Question: Why do I make my own bread

Answer: Why doesn’t everyone?

People often ask me why I make my own bread* and #realbreadweek seemed like the ideal time to explain what I think the benefits of homemade bread are. 

The first is the taste. I can honestly say that a mass-produced loaf should really be considered a completely different food stuff.  They taste different, the texture is different, and they make you feel different.

I know that if I have too much commercially produced ‘bread’ it upsets my stomach and makes me feel very lethargic. I also find homemade bread is more filling, which is very useful for anyone who is a carb addict like me. 

By making your own bread you have much more control over what you are eating. Look at the ingredients on commercial loaves, basically you will see a lot of shit (my technical term for additives and preservatives) that you don’t need, and your body does not want.

Ingredients and ideas

There are a lot of bread recipes you can have fun trying, but the basic four ingredients of yeast bread are flour, water, yeast and salt. Some will argue for sugar, but I have made plenty of loaves without any sugar and others which just have a couple of pinches. Others will say there are seven key ingredients by including eggs and fat.

I stand by the four, but that is not to say you should just stick to those. There are so many sweet and savoury bread recipes to try and if you are feeling brave, you can go off piste and experiment with flavours.

Optional extras include the different flours, seeds, herbs, spices, olives, dried fruit, buttermilk, cheeses, molasses etc, etc, etc.

By Hand or By Machine

These are the two basic options available for making your own bread.

I love making bread by hand. It is very therapeutic if you’ve had a bad day or are just in a foul mood. 

When you are feeling down it can sometimes have an adverse effect on cake making, which seems to sink in empathy for your troubles, whereas dough just says “Bring it on” and “you knead me” – pun intended.

Preparing your dough is also a fantastic work out, which goes someway to counteracting the carbs.

However, the bread making process can feel like a long one and be quite messy, which is actually one of the reasons it can also be fun, but at the right time.

Step forward the bread making machine where you just add the ingredients (in the right order) and switch it on. You can get machines which work on a timer so that you can leave it on overnight and wake up to a fresh loaf.

However, be warned, occasionally it goes wrong, sometimes because you have done something incorrectly or sometimes for no obvious reason at all. My classic mistakes have included not putting the blade in the bottom (which does all the rather important mixing) and forgetting the yeast.

Is #RealBread more expensive

If you are buying real bread made by an artisan baker then it is going to be more expensive than a shop bought, commercially produced loaf and this is because it is worth more.

If you are making your own bread, then it can be cheaper. One thing that will affect the price is the quality of flour you choose, whether it be a shop’s own brand or maybe you are lucky enough to have a local windmill.

Many artisan, stone ground mills will deliver if you buy in bulk, which also brings the cost down.

My Dad gets his from the Wessex Mill and we have also tried flour from Fosters Mill. 

So, in answer to the question why do you make your own bread? 

I would say, why don’t you?

 *This is just a writing device I think this has probably only ever happened once!

Pumpkins – not just for Halloween, but for life

Well not for just throwing away and adding into landfill after the 31^st October
Driving home yesterday evening I saw lots of fabulous Halloween displays and people chatting to each other as they escorted their costumed children on a Trick or Treat tour. It reminded me of the positive aspects and community potential of Halloween, which can trace its roots back to the ancient Celtic Festival of Samhain 

You get a lot of negative stories around Halloween and the odd horror film, plus it is one of the many things that has been over-commercialised. So many shops sell a ridiculous amount of what can mostly described as plastic junk – Halloween crackers anyone?

One of the main features of this festival is the carved pumpkin, or Jack-O-Lantern. It is a great fun activity and some of the creations are outstanding.

However, in the UK alone we send around 18,000 tonnes of pumpkins to landfill each year, which is undoubtedly one of the scariest things about Halloween and completely unnecessary, as there are plenty of pumpkin possibilities:

You can eat them

What you don’t want to do is to try and eat a pumpkin that has been sat outdoors for a few days, often in the wet and attracting the interest of the local cats. 

However, there are plenty of recipes for the pulp and seeds you scrape out when you do your carving including roasted pumpkin seeds; pumpkin, pancetta and sage soup; pumpkin tray bake cake and Thai Pumpkin Curry.  

They help to make great compost

As the pumpkin is about 90% water it will break down really well and be a useful addition to your garden compost. For a bit of anger management therapy you can bash them around a bit before putting them in the compost, as this will help the process.

You don’t want to put the seeds in the compost bin or you will end up with lots of little plants, but there are plenty of uses for pumpkin seeds.

Birds like pumpkin seeds

Dry them out first. This will take about ten minutes in the oven at 180C/Gas 4. Obviously don’t add any seasoning; we’re not talking MasterChef here. They can go outside on their own or be mixed in with your other bird food, breaking some of them up for the smaller birds.

Many animals like pumpkins as well
Squirrels love pumpkins and so do lots of other wildlife including hedgehogs, deer and rabbits.

You can just leave it at the bottom of the garden or take it into a woodland area, just not with a lamp or candle still inside, or you will give the local wildlife and walkers a bit of a shock.

If you live near a zoo or wildlife animal rescue centre, it may be worth contacting them to see if they can make use of your old Jack-O-Lantern.

You can bury it

Not in a post-Halloween grand funeral kind of way, but rather as a great way to feed the worms and insects.

Cut your pumpkin into pieces and bury it about 25cm deep. Because of its high water content and the soil it will break down beautifully. 

The wee beasties will eat it, process it and poo it, which is great for the garden!

Just don’t throw it in a bin where it goes to landfill

At least make sure your old pumpkin goes into your green bin to be composted.

This is a lovely seasonal veg which is also very versatile. It is lots of fun to grow yourselves if you can, and there is certainly a bit of a competition every year at my allotments - this year I thought one was about to turn into Cinderalla's coach! 

If you don't have the time, space or inclination to grow your own then look out for local pumpkin picking events or take the opportunity to visit your local farm shop.

Autumn – the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."

George Eliot

A delicious time indeed. This is when we have traditionally celebrated the harvest and there is a fantastic range of locally-grown seasonal produce with some great foraging to be done for blackberries, sloes, elderberries and rosehips (although a bit late for blackberries now).

There are some lovely recipes for imaginative ways to enjoy and preserve your foraged goodies including blackberry jam – or jelly for those who don’t like the bits; apple&blackberry crumble, crab apple jelly, sloe gin, elderberry wine and rosehip syrup. All of which are great for your own store cupboard or for putting together wonderful Christmas gift hampers for friends and family.

One thing I won’t be making is elderberry wine. I can still remember the noise and the smell when racks of Dad’s homemade elderberry wine exploded in the cupboard at the top of the stairs creating a dark red waterfall all the way down. As Dad was also away that weekend I think he was barred from making wine (well red wine anyway!).

Up at the allotment I am still enjoying harvesting green beans, brassicas, chard, kale, squash and salad leaves. 

The potatoes are stored away in hessian sacks, the onions netted and garlic hung. My onion crop was very small this year, in terms of the size of the onions, so I will use a lot of them for pickling, much to the delight of a couple of friends who love them.

A major part of my ‘Good Life approach’ is to grow or eat locally sourced food. This also means that I am getting to eat what is in season, which I really enjoy because it means they seem to have much more flavour, the travel miles are minimal and you are supporting local producers.

Many of you may be getting veg boxes delivered which often contain recipes to try. My local farm shop, the Bushel Box in Willingham, always aims to stock as much local and seasonal produce as possible. 

At the moment the tables are laden down with apples grown right there on the farm. 

They grow over 30, yes 30 varieties so you can have a lot of fun trying a range of flavours and texture with some wonderful names including: Howgate Wonder, Bloody Ploughmans (pictured), Ashmead’s Kernel, King of the Pippins, Lord Lambourne, Pinova and Reverend Wilkes.

Below are some of the other foods currently in season in the UK:

Meat	Vegetables	Fruit & Nuts	Fish
Duck, Goose, Guinea Fowl, Grouse, Heather-fed Lamb, Pork Pies, Rabbit, Sausages, Venison	Cavalo Nero, Celeriac, Celery, Colt Cabbage, Kale, Leeks, Parsnips, Potatoes (main crop), Pumpkins, Romanesco, Savoy Cabbage, Shallots, Squash	Apples, Blackberries, Cranberries, Damsons, Elderberries, Figs, Pears, Quince, Sloes, Wet Walnuts	Brill, Crab, Dabs, Dover Sole, Flounders, Haddock, Mackerel, Mussels, Oysters, Skate

www.bushelbox.co.uk, www.goodtoknow.co.uk/food/seasonal-food-calendar-71128/ , www.lovebritishfood.co.uk/british-food-and-drinks/whats-in-season-when

We often seem to jump straight from Summer to Christmas preparations, but Autumn is a lovely time of the year. There have been some beautiful days, so Sasha and I have been out enjoying our walks; the colours are wonderful and food delicious.

Merry Autumn everyone!

Operation OAP (Old Age Pussycats)

Snow - Elderly & flea ridden

Mollie - A dainty damsel in distress

In a world where we seem to be bombarded with negative news I would like to tell you a story to warm the cockles of your heart.

Please don’t do a social media flit through and just like the story; read through to the end and share the love.

Now grab yourself a cup of tea or coffee, maybe a biscuit or a slice of cake and read the story of Operation OAP (Old Age Pussycats).

A couple of weeks ago I heard the sorry tail (see what I did there) of 3 rather elderly cats.

Nutty - Longed for fuss

Snow, Nutty and Mollie were rescue cats who had been adopted by somebody my friend knows. She loved and cared for them and all 

was well in their world.

Then several months ago she moved in with a man and abandoned the cats –WRONG CHOICE MISSUS! 

Her sister took them in as a last resort and I can only imagine the shock and sadness these cats felt as their lives changed dramatically at probably the worst time it could happen – in their twilight years.

Whilst the motives of the sister were kind, the reality unfortunately is a bit of an EastEnders storyline. She already has one dog, three children and one young grandchild in the house and it is tough making ends meet. She and the original loved up owner made a few attempts to find homes for the cats, including contacting rescue centres.

Tragically the general consensus was that 3 would be a struggle, especially at their ages and the eldest, the gorgeous Snow, would be an immediate PTS. Any other option would require very expensive tests before they would accept them, which no one had the resources for.

Things were going from bad to worse for our sorry felines. They became riddled with fleas and were turned out of the house. They were fed and watered, but the food could be intermittent and had no cosy beds or corners to sleep. But most of all they weren’t having any of the TLC they craved.

 My friend tried to help by taking food and flea collars round and look for a home. She has 2 elderly rescue cats already, including a neurotic ginger whose mind would be fully blown by having other cats coming to live with him. She has had anxious moments trying to think of how to help.

The Hoff - he says NO!

I met up with my friend the other week and she told me the story. My immediate reaction was to want to rush round there and rescue them. But then what would I do with them? I also have a neurotic ginger cat and ‘the Hoff’ gets stressed out if another cat moves into the county, never mind being joined by 3 cats in his home…

It was time to get the thinking cap on and I started to put out the feelers, but it was not looking good.

I was gradually getting the full picture and it was becoming worse the more I heard: 3 elderly cats; Snow is around 16, Nutty 14 and Mollie 14. 

Mollie is a girl (I know, nothing wrong with my powers of deduction) Nutty and Snow are both boys. As they were from a rescue they were neutered. 

BUT they were all riddled with fleas, especially Snow; they probably had worms; their vaccinations had not been kept up to date; they were living outside and in the words of The Game of Thrones ‘Winter is coming’.

I reached out to an amazing friend on Facebook who has been involved in the collection of ex battery hens and finding new lovely homes for them. You’re probably not supposed to use the term battery hens anymore, but I have seen what they look like after intensive egg laying in horrendous conditions and it is not good. Anyway, Mel has worked tirelessly for these birds and cares so much about all animals. I knew that if anyone had a contact who would want to help these OAPs it wold be Mel.

I contacted her on the Sunday morning. By Sunday evening the plan was sorted. This was all thanks to the amazing Fenland Animal Rescue http://www.fenlandanimalrescue.org.uk/ in Peterborough.

Joshua and his small but brilliant team swung into action. The plan was made with offers of lifts, beds, bedding, scratching posts, food etc. A home was found for all 3 to stay together.

One of many cosy corners 

We then just faced one problem, where could they stay to get their initial assessments, treatments and fleas sorted. Their future owner has cats and whilst she was delighted to offer a home to our OAPs, she was less keen that their thousands of friends came with them.

I asked Hoff, but he slapped me across the face with his paw, so back to Mel then. 

She has an aviary in the garden (bigger than my lounge). It is water proof there are paving slabs and rubber mats. By the time she had finished making into a pussycat palatial paradise it was the ideal staging post. It wouldn’t be too big a shock for the cats and would make a perfect location for the de-fleaing process.

It is taking a lot of resources to
care for these loving & lovely cats

I picked up the cats on Wednesday, which I was able to do because my boss gave me the afternoon off. She also gave me a donation for what is going to be an expensive programme of care for the cats be warned, I will be returning to this point later (hint hint).

I went to where they have been living and I am not going to lie, it was not a good place. The first thing I must say is the woman who took them in did so with a kind heart because she didn’t want them to be put to sleep, but unfortunately the care was lacking.

Basically they were living outdoors and in an alleyway down the side of the house, which was very smelly. Even the condition of the garden was not good and there were a lot of hazards for them to contend with. The cats ran towards me when I got there and clearly they were absolutely desperate for love.

Any residual doubts I had about if it was the right thing to get involved and if their plight was really as desperate as I imagined disappeared at this moment.

Packed up and ready for their new lives...

I loaded Snow, Nutty and Mollie into the boot of the estate car I had borrowed, thanks Dad, and gave them some biscuits before starting the journey to their halfway house.

Turns out that Snow is quite a chatty catty and we conversed for most of the journey whilst Nutty and Mollie snuggled up together. It was a long drive and they did very well, but it was a great relief to get to Mel’s.

We took them straight to their temporary home and let them out. Mel had put down food, biscuits and water and all 3 dived in and polished off the lot – which is quite unusual for elderly cats to want such big portions at one sitting.

A little uncertain, as they have been through a lot

We sat with them and had a coffee whilst they settled in. Mollie and Nutty headed for a little hen house with fresh smelling bedding and curled up together, a few moments later they were washing themselves. 

Snow was more anxious, but also clearly keen to be around us. They had all been round for strokes and seemed to just enjoy having the company.

Mel had set up various cosy, enclosed beds at different levels with planks of woods as ramps, litter trays, a heat lamp and heating pads.

I gave Snow a lovely stroke before I left and got a rub around my legs. I opened the lid of where Mollie and Nutty were nestled and was greeted by the sound of them purring…

Nutty & Mollie settle in - their purring contentment makes it all worth while!

Nutty tucks in

Mel is giving me regular reports and they have all settled into their routine. They don’t eat as much as on day one, but it is still a lot for older cats and it is obvious that Nutty and Snow especially are food anxious. In just a couple of days their characters are starting to show and they clearly love having all the TLC and time that Mel is giving them.

They are not out of the woods yet. They have been to the vets and received treatments for fleas and worms with blood tests being taken to check for any major issues. They had to wait for their vaccinations because the vet advised that Snow especially needed to improve his general condition since it is a live virus which could knock them sideways. 

Snow's coat was brown with flea poo
& he was teeming with fleas

Mel said that she has never seen anything like the number of fleas coming off Snow and believe me she has been involved in a lot of rescues. The poor wee man even has them on his face, forehead and between his toes. He also has cystitis and Mel has some cranberry juice to add to his water. The vet has also fallen in love with them because all 3 behaved so well and even gave him a lot of love! 

The thing I found so sad when I first heard the story, was that all 3 faced the possibility of being put to sleep just because they are old and their final memories would then have been the worst time of their lives; just when they had every right to expect a warm, loving and safe home to see out their days.

Whatever happens over the coming weeks and months they are getting that now with Mel and they have a loving owner and cosy home waiting for them.

Much deserved fuss for this gorgeous old boy

I am sharing this story because I’m not embarrassed to say that it has made my heart swell.

We are bombarded with bad news and stories which only spotlight the truly awful people and terrible events and I truly believe that this has a negative impact on how we view the world.

Snow & Mollie enoying the comfort of a heat lamp
and freshly groomed coats

 This story is about those who go out of their way to help. It is not an easy thing to do and it is going to cost Fenland Animal Rescue a lot of money to help not only our 3 OAPs, but every other animal that they rescue.

Mollie, starting to relax knowing she is loved and cared for

It is very easy for you to become a part of this positive story. PLEASE DONATE AND SHARE

http://www.fenlandanimalrescue.org.uk/donate/

Oh Snow!

Brussels Sprouts – not just for Christmas!

Is it really just one month since many us were bursting at the seams following a yummy Christmas

dinner and for many their annual helping of Brussels Sprouts?

These little green vegetables are synonymous with Christmas dinner and have been the butt of many jokes, including the late great Terry Wogan’s annual reminder in September to put the sprouts on so they are ready for Christmas.

I am going to stick my hand in the air and declare that I am in the pro-sprouts corner and have been known to eat them on days other than the 25th December, which is lucky as I always get a good crop from my allotment and it would be a terrible shame to let them go to waste.

Forget Brexit and Marmite, Brussels sprouts are a key issue dividing this nation - many of us love ‘em, but just as many of you hate ‘em and would be happy to see this little brassica off the menu 365 days per year.

Soggy, smelly and tasteless

Are not members of the cabinet, though on second thoughts…

They are in fact words which have often be used to describe the Brussels sprout.

If you were unlucky enough to endure an annual helping of overcooked sprouts, then I can certainly understand your prejudice against them, but in the age of the steamer and a myriad of imaginative recipes it is very each easy to avoid the Ssts.

Fart fuel

Speaking of tasteless! Unfortunately the humble sprout also endures a reputation for causing rather odious emissions. [insert your own 'Trump' gag here]

It is not the only food to have this side effect; beans, dairy produce, onions and the brassica family are other examples. The common denominator between them is they are all hard to digest which causes tummy turmoil.

The brassica flatulence is because they contain a complex sugar called Rafinose and our intestines lack the necessary enzymes to break this down. The bacteria in our guts will have a good go, but this process generates an explosive mix of hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide.

So this creates the wind, but what on earth makes them so smelly? This is due to brassicas have a sulphur containing chemical to help protect their leaves and this is at the root of the smelly flatulence problems which some people experience.

People’s individual ‘fartability’ depends very much on the bacteria community living inside our own unique colony.

If you are a chronic sufferer (or your family and friends are) then eating more vegetables can help your body become more adept at dealing with roughage. There also dietary supplements designed to help break down complex sugars; or you may want to invest in a pair of charcoal pants, reputed to absorb nasty niffs. If all else fails, you can always get a dog.

And now for the positives

I have always found Brussels sprouts the easiest of the brassicas to grow. All gardeners come to know what will and won’t flourish in their region and many of the brassicas, especially broccoli and cabbages don’t seem to thrive in my corner of East Anglia. Therefore sprouts are a great source of greens and in season through the winter.

If you can’t grow them it is worth finding places other than supermarkets to buy them, such as independent farm shops. Try to get the trees and ask them to leave the tops on, as these are delicious steamed, or fried in a little butter.

They are also comparatively cheap and if you do have to get them from supermarkets they can often be found at a really bargain price in the reduced area.

It is a very versatile vegetable and below are a couple of my favourite recipes:

Creamy Brussels sprouts

This is often the recipe I use for my Christmas sprouts and just add in some chestnuts.

Ingredients

• 1 kg/2lb 3¼oz Brussels sprouts, trimmed
• 8 rashers cured bacon, cut into pieces
• 250ml/8¾fl oz. double cream
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Cook the Brussels sprouts in a saucepan of boiling salted water for 8-10 minutes. Drain and refresh in a bowl of ice and water. Drain again when the sprouts have cooled. (I am going to be very honest and say I have yet to bother to refresh them in said bowl of ice)
• Add the bacon and fry over a medium heat until crisp.
• Add the cream and crushed garlic to a small pan and bring to the boil.
• Stir the sprouts into the crisp bacon; then stir in the hot cream.
• Season with salt and pepper and serve straightaway.

Deep-fried sprouts with goat’s cheese and black chilli flakes

You can also shallow fry or roast this dish. Black chillies have been chosen for their sweetness and because they are not overly spic.  However, they can be difficult to find and you can use red chilli flakes instead (maybe reduce the quantity)

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 30-35 sprouts, bases trimmed, outer leaves removed
  4 tbsp. soft goat’s cheese
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• ¼ tsp grain mustard
• A dash of milk
• Salt
• 2 sprigs of parsley
• Black chilli flakes, or red chilli flakes

Method

• If your sprouts need washing, pat them with kitchen paper, making sure they are really dry. Then score both ends, from the top to almost halfway down.
• Mash or blitz the goat’s cheese with the olive oil and mustard. Add milk until a thick drizzling consistency is achieved. Season with salt to taste – fried food takes a lot of seasoning, so make sure that the flavours come through really well.
• Deep-fry the Brussels sprouts at about 165-170C/330-340F, until the outside few layers of leaves are going golden brown, but the inside is still green.
• Drain and tip on to kitchen roll and leave, preferably in a warm place, for a minute or two. Season with fine salt.
• While the sprouts are resting, wash and chop the parsley, arrange the sprouts on a big plate, drizzle with the goat’s cheese dressing and sprinkle with chilli flakes and the parsley. Serve while warm.

The best description I have heard of Brussels sprouts is from a friend of mine - she always calls them fairy cabbages and who doesn’t want to eat fairy cabbages more than once a year…

Winter – time to lay the foundations for your allotment

On the 1 January 2016 I fell down a few stairs and managed to rupture my ankle ligaments – the most shocking part of this story is that I was stone cold sober and not even hungover from New Year’s Eve!

It was obvious that the diagnosis wasn't going to be good after I took my boot and sock off and the Dr's first reaction was eugh!

Before this accident I had managed to dig over a couple of beds and plant my garlic, but the majority of the winter clear and dig was still to be done and this injury saw me spend the whole year playing catch up and it was probably the worst year on the allotment so far.

 Hopefully 2017 will be a better but this means putting the spadework in over the winter.

Dig, condition, leave repeat

Deep breath for the first job is to dig the beds. 

There is a good chance if you ask 10 allotmenteers how to prepare a bed you will get 10 different answers – some will advocate the double dig; some prefer the no dig approach, some like to clear all the stones as they go along  but get rid of one stone and 10 will appear for its funeral!

My chosen method is to dig the bed with a large fork, taking out old crops, except for the nitrogen enriching bean roots, clearing the weeds and breaking up any large clods of earth. I remove rocks, but leave stones, which help with the drainage, especially if you live in an area with a clay-based soil, like Cambridgeshire.

You can then add manure and/or compost if it needs it for the next year’s crop and that bed is ready for the frost and the worms to do their work.

Come the spring time each bed just needs a quick once over with the large fork, then use a smaller fork if necessary and finally rake it over.

General tidy up

Winter is a good time to give your plot, tools etc. a tidy and preparation for the next season and big congratulations to everyone who manages to complete the job list they set themselves at the start of the winter.

My ever-growing pile of crop labels are testament to my annual failure to sit down with a bucket of warm water and a wire brush to clean the writing off ready for the next sowing season #epicfail

I do usually manage the general tidy up of the allotment, gathering string and sticks and getting rid of any rubbish etc. and have every good intention to take the time to oil my fork, spade and other tools…

Let the sowing and planting begin

Yes, you can still plant and sow at this time of year. Winter garlic should already be in and once again mine has come from the Garlic Farm on the Isle of Wight, including their fantastic elephant garlic.

It is also fine to sow over-winter lettuce and some spinach, both under cloches, to ensure some nice early crops, which give a great sense of satisfaction early in your allotment year.

Planning

Winter is the perfect time to plan your beds for the next season. I rotate my crop planting, as this helps with the general health of the plot.

With the plan in place I can look at getting vegetable seeds, along with any companion and

bee attracting flower seeds. Most of the flowers I love such as sweet peas, calendula, cornflowers, poppies and the very useful, but prolific nasturtiums are self-seeding, but I may well supplement this with some purchases from the wonderful Higgledy Garden  http://higgledygarden.com/

So, (pun intended!) that is the Winter to do list – now just need to get on with it and avoid staircases…

Such a perfect day

In an orchard with quite a view
Then later made jam for you
And then home

A few months ago a very nice couple bought some strawberry jam from my Auntie Allie stall and mentioned that they have some plums trees. They said they can never harvest all of them and would I like to have some when they ripened.

That would be a resounding “yes please”.

I got a call to say they were ready and so Dad and I headed out there with our full plum picking kit which, as it was a very sunny day, included hats, water, sticks with a hooked end to pull branches towards us without damaging them and crates for putting the plums in.

We turned up at the address, which turned out to be a lovely farmhouse where we met their very friendly Staffie dog.

These poor dogs have gained a terrible reputation, but from working at an animal rescue centre I just know them as very loving animals, who really struggle in the kennels because they crave human company. In fact, many people refer to them as ‘Nanny dogs’, as they are seen as being very suitable pets for families to have. Of course, as with all animals, it is nearly always about how they are raised and treated, but I digress from my perfect day!

It was then a short walk down a farmhouse track to the orchard – a bit more than just a few trees then. The orchard was created in the 1920s and included many varieties of plums including Blue Tsars, Victoria and Greengages.

We were there for the Blue Tsars, as the Victoria and Greengages aren't quite ready yet.

The trees were dripping with fruit. Blue Tsars are a variety I haven’t tried before and they are yummy. However, the key with fruit picking is to collect more than you eat!

There were quite a few wasps around, attracted by this fruity bounty, but I found that if I just kept calm and out of their way, they were happy enough to share.

Oh and this was the view from the orchard – not bad!

Once we had filled a couple of crates, Dad and I headed back to the farmhouse where we were treated to homemade scones, with homemade jam. Theirs is a kitchen that sits at the heart of the home, and they even have a Rayburn range cooker in the corner.

Although I could have moved in permanently, we did eventually leave with our haul. There was no cash payment made, instead I left them with a jar of homemade jam and chutney (not plum flavour) along with some salad and vegetables from the allotment.

I then decided to take full advantage of the sunny day, by heading up to the allotment.

They are also looking fabulous at this time of year and this was my afternoon view, which isn't bad either.

This is harvest time on the plot as well and my bounty included raspberries, lettuce, spring onions carrots, green beans and of course courgettes!

You can always tell someone who is new to veg growing, when they turn up at the allotments with ten little courgette plants for their plot. If you suffer with having too many courgettes, then here is a blog I wrote earlier http://auntieallieproduce.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/the-courgette-conundrum.html but again I digress...

The final part of my day was starting to make delicious stuff with the plums – there were so many, that I spent the next couple of days making various jams and chutneys for the Auntie Allie stall, oh and friends and family as well.

I have made a couple of batches of plum and cinnamon jam, some plum and apricot (also home grown) jam and finally a spicy plum chutney.

So this is the recipe for Auntie Allie’s perfect day - A farmhouse, a dog, an orchard, meeting nice people, working at my allotment, harvesting produce and making stuff from it.

This growing your own and making your own lifestyle is not an easy one, but it is one that soothes the soul, which is why I would love the opportunity to do it full time!

Feel free to contact me if you would like to help make the dream a reality – there will be a jar or two of homemade jam and chutney in it for you!