by Tom | Nov 17, 2020 | Farm Journal, News, Uncategorized
As a farmer and a food lover, I’m a firm believer that when it comes to meat, in particular, eat local where you can, but always eat British. We are a nation built on the solid and rich heritage of great British food and farming. There is very little reason to...
by Tom | Nov 3, 2020 | Farm Journal, News, Uncategorized
‘Tis the Season Christmas will be a little different this year but rest assured our intentions remain the same, to bring people together over the best local and seasonal food. We are so proud and grateful to work with so many wonderful local farmers and food...
by Tom | Oct 20, 2020 | Farm Journal, News
The Barn is now open! The Barn is now home for our farm kitchen. If we’ve learned one thing this year it is to stay nimble and not plan too far ahead! However, we knew that returning to the previous cafe space wasn’t an option as it just isn’t suitable to keep...
by Lucy | Oct 1, 2020 | Recipes, News
A perfect recipe to bridge the gap between autumn and winter. As tomatoes come to the end of the season you’re always left with a few knobbly, gnarly ones, not pretty enough for a salad, but with all the flavour needed for this robust, warming dish. The harissa...
by Tom | Sep 21, 2020 | Farm Journal, News
With beautiful misty mornings and woodsmoke hanging in the evening air, we’ve well and truly landed in autumn. Despite a mini-heatwave for a couple of weeks in this month, the nights are certainly getting chilly and winter preparations have begun. Considering what we...
by Tom | Aug 13, 2020 | Recipes, News
As we move into harvest season, the biggest excitement on country walks is monitoring the progress of the hedgerows as the red dots mature into plump and juicy blackberries. This is the one time of the year where the overstock of Tupperware of all shapes and sizes...
by Tom | Aug 12, 2020 | Farm Journal, News
August has brought with it searing, stifling heat to top off what has been an excellent summer, and we certainly needed it. Not just to put a spring in our step with all the doom and gloom of the world but we’ve had some much-needed rain dotted throughout which has...
by Tom | Jul 9, 2020 | Covid 19, Farm Journal, Kitchen, News, Uncategorized
With the news at the start of July that cafes can reopen, we got our thinking hats on to see what we could do to make this summer a special one for everyone as we move into our new normal. We love seeing people enjoying the outdoors at our farm and have a wonderful...
by Tom | Jul 1, 2020 | Recipes, News
This salad has been going down a storm in our pop-up coffee cabin this summer. It’s a classic salad, born within Italian households of old as a way to use up stale bread. It’s best when tomatoes are in season as they really are the stars of the show....
by Tom | Jun 15, 2020 | Recipes, News
This delicious recipe is inspired by a classic Spanish brunch. Serves 1 A slice of sourdough bread A couple of ripe Isle of White tomatoes (delicious at this time of year) Sliced cooking chorizo 1 egg A few basil leaves a drizzle of rapeseed oil (for a British touch,...
by Tom | May 13, 2020 | Farm Journal, News
If you’ve been up to the farm shop over the last few weeks, you’ll see the calves at Hartley Farm have been the main focus of attention for us on the farm. Our calving season has now finished on the farm and the next big job is silage making. We’ve had near-perfect...
by Tom | May 6, 2020 | Farm Journal, News
We’re almost at the stage where we’ve begun to find some rhythm and dare I say it, routine in our day’s work. Which in recent times, means it is time for another government announcement to shake it all up again. It’s hard work planning a business at the moment. On the...
by Tom | Apr 8, 2020 | Farm Journal, News
Let it be known that there is no doubt about it, the real heroes through this current climate are those front-line NHS workers. Knowing the risks involved and having to turn up every day to face those risks is truly remarkable. They deserve all our support and more. I...
by Tom | Feb 28, 2020 | Recipes, News
This is a bit of an American classic and we thought it would be a great dish to kick off the spring with, all the health benefits of fresh salads and vegetables with a comfortingly rich homemade dressing with blue cheese for when the sun is looking a bit shy in the...
by Tom | Feb 17, 2020 | Farm Journal, News
March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb as they say. I can’t help thinking about this as I write this month’s blog just off the back of two bracing storms in Ciara and Dennis. The latter part of the old saying sheds a little hope at least after an extremely...
by Tom | Feb 4, 2020 | Recipes, News
This recipe is a bit of a play on the traditional Scottish Cock-a-leekie soup. Leeks are right in season in February and this recipe matches them beautifully with the smoked bacon and prunes. If you had some leftover roast chicken from the weekend’s roast then...
by Tom | Feb 3, 2020 | Recipes, News
As the snowdrops start to appear the early signs of spring are here. It’s best not to put all your eggs in one basket though and start dreaming of warmer weather yet, for February usually has a sting! This recipe is a perfect compromise for the time of year, a...
by Tom | Jan 2, 2020 | Farm Journal, News, Uncategorized
January is about reflection and goal setting for the year ahead. Many of my musings recently have been regarding the press and their portrayal of livestock farming and the environment. The key message has been that we need to eat less meat as intensive farming...
by Tom | Dec 6, 2019 | Recipes, News
Christmas Day is all about gifts, spending time with your loved ones, and great food. And, quite often, so is Boxing Day! While we don’t often eat quite as much, everyone’s still picking, and that’s when snacks, leftovers and condiments come into their own. A jar or...
by Tom | Oct 16, 2019 | Farm Journal, News, Uncategorized
Well, here we are heading towards the end of another year already. This is certainly the business end of the year for us in the farm shop and all of the efforts in planning and preparation over the last few months culminate in a mad rush towards another Christmas at...
by Tom | Sep 23, 2019 | Farm Journal, News, Uncategorized
September at Hartley Farm Darkness has started to set in earlier in the evenings but the trade-off has been some picture-perfect autumn scenes at the beginning and end of the day. The sloes and damsons are steeping in the gin and the smell of woodsmoke fills the damp...
by admin | Aug 6, 2019 | Farm Journal, News, Uncategorised
Last month we bought a new (old) member of the family back to the farm in the shape of our 1953 Fordson Major Tractor. As a special feature, I thought I’d ask my father Richard to write this month’s blog and share his memories of the great machine when he was growing...
by admin | Jul 10, 2019 | Farm Journal, News, Uncategorised
July has certainly had more of a Summer’s feel to it compared to a very wet June. With the kids breaking up later in the month all hands have been on deck to bring a new feel to our outdoor areas to make use of the sunshine and the long lazy (for kids that is) days....
by admin | Jun 11, 2019 | Farm Journal, News, Uncategorised
I always challenge myself not to start our monthly blog with any reference to the weather, but alas once again I will fail. My interest in what the weather is doing and how the grass is growing has been developing at an unhealthy rate over the last few years and those...
