if you are intrested in the cookbook email me at
jakesmaje@hotmail.co.uk

I spent part of Sunday with some friend's who have just taken over an allotment next to Hampstead Heath. It was bitterly cold but cups of tea and bacon sandwiches made in the allotment shed kept us going. They have dug the ground and covered it with horse manure. The next step is to plant some apple and plum trees. We discussed varieties and they settled on Ashmead's Kernel and Bramley apples plus Farleigh damson and a Golden Gage plum. It will be interesting to compare the progress of their trees with the ones I am planning to plant here in the Mendips.

I noticed this on the Guardian Food Blog (http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/food/). Chez Pim a US Food Blog organises a food raffle to raise funds for the UN World Food Programme. I don't think Food Frome has enough readers to participate yet, but maybe next year. More info here http://www.chezpim.com/blogs/2007/11/menu-for-hope-4.html

Using the Drupal Blog API from Word 2007

John teased me about the seasonality of my rhubarb recipe at our website training evening, but hey! Julian has e-mailed to say that his sister in Australia made it yesterday with rhubarb from her garden.

I really liked Peter's idea that we should record the various ways in which we are dealing with the unpredictabilities of climate change. So diferent planting dates, protection, varieties. Yes, we really ought to do this, Peter. How?

We lifted our artichokes today. From planting 4 tubers we got about 2 buckets full of good size tubers. They are the non knobbly variety which will make it much easier to prepare them for eating.I was so impressed with the returns, I reckon I will save quite a few to plant next year.

I make a point of never working on a Sunday, but I went to a Food Frome web-site training course at Tadhill last Sunday and it was great. Very enjoyable and really instant results - see this web-site if you don't believe me. I'm a convicted technophobe, so it was just amazing to find that the magic isn't really magic at all but just common sense and a bit of care and attention.

Between times, we talked trees, goats, quinces, Sustainable Frome, Slower Frome and other such important topics.

Here with Julian and others learning how to stick stuff on the new Frome Food website.... exciting stuff!