Fish Cakes

My preferred homemade fast food. There is nothing more fun than spending an hour making a batch of fish cakes. Above is a photo of my most recent batch all dressed up with some noodles and salad. Here is the basic recipe I’ve put together:

Ingredients

Equal quantities of fish and potatoes - I use a self-caught white fish (usually ling), smoked mackerel, salmon and smoked coley (which is often available on special offer at the supermarket).

Fresh parsley (simple herb to grow, I’ve a parsley tree in the back garden!)

Onion

Fresh breadcrumbs (great way to use up your day old bread)

Few eggs

Flour

Butter, salt and pepper (for the spuds)

Method

Boil the spuds and mash up with butter, salt and pepper

Bake the fish slow and low for 25 minutes (feel free to add some butter/bay leaves)

Flake the cooked fish and mix well with the mashed potatoes

Add finely chopped parsley and onion

                             …..Now for the fun (and messy) bit….

Get three bowls. Put flour in the first, beaten egg in the second and bread crumbs in the third

Mould the fish mix into patties

Dip in each of the three bowls

Set on a tray and place in the fridge to harden up

After that, pan fry or wrap in tin foil and freeze for future quick meals.

Local Wild Food

I went for a stroll on the bank of my local river today and could not believe some of the things I spotted growing. My mother and I were innocently filling up on blackberries when we spotted a few unusual stalks pushing up from the footpath, wall and hedgerow.

The River Bank:

The usual flowery bushes:

And then tiny wild carrots growing out of the dirt on the footpath:

I’d love to know where they spawned from - there was a pile of bird feed nearby so perhaps someone has been spreading various seeds. If only there had landed in the grass, I might have pulled some decent vegetables.

Then I noticed a shoot that resembled an onion stalk, so mam rooted around and pulled out some wild garlic:

It tasted and smelled divine. Intensely garlic, but not overpowering. We ate it raw.

As we moved on, we noticed some familiar looking leaves (thanks Lisa):

And voila, wild strawberries (although inedible at present)

Just over the ditch (where alot of locals throw their food waste leading to a wonderful compost heap), we spotted the most beautiful Nasturtiums (the largest I’ve ever seen, in leaf and flower size). Nasturtiums are entirely edible and the flowers have a delicate yet intense pepper taste. The flowers and leaves contain Vitamin C and Iron. The flowers were out of reach but I took a few photos:

Get out there are get looking because there is nothing more wonderful than finding wild food.

One Sunny Day in Allihies

View from village

Copper Mines

View from Copper Mines

Local

Locals going for a stroll

Landscape

Little lake unexpectedly on hill

Vista

My Garden in August

Natural Remedies for Colds

Since I’ve come down with a sore throat and headcold a few days ago, it reminded me to pull out some natural remedy guides I have resting on the book shelf, waiting to be needed:

Natural Remedies by Melissa Corkhill

1001 Home Remedies & Natural Cures by Esme Floyd

Here are a few easy tips:

1. Honey and Onion Syrup

Recommended for a sore throat

Add half a chopped peeled onion to a jar of honey and seal for three days (you could finely chop the onion and put through a garlic press for a smoother blend)

Take a teaspoon of the onion honey every few hours to reduce the severity of a sore throat.

2. Cinnamon and Milk

Stir a pinch of cinnamon into a glass of hot milk and add some cayenne pepper.

Drink to reduce discomfort in the throat

3. Chili, Cinnamon and Ginger Tea

Infuse half a teaspoon of chopped red chili pepper, half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and a teaspoon of crushed fresh ginger in a cup of hot water.

Sweeten with honey and add lemon juice for flavour.

Holidays in a yurt in Wales

I never expected one of my most enjoyable holidays to date would be staged so close to home - 3.5 hour ferry from Rosslare to Fishguard followed by ten days exploring the Welsh countryside.

Night one was an impromptu stay in Cardiff on our way to Bristol (England I know but it was necessary to cross borders to see the glorious Jesca Hoop in concert). In Bristol, stayed in these excellent apartments in a multi cultural area with lots of interesting people and shops. Malik’s foodstore across the road provided lots of great fresh fruit and veg. 

While in the Bristol area, we seized the opportunity to drive down to Axminster to visit the River Cottage canteen for lunch. Had a fabulous meal of Fregola with asparagus, mushroom and some other little interesting veg that I had never eaten before, washed down with a bottle of Stinger Ale. Also stopped by for a look at Lyme Regis, a most beautiful seaside holiday town, full of ice cream and old people.

Back across the Severn Bridge for our next destination, which was our most anticipated:  The Yurt Farm based in Crynfryn near Aberaeron.

We had booked an 18ft yurt for three nights. As advised by the website, and a less than optimistic expectation of the Welsh weather (so similar to our own), we were armed with wellies and rain gear and it was well that we were, since it pissed rain relentlessly for the first twenty four hours of our stay. It didn’t bother us. Kitted out to suit the weather, we began to settle into our yurt, lighting the internal fire burning stove and preparing a dinner from the basket of new spuds and veg that was gifted to us from the yurt owners, supplemented with some lamb chops from their farm shop (run on an honest box system).

We were blown away by the farm. The layout is superb with communal facilities only a short walk from every yurt. The surrounding fields are lush meadows with beautiful wild flowers.

Hens roam freely and we frequently saw hawks and other large birds of prey flying overhead. Here is picture of the vista from outside our tent, a beautiful sight from the well crafted wooden seats:

Toilets are dry - basically you cannot flush them but they work on a composting premise using sawdust. Very comfortable, hygienic, fun and not smelly!

The showers are spacious and the water is hot (gas boiler backs up the solar power on cloudy days)

Yurts do not have electricity or running water but there is a lovely communal cabin with electricity points (worked off solar power, large sink and well stocked kitchen, table and chairs, armchair, wonderful library of books dealing with self sufficiency and eco living topics, and a hearty wood burning stove. I spent many hours perusing over their copy of The New Complete Guide to Self Sufficiency by John Seymour, informative, inspiring and at times, hilarious!

Despite sweltering blissfully all evening by the burning stove, at night the yurt is COLD, as we painfully discovered the first night. In the torrential rain, we were unable to carry our large blanket from the car as we had nothing to cover it with. BLACK BAGS everyone! BRING REFUSE BAGS! Light blankets were supplied but we underestimated how cold it would get once the fire had burned out.

But we were ready for it the next night! Bought a roll of bin liners for transporting the blanket, got two hot water bottles that were supplied by the farm and made sure the fire was packed up before we nodded off. Result was a toasty nights sleep.

A huge supply of chopped logs, kindling and fire lighters was generously available to us at no cost. 

Yurts have a two ringed gas hob for cooking and are well stocked with good quality utensils, condiments and various teabags. Also provided is a handy lidded bucket for bringing water, a compost bucket for all your food waste and a rubber basin for bringing your dishes to the cabin. Outside was a hollow wooden box which I presume was the flower pot fridge! Worked a treat at keeping out beer cool:

What really impressed us about the yurt farm was the quality of the equipment supplied. The beds were strong, the saucepans were heavy, the knifes were sharp. Everything was top quality. Even something as simple (or maybe very important when you think about it) as having soft toilet paper instead of cheap stuff made all the difference. 

You could quite easily spend a fulfilling day without ever leaving the farm. Cook your breakfast on the hop, or even on the outside fire if the weather is good. Do some chores by carrying wear to the cabin or collecting firewood. Enjoy a cup of tea and read a book in the outside picnic table, or if the weather is bad, stretched on your bed in front of a blazing fire. Visit the pigs and chickens:

 

So everyone visit The Yurt Farm! It’ll make you a better person no doubt

Homemade Tomato and Chili Relish

This relish was one of the first vaguely labour intensive foodie ventures I have undertaken - and it wasn’t difficult at all.


The original recipe comes from here, although I alter it slightly each time. The recipe describes it as a jam, although I find the result definitely more relish-like.


Equipment needed:

Weighing scales

Knife

Chopping board

Pot

Wooden spoon

Sieve

Sterilised jars (done very easily by giving the jars a good wash and baking them in a low oven (gas 3) for ten minutes.

Ingredients:

2 red onions, finely chopped

400g/14oz ripe cherrytomatoes, halved

400g/14oz ripe plum tomatoes, quartered

3 large mild red chillies, deseeded, finely chopped

I sometimes add some green/red/yellow bell pepper for taste but more so for colour

5cm/2in piece fresh root ginger, grated

1 star anise

250ml/9fl oz white wine vinegar

300g/10½oz soft light brown sugar

2 tsp fish sauce (substitute soy sauce for vegetarians)

Method:

Heat the red onion and chopped tomatoes in a large heavy-based saucepan over a low heat. 

Add the chillies, ginger, star anise, vinegar and sugar. 

Bring the mixture to the boil, then simmer for about an hour. 

The original recipe states that the mix will thicken to allow you to draw a channel through it, but I find quite a bit of liquid is retained. 

You could drain this off and use it for other culinary wonders.

Add the fish sauce and cook for 2-3 more minutes, then spoon into sterilised jars.

For best results, allow to sit for a further two weeks.

I’ve given this relish for many gifts and it has always been a hit. It’s sweet taste is best enriched with strong cheddar cheese or strong dark meat.

*Personalised handmade stickers were bought in this eBay shop, and the labels were from a handy little pack bout in Lidl.