The cottage is quite still
It’s ten o’clock and Danny has disappeared to bed. Dr Quito is snoring gently in a basket at my feet. The wood burning stove has at least another hour of life and it’s snug in the kitchen. Years ago I wouldn’t have dreamt of staying in on a Saturday night. Now I love it. With the prospect of a day off tomorrow I’m going to have an early night too. Not to creep under the covers and snooze though. I’m deep into the lives of an enclosed order of Benedictine nuns. In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden was given to me years ago by...
read moreHow to make the best chicken stock in your slow cooker
I’d written my post for tonight. Budget, delicious chicken risotto for 62p per portion when I realised that the main ingredient – the chicken stock hadn’t been blogged. A horse without the cart is no good for anyone who is travelling in foodie country. So here’s the cart. This stock works with cooked chicken bones or a fresh carcass. The latter makes better stock, I think. If you remember to remove the chicken when it is cooked (1-1.5 hours depending on size) you will have perfectly poached chicken to add to a multitude of other...
read moreBest great budget recipes for 50% or less: Che’s suggestion for great char grilled sirloin steaks recipe
This is the end of the first month of our 2009 challenge – Best great budget recipes for 50% or less. Danny has become an addict of the condemned food counter at Tesco. He drops by most evenings when he does the final post run in Newmarket. The clientele that are attracted to this mini mecca have gradually changed over the past few months. “There were a very smart couple picking through the shelves this evening. There wasn’t much left. The man turned to me and announced, ‘The wolves have already been.’ He clearly didn’t ...
read moreSnowdrops and aconites
A beautiful postcard stands beside my computer, showing drifts of woodland snowdrops. It’s an advertisement for four snowdrop weekends at Chippenham Park. One day I hope that there will be bountiful drifts of snowdrops and aconites in front of our cottage. At the moment there is a patch of grass. The south westerly aspect means sun all afternoon. There have always been small patches of snowdrops in spring, a few aconites and a little later, pale blue crocuses open like stars on bright days. The gravel driveway takes up most of the space...
read moreHalf roast chicken with a lemon, saffron and cream sauce recipe
“How about a poussin tonight, marinaded in lemon, thyme and olive oil?” D was enthusiastic. “That would be wonderful and quick to cook. It’s not really a proper roast is it?” Danny has been great about our “no Sunday roast for January” challenge and this seemed like a good compromise for the final Sunday. That was before I went shopping. The poussin were so miniscule that it took me a good ten minutes to spot them on the Tesco shelves. And they were £2.79 for a 450g bird (£6.20 a kilo). The Tesco Finest Corn-Fed Free Range...
read moreDishwasher Dramas
Doing the washing up was a real bone of contention in our household before we bought our dishwasher. “Leave the washing up. I’ll do it in the morning.” “But you always get up with seconds to spare. Just enough time to pour some coffee granules on your tongue before running for the car.” “Nonsense. It’s my turn so I’ll get up early.” Many mornings I woke to stacks of pots and caked with dried food. It drove me nuts. I’d soak the lot all day and wash up when I got back from work. Then the whole scene would start again. “As...
read moreGreat foodie treats for under £2: La Perruche sugar cubes
Shopping with my mum in Waitrose she asked me to show her anything that would be appreciated in a Christmas stocking. We were passing the sugar section at the time and my eye fell upon the boxes of La Perruche pure cane rough cut cubes. Waitrose is the only supermarket that stocks these superb French sugar cubes. As they cost £1.69 for 500g they are a luxury that we haven’t bought for years. But as an occasional treat they are wonderful dropped into a cup of fresh black coffee or a large mug of tea. The packaging is delightful. With parrot...
read morePicasso moments
I started to make wooden toys in my late twenties. I had never previously worked with wood but, with the arrogance of the inexperienced, I reckoned that it couldn’t be rocket science. After a bit of a hiccupy start the business was reasonably successful. Ten years later I sold it to a giftware company for a very good price. That was just before the 1990 recession but that‘s another story. As a toymaker I belonged to The British Toymakers Guild. Each year I exhibited at their fair. One year I bought two wooden toys made by a fellow artist...
read more
FD