Fritillary Days

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Cricklade, Ducklington, Fritillaria meleagris, Fritillaries, Fritillary Sunday, North Meadow

England in the spring is so lovely! I know that of course, but every year I am taken aback by quite how stunning it can be. My favourite time is around mid April, when the blossom and emerging leaves veil the trees and bushes in a haze of green, yellow, white, pink, silver, bronze, orange, purple, in every conceivable shade. It is also when the Snakeshead Fritillary (fritillaria meleagris) is at its best. This exquisite member of the lily family was once a common sight in our fields, as its life cycle fitted in well with traditional field management methods. But changes in agricultural practices since the Second World War mean that it is now mostly seen only in gardens.

Rum Plum Buns (Cross but not so Hot)

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Cinnamon, Easter, Fresh from the oven, Hot cross bun, Prunes, Rum, sour cream

This variation on hot cross buns was inspired by a visit to the Felin Fach Griffin pub in the Brecon Beacons (highly recommended, both for the accommodation and for the food). We stayed overnight, and at breakfast there was a bowl of prunes which had been poached with quartered oranges, complete with their peel, and cinnamon. With a dollop of thick, creamy yoghurt, these were truly delicious, and completely changed my previously lukewarm opinion of stewed prunes. I have tried to capture those wonderful flavours in these buns.

Two Rye Loaves

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Bread, Caraway, Honey, Lavender, Raisin, Rye

This is my take on two recipes from Richard Bertinet’s Dough that I’ve had my eye on for some time. I decided to kill two birds with one stone and make them both from the same batch of dough, which necessitated some adjustment to the recipes. His Honey and Lavender Loaf is made with a brown dough and is very big; mine is half the size and uses a rye dough. His Caraway and Raisin Bread does not contain any honey, but I thought it would not be ruined if it did.

Dove Tales 1: Colomba Pasquale

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Aroma Veneziana, Colomba Pasquale, Easter

Colomba Pasquale is an Easter bread (or cake) from Italy, and is rather like an intensely orangey panettone, baked in the shape of a dove, and topped with a crunchy coating of almonds and sugar. It’s increasingly available for sale in the UK, and I have always found it delicious. However I could not resist the challenge of trying to make it for myself. It’s not the easiest or quickest of recipes, but the end result is immensely rewarding.

Ciabatta Wars Episode 3

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Cheese, Ciabatta, Toastie

After the near success of Episode 2, my third skirmish with Ciabatta ended up with me being injured! It was almost as if the dough had read my previous post and decided it really was going to fight back.