Sweet Mary

Michelle sells very good muesli at our local farmers market in Hastings. There are a few different "flavours" but my favourite is the pear and ginger. Every Sunday now, we arrive at the market early and sit down to our individual serve of muesli, yoghurt and apple compote. Even though we eat this muesli every morning at home we still look forward to our "fix" at the market.

People who know me well will know how much I love the season of autumn. The intensity of colour after the heat of summer is especially evident in autumn fruit. I find it hard to describe how delicious these figs were this morning, just take it from me - they were! Cox's Orange Pippins are my favourite apples and we can only buy them for a few weeks each year. Cooked or raw they are pretty well perfect to me. Nearly the last of the blueberries and autmn fruiting raspberries. All this and much more at our excellent local Farmers Market and all grown within a few kms of the market.

Home from an early visit to our local Farmer's Market in Hastings with our bounty. All of this is locally grown - no food miles ( km's ) here! We are growing our own courgettes and broad beans but the rest is grown within a few kilometres of our home and we can chat to each and every one of these growers. Can't get better than that.

As usual, we were at the Hastings Farmers Market bright and early yesterday. It was dry but very cold so we raced around to our favourite stalls buying up what we needed for the week and having a quick chat to the stall holders. We have been going to this fabulous market ever since we moved here five years ago. The price, quality and choice is truly amazing. I can buy all my vegetables, fruit, plants, meat, olive oil, cheeses, bread, coffee, flowers and preserves and deal directly with the person who has either made it or grown it - sometimes both. The organic vegetable stall (above) is always my first port of call while my other half goes off to buy the flat whites. Yesterday I bought yellow chard, celeriac, agria potatoes and the most delicious carrots with their gorgeous green frilly tops still attached. I always get some fresh coriander and until recently, huge bags of basil to make pesto for the freezer - a little taste of summer in the depths of winter. I think we are really luck...