Cream of nettle soup; a Springtime classic tried by many and beloved by most. Nettles make a wonderful wild food because of their ubiquity, found wherever there is sufficient nourishment in the soil.

We have evolved spending most of our time outdoors, getting natural sunlight. These days, we wake up indoors and spend most of our day indoors. But natural daylight benefits us in ways that artificial light does not.

Might a little discomfort be a good thing? Is the insulation that clothes, houses and central heating brings depriving us of a physiological flexibility and a level of resilience that being cold helps us nurture?

With life now slowed down, approaching the Winter solstice in the northern hemisphere is time for reflection, protection, and imagining the new, as the light slowly returns.

This is ferment is magical for a number of reasons.

Beetroot is an incredibly nutritious vegetable, packed with relatively rare alkaloids known as betalains.

Jerusalem artichokes are a bit special. And that means this ferment really is rather special.

This is my delicious red cabbage kraut. This is a favourite ferment here. There is always a jar of it on the go.

This is our delicious Autumn ferment. We love its smoky complexity; a real favourite as Winter crowds in.

Allium ursinum, also known as wild garlic, wild ramsons, bear garlic, onion stinkers or devil’s posy (depending on the extent of your fondness for allium family herbs) is an abundant and delicious herb.

I have been making Vital Tonic for my family for years now. I make apple cider vinegar myself and this forms an amazing living solvent, which then extracts constituents from the herbs I soak in it.

Making herbal vinegars is a deeply satisfying process. They have been used therapeutically throughout the history of medicine-making because vinegar is a good living solvent and extracts many herbal constituents effectively.

Labneh is a creamy cheese. All you need to make it is some yoghurt. I add milk kefir too, to increase the content of live microbes.