Life on the Farm: Kitchen Garden Abundance

Last year I just kind of passively watched as the abundance of farm produce came and went with the summer and autumn seasons. I was too distracted by the move, settling the kids into school, finding a routine for myself, and updating our home to engage in any significant way with the vegetable garden or any of the trees - pear, apple, quince, elderflower, fig, blackberries - that the farm offered up. Granted, we didn't actually have our own vegetable garden last year but on the farm there are two large ones maintained by other family members that I am always welcome to take from. Sure I would dig up the occasional carrots, potatoes or onions as needed, but I didn't even make a small dent in the overflow of fresh food. By last winter I started making jam, and if you read my article in British Vogue about this process you'll know that I used mostly bought fruit, as it was the middle of winter. When the late spring arrived, I found more surplus time in my day, and my husband and I planted a few raised beds of our own in the apple orchard behind our house. We planted arugula (rocket to you Brits), bok choy, rhubarb, brussells sprouts, corn, rainbow chard, peas, spinach, tuscan kale and artichokes. 

My favourite was the arugula. I am an arugula addict. I could eat it with every meal, and to have it there in my garden all fresh, ready to be picked and eaten each day for weeks on end was such a luxury. I found that I planted way too much bok choy. We ate it a few times, but then I ran out of inspiration to keep cooking it, so about half of it went to flower before we had the chance to eat it. The caterpillars got the brussels sprouts. I have cooked rhubarb six ways to Sunday, and I discovered a new favourite soup recipe made with the kale.

Just when I thought I was making headway with all the food in the beds, I returned from our summer holiday to even more abundance on the fruit trees than we had last year. I got through about 2/3 of the pears, eating them fresh and also making compote. I think I probably ate every single fig on the tree bar a few that got attacked by snails. But I have truly failed on the apple front. Hundreds have fallen to the ground. We have so enjoyed picking the occasional one off the trees and eating it fresh, and they've come in handy when the blackberries were ripe for making crumble. This week I am going to make as many batches of apple sauce as I can before they rot for good, but still hundreds will have gone to waste. I figure each year I make progress and next fall I'll be more prepared. 

My final harvest of pears. I picked three baskets like this in one morning, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them. Earlier in the spring, my friend Laura Bailey came to stay. She brought me the most incredible jar of pear compote from her garden, and I so enjoyed scooping a spoonful each morning into my bowl of plain sheep's yogurt and granola. Laura was kind enough to share with me the recipe. Here it is: 

1kg (2.2lbs) of peeled pears chopped in cubes - weighed after peeling

300 grams (10 oz) of sugar

Juice of half lemon

125 ml (1/2 cup) water

Half teaspoon cinnamon

1. Bring everything to a boil for ten minutes and then simmer slowly for 60 to 90 minutes until the consistency softens. If the pears are hard, blast with the hand blender at some point during the cooking process.

2. Once the compote texture has thickened (similar to apple sauce) put the mixture into the jars and close with the lid.

3. Place the closed jars in a pan of gently boiling water and simmer for 30 minutes.

This recipe makes about five or six 8oz. jars 

Enjoy!!! 

I was elated when I walked into the garden one morning and realised my first crop of rocket (arugula) was ready to eat.  

My favourite way to eat rocket (arugula) is in a salad with avocado, olive oil, truffle balsamic vinegar, and Ottolenghi's "seeds for salad.

This summer when I was in New York, I had lunch with my mentor in life, love and fashion Diane Von Furstenberg at her studio. As I was leaving she introduced me to her personal chef Jane Coxwell and gave me Jane's new cookbook "Fresh, Happy, Tasty." I have always loved the food Diane serves at her home and was so excited to get my hands on some of her favourite recipes. I especially love this stewed rhubarb over sheep's yogurt for breakfast and have made it a handful of times in the last month. It's easy to cook and gets even better after sitting in the fridge for a day or two. Here is Jane's recipe:

1 1⁄2 cups agave nectar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out

One 1⁄4-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled

1 cardamom pod

Thin strips lemon zest, each about the length of half a finger

1⁄2 pound rhubarb stalks, cut into 4-inch pieces

Sheep’s milk or other plain yogurt, for serving, optional

1. Combine the agave nectar, vanilla bean and seeds, ginger, cardamom, and lemon zest in a medium saucepan with 4 cups water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Immediately reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Add the rhubarb and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until tender, depending on the size of the rhubarb. Be careful not to overcook or boil, or the rhubarb will lose its shape and fall apart.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool. It’s ready to eat! (I leave the ginger and vanilla bean in because they look pretty, but you don’t eat them.)

I felt like a real city girl when I commented to my husband that the "pears" lying on the ground under one of the trees in the orchard were really large. "That's because they're quinces," he replied. There was just one tree, and I strongly felt that they shouldn't go to waste now that I knew about them. Besides, I had just bought myself Kevin West's great new book "Saving the Season" and I had noticed a recipe for quince paste, which I love to eat with cheese. Only trouble was that the recipe called for quince pulp which was a by-product of making quince jelly. I was excited by the idea of one batch of quinces making two separate products, and so I set about to make both.  Below is a condensed version of the two recipes. If you want more detailed versions, they are in his book. 

The quince is an ugly thing; a knobbly old apple-pear, too hard and bitter to eat; a country bumpkin; a coarse relic; perhaps a puzzle to some. 

But here's what you do: rub off the fuzz until the waxy skin shines and exhales an orchard air. Chop the fruit into a large pot and add the cores in a muslin sack. Cover it with water to a shallow depth, and cook for 90 minutes or more until the fruit slumps. Strain off the pectin stock, and reduce it rather slowly with equal parts sugar and generous lemon juice. You will get a beautiful, rose-nostalgia jelly.

Now take the spent fruit, and press it through a seive, then reduce it with equal parts sugar, generous lemon juice, and white spices—dried ginger, coriander, and white peppercorns ground together. Cook it as slowly as you can for hours or even days until it's dense enough to ball. Pour it out hot to form a thick slab, and air-dry for days or even weeks. What you will have is quince cheese—membrillo where Spanish is spoken—and it is the heftiest treasure of fall.

My quince paste, all wrapped up to give as gifts.

My Sunday harvest from the big kitchen garden on the farm. I roasted the onions and carrots with the chicken I made for lunch. I used the tuscan kale for my new favourite soup recipe. And I juiced the beets with apples and ginger.

My favourite apple tree on the farm.

The farm really saved me the other day when the kids announced they had to bring a carved pumpkin to school the following day. As it was too late to run to the store I was relieved when I remembered I'd seen some in my sister-in-law's garden the week before. 

I have tried so many crumble recipes now, especially during blackberry season. Blackberry and apple crumble is my husband's very favourite dessert. I have ended up combining different aspects of a few recipes that I like and finally feel that I've mastered it. Here it is:

for the filling

400g blackberries

500g peeled, cored and sliced cooking apples

for the crumble

225g flour

2 tsp baking powder

175g soft butter (I prefer Lurpak spreadable)

175g demerara sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. 

2. Arrange the fruit evenly into a baking dish. (Some people sprinkle sugar over the fruit, but for me the sugar in the topping is enough).

3. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl.

4. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. 

5. Mix in the demerara sugar. 

6. Spoon the crumble on top of the fruit, covering it completely.

7. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is crisp and lightly browned.

My husband's favourite vegetables in the garden are peas. When they are ready he will just plonk himself down next to them and eat them raw until he's satisfied. The kids have now gotten into the habit too. We had a huge abundance of peas this summer, and I didn't get the chance to cook a single one!

One day in June, Christopher mentioned the abundance of elderflower blossoms on the farm. Although I love to drink elderflower cordial in England, I had no idea what the tree looked like. When he pointed to one right in the corner of our garden I climbed right up on the stone wall,  picked a basket full, googled a recipe, and made my own cordial. I have since discovered that elderflower cordial is not only delicious when mixed with sparking or flat water, but it is especially delicious with champagne or mixed into a gin fizz.

Fashion Month Street Style

A few weeks ago, I went to the first fashion show I'd been to in the 18 months since leaving Barneys. I'd been invited to some London shows last season, but I just wasn't ready to dive back in - not going still felt too good. I actually hadn't ever been to London fashion week before (always opting to see the London collections in Paris instead of spending the extra week away from home), and I especially wanted to see Erdem's show in person. I am a big fan of Erdem the person as well as Erdem the designer. So off I went.

Once back in the circus of a fashion show, I noticed pretty quickly that my view of all the fashion and people around me had changed. My eye was looking for style, not fashion. I didn't any longer recognize which designer women were wearing and what season it came from - my eye wasn't trained to detect that anymore. I just noticed if they looked good in their clothes and if their clothes suited their body, their face, their coloring, their age. I noticed if they looked at home in what they were wearing.

While looking back at fashion month street style photos this week, my new perspective was cemented. Any one can be noticed wearing the brightest, shortest, furriest, most printed, most clashing, most outrageous outfit one dares to wear, but more interesting to me are the girls that do the most with the least. It's not easy to get noticed in a jeans and t-shirt - the fit, the cut and the way you move in them has to be spot on.  Simpler clothes don't cover things up, they reveal who you are. These days I'm thinking that it's better to be seen than to be noticed.

Malgosia's outfit may look effortless, but it's hard to get the proportion of these simple pieces right without some self-knowledge and practice.

Do you have a white t-shirt persona? For me it's a crew neck, always. I also like a slightly sheer fabric, like a slub cotton or linen blend. I'm not fussy about the pocket - I have white t's both with and without - the choice depends on the rest of my outfit. Daria's v-neck really suits her here. Makes me want to try one. I also like that you can just slightly see her black bra underneath.

I love how soft her trench is. I always have an idea in my head that a trench should be stiff - that it should sit up at attention. This look makes me question that. 

I haven't put patches on my jeans since I was 14 and used old Laura Ashley dresses to patch my Levi's.  I think the sequins here work with the simplicity of the rest of the look, but what's most interesting to me is the symmetry of patches. Makes me think about which jeans I can patch and what material I'd use. Maybe it's more a look for my 12 year old daughter than it is for me....

I love everything about this look - the chic cut of blazer, the all black color palette emphasizing the shape and proportion of the clothes, the cropped pants with the Converse, the lack of jewellery. Just perfect.

Everyone was wearing some version of Vans-inspired sneaker this season, but I particularly noticed these in the more subtle grey flannel with the denim fringe hanging over them.

While the styling of this look is great, I know I'm not going to be wearing short shorts like this anytime soon. The inspiration I got is how good the mixed denim looks with a black and white accessory. Makes me want to try out a double denim look with my old school checkerboard Vans.

What I admire most about Emmanuelle Alt's style is that she always looks comfortable in her clothes without sacrificing an ounce of chic. That may sound like a strange thing, but trust me you see a lot of people at fashion shows hobbling around on towering heels, or discreetly struggling to breathe in too-tight clothes. Looking at her here, I'm thinking I may have to try a kitten heel, having sworn them off for many years.

It's amazing what an accessory can do. Without the hat this outfit looks like something I would wear in my 

day-to-day life on the farm, but add the wide brim and suddenly she's a Paris street style star!

I just love everything about this girl. She's adorable - the printed hoodie, the overalls, the tweed 2.55, the long hair. I'm going to show this picture to my daughter for inspiration.

Sometimes Saskia's high fashion look is a bit severe for my taste, but I love how she looks off the runway, wearing little (if any) makeup and her own clothes. What a great white shirt.

Here's what I wore to Erdem's show. The ripped jeans are old ones from J Crew, and everything else is Céline commercial collection. I bought the shoes, bag and sunglasses at Barneys a few years ago and the rest is newer - from the Céline outlet near the farm. It's funny how the wind makes my classic trench look more like a subversive Junya one.

The Nikes make this look for me. Yes, everything else is working too, but I love how something unexpected, yet mundane can add personality to an outfit.

Here she is again. Love her. All classic pieces worn in such a stylish way.

Gaia. So elegant. Always.

Life on the Farm: Another September

In June of 2012, I announced to the world, or at least the fashion world, that I was taking a year off to go live on a farm in rural England. So here we are at the end of September 2013, and here I am. Still. People ask me from time to time when I am coming back or what my future plans are, and so I thought I'd let you all know what I'm up to.  

For starters, I love it here. For more reasons than I can explain. But the main ones are the following: I have never been more clear about who I am and what is important to me. There is enough peace and quiet here to listen to myself - my mind and my body. I know when it's time to work hard and when it's time to rest. The tension is gone from my shoulders and the adrenaline that lived inside my belly for twenty years in New York has settled down. I know it because whenever I go back to New York, the adrenaline returns and I notice it now because I'm less used to it. My husband is as happy as I am, for similar reasons. And my kids are thriving. Thriving. 

But the one thing that is different this year is that I am reintroducing accountability into my life. I want to this year to have purpose. Last year I had a bit of structure -  I paid my bills and answered emails on Mondays, I wrote my blogs on Thursdays, I ordered groceries for the week on Sundays. But because it was my "year off" I often ditched my schedule in favor of a better option - a walk in the fields when the sun came out, a ride with a friend after school drop off, an ambition to cook three sit down meals a day (yes, I've gained a few pounds!). 

The one work-related thing I did accomplish last year was that I started writing my next book, and this summer I sold it. Yep. To Blue Rider Press (at Penguin Random House). I am so excited. It's a book of autobiographical stories spanning my twenty years in fashion. My goal is to share with you some of the most formative and transformative experiences I have had over the years and what I learned from them, who I learned them from, how I came to my most important decisions, and of course what I was wearing when all of this happened. It's not my comprehensive "memoir," just moments that shifted me from one perspective to another. There will be also lots of user-friendly sharing, like what I learned from packing for fashion month over and over again, how I figured out to match my red lipstick to my red nails, and the way I discovered how to wear more than one piece of denim at a time. And because no one loves a visual more than I do, there will be lots of great photos, but also more personal writing this time, because I'm just in that kind of mood. Can't wait for you to read it. 

So am I done with fashion? I don't think so. I love the idea of living life in chapters, and this is just the chapter I am in right now. I like to think about my mentor-in-all-things-to-do-with-life-and-fashion Diane Von Furstenberg who took multiple time-outs throughout her career and now in her 60's has more success than ever. She did it at her own pace. I'd like to do the same.

In the meantime, here I am in September on the farm! God it's a great month. I have my strict writing schedule that I am (mostly) sticking to, while still managing to cook and ride a horse and pick fruit. Onward!

When we arrived back from New York, the whole farm yard was just overflowing with apples. It was a great summer for fruit growing. This is the smallest tree we have, but I love the intensity of it's red apples.

Whenever Coco and I have been away from the farm for a while, we love to jump on a horse as soon as we get back. It helps us to ease the transition (you know that "What the hell am I doing here" feeling?) by reminding us what we love most about living here.

During August our entire giant thistle tree had collapsed. Christopher was sure he had cut it back enough so that it wouldn't topple over, but it did. The good news was that I got to pick all the flowers for the house. They last a long time.

We also got home just in time for The Feastival, a food and music festival at the next door farm hosted by Jamie Oliver and Alex James (the bassist for Blur). I love stuffing my face at all the street food vendors, and of course the kids get excited by the rides. 

I've been cooking my way through the blackberries and apples, one crumble at a time. I use Nigella's recipe for the topping, but for the fruit I just cut it up, arrange it evenly and pour a few teaspoons of sugar on top (but not too much or it's too sweet!). 

Zach and I had to drive a long way to get him a pair of shoes he needed for school, so we rewarded ourselves with a visit to the local antiques shop. He got some old Beano comics, and I got this vintage hunting hat, which sadly fits Zach better than it does me. 

Eartha Kitten, making a fast get away from the horse I am riding.

Jack Bauer and Inspector Clouseau. I love these two. They belong to my husband's brother but they live in our field at the moment.

Racing up the hill, Coco edges out Christopher for the lead.

Sweet homemade sign in Bledington. 

In honor of New York Fashion Week, the sheep decided to have a runway finale of their own.

We have a gazillion pears as well. I have just gotten my hands on a recipe for the best pear compote that my friend Laura Bailey gave me made from her pears. Once I test it (tonight), I'll share it with you. 

The horses are so fat after eating grass all summer, especially Shalom. Now we're working hard to get them in shape. And yes, Christopher's hat cover is cotton candy pink. The children recoil in shame when he puts it on, and so he wears it every chance he can.

I've been eating fresh figs every morning for a month. It's the first time we've been here to enjoy them. Last year we were here at the right time, but the summer was too cold and wet to make any fruit. And I surprised myself because I didn't think I liked figs that much but fresh off the vine with sheep's milk and honey? Unbelievably good. 

Christopher is a total sucker for a string of outside lights. Not just at Christmas, but year round. I like how they illuminate the last few roses of the year.

I was wistful when I took this picture last Sunday because I knew it would likely be our last outdoor meal for a while.

Jake and the killer sunset.

The best afterschool playdate on Earth.

Gingy girl, waiting for us to come back from a ride. Oh how she would have loved to come along!

Taking a breather on the most beautiful day in September.

At one point the fig bounty was so plentiful that I had to make something with them. I love this very simple recipe.

I took this last photo of the house with the long grass. Christopher gave the garden it its winter haircut today. 

One of my September highlights was having my friend Taylor play hooky between London and Milan fashion weeks for a night of peace and rest. We rode horses, we chatted by the fire and we walked home from dinner at the pub in the light of the full moon. Maybe I should start a fashion month rehab here.......

I never get over this face.

Zach, worshipping at the alter of the last dandelion in the field. 

I've learned that in England, autumn announces itself with fog. I woke up this morning, and the new season was here.

Today was one of those days when I had to postpone my writing schedule and jump on a horse. The mist and the fog was too compelling to ignore. It was scary at first - I really couldn't see more than 20 feet ahead of me, but I felt like I was on the set of a film, especially when these two emerged heading towards me from from the cloud. It was too beautiful to be believed.