Gabby

In the 1970's we bought a small-holding in North Devon. Caught up in self sufficiency we had a farmyard of all the usual animals: rabbits, geese, ducks, chickens, a breeding sow, house cow and several calves, a flock of sheep and a horse; the goat didn't work out as she detested rain but the rest kept us well fed and highly entertained. We were over ambitious with our vegetable and soft fruit garden but we took enormous pleasure in cooking and eating all our own produce and managing our small restaurant to share the results. I made  a hard cheese and used Stilton to develop a very acceptable "blue" cheese, butter pats were in action every day, clotted cream went into the desserts. Over thiry years have passed and we have now entered what the French call "le troisieme age". We moved to the Basque Country in 2000 taking what is laughingly called early retirement. We bought a house with about an acre of garden/woodland. When it was adequately fenced we went to market and stocked our land and garden. We have continued a life focussed on self sufficiency. Meanwhile we slogged away for six years to created a French income base, and with our pensions we can now relax and enjoy a more leisurely carry on. We both love cooking; during the summer we plan all our al fresco meals for a plancha and summer kitchen Richard has built next to our terrace. During the winter our small galley kitchen comes into its own. As always we try to give our family and friends food that we have produced.