Things are very exciting. From the work I’m doing to the pop of colour in the borders to the sun that’s shining to the laburnum that’s vibrating with bees. The time for seasonal procrastination is very much over. It is now time to act on those things we have been manifesting and harness that sneezy energy to create and connect and embrace all this life. We will have to wait until the sap recedes and the bees go to ground before we can begin to imagine rest and recuperation. We have living to do so don’t dilly dally…
On that note, I’m well and truly afloat amongst the flotsam and jetsam of my busy time, with exciting retreats, poking and pulling at the allotment, recipe writing, proposal planning and desperately trying to live in the moment with my little girl. Everything is speeding up and I find myself tearfully grateful throughout every day, simultaneously incredulous at the sadness and the beauty of every moment. It’s because of this continuous sense of overwhelm that I struggle to focus on completing one task, a fine time to excuse the lack of recipe sharing and rambling I’ve promised to subscribers old and new. I love that you stay and read and tell me when things I share make you happy. This is what is is all about: unquantifiable moments of joy and kindness that make things better a flicker at a time.
As I begin to bring my recipes and stories together in a more dedicated fashion, I will be sharing more of my work and time tip tapping away with one ear on the excitable birds in my garden and the other wisp of thought on capturing these words and images so that you can inhale them with your eyes and recreate at another time.
A Retreat Recipe
Chewy Almond Cookies
These things are filth. So blooming easy to make and even easier to eat. Being gluten free and vegan makes them a simple indulgence on retreats where I’m usually catering for a few different dietary requirements. This recipe is based on a creation of Rachel Roddy’s for Paste di mandorla - sweet Sicilian biscuits. Whilst spending a day at Abergavenny Food Festival in 2017, a 6 month Esme baking on the inside, I made these cookies with Rachel and Valeria Necchio as part of their workshop on Italian Cooking. Very straightforward and delicious so I was amazed that I managed to make them even easier! If you’d like to use the more traditional recipe which includes egg then I can recommend Rachel’s recipe too.
Ingredients - makes about 24
300g ground almonds
300g icing sugar
1 tbsp black sesame seeds
a pinch of ground cardamom
pinch o salt
approx 50ml oat milk or even just water
zest of 1 lemon
What to do
Heat the oven to gas 4/180c and line 2 baking trays.
Mix together the almonds, icing sugar, sesame, salt and cardamom, making sure to get rid of any lumps.
Add the liquid little by little and using a spoon, bring together the mixture. You are almost making a marzipan dough really and you want it thick because the biscuits will spread during cooking and you want them to keep their stoutness so they stay chewy in the middle.
Once come together and this may not require all the liquid, mix in the zest. Using your hands make little balls about the size of a radish and place on the baking sheet. Gently push your thumb in to the top to flatten slightly. You may even want to top them with a cherry or whole almond. Repeat with all the mix then bake for between 10-15 minutes, swapping the trays over in the oven half way through to maintain equal baking.
Allow to cool on the tray so that their sticky bottoms set and then lever off on to a plate, ready for eager fingers to come find them.
They will store in an airtight jar for a week or so but there’s no way they will avoid consumption for that long.
A last minute special offer for a special day…
Pottery Brunch Club
26th May 10:30-2
** 3 FOR 2 ON LAST SETS OF TICKETS **
Me and Jane love creating the free flowing groovy love that emanates from the guests for our Pottery Brunch Club. Jane is an awesome teacher who makes you feel like anything goes and that’s just great. And she’s chosen a really cool project for this month, creating multi stem vases which are all the rage in the floral world this season!
We have a few places remaining for next weekend that we would love for you to snap up, which is why I’m offering an exclusive super deal to my subscribers.
If you book 3 tickets together, you will get the third free! So if there’s a chum who needs cheering or a group of you looking for something creative to get stuck in to then this is just perfect.
Usual cost is £115 per person which includes a two hour workshop plus all materials followed by a two course brunch with fizz and refreshments included. If you book for 3 together using the discount code POTTERYBIRD it will work out at £76ish per person.
And to lure you in with my cheesy ways, I will be baking fresh sourdough pizzas, sort of like an all you can eat Pizza Hut but a bit classier. Accompanied with lush seasonal salads and finished off with a platter of puddings such as chocolate torte, fresh strawberries, rhubarb from mum and dad’s garden and one of these chewy almond biscuits we talked about earlier.
BOOK HERE WITH YOUR EXCLUSIVE 3FOR2 DISCOUNT CODE
Get a recipe in my book…
A shout out to all those lovely souls I’ve had the pleasure to feed on retreat. Cooking and creating and nourishing and healing through food is really what I live for - as well as my daughter and Nice n Spicy NikNaks too.
So if you’ve got a favourite dish that I’ve cooked for you then get in touch and tell me. What is the dish, what you remember about eating it and your favourite part of the retreat you came on. I’d love to include some of you in the book.
In Short…
embrace the energy all around in nature and put in to action some of the plans that have been waiting to sprout
stop and watch some small bugs going about their daily business for a few minutes and enjoy the peace and quiet
have a sort through one of your many ‘important drawers’ because throwing away 10 year old super glue and recycling used batteries is one of the simple pleasures in life
make almond biscuits, take some round to your neighbour, let me know if you enjoy them
message two friends and arrange an impromptu Sunday meet up at Pottery Brunch Club in Corsham and enjoy a proper bargain and a lush day
listen to Miriam Makeba Where did the naughty little flea go? for something to make you grin, then listen to lots more from her
Gorgeous! We have a lot of simple pleasures in common this week-the spring cleaning must’ve been in the air
So lovely to hear from you again - you write in pictures