At seven years old most children will spend their summer holidays watching TV or playing computer games. Not Amelia Hirst. She will be busy producing veg on her own allotment.
Read MoreAmelia Hirst
Home made beetroot and spinach tagliatelle
Years ago I watched pasta being made in Bologna, Italy when I was a student teaching English to an Italian family during my long summer vacation. The cook where I was staying made pasta by hand, left the dough to rest and rolled it into long sheets using a rolling pin. She then cut the pasta into tagliatelle or made little cap shaped pockets known as tortellini which were stuffed with either meat or cheese fillings and served in a delicious broth.
Read More
Aubergine with tahini, yogurt and pickled radish
"Do you think it suits me? My nephew Lewis asked as he tried on a dark, navy blue, linen shirt in the Fara Workshop just off the Angel, Islington, North London. "Yes" I replied in truth. He returned to the changing room, dressed and took the shirt to the counter.
Read More
Elderflower Champagne
At this time of the year the hedgerows are full of elderflowers. In the early morning light their flat white heads appear to hover in the dark green foliage. There are also soft pink and white bramble blossoms that signal their forthcoming dark autumn fruit. On my morning run through the woods I find more beauty in the form of hatched eggs shells and decide to celebrate this glorious time of the year by making a bucket of elderflower champagne. It should be ready for Le Grand Depart on Saturday 5th July. The race passes close to my house in Ilkley twice over the weekend.
Read More
Blackcurrant and lemon verbena tartlets with elderflowers
These tartlets are summer on a plate. A few years ago when I was staying in Hobart, Tasmania I discovered lemon verbena. My friend Marion grows it in her garden as a straggly bush. In summer she picks the leaves and places them in hand thrown bowls her mother makes. The leaves dry in the warm air and fill her spacious, weatherboard house with a fresh lemony scent which smells clean and welcoming.
Read More