Whooping it up with a treat at spring’s onset

In like a lion and out like a lamb, or vice versa, is one of my father’s infamous words of wisdom, regarding the March weather and, usually, he is more often than not right.

We are in a strange season – still sort of winter and not really into spring. This is a hectic time in the Colley household.

My husband constantly wears the frown of an expectant father over his sheep and keeps reminding me that we cannot possibly arrange anything for the next eight weeks as he is too busy for anything otherwise.

I have learned over the years to smile encouragingly but then just carry on regardless. As long as there is food always readily available and I never ask when he will be home, we will hopefully, get through this spring without too much tension.

My husband constantly wears the frown of an expectant father over his sheep and is too busy for anything otherwise

Helen Colley

It’s birthdays galore this month – my son, friends and at the end of the month myself. This provides me with the perfect excuse to bake to my hearts content and it is just so much nicer when someone bakes a cake just for you. It really does not matter how rustic it looks.

Just knowing someone has made that special effort is a treat in itself and to me it evokes memories of my childhood and the birthday parties my mother used to arrange for us.

Cheese and pineapple on cocktail sticks stuck into foil covered half potatoes, egg and ham sandwiches, which for parties had the crusts cut off, towers of chocolate fingers and those tiny biscuits with multi-coloured icing piped on top and of course the home-made decorated birthday cake.

Bought biscuits were a treat in our house then and inevitably we would finish off with traffic light jelly. Things have changed somewhat through the years.

I have made progress on my vegetable patch, which Michael does help me with but with great reluctance. I realised, though, that on the whole, farmers are not great gardeners. I reached that conclusion many years ago when my father suggested the easiest way to keep the lawn trim was to ‘turn the tups in’.

New turf

Now that the children have outgrown the trampoline, I am going to use that area as my vegetable garden – quite a circle I might add, it was a large trampoline. So on with the collection of twigs for my sugar snaps which I am assured are easier to grow than peas.

In season this month is the cauliflour - one of my favourite vegetables but I know others may not be so keen. It’s just so versatile, a great natural thickener when pureed in soups, lovely roasted in a vegetable selection and you could always jazz up the old classic, cauliflower cheese, by adding pieces of fried smoked bacon or cubes of pancetta.

Parsnips, artichokes and purple sprouting broccoli, are abundant as well as homegrown carrots, leeks and kale. But the most under-rated is the beetroot and has come such a long way from being the pickled accompaniment to the ham salad. To cook, simply peel off the skin on (halve if too large) and roast for 40 minutes in a little oil. It is delicious.

British Pie Week is celebrated this month and, as promised, my twist this month is introducing my recipe for Whoopie pies.

A cross between a biscuit and a cake, the sweet treat is known in America as ‘gob’ or BFO (Big Fat Oreo) and has been around since the early 20th century.

There are many disputed claims as to the origins of the Whoopie Pie - Pennsylvania and Maine, both claim to be its birthplace. Others claim the Amish had the original recipe and in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, stalls adorn the roadside, all dedicated to the sales of Whoopie Pies.

To celebrate St David’s Day last week, I have used Welsh goats cheese in the tart and of course, as it is the season for leek, it also features in this month’s delicious soup.

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