Vinegar is one of the easiest things to be self-sufficient with once you're past the initial hurdle of Getting Started. That's because it requires only three ingredients: 1. Some alcohol 2. A vinegar culture - or mother 3. Time Ok, you also need somewhere to do…
I like fruity cakes - and I happen to work at a place where people don't eat a lot of plums, so they're always left behind on fridays. Rather than dooming them to the bin, I occiasionally take them home and bake with them. This is…
Crab apples - paradisæbler in Danish - are minature apples made by various wild cousins to the domesticated apple (malus domestica). They're small, tart, and very decorative - and they make a pretty juice which can be used raw or made into a cordial. Preparation Pick enough crab…
"Kringle" is a type of pastry made in all the Nordic countries, Germany, and probably also elsewhere. In Denmark there are two main variants - one using puff pastry ('butterdej'), and one use a butter-heavy yeast dough. This recipe is for the yeast dough version -…
In theory it is very easy to make cider; at the most basic level, all you have to do is press some fresh apple juice and then leave it to ferment. Once it stops bubbling you have cider. So in a way, this is a hobby which is only as…
The courgettes keep coming this year, and I keep experimenting with new ways to try and do something interesting with them. This recipe is also from a French magazine, but this time we're conserving the courgettes with spices and olive oil. I figure that if all else fails…
When we went to France this summer, I was happy to discover that my French is now at a level where I feel I can understand and use French cookbooks to a reasonable degree. Obviously that meant I had to buy several French cook books, including one on conserving and…