Another month has flown by and it has been so exciting to see all the entries for the the very first round of my new ‘Simple and in Season’ blogging event. I have to say, that putting together this round-up has left me feeling so inspired by all the wonderful seasonal recipes that you have all entered. I was a little bit anxious about hosting a new blogging event, partly because there are so many great events out there to join in with already, but also because it is always hard to gauge what kind of recipes people like to make. I think this round-up clearly demonstrates how easy it can be to incorporate seasonal food into a recipe and whilst, between us, we have done our bit to champion British seasonal produce, some of the entrants have also showcased seasonal food from around the globe.
It was also so inspiring to see so many of you growing your own, picking your own, and in some cases, foraging for seasonal food. Thank you so much to everyone who entered and supported this event. I wish I could send everyone a book, but alas, I have had to chose only one winner….but it was so hard!
Here is the amazing round-up:
Our very first entrant was the lovely Helen at Fuss Free Flavours who linked up A Simple Garden Salad showcasing Jersey Royals – which was a brilliant and perfect start to the event. This is definitely a salad I could literally dive into. Helen’s British garden salad certainly ticked all the right boxes for me. Thank you so much, Helen, for linking up.
Our next entrant was Genevieve Taylor, a food stylist and author of ‘Stew’ who writes a blog called An Egg a Day following her own foodie adventures as well as those of her chickens! Genevieve linked up Asparagus Season is Here! signaling the start of British asparagus season which took off a little earlier this year due to all the fine weather we had in the early spring. Genevieve’s Crispy bacon, asparagus & egg salad with creamy mustard dressing can be whipped up in a matter of minutes too, so do visit Genevieve’s blog for the recipe.
Next, was a very healthy Quinoa Asparagus and Sweet Potato Salad from Pippa who writes The Intolerant Gourmand sharing amazing allergy-friendly recipes and advice. I hadn’t seen Pippa’s blog before her entry and I’m so glad to have found it.
A delicious Asparagus Potato Soup was linked all the way from Toronto featuring on a blog called Torview. Thank you so much for your entry! I love the little bowls your soup was served in and I actually have all the ingredients in my fridge so will be making this today.
It was lovely to see an entry from new blogger Clare of The Vegetarian Experience who linked a post called Best of British Seasonal Produce including a recipe called ‘Roast Asparagus, Tomato and Cheese Tart, served with Jersey Royal New Potatoes and a Rocket Salad.’ Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe and I hope you are enjoying blogging.
Chez Cayenne is another vegetarian blog sharing spicy vegetarian recipes who linked up a recipe for Grilled Pineapple – served as a side dish involving rum and Chinese five spice, I can’t wait to try this one.
Sally from one of my favourite blogs out in the UAE called My Custard Pie shared a post called Hooray the mangoes have arrived! which was actually the first of two posts entered into Simple and in Season highlighting the start of juicy Alphonso mango season in India and Pakistan. Sally served her mangoes with a margarita cream – divine!
Hazel from a lovely blog called Hazel’s Home Grown told us about some of the wonderful offerings in her garden and allotment, including her very first few strawberries, asparagus and herbs. Hazel’s post went onto share a recipe for her “proper” Mint Choc Chip Ice Cream and Elderflower Cordial. Hazel’s blog is really informative and inspirational and it was lovely to find it through the blog event.
The Beet Reporter over in the States shared a recipe for Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Short Stacks with Lemon-Thyme Drizzle. Aubergines (Eggplant) are in season a little later on in the year in the UK so this is definitely a recipe I will be trying late summer.
Laura from How to Cook Good Food entered a tasty Griddled King Prawn and asparagus salad with a citrus grain mustard dressing. How good does this one look?!
James Brewer who writes a great blog called Back to the Chopping Board shared a lovely recipe for Dippy Eggs with Asparagus and Prosciutto Soldiers. I was really impressed with this post especially as James had picked his own asparagus, strawberries and rhubarb from a local farm inspiring him to make this simple and seasonal dish for his snack when he came home.
A second Dippy Eggs and Asparagus entry came from Sarah at Maison Cupcake. I was so pleased that Sarah was able to enter as she has to be one of the busiest bloggers on the block! I have so much enjoyed taking part in Sarah’s blog event ‘Forever Nigella’ and it was so kind of Sarah to support my first event too. I loved the fact that Sarah tried to get her little boy to eat asparagus with dippy eggs, to which he replied “that is yuck” (I had a similar response from my little boy, but as mothers we must try! All the more asparagus for us, I say. It was also lovely also to see Ted’s growing collection of egg cups and a very fun looking egg- spoon!
For the Love of Food sent across a really interesting post using up her ‘glut’ of radishes called Radish Top Soup with Tempura Radish Croutons having planted a row of radish seeds just 8 weeks earlier. In an inspired move, Bea used the tops to make a soup, much as you would do with a nettle soup and then made radish croutons with the left over radishes. Genius!
As if all the asparagus, new potatoes, exotic fruits and radishes weren’t enough, two of our entrants went foraging for elderflower to make cordial. I hadn’t even thought of elderflower when I first came up with the concept of Simple and in Season, but elderflowers definitely count.
A Trifle Rushed made Elderflower Cordial & Elderflower Presse inspired by the lovely Vanessa Kimbell’s post on making Elderflower Syrup from her latest cookery book Prepped!
Katie, who writes Feeding Boys and a Firefighter also made Elderflower Cordial: Simple Summer Pleasure in a Bottle and I especially liked her description of elderflower picking: “I felt like I ought to be wearing a straw hat, wearing a billowing white broderie anglaise sundress and carrying a wicker basket as I gathered elderflowers from the hedgerow in the little cut-through behind Sam’s school” before using her mother-in-law’s hand-written recipe and a pretty cool looking jelly strainer for the job from Lakeland. Of note was one of the comments to Katie’s post suggesting that a splash of elderflower cordial does wonderful things to a G&T. I will certainly be giving that a go!
Next came a totally jaw-dropping cake from Spoons ‘n’ Spades called a Berries and Cream Cake. Just look at this and tell me you’re not inspired to go and find the sweetest juiciest berries you can find before having a big bake-fest! Paula was inspired by a glut of home-grown strawberries and layered her berries up with custard and cream.
Johanna from Green Gourmet Giraffe entered these delicious looking Ricotta Hotcakes with Stewed Plums which were part of a very entertaining post involving exploding eggs as well as seasonal fruit! Thank you Johanna for showing us what’s in season all the way from Australia. Plums are one of my favourite fruits so I can’t wait to try these when they come into season.
Mel, from a great blog called Sharky Oven Gloves sent in a wonderful recipe she had tried from the June edition of Delicious. Magazine called White Chocolate Strawberry-Surprise Muffins, which look really tasty and are a great way of incorporating fruit into a sweet treat. Thank you so much for entering.
I was so pleased to see an entry from Working London Mummy, who, as Sally had done in her post, showcased the Indian mango, which she had found in London. I have to say, I am tempted to go and seek some out myself. Her recipe Spiced Lamb in Filo with Mango and Red Pepper really got my taste buds tingling.
Dancing Veggies who enjoys cooking healthy food on a budget also entered a lovely recipe called Farmers’ Market Quiche inspired by locally-grown broccoli over in the States. I love quiche so this is definitely a recipe I’ll try.
Whilst I was away over the weekend I received a text message from a good friend Claire who said that her brother, Ian, was in charge of the cooking and was trying my Pull Apart Spring Lamb recipe in Anglesey using locally-reared Welsh lamb so I had to include that too into the round-up! Thank you guys for trying the recipe and for the great feedback.
There were also two last-minute entries from another blogger in Toronto called The Taste Space. A really amazing looking salad – Asparagus, Strawberry & Basil Salad with Mosto Cotto
Along with an asian-inspired Edamame Miso Dip (Hummus, Asian-Style). Both of these recipes are delicious and really unusual. I can’t wait to try the strawberry and asparagus salad.
Finally, right at the beginning of the month I shared two seasonal recipes of my own (because I though no one would enter!) My Asparagus Toasts hit the spot for snack-time whilst my British Asparagus & Smoked Trout with Dill Tartlets made a great outdoor lunch.
How to chose a winner? I couldn’t, so I let my four year old look at all the pictures and pick one…It was quite funny, his response to all of them was “ooh yeah” and I have to say it was a tie between Hazel’s “proper” Mint Ice-Cream and Chez Cayenne’s Grilled Pineapple. As he went with ice-cream first I will be sending a copy of Skye Gyngell’s ‘How I Cook’ to Hazel over at Hazels Homegrown blog.
THANK YOU so much to everyone who entered. A new round of Simple and in Season has been launched for June and I can’t wait to see what this month has to offer.