Hedgerow Cottage

26/10/2024

Busy Saturday with Afternoon Tea on vintage china. Changed it up this week with a selection of wraps as well as sandwiches. Tried out a couple of new petit fours - mini fruit tartlet and lemon meringue tartlet. I think Ady regretting being chief taster before going out on a bike ride with his mates!!

Finished picking all our green tomatoes from the greenhouse and fallen apples in the orchard ready for a weekend chutney extravaganza! Today was Spicy Chutney with chilli. The secret is all in the preparation, chopping about 3 kgs of tomatoes, onions, apples and courgettes into tiny pieces. Then 3 hours of patiently watching over it whilst the magic and alchemy happens. Finally the satisfaction of putting lids on jars! Probably my favourite job of the year.

25/10/2024

Having just passed home check, we are looking forward to welcoming mini pony 'Pebbles' to her new home next week. She is coming from Munchkins Miniature Shetland rescue in Devon. There's a fund-raising event on 30 November in Weston Super Mare for this amazing charity - if you are interested, please do go along and join in the fun and entertainment, it's all for a great cause! Piccies of Pebbles to come soon!

Munchkins Miniature Shetland Rescue

21/07/2024

Super proud of Adrian. He did a great job being interviewed on Radio Bristol today by Steve Yabsley. Amongst other things they discussed Adrian's book 'Wild Food & Mushroom Foraging, an essential guide for the UK', currently has a 5 star rating on Amazon. Participants in our forays (and the wild food & cookery days Adrian runs at award-winning cookery school ValeHouseKitchen) can get the book at a discounted price of just £10. Here's a link to the interview https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0j7lhvq - starts at time stamp 1:22

08/07/2024

Almost there! Solar PV to be fitted tomorrow! We've been amazed at how our solar thermal panels on the garage have reduced our use of oil for hot water, so we're hoping this will take things a step further! Being on top of a hill means wind & rain, BUT when there's sun, we get it all day! Not to mention amazing sunsets!

21/05/2024

Proud wife moment - in addition to the raving reviews for our forays, Adrian's new book "Wild Food & Mushroom Foraging" has just received another 5 star review on Amazon.

Wild Food & Mushroom Foraging: An Essential Guide for the UK

01/05/2024

Wow, what incredibly history, mystery and magic we have here, right on our doorstep!

Aveline’s Hole has been recognised as the largest Mesolithic burial cemetery in Northern Europe, dating from 10,200 and 10,400 B.C. It is estimated that the cave served as the final resting place for around sixty individuals.

The site was meticulously sealed between burials and utilised repeatedly as a cemetery for approximately a century. A number of perforated animal teeth, red ochre and seven pieces of fossil ammonite, suggest that some of the bodies were adorned. Can be found at Burrington Combe in Somerset, England, and watch out for the goats......

https://ruralhistoria.com/2024/04/03/peoples-have-been-roaming-our-countryside-for-900000-years/

18/04/2024

A great opportunity for a last minute space on a masterclass with the amazing Steve Lamb at Vale House Kitchen near Bath (Adrian teaches the foraging courses at VHK, it's a fantastic venue). Highly recommended!

1 space left on Sundays Smoking and Curing Masterclass with the amazing Steven Lamb - link below - come and join us for an incredible hands on day and learn some incredible new culinary skills (along with some new butchery ones as well….)

https://valehousekitchen.co.uk/course/smoking-and-curing-masterclas-s-21042024/

18/04/2024

🌿 What a great Spring Wild Food Foray we enjoyed last weekend with outstanding feedback from our lovely guests including four who also came last year! 🌿

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Brilliant teaching”, “Lovely relaxed natural style”
“Excellent, will book again”, “Look forward to the next time”
“Even better than anticipated”
“Wonderfully funny and knowledgeable”

🌿 Wild garlic and nettles were key features of our spring foragers lunch - nettle soup with wild garlic oil and cream, wild garlic focaccia and a very special dessert with sorrel… secret recipe! Lots of other yummy food including a fabulously moist and delicious home-made Somerset Apple Dappy cake with tea/coffee to end the day! 🌿

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Delicious!”, “Perfect”, “Amazing”
“Really excellent, just the right amount of everything”
“Renee - excellent chef” (feedback from a chef on the foray!)

📖 If you can’t make it to a foray with us, you can still find abundance in every season with Adrian’s new book "Wild Food & Mushroom Foraging: An Essential Guide for the UK" available on Amazon in paperback at £10.99 or Kindle £2.99 or pick up a signed copy from us at Blagdon for £10, just send a message to arrange collection. 📖

Our next forays are in the autumn. Sign up to our newsletter if you’d like to be the first to find out about event dates and news. Places are limited http://eepurl.com/hd0dPH

We also arrange private and corporate forays, just drop us a line to find out more.

Lastly, we are delighted to receive a 5-star food hygiene assessment today!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wild-Food-Mushroom-Foraging-Essential/dp/B0CZTXT35C/




https://www.hedgerowcottage.co.uk/home/activities/adrian-boots/

Adrian Boots Adrian Boots is a landscape ecologist, researcher, tutor and adviser with a passionate interest in wild food, nature conservation and the history of the landscape. With a degree in Geography & Environmental Management and a Masters in Research, he was previously a university lecturer &....

09/02/2024

🌿 Spring Wild Food Foray - Sun 14 April 2024! 🌿
Spring Flowers, Leafy Greens (and possibly some fungi too!)

👉 Book your place by calling 07787 446615 or email [email protected].

🌿 From luscious wild garlic in the spring to fabulous fungi in the autumn, learn how to find abundance in every season with expert landscape ecologist and forager, Adrian Boots 🌿

🌿 Itinerary:
Arrival, tea/coffee & biscuits. Introduction & H&S.
Foray across fields, picking, discussing and tasting as we go.
Back to base – Light foragers lunch
Short wild food cookery demo. Q&A.
finishing with tea/coffee & biscuits. 🌿
£65 per person; £5 discount for previous attendees.
Location: Blagdon, Mendips
Link to Adrian's bio https://www.hedgerowcottage.co.uk/home/activities/adrian-boots/