It’s the busiest time of the year at Myrtle Farm in Somerset home of Thatcher’s Cider. From August to November, the apples ripen and harvested and despatched for processing. The …
British hops are sought by brewers all over the globe. One hop farm, Stocks Farm located on the Worcestershire/Herefordshire border grows enough hops to create 48 million pints of beer each …
Cider is made from cider apples isn’t it? It turns out that it doesn’t have to be. Included in Thatcher’s new premium range is one cider called Katy. Katy is …
Updated February 2021 Indulge your passion, listen to a food podcast Here’s a way to make the most of that extra free time and indulge your passion for food and …
Spicy Pears, a perfect dessert If you’ve visited Morocco, I am sure one of your abiding memories will be the smell of spices in the souk. We discovered one tiny …
It is an exciting time for gin lovers as more and more distilleries open in the United Kingdom (233 according to HM Revenue and Customs at the end of 2015). With so many, how do you discover the gin for you?
A visit to a gin festival is a must and luckily there are many planned across the UK. Jenni and I headed for Gloucester on one of the hottest days of the year on a journey of discovery. Something refreshing was our goal.
If you’re not a wine expert, how do you discover a wine you’ll like? And will it inspire you to cook a great sauce?
If you want a non-alcoholic drink that is refreshing, what do you choose? I often go for an elderflower option. Did you know it’s easy to make elderflower cordial or syrup at home? It’s the perfect time to go on the hunt and pick elderflowers.
What truly inspire me are the flowers on the purple leaved elder (sambucus nigra) in my garden. Each time I walk past, the flowers zapp their scent my way. I just had to do something with them. Of course, if you’ve not got a purple leaved elder, the standard white flowers will do very well. But as you see, the flowers from the purple leaved elder make a fetching pink hued drink.
Imagine a beautiful garden with different courtyards, buildings dripping with wisteria, ducklings swimming in pools and even a few flamingoes and plenty of places to lounge. If I were to tell you that this was 100 feet up in the air from busy Kensington High Street atop a building would you believe me?
This is the fabulous Roof Gardens. A fitting place for this year’s National Tea Day.
Sloe gin is a gorgeous tipple. Drink a tot on its own or add to a cocktail. Simply delicious.
Its latin name is prunus spinosa which might give you a clue to its spiky nature. Do go armed with gloves! Look for the blackberry bushes and if you’re lucky you’ll find the sloe bushes also known as blackthorn. They can grow up to 6 or 7 metres high and live for 100 years! But the ones round here are much smaller. The fruits are mostly similar in size to a blueberry although I did find some woppers this year.
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