Summer
HULLING STRAWBERRIES – A DAUGHTER’S TIP
How did I manage before!
A few years ago, my younger daughter, Olivia, spent the Wimbledon fortnight hulling and counting out strawberries while working in the members’ restaurant the All England Lawn Tennis Club. In fact I think her job included a few more jobs besides. There she discovered and passed on a really great tip for hulling strawberries. Hulling strawberries using a…
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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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After all the rain in the UK this spring our gardens are wonderfully green and brimming over with foliage not to mention an abundance of herbs. Do not miss this moment to gather up herbs for preserving and for use during the rest of the year. There will be another opportunity to harvest your herbs at the…
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FLAVOURED VINEGARS and that end of summer feeling
Fruit, herb vinegars and spirit infusions
I do enjoy that end of summer feeling. Amongst other things, I have just been gathering in some surplus herbs for a supply of dried herbs through the winter and wow what a surplus this year. I now have herbs hanging up in every dark corner of the house. Dried herbs It is also a perfect…
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BRIGHT AND JOLLY TOMATO – FRUIT OR VEGETABLE
The All Singing All Dancing Preserve
I have tomato plant is just outside my kitchen door. This is not so much for the fruit as for the wonderful waft from the foliage that hits me every time I saunter out. No matter that I only have a few green tomatoes on my plant, this year! A FRUIT Yes, indeed it is a…
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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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SCHOOL HOLIDAY ACIVITIES – A KITCHEN GARDEN FOR THE YOUNG
Grow, pick and preserve
CHILDREN’S GARDENS The one childhood memory that my sister and I can always agree upon is that my mother paid us two pence a pound for picking blackcurrants. Old pence you understand. There was a row of inexhaustible bushes at the bottom of the garden. My mother was not generally so generous. Did she find…
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SUN DRIED TOMATOES
AND full of lycopene and vitamin C
I adore sun dried tomatoes and but feel very indulgent whenever buying a commercially made jar. Apart from the fact that they are annoyingly expensive, I kick myself for never having tried to make them myself. So this year, after having made plenty of tomato sauce, tomato and apple chutney and after Olivia added the…
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LEMON CONFIT
The legend of the lemons of Menton
Earlier this summer I spent a blissful few days in Menton on the Cote D’Azur relaxing and having something of a reading orgy! Menton is next to the Italian border and has its own special micro climate. It is also known for the bright yellow lemons which grow in abundance, rich in acid and essence….
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COOKING WITH FRESH OR DRIED HERBS
Dried herbs in sweetcorn and ham flan - an time family favourite
Some recipes call for the use of only fresh herbs in a dish to complement the other flavours. However for many dried herbs can be used instead although it worth remembering that dried herbs give a more concentrated flavour to the recipe so when substituting dried for fresh herbs use about one third of the suggested quantity for fresh herbs….
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