In praise of Hellmann’s
When I think about Hellmann’s I remember that old commercial. A hungry man finds a stale crust of bread in the fridge, spreads it with a dollop of Hellman’s and munches with a beatific smile. The commercial worked for me. I bought some and, although it didn’t seem to have quite the same effect on stale bread, it was delicious. Danny was happy about the 2008 challenge (cutting 25% of the shopping bill) until I thought I’d really test his enthusiasm. “We eat an awful lot of Hellmann’s. I think we should go...
read moreNewsflash! Mrs Boss the bantam has hatched three ducklings and is still sitting on eggs
Hatching has stretched over three days now. Freddie (hatched Tuesday) and Tipex (hatched Wednesday) with an ultra white tip to his bill. This morning we opened the side of the castle and discovered Eric standing a bit wobbly on dark black legs with matching feet and bill. Mrs Boss is still sitting so there still might be more ducklings. This evening she had that glinty look again. Perhaps she was protecting another hatchling. Having spent a day alone with Mrs Boss, Freddie seems much closer to his surrogate mum than the others. There is a...
read moreAsparagus and ricotta tarts sprinkled with lemon zest and parmesan recipe
Although we are in the middle of the asparagus season it wasn’t until last week that I found English asparagus on sale locally. I bought a couple of bunches, put them in a large jug of cold water and forgot about them. I spotted them a few evenings later, looking less than their best so I snapped off the tops and made these savoury tarts. Perhaps it was desperation to get the best possible return on the small harvest that made things move up a gear in the cottage smallholder kitchen. Or possibly the fact that Danny had left a tempting...
read moreFirst duckling hatched: Update on Mrs Boss the bantam and the Indian Runner Duck eggs
Last summer we discovered that Mrs Boss is a brilliant foster mother. She was the heroine of the Farming Friends Cottage Smallholder interblog Guinea Fowl breeding event. She raised four strong guinea fowl from a box of six eggs that Sara sent us all the way from Yorkshire. When she went broody this spring, The Chicken Lady suggested that she might like to sit on some Indian Runner duck eggs. The gestation period for duck eggs is 28 days. The ducklings were due to hatch on Sunday so I made some final preparations the day before. Filled up the...
read moreFoodies in a hurry: Quick broccoli and stilton soup recipe
Kay who writes the Blue World Gardener blog has inspired me with her suggestion of a store cupboard meal once a week. I reckoned that I needed to fine tune the larder and start practicing immediately. So when I next visited Daily Bread, I popped a bag of dried onions in my basket. My mum used these a lot when I was growing up. In fact, when I left home for university back in the early seventies, she put a carton in my suitcase along with a very handy cook book Cooking in a Bedsitter by Katharine Whitehorn. This little gem of a book came into...
read moreDog love
We have three Min Pins. Dr Quito (9), The Contessa (8) and Inca (2). Inca needs a dog nearer her own age. Dr Q loves her and looked after her when she was a pup. Played with her for hours and let her sleep in his basket. He loves the elegant and silky furred Contessa too. Unfortunately when we bought her home as a puppy she did not reciprocate his joy. She grabbed all his toys and wouldn’t share a bed. Ever. The arranged marriage suddenly firmed up when Inca arrived. The Contessa snarled though the bars of Inca’s pen. Dr Q licked...
read moreGardening on stones
This is a magical time of year in the garden. Borders bursting with hope and promise. Welcoming old friends who suddenly make an appearance and weave themselves to the bar so to speak. Initially half remembered and then acknowledged with open arms. There are also the plants that didn’t make it through the winter, often the ones that you keep an eye open for. Their place remains empty for long enough to prompt me to start to asking questions. Why didn’t they return? Was it the right place, aspect, soil? Sometimes I gently...
read moreFreedom
“Save it for a rainy day.” I could never understand that phrase when I was a child. We certainly didn’t shop more when it rained. Rain meant donning a sou’wester and gum boots and jumping in puddles. Why did I need to save? As it was raining today I couldn’t work. This meant that I was free to accompany my mum to Scotsdales nursery garden in Cambridge. A vast emporium packed with plants, seeds, pets and every gardening geegaw that you can imagine from inflated model robins to bird tables to attract the small, live...
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