Blog

The Christmas Cake started its life as a Plum Porridge

It is extremely lucky that in the very village I live there is an elderly but energetic couple of keen gardeners who often display their surplus produce. They simply love gardening and between them share an amazing wealth of knowledge of each and every plant they have in their garden, when and where they got it and what are the qualities of the crop. In Autumn these two adorables would normally display four or five types of apples, squash and pumpkins with a detailed handwritten explanation of what they are good for. Like "It cooks to fluff", "Good for bake" or "Grenadier - Early cooking apple. Tangy, juicy and rather honey flavoured". This my dear reader, is my favourite type of local produce shopping, that cannot get any more local and any more perfect. The grounds are not certified as organic but being for their own use, most of these local gardeners are really keen on clean gardening and soil preservation. And right now I am in heaven because it is Rhubarb season. There are so many recipes I would love to try apart from the ones we already love. As we speak there is a tray of rhubarb roasting in the oven for Rhubarb and Custard cookies, which our children absolutely adore. I am not giving away my local produce heaven's location but there are a few similar you can come across as you drive through the villages. There is one in Newdigate village where you can also pick up fresh eggs. There is also one in Buckland Village. Keep your eyes peeled :-) Mina