Rachel, husband Chris and her bother-in-law Andrew run Ballintaggart Farm in Perthshire
February was a record month for us and March is off to a very busy start here at Ballintaggart. Despite the recent snow, we are grateful for the extra light which seems to extend our days as we all wish for extra hours in the day.
Mornings are fuelled by porridge with the current twist of bright rhubarb and fiery ginger for anyone who lingers in the kitchen long enough! We were delighted to be part of VisitScotland’s The Porridge Grand Tour of Scotland showing how delicious and versatile this Scottish staple can be.
Garden
At the farm, we’ve been working in the garden. We took a late chance to prune the orchard so it’s looking a lot tidier and should mean a more manageable and higher quality crop later in the year.
We’ve painted the new shed and added a further six beds to our kitchen garden – it took a couple of long days filling them by hand! We have notebooks full of planting and will mainly be growing herbs and salads, a couple of vegetables and (possibly most excitingly for me) a wee cutting garden.
Artichokes
This month, we’re all about our artichokes. Home grown (rather proudly), we are enjoying them in soups and purees, griddled and crisped. The different textures showcase just how versatile and tasty this knobbly vegetable can be and we’ve even dared our children to eat them disguised as “witch’s fingers”! Our favourite way to hide from the cold or reward ourselves after a walk is with a marmalade loaf cake – a zesty, hearty and completely delicious bake which simply adds a couple of large spoons of marmalade to the sponge mixture and is drizzled with a simple orange juice/icing sugar glaze.
Music to cook to
Michael Jackson – Number Ones guaranteed to make you send emails, clean up after your children, make porridge or turn a guest bedroom at twice your usual pace… and that’s just me!
Instagram: @ballintaggartfarm