The Cottage Smallholder

Driving to the supermarket to do the Big Shop on Sunday I worked out that we spend over £500 a year on flowers for the house. A chilling thought as I love flowers. A house without flowers just doesn’t sing. As I squeezed the car into a tight parking space I hoped that an excuse Read More »

I couldn’t do without our fat and lean gravy boat. It’s cleverly designed so that the lean gravy is drawn from the base of the boat. The fat can easily be poured off from the fat spout. A few weeks ago I was struggling to skim the fat from a stew. There was no time Read More »

My friend Emma gave me this special roast chicken recipe. Everyone loves it, including her young children and it’s quick and easy to prepare. The chicken sits in the stock as it roasts so it is succulent and full of flavour. The garlic sauce is delicious and doesn’t blow your head off. If you are Read More »

There’s something very sexy about hyacinths. Their fresh, heady exotic scent draws one way beyond the waxy flower heads and squeak of constraining leaves. Danny buried his nose in a pot of them and glanced up at me, “Mmmmm. Lovely. They smell of spring.” And they do but the scent has a deeper resonance for Read More »

When we go away on holiday we search for two types of shops, hardware shops and food emporiums. The latter can be supermarkets, outdoor markets, greengrocers or delicatessen. If the country is sunnier than England, we are looking for locally produced herbs and spices. Perhaps it is something to do with the sunshine or the Read More »

These are the first snowdrops in our garden. I spotted them near the gate when I was driving out yesterday. As there is so little else in the garden at this time of year, I treasure the snowdrops. When they get into full swing we usually have a few in an eggcup on the kitchen Read More »

My paternal grandmother came from the Shetland Isles. This must be why I feel an affinity with Scotland. I’ve only been there once. I was flown to Edinburgh for a posh Christmas works outing about six years ago. It was great pottering in the little shops in the roads that lead up to the castle. Read More »

When my elderly aunt died, I inherited her fur lined Wellington boots. They were too big for me but I thought that they might come in handy one day. They were knocking about in the barn for a year or so before I realised that they might suit John Coe, the slim light framed man Read More »

My mother used to reheat yesterday’s mashed potato with milk, in a saucepan, very gently. This wasn’t good – it had a wishy-washy taste. Up until two weeks ago we made potato cakes if we had some left-over mash knocking about in the fridge and were feeling galvanised. More often than not, the bowl would Read More »

Danny has a natural ability for languages. Spanish, Irish, Italian and a smattering of Latin. He learnt Italian on CDs when he was commuting weekly to Exeter for a year. I find that keeping au fait with the English language is pretty stretching. In France I can get by if my aunt and her famous Read More »