The last of our beetroot have reached the size of Bramley apples and are starting to turn a little woody. They need harvesting quickly before they reach the point of no return and end up on the compost heap. So, at the weekend, we pulled up a huge basketful, leaving just a couple of the…
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Chanterelle, Kale and Purple Sage Tagliatelle
Back when we were living in the city, we borrowed a scrappy and crumpled old book from the local library called Urban Dreams, Rural Realities by Daniel Butler and Bel Crewe. It was about a couple who had moved from London to the Welsh countryside to live life on a smallholding and we were curious…
Mulberry, Goats Cheese, Rocket Leaf and Fennel Toasts
We tried our first mulberries at a family barbecue on a sweltering summer day. There was a sprawling black mulberry tree by the garden wall, crooked and aged. It looked like something out of a fairy story. Enveloped below its heart-shaped leaves were fruits so ripe they were falling off the branches and smooshing on…
Rainy Days and Lost Swarms
The beekeeping year started out so well. Our two hives had overwintered successfully and powered through spring with neat frames of brood, plentiful pollen stores, and lots of straw-coloured honey. We artificially swarmed one of the hives in June and proudly increased our apiary size by half. To our absolute joy, several swarms landed in…
Garden Soup and Carrot Leaf Pesto
Every couple of weeks during the summer and early autumn, we make a big pot of soup with fresh vegetables and herbs from the garden. Whatever is in plentiful supply at the time. That way none of our surplus veg go to waste. We usually squirrel some portions away in little freezer tubs, ready for…
Herbed Omelette with Griddled Courgette, Halloumi, and Nasturtiums
One of the lovely things about growing our own food is being able to pop outside and literally pick our own meals. Breakfasts, lunches and dinners are built around whatever is flourishing or newly appearing in the veg beds, orchard and herb patch at any given point in time. Yesterday morning, before the rain came,…