Deal Fish Direct, Saturday's local shop

This feature will run occasionally and will focus on a local shop in my corner of East Kent. It's likely that this will be in Deal,  but in all cases, it will be an independent store which is keeping the high street alive, by offering great products, great customer service at great prices.

First up is Deal Fish Direct. Deal is lucky enough to have two fishmongers which offer a huge array of salty, seaside-fresh daily catches. My favourite, is run by two brothers, whose boat brings them the best that the sea can offer on any given day. They also run the seafood stall, to be found on the seafront near to the Royal Hotel. It has been a bit of a struggle of late, with the high winds and rough seas meaning that the boat hasn't been able to take to the sea. Even when out, shellfish such as lobsters, have stayed hidden and well away from the lobster pots, as the water hasn't been warm enough to spur them onto feed.

But, the brothers will do their best to satisfy any order and can take orders in advance. In asking for a lobster for a special surf and turf supper, I was presented the following day with two succulent and sweet lobsters, costing £7 each.

And, the size of the scallops which have been delivered via the Folkestone fishing boats, have to be seen to be believed. At £1.20 each these were so silky and rich, you didn't need more than one or two. It's a pleasure to visit this great fishmonger, the fish is so fresh, and it is always priced more competitively than the tightly packaged, cellophane wrapped offering that the supermarkets have.

In addition to the fish, there is often other delicacies to be found on the counter, including black and white truffles. And, nestling at the back of the counter, I found a customised tide timetable which  helpfully includes the local variations in the tide times.

In my opinion, and in the many people who are often seen queuing outside, this is a real gem of a shop.

Poppies by the sea

These sumptuous silky blooms have struggled somewhat against ferocious winds and torrential rain. But when there is a break in this unseemly and unseasonal June weather, these gorgeous flowers unfurl and relax, luxuriating in the warmth of the sun.

My favourite is Patty's Plum with its grey/mauve blooms, and then it has to be the reddy-black poppy whose name I forget, coming closely third is the reddy-orange Papaver Orientale and following up at the rear is the mislabelled candyfloss pink poppy which I'm slowly getting used too.

Despite these flowers doing well in my seaside garden, it's when you see their wild cousin that you really admire these tough little blooms. Wheat-laden fields are fringed with red poppies at this time of year, and it is worth snatching a walk when the weather breaks to enjoy this fleeting sight.

Samphire Hoe, the early spider orchid and this tasty seaside vegetable

This is an exceptional, diminuitive rare orchid, which when found is often kept secret, so that it is safe from botanical bounty hunters. But, when kept safe, and in the conditions that it likes (where the sea meets the land, where sand becomes mixed with soil, and where moss may have begun to take hold, but grass is still grappling to find its feet), it is at its happiest. It has an acid green/yellow colour, with a firm stalk, and a dark chocolate brown velvety body from where it takes its name. 

 This is so at Samphire Hoe where plants numbers have multipled from 67 found in 1998 up to the 11,500 counted earlier in 2012.  Samphire Hoe was created by Eurotunnel reusing the chalk marl taken during the the building of the Channel Tunnel. It is a beautiful strip of land, running alongside the Dover Cliffs, and located between Folkestone and Dover. It is home to wildlife, migrating and native birds, and loads of wildflowers. You reach it by turning off from the M20, travelling through a dark, chalk tunnel to emerge into a white seabright landscape beyond. It's worth a visit just to do this.

Why is it called Samphire Hoe? It was named through a public competition, and refers to Rock Samphire which used to be collected from the neighboring cliffs, and Hoe which refers to the spit of land that sticks out into the sea. Of course, it is illegal to transplant any wildflower or plant, so collecting from the cliffs would be taboo. But, you can still see Samphire at the Hoe, adjacent to the cafe and successfully planted at the top edge of the seawall.

If, like us you fancy trying to cultivate Samphire, we have found Victoriana Nursery which supplies small plants replete with full instructions on how to care for this maritime vegetable. The fun thing is that you have to water it with salt laden water (30g to l litre) and can try sea water, which I am keen to do. Most of the fishmongers around the coast sell this maritime delicacy, although the main type sold tends to be marsh samphire that grows in the salt marshes. If you can't get to the Hoe, and don't fancy giving growing it a go, do try and taste, it's crunchy taste  won't disappoint.

Snails and the seaside garden

This is the last time that I am going to plant delphiniums and lupins. For the third time in as many years, these have been decimated by these slimy creatures; this is despite the judicious use of pet friendly slug pellets, copper rings, grit and nematodes.

From now on I will concentrate on the plants that have their own inbuilt defence system. The papaver orientale laughs in the face of these slippy customers, brushing them off with its coarse bristly leaves, and the alliums with their distinctive oniony scent are not plat du jour in the snail world.

My roses escape unscathed too, with their dagger like, thorny stems which quite happily catch and climb towards the skies. These are performing brilliantly this year. Souvenir Docteur du Jardin and the William Lobb deep pink/lilac rose, both in their third year have many buds and my Seagull rambler has really found its feet in its new spot, and i hope that the recently planted Vichenbleu will do the same in a few years.

I have planted around 200 alliums in this small sized plot, ranging from the dazzling firework Schuberti, elegant Mount Everest, Purple Sensation and my favourite Chistophii with hundreds of starry flowers per bloom. I always get a bulk order from Devines Nursery who display these magnificent blooms at the Chelsea Flower Show every year.

My shady corner, with Japanese ferns, wild garlic and our own native hellebore happily grows without any critters nibbling its leaves.

Whilst the hostas, planted deep in a gravel strewn pot, and perched up high at the base of a tree fern seems free from snail damage at the moment. I will keep up my regular snail raids to keep these fighting fit, but I'm pretty sure I know who will win this battle, and it won't be me.

Any good recipes for snails anyone?

Old fashioned cottage loaf

This week's Friday loaf is a beauty. Just look at it!

I've used Linda Collister again and this recipe is contained in her fabulous Bread from ciabatta to rye book. I am coming to the conclusion, albeit rather sadly, that the best way to make bread is really by hand, as everytime I've tried I haven't been disappointed.

For this recipe I had to combine 700g of strong white flour with one 7g sachet of yeast, 450ml of tepid water, 1 tsp of honey. It had to be kneaded for 10 mins which was pretty hard going, but I could tell when it was ready by how elastic it became. It had to rise for 1 1/2 hours, then be punched back and shaped into two separate rounds, using one third for the smaller round. It had to rise again on two separate baking sheets for 45 mins.

The larger soft bouncy roll is then placed onto a large baking sheet and the smaller roll tenderly placed on top. With two fingers and a thumb you press down on the top of the loaf to pinch both together, baste all with an egg, and score both top and bottom roll as seen above. It baked at 230 degrees centigrade for 15 mins and then 20 mins at 200 degrees centigrade.

The instructions in Bread are much clearer than mine and I do urge anyone interested in bread to pick up a copy of this excellent book.

Friday's Easy White Loaf (again)

This week's Friday loaf worked out rather well. I used 400g of strong white flour, 1tsp of salt, 200ml of warm water and diluted 1 tsp of yeast granules with 100ml of warm water. I then used my food mixer, combining the dry and wet ingredients gradually until I had a wet dough. This was left for 10 mins, and then my mixer did all the kneading work for me using the dough hook, for around 4 mins, until I had a smooth elastic dough. This was left in the bowl for around 2 hours until the dough had doubled in size. Placed onto an oiled baking tray for a further 45 mins, it was then baked at 230 degrees centigrade for 25mins. The resulting dough had great texture, a good crust, with lots of air holes, and a lovely chewy taste. I plan to use some of this with a French Onion Soup, topped with some gruyere cheese. 

Seaside Garden for National Gardening Week

A very windy, blustery day in April

As part of National Gardening Week, the RHS is encouraging everyone to email photograph of their garden, in order to build up a national picture of gardens around the country. Mine is a rather long and thin seaside garden, which I have cultivated for around 10 years. A combination of lack of willpower and a passion for plants means that I have often been tempted to buy plants which simply don't suit a small garden, such as the 14 trees that I have, many of which are growing in pots. 

The latest additions being an unnamed variety of Pear tree (just hoping that it is self fertile),

and a Juniper tree. They join a Magnolia Soulangeana, several Pine trees, a Hazel tree, a Gingko Biloba, a baby Oak tree grown from an acorn from Drumnadrochit forest, Olive trees, a very handsome Dicksonia tree fern and my favourite which is seen in the main picture off to the right, a Katsura which perfumes the air with its candyfloss scent when the leaves fall in August/September.

I know that I am going to have to find good homes for many of these trees, once they outgrow their pots and my plot, but for now I take care of them and enjoy the height, scent and magic that trees give to my narrow strip of land.