Happy New Year !

bonne année


sretna nova godina


gelukkig nieuwjaar


felice anno nuovo


С Новым Годом


šťastný nový rok


What a great year 2010 was!
Here's to 2011 xxxx

Happy Christmas!

Hot, hot, hot.........Ginger, lemon and honey

Sorry to keep harping on about cold cures but there seems to be a lot of it about in our house at the moment-I have a fierce sore throat so have made this amazing soothing drink-it's utterly delicious-it warms your mouth, your throat -well everything really.


Take a big nobble of fresh ginger wash then roughly slice-put into a pan with 1 pint of water boil then simmer for 20 mins-with the lid on or you end up with a very small amount ! Turn off the heat and add half the juice of 1 lemon, strain then add a good glug of honey to taste.

It will keep for a couple of days in the fridge.

Bath herb soup...NOT for drinking!

For a gorgeous hydrating bath to sooth that dry wintry skin why not try making a herb bath soup!


Place a handful of fresh herbs from the garden in a pan - I'm going to use-rosemary, thyme, oregano and bay. Cover with water and add 1-2 tablespoons of cider vinegar. Cover and simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes then strain and pour into your bath.


Enjoy x

Something I'd been meaning to do for years...

.. I've always fancied foraging for mushrooms and have loads of great books on the matter. I'm really bad at identifying them and wouldn't dream of trusting myself to pick anything edible. So I found a mushroom foraging day with the Dean Heritage centre. It was a little weird-a few passionate old guys with baskets turned up and of we went, all 30 of us through the woods. Bit bizarre but once we got into it it was great fun. We didn't really find anything that exciting or indeed that edible but  I do feel slightly more knowledgeable about funghi now than I did-still don't trust my identifying skills though so will sadly still be buying tastless specimens from the shops!

The latest hangover cure...

I read in the paper yesterday about a new hangover cure - it's main ingredient is a bit of a surprise and not to everyone's taste - the sprout. Italian chef Felice Tocchini has developed a delicious smoothie using sprouts, orange juice, carrots, ginger and cinnamon.


I think I'll stick to having them steamed gently served up with a roast ....love them.


By the way if you have any alternative hangover cures please leave a comment - thanks

rosehip cold cure

My poor  boy has a horrid cough and this is a great natural way for getting rid of those nasty toxins:


Its  amazing that a single rosehip has 20 times more vitamin C than an orange.


To  make rosehip tea:


take 2-3 washed hips, top and tail them then leave them to soak overnight. 
Fill a pan with 1 pint of water and bring to the boil. 
Add hips and simmer for 30 minutes. 
Strain the mixture into a cup and a little honey to sweeten. 
Drink the tea throughout the day.


Now the challenge is to make him drink it!!!