Our week that was: Conker detergent, sweetcorn fritters and a riverside walk

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There I was last week, waving goodbye to summer, when a couple of dry, sunny 20ºC+ made an unseasonal appearance! I dug out the shorts and t-shirts and washed & hung a few loads of laundry out to dry in the garden. We even ate our dinner al fresco… it’s almost mid-October!

Natural detergent

For the past couple of autumns, I’ve been collecting fallen conkers from a couple of trees in the village. Horse chestnuts contain saponin, a natural soap. It makes a good, free laundry detergent – although it’s not effective on heavily soiled or stained items.

Remove the shells and roughly chop the nuts. Dry the nuts in a very low oven or dehydrator; I spread them out on a pizza mesh to ensure quick and even drying. Store in an airtight jar or other lidded container. I try to dry and store enough to last me the entire year. To use, measure out around 75 grams of nuts into a measuring jug. Pour about 300ml of boiling water over them and leave to soak for about half an hour. I like to add a few drops of essential oil to the mixture once it has cooled and been put through a sieve. Lavender is a favourite for bed linen – great for restful sleep! Rose is a preferred scent for use on clothing.

Fresh conkers in a colander Fresh conkers in a colander and hand
Conkers dried in the oven Dried conkers in a jar

Sweetcorn rescue

Back in the spring, we planted about half a dozen sweetcorn seedlings on our veg plot. We planted them alongside runner beans and squash in a three sisters formation. They got off to a good start, but then their growth seemed to grind to a halt. By the end of the season, we were left with about half a dozen malformed, misshaped and stunted cobs. I refused to simply throw the vegetable equivalents of ugly ducklings on the compost heap; instead, I used them to make fritters inspired by a recipe by Nigel Slater.

Malformed sweetcorn cob Home made sweetcorn fritter

Coed Maen Arthur

This local woodland walk is where we found an abundance of chanterelle mushrooms a couple of years ago. We were less successful last year, and this year found none at all. In fact, spotting any kind of mushroom this week was a rarity! It’s such a beautiful route, especially in autumn, that it wasn’t the end of the world. We enjoyed a wonderful family walk along the Ystwyth.

Wild mushroom Wild mushroom Top of a wild mushroom

Home Tones: Chestnut

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Huguenot Physician's Housecredit

This week’s Home Tone is chestnut – very apt for Christmas week! It’s such a warm and luxurious shade for interiors. There’s the wood itself, of course, but it can also be brought into a space through the use of quality leathers, paint, granite, furs or textiles. It has a timeless elegance and quality. It works very well with other shades of brown and a natural palette in general. It also looks fabulous with dark greys to create real dramatic atmosphere. Teal is one perfect contrast colour that we like. Chestnut can also be used as an exterior timber where it weathers to a very attractive, silvery brown.

Chestnut coloured shower enclosure in a white bathroomcredit

Chestnut coloured leather club chair in a sitting roomcredit

Wood panelled library and home officecredit

Chestnut coloured rug in white & turquoise sitting roomcredit

Chestnut-framed Turkmenistan gercredit

Chestnut worktop on a kitchen islandcredit

M House clad in chestnut woodcredit