Articles

It must have been in 2007, shortly after we bought the house, when we were exploring about the lovely villages in the Haut Languedoc that we saw a man who had set up a stall outside his farm gate and seemed to be selling cherries.
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We are coming into the most super exciting time of the year for both cooks and gardeners. The summer produce is ready to harvest at last… We are now picking the early broad beans and peas to add to the beets, courgettes and carrots we’ve been enjoying for the past few weeks.
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West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll has some unusual neighbours among the stone walls and green fields of rural Galway. Whether it’s a few clucking chickens, downy ducks or a gaggle of geese, keeping a few animals for the pot or for profit has long been a part of Irish life. The pig has an important place in Irish food culture...
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Never afraid to speak her mind, our intrepid columnist JILLIAN BOLGER says bluntly that if we want to get to the bottom of the obesity problem there's no point in blaming restaurants. The problem - and its solution - lies a lot closer to home. And this month’s column is aimed squarely at parents.
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Over the last few years, I have been battling health issues that have taken me to a heart hospital in Dallas to the world famous Cleveland Clinic and now to an autonomic nervous system and autoimmune specialist. A balanced healthy diet has always been of the utmost importance to me and I always thought I ate really well but recently I am learning that it is not as great as I thought it was.
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I've discovered as I get older that I am person that loves to square things away, and that applies equally with food-growing where I am constantly looking for things that simplify what can be a pretty complicated life-skill.
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Irish strawberries are now available through much of the year thanks to the fact that Keelings (www.keelings.com), in particular, have invested so heavily in glasshouses, extending the season from April to November instead of a few weeks in summer. And surprisingly good they are too, full of flavour even in the off-season, and a very welcome alternative to imports.
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May was a great month for growth at Castlefarm. The combination of heat and rain was perfect for grass and clover growth. The cow paddocks are full of lush grass and the cows are producing great milk, high in butterfat and protein.
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"Locally sourced food, cooked local, by a local chef" is the mantra that has diners flocking to Keith and Carmel Boyle's spacious two-storey restaurant Merchants Quay, along with "quality over quantity" - and, while we're at it, they have earned a reputation for great service and good value too.
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As we head into early summer - loveliest of seasons for gardens, whether your own or others to visit - there’s no better time to remember the late great Christopher Lloyd, gardener and garden writer extraordinaire. His books are inspiring yet full of common sense and they read like novels, and his home - Great Dixter, on the borders of Kent and Sussex - was designed by Edwin Lutyens, who also designed most of the gardens that were the love of Lloyd’s life and remain one of Britain’s favourite gardens.
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