Call Me Ishbel
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I think life is at its best when you are able to consciously enjoy moments. Taking the time to appreciate amazing tastes, seeing and experiencing amazing places and enjoying the company of family and friends. I hope to write about these things to share my own experiences with you.
Call Me Ishbel
1d ago
We’ve only just come to the end our first Summer eating from our very own garden in Hanmer Springs. Summer was hot and dry, and the vegetable garden treated us to more food than we could have imagined. Even after giving food away, there’s so much left, I couldn’t let anything go to waste. I’m still actively using the preserving advice I got from last month’s cookbooks; the February cookbooks of the month were all about preserving. January was about finding inspiration for all the food we grow. New pairings, sauces and dressings, these books were also helpful when planning the vegetable garden ..read more
Call Me Ishbel
1d ago
Got scallopini!? Wondering how to elevate it? Transform it into culinary artistry with a zesty lemon and caper dressing, where each bite marries subtle smokiness with fresh, tangy notes.
Char-grilling scallopini slices imparts a smoky, slightly caramelized flavour, enhancing the natural sweetness. Complement this with an Italian-inspired dressing, bursting with flavour from lemon zest and briny capers.
Serve char-grilled scallopini carpaccio with lemon and caper dressing warm or cold. Garnish with fresh herbs or bitter greens and add sprinkle of toasted pine nuts. This is a simple, but elegant ..read more
Call Me Ishbel
1w ago
Egg and dairy free brioche Easter Bunnies are Hot Cross Buns, but in disguise. These spiced brioche buns are spiced and lightly sweetened and formed into little Easter bunny shapes with a few snips of scissors.
If you enjoy a chocolate Easter bun, replace a tablespoon or two of flour with cocoa powder and mix through some chopped dairy free chocolate . For a more traditional flavour mix in some candied peel and add some sultanas too.
Egg and Dairy Free Brioche Easter Bunnies Ingredients
350g plain white flour
7g dried yeast
30g caster sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp mixed spice
1 tsp each ground ..read more
Call Me Ishbel
2w ago
Want a lot of flavour without a lot of effort? A flavour packed dish doesn’t always require lots of ingredients. Often all it takes are just a few good ingredients brought together with the right cooking technique. Roasted tomatoes, dairy free pesto and spaghetti squash is precisely this kind of dish.
The mild taste of Spaghetti squash is a deliberate choice. Just like pasta, spaghetti squash, doesn’t dominate – it’s there to support and carry the other flavours. It adds a texture which lets the flavour of the other ingredients shine through. When steamed in a stock it can be shredded into a t ..read more
Call Me Ishbel
2w ago
This simple guide to homegrown saffron is intended for home gardeners, to help you get the best out of your corms. It is based on my personal experience of growing them as well as having studied saffron cultivation as part of my certificate in Organic Horticulture. Homegrown saffron might seem like an unusual crop, I found my inspiration in one of my favourite books, as well as, a personal challenge – the book was “James Wong’s Homegrown Revolution” and the challenge was the annual Locavore Challenge.
My saffron – Crocus sativus – journey began with just 20 corms, tucked into well-drained rais ..read more
Call Me Ishbel
3w ago
Searching for an elegant ‘classic’ dessert that’s incredibly easy to make? You need to read how easy it is to make this Red Wine Poached Pears and Dairy-Free Chocolate Ice Cream dessert.
There’s a common myth in desserts that only a professional chef can poach fruit well. In reality poaching is as easy as boiling water! Once you know how – poaching will never seem challenging agin. The real secret to this dish, is the simple assembly of fine ingredients, each delicious on its own, but even better when brought together.
Poached Pears and Dairy Free Chocolate Ice Cream Ingredient ..read more
Call Me Ishbel
1M ago
The garden is well established, I thought I would be planning the next stage of planting, but I quickly realised that I don’t want to waste this new abundance of food. So this month I’ve been focussing on preserving. There’s more food than we can eat each day, it’s amazing! For February ’24 – my favourite cookbooks of the month are all about making food last, preserving the harvest in a variety of ways to enjoy throughout the year.
I have dabbled in making flavoured sweet violet vinegar, pickling rowan berry capers and walnuts, these ingredients were all foraged. Mushroom ketchup is a umami fl ..read more
Call Me Ishbel
1M ago
When there were elderflowers – I made sparkling elderflower champagne and elderflower cordial. Being a respectful forager, I made sure there was plenty of elderflowers left on the trees. The remaining elderflowers have now had time to become elderberries, and I decided it was time to revisit the local elder trees to forage again.
But what can you do with elderberries? Elderberry jams, jellies, cordials and liquors were the first things that came to mind. However, they’re not overly sweet and I don’t like to add sugar unnecessarily to fresh food (when I do add sweetness I prefer to do it with u ..read more
Call Me Ishbel
1M ago
It was the surrounding rugged landscapes, echoing the wild beauty of the Scottish Highlands that drew us to make our home in the alpine village of Hanmer Springs, in the Hurunui district of the South Island. Much of the area to the North of the village is only accessible during warmer months, and we’re just over the peak of summer now. So last weekend, we ventured up into the ranges to experience the long vistas, high mountains and distinctive terrains up close. Only 47km from our doorstep, but 50 minutes of loose gravel roads later delivered us to High Country Camping, Lake Tennyson, New Zeal ..read more
Call Me Ishbel
1M ago
The humble potato, known for its incredible versatility, plays a starring role in a wide variety of global cuisines. When it comes to potato salads, the range of possibilities is boundless. Our Roasted Potato and Bean Salad with Berry Basil Vinaigrette is an ode to the bounty of our vegetable garden, celebrating the vibrant produce we’ve harvested this summer.
Central to this dish are the earthy, subtly sweet roasted purple potatoes – grown in our garden primarily for their purple hue. They pair effortlessly with beans, a classic combination that’s been given a fresh twist here. The real surpr ..read more