My cucumber pickle was such a success that I have started to experiment pickling other vegetables in much the same way. During the summer our local restaurant, The Beckford Bottle Shop, had a very good dish of lightly pickled kohlrabi, apples and horseradish which gave me inspiration. The horseradish on the allotment is already showing…

What better way to enjoy a late spring evening than by sharing an al fresco meal with friends. Asparagus and spinach were picked from the allotment and quails’ eggs were a gift from Julie, my egg lady. I remembered a tip about shelling quails’ eggs. After boiling them for four minutes and plunging them into…

A big thank you to Nigella Lawson for giving us some class and fun during lockdown. Her Monday half hour cookery programmes on BBC2 have been fun, brave and filled with delights. Who else would base recipes around fishfingers, licorice or anchovies? It was the anchovy themed programme which had my attention. A supply of…

Our own quince tree has succumbed to blight and is not looking well. An older tree had also suffered and was felled a few years ago. The Cox’s apple that had been between the two quince trees is also not looking happy. I did read about a blight that affected apple and quince trees and…