The Courtyard Kitchen

20/07/2024

Morning run, 4th one this week. I’m not a natural runner. At school I wasn’t fast but because I was tall and skinny everyone thought I would be the next Zola Budd. But, I just didn’t seem to have the stamina to go the distance. I far prefer cycling but rarely find the time. After a dog walk every morning my exercise slot has been used up. But, on my first walk this holiday I thought why the hell not. I picked my feet up a little higher, stretched my stride out a little further and before I knew it I was running. In my mind I looked like a gazelle and the Tuscan countryside slid past. The reality, probably more like a hippo. But I was doing it and it didn’t seem as bad as I feared it would. Now I’ve run every 2nd day. I thought it would get easier. So far it hasn’t, but it hasn’t gotten harder so I’m going to continue. Maybe by the end of the holiday I will have achieved that gazelle like stride of my dreams.

26/12/2023

The best of Christmas. Love and laughter with friends and a lot of dogs. And it was warm enough to start the day with fizz and starters in the garden. And today an lazy cuddle and on the sofa with a spaniel.

17/03/2023

Jordan, a country of contrasts. And this trip has all been about those contrasts. From the first few days where I really had to dig deep, just putting one foot in front of another. Willing my body to keep going when every muscle seemed to be aching. When pain ceased to be pain and just became another sensation.

But, the beauty. From the flat stony Wadi Arabia with the view of the mountains in the distance. To climbing those mountains and looking back towards where we came from.

The relief of walking into Petra and the wonder of this beautiful city carved from the sandstone mountains. Which over 2000 years ago created a complicated water storage and transport system.

Onto Wadi Rhum where we experienced the joy and awe of a desert deluge. A sheer wall of water that moved towards us leaving a mass of flowing rivers in its wake. Carving up the sand dunes with its force. Cascading from the sandstone rock faces, creating pools at their feet that quickly disappeared into the desert floor within a few hours.

Then moving further south onto the Red Sea. The Gulf of Aqaba is a narrow spit on the north east end of the Red Sea. Bordering Saudi on the South, Israel and the Palestinian Territories on the north west. And Egypt within sight across the gulf. It’s an azure paradise filled with coral and colorful fish. Fine delicate corals to large brain like lumps of coral. Some are vivid shades of purple and others just a neutral shade of beige. It’s like stepping into a fish tank.

Just one more day to go which I will spend floating with a mask and snorkel taking in this aqua wonderland. But, I really don’t want to go home.

06/06/2022

A road trip in France is just so easy. Mainly because of the amount of Aires (picnic stops) on all the motor ways. And of course it’s got to be a home made picnic. This one on the way to Biarritz was lush and green with amazing views of the Pyrenees. And Millie loves them too. The perfect place to get out and have a good snuffle.

25/11/2021

My lovely clients at Famille Bruno Lafon. Come in for a tasting on the 5th of December and come and buy some wine for all those Christmas events. Mince pies, sausage rolls, and charcuterie to accompany the wine tasting.

Our limited edition Magellan tasting case will only be available at the mini Christmas Market at our domaine in Magalas on the 5th of December.

It's the perfect way to taste and share our full range of Magellan wines.

20/11/2021

A nostalgic recipe that I cooked recently for our travel page.

My take on spaghetti alle vongole is a pared down and fresher take on the original dish that I ate all of those years ago in Venice. And the biggest difference is that I don’t actually use clams at all but mussels which are both cheaper and easier to find.

500g of mussels scrubbed clean and beards removed
15 cherry tomatoes chopped in half
3 – 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
A handful of fresh leaf parsley roughly chopped
1 -2 red chili deseeded and finely chopped
250ml of dry white wine
400 g of dried spaghetti

This dish really only takes about 15 minutes to make.
While you are cooking the spaghetti, sweat off the garlic together with the chopped chili.
Add the dry white wine and bring to the boil, add the mussels and close the lid to allow them to steam and open. Just before removing from the heat, add the cherry tomatoes.
Drain the spaghetti and in a large bowl mix together with the mussels and sprinkle with parsley.

15/11/2021

On Saturday we spend a really enlightening afternoon tasting our way around South Africa with Emma Kershaw from . As a South African the day was a little nostalgic all the 8 wines that we tasted were perfectly paired with a traditional dish from South Africa. From a delicious European take on a Smoor Snook Salad, through to Chakalaka, Bunny Chow to a delicious milk tart.

And the wines were a fantastic representation of a wonderfully exciting wine culture. Most were from wineries that I had never heard of before. But, all were wines that can hold their heads high on the world stage.

The day was wonderfully educational, but also great fun. If you, like me would like to spend a day tasting some wines that are not from this region, Emma is running a masterclass every month over the winter from different wine regions around the world.

And of course she also runs her fantastic wine and food pairing on wines of the Languedoc.

31/10/2021

I love dressing up, the theatre of it all and getting into character is just an escape. Something that people don’t know is that in another life I studied fashion design, so I love designing and making my own costumes. Last night our lovely friends Katie and Ian from hosted the best Halloween party I have ever been to. And everyone looked amazing. Thank you to my talented husband from for this ghoulish retouch that makes us look even more ghostly. Also the birthday girl and amazing photographer .photography who took the group shot of us before it all kicked off.

26/10/2021

Low Carb Sunday roast - so yummy. Slow cooked sage and garlic pork belly with roast carrots and broccoli. All so good. And to be honest I never miss the roast potatoes. This dish is super easy and my crackling always turns out super crispy. And let's be honest, that is what belly pork is all about. And because it was a Sunday I treated myself to a little glass of white wine too.

07/10/2021

I love colour when I cook, and this Thai green chicken curry delivers that and more. And it's low carb to boot. But, those are noodles I see!! I'm using Konjac noodles (also known as shirataki noodles). They have a very low carb content. I buy mine at my local asian super market but they are also available from Amazon and other online stores.

2 x chicken breasts cut into small pieces
1/2 yellow pepper
1/2 orange pepper
1/2 red pepper
1 medium red onion
5 - 6 large mushrooms, I used chestnut but you can use white button mushrooms
1/2 a head of broccoli
1-2 tablespoons of Thai green curry paste (amount depends on how hot you want it and what brand you are using)
2 x packets of Konjac noodles (also known as shiratake noodles)
400ml of coconut milk
A few good splashes of fish sauce
The juice of 1 lime

Brown off the chicken with the curry paste and put to one side.
Fry the vegetables in a bit of coconut oil starting with the broccoli as this will take longer to cooke, add the onions and then the peppers. Don't overcook, you want the veg to have a bit of crunch.
In the mean time, rinse the Konjac noodles.
Add the coconut milk, the cooked chicken and the Konjac noodles.
Allow everything to warm though.
Add fish sauce and lime juice to taste.
💪

28/09/2021

What is your biggest hurdle to adapting a healthier eating lifestyle? Mine was bread and salty snacks. I loved a slice of toast with anything salty on it or a little packet of crisps.

So I knew that to break this habit I needed to find something to replace it with. I discovered this seed cracker recipe which I’ve adapted a bit over the past few years.

These are great with pate, marmite and butter, cheese with pickled cucumbers. Anything you fancy really, but maybe not jam or honey if you are cutting down on sugar.

150g sunflower seeds
150g pumpkin seeds
150g sesame seeds
100g linseed
4 tablespoons physillium husk
600 ml lukewarm water
1,5 tsp salt

Heat the oven to 150 C

Mix together all the dry ingredients together. Slowly add the water and leave for about 10 minutes to allow the physillium to hydrate.

Place a silicone mat on your baking tray or oven trays x 2. Spread the mixture evenly over the baking tray.

Bake for 1hr turning if necessary. Remove and allow to cool. Break into smaller pieces and store in an airtight container.

27/09/2021

I’m sure like most of you, I don’t have time for a long lunch, so need to keep it super quick and easy. Today’s lunch was all that. That being said, I did need to have access to a kitchen to prepare it. Once of the advantages of working from home. But, since the pandemic even working Mum’s sometimes have a few days working from home. So maybe you can give this one a try. Also great for a light supper.

Mushrooms stuffed with a creamy, garlic spinach.

I used large chestnut mushrooms, I have never found portobello mushrooms in France.
🥬Frozen spinach, super lazy but I’m a fan of some frozen veg, and spinach is one of these
🧄1 clove of garlic
A dollop of cream or creme fraîche
Salt and white pepper if you have it to taste
🧀Grated cheese

I removed the stems from the mushrooms, and fried them tops down in butter for a few minutes.
In the mean time I popped the spinach in the microwave for a couple of minutes
One warmed through I added the cream, crushed garlic and salt and pepper and popped it into the microwave for a further 2 minutes
Transferred the mushrooms to a baking tray, added as spoonful of the spinach mix into each mushroom, sprinkled with cheese and into the oven, under the grill for about 5 minutes.

All done and it took about 15 minutes