A Spicy Postcard from Phu Quoc

January 10, 2011

After the whirlwind of the festive season, we land firmly into the expectations of the New Year ahead! What will it bring – surely some tasty treats are install for us all? Speaking of tasty treats, my parents have just returned from a tour of Vietnam where they stopped off at the beautiful tropical Island of Phu [...]

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A Rather Luscious Christmas Pudding!

December 21, 2010

With only four more sleeps to go before the big day, the children are besides themselves with excitement! The snow has obliged and turned the countryside into a Winter Wonderland. On cold days like these I have a homing instinct to head for the kitchen. Surely any Christmas lunch isn’t complete without the majestic flamed Christmas [...]

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The Big Chill – Frosted Landscape

December 10, 2010

The big chill has finally arrived, causing the usual havoc across the country. Living in Northern Europe, on a small island, it’s more than likely that we will experience chilly days and snow! So why does it surprise us each year? The seasonal weather has gifted us some wonderful, crisp days to marvel at the beauty of our surrounding countryside covered [...]

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Spiced Beetroot to Warm the Cockles!

December 3, 2010

With the onset of sub-zero temperatures and a surfeit of beetroot from our veg box rattling around in the bottom of the fridge. I thought it was high time to take action. My mother discovered this Madhur Jaffrey spiced beetroot recipe many years ago and I have enjoyed it countless times since. It’s amazingly simple to prepare [...]

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The Grainstore Brewery – Rutland in a Glass!

November 26, 2010

Feeling a trifle parched, I thought it was high time I visited Tony Davis at The Grainstore Brewery, Oakham, in the beautiful Rutland countryside. Tony is one of only a few British Master Brewers and what he doesn’t know about brewing probably isn’t worth knowing. After going to Brewing School at Heriot Watt University, Tony first worked for Charles Wells as [...]

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Locally Foraged Blewits

November 11, 2010

On a recent trip to my local market I spotted bags of blewit mushrooms picked by the local mushroom hunter, Seth. I asked him where he had picked them from – there was stony silence; clearly the woodland location was a well guarded secret! Anyway, undeterred, I decided to buy a bag of the glorious looking blewits [...]

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The Village Market isn’t Dead! – The Running Bean

November 3, 2010

Rural life is a wonderful thing, allowing you to take full stock of the seasons and see what nature provides at first hand. It’s also a dwindling lifestyle in many villages throughout the UK, with pub and village shop closures gathering pace. Not so in Weston & Lois Weedon, our community is thriving and we are blessed with a great pub, [...]

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The Magic of Membrillo

October 21, 2010

After my recent foray to Windmill Orchards I came away with numerous delectable goodies, including a few choice quince. The quince is a rather awkward, old fashioned looking fruit with bumps and lumps protruding from all the wrong places. If it were a fruit model it would be airbrushed within an inch of its life. Whilst [...]

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Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards 2010/11

October 8, 2010

I was lucky enough to be invited to  Holdenby House, a splendid Elizabethan manor house nestled in the Northamptonshire Countryside to attend the Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards 2010/11. We had a trusted team of food supremos looking after us, from Adam Gray, Michelin starred head chef of Rhodes 24 who was in charge of cooking dinner. Sophie Grigson, [...]

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Windmill Orchards

October 4, 2010

As Autumn takes its grip I thought it was high time I paid a visit to my local organic fruit farm, Windmill Orchards. I met with Neil Johnston who gave me the grand tour around the 14 acre site, which is run as a not-for-profit organisation. The pasture land was purchased in 1992 and soon planted with a multitude of [...]

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