So, here we are, one year on and about a million things have happened both to us as a family and to the farm. However instead of blurting it all out in one post like an over excited friend you haven't seen for... Continue Reading →, Now the weather is getting warmer we have had a chance to explore our local woods and my oh my are they amazing! We have discovered that Ash wood burns well unseasoned, which is lucky as we have also sadly learnt that ash dieback is closing in on us and that, by all accounts, resistance is futile. Lavish in luxury with Barefoot Dream's new jacquard animal print throw made with Barefoot Dreams warm and sumptuous cozychic knit. Any combination of fruit will do but a firm favourite recently has been Yeo Valley... Continue Reading →, Having now tasted my cordial, here is the simple and super tasty recipe:Ingredients30 Elderflower heads3 pints boiling water900g caster sugar50g citric acid2 unwaxed oranges sliced3 unwaxed lemons sliced1. Bonjour being able to hoover and dry my hair at the same time. This does of course mean that someone else has to deal with the ensuing tantrums but it is amazing what an IKEA breakfast can do to soothe the mind of a distraught three year old. Yoghurt is cold. I have yet to find out more about it but from what we have heard anecdotally it belonged to. Add in the sage/poultry seasoning; cook for 1 … Counting Sheep by Night. Kitchen tip: I use these bowls and this pan to make this recipe. Continue Reading →, Well well well. Peanut Butter Layer – Combine the peanut butter, butter, and vanilla in a glass bowl and melt in the microwave for 90 seconds. Our work is underpinned by our … Welcome to the ability to use the washing machine and the tumble dryer AT THE SAME TIME. We rejoiced at the realisation that we live 3.5 miles form the site of Glastonbury Festival. These are the first things I would tell anyone about to take on a project like ours: 1.Assume you have a rat problem, before you even move in. 1 stick butter. That is slightly unfair - Big G's speciality is buying and selling vehicles so when he says that he can buy a digger and sell it for a profit once we are done with it I am inclined to believe him. Then there was Scottish Power who we contacted to try and get a meter. This is how it is with the Farm. This weeks experiment will be... Continue Reading →, Today has been wonderfully sun filled and indulgent. This is useful if, like us, you want to generate as much clean energy as possible. After recently taking it upon myself to bake a mountain (literal not figurative) of lemon drizzle cakes for a party of 40 I was asked this week to bake an egg-free birthday cake for a neighbour who is allergic to eggs.The irony of this is that baking is in no way my strong point, my... Continue Reading →, ...and to celebrate, Little Man and I went to the pictures. We have learnt that you need to provide special homes for bats when you want to disturb their peace by turning their home into your home. I took my boys down to Brighton last night for Komedia's 20th Birthday party and what a great night! Cereal is cold. by Marybeth. Barefoot in the kitchen is morphing into something else. Getting ready for Glastonbury has this week consisted mainly of making curtains. However I have now seen so many, usually level headed people extolling the virtues of overnight oats that I... Continue Reading →, To date this blog has been an unswerving battery of positivity. However, we get to wake up every morning and listen to the birds, to walk out and drink our morning coffee in a farmyard and picnic in a beautiful glade where once there was a quarry, all without leaving home which is quite frankly, perfect. Well gnocchi at least. There are twinkling Christmas lights EVERYWHERE! Like our mammoth 2500 mile holiday if the only prize we recognise is the end goal then all the time in between, all the delays and set backs, will only frustrate us. Save to Favorites. So strong was my aversion to exercise that I was the... Continue Reading →, For the last five months I have been on a mission to get my health and fitness back after a far more sedentary pregnancy than I had planned. Feeds: Posts Comments. So in little under 8 weeks we should know if we can turn. Meanwhile we are clearing the yard of rubble and making some paths in the quarry to give what is essentially a glade some shape and structure. international title: Barefoot in the Kitchen: original title: Con la pata quebrada: country: Spain: Breakfast. This is just a very quick (and to be honest not particularly interesting) update on what I am quickly learning is an unapologetically slow process. I used Trader Joe's Tilapia, which you can find in the frozen seafood section. This time last... Continue Reading →, Since I last posted we have mainly been on holiday (get us), taking some much needed time out to travel across Europe for a friend's Birthday in Sweden. On the plus side the machinery obsessed boys in this household are in seventh heaven with a digger, tipper, tractor and two dumpers to play, sorry work, with. When I say infested I really mean it...after catching two of the little darlings in my car we realised that thanks to some half eaten strawberries (toddler) and an open window (me) we had had rats TRAPPED IN MY CAR for two weeks. We have held the first of what we hope will become our annual Christmas yard party, We spent a week, in a caravan during a heatwave with a newborn baby, a kitten and all the doors and windows shut, Removed the concrete walls of the silage clamp - which incidentally lies on top of the ruins of an old house which I will endeavour to find out more about in 2018, We have finally chosen the tree for the tyre swing, We have acquired and learnt how to use loads of exciting machinery. Cranberry Pepper Jam Recipe. We had a friendly squatter who ended up care taking the land for us after we had roof tiles stolen an before we were able to move on site. It's been well and truly chalked up to experience and will no doubt become exaggerated as we tell and retell the story of how we built our dream home, drunkenly regaling anyone who will listen with the ups and downs and the "darling do you remember when those idiots turned up and couldn't even climb up a ladder!! I cannot possibly remember them all and would bore you all to death if I could, so here is a somewhat odd and totally incomplete list of things that have occurred down on the farm: We made it to ten years together which given the previous point is a not inconsiderable. On a near daily basis one of us will discover a new view of Glastonbury Tor and will wax lyrical to the other about it despite our land being pretty much the only land in this part of Somerset that does not actually have a view of the Tor...watch this space for Tor-viewing-treehouse-construction news. I cannot over emphasise how wonderful it is to watch the land awake and grow after the winter. We as a family spend a lot of thyme there. And so, in a bid to also up my green intake I decided to try and replicate the... Continue Reading →, My healthy September continues with these two amazing recipes from Veggie Runners and My Darling Lemon Thyme. Or the second man they sent out whose ladder was not long enough to reach the meter. Your insta feed is full of it. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. We have met some wonderful new people many of whom had their first spliff/drink/snog in our quarry. When Oliver asked for waffles this morning for breakfast, I had enough time to say yes! BAREFOOT IN THE KITCHEN. Particularly if you're living through a process. As I write this I am sitting in the caravan with the television on at a normal volume, not overly loud to be audible over the hum of the generator. This fabulous throw is a fun piece to add to any home decor. and a space to entertain in! Here are the six slightly more useful thing that we have learnt so far. "Barefoot in the Kitchen" Right Foot (dance step quilt square) #4 by Kay Jay (Stitched in Stone) January 2021 I know a man who fell in love with a woman with a Snow Shovel. All that changed for me this week when, after being totally inspired by what the clever folk at. It was the perfect way to idle away the... Continue Reading →, After three months of FaceTime only contact this week it was time for little man to finally visit the Norwegian family. Having also learnt about the antioxidant power of raspberries I made this quick and delicious smoothie. They are great as a post training protein boost or just as a sweet snack... Continue Reading →, My wonderful friend and bootcamp instructor Kate came round for lunch today and provided the perfect excuse for a healthy lunch. Growing out a hairstyle or growing a baby takes 400 times longer when you live it because you don't see... Continue Reading →, As I write this I am sitting in the caravan with the television on at a normal volume, not overly loud to be audible over the hum of the generator. In other words it’s right up my Strasser! We do not have endless pots of money to pay a planning consultant to negotiate their way through the murky council speak and endless 'further requirements' so we are learning how it all works as we go. We have registered as smallholders and are soon to be the proud owners of sheep and chickens. Whilst we are still very much at the start of Project Farm we have learnt loads in the last six months. There were the guys who turned the pole installation into a whole days worth of 'work' like this: (They also took my help yourself to a biscuit very literally and ate a whole packet of digestives!). The plan was to have the fourth post be about a delicious, healthy meal that I slaved over for my family to enjoy. 4.Move in in the winter - it will make the summer seem that much more magical when it arrives. Drinks. It has now been one year since we moved on to the farm. It is becoming more like fully togged up in slippers in the kitchen as the next phase of this little life begins...but let's start from the beginning. A trap, some poison, a full car valet and the fastidious removal of all possible food later and we seem to have sorted the problem (, crosses everything and tries really hard to forget that this ever happened), 2.Don't pay a planning consultant until you have joined the NFU, It turns out that even in rural Somerset, where there is little doubt that your planning application relates to redundant farm buildings, the advice given by a local planning consultant may not include useful things like, 'a lot of what you want to do is probably permitted development so will entail far less paper work and far far less in planning application fees to the council.'. But frankly I don't care about any of that any more. Stir to combine, it should come … As a result our planning notice is now displayed for all to see on our gate: This may not sound like much but it really does mean that we know when a planning decision will be made (it's the 30th September if you are interested but don't feel bad if this little foray into planning bureaucracy makes you want to rip your teeth out; I feel your pain). No more sugar, wheat, dairy or processed foods; much less coffee and wine on occasions only.Clean eating works on the idea that if it hasn't been around naturally for millennia... Continue Reading →, Sometimes I lament how infrequently I make it to London to visit shows and galleries and yet frequently I have to remind myself that even when I worked for Tate I managed to see an astoundingly small amount of art. Curved, chic and unique, our Barefoot Caravans will accommodate you in style, wherever you dream to go. Since I last posted we have mainly been on holiday (get us), taking some much needed time out to travel across Europe for a friend's Birthday in Sweden. That's fine too. It is becoming more like fully togged up in slippers in the kitchen as the next phase of this little life begins...but let's start from the beginning. Parker's Fish and Chips (Barefoot Contessa Family Style) 3 pounds fresh cod fillets (try and get as even a thickness as possible) Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest (one small lemon) Finally, as the truck Lady Priscilla gets closer to completion I have given them some much needed TLC.Lady Priscilla can now... Continue Reading →, When it comes to getting my five a day I'm pretty good at vegetables but fruit is most definitely a weak point.With that in mind and summer fruits in abundance I have taken to getting my fruit in smoothie form. The absolute best bit for me was her interview with Caitlin Moran. Our little corner of Somerset is besieged by fog for much of the autumn and winter. Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set it over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, until completely melted and smooth. That was 44 days ago. And so it transpired that as I lay in the bath flicking through fashion magazines, torturing myself with images of skinny models whilst my body geared up for baby number two, Big G was in a bidding war with a consortium of festival folk; a war that ultimately we won, much to our shock and delight, on our very last bid. More on that another time. The BEST damming stream. The Three Little Words We Have Been Longing to Hear, A Foray into the Mad World of Overnight Oats, Water Water Everywhere…Except In The Taps, Three Reasons Why This Is Not The Hell You Are Imagining, The Foodie Bugle: A Little Hidden Gem in Bath, Seven Course Banquet in a Field in Northamptonshire, Beetroot patties and fruit, yoghurt and oat smoothie, A lighthearted blog gets heavy…for a little bit. Our barns had been uninhabited for at least twenty years so all the flora and fauna had free reign to grow and do and they pleased. Now just chilling! Tomorrow morning I will be able to walk from my bed into my bathroom and have a hot shower, with the light on, ... Continue Reading →, As summer slides into autumn and the new season gilds the trees with orange it has, somehow, been one year since we thought we didn't stand a chance of getting our Dream Farm. It also reviews the history of this country. A modern British classic, with retro styling, the Barefoot caravan has been beautifully designed, inside and out. When it fells like the council will not let us have windows for fear of damaging the integrity of the building, the balance is redressed by a call to the NFU (my own personal heroes) who send us endless information to arm ourselves with. There are over 1500 recipes on this website, all made from scratch as simply as possible. ...pregnant, winter walks, my first trip to the Lake District, promenade music at Wells Cathedral, delicious pre-baby food from The Ethicurian, our lovely boy, first smiles and spring arrives. Sometimes it's hard to see progress. Be gone days of not being able to buy a whole week's worth of fresh produce for fear that unrefrigerated, the food will go off before it can be eaten. Tomorrow morning I will be able to walk from my bed into my bathroom and have a hot shower, with the light on, without first having to put my wellies on and go outside to turn the generator on. In reality it is the best thing we have ever done and I would urge anyone to move heaven and earth to make your dreams a reality. Buy Barefoot in the Kitchen: Bible Readings and Reflections for Mothers by Stibbe, Alie (ISBN: 9781841013466) from Amazon's Book Store. We love both. is as our quarry walls have some fragments of fossilised tritylodonts. Just a few more last minute touches then we're ready for a week in a field! For the album by The Dollyrots, see Barefoot and Pregnant. Her horror... Continue Reading →, After a frankly inexcusable break from this blog, I find myself in the unenviable position of having to summarise a whole year of activity in the space of one post. Monday, September 12, 2011. I can now start a generator every time and my fire-lighting skills have come on leaps and bounds whilst Big G has learnt that it is impossible to build a farm single handedly with two children in tow as well as the not entirely unrelated skill of getting out into the yard and onto the digger before the digger obsessed toddler awakes. See more ideas about food, recipes, yummy food. Mmmmm I made your bread today. Rather than try to do justice to their brilliance, listen to it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01ycqx3While you do... Continue Reading →. 3,541 likes. I realise that this is not a great start but I am being deadly serious. We have been like bears, hibernating in our cave and waiting for the warmer weather to seep into our bones. TWO WEEKS*! Kitchen Tip: I use this pot, this pectin, these jars and these jars when making this recipe. Having finally got planning... Continue Reading →. Not very large walls but beautiful Rock Farm stone walls. Pre order your Mother’s Day botanical cake now!! After much taste testing (mostly good, occasionally horrid) I ended up with two recipes that I wanted to share with you. Rinse the elderflower to wash and get rid of any bugs.2. So it was with joy that we went to check out Hauser and Wirth's latest... Continue Reading →, Last month, whilst the family were over from Norway for two weeks we were lucky enough to get a tour round Westcombe Dairy from Tom Calver. ...or, to be more specific, when life gives you summer make a dumper truck paddling pool, invite some friends over and drink some wine. 1 talking about this. Small but perfectly formed, I think it is fair to say that I will be spending a lot of time in this one... Continue Reading →, Firstly let me apologise. Condiments. Paula Dean. I made it last night and it wasn't half bad even if I do say so myself. Instructions In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, cook and crumble the sausage and ground beef over medium-high heat. Barefoot in the kitchen. We continue to be besieged by plumbing problems down here on the farm. We have learnt and continue to learn lots about the planning process, primarily that it is most akin to dating (if I remember dating accurately) complete with mysterious etiquette, politics, goodies and baddies and obscure rules that only become apparent after you have bulldozed your way through them with good intentions. Whilst we are still very much at... Continue Reading →, Well it has been a little while hasn't it? Barefoot Caravans. In a skillet, saute the onions and celery in butter until tender. In a large saucepan bring the water to the boil. I have learned that having the Christmas spirit in our home takes planning and some work on my part, but I wasn't sure what to do about it this year. 1 can cream of chicken soup. They like dynamite, We have bats (common pipistrelle thankfully and not anything rarer). You know, the bit that seems to take weeks and makes you want to the solicitors yourself and delivering said document in person? ).I have also given up sugar this week so with sugar craving in full swing I decided to make a leftovers lunch.... Continue Reading →, These are just a few of the sculptures at Ekeberg Sculpture Park in Oslo. I really have surpassed myself with this one. We were so convinced that we didn't stand a chance, despite the begging and borrowing, that I opted to stay at home whilst Big G went to play our hand and congratulate the lucky new owners with a grace usually reserved for actors losing out on a Best Actor award at the Oscars. Glastonbury Festival is our deadline for the completed works but we took her into Somerset for a mini festival this weekend and she's looking pretty good.My summer wardrobe is all about glitter and sparkle (and... Continue Reading →, I have had Rachel Demuth's recipe for beetroot and potato patties for ages and finally got round to making them tonight. All Recipes. In the meantime here are some pictures from Glastonbury, our first with the boy and truly fabulous as ever. We wake with the mantra of "we will soon have power, we will soon have power" and we go to sleep muttering "Its ok, tomorrow is another day, its ok, tomorrow is another day". 3.Get the more terrier-like/less busy one of you to be in charge of chasing people for reports, Because it turns out that everything takes for ever. Ingredients 1 banana Handful frozen... Continue Reading →, Four weeks into healthy September and I am desperately in need of healthy snack alternatives. Growing out a hairstyle or growing a baby takes 400 times longer when you live it because you don't see the daily, incremental nudges that stack up to make a whole lot of change or an entire human in miniature form. Save to Favorites. I have a love for cooking. And Day. Baby induced radio silence is however over and there is so much to say about project farm that I could write for days, baby and toddler willing. Desserts. We have had and dismissed 4000** business ideas. "'s, because, in the words of 1990's number 1 chart topping pop mega stars Snap, I'VE GOT THE POWER. Once we realised that we... Continue Reading →, It's back to the old blog style a little bit today with a return to food and cafes. synopsis. Life is an adventure! Good leftovers make yo' tongue fly outta yo' mouth and smack yo' brains out." My decidedly out of shape body was not altogether helped by a major chocolate habit that I cultivated over the summer (seriously, my dedication to the cause... Continue Reading →, If you had told me this time last year that we would just have hosted Christmas, in any of our barns, with all the family, frankly I would have laughed in your face and then looked wistful for a while, remembering the lovely table and centrally heated kitchen in our old house. There was our lovely contact at Western Power Distribution who insisted on turning up to every site visit in his brogues and seemed to take every Friday as holiday as well as finishing work just after lunch on most days. For a life-long vegetarian this was a stretch until talking to some friends who live in a beautiful Comer down in Devon. There would be accolades about my cooking prowess. We don't see the rate at which our children grow until someone shrieks "look how tall he is now" across a room. The trip was amazing, taking us through Northern France (full of Brits), Belgium (they drive pretty fast), The Netherlands (Utrecht is a treasure), Germany (watching the harvest happen around us), Denmark (Copenhagen was windy but lovely) and Sweden (paradise on earth) and importantly was as much about the journey there and back as it was about the four days on Gotland (please don't ever go, you will only spoil its empty perfection) with dear friends. We thought we had when I wrote my last post but it seemed there was still a map which was to the wrong scale, although how it has taken three months to realise this is anyone's guess. At the end of our not-so-grand tour, Hayley looked at us in horror and said "you do realise you've just reeled off twenty different business ideas"! Sometimes this feels empowering and positive, as if we really could do it all ourselves. This is just a very quick (and to be honest not particularly interesting) update on what I am quickly learning is an unapologetically slow process. First of all congratulations and thank you to all of you who were baited by this most boring of post titles! When it is foggy we cannot see any of the barns from our caravan. From the eco-loveliness of Soulshine... Continue Reading →, It has been a while (seven months in fact) since my last planning update but we finally have another one. Madness at the amount of land we have taken on. Barefoot in the Kitchen Adventures in Cooking and Food. It's all part of the journey and we ARE loving it. I really have surpassed myself with this one. You are more resilient and it will be more brilliant than you think! Tons of things to write about, exciting foodie outings and new recipes. Main Dishes. Now don't get all excited folks. My husband who has a hard time eating anything he knows is gluten free that shouldn't be (like bread) usually won't even try a bite. The one thing I wanted to avoid was moving on Christmas eve and we were feeling distinctly un-festive this time last year. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon at all. What with packing up our house and moving to the land it was all I could do to get presents for everyone let along spread any festive fun. "Barefoot and pregnant" is a figure of speech most commonly associated with the idea that women should not work outside the home and should have many children during their reproductive years. See more ideas about recipes, food, cooking recipes. Soft Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies 5. We are open & the sun is shining !!!! ... Continue Reading →, It's been a little while but really that is because not a lot has happened in the dreary winter days since my last post. * I would like to officially apologise for my over use of capitals and exclamation marks in this post but, I mean, RATS!. I may not have the cinematographic references to give a full blown review but I can tell you that Tracks, the true story of a woman who walked nearly 2000 miles across Australia with four wild camels and her dog, is exquisite.Mia Wasikowska plays... Continue Reading →, Bath in Fashion is now in full swing but with little man in tow and a summer of festivals to get ready for it looks sadly as if it is going to have to deal without me this year. My my my it's been a long time since I updated anyone who's interested on the progress down on (still-working-title-must-actually-get-on-and-register-our-address) Rock Farm. The one thing I wanted to avoid was moving on Christmas eve and we were feeling distinctly un-festive this time last year. 1 cup diced celery. I now realise that we should be looking at Project Farm in much the same way. The phrase "barefoot and pregnant" seems to have been …