Tuscany Tipple

19/01/2016

WINE | In March, two viticulturists hope to further the case for “ground truthing.”

28/12/2015

21/12/2015

In heralding the adoption of the Paris agreement, President Barack Obama said this agreement sends a powerful signal that the world is firmly committed to a low-carbon future. And that has the potential to unleash investment and innovation in clean energy at a scale we have never seen before. How...

03/12/2015

17/11/2015

28/10/2015

26/08/2015

Way to go! http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/25/woman-downs-whole-bottle-of-cognac-at-beijing-airport-security-control

Woman drank contents of bottle after being told she could not carry it in her hand luggage, only to be prevented from flying because she was too drunk

25/06/2015

29/01/2015

one of my favourite wild foods to harvest in the summer! :)

Considered a common w**d to many, it has more beneficial Omega 3 fatty acids than many fish oils and one of the highest levels of vitamin A among all leafy green vegetables.

29/01/2015

Despite not posting on here for a while we seem to be getting new likes. As we are now spending more time at our new project in Northern Ireland I tend to post more on our page there. You are welcome to follow our adventures there: https://www.facebook.com/permaferry

A land based project experimenting with and spreading permaculture

28/09/2014

About ten years ago, a man approached me after a presentation that I had given on wild edibles. Obviously quite agitated, he stuttered a few syllables before launching a frantic diatribe, “You need to warn people that there’s some edible plants that look exactly like deadly poisonous plants, and the…

24/09/2014

Governments must shift subsidies and research funding from agro-industrial monoculture to small farmers using 'agroecological' methods, according to the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. And as Nafeez Ahmed notes, her call coincides with a new agroecology initiative within the UN's Food…

14/09/2014

27/08/2014

In 1976, 65-year-old Stamatis Moraitis was diagnosed with lung cancer and given less than a year to live. After several doctors confirmed the diagnosis, Moraitis refused treatment and moved back to the Greek Island where he was raised to be buried with his ancestors. He reconnected with his faith walking to a tiny chapel near his home. His childhood friends began visiting and they talked for hours, sharing a bottle or two of wine. Moraitis planted vegetables in a small garden even though he thought he wouldn’t be around to harvest them. In the evening, he walked to the local tavern to play dominoes with his friends. Decades later, on a trip to visit his children in the U.S., he tried to return to his doctors to see why he was still alive. "My doctors were all dead," he said. Moraitis passed away at the age of 102, 36 years after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer

25/08/2014

31/05/2014

As part of the Maritime Festival in Portaferry on Ballyhenry Island

22/05/2014

Discovered something new: Impatiens glandulifera, also known as Himalayan balsam, Policeman's helmet, Jewelw**d... and many other names. A bloody nuisance according to official sources in Northern Ireland. It's very invasive due to the fact that if you touch the ripe seedpods they literally explode and spread their seeds some distance. Those same seeds are edible though and apparently very tasty. The leaves and young shoots can also be eaten, but should be cooked. It's also very pretty.

22/05/2014

Red Campion, silene dioica. Unfortunately I can't find any references to it's edibility, unlike it's relatives bladder or white campion. Spotted those in Scotland near the coast.

06/05/2014

Another feedback to Sundays wildfood walk from Flea and Rich: "We just wanted to say thanks again for such a lovely day - it was really good fun and informative too! We'll have to do it again in the autumn!"

04/05/2014

Feedback to today's wild food walk by Celia: "Thank you so much for a very enjoyable day. I learnt a lot and the food was delicious. I have been telling our Italian friends in the village about it and I think you may have a market for teaching them one day. Please keep me posted about future foraging walks and I'll publicise them to my friends."