Stay at our place in Segur

It's been quite a while since my last post. Life certainly got busy for me over the last year. We became three! With more time in London and less in Segur, our little retreat is now available for rent when we are not in Segur. You can find details on AirBNB

Ancient House in Medieval Village

Book Online

Find a place to stay in Ségur-le-Château

Village Favourites List

 This week I’ve been inspired, online and beyond...... 

-          By this thought-provoking TED lecture on a foie gras farm in Spain

-          To make and taste this mouth-watering cocktail

-          By this New York Times opinion piece by Mark Bittman. Always thoughtful and insightful in the world of food, Bittman’s piece on gifts for non-cooks really got me thinking... I’m dedicated to giving gifts of homemade food, but perhaps I should extend this to cooking lessons, and shopping lessons...  

-          To attempt to pick up some good habits from this piece...., clean as I cook stands out as potentially challenging....  

-          By the charming and elegant prose of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 Prince Otto: A Romance.   

-          And finally by the sheer fabulousness of this dreamy scene

What's inspiring you? I'd love to know! x

Hawthorn berry syrup

It’s the time of year when Hawthorn trees are laden with bright red berries. It’s only autumn but the bright red berries against the backdrop of brilliant green, remind one of Christmas!

The berries of the Hawthorn tree have been used for thousands of years in the Greek culture to treat a variety of health issues.  In China, the berries are made into a tea, which is drunk to promote the health of the circulatory system, treat angina, high blood pressure, as well as stomach problems.

I used the hawthorn berries we collected in Devon over the weekend, to make a honey infused syrup. We served it today on pancakes with mixed autumn berries. Here’s the recipe.

Recipe

Two cups hawthorn berries

One jar of honey (200mL)

Muslin cloth (to strain berries)

Bring two cups of hawthorn berries to the boil in two cups of water. Once boiling simmer the berries for 20 minutes. The water will reduce the liquid should become a brownish/red colour as the juice leaches from the berries.

Strain the berries, retaining the water. Once the berries have cooled slightly, strain through a muslin bag, squeezing out the remaining liquid into the berry stained water.

Return the liquid to the stove top. On a low heat, simmer the hawthorn berry juice together with the honey. Stir slowly until the honey has melted fully into the berry juice. Remove from heat and leave to cool. Once cooled, pour into a glass jar, or bottle and leave to set overnight in the fridge.

Serve the hawthorn berry syrup with pancakes, or use as a sweetener for tea. It tastes delicious, is very healthy, and should keep for 3-4 months in the fridge. Enjoy!!