Dear stinging nettle, you are a plant much maligned by many, myself included. Yes I am intending to change my ways. Even though, uninvited, you have made yourself quite comfortable all through my orchard, and appear to take some pleasure in traumatising many an unsuspecting child by brushing against their legs and delivering your surprise […]
Making your own MIXED PEEL is a breeze
Making your own mixed peel is a breeze. It takes hardly any time at all but is a process that is completed over two days. Now’s the time to be making it. Backyard citrus trees are laden and christmas cake making time is just around the corner. I’ll be making my christmas cake next month […]
REAL SOAP
I’ve been experimenting with making soaps for about 6 months now and I’m hooked. Once you use a quality hand-made soap, one that is rich with vegetable oils and divinely scented with pure essential oils you’ll never go back. I’ve narrowed down the first soaps I’ll soon have up on the web-site shop. All my […]
CHICKWEED Stellaria media
When I was seventeen years old I become a vegetarian as well as a skillfull forager. I was the salad queen. It seemed as if I could make a salad appear out of the ether. I would wander through backyards and gardens, searching through hedges picking this and that. Without fail I could produce a […]
VIOLET Viola odorata
A couple of years ago I was contacted by a woman whose father had a cancerous tumour. She was looking for a source of violet plants as she wanted to treat him with this age-old remedy. She planned to make a poultice every day from the leaves and flowers. Impressive stuff! and needless to say […]
Bulent’s Chickpeas
I’ve been making this recipe for 30 years. It was a staple when I was vegetarian. Recently rediscovered, it’s back on the menu big time because it is seriously delicious, quick to make and healthy tucker. I used canned chickpeas as I had a few tins of organic chickpeas in my pantry. Of course use […]
WITCH HAZEL Hamamelis Virginiana
It’s a funny shrub, my hamamelis virginiana. The skinny branches arch up in an ungainly manner, reminding me of an awkward teenager. No longer a cute little kid and not yet a robust and fully developed adult. Even when it wears it’s spiderlike flowers it still manages to look out of place somehow. I suppose […]
My very very delicious almond and apple cake
Here is another keeper. This is the cake that I most often get asked the recipe for. Today I made it for Ben to take home to his darling for her birthday. Ben is staying here at the moment. It’s a long story but the uptake is that he has a job nearby for a […]
Worthy praise for our Forever Face cream
Hi Trisha, I just wanted to say what a fan I am of your Forever Face Cream which I have been using for the past several months every morning and night. Unlike other moisturisers that I have used over the years your Forever Face Cream leaves my skin feeling soft and hydrated and I can […]
LAWN DAISY Bellis Perennis
Who hasn’t at some time made a daisy chain from the common lawn daisy and worn it as a circlet or crown. Bellis Perennis as it is officially named, is another fabulous healer spreading itself at our feet. As we tread on this unassuming little plant it bounces back unaffected. A trauma remedy par excellence, […]
Preserved Lemons
There is no great mystery to preserving fruit. All it takes is some fresh unblemished produce, preserving jars, lids and seals. I have been preserving fruit more than twenty years and have never sterilized my jars. Never had any problems with bad food either. I simply give the jars a thorough wash in hot soapy […]
Tricia’s Focaccia
Focaccia bread will always turn any meal into a special event…. it takes no time at all to make and it’s super easy. Everyone loves this foccacia bread. Use it for a peasant lunch with salads, cheese and olives, or with dips like hummus, pesto and tapenade. For a main meal with soup, a hearty […]