Author Archives for Lickthespoon

About Lickthespoon

Passionate about food and eating well I have been cooking all my life. I like to know where my food comes from and try to source responsibly. I grow as much as I can and eat seasonally. Food to me is about sharing and showing that you care.

Blackberry Fool

Blackberry Fool used to be one of my favourite treats towards the end of the Summer Holidays.  We would have been out with a picnic to go blackberry picking and have returned home with lots of blackberries.  Some would be frozen, ready to be used in crumbles later in the year.  Some would be held in the fridge ready to make jam the next day.   But a few, a precious few, would be magicked into a fool for that night’s supper.   Bliss.
Continue reading

Granny’s Shortbread

Granny’s Shortbread.   People seem to fall into two camps about shortbread.   My Granny liked hers on the thicker side, buttery and very crumbly.   My Dad liked his thinner and crisper, more like a biscuit.

This is the recipe for Granny’s Shortbread.   It’s very easy to make, even by hand.   You’ll need a 20cm square cake tin for the amount given here.  Double the quantities and it will fit a Swiss roll tin.   Completely up to you.  I try to restrict myself from devouring it by making this smaller quantity.   I must add, just to be completely fair, that this shortbread does keep well in an airtight tin and it makes a great present.

Continue reading

Fig and Earl Grey Jam

Everybody seems to have a favourite jam in our household   Fig and Earl Grey Jam is our goddaughter’s, Chloé’s absolute favourite.  Our fig tree seems to have good and bad years dependant on the weather so it makes it extra special when there are enough to make her some.

It is, of course, glorious on toast, and wonderful next to a blue or goats cheese.  But I think if Chloé had her way she’d just eat it straight from the jar!   I am with her on this one, although I’d probably alternate mouthfuls of jam with squares of dark chocolate!
Continue reading

Blackberry and Apple Almond Crumble

Blackberry and Apple Almond Crumble is surely one of the best puddings going!   Early in the season when the blackberries are at their plumpest is the time to pick, cook, pickle, freeze as many as you can.   These are the heady days of foraging and harvesting from the garden when you just want to make the most of everything and prepare for the colder and leaner months ahead.    But that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a treat and to miss out now – and this comforting, homely crumble is just that, taken to a whole new level with the addition of almonds to the crumble.
Continue reading

Limoncello – the Homemade Stuff!

I love limoncello but I have been so disappointed by a lot of what is on sale here.   Quite frankly it can taste so synthetic that it’s horrid!

Not so this recipe with its use of what is fast becoming my go-to trio of lemon flavours – lemon verbena, lemon grass and lemon.   You start off by infusing both lemongrass and lemon zest into your vodka/gin for a week before you add a simple syrup and lemon verbena leaves   After a week your limoncello is ready!   Serve chilled from the fridge   Particularly wonderful on a hot summer’s day but good anytime.   The perfect addition to an Italian meal (or if you are like me – the perfect addition to most meals!)

Continue reading

Three Lemon Sorbet

This lemon sorbet uses three types of lemon flavours  – lemongrass, lemon verbena and lemon zest.   Using all three makes for an absolutely stunning sorbet.   I can’t begin to tell you how much of a stunner and how well balanced this recipe is.   Quite frankly, it’s more refreshing than a swim on a hot summer’s day!   If you don’t have any of the lemon ingredients you can just ramp up the quantities of the other two,  but honestly, do try this as it’s written if you can.

Continue reading

Lemon Verbena Shortbread Biscuits

Soft and crumbly, these little lemon verbena shortbread biscuits work well with ice creams, fruit or indeed alongside tea or coffee. They make the most of the herbs you have growing in your garden – in this case lemon verbena although you can vary the herb –  try rosemary, lemon zest or thyme instead.  Or use lavender flowers.

They are super easy to make.  I love the convenience of rolling the shortbread dough into “logs” and slicing off rounds to bake as you need to.    The lemon verbena shortbread biscuit dough can be kept in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for 3 months.  It means that a freshly baked lemon verbena shortbread  is always on hand.  How good is that?

Continue reading

Garden Sauce

We call this “Garden Sauce” because we use it to accompany so much of our food from the veggie garden.   Here you see it with glorious artichokes   It also goes well with asparagus, sprouting broccoli, courgettes, green beans etc.    Its made with boiled eggs and lots of herbs and is kind of a riff on the classic Sauce Gribeche     I usually replace the anchovies with olives to make it vegetarian but it tastes good with either and with both too!

Continue reading

Lavender Sugar

This lavender sugar recipe is so an easy yo make that as a ‘recipe’ that it doesn’t really need writing down.   But lots of people wouldn’t make it because they can’t think of what they’d do with it!  So here are a few ideas

  • Use it to sweeten homemade lemonade.  Here’s the link for my recipe for  Quick Homemade Lemonade to make lavender lemonade (yes it’s a ‘thing, and it’s delicious)
  • Sprinkle over fresh fruit such as strawberries, oranges, blueberries etc
  • Add to whipped cream
  • Use in cakes or shortbread
  • Add a to hot or iced tea
  • Line the rim of a glass to flavour a cocktail
  • Sprinkle on top of biscuits or scones

Lavender sugar also makes a wonderful small gift if you decant it into small, pretty jars and attach a pretty label.  Great for kids to make as a gift for their teacher or grandparents.
Continue reading

1 2 16