A Recycled Somerset Garden - August 2015

Post author: My daughter Sophie from Somerset, England

"It all started it from a garden of brambles, that is it was full of rampant blackberry bushes and other long term weeds.  

We started clearing it just as I became pregnant with our first child. Home veg was the value we wanted our baby to experience and grow up with, healthy and pure. So it was a real labour of love (excuse the pun).

The first year we lived here, we only just finished the vegetable patch area as we were concentrating on renovating the house itself. Everyone told me it was too late at the end of August to plant veg, but I did it anyway and loads came up !

Our vegetable patch and the recycled greenhouse

This year, 2015, with the new baby on board the garden has become totally green !  

When I began to wean her, her first foods were from our own garden. She started with pureed carrots, and then parsnips, and so on.  

We got other people involved in the garden with the sunflower competition. Once they are finished, we will keep the seeds from the flower heads, to be dried and re used for flowers next year, or for bird seed during the winter and for cooking in the kitchen. Sunflower seeds can be a great snack on their own or in a nice homemade bread. Yummy !

When we initially cleared the old garden we saved some of the plants that were already there when we bought the house. There was a Day Lily for instance, which was beautiful when it came out this summer.

Never waste plants, they cost a lot to replace. We have a grape vine which we recycled from another house. We cut it right back when we got it first. It is now flourishing and is starting to work well in hiding a block wall at the back of the garden.  

In my next Wild Cottage guest post, I will tell you all about the recipes we use for our garden produce, how we preserve things for the winter and the yummy things we cook with it all.

Meanwhile, here are some more photos of this summer's garden (August 2015)."

The beginnings of our herb bed

The bay tree

Mint in a pot to keep it contained !

Runner beans grown up bamboo sticks

Our own chillies from the greenhouse

Red and white onions almost ready to lift

Some of our white onions

Rhubarb patch !

Elephant garlic - this is just one clove !

Normal and elephant garlic

My husband's precious fig tree

Lovely lettuce

Runner beans harvested for freezing and dinner

Sage bush with lots of new growth

10 Best Natural Cold Remedies

Here is a list of my 10 favourite ways to fight off that awful cold and sore throat that is wrecking your life.  

I was inspired to compile this post whilst lying in bed all night, unable to sleep, with a suddenly swollen rough sore throat, sinuses bunged up through my head to my popping ears (although my nose has managed so far to keep small passages open to breathe a bit), gritty watering red eyes, a wheezing chest with a mucus cough and swollen glands in my neck (obviously fighting off the germs invading me).  Otherwise known as a common cold.

The following list of natural, and mostly homemade remedies, is compiled from many years of suffering, over many generations!

Firstly, and very important, YOU DON'T NEED ANTIBIOTICS.  They are only required if you get an infection that your body can't fight off naturally, such as sinusitis or bronchitis.  They will not affect your common cold, which is a VIRUS.  And there are many of them.

1.    Elderberries   
  

It's not just some old wives tale your Granny used to waffle on about.  Nor some kind of witchy cleverness.  Elderberries are in fact an easily accessible, locally growing Superfood!

Elderberry cordial or syrup is well known as a cold prevention remedy, as well as helping to knock it for six once you are are afflicted.

This recipe includes cloves, which are another amazing preventative and curative natural aid to combating colds and flu.

http://www.wildcottage.blogspot.ie/2013/11/the-magic-of-elderberries.html


2.    Ginger

I use an old ginger tea recipe that I think my Great Aunt gave me, but I can't remember exactly.  Needless to say I've used it forever - and it seriously works.  Especially on the sore throats.

The website below has exactly the same recipe and process, and it is presented very clearly.

http://www.learningherbs.com/flu_home_remedy_tea.html

If you are REALLY sick and want it extra strong, just add more ginger !


3      Gargling with Raspberry Leaves and Salt

If you have a sore throat, this is the way to go.  There are various old remedies you can use to gargle your sore throat away...

Gargling with salted water (use natural sea salt) moistens your throat and brings temporary relief to the symptoms.  The salt will also help to kill any germs and nasty bacteria sticking to your throat.

Use half a teaspoon of salt, dissolved in 8ozs of warm water.  Do this 4 times a day for the best results.

To reduce that really annoying tickle, try an 'astringent' gargle.  Use tea that contains tannin, that's black tea; this will tighten the membranes. Or use a thick gargle made with honey or honey and apple cider vinegar mixed.

Alternatively, soak 1 tablespoon of raspberry leaves (or lemon juice but its not as potent) in 2 cups of hot water, soak for at leaves 15 minutes maybe more; stir in 1 teaspoon of honey. Let the mixture cool to room temperature before gargling.

4     Drink Loads of Water

This is vital to help keep your body hydrated, especially as you may have a slight temperature while your body's immune system battles with the cold germs.

It could also help keep the mucus in your nose and sinuses thinner, and therefore make it easier to remove it when you need to blow your nose.

5     Vitamin C

There has been a fair amount of research to back up this old wives tale, and as is usually the case, our grannies and the local 'healer' knew their stuff.

More natural ways you can add vitamin C to your body is via the food you eat.  Everything from oranges, lemons and grapefruits, to peppers and chillies.  Eat masses of fruit and a good variety of vegetables.  If you can't eat much as you feel too ill, then make a smooth soup from a wide selection of the vegetables, or a pure juice drink by juicing a selection of fruit.

Nowadays the easiest way to take vitamin C is by dissolving a tablet in water and drinking the fizzing concoction that results.  You need around 1000mg to 1500mg to help fight off the cold.  Vitamin C does this by aiding your immune system.  It can also help get rid of your cold faster.

6     Chicken Soup

I had no idea why this works, but I just knew it did !  So I did some research...

Apparently the fumes that come off the hot soup, contain cysteine - that's the stuff that you can or cannot smell, depending on how stuffed up your nose is - that help to release the mucus, at the same time thinning it, so aiding the process whereby your cold goes away faster.  

It also helps the body to fight the virus, and contains many needed nutrients if well made.

7     Garlic

Crush 2 cloves of fresh garlic and put into a small glass of water - drink it fast and you won't notice the taste if you are lucky !

If you are pregnant, don't use more than 1 garlic clove.

Garlic is a natural antifungal, antibiotic and is antibacterial.  It is a very powerful plant.

8     Cinnamon

Cinnamon, like garlic, is an antibiotic and is antiviral - and remember a cold is caused by various viruses.

Stir 2 tablespoons of cinnamon power into 2 teaspoonfuls of good quality honey and a little warm water.  Take half of this straight away, and the rest in a few hours.  You can always make another lot after that, if you still need it.  This will help to reduce your cough, help keep your temperature down and help with any congestion.

9     Yarrow Tea

You can buy yarrow tea or tea bags from your local health food store - unless of course you are lucky enough to have the wild plant handy nearby.

The tea is very bitter, so sweeten it with honey or stevia, and maybe mix it with a berry tea such as blackberry, raspberry or rosehip.

10    Rest Yourself

This is not as obvious as it seems.  

Rest is important when you have the cold virus, as in order to let the body's immune system do it's thing, you need to let it rest.  This helps the healing process along quicker.

*The above article/blog post is in no way designed to take the place of medical advice.  It is merely my own personal experience.  If you are at all worried, or your symptoms are not going away after a week or so, you should consult a medical professional.

The World's Healthiest Meal - An Anti Cancer Curry

I was recently browsing around news sites and newspapers, and especially the health, food and medical news, doing my usual thing and getting lost in time...

After a lot of reading bits here and there, I found an article in the Telegraph talking about an Anglo Indian chef who was fanatical about finding the perfect curry - a superfood - superspice curry.

My interest was piqued !

Gurpareet Bains is an English born Anglo Indian cook and nutritional therapist, who has an incredible passion for what he is interested in - and it happens to be extremely healthy food which tastes incredible !


He has developed - designed - invented - whatever you want to call it - The Ultimate Cancer Fighting Curry - which also happens to be incredibly healthy in many other respects.

It is in fact a chicken and blueberry curry, with goji berry pilau rice. Gurpareet says that it can help fight off carcinogenic cells. But it also contains many traditional ingredients like ginger, turmeric, chilli and garlic, which are all in their own right a superfood. And all are antiviral and antibacterial.

Every portion of this incredible curry contains the same nutrition as 49 helpings of spinach, 23 bunches of grapes or 9 helpings of broccoli. The article explains that experts have agreed that it contains up to 20 times as much nutrition as any specially formulated 'healthy' meal.

Gurpareet says that you need only eat this once a week to help deal with the prevention of cancers and many other illnesses such as Alzheimers.

So - what is in this incredible meal ?

I emailed Gurpareet and asked him if he would mind if I included his recipe on my blog. His reply was enthusiastic and he was kind enough to agree.

So here it is...

Chicken Curry with Blueberries & Goji Berry Pilau Rice
(serves 4)

20g chopped Coriander
200g fresh or frozen Blueberries
2 tablespoons freshly grated Ginger
Sea Salt
500g low fat Greek Yogurt
4 cloves Garlic - chopped
5 tablespoons extra virgin Olive Oil
2 teaspoons ground Turmeric
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon Chilli powder
500g uncooked Chicken breast
1 teaspoon Garam Masala
Fresh Coriander leaves
2 teaspoons Cumin seeds
1 small Onion - sliced
1 Carrot - grated
1 & 3/4 cups of Water
1 cup Basmati Rice
50g Goji Berries
Handful of peas (fresh or frozen)

The Curry


1. Blend 20g of chopped coriander, the blueberries, the grated ginger and 3/4 of a teaspoon of salt with the low fat Greek yogurt. Once well blended put this to one side.

2. Put the chopped fresh garlic into a saucepan with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Heat on a low-medium heat until the garlic starts to brown. Just 1 or 2 minutes.

3. Add 1 teaspoon of turmeric and mix it in well. Heat for 20 seconds.

4. Mix in the ground cinnamon and the chilli powder. Cook this for another 20 seconds.

5. Add 500g of uncooked chicken breast meat, which has been cut into bite sized pieces.

6. Seal the meat, stirring frequently. This should take no more than 5 minutes.

7. Next slowly pour the yogurt mixture (that you prepared above) into the saucepan with the meat.

8. Bring this to a simmer on a low heat.

9. Simmer for 10 minutes. Do not cover. Stir it from time to time.

10. Then stir through the Garam Masala.

11. The curry is made. Garnish with some fresh coriander leaves.

The Rice

12. Place the cumin seeds and 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a saucepan.

13. Heat on a low to medium heat until the seeds begin to pop. This should take no more than 3 minutes.

14. Add the sliced onion and cook until it is soft.

15. Add 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder. Stir it in and heat for 20 seconds.

16. Add the grated carrot and cook for 2 minutes.

17. Boil 1 and 3/4 cups of water.

18. Place the onion mixture, 1 cup of basmati rice, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the boiling water into a large microwavable bowl. Mix well with a fork.

19. Cook, uncovered, in the microwave for 4 mins (700W), 3.5 mins (800W), 3 mins (900W).

20. Mix it well again.

21. Cook again, uncovered, for 4 mins (700W), 3.5 mins (800W), 3 mins (900W).

22. Now cover the bowl (clingfilm if no lid) and cook for 4 mins (700W), 3.5 mins (800W), 3 mins (900W).

23. Remove from the microwave and add the Goji berries and the peas. Fork them in.

24. Re-cover the bowl and let it stand for 10 minutes.

25. Fluff the pilau rice up with a fork and serve with the curry.

Gupareet Bains website is at www.gupareetbains.co.uk Please take a look - he has some amazing ideas.

Chocolate Haberenos, Chillis, Roses and Kittens Killing Caterpillar Boots !

These will blow your head off !!! I grew these fairly conventional chillies this year as they are so much fun...

I don't use them in cooking an awful lot, as I'm personally not a lover of extremely hot food. But they are useful now and then.

Once they are fully ripe on the plant, I pick them and dry them thoroughly. I then grind them up and store them in glass jars until needed.

Today I moved them from the polytunnel, and into my office, as it really is starting to get colder here now at night.

This is another pic of the same plant, once in my office. You can see part of the garden through the office window.

Now this is one very special plant. Like I said above, I don't really eat chillies as such, but I really adore growing them, and all sorts of other things. This is a Chocolate Habereno plant. I bought 10 seeds from a supplier I use, and only 1 germinated...

And this is it.

The chillies haven't formed yet, quite... I am waiting with baited breath ! I moved this plant today also, from the tunnel up to my office.

I can't wait.

This is my favourite rose.

It's a Zepherine Drouhin, a very old French rose, which is totally thornless, and has a perfume which is the most beautiful smell in the world. It's a rambling rose, not really a climber, and incredibly beautiful, in the sense of true beauty...

And last but not least...

Meabh and Oisin decided to kill my very expensive Caterpillar boots !

They get hours of endless fun chewing these...

Hmmmmmm