Cooking with the Seasons – Autumn

We’re so used to buying food at the supermarket, where everything is available all year round, that we’ve lost touch with knowing what is ‘in season’.  At this time of year, look for the following:
Seasonal Vegetables – Beetroot, Cabbage, Carrots, Califlower (surprisingly, these are often at their best after a frost), Celery, Courgettes, Kale, Leeks, Marrow, [...]

My secret addiction

There was a programme on last night about Theo Paphitis the Greek Cypriot millionaire now famous for buying and turning around the fortunes of lingerie companies Contessa and La Sensa and stationers Rymans.  Mr P sold his interest in the lingerie companies not so long ago, retaining Rymans.  He said he is often asked why [...]

Christmas Countdown, 2

Have you thought what you might cook on Christmas Day?  Whether it’s a turkey, a goose (or whatever else takes your fancy), don’t leave it until the last minute and buy it from a supermarket.  We were vegetarian for many years and I vividly remember seeing the meat section of the supermarket entirely bare at [...]

X-Ray Vision

BBC News reports that tens of millions of people travelling through European airports could be digitally photographed as if they were naked.
Devices to scan the human body are already used in a limited capacity.  Now the European Commission is considering the human rights implications of implementing the scanners on a larger scale.
Hey, I don’t think [...]

Basic maintenance

We’re so used to having around modern household equipment that we don’t realise what little workhorses something like our washing machines really are…until one day they go wrong.  If you get into a routine of maintaining your precious ‘white goods’ you may, in the long run, save oodles on expensive repairs and early replacements.  Here are [...]

Using fabric softener

Fabric conditioner is expensive and unnecessary on items like towels which are far more absorbent without it.  One eco-friendly, permanent alternative to give you fluffy laundry without any chemicals at all are ‘dryer balls’.  Pop them in the dryer and they fluff up the fibres of your laundry as they tumble around.These should be readily available in shops like [...]

Smooth & fold

If you use a tumble dryer to dry your laundry you can save yourself some ironing time by carefully smoothing and folding clothes, sheets, towels etc. whilst they are still warm from the dryer.  The residual heat will help to put creases only where you want them.  The opposite is also true – leave them [...]

Herbs for the windowsill

If you don’t have the room, or time, to maintain a full herb garden, it’s worth growing a few herbs on a sunny windowsill inside.  Fresh herbs have an entirely different flavour to the dried varieties, so much so that once you’ve used fresh, you will probably never want to use the dried versions again.  [...]

Potting / re-potting plants

The basics
Clay pots, I think, look prettier, weather down nicely and are easier to keep well watered because of their porous nature.
‘Crocks’ tend to be bits of old, broken pots.  A single layer of crocks placed in the bottom of a pot before planting aids drainage, an important part of maintaining healthy plants.
Potting compost – [...]

‘Pot bound’

How can you tell when a plant has out-grown its container and is ‘pot bound’?
The tell-tale signs:
That you’re having to water it much more often
If you have a look under the pot and can see roots, chances are it needs a bigger pot.