We have now dug up all the Jerusalem artichokes that were left in the ground as they are about to start growing again and as I had some fennel thought the two would make a lovely combination.  I added  some potato so as it doesn’t taste to ‘earthy’.  The  artichokes give the soup a beautiful [...]

Hooray! Today bottled the first of many, I hope.
I used the yeast, ginger and sugar plant which I drained and added to some sugar syrup and fresh lemon juice.  Time will tell whether it worked or not.
My kitchen appears to be a working laboratory for ginger beer plants all at one stage or another, and [...]

Today I made some biscuits, the biscuits I chose are a spiced, crunchy and are fab with a cup of coffee. There are none of my homegrown ingredients in these moreish biscuits but there are always ‘exceptions’ to the rule.
They are really simple to make and very quick to cook.
You will need the following
1 lb [...]

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all those who are celebrating.  I hope its been fun and enjoyable.

So far, so good, the fresh ginger and sugar is fermenting and still smells like ginger and sugar which I believe is a sign that it has not gone off.  It would smell awful and be no good at all.
The yeast plant is still going strong and bubbling away with the sugar and ginger added [...]

We have been busy most of the day outside. The sun has been shining and it was just lovely to be able to get out and do some the little jobs that have been on the back boiler for a while.
I have planted out lots of the perennial geraniums that were grown by my late [...]

As a children we  made ginger beer with my Mom, there were times when it all went completely haywire but it mostly worked and was wonderful.
This week I have been experimenting with ginger beer ‘plants’ and have made one using yeast, sugar and ground ginger and one with fresh ginger and sugar.  So far both [...]

This is a lovely rich, thick and warming soup. The spices can be adjusted to your own taste so if you like things hot and spicy add more hot paprika.
The tomatoes can also be of your choice, use either tinned tomatoes or fresh tomatoes and tomato puree, I used the fresh tomatoes and tomato puree.
We [...]

Trying a new way to use American land cress. I still have cress  growing in the garden and it seems such a waste not to find new and interesting ways to use it. This uses the cress with ricotta  as a ravioli filling. I thought it would have a bit more of a punch and [...]

Really enjoyed the simplicity of making my own paper pots today using the ‘Paper Potter’ from www.netherwalloptrading.com for the seeds I have been sowing today. Have now put the seeds in for an ever growing list, the extras are
Chives
Red sorrel
Chili
Carrot (nantes)
Tomato (country taste) beef steak
Celery (lathorn) self blanching and string less
Lovage
There are several others also, [...]