I have to admit, that although we have an amazing example of just how robust fig trees can be, with a 50 year old Brown Turkey that produces prolifically on our vineyard property, my experience in planting newer varieties is that perhaps figs are not nearly as tough as many people would have you believe. The most important time for their ongoing success is in the first year after planting. Read the rest...
I’ve often said that my love of vegetables could so easily see me as a vegetarian, if I didn’t love eating meat as much as I do! When I’m looking for something fast and nourishing for lunch, I will more often than not turn to fresh vegetables as the basis for my meal. My garden has decided on more meals than I could count, so I always check to see what might be on offer there as my first inspiration. For some reason I always feel so virtuous when I make a salad for lunch; it’s fresh, tasty, filling and healthy and it fits the bill when I limit myself to taking a short break at the office. -MB Read the rest...
To start my day with hand picked figs from our orchard, halved over oats and a good dollop of yoghurt, seems to set things right for whatever the rest of the day holds. Perhaps it’s the fact that such a breakfast is so precious a treat, as any fig grower will know just how fleeting figs are, but a perfectly ripe fig, plump and rubescent, seems to hold a certain enchantment that I never tire of. -MB Read the rest...
Keeping things simple and seasonal is perhaps easiest of all with Summertime produce, so the following menu suggestion is about beautiful ingredients, prepared in a way that may not be everyday fare, to lend that special celebratory feeling to your Valentine's Day. Read the rest...
When we bought our cottage nearly 20 years ago, one of its most endearing aspects was the maze of strawberry plants, growing wild in all sorts of nooks and crannies around the property. I have always adored wandering around the yard, pinching strawberries, still warm from the sun, to pop in my mouth as I tend to the garden. Left to ripen on the bush and eaten without refrigeration there is no better way to welcome the warm weather than with strawberries. Read the rest...
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