Celebrating seasonal, homegrown, and wild food
The story of this particular recipe begins - perhaps surprisingly - in Luang Prabang, Laos. You might be puzzled - how can a warming winter broth full of ingredients that grow abundantly in the wild during the coldest season here in the UK have anything to do with a small city in a tropical country [...]
With most of England, and indeed the UK, under some level of COVID restrictions, Christmas is going to be strange for most of us. Although we're permitted to form a bubble over the festive period, most of us will be having to make sacrifices in terms of who we're able to spend time with and [...]
The beginning of December brings the start of meteorological winter, and the recent snow across much of the UK has clearly sealed the deal - Winter is here. There's nothing better on a cold day than a brisk walk and returning to your cosy home for a warming bowl of soup or stew. This venison [...]
Winter may seem like one long, dark emptiness, especially this year, but there's so much that we can embrace about winter when we look deeper. One thing I love about this season is the earthy, hearty root veg that come into season at this time. Parsnips and sprouts both develop their sweetness after a frost, [...]
For me, this winter is going to be a time to cultivate a deeper appreciation of the small things, especially home comforts and the occasional treat. During the recent lockdown, and really since the first lockdown in March, we have made it a tradition to go for a walk on a Saturday to our local [...]
This Wednesday 21st October was the 30th anniversary of Apple Day! Launched by Common Ground in 1990, Apple Day was created to inspire local celebrations of this beloved fruit and to celebrate the diversity of apple varieties we have historically grown in the UK and to encourage the protection of this diversity. I learned about [...]
It's been a year of firsts for our allotment as we approach the end of our first full growing season. We've grown so many things for the first time this year including sweetcorn, potatoes, cucumbers, onions, radishes and a variety of different beans. Florence fennel is a wonderful vegetable and one that I didn't have [...]
Green tomatoes at this time of year are unlikely to have enough daylight hours to ripen, but that isn't a reason to despair! Green tomatoes are entirely edible and I really enjoy their fresh crunchiness. Every year I make a green tomato chutney using the tomatoes that are left on the plants too late into [...]
Whenever I see a bed of tumbling nasturtiums it always makes me think of the beautiful hobbit gardens in the Lord of the Rings films - is that just me? There are countless varieties of nasturtium from deep reds, through tangerine oranges, to soft yellows. At some point I want to grow all of them! [...]
A recipe with melon at its centre might seem odd for me to post on a blog all about seasonal, local food, but it is actually possible to grow melons in the UK. I know, it was a surprise to me too and I have to admit it isn't something I have personally tried yet, [...]
