July: Dips, Drinks and Dressings
June has passed by in a flash with some lovely sunny weather up here in Scotland, which we enjoyed at the wonderful Solas Festival in Perthshire last weekend.
It was our first trip of the year with our old VW Camper Van Bruce and he behaved impeccably and got us there with no issues at all. He is 50 years old and so iconic, I just love him and going away on adventures connects me back to what we actually need to be happy. This is a case of less is more, it's so freeing to take a minimum of clothes, with just what we need. We have a cooker, a comfy bed, music, lights, a fridge and a selection of books, games and arts and crafts! And of course some ferments!!
I do think we overcomplicate life when what we actually need to do is simplify it and just slow down and smell the roses! Talking of roses, I harvested lots of beautiful rose petals from the walled garden at Errol Park and also beautiful elderflowers to make elderflower cordial. Elderflowers do need to be harvested on a sunny morning, (they smell like cat pee when wet!) and don’t have all the pollen, which adds to the flavour and is full of wild yeast.
Our focus this month is on Dips, Dressings and Drinks, perfect for al fresco dining and healthy snacks. Homemade dips are always better than shop-bought, and they are so easy to make if you have a blender or a food processor. We can use the best quality ingredients, control the amount of salt and avoid any dodgy additives.
Fermented garlic goes into all my dips and dressings, it adds great flavour, probiotics and its way more mellow than raw garlic, which tastes quite harsh and lingers on our breath.
Any type of beans can be used to make delicious dips along with oven-roasted veggies, shallots, onions, herbs, spices, lemon juice, tahini and extra virgin olive oil.
Dips are perfect for simple summer meals! They can be added to pasta with some pasta cooking water for a simple sauce, dolloped on a baked potato or sweet potato with some ferments or pickles, added to wraps and sandwiches or wee blinis and canapes.
Check out our Dips, Drinks and Dressings section over on the website for loads of ideas and inspiration.
We are off to Mull for a week to celebrate Alastair’s birthday with our eldest daughter Emma then off to a treehouse in Perth for our anniversary at the end of the month so a month of celebrations for us!
Thank you, as always, for being here with me.
In good health,
Janice xx
