Hey friends! Sorry for the quiet, I've just been away to Borneo with university, but there'll be plenty of posts on the way soon.
Last month Leon and I visited the Eden Project on the way home for the holidays, and despite being more excited than a 6 year old on Christmas Eve, the day somehow managed to exceed all expectations!
I've visited a few times before with family, but never been to their 'Shadows and Light's show.
After exploring all day and marvelling at bright flowers and colourful birds, as the daylight faded the domes started to come alive again. The photos really speak for themselves!
As it was getting dark we found ourselves in the Mediterranean dome, which came alive with colour and lights. All the olive trees had streams of fairy lights, and the projections onto the plants made it feel like we were underwater. We'd spent the day looking around the domes, but when night came it was completely different and it felt like we were on a different planet! In the middle of the dome there was a laser forest, where you could walk through and as each laser moved it made a different sound. It was so surreal and magical I'm sure we enjoyed it more than the children did!
Now to the rainforest dome! This one appealed to the scientist in me- the lights and mist were based on an algorithm that took into account precipitation, temperature, humidity, wind speed and cloud cover from real time rainforests. You could easily have missed it, but if you watched carefully you could see the slight changes to sound and colour as you walked among the plants. Even regular leaves were transformed into something from Avatar, and the whole experience was mesmerising. I really don't think there's much I can say to do the whole experience justice, so I'll leave the photos to do the talking...

It seems like only a few days ago I was thinking autumn had crept up on us, and now it's time for winter too. Despite the cosy crunch of leaves underfoot, a gentle tap on the head from a falling acorn, and the familiar smell of fallen apples, there is a chill in the air.
Saturday morning we set out on a gorgeous sun drenched morning, and despite looking cosy and happy (happy I was), I spent most of the day shivering. The first few days of cold always take me a bit by surprise. One minute you're swimming in the sea and sipping lemonade until the middle of the night, the next you're tucked up at six, huddling into a hot chocolate and having urges to knit about 10 hats. Or is that just me? Probably just me. I'm an old lady at heart.

Anyway, despite being a hermit as of late, this weekend called for an adventure. Leon's mum was down so we took a day trip out to the Lost Gardens of Heligan, which neither of them had been to before. I last time I visited was last year during summer, and then before that was about 4 years ago with my family. At that time I was planning to become a fashion designer in London, and now here I am being a little country bumpkin tree-hugging zoologist in Cornwall.
Funny how things change ;)
 The gardens were beautiful and still full of colour. There were bright squashes and festivities throughout the acres of land, and we even saw a few little witches and devils!
 Of course, my favourite area is always the flower garden, filled with roses, dahlias and chrysanthemums. Spring feels like years ago, so seeing a patchwork of beautiful colours and petals.  There was also still a variety of herbs growing that put my little windowsill pots to shame, and rows of beetroots, apples, chard and cabbages. I'm so excited to come back in spring to see how the gardens change each season.

 The last couple of times I've been, there are normally some chicks hatching in the barn, however being Halloween, this time there was tarantulas and stick insects. I've not included photos of those for my friends who despise creepy-crawlies, but here's a photo of some beautiful geese instead. Don't say I don't treat y'all ;)  There were also ducks, turkeys, goats, sheep, pigs and horses. 
 And finally, every corner of Heligan has something new to explore. My favourite sculpture is the 'Mud Maid' which was made in 1998, so she's the same age as me! She's made from timber and netting covered in mud, sand and cement. Her hair is planted with Woodsedge and Montebretia and ivy has been trained to clothe her. She's so peaceful looking, especially with the sun setting behind her, it's hard to feel stressed whilst you're in her presence. 

Emma xo

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped  1 mug of peas 1/2 a red onion, sliced 3 sausages (I used Cauldron Veggie ones) 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 3 big handfuls of spinach Ready rolled puff pastry Milk or egg to glaze (I used Oatly milk)

Method

~Set the oven to 180 celcius to warm up~ 1. Boil a saucepan of salted water, then add the peas and sweet potatoes and cook for 10 minutes. 2. Whilst the vegetables are boiling, put a little oil to a frying pan and add the onions and sausages. Cook on a medium heat as per the instructions on the sausage packet, and add the balsamic vinegar halfway through cooking to caramelise the onion. Mine took about 10 minutes.  3. Add the spinach for the final minute of cooking for the sausages and onion, until wilted, then remove from the heat. 4. Drain the sweet potatoes and peas, then mash together. 5. Slice the sausages, then start layering the potato mix and sausage/onion mix in a large dish. 6. Cover with puff pastry and glaze. 7. Bake at 180 celcius for 25-30 minutes until golden in colour.

Emma xo

Hello folks! It's been a long time since a baking recipe hasn't it? In fact, it's been a fair old while since a post in general- but I can assure you I've been up to plenty of adventures which will be documented on here in the coming weeks.

Last week I was in my family home and we have two huge elderberry bushes in the garden, so I decided to create a loaf cake to use some of them up! To me, elderberries feel like a special secret as you can't find them in supermarkets and shops- you have to go and find them yourself. British hedgerows are full of them at the moment, so head out foraging for a real treat! (Note: please make sure you research first, make sure you know what you are picking, and also don't eat elderberries raw).

This cake also has cooking apples from our neighbour, and eggs from our own hens, so it's a very autumnal, homegrown cake!! You could also use blackberries, pears, raspberries, whatever fruit you fancy or have in your garden. Let me know what you come up with in the comments.

If you enjoy elderberries, I also have an elderberry pie recipe HERE, and an elderflower cordial recipe HERE to bookmark for spring!

Happy baking...

Ingredients

Method