Chicken keepers beware of the horrors of wet hay. Watch out with your chicken bedding.
“That’s what your little one will look like when she grows up.” S pointed to a couple of pretty Wyandotte hens in their run. Last week I didn’t think that Dixie Chick would ever grow up. The month old chick was ill and clearly struggling. Initially I noticed that she was shrieking and pointing her beak at the sky. She was hunched, feathers puffed out and every now and then she closed her small grey eyelids. As our vets are not really switched on when it comes to avian care, diagnosing Dixie’s symptoms was down to me. My friend Tessa...
read moreQuick and delicious spelt soda bread recipe
The no knead spelt bread that I mentioned last week was finally finished today. It was eaten for four days by me and Danny joined me for the last two days. So with six breakfasts and lunches the loaf achieved a good innings. I sliced it ultra fine (3mm) as this loaf could be aptly described as condensed bread. The bag containing my packed lunch was easily slipped into a back pocket rather than filling a chunky lunch box. These slimline sandwiches were far more satisfying than their chubby forbears. And there was no yearning to lift the lid...
read moreFlowers from the garden: October 2008
In 1990, at the start of the boom, I was living in London and working in a small photo library in the East End. This was way beyond the City (the square mile of London’s East End that is the financial centre). Here there were quiet residential streets and parking spaces. I wasn’t happy in this job as my dyslexia (never divulged to the proprietor) meant that my indexing skills were eccentric. This often caused explosive ructions when a transparency had to be found in a hurry. In the end I spent most of my time mounting slides...
read moreDelicious cod and creamy spinach pie recipe
I decided to try a different sort of fish pie. One that was easy on the fish but tasty enough to satisfy. My mum is addicted to Waitrose Spinach Mornay. If I incorporated spinach in a creamy sauce, our 325g of cod and the last two guinea fowl eggs of the season, I might be able to create something that would delight my mum and a weary Danny home late from Wales. We have given up our Friday night steaksas part of our new mini challenge hatched by a comment from S.O.L. regarding saving money. “It is becoming a game. How little can I get...
read moreExceptional people: Malcolm Monteith – and the saddest words in the world
Sometimes I have a bad day. I’ve stayed up too late and slept badly. The Min Pins keep their distance, tired too from a night in a bed on a stormy sea. In the morning I scurry around making their breakfast and sorting out the chickens. Munching toast from Jalopy’s long dashboard, I corner carefully and prepare for the worst. Bad nights often mean a tricky day at work. As a decorator, I can’t hunch at a desk and pretend that I’m working. It’s all about being lively and producing truly visible results. A small flask of coffee gets...
read moreNo knead spelt bread
Every time Danny goes away on business I make bread. I suppose it’s because I have more time on my hands and there’s not the rush to rustle up supper the instant that I get in from work. I prefer to eat much later than my paramour and tonight it’s the cottage pie that I made on Saturday. As my fingers fly across the keyboard a baby pie is heating through in the oven along with my first attempt at no knead spelt bread. It’s snug in the kitchen, a warm haven away from the chill of the rest of the cottage. The dogs loll beside the wood...
read moreTackling aggressive behaviour in our pack of dogs
Over the past weeks since Daisy Beatyl died we have been having problems with Inca. She is determined to be top dog and if there’s a fight she always wins. She is slightly heavier than the stag red Min Pins and has a much more dominant personality. When Great Aunty Daisy B was alive, Inca used to test the domination boundaries with our Senior Dog. GADB was patient with the pup but finally would turn into a snapping, scary beast that had Inca backing off immediately. Beatyl’s jaws were large. The stag red Min Pins are much quieter and more...
read morePerfect easy suppers: Dressed Cromer crab with salad leaves and white oaten soda bread
Every other week I shop with my mum. We enjoy a good lunch chez maman and then glide in the comfort of Danny’s car to her favourite stamping ground – Waitrose. With our save money in 2008 challenge this isn’t the top of my supermarket list for bargain store visits but over the months I’ve noticed some good, substantial offers behind the deluxe portals. As the credit crunch starts to bite with a painful rather than a playful nip, their in store offers have increased. Last weekend I shopped there for well under fifty percent of the...
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