Inspired by all the fruit and vegetables on her allotment just yards from her back door, Tessa Webb of Siddington near Cirencester has published a cook book. For the last 15 years, she has been growing and cooking her own produce for all the artists who come on her art courses at Colour in the Cotswolds. Growing, tasting, trying varieties, discovering new recipes and then sharing them with others has become a way of life. Over the years, many of her visitors have asked for recipes, so she has collected together a few of her favourite dishes.
‘We moved to this old coach house and stables because we loved the house and studio. Our home sits on the village allotments and we didn’t know how much we would grow to love them at the time. It was a slow conversion. You start growing your own strawberries, spinach and sweet corn and then you fall in love with the flavour. After that, nothing tastes nearly as good. You can’t stop thinking about new ways to cook it all,’ says Tessa.
Each book is individually signed and numbered and has 34 clear, easy-to-follow recipes for soups & starters, main courses, vegetables, desserts, cakes and preserves, plus some lovely little extras. Tessa is married to the artist Richard Kenton Webb who has illustrated her recipes with 12 specially-commissioned linocuts capturing the spirit of the allotments and their home. She makes jams, jellies, chutneys, sloe gin, elderflower cordial and chocolate truffles to go into hampers for friends and family. Many of the recipes for these preserves are in the cook book, so why not get inspired and start growing and cooking using her affordable and appetizing ideas?
• Colour in the Cotswolds Cook Book (£9.99) by Tessa Webb is available online at http://www.rkwprints.com/General/colour-in-the-cotswolds-cook-book.html or contact Tessa on 01285 651790 or tessa@rkwprints.com
