Love is...

I'm struggling to get my eldest daughter to read at the moment, puts up a huge fight everytime.

So to convince her, this afternoon I said I was doing a boring job (oiling a unit in the workshop) & needed some entertainment as my audio books weren't working.

No fuss & she seemed to enjoy it.

Anyone else have to deal with a reluctant reader? WE have a house full of books and she loves being read to, I just hope she gets past this hurdle.

Homegrown Tea & Carrot Top Pesto!

I'm know I'm preaching to the choir here but a fully homegrown lunch does feel pretty good!

I had a forage around the garden and decided if I could pull a meal together from what we have growing for the five of us. My wife and children love a salad type meal and I tried to make it as interesting as possible.

Elderflower Fritters

For tea last night I decided to have a decadent foraged pudding - elderflowers fritters. 

Now I know the main calories are from store bought ingredients but it's the elderflower that really makes them taste amazing!

Ingredients -
Elderflower heads - fresh picked.
oil for frying
100g of self raising flour,
2 tablespoons cornflour,
2 tablespoons caster sugar,
1 egg
175ml of sparkling water.

Mix all the ingredients for the batter together, heat the oil, dip the heads in the batter and fry!

Make sure you dust them with icing sugar when cooked and try not to eat any stems (they don't make good eating).

We all loved these and ate far too many! Might have to try it with meadowsweet later in the summer!

Best Time Of The Garden Year!!

I love this time of year when we start to pull more than just salad out of the garden! 

Creating meals with lots of fresh veg is always exciting, and I love that the garden is now starting to produce loads! Last nights tea contained two of my favourites, garlic scrapes and broad beans! I need to grow more of both next year.

Homeschooling 101 - Game Prep

#### This post contains pictures of dead animals #####

This morning's homeschooling got off with a bang, after I dispatched a rabbit that was a repeat offender in the garden.

Chive Flower Vinegar

As well as trying to buy good ingredients I'm always looking for ways to improve them. 

Chive flower vinegar seems the perfect way to do this, it really makes some boring white wine vinegar interesting.

Socially Distance

With the change to the lockdown rules we decided it was time to see my parents face to face again - at a safe distance. 

We've had lots of Zoom calls but it's not quite the same! So I mowed a patch in the bottom field, a circle big enough for us to all keep a safe distance!

Odd Drawer Unit

A week or so ago I picked up a random selection of drawers from my mother to make a unit for her. 

And as last week was half term where my wife was at home I could get cracking in the workshop.