Rhubarb Salsa by writer Claire Davies

Zingy Lime, Chilli and Yorkshire Rhubarb Salsa

I’m always impatient for the arrival of Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb. The bright pink stems act as a colourful, sharp antidote to a winter full of earthy root vegetables and irony kale. Grown as a medicinal plant by ancient Chinese cultures, this tart vegetable didn’t become popular in Britain until the 1800’s. By the early 20th century, the forced rhubarb industry was thriving. The Yorkshire Triangle sat at the centre of all things rhubarb.

Rhubarb makes a simple and healthy pudding when poached with orange juice and honey,  but this savoury alternative is a great way of using up a few leftover stems. Team the salsa with pork chops or griddled halloumi as part of the main meal, or serve alongside salty nachos for a group of friends.

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copywriter york

Three things your freelance copywriter needs you to know

Over the Christmas break, a post on Twitter highlighted the strange conversations creatives have with their clients, many of them hilarious. Judging by the stream of reactions that followed, these scenarios are being encountered every day by freelancers all over the world. Common topics included late payment, last minute changes to the brief and requests for free work in exchange for exposure.

When I asked my community of freelancers about the issues they faced in their work a number of themes popped up. Here are just three of the things that every copywriter needs you to know.

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scottish shortbread

National Shortbread Day

I don’t have a particularly sweet tooth but I can never resist a good homebaked shortbread. So much better than shop bought and so incredibly easy to make. The moreish nature of the Scottish biscuit is achieved through a mix of three parts flour, two parts butter and one part sugar. How simple is that? To celebrate National Shortbread Day let’s take a look at one of the nation’s favourite sweet treats, starting from the very beginning. 

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web writing in yorkshire

Three ways to improve your business writing

You love what you do. At some point, you took the final step into self-employment.  Your work is your passion and you love sharing it with others. Working for yourself is easy right?

Not quite. We both know that running a small business is bloody hard. We might be good at what we do, but we don’t always have the skills to handle technology issues, complete admin tasks and market the business in the way it deserves.

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writing podcasts

Three great podcasts to improve your writing in 2018

I am an obsessive book owner. Cookery books, writing books, marketing books – the collection outgrew our home years ago and is now slowly taking over the office. As a food writer and small business owner, I am constantly on a journey to increase my knowledge and improve the service that I offer my clients.

As much as I love the printed word, there are some fantastic development tools available online. From professional blogs to a downloadable pdf, the opportunities for learning are limitless. For me, 2017 was the year of the podcast. I love the flexibility of listening as and when it suits me, they certainly make the washing up a more interesting task!

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