The recipes originate from my love of allotmenting. I started an allotment in 2006, with a simple aim of growing the healthiest food I could provide for my family. I soon realised that growing food was one thing, finding enjoyable ways of eating through an allotment’s worth of fruit and vegetables quite another!

Therefore I started a recipe collection, and I had the good fortune to have plenty of advice and ideas from my family in the Basque Country in Spain, where growing and eating the local food is a source of great pride and passion.

The Home Coffee Shop is this collection, and contains recipes using fruit and vegetables it is possible to grow in a kitchen garden or allotment, and turning these into delicious café style side plates and small meals that are enjoyable to eat. But like any good coffee shop, there are sweet treats too!

If you like to grow your own herbs, fruit, or vegetables, then these recipes are for you. The recipes can easily be adapted to what you have. Or, simply visit your local supermarket, farm shop, or grocers, and cook what is fresh and in season.