The first time I left my packed lunch at home when I went to work on The Oak Tree Low Carbon Farm, a stubborn reluctance either to go home (about 10 minutes by bike) or to the local shops (even closer) came over me. I was surrounded by food that I had grown myself.
So I cooked some potatoes, onions and herbs in a makeshift cooking pot. They were delicious, and I have started to cook my lunch from freshly picked ingredients on a regular basis. Any time-and-motion study would tell me this is inefficient, but my aim in running The Oak Tree is to sell and enjoy good food, while earning a living in a pleasant way. Visitors to the farm often eat with me, and we have a pleasant time enjoying the fat of the land while watching it grow.
This is my autumn specialty: onions and squash cooked in a little vegetable oil (the same cheap oil I use to protect my two-wheeled tractor cutter bar), to which I add the tail end of the tomatoes, green chillis, bay leaf and thyme. Add a little proper sea salt and it becomes a proper feast.
I'm building an efficient wood rocket stove to replace the gas cooker, and I'm planning a wood-fired clay oven too for pizzas and bread. I must get that vineyard planted - a homegrown bottle of wine would go very well with all this.
Joanne Brannan runs The Oak Tree Low Carbon Farm in Suffolk. She writes for UK magazines including Country Smallholding and Grow it! Read her previous blogposts here
