which are all showing strong early growth. Also outside, I have a good crop of rhubarb. The surplus of which, I intend to cut and freeze while the storks are still tender.

The potatoes are just loving the sunshine and showers and are in need of another earthing up. They are growing in the raised bed used for salad leaves last year and, as the soil has settled down, it looks as if I’m going to have to bring in some more soil.

A real sign that summer is on it’s way to this part of Scotland is the arrival of bluebells and other wild flowers in the banking around the cottage.

The hens are enjoying the warm damp weather and spend all their day in the field, grazing on juicy worms and succulent grasses. They are always on alert for the sound of the back door, however, and the real possibility of a tasty morsel from kitchen.

The social highlights this month have been plentiful. First, midmonth, we had our Scottish Writers group meeting at nearby Drumlanrig Castle and Country Estate. We had a fabulous lunch followed by a guided tour of the castle. It was a wonderful day to catch up with all my writerly buddies. On the last weekend of May, the weather was sizzling – and not only was it Mr Country Cottage and I's wedding anniversary - but it was also a very dear friend’s special birthday. We certainly celebrated in style with fantastic friends, a munificent barbeque, and rather too much champagne!

Before I go on to the May recipe, I’d like to tell you that this month I received an email from Debbie Attewell, editor of Candis Magazine. I had entered their Blog Competition in April, and she was writing to tell me that, although I hadn’t won - out of over three hundred entries - my blog had been short-listed and judged as ‘highly commended’. I was absolutely delighted! Check out Candis for yourselves.

May Recipe – Easy Rhubarb Jam

Ingredients: There are only three!

1kg fresh rhubarb, chopped into small pieces.
500g of jam sugar – this sugar has pectin added for a sure set!
200ml of orange juice.
Method: In a large pan, combine the three ingredients: rhubarb, jam sugar, and orange juice. Bring to a slow rolling boil. Carefully skim off any foam (this will ensure a clear jam). Cook for 45 minutes. In the meantime, wash your jars and lids, and place the jars in a warm oven to sterilise them (about 120 C deg/ 250 F/ Gas 2). Take out after 30 minutes and place (carefully) onto a wooden board to cool. Don’t put onto a cold surface or the glass jars will crack (as has happened to me loads of times!) Once the rhubarb is cooked and the jam looks ready, take it off the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes. Ladle while still warm into the slightly warm jars and fill to the brim. Seal with lids tightly. Enjoy with your morning toast instead of the usual marmalade. Delicious!

More cottage chat next month. In June I hope to be growing tomatoes, peppers, and other goodies in the greenhouse. See you then!

Janice

April

Who ate my Easter egg..?

You know, Easter used to be all about hard-boiling eggs and sitting at the kitchen table to decorate them with paint and glitter-glue, so that on Sunday we could all climb the nearest hill and roll them. It used to be about a giant bunny with a basket who would hop invisibly to our doorstep and leave his chocolate treasures for the children to find. It was about lazy days lounging in the garden after an alfresco lunch. Now, it’s about number one son arriving back from university with all his washing, using every electrical socket in the house to recharge his phone, his iPod, his laptop, and every other mode of necessary communication. Number two son being around all weekend means that the cottage rocks to ‘house music’ through his giant speakers, mixer desks, and turntables. Vinyl records, apparently, are the new old thing to come back in – a bit like me wearing the new Spring hippy look - only louder. Number three son, prefers sport and the outdoors, so it’s likely that he and his dad will be practicing axe-throwing (the latter being a Scottish Champion, no less) at the target in the middle of the lawn all weekend. So from the safety of the hen house – a belated happy Easter everyone!

This month, I noticed that one of three hens is behaving a little strangely, but I’m not quite sure which one? When I open the henhouse in the morning, I have come to expect our usual quota of three eggs, laid by Kylie, Britney, and Beyonce, but on occasion over the past few weeks, I have been presented with either two eggs only, or two normal sized eggs and one enormous double-yoker, or two normal sized and one teeny-tiny one. Or incredibly – a wobbly egg without a shell around it at all! What’s happening here…?

Perhaps the lambs playing in the field behind the cottage, who sometimes find their way through the fence and the hen’s pop-hole, are worrying our feathered slacker? Although, as you can see, they seem to get on fine with each other otherwise.

The weather has been so good here during the whole of April and I have managed to get out in the garden quite a bit. I did some much needed clearing up in the herbaceous border and have mowed the lawn a couple of times too. I planted out my ‘Pentland Javelin’ potatoes in the raised bed. I also sowed some spinach and spring onion seeds directly into the soil, and in my new herb garden sink, I sowed basil and coriander seeds. I also potted up some basil seeds for the kitchen window ledge, as I think it might have to wait awhile for the outdoor plants to appear. Everything else will have to wait for May, when the threat of night time frost might be over.

Last month, I mentioned I was on the look out for a greenhouse. I wanted to buy second hand rather than new and I scoured eBay and the local newspapers for a bargain. Then, a dear friend pointed me in the direction of our local Freecycle group. Freecycle groups match people who have things they want to get rid of with people who can use them. The goal is to keep usable items out of landfills. By using what we already have on this earth, we reduce consumerism, manufacture fewer goods, and lessen the impact on the earth. Another benefit of using Freecycle is that it encourages us to get rid of junk that we no longer need and promote community involvement in the process. Everything posted must be free, legal and appropriate for all ages. When you want to OFFER something - whether it's a chair, fax machine, piano or an old door, simply send an email to your group. Maybe you're looking to acquire something yourself? Post a WANTED message and a group member may just have what you're looking for. Alert the group with a follow-up RECEIVED email. After that it is up to the giver to decide who receives the gift from the responses only they receive and to set up a collection time, and finally post an item TAKEN message. What a FANTASTIC scheme - so why don’t you subscribe to your local group? In just one week I had an OFFER email from someone in the same region who has an old 8’ x 6’ greenhouse frame that they don’t need anymore. I’m collecting my new-to-me greenhouse at the weekend – so more about that next month!

http://www.uk.freecycle.org/

Some very dear friends of ours have a lovely cottage next to a riverbank and, during mid-April, they invited us to a barbeque night. The very first of the season. It was a clear and star-filled night at the bottom of their garden and wild garlic infused the air as we all sat round a huge bonfire to eat some fantastic food and drink lots of delicious wine. It was a fabulous night – I do hope we all do it again soon!

Before we go onto this month’s recipe, I’d like to tell you that today, the last day of April, is darling Polly’s 5th birthday.

Polly is 5 today

Recipe for April.
I waited right to the end of this deliciously warm month in the hope of seeing some locally produced Food Of The Gods available and I wasn’t disappointed. Asparagus is one of my favourite of all things and I like it served simply or extravagantly. This week, I have eaten it for breakfast, steamed and dipped into a poached egg, I have eaten it for lunch in a creamed soup, and I have had it for dinner in a quiche with ricotta cheese. This recipe is the best of all ways to serve early spring asparagus and it is simply delicious.

Oven Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan.
Ingredients:
A bunch of the seasons best asparagus spears.
Olive oil.
Shaved or grated Parmesan Cheese.
Salt and Pepper.

Method:
Wash and snap the hard ends off your asparagus storks. Put them aside to make a soup.

Dry the spears with a clean tea towel and place in a metal oven dish.
Sprinkle with olive oil, shaved or grated parmesan cheese, season with salt and pepper and toss together. Place in a hot oven (at least 200 degrees or gas 6) for 7-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your spears. You don’t want to overcook them.
Toss with extra shaved parmesan and serve with hollandaise sauce. Enjoy.

Next month, in May, I’m hoping to blog from my new-to-me greenhouse where I will be sowing tomatoes and peppers (hopefully!) - so why don’t you join me? Meanwhile, please do leave a comment. I’d love to know your thoughts on the things I’ve blogged about this month or to answer any questions. It’s easier now to leave a comment than it was before – so what are you waiting for?

Love,
Janice

March

I LOVE March. It means longer days, and even though the weather here in Scotland can still be on the shivery side, there are daffodils flowering and lambs are being born all around us. In the field behind the cottage, this ewe and her newborn lamb are just out from the birthing shed and into the brisk March air – but junior, you will see, if you take a close look – has a little plastic coat on to protect him from the elements. Bless!

The beginning of the month heralds my birthday, and this year, as usual, I have been spoiled rotten by family and friends. First, I enjoyed a few luxurious and romantic days away with my darling husband and then I was treated to a party organised by our dear friends, with a cake and candles and dancing and Margaritas. Okay, so you might think girls in the countryside don’t DO cocktails - but you’d be wrong – we can be very cosmopolitan!


In mid-March, and in anticipation of Springtime in the garden, we put a new fence and gate around the vegetable garden and lined it with chicken wire. This is primarily to protect the raised beds from the pesky puppy but it also defines the ‘working patch’ from the rest of the garden. I can’t wait to start growing our own vegetables and salads again but, unfortunately, it’s still far to cold up here in the hills to begin work outside. To compensate, I have my ‘Pentland Javelin’ early potatoes ‘chitting’ inside on a kitchen windowsill.

A very generous friend gave me two old butlers sinks and I have sited these outside the kitchen door. They are just waiting for the herbs I hope to grow from seed!


You’ll be sad to hear that this month we lost one of our hens. By lost, you know I don’t mean that she took a stroll and forgot to come home, don’t you? Our poor feathered friend met a violent end, I’m afraid, but I take some comfort in knowing that her short life was a happy one. R.I.P. Madonna. I miss you.

The dogs have been to get their springtime haircuts, and now that the puppy has lost her puppy-fluff and has grown so much, I can hardly tell Polly and Ruby apart in looks - although in personalities - they are still SO different!


The month end was very special as I launched my recently published romance novel entitled ‘Beneath Apricot Skies’. The event took place at a fabulous village venue called Thomas Tosh. It’s a bookshop, an antiques centre, an art gallery, and an absolute treasure in Dumfries and Galloway. Courtesy of owners Paul and David, we had apricot themed nibbles and drank pink bubbly, while I signed and sold lots of books. It was a fabulous event and my heartfelt thanks go out to all of those who supported it and made it a very special, and for me a never to be forgotten, occasion.

Available to order online and from all highstreet bookshops

Recipe of the month:
My recipe this month is a warming spicy parsnip soup. I can’t take all the credit for it because a friend made this soup for a supper dish recently - and we loved it – so much so that I experimented in the kitchen the following day until I had managed to recreate the exact exquisite blend of flavours. Parsnips are so much sweeter and tastier after the frosts of January and February have bitten them - and if, like me, you don’t have any parsnips still tucked up in your vegetable beds – you’ll notice that the shops are selling them at very good prices just now.

Spicy Parsnip Soup.
6 Parsnips, peeled and chopped.
2 carrots, peeled and chopped,
2 medium sized potatoes, peeled and chopped.
1 leek, washed and chopped.
1 small onion, peeled and chopped.
Dash of olive oil/butter.
2pts/approx 1 litre of chicken stock (I use stock made with Knorr Stock Cubes).
1 teaspoon of curry powder.
1 teaspoon of curry paste (I used Madras as I like it hot!).
1 tablespoon of tomato puree.
Good handful of fresh coriander (the secret ingredient!)

Method:
Wash peel and chop the vegetables into small pieces. Add to a large pot with the olive oil/butter. Fry for a few minutes until soft. Prepare the chicken stock cubes (2 or 3) by adding 2pts/ 1 litre of boiling water and then adding the curry powder, curry paste, and tomato puree, to the stock. This gives the soup a lovely colour as well as a lots of flavour. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Puree the soup with a hand blender or in smaller quantities using a food processor until smooth. Wash a good handful of fresh coriander leaves, chop, and stir into the soup. Bring back to a simmer. Serve up with your favourite crusty bread.

Next month, in April, I’m on the lookout for a greenhouse as I suddenly have a longing to grow chillies and other peppers and to protect my precious crop of summertime tomatoes. I am also looking forward to warmer weather, particularly over the Easter weekend, when our eldest son is home from university and lots of family are coming to stay. We will be rolling decorated hard-boiled eggs down the hill behind the cottage – an annual and traditional event. I can’t wait..!

Janice


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