Wealden Times | WT234 | November 2021 | Christmas Gift supplement inside

Slow,
Grow, Eat
Hairdresser-turned-shepherdess, Zoë Colville
farms nearly 100 acres of land near Maidstone
with her partner, Chris Woodhead. With prime
focus on their animals’ wellbeing, together they
rear cows, sheep, goats and pigs, eventually selling
their meat through The Little Farm Fridge. This
month, Zoe preps for the year ahead on the farm
As much as the nights pulling in and the weather
getting bleaker is a bit of a downer, for us it’s
also the beginning of a new breeding season full
of apprehension but most importantly excitement. It
includes a fair amount of shopping, which is usually my
forte but this type of shopping we tend to do together.
Any ewes who had a bad lambing, are too old or weren’t
very good mothers are sold on and we buy new ewes as
replacements. The breeding ewe price is the highest we have
ever seen in our short-lived farming careers so far but it’s all
relative as so are lambs. Once you’ve secured your new girls
you want to get them on lush grass so they are in tip top
condition for when the boys are let loose. When we let the
tups (male sheep) in the fields with the females we paint their
chests with a different colour paint so when they mount the
girls it gives them a coloured rump. This means we can see if
any tups are being lazy and also we can work out our dates to
expect the lambs. It also means many months of having fields
full of sheep that look like they’ve been to a Holi festival.
It’s such a vital time in our calendar as it near enough
secures our success during the spring and therefore
our income (lambs). What’s funny is considering how
much we have riding on it all going swimmingly we
are still taking a gamble: we have bought a new tup
breed this year, one that’s very popular in Australia…
such similar climates, hey? Will keep you posted!
As we get closer to the end of the year the apples
fall off the trees (much to the cows’ delight), we spend
evenings watching little Sheldon the newborn Hereford
X Highland calf skipping about and we don’t leave the
house without a million layers. Changes of season lend
us new challenges but are also the start of a new cycle
on the farm and sow the seeds for new beginnings.
The Little Farm Fridge Recipe of the month
• 500g Little
Farm Fridge
diced venison,
seasoned well
• puff pastry
How to cook it... Venison Pie
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• knob of butter
• 2 large red onions
• 3 garlic cloves,
crushed
• 4 fresh thyme
sprigs
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 250ml red wine
• 500ml beef stock
1 Heat up a casserole dish with a lid, using olive oil fry off the
venison until caramelised on all sides, remove from the pan.
2 Reduce the heat and add the butter, followed by the
onions, garlic and thyme. Season, then cook for 10-12
minutes or until the onions begin to soften. Turn down
the heat, put the lid on and cook for half an hour more.
3 Heat the oven to 170°C. When the onions are caramelising
return the venison and any resting juices to the pan. Sprinkle
over the flour and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring lots.
4 Add the red wine and simmer. Add the stock to just
cover the meat. Pop the lid on – leaving a tiny gap –
and cook in the oven for 2½ hours. When the meat is
tender, check your seasoning and that the meat is soft.
5 Turn up the oven to 200°C. Cut the pastry into two pieces,
one slightly larger to fill a greased pie dish. (You can blind bake
if you wish!) Spoon in the filling, checking for thyme twigs.
6 Put your pastry lid on and use a fork to seal the edges.
Make a small hole in the lid for the steam and paint the
top with beaten egg. Bake for 45-50 minutes in the oven
and serve with seasonal veg and mashed potatoes.
Follow Zoe on Instagram @thechiefshepherdess
and @thelittlefarmfridge. You can order
meat online at thelittlefarmfridge.co.uk
istockphoto.com/Povareshka
priceless-magazines.com
134