To follow on from my previous post, my husband decided that the softly softly ‘I’m listening’ approach was not going to be the way forward with our moody, hormonal hen. Anyone who has met my husband will appreciate that this is said without even a trace of irony. So bottom-dunking in a bucket of cold water three times it was. The cussing was impressive, but in fairness, so were the results; she has lost the will to phantom nest and is back to scutteling around happily after her friends, no doubt wishing much harm upon the mad dunker in her mind. Problem solved you might think. Perhaps, but the horses who had been witness to the unceremonious bucket-dunkings are now traumatised and scared witness of their master. They do 0-60 faster than I ever thought possible as soon as he approaches, leaving hens, humans and dogs in their wake. They can rest assured though; we don’t own, and aren’t about to own buckets big enough for him to dunk their hindquarters in.
This has absolutely nothing to do with stawberries of course, for which I’m about to give you details of an original and ultra-healthy way to serve…
Ingredients
Strawberries
Yacon syrup
Juice of half a lemon
Fresh mint
Chilli powder
Grated ginger
Black pepper
Prepare the strawberries by cutting off the leaves, rincing and cutting into two. Place in a bowl and then add the syrup, lemon juice, grated ginger, mint and peppers. Chill for at least an hour and serve with greek yoghurt.
The combination of antioxidents in the strawberries and peppers, the alkalising effect of the lemon juice, the anti-inflammatory action of the ginger and the many virtues of yacon syrup makes this dish practically medicinal. Consume without moderation.

We have a garden full of nomadic rhubarb. Originally I had inadvertantly planted it over our sewage system, so my husband moved it and it randomly became the ‘pièce de resistance’ by the edge of the pool; I don’t know what that was all about. As much as I love rhubarb, it isn’t the plant of exceptional beauty that you might expect to see in such a prime location, so it was moved again – to the vegetable patch, oddly enough. This time, the dog took exception to its location and dug it up in a fit of frenetic hysteria one night when we weren’t looking. I decided enough was enough and maybe rhubarb just wasn’t meant to be in our garden and chucked it unceremoniously onto the compost heap, where it took root of its own accord and has prospered ever since.
Rhubarb is a little tart (particularly ours, as it gets around so much!) and really needs more sugar than I’m willing to use. I get around this by stewing it with  yacon syrup, which has a low GI and deliciously fragrent caramel taste. Made from the roots of the yacon plant which is indigenous to the Andes, it is used throughout South America for its nutritional properties; it is said to help diabetes as well as renal and digestive problems.
Ingredients
Stewed rhubarb:
4 stalks of rhubarb
2 tbsp yacon syrup
1 cup of water
stem ginger, chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup of raisins
Cake:
1/4 cup of butter
1/4 cup of coconut oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp yucon syrup
1 cup of chickpea flour
1 cup self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 cup milk
Start by stewing the rhubarb. Peel the stalks and cut into pieces of approximately 2cm. Add the yucon syrup, ginger, cinnamon and about a cup of water. Gently braise for about 20 minutes or until the rhubarb forms a runny jam-like consistency.
Prepare the cake mix by creaming the warmed coconut oil and butter until light and fluffy. Add the yucon syrip until the mixture is blended. Next beat in the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda and combine with the milk. Add little by little to the egg/fat mixture  until well blended. Finally fold in the stewed rhubarb and spoon into a greased cake tin. Bake in a preheated oven for about 40 minutes at 180°C.