The Estate House – Winter
John and Sarah have been living in two rooms of the house, and their caravan for winter, which I bet has been a little cold at times. Luckily the fireplace works and some semblance of life exists on the site, however work does go on and the progress is fast indeed. A little late perhaps … Read more
The Estate House
The Estate House in a South London suburb was originally inhabited by the caretaker of the estate, which was build in the years around 1868 and encompasses a small range of streets, close to a train station, from which the workers were ferried to and from work. The estate was developed for the workers and … Read more
How to bake a crusty potato sourdough loaf
I recently came across a recipe that adds honey and potato to a traditional sourdough loaf, to aid moistness and give a hint of sweetness. I gave it a go, and found that it makes a great crusty sandwich loaf, with a sourdough texture and good taste. I prepared my sourdough, as normal, from a … Read more
Green tomato chutney
As our Indian summer finally disappears, and the cold air returns, it is time to collect the vast amounts of green, orange and red tomatoes still on the vine, and make use of them. I grew two varieties of tomato this year, as I collect my own seed, I find some crossing over between the … Read more
Schiaciatta di uva – Tuscan harvest bread
I’m attempting something a little different this week, to take with me to a friend’s Bring and Bake lunch. This is a traditional Tuscan harvest bread, to celebrate the grape harvest, and the bread includes both leftover grapes from this recent harvest and the previous year, in the form or raisins and Vin Santo, which … Read more
The results of the baking schedule
Well, the baking is over, the dinner party completed and the tasting day products mostly eaten up. Following on from my post last Friday, how did the planning work out? Did everything go as planned, and were there any surprises on the day(s)? Firstly, I must say that it was an enjoyable process, I really … Read more
Merit – AOP Assistant Awards 2011
At last night’s AOP Assistant Awards, for Emerging photographers and assistants, I picked up an award of Merit in the category Environment, Single Image. It was great, and unexpected to receive the award. I had two images showing on the night, and this is my second Merit won at these awards of the last few … Read more
Scheduling baking and a dinner party
Cooking for a dinner party can be a stressful, busy time. What with the menu planning, shopping, scheduling and finally cooking, even more so if the meal has to come from the oven to the table. Well, perhaps I have taken on a little more than I can manage, we shall certainly see, but there … Read more
Bread making scheduling while working at home
Baking bread can be a time consuming process, more so if you go down the route of making a sourdough, however the taste and healthiness improves as the time increases. This doesn’t really help for those who make bread at home, and hold a full time job; weekends become the key bread making time, and … Read more
Heritage wheat, scythes and sheaves
Heritage wheat, sheaves, scythes… this isn’t the city now is it? Giving a hand to Brockwell Bake this week, on one of their bio-dynamic farms in Sussex, I had my first experience with heritage wheat. In this case, it was a German wheat called Magister, which has been selected as a good cereal crop for … Read more
