Ramsons and Bramble has relaunched with a fresh, new design and a new name, Delicious from scratch. When I started my blog in 2013, it was just a place for me to record whatever musings popped into my head about food. I had recently discovered the joys of foraging, so named my blog after that – Ramsons is another word for wild garlic and Bramble means wild blackberries. But absolutely no one understood the name. No one can spell it, remember it or get any sense of the food I am passionate about from it. The name has annoyed me for a long, long time.
I have also struggled with a particular focus for my blog – I have written about my favourite restaurants, ingredients, food shops and techniques, as well as recipes and foraging advice. I make vegetarian and vegan recipes, but I was reluctant to shout about this – I didn't want to scare anyone off.
But I’ve had a long hard think about the message I want to communicate with my website – that making food from scratch is key to amazing flavour and improved health. And for me that means home cooking. I have worked in many restaurant kitchens and even those that placed a high value on the quality of their food took shortcuts and used ingredients that I would never choose to eat – cheap and expensive restaurants alike.
For me, cooking is a daily joy. It is an in-the-moment activity that I can immerse myself in every evening, a skill I never stop developing and a way I can eat happily, healthily and abundantly, without any sense of deprivation. Hosting friends and family in my home, preparing food for them, preparing with them, then eating and drinking together, has become one of my greatest pleasures. Even when money is extremely tight, I find a way.
I have been a vegetarian since I was ten and I remain completely happy with that decision. I am proud of the vegetarian food I create and I think it can hold its own against meat-based recipes. I want people who are reducing their meat consumption or thinking about becoming vegetarian to know that vegetarian food is just as delicious as meat when time, care and attention is placed on its preparation.
So this is the focus of my new site, Delicious from scratch – fantastic vegetarian recipes for you to share with family and friends.
I appreciate the support many of you have given my site so far – it means an enormous amount to me and I would LOVE to hear what you think of the change.
