Steak in Ale
1 lb Beef

1 garlic clove
1 oz flour
1/2 tsp dried thyme
6 oz onions
1 tbsp oil
1 bay leaf
1/2 pt ale




Coq au Vin
4 chicken joints
6 oz bacon, diced
6 oz mushrooms
6 oz tiny onions
1 pt red wine
1 tsp cornflour
a bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
1 tbsp oil
s&p

Grow your own food

ha ha, it's not what you think - it's not for us, it's for wildlife!

Save money and attract a range of birds to your garden with plants that produce the seeds they love to eat*

The best way to attract birds into your garden is to prodide food for them - but with a 6 kg bag of sunflower hearts costing about £15, and similar size seed mixeds from £5 to £12, it's easy to spend more than £25 a month.  

The solution is to grow your own.  Many garden plants provide seed free and, by choosing the right combination, you can help a variety of seed-eaters, such as finches, tits, sparrows and siskins, through the winter.

Plants that have easy-to-access or plentiful seeds mean that birds don't have to waste energy looking for food, and the birds will also add interest to a winter garden.  Teasels and ornamental thistles are also a low-energy alternative to importing nyjer seed from India and Africa to feed goldfinches. 

So start planting now, and remember to leave seed heads standing for as long as possible through the winter.

Miscanthus sinensis 'flamingo' - a beautiful it is too!

Miscanthus sinensis 'flamingo'
Leave the seed heads of the striking ornamental grass standing until March for greenfinches and goldfinches to feed on when other seed heads may have been dispersed by wind or freezing temperatures.  
A graceful grass, with pink flowers that change to buff in midsummer, it prefers open sunny positions and moist but well-drained soil.  Alternatively try panicum grasses, especially varieties of P.virgatum, which provide lots of winter seed (1.5m high x 1m spread (5' x 3'))
Attracts: greenfinches and goldfinches.
Plant: from late February, once the soil has warmed up.

Hazel (Corlyius avellana)
An excllent wildlife plant for smaller gardens, usually grown as a multi-stemmed shrub.  The tough, woody shell of the small nuts protects the nutritious seed inside, but strong-billed birds such as nuthatches can hammer holes in the shell or break it into pieces to get at the nut inside.  
Copes with shade, but does not suit acidic or waterlogged soils.  (5 x 5m (16' x 16'), slow growing)
Attracts: woodpeckers, nuthatches, jays, wood pigeons.
Plant: from February/March as bare-root or potted shrub.


Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum)
Making statuesque border lants, the tawny seed heads of this biennial provide structure in the winter garden and a natural source of food for agile goldfinches.  They contain thousands of small oblong seeds wich these birds can prise out from between the spines with their relatively slim beaks, while clinging on to the stiff stalks even in strong wind.  The purple and bright green flower heads are a summer bonus.  
Teasels will grow in most soil types but self-seed freely, so be prepared to weed out unwanted plants. (1.8m x 50cm (6' x 20")
Attracts: goldfinches
Sow: February.


Globe thistle (Echinops ritro)
Globe-shaped flower heads produce brown seeds inside each spiky calyx that finches find easy to pick off.  The steel-blue flowers are also popular with insects in summer.  
Prefers full sun and a well-drained soil. (1.2m x 50cm (4' x 20")
Attracts: finches
Plant: from late February once the soil has warmed up or sow seed outside in April/May.


Silver birch (Betula pendula)
This fast-growing native tree supports more than 300 different insect species.  The catkins go on to produce layers of tiny seeds, encased in papery wings, after flowering.  
It prefers open, well-drained sites.  The white, peeling bark and trailing delicate limbs are a decorative bonus in winter gardens. (8m x 3m (26' x 10')
Attracts: tits, goldfinches, greenfinches, siskins, redpolls.
Plant: February or March, as a potted or bare-root tree.

Cirsium rivulare 'Atropurpureum'
Flowers of thistles produce masses of seeds that are a favourite with finches.  This perennial with big, sword-shaped leaves displays its blooms on upright stems from June to September.  Plant it in a sunny well-drained site - it's easier to handle than most thistles.  Leave the last flush of flowers to set seed for the birds.  (1.5m x 50cm (4' x 20")
Attracts: finches, dunnocks.
Plant: from late February, once the soil has warmed up.

Sunflower (Hellanthus annuus)
Packed tightly in the centre of the annual sunflower, the large striped 'seeds' are in fact a type of dry fruit called an achene, each containing a single seed.  As soon as they ripen in autumn, many birds will feast on the oil-rich hearts and discard the husks.
Grown in a well-watered, sunny position, these plants can reach a height of 3m (10') in a season. (1.5-3.5m x up to 24cm (5'-12' x up to 10")
Attracts: blue tits, great tits, chaffinches, goldfinches, house sparrows, siskins, greenfinches.
Sow: February to March under cover, or direct into the soil in April

To this list I would add sedums which always seem very popular, and  The Wildlife Trusts are always help with this sort of information: http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/ - and of course not forgetting the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds: http://www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/join/?gclid=CKHN3P3ukrUCFePHtAodWiUA6Q

See also: 
http://www.garden-seat.co.uk/townandcountrygardener/encouraging-garden-birds-and-wildlife/; http://www.almanac.com/content/shrubs-and-trees-birds
http://www.thegardenersguild.co.uk/Plants_birds_are_attracted_to.html

* from an article by Anne Gatti in The Telegraph Gardening supplement

January means Soups

Although we have soup for lunch most days, the winter is the best time to enjoy a warming bowl of broth, and here are some of my favourite soup recipes.  

Although these are some of my favourite recipes, most soups we have are mixtures: vegetables from the previous meal, together with stock, either vegetable, chicken or ham, along with lentils, split peas or other additions.  One of our mantras at dinner every evening is ' if we don't eat these vegetables tonight they'll go into the soup!'.


Chilli Bean Soup

2 Onions
2 oz butter/olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp chilli
2 x 14oz cans Kidney Beans, drained
1.5 pints stock
1 tbsp tomato puree
s&p

1. Chop onions, fry in butter/oil, along with the oil.
2. Add spices.
3. Add kidney beans and stock, cook for 20 mins.
4. Add tomato puree and s&p

Variation: could serve with meat balls to make a hearty supper:

Meat balls: Process 1/2 lb mince with half an onion, add 1/2 tsp chilli powder.  Fry teaspoons of mixture in a some oil.  Put on top of soup to serve.  (It's probably worth making double this amount, so save having half an onion left over, and freezing the meat balls  for next time)


Carrot & Coriander Soup


Fresh Coriander
1.5 lb peeled thinly sliced Carrots
1 Onion, peeled and chopped
1 oz Butter/olive oil
1.5 pints Vegetable Stock
(Single Cream - or milk)

1. Gently cook onion and chopped coriander stems in butter/oil.
2. Add carrots, cover and cook on low for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Blend, add chopped coriander leaves and stir through, season to taste.
5. Serve with a little single cream if liked, and garnish with a few coriander leaves.

When younger daughter was little we went out for a walk one Sunday afternoon into nearby woods.  At one point she wandered ahead, then came running back to us - 'mind the lentils! mind the lentils!'.  Mystified, we followed her to an enormous patch of nettles, which they've been called in the family ever since.  Here's a favourite soup involving the famous 'lentils'  (hint: must also find a recipe using nettles).

Spicy Carrot Soup (easy)

I found this recipe a little sweet, so on second making added a grated clover of garlic, a stick of celery (sliced) and a potato (sliced)

600g carrots, sliced

140g split red lentils

1 tsp cumin

a pinch of chilli powder

1 litre vegetable stock

125 ml milk or soya milk

1 tbsp oil

1. Put oil in pan, add carrots, cumin and chilli powder and cook a little.
2. Add rest of ingredients and simmer until lentils are cooked.
3. Whizz, and enjoy.

Green Pea Soup

2 Onions, chopped
2 Potatoes, chopped
cumin, coriander, s&p, paprika
1.5 lb Peas
Single Cream

1. Boil onions, potatoes and spices, 'til cooked (or could fry onions and spices gently, then add the potatos and water and cook)
2. Add peas and cook a little.
3. Whizz.
4. Add cream to serve.

Note: 18/4/2016 - I made this soup and added a few leaves spinach which were left over from yesterday's salad and it was really nice as it took away some of the sweetness.

Chestnut Soup
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 tin chestnut puree
1 oz oil/butter
1 pt chicken soup
some cream

1. Cook vegetables in the oil for a few minutes. 
2. Add chestnut puree and stock, season.
3. Simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Liquidise, then reheat.

Spinach and
 watercress soup
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
325g potatoes, diced
600 ml chicken or vegetable stock
250g fresh/frozen spinach
75g watercress
300ml soya milk
s&p

1. Cook onion in oil for a few minutes.
2. Add potatoes and stock and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Add spinach, watercress and soya milk and simmer five minutes.
4. Season and then puree, reheat to serve.

Alternative: today I didn't have enough spinach so put in some courgette instead.

Leek & Potato Soup
3 medium Leeks, washed and sliced.
1 large Potato, sliced
1 oz butter/olive oil
1 - 2 slices Bread
1/2 pint Milk
1 pt Stock
s&p, bay leaf*, oil

1. Melt butter/oil add leeks then potatoes.
2. Cover pan and cook slowly for 10 minutes.
3. Add stock and milk and bring to the boil, turn down the heat.
4. Add salt and bay leaf and cook for 15 minutes.
5. Remember to remove bay leaf! 
6. Puree the mixture.
7. Return mixture to the pan, bring to boil and serve immediately with fried bread croutons.
8. Serves 4

*Variation: omit Bay Leaf and add some Tarragon before serving.

Also see: 
Jamie -  http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/leek-and-potato-soup/#J4vRCWYoeFPY4Ccx.97
Delia - http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cuisine/european/english/leek-onion-and-potato-soup.html

23 Feb 2014:  I bought some leeks yesterday to make this soup, they had lots of green tops so the soup is a beautiful colour (looks more like pea soup) but the important variation is that I used soya milk instead of cows milk.  It was no different, so it's a cream soup for your vegan friends to enjoy.  I also didn't have any vegetable stock handy so, made some as follows:

Vegetable stock
1 onion
1 carrot
1 stick celery
1 middle bit of the cabbage
bay leaf, s&p
usually I'd have used bg (bouquet garni) but wanted the flavour of bay leaf in the stock.  The reason was that so often I put a bay leaf into soup when making it, then forget and whizz it, along with the soup.  I thought that by putting it in the stock then it wouldn't be forgotten!

Here's a more fancy vegetable stock: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_vegetable_stock/

Bramborova Polivka (Potato Soup)

1.5 lb potatoes

5 fl oz sour cream

Flour, milk, butter

Black Pepper

Gherkins, hardboiled Eggs, Chives

1. Dice potatoes, then boil in salted water
2. Drain, keeping the potato water.
3. Make a roux with the flour and butter.
4. Add milk and potato water until there's a thick consistency.
5. Add cooked potatoes, sour cream, pepper.
6. To serve add chopped egg, gherkin and chives.

See also: http://www.mamincinyrecepty.cz/polevky/bramborova-polevka-s-koprem

Drying fruit and flowers

Autumn is traditionally the time for preserving produce, and there is a process which has been around since time immemorial, although may be a new one for most of us now: drying.  Efforts now can be aided by the arrival of a new food-drying machine - like an efficient-looking minature white chest of drawers with a wire and plug attached to one side (http://www.shopwiki.co.uk/l/Food-dehydrators).

In Italy in particular many families possess such a machine, which they use mainly for drying their porcini mushrooms or preparing such delicacies as sun-dried tomatoes, peppers or herb mixtures, which can be given away as presents or stored for enjoyment during the winter.

Drying works by eliminating the moisture in which the enzymes, bacteria, yeasts and fungi that might otherwise start to destroy the produce thrive.  You don't, stricly speaking, need a spcial machine to do the job.  Many people dry produce ina low oven (45 - 55C) or an Aga, or even in an airing cupboard, though the latter can take several days.

The advantage of a dryer is that the produce can be kept well ventilated at a constant temperature.  From the moment you first turn on themachine, it gives off a reassuring whirr as warm air is passed over the fruit or vegetables, which you have washed and sliced and spread out in the drawers.  All you have to do is check the produce form time to time, and turn it occasionally.

There are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to drying times, but it's recommended to try seven to nine hours for sun-dried tomatoes, although less time would produce jucier produce.

If you can resist the temptation to devour the fruits of your labours straight away, dried tomatoes can be stored in air-tight jars with a dousing of extra virgin olive oil.  

Bananas can be sliced and dried for a couple of hours 'til they are the consistency of sticky toffee, whilst apricots, plums and peaches all preserve well.  Dryers also make a more efficient (if less picturesque) alternative for drying herbs and flowers than hanging them in bundled branches from the ceiling.  Roughly chop the leaves and spread in the drawers for one to two hours; they can be crumbled or whizzed through a blender when dry.

Delicious though the dried produce undeniably is, the produce is not a shadow of its former juicy hydrated self, and the vitamin content is severely depleted.  But the dryer comes into its own for preserving food such as mushrooms, which have a poor shelf life and are always good to have around in dried instant format; and to make the most of a seasonal glut, either in the garden or at the market.

Drying is just one of the methods of preserving food (see How to Store Your Garden Produce, by Piers Warren, from Green Books 01803 863260 or http://www.amazon.co.uk/Store-Your-Garden-Produce-Self-sufficiency/dp/190032217X). 

Other ways of preserving produce include freezing, bottling, salting, fermenting and dry storage, also wine, jams, pickles and chutney.  


Another useful book is Simple Pleasure of the Garden by Susannah Seton (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Simple-Pleasures-Garden-Stories-Abundant/dp/1573245011).

See also: http://www.allotment.org.uk/recipes/drying-food

The benefits of synergy

Forget the pork scratchings and peanuts.  Next time you down a pint of beer, make sure there's a small pile of pumpkin seeds near by.  This may not sound like a very macho combination to be knocking back in your local, but pumpkin seeds are a rich source of zinc, a mineral that will support the bladder and the kidneys and help protect them from the stress of processing several pints.


Grapefruit may already feature on your breakfast menu, but few people know that if you add a segment to a cup of antioxidant-rich green tea and then dissolve a teaspoon of organic maple syrup into the drink, you'll be giving your whole system a boost.  Green tea can help break down fats in the body, and its potency is enhanced by the active ingredients in grapefruit.  Maple syrup is a rich source of all the minerals needed to support your whole system.


The process of looking at foods that work together in the body to promote good health is called synergy and, while much of the evidence for its effectiveness remains anecdotal, science is starting to prove it works.

Synergy is fascinating too, because we already know many of these combinations - thanks to granny.  There can hardly be a meat-eater in Britain, for example of hasn't eaten roast beef with horseradish sauce.  The active ingredients in the horseradish actually help the body to break down layers of connective tissue in the meat into a more digestible form.

Any self-respecting pizzeria will have garlic bread on the menu.  The sulphur in the garlic helps to deactivate any possible yeast activity in the bread - which is good news for anyone who has been avoiding bread after being diagnosed with a common yeast infection such as Candida albicans (thrush).  Add garlic and you can, occasionally, have a treat.

Apparently, food intolerances can play a role in conditions such as acne, eczema and rosacea.

It is important to maintain the best acid/alkali balance.  When this is thrown out it can adversely affect the skin, the digestive tract and other systems in the body. If the internal balance is disrupted, it will affect the external balance, which is just as important for keeping bacteria out and fighting off those that cause infections, such as acne.

Acidity and alkalinity are measured according to the pH scale. Water, with a pH of 7.0 is neutral - neither acid nor alkaline.  A pH below this is acidic, and anything higher is alkaline.  The human body is mildly acidic, to resist infection - its ideal pH is beetween 6.0 and 6.8.


Acidosis is the term for when the body chemistry becomes overacidic.  As well as skin and digestive disorders, symptoms can include insomnia, migraines, low blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis.  The causes include kidney, liver and adrenal disorders, improper diet, obesity, stress, medication and the absorption of other chemicals, and anorexia.  Many diabetics suffer from acidosis and stomach ulcers are frequently linked with it.

• Sugar, coffee, fish, chicken, olilves, noodles, eggs and alcohol are all acid-forming foods.  
• Fresh vegetables, coconut, maple syrup, honey, raisins and soy products are all alkaline-forming foods.

You can test your own acid-alkalinity levels with a simple litmus test, using pH paper from any pharmacy.  Test saliva or urine, and watch red litmus paper turn blue if your body's fluids are predominantly alkaline.  Blue litmus paper will turn red to indicate acidity.  Perform this test one hour before or after eating and adjust yur diet.  If you're worried by the result, consult a qualified nutritionist.

For vegetarians and those avoiding food groups because of an intolerance, food partners take on a more significant role.  These people have to lean to combine certain foods carefully to make the complete proteins, vital for energy, that may be missing from their diets.

Proteins are made up of amino acids.  There are 22 of these, 14 of which the body can make.  The other eight, called the essential amino acids, must come from diet.  Animal and dairy products provide all eight, but plant foods do not. 

A possible dietary shortfall can be compensated for with clever food combining.  Cashew butter on wholegrain bread, for example, will ensure an intake of all eight essential amino acids, as will vegetables with parmesan cheese.

So, a balanced diet is about much more than watching the scales.

Well matched
If you combine foods correctly, you can maintain the right acid-alkaline balance int he body and vegetarians can ensure that they get complete proteins from a non-meat or fish diet.  The following foods go particularly well together:

Apple with pumpkin seeds

Beer and pumpkin seeds

Bread and garlic

Cheese and mustard

Chocolate and pears

Cow's milk and nutmeg

Wine and walnuts

Curry and almonds

Peanuts and tumeric

Grapefruit and green tea/maple syrup

Oranges and sunflower seeds

Strawberries and mango

Also try
Mushrooms and nutmeg: as nutmeg is antibacterial and will counter the effects of any infection lurking in the bacteria-prone fungus; 
spicy foods and almonds: all nuts and seeds have alkaline properties and will neutralise the acidity of a spicy dish;
cardamom pods and coffee: because the spice neutralises the acidity of strong coffee.