• Nutritional information,  Savoury

    Salmon and leek pie and soul-searching for horses

    Salmon and leek pie

    There is no doubt in my mind that horses chat amongst themselves. I’ve noticed a distinct pattern: horses usually arrive here quite well-disciplined, but their behaviour becomes more and more erratic the longer they stay. When Jazz arrived in September, I had rarely encountered a more angelic horse. He came when called, didn’t push and shove, lowered his head to accommodate his head collar or bridle, respected the fences, didn’t nip… Seven months on, he’s obviously been chatting with the others and picking up naughty tips because he now: takes off at full speed when I approach with the head collar, opens the field gate with his teeth, stamps his feet when his breakfast or dinner are served late, plays football with his feed bucket, and takes off to visit the neighbours’ horses without so much as a by your leave.

    Thinking about the horses’ various foibles and the expressions of their ‘états d’âme’, I realised that ‘état d’âme’ is something that is almost impossible to translate correctly into English. The dictionary translation is ‘state of mind’, or perhaps ‘mood’ or ‘vein of feeling’, but it’s not that; it’s much more. It literally means ‘state of the soul’, or internal climate; it’s a unique mixture of emotion and transient thoughts. Who knew horses could be so intense!

    Leeks: a multitude of benefits

    Leeks, like all of the alliums are high in sulphur-based compounds such as allicin, that can help to reduce blood clotting and has prevent viruses. Alliums have also been linked to a decreased risk of certain cancers. Leeks are rich in flavonoids, which have impressive antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. They are also a good source of vitamin K, which may reduce the risk of, amongst other things, osteoporosis. Leeks contain lutein and zeaxanthin, two substances that reduce the risk of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.

    Recipe for salmon and leek pie (serves 4-6)

    • 400g puff pastry (here is my recipe)
    • 50g butter
    • 2 shallots, chopped
    • 500g leeks, cleaned and cut into rounds
    • 200ml crème fraîche
    • Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper
    • 500g salmon filet, cut into strips
    • Fresh parsley
    • 1 egg yolk

    Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a 25cm non-stick tart tin with the pastry, setting aside enough pastry to make a top. Melt the butter in a large frying pan and add the shallots and leeks. Cover and leave to cook for about 15 minutes, or until the leeks have softened, then add the crème fraîche and seasoning and set aside. Meanwhile, distribute the salmon on the pastry in the lined tart tin, then add the leek mixture, and garnish with the fresh parsley. Finally cover the tart with the pastry top and brush with egg yolk. Cook for 25 minutes.

  • Nutritional information,  Savoury

    Tagliatelle carbonara, broken toes, and equine revolt

    Tagliatelle carbonara

    A few weeks ago, I broke a toe on a cast iron dog bowl stand. I had been rushing outside in a panic in response to a hunter friend’s urgent gesticulations outside. (It turned out he just had a few bullets left, and wanted our permission to shoot down a hornet’s nest from one of our oak trees.) I hobbled back into the house, grabbed the crutches (they are never far from reach), then skidded across the newly-varnished floor and landed up in a another heap. The second of the day.

    My toe was healing quite nicely, when I somehow got it stuck down a hole and re-broke it. As if that wasn’t silly enough, later on, at a doctor’s appointment to see if he had any good tips on reoffending broken toes, I got one-sided lockjaw from a propolis gum sweet I had taken for my sore throat. While I was trying desperately to free my teeth from the persecutory gummy, my bemused-looking doctor worried I was having a stroke. Anyway, to sum up, his advice was: ‘go home and stop moving’. I think he was referring to the healing of my poor toe, but I’m now wondering if the advice wasn’t a more general ‘go home and stop being such a pain in the arse’…

    We put a coat on Bijou (of drumming-in-the-night fame) the other night, as it was going to be very cold. He was quite compliant while we kitted him out, and didn’t seem to be bothered by the extra layer. This obviously wasn’t the case, however, as the next morning he was ‘sans couverture’, and not altogether displeased with himself. He had left the blanket in a heap at the end of the field and covered it with sand.

    Bijou kitted out for the cold
    Houdini the next morning

    This is not a truly authentic carbonara recipe; true carbonara has no cream (or mushrooms etc.). I think the golden rule is to be careful not to overheat and scramble the eggs when you add them to the pasta.

    Parsley: a natural antihistamine

    I’m allergic to tree pollen, so always try to include lots of parsley at this time of year. Parsley is a natural antihistamine, as it prevents histamine from being released from mast cells in your body. It’s a rich source of anti-inflammatory nutrients, such as apigenin and carotenoids, and also increases antioxidant levels in the blood.

    Recipe for tagliatelle carbonara (serves 4)

    • 400g tagliatelle
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 200g streaky bacon or pancetta, cut into strips
    • 4 mushrooms, sliced
    • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
    • 3 egg yolks
    • 8 tablespoons crème fraîche
    • Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper
    • Handful of chopped parsley
    • 60g Parmesan cheese, grated

    Put the tagliatelle to cook in salted boiling water. Add the olive oil to a frying pain, then add the strips of bacon, mushrooms and garlic. Cook until the bacon is crispy. Place the egg yolks in a bowl, then add the crème fraîche, seasoning and parsley. Once the pasta is cooked, drain, saving a little of the water for the sauce. Add the pasta to the bacon and mushroom mixture the frying, then the egg/cream mixture, turning the heat right down. Top with the grated Parmesan and serve.

  • Nutritional information,  Sweet

    Lemon posset and happy new year 2024!

    Lemon posset

    First of all, I would like to wish everyone a very happy, healthy and peaceful 2024! 🥳🥂

    Léo and I went to London for Christmas. We were escorted in by storm Pia, and back home again by storm Gerrit. Welcoming Pia left us circling over the airport waiting for a gust-free moment to land, and the turbulence caused my nose to start flamboyantly gushing with blood. By the time we finally arrived at the gate, I was lavishly splattered, with tissues plugging my nostrils (I’m really selling myself here, aren’t I?). The car hire desk had long-since closed for the evening, and we had to traipse around the airport at 3am looking for a hotel room. I wondered afterwards if the first three hotels had been genuinely full, or whether they had just been just intimidated by my scary, red and white halloween face.

    Night and day delivery modes

    I am amused by the contrasting approaches to Amazon deliveries in London and rural France. London couriers have perfected a mark and fling approach; some have such an impressive aim, they don’t even have to leave their vehicles. In stark contrast, here we receive a text message saying: ‘Your courier will be with you in five minutes. Please be sure to lock up ALL of your animals and turn on a light if it’s dark’.

    A dog with zero recall, often several horses on the loose, and an untold number of deer hanging out with the other horses on the peripheries, means this can be quite a challenge. (I haven’t dared to ask any of our neighbours if they receive the same message, because I fear we’re particularly targeted!) Unable to meet the criteria for delivery, we quite often end up driving to the main road to pick up our package.

    The London Eye at night, from Northumberland Avenue
    Delivery deterrents
    Four muddy horses
    Jazz in the sunset

    I made these lemon possets for New Year’s Day, as a foil for the rather rich starter of scallops and tagliatelle in Pernod, followed by Beef Wellington and Broccoli.

    Lemons, and in particular, lemon peel have numerous health benefits. It is packed full of bioactive compounds, such as D-limonene, which helps to reduce the oxidative stress associated with tissue damage and accelerated aging. It also has anti-inflammatory, blood sugar modulating, and anti-stress and anti-anxiety properties. D-limonene may also protect against stomach ulcers by neutralising stomach acid and increasing gastric mucus production to promote gut healing.

    Recipe for lemon posset (serves 4)

    • 600ml double cream
    • 175g golden caster sugar
    • 3 lemons, juiced and zested (approx 75ml juice)
    • 20 almonds, chopped

    Pour the cream into a medium saucepan, stir in the sugar and two-thirds of the lemon zest. Bring to the boil, turn down to a gentle simmer and whisk for a couple of minutes until the sugar has melted. Divide the mixture between four individual serving dishes. Leave to cool at room temperature, then chill in the fridge for at least six hours, or preferably overnight. Scatter over the remaining lemon zest and some chopped almonds, and serve!

  • Honey and other bee products,  Nutritional information,  Savoury,  Soup

    Butternut squash and chestnut soup and what will bee will bee.

    Butternut squash and chestnut soup

    There are some newcomers at our homestead, some welcome, others not so much. In August we inadvertently became hosts to five million bees. We didn’t actually count them because that would have been laborious and dangerous, we counted the hives and used a calculator. The average beehive houses between 20,000 and 80,000 bees, and there are just over 100 hives. The problem is not the hives, but the fact that the bees use our pool; seemingly for recreation as well as quenching their thirst! After a bit of research, we discovered that a beekeeper, based over 60kms away, wanted to make heather honey, and decided our land was the ideal place to do it. Apparently it didn’t occur to him to ask our permission, for the use of the heather or the pool. I’m all for bees; in fact I’m a big fan, I’m just not keen on swimming with them. We suggested they pay their rent in honey: it will be honetary compensation!

    Over a hundred bee hives in the heather

    Equine segregation

    We also have two more horses. One of the horses, Bijou, we owned already, but he has been on loan to a nearby riding club, having been chased from his stable by our two grays. Whoever imagines that horses are not racist, imagines wrongly. The grays used to make life very difficult for Bijou who is chestnut, by blocking his access to hay, chasing him around the field and generally behaving like grey-supremacist hooligans. Now Bijou has his own fields and a gorgeous, newly-acquired chestnut friend called Jazz. Their contact with the greys is restricted to unpleasantries over the fencing.

    Bijou and Jazz, the chestnuts
    Equine segregation
    Heated discussions

    Chestnuts (the nuts, not the horses) are nutrient-dense. They are vitamin and mineral-rich, and also a great source of antioxidants. Chestnuts are high in fibre, which means they are effective for both blood sugar and hunger control. The tannins and flavonoids help suppress inflammation and in-vitro studies show that extracts from chestnuts suppress the growth and spread of various types of cancer cells.

    Recipe for butternut squash and chestnut soup (serves 6)

    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 tablespoon butter
    • 1 onion, chopped
    • 250g of pre-cooked chestnuts
    • 1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes
    • 2 carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
    • 1.5 litres of chicken stock
    • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
    • Curry powder to taste (optional)
    • 200ml cream

    Fry the onions in the olive oil and melted butter until golden brown. Add the chestnuts, butternut squash and carrots and then chicken stock and bring to the boil. Season and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Add the cream and purée until smooth.

  • Nutritional information,  Sweet

    Chocolate coconut slices, the great collapse, and chatting with birds

    Chocolate coconut slices

    On the evening of the fifth anniversary of my father’s death in mid-June, Luc and I wandered over to the bench which bears a memorial plaque for him. I, naturally, was feeling mournful, but it was a beautiful evening and we decided to sit down for a bit. As we sat down, in perfect unison, the bench groaned and creaked, before squeaking and crying out in pain and finally disintegrating beneath us. All in slow motion. We ended up on our backs, feet in the air with looks of vague alarm on our faces. The alarm morphed quickly into hysterical laughter, and I felt as though my father and his legendary sense of humour had reappeared and were laughing with us; he would have absolutely loved it and, although unplanned and random, it was a wonderful way to remember him!

    The bench that was

    Yesterday I found a little bird perched on a bookcase upstairs; I showed him the open window, but he returned resolutely to his adoptive bookcase. When he was still there several hours later, no doubt ensconced in a gripping page-turner, I slid a baking tray under him and took him downstairs. He still seemed to lack the resolve to fly away, so I offered him a cup of coffee (in reality it was water before anyone reports me to the RSPB), and I we had a little chat, which obviously bored him enough to inspire him to take wing. It was another very sweet moment.

    The little bird that stayed for coffee

    These coconut slices make ideal energy bar, without being too sweet. They’re very transportable so I use them when I know I might be in a situation when I need to eat a little something on the move. The almonds and coconut are good sources of protein, and also calcium, copper, iron, potassium, sodium, manganese, B vitamins, zinc, copper, and iron.

    Recipe for chocolate coconut slices (makes 20)

    • 2 eggs
    • 75g cane sugar
    • 125g coconut oil, melted
    • Chopped almonds
    • 100g raisins
    • 125g flour (I used spelt flour)
    • Pinch of salt
    • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
    • 50g dessicated coconut
    • 2 tablespoons rum (optional)
    • Vanilla essence

    Preheat the oven to 180°C. Prepare a baking tray by covering with greaseproof paper. Beat the eggs and sugar together until pale, and gradually add the coconut oil at the end. Combine the almonds, raisins, flour, salt, cocoa powder and coconut in a separate bowl and gradually add to the egg/sugar/oil mixture to obtain a thick paste. Finally stir in the rum and vanilla essence. Spread over the greaseproof paper on the baking tray and bake for 30 minutes. Cut into squares while still warm. Keeps in an airtight tin for several weeks, or may be frozen.

  • Nutritional information,  Savoury

    Asparagus quiche and tasered into oblivion

    Asparagus quiche

    ‘I’ve forgotten my passport’, I yelled urgently to Luc as we turned onto the motorway towards Bordeaux. He reassured me that everything was under control, and that I wouldn’t be needing my passport for this trip. Little did I know just how apt the word ‘trip’ was going to prove . I’m generally not good with medical establishments, and total denial that I was on my way to spend a few days in one was my way of coping. I wasn’t heading to the airport, but a pain management clinic (for EDS).

    As soon as we arrived, I told Luc he could ‘abandon me’, martyr-style. He did just that, quickly and without hesitation, probably before I could change my mind. I could hardly blame him though: The poor man had spent over an hour in the car with me, listening to me whine and invent crazy excuses to get out of my upcoming confinement.

    Stoned

    As it turns out, my fears were groundless. I basically attended a five-day rave, spending the majority of my time out of my mind on ‘Special K’ (ketamine: a horse tranquilizer). Admittedly some of the treatments were less relaxing; being tasered (or electromagnetic field therapy as they insist on calling it), for example, although I suspect the ketamine meant that I could be run over by a truck, and not be too fazed. I was a little worried about the ‘suicide vest‘ I was kitted out with for the sleep study, especially as I have a tendency to electrocution. When I mentioned my concern to the technicien, he just said ‘don’t worry, in theory it should be fine’. I felt like saying: ‘You don’t know me, if there’s someone who’ll manage to detonate a sleep study outfit, it’s me!’

    If at all possible, try to make the most of asparagus while it’s in season; It is a fantastic source of antioxidants, folate, fibre, vitamins and minerals.

    Recipe for asparagus quiche (serves 6 – 8)

    Ingredients for pastry:

    • 220g flour (I used spelt flour)
    • 100g butter
    • Cold water

    Ingredients for filling:

    • 4 asparagus, peeled and cut into rounds
    • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
    • 2 shallots, sliced
    • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
    • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
    • 2 eggs
    • 150 ml double cream
    • 50 mg Cheddar, Parmesan or Comté cheese, grated

    To make the pastry, begin by cutting the butter into small cubes. Add to the flour in a mixing bowl and add a pinch of sea salt. Blend by hand until the mixture becomes crumbly. Add the cold water, mixing rapidly with a spoon. Remove the mixture from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until you obtain a ball of pastry (if the mixture isn’t ‘sticky’ enough to form a ball, you may need a drop more water). Wrap in a clean cotton tea towel and leave to ‘rest’ in the fridge for about two hours. This relaxes the dough and makes it easier to use. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Roll out the pastry on a clean, lightly floured surface and line the tart tin. 

    For the filling, begin by frying the asparagus rounds and sliced shallots in a little olive oil, then arrange in the pastry case. Break the eggs into a small bowl and add the cream and seasoning (salt, pepper, nutmeg). Beat well to form a homogenous mixture. Add some grated cheese and then pour the egg and cream mixture over the top. Cook at 200°C for 25 minutes, or until the top is golden-brown.

  • Nutritional information,  Savoury

    Salmon and fennel tagliatelle and my fluorescent spring

    Salmon and fennel tagliatelle

    Well that was awkward: I just had to call the vet to say that Java wouldn’t be able to make her 3pm appointment because I couldn’t find her. Embarrassment-wise, it was on a par with the time I turned up to the vet appointment, on time but minus dog. Java came back a couple of hours later, having apparently taken part in a mud wrestling contest, before putting herself through an aggressive washing machine rinse cycle. I dragged her to the vet anyway, where there was a man asking for something for his parakeet’s itchy eyes. WTAF? Full points to parakeet owner though, for noticing his parakeet’s bothersome eyes. And zero points to me for failing to kit her dog out with a straitjacket.

    Pine tree pollen is falling thick and fast, which means that everything has a thick covering of fluorescent yellow dust. (Perhaps this was the parakeet’s problem.) I bumped into a neighbour yesterday — quite literally as it happens; the layer of pollen on my glasses was that thick — who said that it was a sign that the coming winter would be very cold. I said that I couldn’t look that far ahead at the moment, as I was desperately trying to get through the spring without causing myself grievous bodily harm.

    A few weeks ago I talked about Luc’s beloved tractor falling sick. It’s back home again, fighting fit, much to its devoted owner’s absolute delight. While I’m very happy for them, I can’t help feeling as if his mistress has come back, lithe and tanned from a long holiday. Especially when he says things like ‘when are we eating, have I got time to take the tractor out for a quick spin?’

    The benefits of fennel for digestion

    Alone in my kitchen, like a tractor widow, I tend to use fennel quite a lot. Fennel is part of the anise family and very commonly used in Mediterranean cuisine. It is one of the best vegetables for digestive problems and contains a cocktail of essential oils that give its characteristic aniseed smell. The chemicals contained in the essential oils are powerful antispasmodics, meaning they help to relax the wall of the gut. Use with immoderation!

    Recipe for salmon and fennel tagliatelle (serves 4)

    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 onion, chopped
    • 1 fennel bulb, chopped
    • 1 garlic clove, crushed
    • 125ml dry white wine
    • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
    • 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
    • 200g tagliatelle
    • 200g salmon filets, precooked and sliced
    • A handful of chives, chopped
    • 50ml crème fraîche
    • Parsley, freshly chopped

    Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan and ad the onion, fennel and garlic. Cook until the fennel softens. Add the wine and seasoning and simmer until the liquid reduces by about half. Meanwhile cook the tagliatelle. Add the salmon, chives and crème fraîche to the frying pan, mixing well. When the tagliatelle is cooked, combine in the frying pan and sprinkle with parsley.

  • Nutritional information,  Savoury

    Pasta with broccoli sauce and narcoleptic hamsters

    Pasta with broccoli sauce

    I am half way through a thermal cure at the moment. In France, if you have a painful body and a doctor’s prescription, you’re good to be smothered in healing mud, and soaked in thermal water for three weeks. You might think that three weeks of pampering would be relaxing, make you happy, and possibly even alleviate the need to whinge. And it is for most people. With the exception, of course, of the person that constantly insisted on seeking me out. She had issues. In fact, her issues had issues: The water was too warm, the therapists late (three whole minutes in one case, can you believe?), the massages too tiring, the food too filling, the coffee too strong, the mineral water too ‘minerally’, and the sun too bright. The upshot was that she decided that she wasn’t coming back. I said that I was certain that a little ray of sunshine like her would be sorely missed; she was so distracted naval gazing that she took the comment at face value.

    The vines and their hamsters

    My hairdresser, who is a hunter (incongruous, but true), told me that this year, we should fill used tights with human hair to keep the grape-bud-munching deer at bay. Following last year’s catastrophe, when the deer ate the buds as soon as they appeared, we were ready to try anything. Except that now I crick my neck doing a double take every time I look at the vines with the narcoleptic, overweight hamsters bobbing in the breeze. I think I preferred the deer!

    Health benefits of broccoli

    Broccoli contains glucoraphanin , a compound that converts into a potent antioxidant called sulforaphane during digestion. It also contains the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which prevent oxidative stress and cellular damage in your eyes. Broccoli also contains bioactive compounds that reduce both inflammation and insulin resistance in the body. It is rich in fibre and probiotics, both of which contribute to digestive and gut health. It is also an excellent source of vitamin K, calcium, potassium, manganese, phosphorus, zinc and vitamins A and C as well as folate.

    Recipe for pasta with broccoli sauce (serves 4)

    • 8-10 broccoli florets
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 2 shallots, chopped
    • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
    • 4 anchovies
    • 6 black olives, stoned and chopped
    • Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper
    • 50ml cream
    • Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

    Cook the broccoli in salted water until ‘al dente’ and then chop into smaller pieces. Then cook the pasta in the broccoli water. Gently fry the chopped shallots in olive oil until transparent, and add the broccoli and garlic. Add the anchovies and olives and continue to fry for a few minutes. Season to taste, add the cream, stirring well and bring to a simmer. Add the sauce to the pasta. Grate the parmesan cheese over the top just before serving.

  • French,  Nutritional information,  Savoury

    Liver in balsamic vinegar sauce, and victory for restaurant-goers

    Liver in balsamic vinegar sauce

    I saw a picture in British newspaper that said everything about France, and in particular, Bordeaux. It was of a couple sitting outside on a restaurant terrace in the centre of Bordeaux (the Place de la Victoire, as it happens). They were calmly eating their dinner, and drinking their obligatory red wine, while rioters and demonstrators caused visible commotion in the background. There was even a ‘fire of wrath’ burning close-by.

    The photo reminded me of the time, many years ago, that we had a lunch booking at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Auxerre. It was before GPS and, as we didn’t have a map, we had to stop and ask a policeman for directions to the restaurant. The time was approaching 1pm and the policeman, panicked at the idea that we were going to be late for our table, not only directed us to the restaurant, he also held up the traffic flow in both directions to allow us to do a U-turn! The French have always had their priorities straight.

    Liver health benefits

    Liver should be organic, preferably, and very fresh. It will be improved greatly by being soaked in lemon juice for several hours before cooking. This improves the texture, and draws out any impurities. Liver is an extremely high-quality source of protein, as it provides all of the essential amino acids. In addition it provides:

    • Vitamin B12, which helps the formation of red blood cells and is also involved in healthy brain function.
    • Vitamin A, which is important for normal vision, immune function and reproduction.
    • Riboflavin (B2), which is important for cellular development and function, and helps turn food into energy.
    • Folate (B9) which is an essential nutrient that plays a role in cell growth and the formation of DNA.
    • Iron, an essential nutrient that helps carry oxygen around the body. The iron in liver is heme iron, the kind most easily absorbed by the body.
    • Copper, which activates a number of enzymes, which then help regulate energy production, iron metabolism and brain function.
    • Choline, which is important for brain development and liver function.

    Recipe for liver in balsamic vinegar sauce (serves 4)

    • 4 slices liver (I used calves liver)
    • Juice of 2 lemons
    • Cornflour
    • 1 tablespoon butter
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 6 shallots, finely chopped
    • Sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper
    • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
    • 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

    Marinate the liver slices in lemon juice for several hours. Pat the slices dry and dust lightly with cornflour. Melt the butter and olive oil in a large, non-stick frying pan and gently brown the sliced shallots. Remove the fried shallots and set aside. Add the liver to the frying pan and cook on a fairly high heat, several minutes on each side depending on the thickness of the slices. Season and then add balsamic vinegar, bring to the boil, return the shallots to the pan and serve immediately!

  • Nutritional information,  Sweet

    Courgette and cardamon cake and not letting sleeping boars lie

    Courgette and cardamon cake

    The hit squad

    Below is a photo of Java on the naughty step of the car, having prodded, awoken and generally harassed a sleeping wild boar four times her size. I would tell you what I yelled at her, but the asterisk key on my computer is stuck, probably from overuse. Also, I dislocated my shoulder trying to haul her out of the boar’s ‘bedroom’, so I’m typing painfully and economically. We are currently fighting a losing battle with an ever-expanding population of boar; there are fewer and fewer hunters, and those that do turn up, have to contend with our neighbour, a graduate of the Donald Trump School of Diplomacy, and his ridiculously childish hissy fits. But no worries: Java and her German Shepard boyfriend are tackling the problem (the boar, and the neighbour) efficiently and elegantly. They’re quite the team; she marks and provokes, and he rounds up and corners. Job done.

    And a horse with discerning taste

    Following my horse’s asthma attack, I am giving him a dose of plant-based medicine every day. I think it must be working, because he is finding lots of energy to express some very strong opinions about the clothes I wear. He’s taken particular exception to some of my scarves: I’ve discovered he has a preference for neutral tones. He’s not at all keen on pink, and if I really want to piss him off I put on a garish multi-coloured number, which makes him turn on his haunches and retreat at speed to a safe distance from the offending object. Never let it be said that our animals leave room for complacency!

    Java on the naughty step
    Wild boar botherers

    `

    A horse with strong sartorial opinions

    Cardamon’s multitude of health benefits

    Cardamom is great for curing and preventing digestive issues. The cooling effects of cardamom can help relieve acidity and treat gastrointestinal issues like indigestion, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and spasms. There has even been research on its ability to heal ulcers.

    Cardamom is rich in compounds that may fight inflammation, and also helpful for anxiety and depression.

    Finally, something that is useful to know for cold and flu season, cardamon has a powerful expectorant action, and helps blood circulation in the lungs by its thinning action. Compounds in cardamom may help increase airflow to your lungs and improve breathing. Another way that cardamom may improve breathing and oxygen levels is by relaxing the airways, which may be particularly helpful for treating asthma.

    Recipe for courgette and cardamon cake (serves 8)

    • 2 eggs
    • 125g coconut oil
    • 100g cane sugar
    • 350g courgettes, grated
    • vanilla extract
    • 140g dried raisins, soaked in rum
    • 85g walnuts, chopped
    • 2 teaspoons ground cardamon
    • Ginger
    • Bicarb, baking powder
    • 200g chickpea flour
    • 50g ground almonds

    Preheat the oven to 180°C and prepare and grease a loaf tin. Beat the eggs, coconut oil and eggs together until homogeneous, then add the grated courgettes, vanilla extract, raisins, walnuts, cardamon and ginger, mixing well. Lastly gradually add the flour, ground almonds, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and continue mixing until you obtain an even mixture. Transfer the mixture to the loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes, or until a fork comes out clean.