When the going gets tough.....

.........The tough get digging.

In challenging times I want to use my age (considerable) and experience (limited) to encourage you to grow some of your own fruit and vegetables, reduce the size of the footprint you leave on the planet in your daily life and generally get by more cost effectively. So cancel the expensive gym membership (except for Pilates), create your own vegetable plot and not only will you save money but you will get (or stay) fit and you will get delicious, home grown organic food.

Dish of the day - Asparagus with home made hollandaise sauce. The recipe will be included in my next post.

The world is in a precarious place and I can’t see things getting any better for a considerable time. This morning, while listening to a radio report on President Trump’s latest announcement concerning his plans for the war on Iran, I had a bit of an epiphany. I am 71 years old - old enough to remember the challenging times people faced after the Second World War. Rationing was coming to an end, but nothing was taken for granted and people still lived frugally. My grandmother saved bits of string, rolling them into a ball for future use, and put the heels of bars of soap into a jam jar ready to press them all into a new bar once she had enough. We grew our own fruit and vegetables and saved the surplus harvest for the winter. Worn out wool jumpers were unravelled and the wool used again to knit something new. My father drove across France in 1948 and said that when he stopped in a village people would crowd around his car, because they were so rarely seen. The poverty and deprivation he encountered were eye opening.

I think we are all, once again, facing tough times ahead as energy prices rise and everything becomes more expensive, but people who are younger than me don’t remember what things were like way back then. So I hope to pass on tips and tricks to help people manage. I am not for a minute suggesting that we are all about to plunge into abject poverty, but there is little doubt that we will have to tighten our belts, even if it is just short term. On the up-side as we do this we can, as we are obliged to live more economically, reduce our impact on our environment - and maybe, just maybe, come out of the current crisis into a happier, healthier world.

That is enough of the sermon, so I will pass on two suggestions today and then sign off.

First, eat seasonally. This is still a French tradition, but has largely been forgotten in the UK and probably also in the US. Buy food that is being harvested now and locally, rather than something out of season which has to be shipped from the other side of the world. This is easy as we come into springtime - peas and broad beans, asparagus, baby new potatoes and locally grown strawberries (not forced ones imported from southern Europe or north Africa) are all on the horizon.

Asparagus, Gariguette strawberries, purple sprouting brocolli and ailetts - or baby garlic. All bought in Langon market at the end of March 2023.

Second - at this time of year, even if you only have a window box, you can grow your own herbs. A plentiful supply of fresh herbs will improve the most basic of meals beyond measure. You can either sow seeds or buy small starter plants at your local market. I recommend parsley, chives and mint as the basics. If you have more space then sage, tarragon, oregano, dill and coriander (this latter is quite difficult to grow as it bolts in hot weather). These will transform your home cooking…. but more of this in future posts.

End of March in our vegetable patch (or potager to give it its French name). The three small beds in the middle are where we grow our herbs.

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