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Food Sourcing

MY LAMBETH MIXED HERBS

and an early start to making Christmas presents

I find my herb garden such a delight. Living as I do in a city with no space for a kitchen garden, it is a pleasure to be able to reach out to my pots and tubs for a choice of herbs to transform my cooking. So wherever you live and for me, that is Lambeth,…
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PICK YOUR OWN – A DAY OUT AND A WIN WIN FOR ALL THE FAMILY

With essential picking tips

On a recent trip to visit a friend in Surrey I took a detour and stopped off at a Pick Your Own Farm to gather up some strawberries for jam making and a few other supplies. The place was called Garsons farm and just outside Esher. It was huge and as with many farms overflowing…
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TEENAGERS AND PRESERVES AND ENTREPRENEURS

A variation on the selling lemonade and the USA right of passage

Just a little motivation ? It seems that once they have reached their teenage years and feel safe using a hob and oven, some teenagers may need  just  a little motivation to start cooking. Making preserves offers lots of scope . For a start, cooking to impress their friends may include knocking up a Tomato…
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SCHOOL HOLIDAY BLACKBERRYING and SAFE FORAGING

Go blackberrying

If there is just one MUST DO OUTING to enjoy with your children in the summer holidays it is to go blackberrying. By the end of August the hedgerows will be heaving with dark shiny berries and I cannot wait to collect them and then sit back and enjoy a plain bowlful. And then some for puddings, cheesecakes…
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SOW AND GROW – ANOTHER SELF-SUFFICIENCY MOMENT

Kitchen garden, patio or window sill -now is the time to sow.

  I can just feel another self-sufficiency moment coming on. Last week I baked some fabulous ciabatta bread; the first such bake for a very long time. Fabulous. This week I am sowing some herb and vegetable seeds. Whether your gardening arrangements be – kitchen garden, patio or windowsill now is the time. Herbs are a…
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RHUBARB, RHUBARB, RHUBARB with calves liver

The early forced rhubarb has arrived from the Rhubarb Triangle in the UK markets

No, I am not auditioning to go on the stage but just delighted to see the early forced rhubarb has now arrived in the markets. The forced crop is mainly cultivated in the Rhubarb triangle in the UK. It has a special flavour and pale pink colour and is more tender than the outside variety…
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A SPECTACULAR YEAR FOR SEVILLE ORANGES

A guest post from Ave Maria Farm in Seville

AS I LOOK FORWARD TO THE START OF THE MARMALADE SEASON, I AM DELIGHTED TO HAVE RECEIVED THIS POST FROM AMADORA GAHONA, the daughter of the owner of the AVE MARIA SEVILLE ORANGES FARM. THE OWNER is AMADORA FRAGA and pictured here ‘This is the story about our Sevilles oranges and it expresses the sentiments and…
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Cherry Time

A Trip to New Covent Garden

It is another bumper year for cherries and I am glad to have so many ways of enjoying them. Sadly my neighbour with the abundant morello cherry tree, who supplied me so well last year, has just moved house. The newcomers have delayed moving in, so I have not met them yet let alone become on cherry…
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Pick your own

Sources of fresh produce

During Summer, farms start overflowing with produce and many welcome visitors picking their own. I was able to combine a trip to Tunbridge Wells (to buy myself a new croquet mallet) with a visit to such a farm in the Garden of England where I found a glut of strawberries. I was also able to ensure that…
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