I went on an early cycle round the Greenway yesterday, with the field margins and hedgerows full of movement and vigour, wildflowers, birds and fruit, whilst the field itself seemed stilled and characterless, until a skylark gave it life. This is the prose-poem I wrote when I returned... Silver lifting, undersides of leaves blown back … Continue reading Still Life
Crab apples have to be one of nature's most beautiful fruits - with their rich colours and glorious sheen. And to gather them on a crisp October morning is a real seasonal joy. I've loved everything about cooking with these foraged beauties - their sweet smell with a hint of spice, their massed colour and … Continue reading Plot to Plate: Spiced Crab Apple Jelly and Crab Apple Fruit Leathers
These days I spend much of my time in private and community gardens (and sometimes even my own) working with plants and I've learnt a great deal over the past few years about where garden plants will thrive, how they will combine with their fellows and when they will steal the limelight. But my knowledge … Continue reading Exploring wild flowers: 5 coastal plants with interesting edible histories
It's June, the weather is warming, there's been plenty of rain (!) and the rhubarb is looking on top of the world. From the small knuckles of underground potential, huge forests have grown in a few short weeks and now, in a Jurassic corner of the fruit cage, garden or allotment a jungle threatens to swamp any … Continue reading 8 Delicious Recipes for Surviving a Rhubarb Glut…
Today I had nettle soup for the first time in over 30 years. Wind the clock back three decades and I am sat at a small kitchen table in a terraced house by the river Gyffin in Conwy, North Wales. A place of childhood culinary excitement mixed with not a little apprehension as Granny served tea for … Continue reading Nettles revisited: how time removes the sting