FEBRUARY IN THE KITCHEN

Purple sprouting broccoli has  always been an absolute favourite of mine. The purple haze in Ash & Kate's garden is a wonderful crop of purple sprouting broccoli and just the best I've ever tasted..  Despite plummeting temperatures, it survives, to give us the most wonderful nourishment. A big bowl cooked with warming spices was shared at lunch this week and quite delicious. Full of anti-oxidants to ward off flu & colds and spices to keep us warm in the chilly Winter months. 

FEBRUARY ON THE FARM

Its currently a relatively quiet time out on the farm, as both our breeding cows and sheep graze through as much of the winter as possible without being fed hay or silage. So we are only feeding last spring's weaned calves, then checking the remaining stock. All the male lambs were sold just before Christmas, leaving us with all our female lambs from which we will pick our new breeding ewes next year. This is the calm before the storm, as calving and lambing will begin in early March and then it's a busy two months with long days. It's just as well it's quiet at the moment, as Neil, who does much of the day to day stock work decided to break his leg on New Years day! I'm hoping he will rest it enough to be fully recovered in time for lambing and calving - otherwise it will be a very challenging spring indeed! Life is never dull at Trill!

February in the Garden

January flew by without too much hassle from the weather. Often it is a painful month for a grower, but as the mild weather continued we were able to get things done (in t-shirts!) that would usually lead to frozen fingers and toes.

We took a break at the end of January to visit family and friends in France only to return to temperatures of –9.8ºC. In a way this weather is welcome – as it may help to kill off, or slow down the reproduction of some of the pests and diseases that have been thriving in the mild, damp weather.

Our sowing begins in February and will start with tomatoes (more than 10 different varieties), peppers, chillies, aubergines, spring onions and onions (we are trying two new varieties to us this year – Long Red Florence and a white Italian onion called Musona White). We decided to try sowing onion from seed this year as opposed to from sets. This is a much cheaper option and if done at the right time and treated well can result in onions as big as those planted as sets and also seems to result in lower levels of downy mildew (Peronospora destructor) which can cause onions to rot in storage. All of these seeds will be sown in module and seed trays and raised in the propagation tunnel on benches with soil warming cables to provide gentle heat, which aids germination.

We will also be sowing carrots in the polytunnel in the next week or so (if the temperature gets slightly warmer again!) to get early bunching carrots that we can pick from early May.

Our seed potatoes arrived whilst we were away, so the first job to do is to chit them. This is a process of laying the potatoes out in a light, frost-free place to allow the shoots to start growing. This gives the potatoes a headstart before planting them (which for us is usually in middle of March – once the soil has drained and warmed up), and is said to bring the time of harvest forward a little. We are growing four varieties this year; le Ratte, Linzer Delikatess, Valor and Pink Fir Apple.

We have planted rhubarb, and will have more coming as well as a few soft fruit bushes (from which we will take cuttings over the next few years to increase our stock). We will also be dividing the raspberry canes and planting another couple of rows of these as well as a row of comfrey. Comfrey is a wonderful plant whose long roots bring up potassium from deep in the soil. The leaves can be cut throughout the growing season and we use them as mulch for tomatoes to provide potash and encourage flowering and fruiting.

So…although the garden is still in a slumber, we will be preparing for the growing season this month and should be kept busy.

JANUARY IN THE GARDEN

What a difference a year makes! This time last year we were putting up poly-tunnel frames with shivering hands and were used to working on frozen ground. This year however it is a surprise to see a frost in the morning and have still only had a handful, with the lowest temperature being –4 ºC compared to lows of –12 ºC last winter. Perhaps we have all that to look forward to – winter does tend to drag on as a grower or gardener. The turn of the year always brings excitement as the seed orders are completed and planning for the year ahead is finalised. Realistically though, seed sowing doesn’t start for us until mid-February. So we have to curb our enthusiasm and get on with the jobs that we don’t have time to do during the rest of the year. Cutting bean poles, sorting out our new solar panel shed, cleaning the propagation tunnel, servicing machinery and the like are all on the to-do list.

As the mild weather continues so does leaf production of the salad plants in the tunnel and purple sprouting broccoli has started to sprout too. Our autumn sown broad beans germinated whilst we were away but were also plucked from the ground by birds – there are plenty of other opportunities for re-sowing, but it is always frustrating when pests win the battle. On a plus note, and an update on our pigs – we have chorizo, salami and cured loins (Spanish lomo style) hanging in the back of our van!

DAPHNE'S SEASONAL RECIPES: WINTER DRESSING & ARTICHOKES

Here's my favourite Winter dressing that I have been using abundantly on Ash & Kate's wonderful variety of green leaves still growing in the tunnels.  There are still plenty of stored root vegetables to turn into soups. One of my favourites are Jerusalem artichokes, they are easy to grow, cheap to buy and make a delicious, simple soup

Fig balsamic dressing

10 soaked figs (plus soak water)

1 ½ fl oz  balsamic vinegar

6 fl oz olive oil

¼ small fresh chili

½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Blend until smooth, adding soak water if necessary.

Keeps well in the fridge for a week

Artichoke soup

Serves 4

2 lb Jerusalem artichokes – peeled and roughly cubed

2 onions peeled and chopped

2 carrots roughly chopped

1 clove of garlic chopped

3 sage leaves

1 bay leaf

2  pints  vegetable stock

Put all the ingredients into a large saucepan and simmer until the vegetables are soft about 30 minutes.  Blend in a food processor until smooth. (you can remove the sage & bay leaves if you prefer – I always leave them in) Return to the pan, warm through & season well with black pepper. Pour into bowls.

Delicious with chopped toasted almonds on top.

Daphne Lambert is in residence in the dairy at Trill

We’re delighted that Daphne Lambert, cook and founder of Greencuisine, is joining us to create & share food with all the people that spend time at Trill. 

Daphne has pioneered an approach to sustainable nutrition, which makes a lasting difference to the way people think about food. Her work at Trill will help deepen our understanding of how our choice of food reflects our relationship with nature.

www.greencuisine.org

Food at Trill

The food Daphne prepares in the dairy at Trill harmonises with the seasonal rhythms. 

In Spring the upward moving essence creates tiny shoots of green energy. Salads are prepared with young chickweed, yarrow and dandelion, and soups made from the glossy dark green leaves of wild garlic or cleansing and nourishing nettles. The first  green shoots of asparagus appear and we move towards the expansion and abundance of Summer, everywhere you look nature gives us a bedazzling array of colourful fruits and vegetables. 

In Autumn, fruits are gathered from the hedgerows and baskets of pumpkins, sweetcorn, leeks, onions, garlic and mushrooms are bought into the kitchen to be turned into warm fragrant dishes. The dense textured, earthy flavours of root crops nourish us during the cold, dark days of Winter.

Whatever the season much of the food will have been harvested just a stones throw away. All the food created for you to enjoy will be prepared in a way that honours traditional wisdom.

Daphne's seasonal recipes: Winter squash & pumpkin

Ash & Kate's harvest of Winter squash is piled high in the manor barn.

In spite of their name Winter squash & pumpkins are a warm weather crop, but so called because they can be stored well through the Winter. The stored fruits (though we tend to call them vegetables, biologically they are fruits) provide nourishing food during the colder months.

There are many different varieties of pumpkins, some are tiny and nestle in the palm of your hand, others too big to move single-handed. There are also infinite recipes to celebrate their diversity.

Here are two recipes, the first recipe is inspired by the golden oval spaghetti squash packed in crates in the barn and the second is an old favourite of mine,  pair the two together for a Winter squash celebration.

Spaghetti squash with sun-dried tomatoes, olives, artichoke & feta

1 spaghetti squash

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion finely diced

2 cloves garlic finely diced

1 carrot diced

2 sticks celery sliced

6 sun-dried tomatoes – finely sliced

6 sage leaves finely shredded

12 pitted black olives

12 char-grilled artichoke pieces

4 oz crumbled feta

On a baking tray bake the whole squash in the oven  (350 F or gas 4/5) for about 45 minutes or until a sharp knife can be inserted easily. Remove and set aside until cool enough to handle.

Gently cook the onion & garlic in the olive oil until soft. Add the carrot and celery and cook for a further 3 minutes, stir in the sun-dried tomatoes and sage. Keep warm

Cut the spaghetti squash in half and using a large spoon scoop out the stringy pulp, add to vegetable mixture along with the olives and artichokes. Warm through and serve with feta cheese crumbled on top.

Pumpkin Bread.

1¾1b (800g) pumpkin cut into cubes

2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

2½ 1b (1 kg)strong baking flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 oz (25g) yeast

Oiled baking tray                                                                                                                                Oven 200°C

Cook pumpkin in just enough water to barely cover until tender, strain, reserve cooking liquid and sieve.  Dissolve yeast in 3 fl oz (75ml) of the cooking liquid and leave for 10 minutes until frothy.  Mix flour, salt, yeast, sieved pumpkin, pumpkin seeds and enough of the cooking liquid  together until you have a soft malleable dough.  Knead for 5 minutes, turn into oiled bowl and leave for about an hour or until double in size.  Shape into rolls and place on the prepared tray leave to double in size again before baking 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven.

A word from Jake Hancock, who runs the livestock enterprise at Trill

Well it’s just over a year now that we have been farming at Trill and things are finally starting to feel a bit more under control. This time last year we were struggling with a lack of fences and water troughs in most fields, a cow barn with a frozen water supply, and six inches of snow in November and December when the rams were tupping which lead to relatively few lambs this spring. After a busy and character building year for Neil and I, we now have sufficient water and fencing to be able to graze the entire farm. We have also vastly improved our sheep and cattle handling arrangements. We had a successful harvest of Romy’s barley and oats, which was encouraging for my first year managing arable crops. The rams have been working a month earlier in great autumn weather and are due a rest at the end of November. To top it all, this week we have passed our TB test and the vet also tells us that 40 out of 41 of our cows are in calf, which is an excellent result. The calves were also weaned this week, which will mean two or three noisy days on the farm, as mothers and babies come to terms with their enforced independence. Our Devon bull “Ford Abbey Emperor” retires this year but we have already purchased his replacement, a rare red Aberdeen Angus bull (most Angus cattle are black), also called Emperor, although nicknamed Ernie. So all is well as I write, now we just hope for a kinder winter than last year!

A word from Ash & Kate in the garden…

November often sees a sharp decline in the variety of vegetables that we grow – as all of the summer polytunnel crops such as tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, peppers and aubergines are pulled out and replaced with overwintering salad. The less hardy veg such as courgettes and sweetcorn have finished outside and the general vigour of plants slows down due to reduced light levels and day length.

So, although this has happened this year, we are seeing our overwintering polytunnel salad and herbs growing much quicker than last year due to the mild weather. We haven’t had a “proper” frost yet which has extended the harvesting of some of our outdoor veg, but the mild wet autumn has also meant a rise in slug populations – leading to a lot of damage to our newly planted salads. We’ve been particularly lucky with slugs this year – our basil however suffered a little and although very tasty ended up mostly as pesto. This has been replaced with chervil, coriander and overwintering parsley all of which are already cropping well.

Garlic planting has been delayed until now, as it has been too wet over the last four weeks to plant. But we have just planted three varieties including lots of elephant garlic – which if this year is anything to go by they’ll be a bit of a crowd puller. We are hoping this will be a winner with our market customers especially.

We started a stall outside Town Mill Bakery in October and have been doing this every Saturday from 9am until about 2.30pm. We are hoping to continue until Christmas and then resume it in late Spring of 2012.

October also saw the arrival of four Saddleback x Large White weaners in the garden who were instructed to “de-thistle” a couple of areas which have been overrun with creeping thistle this year. We are hoping they may do a better job than us at uprooting the thistles, but will only really find out next year. Before that we are looking forward to trying out lots of different curing techniques when our pigs go to slaughter at the end of the year.

As for us, we are getting used to the dark evenings and having our days cut short. Although things never stop in the garden we find ourselves able to take a very small step back and try and rest after another hectic but enjoyable year.

A word from Noel Lakin, Trill's bee keeper

It’s November and our bees are only just beginning to settle down for the winter. They are still determined to get out and work whatever ivy blossom is left even when the sun is not shining.

There was a time when beekeepers were glad of the occasional fine day in October to give their bees a chance to gather some of the bright yellow pollen to store for brood rearing the following spring. The problem now is that, with yet another very mild autumn, the bees are overworking when they should be resting. As well as pollen they now often collect a considerable harvest of nectar, which is converted into a rapidly crystallising honey. Once solid, the honey leaves little space for the bees to cluster efficiently and will hinder the rapid expansion of the brood nest in the spring.

One is often asked about the problems facing modern beekeeping and it is all too easy to be pessimistic. The usual suspects; pesticides, disease and now climate change, are placing a major stress on a creature that has evolved to be in fine balance with its environment. Ecologists refer to the honey bee as ‘the canary in the coalmine’ warning us of impending danger, and so she is at the biological level. But she is also our teacher in true stewardship and in our need to understand and to work within the full complexity of nature.

It is within this context that we hope our bees will thrive and prosper at Trill. Although traditional beekeeping books treat autumn as the end of one year and the beginning of another, it is still far too early to pass judgement on our current season. To avoid winter loss, the bees must be in the best possible shape to survive through to the spring. Only then will we know how successful our efforts of the previous year have been.