Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary
cooking up a storm at the edge of the world
I may live as far away from Glasgow as I possibly can and still be considered to living in Scotland, but the Commonwealth Games have touched our rural island village in the middle of the north sea. On the 1st of July the Queen’s Baton Relay came to our village. The buzz on the day …
My regular readers might have noticed my blogging silence over the last fortnight – that’s because as a family we’ve been away adventuring! We spent 12 days away; covering 1500 miles and camping in the Lake District in England and in the heart of the Cairngorms in Scotland. I’ve plenty of adventure stories to share …
Spinach has been regularly making an appearance in my Turriefield Veg Box. Baby leaf spinach gets eaten raw in salads and sandwiches or occasionally juiced, while the tougher older leaves get cooked. One of my favourite recipes is gently sautéing the spinach and serving with spiced puy lentils and a poached egg (pictured below right …
A few weeks ago I had a late night chocolate cake craving. Both Gingey Bites and the BritMums Bibs 2014 Food winner Lucy over at Supergolden Bakes came to the rescue with recipes. I didn’t have all the ingredients for either of their cakes, so I improvised, and I was very pleased with the results. …
I live on a very windy island in the middle of the North Sea. It’s often overcast and the temperature, although it doesn’t get particularly cold in the winter, it doesn’t get particularly warm in the summer either. When the mercury starts creeping over 15 degrees Celsius layers start getting peeled off and we all …
This dessert was born out of late-night, I’m needing something sugary but I don’t want to feel guilty about the calories, snacking. I’ve become quite taken lately with munching on a bowl of ripe, juicy British strawberries dipped in a modest bowl of caster sugar while watching Netflix (who else is watching the latest series …
My three children are big fans of the Fab Ice Lolly; layers of strawberry and vanilla ice coated in chocolate and sprinkles. I’m not even sure I’ve ever tried the shop bought version myself, having never been introduced to them until I moved to the UK, but apparently they are Britain’s favourite ice lolly!
I have no idea who Jane is but she makes mighty good cookies.
I’ve only ever been to Italy once; back when I was younger and thinner. I spent a whirlwind of a weekend on the island of Sardinia at an all expenses paid car launch (I didn’t even have a driving license back then!). There was a red carpet laid out upon our arrival on a private …
Aimee Ryan is the incredibly talented food blogger over at Wallflower Girl and she absolutely loves coconut milk ice cream. I’ve been following her blog for at least a year now and every single one of her posts are beautifully photographed and positively mouthwatering. She’s one of those bloggers who just gets it right every …
Looking for a family-friendly meatloaf recipe? This delicious, moist Italian-style meatloaf is stuffed with spinach and mozzarella cheese. Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 1.5 hours Difficulty: Easy Meatloaf isn’t particularly pretty, is it? There’s no way to possibly photograph meatloaf to make it look like an enticing, appetising food, but I have to say, …
I’ve always been a big fan of rhubarb. We had a giant rhubarb patch in our garden growing up and my great-grandmother used to grow a miniature variety which I used to eat raw. I loved it so very much. I’ve been fortunate that nearly every house I’ve lived in as an adult has come …
DD is going through a pasta and cheese sauce phase just now. Every time I ask her what she wants for dinner I get the same reply: “Macaroni with cheese sauce, please.” She likes her pasta and cheese with olives, chopped fresh tomatoes and fresh parsley scattered over the top, so at least there’s some …
When I was little my mother used to make mince and tatties for dinner. Her mince involved browned beef, a chopped onion and a tin of Heinz alphabet soup and it was absolutely the Best Thing Ever. I could never get enough of it.
The sun came out in Shetland the other day. This means one thing: screens get switched off, the housework gets abandoned and we head outdoors for some proper exploring adventures. After all, it could be weeks before we see the sun again!
I had a friend ask me the other day if I ever just eat junk for dinner. I do! It’s not unknown for me to pop a frozen pizza in the oven, or serve oven chips with baked beans, sausages and a poached egg. One of my favourite quick meals just now is a poached …
I haven’t made doughnuts since 2009. I know this because there is a photo of them on my Facebook “food” photo album, where I used to put food photos until I began blogging in 2011. Five years is a very long time to go without having a decent doughnut (those stale supermarket ones just don’t …
I am absolutely addicted to this dish. Every time I do a supermarket shop I pick up a packet of Merchant Gourmet ready-to-eat puy lentils (two if they are on offer). They’re one of my store cupboard essentials along with tinned tomatoes, kalamata olives and baking chocolate.
This May and June thousands of people in the UK, USA and Canada are taking part in the Live Below The Line Challenge by the Global Poverty Project. This challenge asks people to spend £1 or less, per person, for food and drink every day for five days in a bid to help us understand …
I recently had the pleasure of attending a Cheesemaking Day at the premises of the most northerly UK cheese producer – Shetland Cheese Ltd. on the west side of Shetland. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience which you can read all about on my Taste of Shetland post.
