Wild Food & Forage at Hill of Tarvit Mansion House, Cupar. Noth Fife

Wild Food & Forage at Hill of Tarvit Mansion House, Cupar, North Fife. Stella Colleluori of Hatters along with Tony Wilson, one of Fife's leading authorities on foraging united to produce the first of many wild food feasts. First was the woodland walk around Tarvit House collecting and identifying suitable foods as shown in the previous post followed by samples to be eaten by the assembled.

Tony Wilson demonstrates how to make Beech leaf Liqueur in Hill of Tarvit Mansion house Edwardian kitchen. Basically a tincture of Brandy/vodka Beech Leaves and sugar base and water. Wonderful. All enjoyed a 20 year old, one would have to be very disciplined or forgetful to leave it so long.

Water mint & Elderflower cordial.

Bruschetta, wild garlic pesto and tomato garnished with wild garlic flowers.

Alexander pottage, excellent as was the nettle soup served with white or brown local breads.

Nettle and wild garlic soup.

Mini tart filled with cream cheese, smoked salmon & deep fried seaweed, very moreish.

Gorgonzola, mushroom and wild garlic frittata.

Braised Red Venison with Bacardi steeped Bramble with wild Salad of ground elder, Jack by the Hedge, broom flowers, chick weed, dandelion leaves + really tender and succulent.

Now this was truly stunning, the water mint sorbet was of course melt in your mouth and combined with the crunchy/oaty Japanese knot weed and sweet cicely crumble further balanced by the sweet cicely cheese cake was an absolute delight. Two excellent books recommended by Tony Wilson to help identifying and using with useful recipes.

Wild Food (Natural History Photographic Guides) [Paperback] A unique photographic guide to finding, cooking and eating wild plants, mushrooms and seaweed Roger Phillips, creator of Wild Flowers and its bestselling companion volumes, turns his attention and his camera to the wide range of good things to eat from the countryside and seashore. From the multitude of species that are safely edible, he has selected those that are actually attractive and appetizing as food. Beautiful colour photography shows each species growing in the wild - for accurate identification - and prepared as an appealing dish. Well-known wine and food writers such as Jane grigson, Katie Stewart and B.C.A. Turner are among those who have contributed the recipes that accompany Roger Phillips' photographs. 1 new from £40.13 11 used from £23.39 Look and Buy here. Wild Food (Natural History Photographic Guides)

Wild Table : Seasonal Foraged Food and Recipes [Hardcover] In the last decade, the celebration of organic foods, farmer's markets and artisanal producers has dovetailed with a renewed passion for wild delicacies. On the forefront of this movement is longtime "huntress" Connie Green, who sells her gathered goods across America and to California's finest chefs including Thomas Keller and Michael Mina. Taking readers into the woods and on the roadside, THE WILD TABLE features more than forty wild mushrooms, plants and berries - from prize morels and chanterelles to fennel, ramps, winter greens, blueberries and more. Grouped by season (including Indian Summer), the delectable recipes - from Hedgehog Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Tart and Bacon-Wrapped Duck Stuffed Morels to homemade Mulberry Ice Cream - provide step-by-step cooking techniques, explain how to find and prepare each ingredient and feature several signature dishes from noted chefs. Each section, also, features enchanting essays capturing the essence of each ingredient, along with stories of foraging in the natural world. THE WILD TABLE is an invitation to the romantic, mysterious and delicious world of exotic foraged food. With gorgeous photography throughout, this book will appeal to any serious gatherer, but it will, also, transport the armchair forager and bring to life the abundant flavours around us. A truly delightful and inspirational work. RRP: £34.00 Price: £28.90 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. Quickly paid for by the suggested foods for free. .Wild Table : Seasonal Foraged Food and Recipes

Sarah Raven's Wild Flowers

Sarah Raven's Wild Flowers Inspired by childhood excursions with her botanist father, Sarah Raven has travelled the length and breadth of the British Isles to find 500 of our most breathtakingly beautiful wild flowers. This lavishly illustrated book is divided by habitat, covering woods, downs and dales, lanes and hedgerows, meadows, coast, marshes and streams, moors and mountains, and wasteland. Sarah introduces a wide range of plants, telling you their names and something about them - how to identify the families, how they're brilliantly adapted to their environment, their importance to animals and insects, what herbal remedies they can be used for, the story behind their common names and the part they play in local history. Join Sarah on trips to see pulsatillas, fritillaries, bluebells, wild garlic, harebells, forget-me-nots, foxgloves, wood spurge, silverweed,purple cranesbill, deadly nightshade, St John's Wort, comfrey, orchids,wood sorrel, snowdrops and more. There are glorious landscape photographs by Jonathan Buckley throughout, and one of his stunning plant portraits accompanies each of Sarah's authoritative, captivating species descriptions. Informative and lovely, Sarah Raven's Wild Flowers is a botanical marvel. RRP: £50.00 Price: £32.50 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions You Save: £17.50 (35%) Click here to Buy now.Sarah Raven's Wild Flowers .

The River Tay 10th May 2012

Cotton Wool clouds that gave rise to showers then persistent rain, cold, temperature not rising above 10 degrees centigrade, low pressure moving away north east, tomorrow should be a sunnier day.

Mahakala Samye-Ling

Mahakala Samye-Ling Sculpture of Mahakala by Tibetan monk Gyamtso and decoration by Sue Bradley, many months of exacting work almost completed, 5th of May was full moon, an auspicious day and a suitable one for painting in the eyes which by now is done ready for inclusion in the new Mahakala Shrine room. A wrathful Deity and protector.

Golborne Greater Manchester

Golborne is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south-southeast of Wigan, 6.1 miles (9.8 km) northeast of Warrington and 13.8 miles (22.2 km) to the west of the city of Manchester. It has a population of 23,119, yet the local market has closed, shops lie empty, what a shame when so much trade in local produce could happen. I sincerely wish that community awareness grows to love the gems of houses that they live in, preserve and focus on local. Last week I called by this small town and was immediately drawn to and impressed by the quality of The turn of the 19th century houses, in particular the brickwork. Exquisite detailing of brickwork. Golborne a mining and textile town served by a mainline station clearly thrived at that time with high quality housing.

Golborne Dental practice, a really lovely coroneted building somewhat besmirched with advertising.

Brickwork.

Detail of press moulded decorative brick frieze.

Golborne Brick Cornice.

Brick Cornice utilising different clays, containing yellow iron oxide, red iron oxide and red fired in a reduction atmosphere giving blue.

Golborne house Brick Cornice and friezes.