Our garden is the centre of activity at Pantry Fields. If Annie could spend all her time there she would. It makes us very happy to grow as much as we can, there is nothing like sitting down to a homegrown meal after a day's work. It is worth it, grow some vegetables, it is good for you, if you already do, grow some more vegetables! It is remarkable how much you can grow from a relatively small plot to a window box or pots in a yard.

 

We have a couple of polytunnels, a his and hers. Mine is very regimented: straight lines and tidy, Annie's is a wonderful organic wonderland, I have no idea what she is up to in there, but she keeps producing the most wonderful unusual veg. We use raised beds for most of our outdoor growing, it is essential in our climate to keep our veg above the water table. We do not grow many potatoes, firstly we do not eat that many and secondly they take up lots of space. A few first earlies in the ground or in bags will suffice as there is nothing like a new potato lifted, washed and cooked same day. We have a small orchard, tree fruit is a bit hit and miss this far west and close to the sea, however soft fruit thrives especially acid soil loving blueberries. Annie has been my inspiration and teacher in the garden, she has spent her whole life producing her own food.

 

We are not vegetarians, we enjoy rearing chickens and pigs or the occasional lamb for our table. It is a wonderful thing to rear your own meat, you are part of the process, you see its birth, its life and its death. Meat eaters should be more aware of how their meat is reared and slaughtered. Organic, local meat, fed on local feed, is the best and only meat you should eat. When we eat meat it is a treat, a wonderful, flavoursome feast. Let us celebrate the local production of food. By food I mean ingredients; fruit, vegetables and meat. I do not mean processed foods of any sort, from additive laden ready meals to spurious soya products posing as meat. Fast food and highly processed food is bad for you and the environment. Eat slow food, cook it yourself, grow it yourself, mostly vegetables, you will thrive.

 

I am a convert to sourdough bread, the process is so simple. Just flour and water combine with natural yeasts in the flour and my kitchen to make an easily digestible, delicious loaf.

There is no mystery, it just works. I started baking after Annie told me one day that she was never going to bake bread again, she had spent years at it. After persevering with two bought loaves that were revolting I set to and took over bread production. First a Delia inspired, no knead, wholemeal loaf, then I discovered the joys of sourdough rye bread, delicious.