Asparagus 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...
read moreDon’t miss the dandelions. Gilbert’s dandelion wine recipe
Have you ever tasted dandelion wine? Dandelions can be annoying in the garden. They’re a palaver to remove as their tap roots are thick and sturdy. But they are the key ingredient in an excellent homemade white table wine. Gilbert will sometimes pour a glass if you pop round on a summer’s evening. As long as you are on foot. The first time that I sampled his patent recipe, it slipped down like water from a clear cold stream. I accepted a second glass. After the third, I had to feel my way home. Two years ago I picked the dandelions...
read moreCan you identify this small white flower?
I am working in the village at the moment. A good job working outside in the sunshine for and old friend. I don’t even need to drive to work so Jalopy snoozes in the drive. Sometimes I cross the road to retrieve a tool from her capacious boot or make a fresh cup of tea to take back to the job. For a few weeks I’ll enjoy the sort of life that I might have led a hundred years ago. Quiet and sedentary. I can hear the gentle buff of the cottage door opening and see the place as others must. I can observe Danny, identify the familiar...
read moreCooking for your chickens: supplementing your layers pellets
Why not supplement your chicken feed with homemade mash? The cost of chicken feed is rocketing. It has already gone up 30% on last year’s feed prices. With a small flock of just five hens and the guinea fowl couple, the impact isn’t huge but any saving could be put towards maintenance and equipment costs. These can be big for people who have just started with chickens. And if you find a market for your eggs and want to expand, the investment in extra chicken housing and runs can be large. Unlike the UK human housing market, chicken...
read moreExceptional people: Brad Rising
Everyone occasionally meets an exceptional person. These do not have to be Nobel prize winners. Truly special people are scattered liberally across the globe. They are not necessarily those who raise thousands for charity every year. They can be women or men who lead a backwater life. You know if you meet one. You can’t stop thinking about them. They affect your life in a quiet way. These are the people who influence deep changes in your life but they probably never realise their impact. Their lives reverb. They are not hungry for fame...
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Most Recent Articles
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Win £50 worth of B&Q vouchers with The Cottage Smallholder and Direct Line Grand DrawFor those of you who missed out on the metal bedstead competition: we’ve got another great prize to offer you!… »
New layout for CSH – testers wanted pleaseDanny here, everybody. 14% of our visitors use mobile devices, such as tablets, iPad, smart mobiles and so on.… »
Update on the remaining Min PinsIt’s been seven weeks since The Conteesa died suddenly in her sleep. Danny buried her in the garden under the… »
It’s the little things that make the differenceI don’t often write much about the little things that give me pleasure. They initially seem too insignificant to… »
Recent Comments
{ I was thinking the same as Magic Cochin but then like you I don't have my phone attached by an umbilical cord wherever I go.... } – Wed 8 :47 pm
{ Good point but I don't tend to take it about with me everywhere 
} – Wed 7 :25 pm
{ Doesn't your mobile phone have an alarm setting? C x } – Wed 6 :32 pm
{ I would put it towards a bbq, it's just a shame you can't purchase some sunshine from b&q } – Wed 12 :04 am- { Hi Lesley The clucking means that she is brrody also plucking her own feathers is a sign too. } – Tue 11 :58 pm
- { Hi Lesley They have to stay in the broody coop 24/7. Could you put in a garden shed or garage? } – Tue 11 :57 pm
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