The Cottage Smallholder

  A couple of days ago I discovered that our Red Brandywine tomato plants in the front garden were showing all the early signs of blight. They were ripped out immediately before the blight could spread to the other plants and I was left with 3 kilos of giant green tomatoes. I’ve been meaning to Read More »

  Photo by Agata Urbaniak Unless you live in a country where mangoes grow, making homemade mango chutney can be expensive. We sell a lot of it on the gate side stand and it sells for 50% more than most of the other jars. I found some mangos in the market before Christmas – they were Read More »

  Have you ever tasted nasturtium seeds?  They’re nutty and peppery. I knew that they could be pickled to make an English version of the continental caper but I’ve never found a recipe when the seeds are green and perfect for pickling. So I was delighted when Duncan, a reader and contributor to the Cottage Read More »

Growing up there were a handful of meals that I really liked my mum to cook. One of these was curry. Back in those days curry powder was the norm, with the remains of the Sunday roast diced into the mix. I loved the exotic colour of the sauce but it was the way that Read More »

Although I left Magic Cochin’s house in January clutching the trophy silver pickle fork, they were just being kind. The Cochinery had produced wonderful pickled walnuts. The vintage 2005 were to die for and all smugness ceased as I divd into the 2008 Cochinery jar. My pickled walnuts didn’t even reach the starting stalls. “So Read More »

Good pickled walnuts are a wonderful accompaniment to strong cheese or cold meat. They are an English tradition. Often they are made with malt vinegar and can be very challenging to eat. This year I was determined to try to make the ultimate pickled walnut. Part one of the challenge can be perused here. After Read More »

“What on earth are you doing, Fiona?” I was sitting on the floor on a large plastic sheet, wearing rubber gloves and stabbing green walnuts on an old bread board with a carving fork. No wonder Tessa was intrigued. I’ve been desperate to get my hands on some green walnuts for years. About 10 days Read More »

“Fiona, would you be interested in a recipe for banana chutney? It sounds odd, but I can assure you that it is the very, very best chutney with cold turkey and if made this week will be ready for use on boxing day. As long as it is kept secret or you will find family Read More »

I’m not surprised that the fruit that tempted Eve was an apple. It is such a useful fruit. From sweet apple puree to flagons of frothy cider, the apple plays a major role in our lives. It always troubles me when I see apples left unpicked on trees. We’ve had a great cooking apple harvest Read More »

I’ve wanted to print our own jar labels for ages. Ever since I saw a cupboard full of beautifully labelled preserves in a client’s house. It’s the old problem of finding the time to buy, design and print the labels. A month or so ago I whizzed down to Newmarket to buy some labels for Read More »