The Cottage Smallholder

About fifteen years ago I found a wayside stand selling large bags of daffodil bulbs for next to nothing. Each spring I had enjoyed the sea of daffodils that bloomed outside the scatter of cottages. I snapped up several bags to plant in the front of the cottage. These are the paler daffodils in the Read More »

We have finally broken through the barrier and saved 25% on our over the counter spending! We are delighted. I had a lucky break. I have been drawing out cash to pay for the weekly shop. This means that I have to keep a mental tot as I circle the town. The wad of notes Read More »

“Conchita, you’ve got an exciting parcel from Italy.” Danny elongated the last word Ee ta leee. I was examining the padded envelope within seconds. I knew that it was na’s “pay it forward” surprise present. na writes the sparkling Shadows and Clouds blog. I first heard about Pay it Forward in the superb Little Foodies Read More »

SinceMagimix arrived by express post on September 14th 2007, Danny has watched it slice and chop and whiz. He has devoured meals that Magimix has rustled up with a flick of a switch and he has marvelled at the speed of the machine. When Magimix assisted and produced a decent coleslaw he started asking questions. Read More »

If you plant a shrub that has been grafted onto root stock too deeply in the soil, the root stock can take over. This happened to my pretty viburnum. It fought back and was eventually dwarfed by a tall ugly shrubby tree. “We have to remove this and start again!” “But it has formed a Read More »

I was at Fred Fitzpatrick’s butchers shop. I’d brought them each a present of my home cured bacon. John picked up the two slim packs and placed them gently beside the till. “I think I’ll have mine with my Easter Egg.” It was Easter Saturday and I had finally made bacon that I was proud Read More »

I used to love a windy day. The prospect of picking up kindling and the occasional sturdy branch for the inglenook fireplace stir the scavenger within. I’ve always stopped and shovelled road kill timber into Jalopy’s back seat. Now that we are smoking our home cured bacon, finding the right type of wood keeps me Read More »

We have halved our paper bill by cancelling the Sunday paper (we are just weekend readers). We actually read the Saturday paper now rather than glancing at it and turning it into fire briquettes a week later. The one article that I always read is Mark Hix’s recipe ideas as we are eating our breakfast Read More »

The larder has been driving me nuts. We have bought loads of dry ingredients for our vegetarian drive. We’ve also been overwhelmed by events and have not had time to organise the space. The result is a rammel nightmare which would have a normal person weeping at dawn. A couple of weeks ago I got Read More »

Emily (nearly eleven) sat back in her chair and announced. “Christians – the ones that practise Christianity and go to church – consider Easter to be more important than Christmas.” “Yes, I think that they do,” replied my friend Clare from the depths of the kitchen. “The egg is a symbol of rebirth. I like Read More »