My friend Jo popped over to see us yesterday. She is married to a miller who is the fifth generation to work their watermill near Shaftesbury in Dorset. It’s the busiest week of the year for flour millers and bakers, but her husband (who also trained as a...
Lovage (Levisticum officinale) is such a versatile herb and I am ashamed to say that it was overlooked in our kitchen until we moved to the farmhouse. It grows profusely in the potager and we also have another plant in a corner of the walled garden. So, I am...
Nick Rymer’s Charity Tractor Rally Returns to Wimborne St. Giles On Sunday 26th May, Rymer’s Rally will begin at the new venue of All Hallows, just a few miles down the road from its original location within the village of Wimborne St. Giles. Generously...
Sweet Peas For The Kitchen Table. Just as we long for the first of the asparagus and Jersey Royals for the kitchen, picking the first bunch of sweet peas makes me so happy. The tender stems and delicate petals look beautiful but it is the fresh scent filling a room...
A Barrow Full of Plants. As much as I had hoped, there just wasn’t an opportunity to get out in the garden for long yesterday. Alison popped around unexpectedly with some plants from her garden. She is so generous. Do you find that everyone who loves to...
April Fool’s Day. It was a glorious day for the 1st April. Finding it hard to concentrate in the office, I sneaked outside for an hour and planted the broad bean plants that had been sown in the green house last year. During the warm spell in February I potted...
A New Chapter Begins. We moved to the farmhouse just over five years ago and for most of that time we were fortunate to hand the care and maintenance of the gardens to Alison Verrion. Her tireless attention to detail transformed the over grown walled garden into...
Those tender pink stems are so very tactile. Is it the vibrant colour after a long grey winter and the promise of spring warmth ahead? Or the contrast of tempting ruby stems against almost fluorescent leaves, which have been starved of daylight and are eager to...
The British Pie Awards Let’s hear it for the pie makers, the butchers and the bakers who delivered their wares to St Mary’s Church, Melton Mowbray on Wednesday 6th March 2019 for the eleventh ‘British Pie Awards‘. They took the time, care and...
Planning your first break of the year? Then hop over and visit our lovely friends at Dorset Cereals Not only will you be spoilt for choice with their yummy selection of granola and muesli, but you can also try your luck at spinning their good old fashioned glass...
January brings a much needed calm to the farmhouse. The opportunity to slow down, recharge and prepare for the coming year. Seed catalogues are strewn across the sofa as we try to realistically pare the order to a manageable number of packets. A box of Seville...
Thank you to Marie-Claire and Michelle, the Country Living Chefs, for making us so welcome at the Christmas Fair this week. Ideal to feed a crowd, these colourful ‘pass and share platters’ make a welcome start to a lazy morning during the holiday season. Sage and...
Lisa is totally overwhelmed to receive this kind recognition at the Taste of Dorset Awards this week and would like to thank everyone for their brilliant support and messages. She says.. ‘Just over a week ago, we were contacted by the...
It’s always a joy to join Alison and the after school allotment club in Cranborne. The children are so enthusiastic about cooking the produce they have grown. For the second year running we have been involved in the RHS Big Soup Share. Chopped butternut...
Cosy up beside a log fire or wrap up warm and explore Dorset this spring. Take a gently stroll along the beach at Mudeford or admire the autumnal beauty of Kingston Lacy and Badbury Rings. All Hallows Farmhouse is located set within the glorious Cranborne Chase so...
Under the watchful eye of Chef Valentina Harris, I was delighted to join fellow judges Mary McNeal and Phillip Lowery, at the weekend. together we worked our way through some of the best ingredients and artisan goods that the the South West, Isles of Scilly and the...
It was a real treat to catch up with some familiar faces at Hampton Court Flower Show this week as well as meet some new friends. We gathered a basketful of homegrown produce and a great big box of delights from Emma of St Giles Walled Kitchen Garden and prepared a...
You will need 900g (2lbs) redcurrants, washed well and leaves removed but stalks can remain Measure the water depending on the ripeness of the fruit. If the currants are under rip then allow 300ml (1/2 pint) but if they are ripe simply add half this amount. If you...
We are so excited to receive the news from Taste of the West that following a mystery visit this April, we have been awarded GOLD for our farmhouse bed and breakfast. Feedback from the judges and Taste of the West panel: Quality of the breakfast This was as near...
After much anticipation, Wild Garlic or Ransoms are in season. We first discovered tender green shoots peeping through the last snowfall a couple of weeks ago. Now that the milder weather is here, this rampant Allium can be found in deciduous woodland and beneath...
