The Cottage Smallholder

This can also be made with damsons – cut the tamarind amount by half and add more sugar to taste. Anyone who owns Oded Schwartz’s superb book Preserving  is very lucky indeed. Published in 1996 it is now sadly out of print. Danny found a copy on Australian Ebay for me one Christmas and I’ve Read More »

I’m getting to the end of my third week being in bed. Finally last week my doctor discovered that I have a problem with my kidneys. I was beginning to wonder whether I’d just fade away like one of Dicken’s heroines. So now we are waiting for more test results. Meanwhile I languish in the Read More »

Last year I was a bit late picking walnuts for The Grand Pickled Walnut Challenge. Not wanting to waste the nuts that were clearly far too hard to pickle, I flexed my muscles and cut a few in half. I added these to some white wine vinegar, popped the experiment onto a shelf in the Read More »

Everyone seems to be talking about chillies. They are said to trigger “feel good” endorphins and are packed with vitamin A, an immune system boosting antioxidant. Chillies improve the digestive process too as they stimulate the action of the intestine and stomach. This year I was determined to make crab apple and chilli jelly. My Read More »

“Don’t pick blackberries after October 11 as the Devil gets in them.” Mrs Houlton eyed my basket as she stirred her tea. Way back then I’d blackberry for my mum. She liked them scattered in a crumble or a handful tossed into apple compote. They were a great little present before I returned to University. Read More »

Mildred left a comment on the post “Can you identify this fruit” asking if anyone could identify a fruit that she had found in her local park. “My query, if anyone can help, is about a tree in the local playing field. They are similar to the photo at the top of the page but Read More »

Jelly making is on hold. I was working today and returned home to roast chicken with all the trimmings. As Danny stirred the gravy, I Googled for pictures of medlars. The few that I found didn’t look a bit like my “medlars”. I have only heard about medlars and seen some line drawings. The cross Read More »

If it wasn’t for the fact that he was wearing his battered panama, Jalopy and I would have not noticed Gilbert. He was wearing some sort of camouflage fatigues and carrying a bucket. Curious, we drew to a halt beside him and he swept off his hat with a magnificent bow. “I suppose you want Read More »

Driving down to Essex this morning, I was enjoying the May (Hawthorn) blossom, the blue skies and sunshine, when I suddenly realised we are just on the brink of all blossom bursting out in the hedgerows. Most of this blossom will turn into fruit which in its turn can be picked for fruit gin, wine, Read More »

Rosehips are ripening and perfect for picking now. Some people wait until after the first frost, when the rosehips will be soft. We start picking from the first week in September. They need to cook for longer but we know that they’re really fresh. They’re high in vitamin C and a great asset for the Read More »