About

I love food and cooking! But I also work full time and have a very busy life, with 2 very active children, and a husband who works long hours as a doctor.  We eat pretty healthily, but I really believe that food choices are influenced by a myriad of factors. Its not just about education and affluence.  Its also about environmental factors, the daily schedule, opportunism, creativity, and having the confidence to experiment with cooking.  Often what ends up on our table depends on what is growing in the garden, what happens to be in the fridge, and how much or how little time I have to prepare food in between other commitments.   My shopping is never routine.  I'll stop off at the local farm shop if there is time and I am passing en route to or from work. I try to grow as much veg as I can in the garden, but the success of my crops is variable, what with garden wildlife (lots of rabbits and badgers, and deer too), and unpredictable weather patterns.  I have not yet got the hang of spreading out my planting, so sometimes I find that I have a ton of courgettes and little else.  That is when I try to be my most creative in the kitchen, to stave off those groans of 'oh no, not courgettes AGAIN!'.   We keep chickens too, so there is usually a pretty good supply of fantastically fresh free range eggs.  The chickens are great consumers of kitchen scraps too.

Here are some pictures taken around our garden in the spring time.