In the dappled shade of an enormous cooking apple tree sits the gooseberry patch. Three sprawling bushes that produce an abundance of bright green, delicately striped berries. They dangle from the branches like Japanese lanterns. Neighbouring the gooseberries at the moment is an untamed bed of nettles (that we haven’t had a chance to strim…
fruit
Cherry, Vanilla and Cinnamon Clafoutis
We have had a bumper cherry crop this year. The two trees in the orchard have been so laden with fruit that their branches have arched and drooped with the weight of the hefty bunches. The ruby cherries, speckled with flecks of pale orange and yellow, are beautifully sweet, and full of juice. As the…
Summer Berry Sponge Flan with Blackcurrant & Apple Jelly Cubes
The summer fruits are slowly starting to ripen in our fruit cage. Pink raspberries take centre stage, their browning canes beginning to droop with the weight of their developing bounty. A smart row of blueberry bushes edge the front of the cage; a mix of varieties that will each fruit at a different time in…
Rhubarb, Wild Watermint and Ginger Crumble
Wild watermint grows along our stream edge. It quietly rises from the banks and within the shallows in swathes during early April. We’re usually alerted to it’s seasonal arrival by accidentally treading on a patch of emerging leaves, releasing a heady aroma into the air. The flavour is reminiscent of peppermint, but perhaps with a…