New flavoursome spaghetti bolognaise sauce recipe cooked in the slow cooker/crock pot
Danny is picky about pasta. Won’t eat macaroni and the thought of penne has him panicking that I might actually have finally got up the nerve to cook it for him. “I like linguine, spaghetti, angel hair.” “Tagliatelle?” “Maybe.” I don’t ever mention ravioli since this terrible disaster. We eat a lot of spaghetti bolognaise. Frozen in flat ziplock bags it takes just half an hour max from freezer to plate. We’ve been eating versions of our patent recipe for years and I decided to see if I could make it tastier. I have to let...
read moreIn praise of my Cape Cod weeder: a review
This little tool has become a favourite in my hand weeding armoury. Danny gave it to me, along with a new hand fork and trowel for my birthday. I’d heard that the Cape Cod weeder is an excellent tool but it took quite a few weeks before I decided to put it through its paces. Within a few minutes, I discovered that it’s much better than a trowel or hand fork for clearing weeds fast. The head is drawn below the surface of the soil to cut off weeds at the roots – like a tiny hoe. But I soon discovered that all that is needed to dislodge...
read moreCelia’s baked pork chops with crackling squares
I’ve come rapidly to the conclusion that Celia – of Purple Podded Peas fame – is an excellent and intuitive cook. And Danny wholeheartedly agreed when he tasted her recipe. “Wow, this dish is exceptional,,” he said, as he guzzled his chunky Old Spot pork chop. “The idea of cooking the crackling separately in small squares is just pure genius.” Celia had told me her method of cooking pork chops on our recent girly day out. “Cut of the skin and about a centimetre of the fat and cut it into squares. Brown the chops in a...
read moreGirly day out with Celia – a much needed tonic
For the first time in months I was woken by the alarm clock. I was going out with Celia (who writes the excellent Purple Podded Peas blog) and didn’t want to oversleep. The dogs, who are used to a very leisurely awakening, crept deeper under the duvet while I flew around the cottage, taking a shower, preparing their breakfast, chicken feeding and all the little jobs that make up the cottage smallholder morning. “I’d like to drop into Daily Bread, on the way to my mother’s,” said Celia. We were going to dig up a Cambridge Gage tree...
read moreLow Cost Living. Live better, spend less by John Harrison: a review
I was really shocked when a middle aged woman declared on the radio last week that people should not make money writing books on low cost living. “Why on earth not?” I thought. I’d just finished John Harrison’s excellent book Low Cost Living. The book is filled with good advice and introduced me to lots of new ideas. A thoroughly sound investment. The subtitle of the book “Live better, spend less” is something of a mantra here at the cottage. We have been trying to do this for the past seven years and I wish I’d had a book...
read moreHow to save tomato seed easily and the Gardening Which? blind tasting test results for the tastiest tomatoes
This idea was given to me by Amalee Issa in a comment on a tomato post that I wrote. Amalee writes the quirky blog The Garden Diaries of Amalee Issa and is well worth a visit. Not just gardening and always entertaining. Basically all you have to do is spread the seed on a piece of paper and let it dry in a warm room. Mark the piece of paper with the variety and store somwhere dry. In the Spring peel off the dried seed and sow as normal. I tried it last year and every seed germinated. Forget the fretting over water and seeds. This is easy...
read moreTwo easy apple sauce recipes
Apple sauce is so easy to make and it’s versatile too. Fabulous with pork, duck or goose it can also be added to cakes, pastries, used in crumbles and as a topping for cereals or yoghurt. Here are two apple sauce recipes. One making apple sauce from scratch and the other using leftover apple must from making jelly. Way back I would have chucked the apple must but now we are trying to use everything that comes our way and it’s fun. There’s a word of warning though if you are an apple sauce making virgin. Having made your own apple...
read moreHow to grow your own saffron
Saffron – fragrant, delicate and more expensive than gold can be grown in your own garden. Given the right conditions it is easy to grow. Even though we live just a 25 minute drive from Saffron Walden, where saffron was grown commercially from the 16th to the 18th century, I hadn’t considered growing it myself. Then two years ago I read this post on the Purple Podded Peas blog. “Hmm.” I thought. “I’d like to try growing some myself.” And then forgot all about them. The next year Magic Cochin gave me another nudge and I...
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