Cosy at Daylesford

Oh it’s been a fun week at Daylesford. With winter almost upon us the fresh vegetables in the farm shop are incredible, and most of them are from their own garden – such a sight when all the ‘from our own garden’ boxes are ticked. It makes me truly happy to see that. It’s always a thrill to know the food is coming from “just over there”. And it’s exciting to put it in your wicker basket and take it home to prepare into fresh soup.

Whenever we come here I bring a few cooking things. This time I brought my Vita Mix for smoothies but it’s really come into its own making soups this week. We’ve had turnip and red onion; swede and chicken; and leek, turnip and chicken in the past three days. I don’t think I’ve ever made chicken soup before. But yesterday I made it. And I think it was truly one of the best things I have ever cooked in my life!

The other wonderful discovery we’ve made here in the Daylesford shop is a potato mash with leek and cabbage so we’ve been making that too. Tomorrow we’ll make pumpkin and carrot soup with parmesan. Astrid’s been asking for that.

And tomorrow we’re going to look at a house. Yes I know us and looking at houses. It’s in my favourite village, has a little walled garden and is walking distance to the wonderful Foxholes. The one thing I would miss though if when we do eventually move out here, because I know we will, is the gas cooking. All the houses out here have an electric cooker as well as an Aga. Now an Aga I’m sure I can get used to. All the houses out here have big oil tanks for heating oil, and every so often a big tanker comes and fills them up. Of course you need to find a good heating oil supplier too – but that’s what neighbours are for right.

In fact, now that I have a little look into it – it’s actually recommended that you get together with your neighbours and form an oil club to buy together to save money. You see, Agas are wonderful old fashioned things, warming the house, getting you talking to your neighbours.

Baking lovely scones and warming my lovely local soups.