Never been so happy to be soaked to the skin in all my life. I knew if I put clothes on the line, it just might bring back the rain that was so promising earlier this afternoon. However, schedule picking fruit - that's a definite. And sure enough, as we arrived to pick greengages from … Continue reading Greengage Picking in the Rain

Each morning with our breakfast cereal, we are able to include preserved fruit. Today Robert, self appointed breakfast cook, said "Can you please fetch jar of fruit from the cupboard?". Sure, no problem. When he opened them he declared they smelt funny and asked if they were ok to eat. When I checked they turned … Continue reading Hidden Treasures and a Tale of Sleeping Tom

If I were to say it's been busy here, then that's nothing new. This week has been a bit beyond the norm even for this place however. We've been fruit picking - red currants, Morellos (though these were picked for us), jostaberries, blackberries and delicious yellow peaches. Usually I make a bucketload of apricot chutney … Continue reading Peaches, cats and more

Now I've always thought the name "Turducken" had a nice ring to it, but I resist the actuality of 3 creatures having to be sacrificed to make a single dinner for us. It seems somehow indecent. This evening, with visitors coming for dinner, I made a variation that is not nearly so brutal in its … Continue reading Turducken Loaf

I’ve received requests for the tomato paste recipe. It’s not actually a recipe per se, merely an experiment with about 6 kilos of leftover fresh tomatoes. It seems to have worked quite well. I simply dehydrated the (sliced) tomatoes until they were about one third of their original size, then pureed them in batches in … Continue reading Homemade Tomato Paste and Curry Paste

TOM IS BACK!!!!! He just came in through the cat flap. He is thin as the proverbial rake, and parched thirsty and ravenously hungry, but he's here and that's all that counts. We are so relieved. For those who know his back story, or who might have met him here at the cooking school, you … Continue reading The prodigal Tom returns …

Has anyone in the Moleworth neighbourhood seen our dear old ginger Tom cat? He has been missing for almost 24 hours. We miss him terribly. Reward offered.

And so today was set aside for the pickling of garlic. Stephanie had grown a huge crop of the elephant variety, which was starting to show signs of not storing as well as she'd like. Pickling then was the obvious choice. The plaited stalks were stripped of their tops and relegated to the compost heap, … Continue reading The Day of Pickling Garlic

It's a plummy kind of day today. Robert and Stephanie picked buckets full of red and yellow cherry plums for me a day or so ago, elderberries too. All 'foraged' of course. Both yellow and red cherry plums make wonderful jelly, not just for scones and toast and topping jam drop biscuits, but also excellent … Continue reading Plums and Poppy

"An innocuous piece of timber wall" that sits behind our clothesline, you could be forgiven for thinking. Well, as I hung out the clothes yesterday morning I was greeted by a swarm of flying insects. Thinking they were bees merely visiting the flowers on the bush nearby, I calmly brushed them aside. Obviously my eyes … Continue reading The price of the heat