TOMATO SAUCE FOR PASTA It’s harvest time, and even if you haven’t grown tomatoes this summer, you can still make this delicious basic tomato sauce that will wow your taste buds. It’s good. Really good. This is a slightly tweaked version of Marcella Hazan’s Basic Italian Tomato Sauce. I like spicy, so I’ve included black…
Home Improvement: Garden Renovation
The garden renovation is nearly complete. Thanks heaven for small mercies. The brick retaining wall is finished, the sandstone slabs are set into warm grey grout, new drains were buried below the patio so that we’ll no long have little puddly lakes when it rains, all the pointing is finished on the steps … and…
Home Improvements: Garden Renovation
30 May: Yes, I’m a bit behind the mark. I’ve been busy. Making coffee. Making tea. Making iced sun-tea. Making mint tea. Making ice cubes in my new fridge. Calming Molly who’s now afraid of the new refrigerator and the noise that the icemaker makes. Have you ever seen a dog barking “warning-warning-alert” at a…
Home Improvements: Where’s the Grass
June 6: Sunny and hot. Well hot for England. We hit 22C today. That’s about the point where we all pant and gasp and beg for water with crushed ice from my new fridge. Molly is still barking at it, too. She doesn’t like the noise of the icemaker. Oh dear. That’s Andy on his…
Home Improvements: Glass and Plugs
The glass splashback wall is installed — finally, and all the pieces fit precisely. It’s brilliant, and a total breeze to keep clean. I also love the way the garden reflects against the glass and turns it different colours. And I don’t think that I mention one of the things, well a gadget actually, that…
Home Improvement: Garden Plans
Monday, 27 May: Here’s one of the problems with our garden and the position of the greenhouse. The lime trees behind the house have grown significantly over the past +20-years, and the sunlight is blocked until mid-afternoon. There isn’t enough sun reaching the greenhouse for the plants to grow properly. Here are a few photos taken…
Remodelling Phase 2: North Facing Herbs
It’s not ideal. Not smart either but what’s a girl to do when the musclemen are due on Tuesday. I doubt that they’ll give a hoe-hoe-hoe of a thought about my tender little herbs. It’s the only place I can find where they won’t drop soggy teabags or empty dregs out their mugs. Goodness know,…
Kuekenhof Gardens, Holland – A Photo Journal
On our way back home from Denmark in April, we stopped off to visit Kuekenhof Gardens in Holland. Kuekenhof is open to the public for 8-weeks every spring. The gardens are an open-air display for Holland’s best bulb producers, who spend most of the year when the park is closed to the public refining their…
The Chalk Hills Kitchen 