Shetland with Laurie blog

Recipe: Shetland Rhubarb Crumble

15/5/2020

"Rhubarb is a word which rolls on the tongue with relish. It sounds both rude and absurd, and the imagination has found all sorts of uses for it."
~ Mary Prior, Rhubarbaria

I am an absolute rhubarb fanatic, I just love the stuff, and this is the best time of year to indulge in it. The sweet, fresh shoots are just bursting with tang and spring flavour as we move towards June. This is always the first dish I cook with rhubarb every year and I make sure that I freeze a few for winter too.

Shetland is a great place for rhubarb - it grows prolifically here. You often find abundant patches of it growing among the ruins of old houses. I'm not sure why it grows so well, but it certainly thrives. It is neither a native plant to Shetland, nor one which has been around for a long time. It has only graced tables in Britain for about 200 years and originates from the East (somewhere). Originally used as a medicine, it became a popular food-source in the 19th century and would have certainly brought an exotic flavour to the traditional Shetland diet.

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Grandad's sweet oatcakes

28/11/2018

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Good evening! Who doesn't love a bit of festive baking? If you follow me on Instagram then you will know where this blog post has come from – if not, let me explain.

This morning, I shared a photo of the cliffs at Eshaness and explained that it was a stormy day here in Shetland and that I was stuck at home with two snotty bairns so I planned on baking the Christmas oatcakes – we are massive cheese fans in this house, and Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the bumper annual cheese delivery from pong.com.

Cliffs at Eshaness on a stormy day in Shetland

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A recipe for Trench Cake: Remembrance Day thoughts

9/11/2018

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Ingredients all laid out with Granny Eliza's earthenware mixing bowl

On 11th November 1918 after four long years, the guns stopped, marking the end of the First World War, and this Sunday marks the centenary and the signing of the Armistice agreement. This blog is peppered with remembrance, thanks a big helping of family history.

War had ravaged Europe and to keep up the morale of troops fighting for King and country, women sent parcels to those fighting on the front line. These parcels provided a taste of something from home, away from the endless tins of bully beef, Maconchies stew and dry biscuits - a staple of trench food throughout the war years.

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