This weekend we spent a lovely Friday evening and Saturday morning with our good friends Phil and Jo at their house over near Stroud.  We went to the farmer’s market in Stroud on Saturday morning and we bought some lovely veg, meat and some delish chutney called Vampire’s Delight (garlic and apple – yum!).

Yesterday, we spent all day in the garden digging out a new bed and planting some new plants.  Well, I say ‘we’ but really it was Rich and his parents who did most of the hard graft although I did knock up a rather tasty (if I do say so myself!) roast dinner.  I made cream of asparagus soup for starter using the asparagus we had bought at the market on Saturday and then roast some organic beef topside, serving it with roast potatoes and parsnips, purple-sprouting broccoli and carrots – all from the market.  The only thing not from the market was the Aunt Bessie’s Yorkshire puddings (I know, I cheated but Bessie’s they always turn out so well!) and the Bisto gravy!