And if you have some leftover paint…

And a stencil…

Go to town!

Way cheaper than an actual bag. I believe.

Chain link fence should protect it

from being stolen.

...Right?

found: here

U looking at ME?

Ellie with attitude. Soft box someplace to camera left fitted with a 500w Elinchrom.

Why Do You Blog? Take the Survey!

Earlier this week someone asked me why I blog.  The question has really had me doing some thinking and I thought it might be fun to ask blog readers the same question.  If you have a few moments, please click here to take a quick survey.   I'm looking forward to compiling the responses and sharing them here on Jojo's Joys.  

'The Alternative Kitchen Garden'

I came across mention of this book some time ago, either via my internet or kitchen garden magazine reading and made a mental note to look out for it on my bookshop travels. As usual though the shelves of local book shops yielded only the works of television gardening personalities or those of famous horticulturalists. This is one of my favourite gripes as it often makes it impossible to have a peek inside books by authors outside the mainstream and to decide whether to buy. It makes me think how difficult it must be for new gardening authors to get their titles on the shelves of Waterstones and the like. By one of those quirky chances of fate, I read on the UK Veg Forum that Emma was offering bloggers the chance to review her book. I contacted Emma through her blog and was delighted to be offered a copy to review.

If you are looking for a serious comprehensive 'how to' tome this is not the book for you,although having said that there are still lots of useful growing hints, advice and information within its pages. There are though plenty of other titles which cover the whens and how tos of edible growing in greater depth. Emma's book comes across to me as a very personal cornucopia of thoughts and observations on an eclectic range of topics. She touches upon a number of subjects under each letter of the alphabet and writes engagingly on various crops, terms, living creatures, techniques, processes, organisations and places. The book is is made up of independent but linking bite sized snippets which you can read at your own leisure. There are two fundamental rules underlying' The Alternative Kitchen Garden' these being "be kind to the environment and have some fun in your garden", both of which resonate with me.

There is not only much useful information for the just starting out kitchen gardener but also food for thought for somebody like me who now has a few years of allotment growing behind them. I had often wondered what the bead like structures on the end of my French bean roots were when I pulled them out at the end of the season - well now I know why they appear and what their purpose in life is! I have come across new to me crops such as the jelly melon which I am tempted to grow in the future. At the back of the book there is an extensive directory of blogs, podcasts, recommended reading, suppliers, gardens and organisations some of which are unfamiliar and have been noted for further exploration.

 My only minor quibble was that there were a number of unfilled pages throughout the book, which could potentially have contained more of Emma's thoughts on certain subjects. What I especially liked about the book is that it is written by somebody who obviously enjoys growing and experimenting. All the observations are first hand and a sense of humour pops up throughout. On the subject of  hens Emma writes " If you really want to make your chickens jump for joy, then open a tin of (sugar and salt free) sweetcorn. It's not an everyday food (it goes straight to the thighs!)but it is the perfect chicken treat".

Emma has recently posted on her blog that she has a new book due to be published in June this year,entitled 'The Allotment Pocket Bible', which I am really looking forward to reading perhaps as I take a break for refreshments at the lottie this summer.

Death and Decay are part of the natural order of things.

Another Great Class at Viking Cooking School

It was a marathon class but so much fun!   The class is called The One-Day French Culinary Basics that includes the preparation of:

Savory Cheese Soufflé
Béchamel Sauce

Seafood Crêpes

Bouquet Garni

Beef Bourguignon

Classic French Bread

Plain Short Pastry

Tarte Tatin

Last weekend was particularly beautiful so it was especially hard to go through with an indoor activity but once the class got started there was no time to think about any place besides the kitchen. 

My cooking teammates were Emily and Steve, a dad and daughter who enjoy cooking together and they were so much fun to work with.  

Since taking the class, I've made french loaves once and my husband's made them twice!  Nothing beats a delicious crusty loaf of bread, fresh from the oven.  

 I loved preparing the beef bourguignon, seafood crepes (I love crepes!), 

 and the tarte tartin 

but my favorite was the cheese souffle.  

It was so beautiful to see the beautiful puffed souffles coming out of the oven.  

After a day of cooking,  we all sat down to enjoy a wonderful meal.  Of course I got home and my husband asked, "so, what's for dinner?"  

IF your name was Otto…AND you were a kid…

You could live here...cool light, eh?

Or conversely if your name was Marie Olsson Nylander and you lived in Sweden

You could live...here

Yes please.

In a house by the sea... you are renovating with your husband and 3 kids.

Today….you can call me Marie.

What?? A girl can dream…no?

Carry on.

See more here