Mint – The Essential Summer Herb in the Garden

August 25, 2020 By Rachel Leave a Comment

Mint is one of my most used summer herbs.

Summer might be on the way out but mint and lots of other herbs are still growing reasonably well in my garden.

Not that I don’t use it all year round but the fresh and sharp flavour makes it ideal to serve with drinks, cocktails, salads, fruit, desserts and teas. I really couldn’t imagine not having mint in the garden. For me it’s such an essential herb and I thought I’d share a few pics of how I’ve been using the various mints this year.

Spearmint and Pineapple Mint

There are many different types of mint that will work well with food of course not forgetting the medicinal uses. I like to have a few varieties growing, all in pots and containers in my herb garden for easy access. As you can see above there’s lots of Spearmint, better known as garden or common mint and pineapple mint .

When we moved into our west of Scotland house 29 years ago parts of the garden were awash with garden mint and it took years to bring it under control and clear it from the beds. These days I grow in containers to restrain the plant as it’s such an invader in the garden. However, I must admit that if I had a suitable area I would grow Mint in the ground as in my experience the plants grow much stronger and last longer than in containers. And, for a great mint harvest every year, I find the bigger the container the bigger and better the harvest. When I’ve planted in smaller containers the vigorous growth means the plants have quickly become pot bound with the quality of the growth and leaves less healthy.

The other varieties I’m growing include, Moroccan mint, lavender mint, Indian mint, ginger mint, berries and cream mint, lime mint and chocolate mint.

Chocolate mint is excellent for using in baking or desserts, especially chocolate mousse. It’s easy to identify with unmistakeable subtle chocolate aroma and the brownish tinge running through the leaves. When I’m working around the garden I often chew on a few leaves for a wee chocolate hit.

Garden mint and Moroccan mint are my 2 favourites for tea and are indispensable for many gut issues. A cup of mint tea after a meal is a great digestive aid and can also help ease upset stomachs and wind.

Mint makes a lovely addition to summer drinks and cocktails and I like to use lime mint in gin. The leaves can also be individually frozen in ice cubes for adding directly to drinks.

A handful of herbs lift the flavour of a salad and mint adds a fresh and tasty zing. I like to use it in salads with fruit and cheese, especially Halloumi and feta.

This Berries and Cream mint is a new addition to my collection and as you would expect with a name like that this one is ideal for pairing with ice cream and other desserts or cakes.

Specialist herb nurseries are usually my first stop for new plants but mint is easy to propagate from runners or cuttings. And, it’s the cheapest way to get new plants. I found most small herb plants costing around £3 – £4 this year. Some of my younger new plants are now past their best in terms of growth for this year and I’ve started to prune some back. Most are sending out runners but the best time for rooting these or taking cuttings is in spring as new rhizomes and growth appears. Check out You tube for examples of how to do this.

Mint usually dies back around October and sadly this year with lockdown and the demands of family life, I just wasn’t organised enough to dry the best of the new growth in spring and early summer but I’m hoping to dry some bunches of leaves before the good weather leaves for another year. It’s very easy to dry and I usually either hang the bunch to dry or use a dehydrator.

Fingers crossed for a few more sunny days.

In The Herb Garden – The Calendula Project

August 9, 2020 By Rachel Leave a Comment

The Calendula Project as its been called, is a wee lockdown hobby I’ve been enjoying in my herb garden. It’s a flower I’ve always grown in the garden as it’s such a good companion plant for the herbs, salads and vegetables I grow. Calendula Officinalis is also an invaluable herb in its own right.

Calendula is renowned for excellent skin care properties and these include being anti inflammatory, anti fungal and anti bacterial. There are many good calendula oil and cream products available commercially and for me it’s an essential part of skin care and a staple for skin first aid. Complementary therapies have played a huge part in our family life and in the 80s and 90s when I was at home with my boys, I trained in Aromatherapy. Using essential oils, carrier oils and herbs sits perfectly with my ‘look after your health rather than your illness’ and ‘let food be thy medicine’ approach to life. And, it feels good to be actually producing my own therapeutic oil.

Apart from the therapeutic qualities, Calendula or Calendula Officinalis to use the botanical name, makes a welcome and colourful addition to summer food when the flowers are in plentiful supply and I regularly add to salads. The tangy flavour of the petals makes a good substitute for saffron in paella, bringing the bright yellow colour to the rice. The petals make a good food dye for colouring foods such as dairy produce, omelettes and use the fresh flowers to decorate celebration cakes.

I’m drying the flower heads and macerating in almond oil to make calendula oil. Maceration if you’re not familiar with it, involves steeping the petals in oil and leaving on a sunny windowsill for a few weeks until the volatile oil from the calendula is extracted. The finished oil will contain the healing and therapeutic qualities of Calendula. The infused oil can be used as a skin care product or mixed with other ingredients to make a range of skin products such as creams, salves and lip balms.

This is the first time I’ve dried calendula and although it’s not rocket science, admittedly it’s been a bit of a learning curve. I started off using an electric dehydrator and despite the machine running for an incredibly long time it didn’t dry the flowers well enough. A more efficient way has been to spread the flowers out on the dehydrator trays to dry naturally.

The pop up hanging drier I bought looked much smaller in the picture and in the bag when it arrived. However, when it popped up I discovered each section is almost the size of a tv satellite dish. Just so impractical for using in the house. It’s now hanging in my shed and doing a great job of drying the flower heads.

Theres been no shortage of flowers for picking and it’s true that the more you pick the more flowers the plants will produce. The flowers are best picked in the morning and before midday as the hot sun will evaporate the plants volatile oils. This is much the same for any edible flowers and herbs as you really want to get the very best qualities, when using therapeutically or in food.

The first jar of petals is currently macerating in sweet almond oil and It will take 2-4 weeks for the oil to be ready. The next stage will be strain the the oil to remove the flowers for bottling. This jar will yield around 1 pint and should keep for a a year.

For the next jar of oil, the plan is to macerate the whole flower head as a comparison. I planted around 40 organic calendula plants and I’m finding that there’s no shortage of flowers for drying. With this quantity I can also leave plenty growing on for the bees and other pollinators that frequent the garden.The jar is filling up nicely with the dried heads and hopefully in a day or 2 there will be enough to add the oil for macerating.

Check in with me in a few weeks time to find out how I got on with my first jar.

Herbs and Summer Gardening

September 25, 2019 By Rachel Leave a Comment

Herbs and Summer Gardening

Summer is just about over and as we move towards autumn, it seems a good time to look back at the past few months in the garden. This year has been challenging and probably my worst gardening year due to a problem with chronic pain and fatigue. I’ve had to adapt the way I garden and rely on lots of help, and, if you’ll excuse the pun, it’s has been a real pain. There’s been so many tasks I’ve been unable to do and that has led to an incredibly high level of frustration.

Not being one for giving up I’ve been focusing on what I was able to do rather than beating myself up about what I can’t do. There’s a wealth of evidence and research about the health benefits of gardening and from my own experience I can whole heartedly say it’s true.

Keeping a photo diary is always helpful, particularly with spring and summer plants as it’s easy to forget what’s there when the foliage dies back in winter. I’ve been taking lots of pics as a reminder and here’s a look at some of the good stuff from over the summer. This post is mainly about the herbs I’ve been growing and this area is a real favourite in the garden.

Herbs are amongst my favourite plants and have a place in every garden even if they’re just grown in containers or indoors for use in the kitchen.

To help with attracting more wildlife I’ve decided to have several small ponds in containers and the first one is in the herb beds. There’s a need for more plants and that’s on the never ending list of ‘things to do’.

The herb beds have grown well and next year I’m planning to have this area planted up solely with aromatic plants to create an area for relaxation.

This bed is planted up with varieties of sage, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, savoury, lovage, fennel and I’ve planted new lavender plants as a small hedge along the top border. There’s also lady’s Mantle which grows abundantly in the garden and self seeds at every opportunity – the small leaves can be used in salads. The pink flowers in the image below is echinacea – a great medicinal herb.

Calendula is one of my favourite edible flowers to have in the garden and as you can see it’s been a popular addition to summer salads with the cut and come again lettuce I’ve been growing. Next year I plan to have lots more calendula which I will try and macerate to make calendula oil.

This bed is planted with bee friendly borage and has been alive with bees for months. The blue flowers are so gorgeous and look lovely floating in summer drinks or frozen in ice cubes.

The nasturtiums in the hanging basket are also bee friendly and the flowers and leaves have both made their way into our salads.

Mint is a herb used regularly in my kitchen and I have several varieties growing in containers around the garden – being such an invasive herb that’s the best way to grow. It’s such a refreshing herb and my current collection includes, Indian, Moroccan, chocolate, apple, orange and spearmint.

Chocolate mint really smells and tastes of chocolate and is brilliant in desserts.

And finally, the utterly delicious and refreshing lemon verbena has grown well this year.

My plan to make lemon verbena ice cream has yet to happen so watch this space. I planted 3 new plants. One in a container against a south facing wall and the other two in the herb beds. The container grown pot has been the most successful of the three and I suspect that’s because it was in a sunnier spot.

Thanks for dropping by and having a wander through my herb garden. Please share your own gardening stories from this year by leaving a comment below. I’m always looking for new herbs and suppliers so all advice will be warmly welcomed.

In the next post I’ll be taking a wander through the main area of the garden to show what we’ve achieved this year.

Springtime in the Garden

April 17, 2019 By Rachel Leave a Comment

Springtime in the garden is a time of wonder, and that usually means wondering what has survived the winter and despite labelling a bit of head scratching as we try to remember where the various perennials every year

It’s now less of a puzzle as I started photographing the garden to help keep an ongoing diary of the progress we’re making. Although we’ve had this garden for over 30 years, its only since the boys left home that were starting to develop some of the ideas we’ve had since moving here. Its fair to say and I’m sure many gardeners with well established garden will agree, its always work in progress.

The garden is south facing and benefits from the shade of several mature trees. It’s set over three quarters of an acre and there’s a small stream runs through between the bottom of the garden and the house.

There’s also a separate vegetable garden where I grown soft fruit, herbs, edible flowers and some vegetables. We didn’t grown any vegetables over the winter and the reasonable spring weather has allowed to us to tidy up and get the beds ready for this years plants.

Looking back at the colourful images from last spring and summer gives me a great deal of satisfaction, but winter has been and once again the spades, forks and loppers are to hand as there’s much work to be done if we are create the same attractive pictures in the coming months.

Here’s a snap shot of the vegetable garden from last year.

The raised beds divide the garden into manageable chunks and over the years have provided a healthy load of vegetables for us. Sadly we lost the greenhouse to a winter storm and we’ve never replaced. I’m hoping this year will be as fruitful and I’ve already made a good start on that by planting cauliflowers and kale in one bed and some new herbs into the herbs into another.

I used to grow courgettes in the greenhouse but I find the plants prefer being outside and produce more flowers and veg.

Edible flowers bring great colour in the summer and last year I grew lots of nasturtiums, borage and calendula. These were great to use in salads and I also used some to decorate a few celebration cakes including my son and daughter in law’s wedding cake.

Calendula

It’s a constant struggle keeping on top of the weeds on the paths as I don’t use weed killer. Over the next few weeks we’ll be tackling these by laying weed suppressant fabric and new gravel.

Every kitchen garden needs a collection of herbs and I grow as many possible including my favourites, Rosemary, a variety of thymes and sages, several different mints, parsley and fennel. Alongside the rhubarb there’s a healthy crop of sweet cicely and both of those will be put to good use this weekend.

Sage

Chocolate Mint

This will hopefully be the first in a series of posts about the progress we make this year. Thanks for reading and pop by soon to see how the garden is changing as the weather warms up and we move further into spring.

There are so many great garden blogs to read and I’m linking this post to Down By the Sea b log where you can see some other fantastic gardens.

Herbs, Parsley, Sage and Rosemary

June 8, 2017 By Rachel Leave a Comment

Herbs and Gardening

Name: Blue Cod Hotpot
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Yield: 4 People
Ingredients: 500 G Blue cod -fillets (I used 4 freshly caught blue cod which we skinned and filleted. ); 2-3 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil; 50 g butter; 1 medium Onion - sliced; 4 Garlic cloves - sliced; 4 medium potatoes - sliced; 1 leek - sliced; 1 red pepper sliced; 2 tsp mixed or Italian herbs; 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes; 300 ml dry white wine; 100 ml water; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 juice of 1 lemon

In a change from my usual food and recipe posts, I’m writing about herbs and my garden this week. The garden plays a big part in what happenes in the kitchen throughout the year and particularly over the summer and autumn months.
As long as I’ve had a garden, it’s always been a case of work in progress, and I think that’s probably the case for most people if they have a sizeable garden. I’ve had this garden for 26 years and although over that time we’ve put our own stamp on it, we’ve also made lots of mistakes.

Some plants failed to thrive, others just didn’t survive and my ambitions for a Mediterranean style garden in the West of Scotland saw the demise of plants that really weren’t suited to the garden.

Some area’s suffered from too much shade, others from bad drainage, and then there was the flock of free range chickens whose love of my herbs and salads led to the name ‘peck and come again.

The recent spell of warm weather has been a real boost for the plants and this year the herbs have got off to a particularly good start.

This fennel plant is well established and every year produces a healthy crop which is well used in many of the fish dishes I cook and is a delicious addition in salads. Apart from cutting back and removing the old woody stems it seems to take care of itself. Fennel is drought resistant but as you can imagine, that’s not a problem in my Scottish garden.

Sage is a herb I’m never short of and this plant will need to be cut back next spring. It started off as a small plant and has completely taken over the top of one of the beds. I tend to use sage with chicken and pork; it’s always in my Christmas sage and onion stuffing and fried leaves pair beautifully with butternut squash, particularly if it’s with ravioli and melted butter. It also dries well and leaves can be frozen.

This bed has a bit of a mixed bunch of herbs – parsley, lemon verbena, red veined sorrel and there’s a new cornflower plant peeping through in the background. Parsley is a herb I can never have enough of and try to grow as much as possible throughout the year. It’s so versatile and makes its way into soups, sauces and casseroles, sometimes on a daily basis and always on a weekly basis. It’s great with many fish dishes and can also be found in many of my pasta dishes.

The red veined sorrel is new to the garden this year and will most likely be used in salads. The sharp tangy flavour makes it useful addition to fish dishes and sauces. I’ll report back on how I use it although if you have any ideas, please leave me your comments at the bottom of this post.

Lemon balm is a herb I’ve always grown, mainly for the aroma rather than for culinary use. The leaves have a very uplifting smell and on a summers day it’s nice to run your hands through and inhale. As it’s part of the mint family I’ve been thinking of adding it to iced water to make a refreshing drink. Perhaps it’s time to make more of an effort to use lemon balm in the kitchen as it will add a delicious lemon flavour, particularly in sweet dishes.

As a family of lamb lovers, one herb I’m never without is rosemary and this picture shows a small rosemary hedge I had grown along the edge of one of the beds. Unfortunately it was attacked by a pest last year and the entire hedge and the curry plant growing along side had to be dug up. Since then, I’ve planted several plants in containers and most of them seem to flourishing this year. Rosemary and garlic are essential partners with roast lamb and I regularly chop rosemary sprigs to add to roast potatoes.

I’m not growing as many vegetables this year but have set myself a challenge to be completely self sufficient in salads.

To ensure success I’m doing this in 3 ways. I’ve been making regular sowings of mixed cut and come again salads, both indoors and outdoors and I bought a few established plants that have already been planted into the beds.

Check back next week to see how the salad project is growing.

Blue Cod in the Galley Kitchen

February 24, 2017 By Rachel Leave a Comment

Blue cod in the galley kitchen. Another tale from our recent trip to New Zealand.

Kitchens have a certain magnetism for me and wherever I go it’s a given that I’ll end up in the kitchen. Even on holiday, I can’t drag myself away from the pull of a sharp knife and a stove. Holiday cooking, particularly if it’s in another country, has the added interest of new ingredients and local fresh food. Our current trip to New Zealand is taking in some sailing and that is giving me the opportunity to cook in the galley kitchen of the yacht, SV Defiant.

It’s much smaller than I’m used to at home and with space at a premium, our host Lisa has organised it perfectly and that makes it a very cook friendly space. Everything you need to cook a meal is included – a two ring gas burner, an oven and a microwave.

There’s a fantastic range of kitchen utensils, pots and pans, including extremely sharp knives – essential for dealing with the fresh fish we’re catching. Lisa has a tremendously well stocked larder of dry and tinned ingredients; along with a treasure trove of herbs and spices, and it’s the first port of call when a fresh fish lands in the kitchen. I love that kind of cooking – rather than having a recipe in mind, looking at the main ingredients and building the dish with what’s in store.

We’ve eaten really well and with limited space; one pot dishes have made the cooking more manageable and of course there’s the added bonus of fewer dishes to be washed.

New Zealand has a fantastic coast line for fishing and is blessed with a natural bounty of great fish. Kia Morna – Food of the ocean – is plentiful here.

Blue cod are endemic to New Zealand and we found them in plentiful supply although restrictions are in place to control the numbers caught and all had to be over 33cm. Our catch of four was within the legal limits in the Marlborough sounds. Restrictions are also in place regarding the transportation of filleted blue cod in this area and it’s not unusual for fisheries officers to board pleasure boats to check the size of the catch. Filleting blue cod in advance of cooking means the officers are unable to tell if the whole fish was of legal size.

This recipe came from the ingredients we had in stock in the board pantry and the freshly caught blue cod provided by our eager hunter gatherers.

Blue Cod

The hunter gatherers go off in search of fish.

Blue Cod Hotpot

This is a healthy and robust dish using fish, potatoes and vegetables. I used what I had the hand along with the freshly caught fish - the dish can be easily varied using different vegetables & fish.

Servings	Prep Time
4 People	15 Minutes

Cook Time

35 Minutes

Servings	Prep Time
4 People	15 Minutes

Cook Time

35 Minutes

Blue Cod Hotpot

This is a healthy and robust dish using fish, potatoes and vegetables. I used what I had the hand along with the freshly caught fish - the dish can be easily varied using different vegetables & fish.

Servings	Prep Time
4 People	15 Minutes

Cook Time

35 Minutes

Servings	Prep Time
4 People	15 Minutes

Cook Time

35 Minutes

Ingredients

500 G Blue cod -fillets I used 4 freshly caught blue cod which we skinned and filleted.
2-3 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
50 g butter
1 medium Onion - sliced
4 Garlic cloves - sliced
4 medium potatoes - sliced
1 leek - sliced
1 red pepper sliced
2 tsp mixed or Italian herbs
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
300 ml dry white wine
100 ml water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 juice of 1 lemon

Servings: People

Instructions

Season the fish with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Optional - I marinated the blue cod fillets with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and a chopped garlic clove and set aside before cooking the veg.
Heat the oil and butter in a large sauté pan - deep enough to hold all the ingredients.
Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes.
Add the potatoes and sauté, stirring occasionally until they start to colour and soften. Add extra oil and butter as required.
Add the leek and red pepper and cook, stirring gently for a further 5 minutes. Add the herbs and chilli flakes.
Stir in the wine and water, bring to a simmer, season and continue cooking until the potatoes and vegetables are almost cooked.
Add the fish, cover and reduce the heat to low. The cooking time will depend on the type and thickness of the fish. The small blue cod fillets cooked in approximately 10 minutes. The fish can also be browned in a separate pan before adding to the main dish.
Once cooked, check season, add a squeeze of lemon juice and serve with the remaining lemon wedges on the side.

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I’ve also added this recipe to the #recipeoftheweek link up at Emily Leary’s, A Mummy Too blog.

Maori Culture

February 12, 2017 By Rachel Leave a Comment

Getting to know Māori culture

I’m having a break from the kitchen for the next few weeks to experience a relaxing life down under in New Zealand – and in my mind, there’s really no better way to get to know a country than through it’s people, it’s culture and it’s local food. This is our second trip to the country and top of my list was to find out more about the Māori culture and to visit a traditional Wharenui or meeting house. With family living in New Zealand, I was familiar with some aspects of the culture – probably the most well known is the haka, the ancient Māori war dance performed by the All Blacks at rugby matches. There’s also the intricate carvings and artwork but I’d never experienced the rich and diverse cultural traditions of the people.

The timing of our trip was perfect as February 6th is Waitangi Day – the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi -the founding document of New Zealand. Signed in 1840, this is an agreement entered into by representatives of the British Crown and of Māori iwi (tribes) and hapū (sub-tribes). It’s named after the place in the Bay of Islands where the Treaty was first signed.

We didn’t have to travel far; close to where we were staying is the Waikawa Marae – a Marae is a fenced-in complex of carved buildings and grounds and it’s central to Māori Culture. Each marae belongs to a particular iwi, hapū or whānau – a Māori family and is used for meetings, celebrations, funerals, educational workshops and other important tribal events.

Being Waitangi Day, the Waikawa Marae along with Māoris throughout New Zealand were taking the opportunity to share their culture during the day of celebrations.

Visitors to New Zealand are encouraged to respect Tikanga Māori, the traditional Māori culture and customs that have been handed down through time. These remain as relevant today as they did in historical times and an example of this is the formal welcoming ceremony at the Marae. It’s traditional for visitors to respect the sacredness of the Marae and remain outside until officially welcomed onto the meeting grounds.

Those who have never set foot on a Marae are known as waewae tapu or sacred feet and must take part in a what’s known as a pōwhiri – a traditional Māori welcoming ceremony to remove the tapu – sacredness and make them one with the local people.

The pōwhiri began with a powerful challenge – this is known as a wero and it was performed by a Māori warrior from the marae. The challenge is to to check whether the guests are friend or foe and of course, we had come in peace. During the challenge the warrior laid a small bunch of greenery on the ground and this was graciously accepted by our Māori guide to show our peaceful intentions.

The Māori women standing outside the meeting house sang a song of welcome and this signalled that it was acceptable for us to start moving onto the marae.

Our female Māori guide responded with her own call and very slowly and solemnly we began our short journey onto the marae. In keeping with the Māori tradition, the women stepped onto marae first; flanked by the men for protection, but, on reaching the wharenui, everyone removed their shoes and the men entered first. It’s a further symbolic act of protection to ensure it’s safe for the women to enter. Our hosts greeted us with the ceremonial hongi, the traditional Māori touching of noses and the welcoming Māori greeting ‘Kia Ora.’

A number of speeches, all in the Māori language were made by the men and each of these was followed by a song in support of the speech. There was no translation but a short explanation of some parts was given by Māori woman – there had been some quiet laughter during the speeches and she was keen to tell us that they were not laughing at the guests but at a joke about the New Zealand cricket teams recent victory over Australia!

She also explained that Māori’s believe that everyone should have a say and talked about ‘wake eke noa,’ – a Māori proverb meaning ‘a canoe which we are all in with no exception. Simply meaning, ‘we are all in this together.’

Like many cultures, food is central to celebrations and in keeping with the Māori tradition of hospitality, simple food was shared at the end of the pōwhiri. It’s traditional for visitors to present a koha, a gift to the marae hosts – on this occasion it was money; and was seen, not as a donation from the pocket, but rather a gift from the heart.

Māori people see their marae as tūrangawaewae – their place to stand and belong and we felt honoured to have visited and shared their Waitangi Day celebrations.

Food and drink sessions at the first New Lanark Book Festival

September 24, 2015 By Rachel Leave a Comment

New Lanark Heritage Site will welcome over 20 well known authors to speak at the first book festival

The countdown is on for book lovers across Scotland as New Lanark World Heritage Site prepares to host its very own Book Festival from Thursday 1st – Sunday 4th October 2015!

World renowned for its stunning location and historical importance, New Lanark will be welcoming over 20 well-known authors to speak at the 4-day event including acclaimed Scottish Food writer Catherine Brown and award winning drinks journalist and author Tom Bruce-Gardyne.

There’s something to suit all literary tastes and it’s no surprise that the food and drink events caught my eye.

Catherine Brown

Making Better out of Good: Scotland’s Changing Food Culture

Saturday 3^rd October – 12.30 – 1.30pm

How local foods and national traditions are inspiring both home cooks and professionals to make better out of good. A talk and tasting event with Catherine Brown who became well known for her food columns in The Herald and as a presenter of STV and Grampian’s Scotland’s Larder. In 2001 she was the Guild of Food Writers’ Food Journalist of the Year and a 4th, updated edition of her classic Scottish Cookery was published in 2013. In March this year, The Saltire Society published Making Better out of Good: Scotland’s National Food and Drink, her personal view of Scotland’s changing food culture.

Tom Bruce-Gardyne

The Scotch Whisky Treasures: A journey of discovery into the world’s noblest spirit

Saturday 3^rd October – 2-3pm

“Whisky or uisge beatha – Scottish Gaelic for “the water of life” – remains one of the world’s most popular spirits and Scotch is the most famous and recognisable version. The Scotch Whisky Treasures is a celebration of whisky-drinking and Scotland, covering every facet, from the distilling process to guided tours of the best-loved distilleries of the Highlands, Islands and Lowlands. Beautifully illustrated and containing 20 pieces of removable memorabilia, you will be able to hold items of Scotch whisky history in your hands, including letters, posters, licences and advertising art. Tom Bruce-Gardyne is an award-winning drinks journalist and author with a passion for Scotch whisky and a fondness for his adopted city of Edinburgh. He is a regular columnist for the Herald, and his books include The Scotch Whisky Book and The Deuchars Guide to Edinburgh Pubs. Tom is also a Master of the Quaich.”

The Book Festival will run on Thursday & Friday evenings, and throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday. There will be a variety of reasonably priced ticket options available including a ‘4-day pass’ and individual author session tickets starting at just £4 for concessions.

All sessions will take within one of the famous world heritage site’s most iconic buildings, the Institute for the Formation of Character, which will be celebrating its bicentenary in 2016.

Visitors who attend New Lanark’s Book Festival can also receive 25% off Visitor Centre tickets, giving them the perfect chance to make the most of their visit & learn about the history of New Lanark with the Annie McLeod Experience Ride, Working textile machinery, Historic Housing exhibits, Clearburn Picnic & Play Area & lots more.

The full programme for the Book Festival, along with ticket details can be found at www.newlanark.org. Subject to availability, tickets will also be available to purchase ‘on the door’ of the event.

A Bucket for a Bottle – Gordon Castle needs your apples

September 16, 2015 By Rachel Leave a Comment

Gordon Castle needs your apples

Gordon Castle in Fochabers has kicked off a campaign to source more apples and pears to make its cider. It is offering a free bottle of the tasty, locally made Apple & Pear cider in exchange for 7kg of fruit.

Anybody with spare apples or pears from their gardens, or those with large orchards that have surplus fruit, are being encouraged to bring them to the Gordon Castle Shop over the next fortnight.

Angus Gordon Lennox of Gordon Castle said: “Our cider is one of our best sellers and we need more apples and pears to keep up with the demand, which is a fortunate position to be in.

“Everything we make here at Gordon Castle Scotland is created using ingredients either from our own Walled Garden or the local area, so using locally grown fruit from across the North East in our cider means we are staying true to that provenance. The North East of Scotland is not known for its cider, perhaps we can change that.”

For those who don’t have any fruit to spare, Gordon Castle still has lots of fruit to pick and welcomes anyone who wants to come help with this fun task in its Walled Garden, home to 249 espariled fruit trees, some of which have been at the Castle for hundreds of years.

Sticking with the apple theme, the Gordon Castle Walled Garden Restaurant will be serving Roast Pork and apple along with delicious crumbles, incase anyone is hungry after all that hard work.

Gordon Castle is set on the banks of the River Spey in picturesque Moray, the Gordon Castle Estate is the spiritual home of the Gordon Clan and its Walled Garden, which, at over eight acres in size, is one of Scotland’s oldest and largest.

The Walled Garden has provided inspiration for Gordon Castle Scotland’s range of luxury products, all of which contain natural ingredients sourced from the impressive garden.

Find out more Gordon Castle www.gordoncastlescotland.com or follow on twitter @gcwalledgarden

The Cake and Bake Show comes to Edinburgh

August 19, 2015 By Rachel Leave a Comment

Fans of The Great British Bake Off and keen bakers will be excited to hear that a new cake show is coming to Scotland.

After two successful years in London and Manchester, the Cake & Bake Show sponsored by NEFF are packing up their whisks, mixing bowls, baking tins and heading to Scotland for the first time ever – and as part of the official Cake and Bake Blogging Team, I’ll be keeping you up to date with show news and giving you the opportunity to win tickets to this great show.

This exciting show, run by events management company Media 10, organisers of Ideal Home Show Scotland, will be in Edinburgh’s Royal Highland Centre from the 30th – 1st November, and set to attract over 18,000 visitors.

The introduction of the show couldn’t be better timed. It’s Scotland’s Year of Food and Drink 2015 and the best of the country’s baking industry will be brought together under one roof for a show filled with live demonstrations, bake offs, interactive features and exciting competitions.

The Cake & Bake Show also reflects the rising popularity of TV show Great British Bake Off and it has broken new ground by leading the industry in becoming the first event dedicated to the world of cakes, breads and the art of baking.

Cake & Bake Show are ensuring they have all the ingredients covered by bringing a host of celebrities to Scotland during the three day event.

Getting into the mix will be foodie expert Gregg Wallace, celebrity chef Rosemary Shrager, Aaron Craze of Saturday Cookbook, actress and winner of Celebrity Masterchef Lisa Faulkner, TV chef Phil Vickery, French pâtissier and celebrity chef Éric Lanlard, as well as Coronation Street star and Celebrity Masterchef finalist Wendi Peters.

Food expert and the sweet toothed BBC Masterchef judge, Greg Wallace

Celebrity chef Rosemary Shrager

Joining them and whipping up a storm on the Super Cake & Bake Theatre will be the nation’s favourite baking stars Jo Wheatley, Great British Bake Off winner from 2011, John Whaite, the charismatic winner of The Great British Bake Off 2012, as well as fellow seasoned baking star Brendan Lynch.

VisitScotland Regional Director Manuela Calchini, commented “It is fantastic that the national Cake and Bake Show will be coming to Edinburgh in Scotland’s Year of Food and Drink, which is all about promoting our finest produce and encouraging visitors to experience the wealth of fantastic food. I can’t wait to go along. The show will be a foodie ‘must-visit’ event for three days at the Royal Highland Centre offering a superb chance for our country’s home-bakers and artisan producers to show off their skills and demonstrate why Scotland is such an outstanding destination for great baking.”

Lee Newton, Managing Director of Media Ten said, “We’re extremely excited to bring the Cake & Bake Show to Scotland for the first time. We identify strongly with Scotland, which can be seen with our other brands, such as the Ideal Home Show and we also want Cake & Bake Show to have a presence and become an integral part of the country’s annual events calendar. We’re also especially delighted that we’re bringing this show to Scotland for the first time during the country’s year of Food & Drink. We know that Scotland has a wealth of talent in this industry to showcase and celebrate.”

The Cake and Bake show opens at 10am on Friday 30th Oct 2015 and runs until Sunday 1st November. Check out the website for all the latest information – http://www.thecakeandbakeshow.co.uk/edinburgh