Celebrating seasonal, homegrown, and wild food
Slurping delicious buckwheat soba noodles is a New Year's tradition in Japan. I know New Year's celebrations might feel like a while ago at this point, but we're still in January, and I'm certainly still in transition mode from one year to the next. I think we too often forget that this transition is something [...]
The cabbage. An unloved, perhaps uninspiring vegetable to some, a saviour in winter for the allotment keeper! Cabbages are generally cool-weather veg with winter varieties that can grow slowly but surely through the frosts. There are the deep green crinkly varieties that fill you with the sense that you’re being good to yourself by eating [...]
The hungry gap is back for another year as we get through the last of the previous season's produce and wait for the next season to start. Thank goodness for the few winter stalwarts of purple sprouting broccoli, cabbages and kale, but also the wild mushrooms and three-cornered leek. At this time of year I'm [...]
'Tis the season of purple sprouting broccoli! Someone should tell our broccoli plants though as their purple florets are only just beginning to peep through and I can't wait to get my hands on them. Thankfully our local farmer's market is keeping us well-stocked in winter veggies to see us through until ours finally decides [...]
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 [...]
It goes without saying that winter can be a tricky time to coax ourselves out from our cosy warm blankets and heated houses into the frigid January air. Whilst hibernation might be a very attractive option (wake me up in April perhaps?), there's a surprising amount to discover on a winter's foray, and getting out [...]
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, [...]
At this time of year, there typically isn't a lot growing, and there definitely isn't much growing on our plot just yet. The "hungry gap" as its known is less of an issue for most people these days as supermarkets are still able to stock most fruit and vegetables throughout the winter. However, if you're [...]
Plot & Lane 