Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary
fuel that adventure
My very first excursion foraging for wild garlic! It’s funny how things work out. When I first moved to Shetland in the Spring of 1999, the first book I bought was Shetland’s Wildflowers: A Photographic Guide, by D. Malcolm (1998). This well thumbed guide as been my go-to book when trying to identify local plant …
Encouraging a healthy, vegetable rich lifestyle. It’s National Vegetarian Week! National Vegetarian Week 2015 is organised by the Vegetarian Society and sponsored by Nothing But, makers of freeze dried fruit and vegetable snacks. This year National Vegetarian Week is all about sharing and enjoying delicious veggie food with your friends, family, colleagues, neighbours and community. Sharing …
Fresh strawberries and home grown rhubarb can be very versatile! Well you’ve gone and done it. You’ve used up a glut of strawberries (known, these days, as buying a whole lot of them at the supermarket on special offer because they’re on their best before date), and you’ve ransacked the freezer for the remains of …
A grain-free pancake recipe packed with protein! We’re pancake fiends in this house. With three growing children I can stand at the cooker making a batch and they’re devoured within seconds of coming out of the pan. I can barely keep up! Regular readers will know I’m one for trying new things, so when my …
A revolutionary new masticating whole fruit slow juicer! WHAT IS THE OPTIMUM 600 SLOW JUICER? The Optimum 600 is the latest slow-juicing sensation from Australian-born company Froothie. Over the last few years, slow juicers have become extremely popular around the world, replacing traditional centrifugal juicers as the appliance of choice for fresh quality, home made juice. …
aka: what to do with all those ignored vegetables at the bottom of the fridge! Let’s talk Lego! My husband, bless his cotton socks, doesn’t do a lot of cooking. He can peer into a full refrigerator and not come up with a single idea for dinner. Shelves of vibrant vegetables get ignored in favour …
Jumpstarting 2015 with a healthier diet. Jumpstart 2015 is a healthy eating and drinking challenge a group of us UK food bloggers are participating in for the month of January, and perhaps for a little longer too. In this challenge we are aiming to increase our daily consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables by eating …
Jumpstarting 2015 with a healthier diet. That’s the first week of #Jumpstart15 complete. For those new to this healthy challenge here’s the low-down: A group of us food bloggers, organized by the lovely Scottish vegetarian blogger Jacqueline over at Tinned Tomatoes, got chatting about how we could put our juicers and blenders to the best use …
All the flavour and nearly half the calories! I love a hearty, creamy bowl of soup, me. Especially when the winds are howling outside and you want something warm and comforting. Alas, most creamy soup recipes use a ridiculous amount of double cream – something I just can’t afford to eat right now while I’m trying …
100% plant power! I absolutely love weight lifting. Lifting heavy weights is not something I ever thought would interest me when I was younger, when my active trim self never had to pass a moment’s thought about the food I put into my mouth. I stayed slim naturally. Age, growing three babies, laziness and a …
Packed with the flavour of lycopene rich tomatoes and slow roasted garlic. Nothing beats the humble tomato. Packed full of lycopene, its antioxidant properties and health benefits are well documented. Plus, a bowl of steaming hot tomato soup is the perfect comfort food, wouldn’t you agree? Especially when accompanied by a gorgeous, oozing, freshly made …
Jumpstart the New Year for a healthier you! I’ve never been one for making New Year’s resolutions. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever made a single one in my lifetime. I can be a bit obsessive when it comes to seeing a project through, and if I don’t make it to the end I feel …
For those who don’t wish to celebrate with alcohol. A new year means new beginnings. Personally, I want to start 2015 as healthy as I possibly can; to begin it as I mean to go on. I have a lot of damage to undo because of the over indulgences of 2014, so I’ve gone teetotal …
Icy cold peppermint candy cane flavoured milkshake – Santa’s favourite! Sometimes an idea just strikes. You’re sitting there, minding your own business and then wham! Discworld author Terry Pratchett reckoned that ideas are hurtling through space and time in little self contained units until bam, they hit a sentient being. Sometimes this being is a …
A vegan post workout protein smoothie. Dear Reader, I have a confession to make. I’ve become fat. I’d always been one of those skinny people. When I left high school I weighed just over 7 stone. I was very active: swimming, cycling, skateboarding, horseback riding, climbing (and falling out of) trees in the summer, skiiing, …
A gluten-free Autumnal skillet breakfast crumble. I have a confession to make. I love cold fruit crumble for breakfast in the morning. When the days begin to grow colder I start craving warm puddings like saucy hot fudge pudding, sticky toffee pudding or fruit crumbles. I will often scoff any leftover fruit crumble, cold, straight …
A vegan, all natural, refined sugar free frozen dessert. My ice cream machine died last year. It was a gruesome, horrible death with a cracked bowl and bright blue coolant oozing all over the contents of my freezer. This was the second time this happened (same model) and I haven’t replaced it yet. I’ve had …
ideal for sipping from a tin cup on the rocky sea shore Hot soup sipped from a tin cup while sitting on the rocky shore watching the waves dance. What can be better than that? There are nine years between my eldest child and my youngest. This means it can be difficult to find something …
We review the Optimum 9400 high-speed blender. I am in love with this machine! It’s got curves reminiscent of a 1950’s classic car. Its deep metallic red colour is so alluring that I want to get out the wax and start buffing it while Frank Sinatra croons in the background. The knobs and switches remind …
Deliciously dark chocolates with a secret ingredient, or two! You should make these and sell them at the shop! – two veggie phobic boys, age 6 & 8
