As we approach the start of British Summer Time, this is one of the busiest times in the gardening calendar. Seed trays and pots are jostling for space in the greenhouse and the cold frame is standing room only. Sweet pea plants are being religiously brought out...
Mid March through to early April, is quite often referred to as the ‘hungry gap’ by farmers and growers. The stored root crops from winter are dwindling and if the weather is harsh and we experience a ‘blackthorn winter’*, there is little...
WIN ‘direct trade’, micro batch chocolate in our Easter ‘giveaway’… Chocolate has become synonymous with Easter and we believe that everyone should have the chance to taste a unique and delicious single origin bar. So, when we open the...
After taking part in numerous judging events for national food and drink industry awards, and offering seasonal marmalade classes, we are now hosting our own local marmalade competition at the cookery school. Lisa has outlined how she assesses a jar of marmalade when...
Gather from sunny glades and beneath hedgerows, wild garlic is easily recognised by the pungent aroma that will greet you long before you see it flourishing in chalky woodlands. Available to gather with permission from the landowner, from early March until the last...
The evenings are definitely drawing out and the mornings begin earlier. Make the most of the extended daylight to start sowing under cover in early March. This will give you an opportunity to raise your own plants from seed and the chance to create a cut flower...
At first glance this will appear to be an endless list of ingredients but I promise you this recipe is a great way to use up leftover, unrefreshed sourdough starter as well as brown bananas. A perfect lazy day Saturday treat and if you take a few moments to weigh the...
Welsh Cakes are so easily baked on the AGA. So there’s no excuse to save them just for St. David’s Day. If you have a conventional stove, any heavy bottomed frying pan will make an alternative griddle. Just make sure it is liberally greased and the heat...
Whether you are a stickler for tradition and insist on lemon and sugar. Or you may love to whip up your own warm chocolate sauce and pour liberally over a wafer thin crepe, very few of us can resist a pancake. As Shrove Tueday approaches on 16th February, we are ...
You may well be a traditionalist and like nothing more than a wafer thin crepe glistening with lemon and a sprinkle of caster sugar. Or perhaps like me, your mantra is always ‘waste not, want not’. So when there is a brown banana lingering in the fruit...
None of us can bear to waste food. This recipe, using the left over sourdough from our white starter, has been a favourite in our household recently. If you like a fluffy pancake with a slight lactic note rather than a thin crepe, this method is for you. We suggest...
As St. Valentine’s Day approaches fast, we are offering everyone the chance to claim free, first class shipping when you purchase any of our favourite single origin chocolates from HEIST and Dorset chocolate makers Solkiki. Five reasons why we LOVE micro batch,...
As St. Valentine’s Day approaches fast, we are offering everyone the chance to WIN a selection of our favourite single origin chocolates from HEIST. To ENTER please follow us on Instagram or Facebook, this weekend and tag a friend or two that you think may like...
Bean to bar chocolate is carefully created in micro batches using cacao that has been fairly traded directly from the growers and farmers. These are beans that have been harvested from trees that have been carefully cultivated for generations by families who care...
The daylight hours are lengthening and the birds are welcoming each morning with their song. Our first sweet pea seeds were planted in the late autumn but, NOW is a great time to get another sowing undercover. You can then look forward to gathering posies of your...
Always so pretty in pink. The sight of a greengrocers display of neatly stacked forced rhubarb from the famous ‘Yorkshire Triangle’, makes my heart leap. Whether you simply chop and gently poach these beauties or prefer to whizz them up into a brightly...
Bring some sunshine into your kitchen this Seville orange season and enter our marmalade competition. It is free to enter and everyone is welcome to get involved. There will be a prize selected from our home store as well as a voucher to spend at La Fosse Cranborne...
It’s become something of a tradition that we begin making marmalade between Christmas and 31st December. Whether it is the uplifting citrus aroma that fills the kitchen or simply the thought of serving a jar of this season’s preserve marking the beginning...
On a cold and frosty morning, we love to wrap up warm and wander along the river beside the farmhouse but not before long, we want to get back inside and pop the kettle on! Now that the winter has truly arrived we take a few moments each day to feed the birds. ...
