How to make your own bacon at home without a smoker : our new delicious sweetcure recipe
If you haven’t tried curing your own bacon at home, please give it a go. It’s so easy. You will be eating superb bacon for a fraction of the cost of even the cheapest, nastiest tasting unhappy pig bacon available. You can also control the levels of salt – Danny has high blood pressure so commercially produced bacon is a bit of a no no. And unless you inject your bacon with preservatives, you will get no white residue to alarm you. With homemade bacon at the helm you can actually Make Friends and Influence People without having to...
read moreThe fascination of gardening. Constant learning curves.
For the second time this year my tomato seedlings in the greenhouse and Solar tunnel have been hit by sharp frosts. I thought the first fifty had succumbed to damping off. This happened last year when I watered them with rain water from the butts. These had had the same treatment. Since then I’ve discovered that this is a bad idea as they can easily keel over with the nasties lurking in a butt. Tomato, pepper and cucumber seedlings are very delicate for the first few weeks after germination – they need tap water or filtered water from a...
read moreQuick and easy smoked salmon spaghetti recipe
Sometimes I get bored with our old favourites when it comes to rustling up the evening meal. Although the freezer is full of my own ‘ready meals’ nothing appeals. I pick through the shelves and even consider a takeaway. Last night I found a pack of Atlantic line caught smoked salmon – 100g for £3.99 happily discounted to £2.50 on the CFC. Danny refuses to eat farmed salmon so I only buy the good stuff on offer and stash it away for chic canapés or scrambled eggs and smoked salmon for a very special breakfast. Last night was a...
read moreHow to unblock a drain. Tips and tricks for the self sufficient.
When I stepped out of the car this morning I noticed a large puddle in the drive. “It must have rained hard when I was out.” I thought. Then I noticed the seepage from the drain cover and that pervasive smell. Sewage. This is not a leave until later job. Raw sewage seeping down the drive is a health hazard. Most city dwellers have to call in a Drain Cleaning Company – with an impressive van and expensive jet cleaning equipment. Even though they are wearing overalls they don’t really need to get their hands dirty. Just lever off the...
read moreImproving the soil in the old kitchen garden
The secret of successful growing is in the soil. Poor soil will always give iffy results however much time you give to watering and TLC. So this year I was determined to continue to improve the soil in the old kitchen garden. Things do grow there but they are not as luxuriant as the plants and roots grown in the new kitchen garden. We discovered the basket weavers’ kitchen garden three years ago when Danny decided to grow some spuds in a new border. The lawn here had been very green and lush. A clue that I’d ignored until then. “Of...
read moreDelicious pork au feu recipe. Slow cooker/crock pot recipe.
Whenever I go abroad to a country with a warmer climate than the UK, I buy herbs to bring home. Somehow these are better than the ones available in the UK – perhaps the drying methods are better? I have an oregano herb mix that I bought in Crete over 11 years ago. It is stored in an airtight container in a dark place and is so powerful that we can only use a large pinch at a time. Sometimes I splash out on bouquet garni on these trips and last winter discovered a stash at the back of the larder. These were from France and were...
read moreBiodynamic gardening update. One year on.
I’m continuing to practice biodynamic principles this year. Last year, when I followed the planting and harvesting days religiously, I had great results. Good strong plants, more disease resistance and better harvests. With the exception of battling with cabbage white fly that nearly decimated the Sutherland kale*. I tried to save our crop but in the end just threw it out. Didn’t want to ingest the horrid infestation. Too small to be considered added protein. Last autumn I armed myself with yards of insect netting – bought in the...
read moreR.I.P Baby
It was only a day or so ago that we were talking about Baby – our diminutive cockerel. The tiny rooster that never really grew up. Bullied by the rest of the flock he moved permanently into The Emerald Castle. A solitary life that he so clearly loved away from the rasp of sharp beaks and fear. He grew a little, put on weight and started preening himself. But he never was able to crow like the big boys. I knew that something was wrong this morning when he didn’t appear in the Castle grounds. He was always eager for his morning corn –...
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