The Cottage Smallholder

A carrier bag preceded Danny’s return from the post run this evening. “I’ve got two East Anglian pork chops and a Finest sirloin steak. Both were on the CFC for a third of the normal price. So we could have steak and chips this evening.” His smile was upbeat and encouraging. I wavered. Hunched over Read More »

Seraphina’s pelargoniums have survived the winter in window boxes in Cambridge. I was stunned when I spotted this the other day when I arrived to decorate her dining room. She chose the grey shade  (Pacific Breeze) in the Dulux Light and Space collection. The room looked stunning, soft and bright. Like walking inside a shell. Read More »

Poussin – a baby chicken weighing about 500g – has been one of my standbys for years. Easy to cook, great if you are living alone as one can easily stretch to two or even three meals as long as you’re not keen on meat heavy meals. The main drawback to a poussin is that Read More »

This afternoon I fell in love. I was in Waitrose with my mother. Standing beside the flower stand. I don’t buy flowers for the cottage anymore but my mum often buys me flowers when we go shopping. “Why, these are beautiful.” She picked up some soft yet elegant flowers that we’d never seen before. We Read More »

Danny likes a few sautéed mushrooms and a grilled tomato with his Saturday midday brunch. Although they sound tempting they never really appeal to me – I prefer the more conventional home smoked bacon, organic eggs and buttered toast from a homemade loaf. A couple of weeks ago I found some mushrooms and a tomato Read More »

My stepfather had an uncle who always stayed in bed on Friday the 13th . “The whole day?” Aged nine, I was amazed. “Yes, all day. He also used evaporated milk in his tea. To avoid too many trips to the shops, I expect.” My stepfather never revealed the name of this uncle but I had Read More »

We bought a state of the art digital camera about six years ago – a Nikon Coolpix 4300. A nice chunky model that has worked very hard, taking photographs for this blog and a few websites that we’ve designed. It was expensive at just under £500 including the memory card. It suddenly started to play Read More »

Danny and I love pak choi (also known as bok choi and Horses Ear). This Chinese vegetable is a member of the cabbage family and cooks in two minutes when it’s sliced and simmered fast. It’s a great side vegetable with a richer dish as it tastes very clean – a cross between spinach and Read More »

With Mother’s Day approaching I often smile about the first time that my sister and I actually sat down and thought what my mum would like for her birthday. I must have been about five at the time. Until then it had been the sort of Indian giving that children go in for – liquorish Read More »

We are eating far less meat these days. Eating superb meals most evenings.  But sometimes we long for a real alpha carnivore meal, especially as we have ditched the Cottage Smallholder Friday night steak treat – just too expensive at the moment. This recipe is so easy, delicious and cheap. If you used non organic ingredients Read More »