The Cottage Smallholder

Even at eight months our pup chews everything. Clothes pegs, lighters, ice cubes, sea shells and now two pairs of my spectacles (actually it’s three pairs now: updated March 2007). As Danny spelt out on the fridge with the magnetic letters that she had not yet gobbled up, ‘Inca is a goat amongst Min Pins.’ Read More »

Back in the seventies, when buying a bottle of wine was an expensive treat, the author C. J. J. Berry shot to fame with his series of amateur winemaking books. This is the rather smooth looking character on the left. He cashed in on the great home winemaking boom of the sixties and seventies. As Read More »

One great thing about autumn and winter is savouring a really good steak and kidney pie. Another is that we have streamlined our weekday cooking but still eat well. We both love good food; even our mid-week meals of sausage and mash consist of Newmarket sausages (superb!) with creamy mashed potato and heaps of vegetables Read More »

Danny salvaged a discarded bathtub and planted it with parsley and thyme. Three months later, the bath is overflowing with parsley. It stands beside a large water butt so it’s impossible to forget when the weather is hot. Regular watering has definitely paid off and I’m thinking of moving a lot more herbs down to Read More »

“How come there were only four eggs in the basket this morning?’” Danny asked when he brought in my breakfast tray. Admittedly I had given John Coe four when he came to mow the lawn this week, but only eight in a week! Danny was concerned, “What are we going to do about our fry Read More »

The Tesco Basics range includes a pack of twelve champagne glasses. These are really tough, made to last. I’m sure that they’d survive being flung across a room. We haven’t tried this yet with these particular glasses. We just use them for parties and occasionally we bung them in the freezer to hold granita. Granita 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 »

The only sport that I’m actively engaged in is killing flies. I have a good collection of swats. The blue one works the best. Not being a athletic type, I’m delighted that I’ve found a sport at which I shine. I did win the Junior Doubles Tennis Championship at school. But that was only because Read More »

Yesterday, I decided to go treasure hunting in the freezer. Usually I find loads of stuff with freezer burn. Today I spotted a smoked ham hock. Not just any old ham hock. This discovery shifted Danny from the swing seat. He had to check that I wasn’t teasing. The dogs were alarmed. I don’t think Read More »

This spring, my friend Jack told me that he was planning to grow his tomatoes in large pots; some inside his greenhouse and some just outside. The pots would stand on giant trays of gravel to increase humidity. I must admit I was secretly a bit dubious about his method. We’ve not had much success Read More »