One thing the current lockdown has created for us is time to experiment with curing meats. Normally we would be feverishly preparing for the upcoming wedding season in the kitchen, store room and garden.

We always have a fair bit of pigeon available curtesy of Ken who...

The current Covoid-19 outbreak has made our busy summer season into a very long and frugal holiday so we have time to experiment with techniques and ideas we would normally find difficult to fit in. 

Kindly a few weeks ago a friend brought round a loin of pork (traded f...

Lockdown is two weeks in, the garden is up and running, whatever can be in the ground is planted, weeding is done, lawn moss raked out, new bed built, everything painted, what now.

Make a video of smoking some goats cheese wrapped in wild garlic and nettles.

James Smart from the Real Cure sent us a sample of his Smoked Dorset Nduja this week, its made using free range Gloucester Old Spots and sweet and fruity chillies. We thought it might go well with some pigeon breasts which had just been given to us by some friends who...

Jerusalem artichokes are infuriating, frustrating, effortless and wonderful vegetables to grow and eat. Growing them is no problem at all, you can pretty much leave them to their own devices and they will pop up every year producing an abundance of strange lumpy roots.

...

Our friends on the other side of the valley, Ken and Chris, are far more competent gardeners than we could ever hope to be. Regularly they make this abundantly clear as they pop round with their surplus.

Today it was two straining carrier bags of plump blackberries.

This...

One of our favourite menus of the summer consisted of a Wiltshire ploughmans and baked local ham.

The ploughmans included Wiltshire loaf and Barkham blue cheeses, wild mushroom scotched quail eggs, sourdough bread, plum cheese, pickles and pork scratchings.

The ploughman...

We spent this weekend in Poynings, West Sussex a short distance from Devils dyke and the stunning landscape of the South Downs.

The bride and groom had chosen a Midsummer nights dream for their wedding.

Here are the love potions we served with pudding, crystal decanters...

This weekend we survived the blistering heat (no complaints!)to help Josie and Jo on their wedding day at Riverhill Himalayan Gardens.

Riverhill is a beautiful venue with magnificent views across the Weald of Kent, where its possible you will be amiably accosted by a ye...

 One of the treats of spring in our garden is enjoying the combination of our bantam chickens eggs poached with asparagus picked that morning.

This time we tried them out with a black garlic butter and lemon sourdough crumbs.