Archive for environment

Hitting the target – but not how you think – with the BBC & Scottish Field

My rifle skills are improving but does that mean I'll make a clean shot?

My rifle skills are improving but does that mean I’ll make a clean shot?

My year spent only eating animals I have killed myself has featured on the BBC and in Scottish Field, leading to some expected ribbing about ‘glamorous’ photos with guns and some unexpected conclusions about the nature of shooting. Read more

Plenty of fish in the sea?

Cod caught off the east coast of Scotland

Cod caught off the east coast of Scotland

During the winter months it was difficult to find something to eat, but there is plenty of life in the sea – or there was. Read more

My first shooting season

I spent the winter learning about shooting

I spent the winter learning how to shoot

I grew up in the countryside, so it may seem strange to call this my first shooting season. But this is the first time I’ve actually held a gun. Read more

Gregg Wallace didn’t like my vegan shepherd’s pie, so I made a real lamb roast

 

Wild soay sheep

Wild soay sheep

This blog is about to get bloody. Sorry, but I did say I was writing a book about only eating animals I have killed myself. This means at some point I will have to kill something. The point is to do it in as humane a way as possible and to educate people about where meat comes from.  Read more

A class bird: Learning how to cook pigeon with MasterChef Natalie Coleman

Pan Roasted Pigeon with Orange Braised Lentils, Chicory & Hazlenuts

Pan Roasted Pigeon with Orange Braised Lentils, Chicory & Hazlenuts

If you want to only eat animals you have killed yourself, the traditional place to start is learning to shoot a pigeon. I was fortunate enough to also learn how to cook one with the former winner of MasterChef. Read more

Grouse shooting: The vainglorious 12th

A walked-up grouse shoot beneath the wind turbines

A walked-up grouse shoot beneath the wind turbines

Since I have pledged to only eat animals I have killed myself, I decide to go grouse shooting on the Glorious 12th and start off the project with a bang. It doesn’t quite go to plan…

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Shucking oysters: A soft start to the kill-to-eat diet

Shucking oysters

I didn’t mean to match my nail varnish to the oyster knife…

Oysters are possibly the most “raw” food experience you can get, in fact they are probably still alive when you eat them… Read more

Late spring in the Highlands: Blooming rhododendrons

Rhododendrons frame the Torridon hills

Rhododendron blooms frame the Torridon hills in June.

The rhododendrons are in bloom across the Highlands and I must admit they look beautiful – but they look better in a bonfire. Read more