Christmas Wreath Workshop – Saturday 2nd December
We are running Christmas Wreath workshops on Saturday 2nd December. The afternoon session is sold out but we have spaces on the morning session 10.30-12.30.
Why not get a group of family and friends together and come and get in the festive spirit with some mince pies, mulled fruit punch (non-alcoholic), music and a Natural Christmas Wreath to adorn your front door. Only £35pp
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Scarecrow Trail at Cliveden
The National Trust team at Cliveden invited Nature’s Haven to create a scarecrow for their trail that took place over the October half term. We had a great time designing, collecting supplies and putting the scarecrows together. We were asked to consider the theme of Autumn and give our Scarecrows a back story. The National Trust team created an information board for us.
We got rave reviews from the team at Cliveden and visitors, and we’ve been asked to participate again next year . . . we can’t wait.
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Honouring the Humble Potato
On a rather chilly, wet November evening we got together to honour the humble potato. We planted up one small bed in the summer and a few months later, we dug a whopping 8kg of potatoes. We gathered our home grown leeks, chives and thyme and cooked up a huge pot of Leek and Potato Soup with a side order of crispy smashed potatoes . . . just perfect for an autumnal evening.
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Recipes
Leek & Potato Soup (serves 4)
Ingredients:
1 x onion
2 x medium potatoes
3 x leeks
1 x stock cube – vegetable or chicken
Tbsp. of vegetable oil
Knob of butter
Handful of chives
Cream – optional
Peel and dice the onion and gently fry in oil. Peel the potatoes and chop in to 2cm cubes. Add the potatoes to the pan, along with a generous knob of butter and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, wash and chop the leeks keeping as much of the green tops on as possible. Add to the pan and cook for 5 minutes with the onion and potatoes.
Add a stock cube and boiling water. The water should cover the vegetables. Cook for a further 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to your taste.
Blitz the soup in a liquidizer or with a hand blender. Serve with chopped chives.
You can add a swirl of cream to give the soup a luxurious feeling.
Crispy Smashed Potatoes (serves 4)
Ingredients:
4 x medium potatoes
Vegetable oil
A handful of thyme
Salt and pepper
Optional: 50g of grated cheese – you can use Parmesan, mozzarella or vintage cheddar for an extra tang.
Wash and scrub the skin of the potatoes and then, with the skin on, boil for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, pre-heat your oven to 175 degrees. Drain the potatoes and place onto a baking tray. Squash the potatoes so that the skins cracks but it remains intact.
Drizzle with oil, add a crack of salt and pepper and sprinkle with thyme. Cook for 25 minutes or until crispy and golden.
For an extra touch of indulgence you could sprinkle on some cheese.
This is a great alternative to roast potatoes.
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Good Gym
The wonderful folk of GoodGym (www.goodgym.com) have generously given their time and energy to help us start clearing phase 2 of the garden so we can get more planters built over the winter, ready for Spring planting. We had 21 volunteers who worked their socks off and were rewarded with hot chocolate and marshmallows around the firepit. The party lights were switched on and everyone had a chance to decompress and socialise. The good news is they want to come back again!
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As ever, we want to thank all our volunteers and supporters for their time, effort and generosity, we really cannot do it without you.
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