Community questions

I know us girls have a reputation for changing our minds, but when it comes to the garden design doesnt it have to be a living organic idea? Something that changes regularly, mine seems to be changing alot this week. The rain has been regular and fortunatly so has the sunny spells so everything is shooting up (including the weeds) I am now harvesting Broad beans, French Beans and hundreds of...

There are lots of reasons to grow tomatoes. Officially a superfood, they’re packed with vitamins, especially vitamins C and A. Homegrown tomatoes picked and eaten straight from the bough smell and taste amazing compared to the bland packs sold in supermarkets. Children love to grow and eat them, and they look great in any allotment or garden. Some varieties also thrive in baskets, helping...

Nipped up to the secret garden this morning to make sure the bees were flying, and took the chance to check the other produce out and pick some Gooseberries and a few Redcurrants and Blackcurrants. Having already made Berry Jelly this week,  I thought this crop would be made into a mixed berry curd. Its a lovely recipe and we have used it before. You need about 550 g of berries, any sort...

It’s Pumpkin Planting Time! If you haven’t already planted your pumpkin seedlings out, now’s the best time to get them in the ground. Hopefully you planted your seeds in pots a few weeks ago and kept them warm on the windowsill, in the cold frame or greenhouse, safe from any late biting frosts. I've nurtured mine in the greenhouse for weeks and have a plethora of sprouted...

In an article in The Guardian today, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall sings the praises of organic, free-range pork and bacon, and offers some tasty recipes to create from your perfect pigs. He also gives advice to people who want to rear their own pigs, or buy them from local farmers: ‘Perhaps you're curious about rearing your own pigs. I've had pigs for more than 10 years, and if you have the...

Burns Night! 25th January, every year; when a large proportion of Scotland (and tens of thousands of ex-pat and would-be Scots worldwide) sit down to a dinner which sounds anything but tasty. Haggie, neeps and tatties. Tatties Tattie - potatoes (for those of you outwith Burns' mother country) - mashed and lots of them. Nadine, Rooster or Saxon varieties make lovely fluffy mash. Add...

Jelly Ears! Late Autumn Foraging & Delicious Mushroom Pasta! The mushroom season has very much "been and gone", but you might be lucky and still find some "Jelly Ear" mushrooms. Otherwise known as "Jew's Ear", "Auricularia auricula-judea" is a fabulous treat in a bowl of home made pasta! "Jelly Ears" usually grow on Elder tree branches and are quite unmistakable. The River Cottage...

Superb Entries for the Pumpkin Carving Competition so far! Here's some quick, tasty recipes for Pumpkins on dark Autumn nights around the fire! ~ Pumpkin slices: ~ Cut a medium sized pumpkin into melon like slices. Discard seeds & pith. Drizzle in extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with black pepper, crushed chili's and salt. Bake in a hot oven for 20 minutes in foil, or...

Revealed! The ingredients you will need to take part in the twitter cook-along on Monday 16th August at 7pm. Scroll down for details. If you’d like to spice up a dull Monday evening by cooking dinner with a top River Cottage chef, and thousands of online friends, then this is your chance. Landshare and River Cottage have teamed up with our friends at NVA and Central Station for a live...

The River Cottage recipes picked out by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall for The Big Lunch went down a treat today at our local Big Lunch event at Battlefield Community Gardens in Glasgow. Heidi and I took some of the dishes along to the event, which was organised by Abi and other folk from Urban Roots. The Big Lunch is a UK-wide event held annually, and organised by the Eden Project. Communities are...