Why not make your own fat balls for the birds?
Watching the birds feeding just outside the kitchen windows gives me enormous pleasure. Since the bird eating cat that used to lurk in our front garden has moved away there are many more ground feeding birds and quite often I spot mice collecting seeds. Mice in the shrubs are fine. When they come into the house they are a problem.We give the birds mixed seed and fat balls all year. We only put out peanuts in the colder non nesting months as baby birds can choke on peanuts. Finally my large tub of fat balls for the birds has run out. So I...
read moreHow to cook cold smoked kippers
Following my post on Craster Kippers, I discovered from Dan at the River Farm Smokery that not all kippers are hot smoked. He had offered me some large olive cans for the kitchen garden so we popped into the shop buy some treats. There were packs of Scottish kippers – ingredients: herrings, salt and oak smoke. When I unwrapped them the next day their flesh was pinkish. We grill Craster kippers for eight minutes. I wasn’t sure how to cook these so I put them under a low grill 130c for 14 minutes (skin side down) and served them...
read moreFrozen peas
Every year we grow peas. With very limited success. Sometimes we crop more than 15 servings. Generally we don’t and I find myself flying down to Newmarket to buy frozen peas for 46 weeks of the year. I always bought petit pois. My French is bad but I always felt good buying them as I actually understood what petit pois meant. I could also feel the tiny peas through the pack and imagined them, small and green and packed with flavour. Having been brought up on Birds Eye commercials with the only the smallest peas getting through, I...
read moreKill your slugs with milk
I am working in Saffron Walden at the moment in my friend Anna’s new house. It doesn’t have a fridge. A pint of milk doesn’t last more than a day. Two days ago Anna cleared the kitchen of various dead milk containers and put them on the terrace outside. One container was a transparent plastic cup, half filled with stale milk. The next day I was having a break in the garden and spotted that a lot of tiny curled things were in the cup. Initially I assumed that her little girls had put a handful of gravel in it. But something...
read moreSelf Publishing
If you love books you may have considered writing one yourself. Perhaps you have written a book and have had it rejected. If the latter is the case you are one of many disheartened writers and are probably wondering what you should do next. Did you know that eminent writers such as Rudyard Kipling, Lord Byron, Virginia Wolf, D H Lawrence, Robbie Burns, Beatrix Potter and many others were self published authors? Recently Danny came into contact with George M Talbot, author of Dark Glass Pt 1. D thought it a great read and says: “Dark...
read moreLogs
A few years ago I was looking for a decent source of logs for the winter and someone pointed me in the direction of Tuddenham woods and John Grundy, the exceptional man who owns and manages them. He has owned the woods for quite some time. It’s a beautiful place and a sanctuary for the horses that he has rescued over the years. He sells the logs to pay for their maintenance. At the end of a long drive you will come to a clearing with a number of small barns and sheds, stables and paddocks in a rackety sort of order. Most buildings are...
read moreKohinoor: the best home cooked rice that I have ever tasted
A few weeks ago I was padding around Tesco and decided to look at what was on offer rice wise. We always used to use Tilda. Then, feeling a bit tight, I started buying budget rice. This was fine until I cooked some one evening and it ruined the meal. I found this 2 kilo plastic jar of rice with a natty handle for carrying the jar from the larder to the stove (it folds flat for storage). The label proudly states that Super Kohinoor is India’s premium Basmati rice. It’s fantastic. A doddle to make and the lightest fluffiest rice that...
read moreHow to avoid making a soggy bottomed quiche
I was given a really good tip today from a quiche maker. She sells quiches to her local deli. “Do you know how to avoid soggy pastry?” No, I didn’t. I never make quiche as D is not a fan. I love it and occasionally buy one for a girly lunch. Mysteriously Danny always vanishes with the remains. “Well there is no need to bake the pastry blind (pre-bake). All I do is make my pastry and line the buttered dish. Using a fork, prick the base in several places. Then brush the pastry with beaten egg. Let this harden until it is...
read more
FD