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The Seasonal Table

A journal of slow food and slow living from a smallholding in rural England

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Wild Cherry Sour

08/07/2018 By The Seasonal Table Leave a Comment

Wild Cherry Sour -- seasonal drink recipe | https://theseasonaltable.co.uk/drinks/wild-cherry-sour/

It has not been a particularly good year for our cherry trees. One of the two sweet cherries, which gave us an absolute bumper crop last July, has been struck by what appears to be a nasty combination of fruit drop and cherry blackfly. The tree stands curly leafed and forlorn, surrounded by shrivelled fruits…

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Milk Jelly with Strawberries, Elderflower, and Cobnut Brittle

01/07/2018 By The Seasonal Table Leave a Comment

Milk Jelly with Strawberries, Elderflower, and Cobnut Brittle --Seasonal Food UK | https://theseasonaltable.co.uk/sweet/milk-jelly-with-strawberries-elderflower-and-cobnut-brittle

The tiny alpine variety of strawberry that grows wild might just be the tastiest strawberry there is. The minuscule fruits, sherbet sweet and deeply flavoursome, melt in the mouth in seconds. We have a small patch of them growing in the dappled shade of some rosebushes. We also forage a few extra from the grassy…

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Borage Leaf, Pea and Garden Mint Soup

21/06/2018 By The Seasonal Table 2 Comments

Borage Leaf, Pea and Garden Mint Soup -- Borage recipes | https://theseasonaltable.co.uk/savoury/borage-leaf-pea-and-garden-mint-soup

The borage pops up in the vegetable patch every year without fail. It would almost be considered a weed if the dark green leaves and starry flowers weren’t so welcome in our garden. We grew a few borage plants in a module tray in our first year here and planted them out in the corners…

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Chickens: Creating a Dual Purpose UK Easter Egger Flock – Part 2

07/05/2018 By The Seasonal Table 1 Comment

Chickens Creating a Dual Purpose UK Easter Egger Flock – Part 2 - multi coloured | https://theseasonaltable.co.uk/smallholding/chickens-creating-a-dual-purpose-uk-easter-egger-flock-part-2

This is part two of the story of how we created our dual purpose meat and coloured egg laying flock here on the smallholding. You can read part 1 here. After a lot of research, we settled on four main breeds that we wanted to keep to form the base of our flock.

Pickled Wild Garlic Flower Buds

20/04/2018 By The Seasonal Table 4 Comments

Pickled Wild Garlic Flower Buds -- Seasonal Food UK | https://theseasonaltable.co.uk/savoury/pickled-wild-garlic-flower-buds/

The wild garlic is as abundant this year as ever. It carpets the woodland floors and lines many of the shaded roadside verges. Open the car window on a sunny afternoon or stumble over a patch on a walk, and its scent is almost instantly noticeable. Here on the smallholding, we are lucky enough to…

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Pine Needle Vinegar

08/04/2018 By The Seasonal Table 6 Comments

Pine Needle Vinegar -- Spring foraging UK | https://theseasonaltable.co.uk/savoury/pine-needle-vinegar/

There has been a lot of rain here over the last couple of weeks. The ground is saturated with water. The stream is swollen and lapping at the edges of the daffodils. And the geese have found themselves inundated with muddy, pond-sized puddles to dabble in. But, in the moments of sunshine between heavy showers,…

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We're Kathy and Tom and we live in the hills of rural Somerset, England. The Seasonal Table is our blog about slow food and slow living. It is a journal of seasonal recipes, featuring organically home grown, wild-harvested, or locally sourced ingredients, and a collection of smallholding stories and activities. Read More…

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A rare picture of the two of us together, which we A rare picture of the two of us together, which we took for our Christmas feature (A Somerset Festive Feast) in this month’s issue of BBC Countryfile Magazine. The article includes a few of our favourite winter recipes from pan-fried chicken (with crispy sage, bacon, and apple balsamic vinegar) to poached pears with bay, honey, cinnamon and home brewed cider.
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#countryfile  @countryfilemagazine #seasonaleating #seasonalsimplicity #bonappetit #lifeandthyme #eattheworld #realfood #eatbeautiful #eatingwiththeseasons #howweliveinthecountry #selfsufficiency #homegrownfood #eattheseasons #seasonalfood #beautifulcuisines #farmtotable #organic #smallholding #countryliving #thegoodlife #plottoplate #embracingtheseasons #selfsufficiency
The sheep are very partial to wild blackberry leav The sheep are very partial to wild blackberry leaves. At this time of year, when the grass growth slows and hay is the main feed for the flock, the green foliage makes a particularly welcome fresh snack. One of the reasons we chose to keep Shetland sheep was because of their foraging abilities- they certainly haven’t let us down!
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#shetlandsheep #sheepofinstagram #selfsufficiency #homesteading life #inmygarden #farmlife #rurallife #organic #sustainablefood #smallholding #homesteading #homestead #smallholdinguk #smallholder #homesteaders #minifarm #lifeonthefarm #lifeinthecountry #livinginthecountry #ruralliving #permaculture #growsomethinggreen #permaculturegarden #thehappynow #heiterautumn
As the cooler weather makes itself comfortable, we As the cooler weather makes itself comfortable, we’re lighting the log burners in the cottage almost every day. This means regular - often torchlit - wellie-booted trips to the logstores to fill up the wood baskets. There is a jumble of seasoned wood in the stores, but ash and beech dominate the pile at the moment. Luckily they are good ones to have; they split well, burn well (for a good length of time), and make a beautiful flame pattern. Definitely worth all the hard work of chopping, splitting, and stacking.
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#woodpile #logstore #logpile #selfsufficiency #homesteading life #inmygarden #farmlife #rurallife #organic #smallholding #homesteading #homestead #smallholdinguk #smallholder #homesteaders #minifarm #lifeonthefarm #lifeinthecountry #livinginthecountry #ruralliving #thehappynow #heiterautumn
A hidden nest. The egremont russet apple tree has A hidden nest. The egremont russet apple tree has now shed all but a clinging handful of curling leaves and golden fruit. Tucked neatly among the arching branches, and looking very much a part of the tree, is this tiny nest. It is neatly woven with white hair and moss and decorated with lichen to match the tree perfectly. Its inhabitants are long flown, but we have a sneaking suspicion that it may have belonged to the chaffinches that we so often see flitting around the orchard...
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#birdnest #orchard #findingsomethingjoyful #wildlife #naturephotography
 #natureshots #smallholding #homesteading #countryliving #countrylivinguk #countrylife #provinciallife #simplelife #thatsdarling
#thesimplethings #simplethings #theartofslowliving #slowliving #seekthesimplicity #verilymoment #inspiremyinstagram #aseasonalyear
A few of the chickens gathered at the old plum tre A few of the chickens gathered at the old plum tree - a favourite flock meeting location. Most are still in the process of fluffing up after their annual moult, and none are laying at the moment, although we still check the nest boxes each evening, hopeful that one day soon the brightly-coloured eggs will start appearing again.
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#chickens #chickensofinstagram #orchard #seasonaleating #seasonalsimplicity #bonappetit #lifeandthyme #eattheworld #realfood #eatbeautiful #eatingwiththeseasons #howweliveinthecountry #selfsufficiency #homegrownfood #eattheseasons #seasonalfood #beautifulcuisines #farmtotable #organic #smallholding #countryliving #thegoodlife #plottoplate #embracingtheseasons #heiterautumn #selfsufficiency
Last weekend, in line with the turning clocks and Last weekend, in line with the turning clocks and between the rain showers, was the apple harvest. Wheelbarrows of windfall and freshly picked apples were piled up, washed, scratted (shredded), and pressed into sweet-sharp juice. Enough bottles were tapped off and pasteurised to last through the year, while the rest has been left to ferment into cider (and some will be encouraged to continue fermenting into vinegar). While the cider tanks bubble and burp inside the cottage, the geese are happily picking over the leftover apples and new windfalls on the grass outside.
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#apples #geeseofinstagram #orchard #seasonaleating #seasonalsimplicity #bonappetit #lifeandthyme #eattheworld #realfood #eatbeautiful #eatingwiththeseasons #howweliveinthecountry #selfsufficiency #homegrownfood #eattheseasons #seasonalfood #beautifulcuisines #farmtotable #organic #smallholding #countryliving #thegoodlife #plottoplate #embracingtheseasons #heiterautumn #selfsufficiency
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