BloomBox Plant Club: I’ve lived in London for most of my adult life. And, much of that has been in flats with little or no outside space. Just enough space perhaps for a few pots or for a planter. Anyone who, like me, was brought up in the country but somehow has ended up living their […]
A Simple Semi Self-Sufficient Sunday Supper – Guinea Fowl
Guinea Fowl with Balcony Vegetables and Herbs: OK, so I didn’t grow the guinea fowl. I bought it because it was on offer this week in the supermarket and I could buy a free range bird for less than the cost of a similar chicken. It’s rather nice meat – with a mild gamey flavour […]
Sunday Supper – Veal Escalope with Sage
Veal Escalope with Prosciutto and Sage The classic version of this is called Saltimbocca and is made with marsala to deglaze the pan and create a sauce. It’s not something I keep in the house and for me, the combination of veal, lemon, prosciutto and sage is enough without the addition of any alcohol. It’s also […]
Potato & Chive Flower Salad with Quail Eggs
Potato and Chive Flower Salad – A ditzy little summer number: The idea for this salad came from the lovely Jac, who suggested we should all make a ‘no-leaf’ salad for her No Croutons Required blogger challenge. I was a bit confused about whether I could use the leaves of herbs and scratching my head […]
Balcony Garden 2012
Potted Balcony Gardening Take Two: It’s still less than a year since I started writing this blog. Looking back on last year, one of my great thrills last year was managing to grow a lot of my own vegetables on my very small roof terrace. I’ve got about eight square feet of space and I […]
Lessons from Year One Balcony Gardening
Balcony Gardening – Growing your own The biggest lesson is that it works! This summer I’ve bought aubergines, garlic, coriander and courgettes. For the rest of the summer (from around the start of June), my vegetables and herbs have been entirely home grown. I’m rather impressed by that. For someone living alone it has been […]
What to do with Tomatoes – Taste Testing Dreamfields Pasta
I was recently sent a few samples of Dreamfields Low GI pasta. Now, isn’t it everyone’s dream to have comfort foods that are good for you? Whilst low GI foods are not the same as low calorie foods, I am told they are much healthier and you will find some diets that are based on […]
Balcony Gardening Mid-season
Balcony Gardening Progress OK, it’s getting toward the end of June. The weather here in London started really well, but lapsed into English summertime pretty early on (by which I mean it got cold and rainy!). So my balcony gardening came to a standstill and some of the things I hoped would be ready are […]
No Balcony? Pick your own!
Millets Farm Pick Your Own Fruit and Vegetables I was lucky enough to be invited to spend the afternoon at Millets Farm, near Abingdon in Oxfordshire. What do you do if your Balcony Gardening crop fails or if you find that you simply can’t grow certain things? Well, Pick Your Own is a pretty good […]
Balcony Gardening Blossoming
Expecting Vegetables Soon – Balcony Gardening I am getting very excited. My balcony gardening is beginning to look as if it will bear fruits (well vegetables and herbs). I have a real proliferation of pea pods and when the sun shines through them, I can see the peas inside growing. I’m quite impatient and I’d […]