Chocolate-thyme flapjacks
There are two thymes in the world. There’s the thyme that that carries on a warm summer breeze, flowers waving in the wind. It’s the thyme that hangs in bunches from rafters, and that scents chowders and stews. It’s the thyme that intoxicates you when you least expect it. The other thyme– thyme number two– sits in [...]
And then the rains came
“And as he drove on, the rain clouds dragged down the sky after him for, though he did not know it, Rob McKenna was a Rain God. All he knew was that his working days were miserable and he had a succession of lousy holidays. All the clouds knew was that they loved him and [...]
White Sage Oatcakes
(powerful and gentle: a trait shared by fantastic herbs and humans alike) My favourite white sage patch is a long way away. A 40 minute drive from civilisation, and then a 2 hour hike through yerba santa, juniper and pinyon forests, a couple of stream crossings, through some scratchy bushes, until finally you emerge into [...]
Oeufs en cocotte
I have a nettle patch in my back garden. Did I ever tell you about it? It’s right outside my little office window, where it rubs backs with the blackberry bush and a lemon tree with the biggest spikes I’ve ever seen. I planted them because I was nostalgic. They both remind me so much [...]
Banana-almond muffins
Some things are just meant to be eaten on top of a mountain. You know, picnic style. With the cold wind whipping around your face, and the ocean far away in front of you, and the sweat on your back starting to chill but not enough that you need to get moving again. Mountain top [...]
Lemon pudding cake
I hope you don’t mind another lemon recipe. They might be rolling out while they’re still in season. I’ll try not to wax poetic this time, since I’ve made my feelings abundantly clear. This pudding cake looks complicated. I mean, it IS complicated, but it’s also super easy. You mix everything together, then fold in [...]
Lemon marmalade
My first experiment with marmalade started and ended 2 years ago. I was really into fermenting things at the time, and decided that, better than regular old marmalade was FERMENTED MARMALADE. Of course all of this was at the prompting of Jam, who loves marmalade (somewhere, under that handsome face and messy hair is an [...]
Fresh Greek Yogurt
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve truly come to appreciate the role that probiotics play in my life. That is, I went to Mexico, and that Montezuma guy got me. Big time. And it’s only when you can’t leave the house for days on end because, well, I’ll just leave that to your imagination, [...]
Goat cheese cake: Tourteau de Chevre
This is my friend Leandra. It was her birthday last week, and, once again, I volunteered (read: bulldozed) my services to make a cake. Except making a cake for Leandra is slightly difficult as she is allergic to cow’s milk protein. It’s a relatively unknown allergy– most people hear ‘allergic to dairy’ and think that [...]
Buckwheat Beer Crepes
Buckwheat and beer crepes. When I was five, I had a friend named Laura Penny. She lived on a little farm just outside London. To me, as a five-year-old, her house was the coolest house ever. There were 2 staircases for starters, so when you’d play hide and seek or tag, you could chase each [...]
