There was much excitement in the Fig & Pen household this week when we discovered a plant milk we actually enjoyed. While we regularly use Innocent’s Hazelnut Milk for porridge and cereal, we’ve yet to find a plant milk that can be enjoyed in tea or simply drunk as a beverage. Most of the ones…
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This beautiful lady is a Dutch Barnevelder. She’s a big, sturdy bird who lays beautiful dark brown eggs. She isn’t our friendliest bird, but she’s super entertaining. She occasionally upsets herself with hiccups! If you’ve never heard a chicken hiccupping, I’d dare say you haven’t lived.
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I flung this together when it was too hot to think about cooking. It’s vegetarian, but using vegan mayo will make it suitable for vegans. This recipe makes enough for 3-4 wraps, so feel free to scale up or down. Also, be as generous as you want with the various ingredients. Just remember to leave…
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Leghorns originated from Italy and have traditionally been used as laying hens. They’re supposed to give you at least 280 eggs a year, but ours has spent so much time being broody, she’s barely laid at all this year. She’s also very flighty and doesn’t like humans at all. I’m not sure if our leghorn…
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I’ve decided to semi-retire. I’m not needed at the office the way I was and I can afford to work less, so why not? While my staff works a twenty-three hour week, I now work a twelve. So far I’m enjoying my free time, and I feel a lot less stressed about things. With all…
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When a person reaches their mid-to-late 40s, a strange process begins. Dinner time gets earlier, greenhouses get purchased, pinafores become attractive, and then later, the switch completely flips and one is wearing sensible shoes while coveting everything in the Lakeland catalog. My parents did some boring-ass stuff in their 50s, and I can remember thinking…
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We have two of these beautiful birds, both cuckoo. They’re both big, friendly birds with bags of personality. The one in the photo is a recent addition to our flock. Someone in a nearby village was moving to a house without a garden and needed a home for three hens. Of course, we didn’t hesitate.…
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I was so excited to hear Milk Makeup would be available from Cult Beauty back in January. I love ethical brands, and Milk is one that gets a lot of good press. I didn’t go too crazy with my first purchase, but I wish I had. I’m super impressed with the few things I got.…
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Vorwerk hens can be quite hard to come by, so I jumped at the chance of owning one when the breeder let me know he had a spare. This breed originated in Germany and is known for being fairly laid back and economical with food. Our vorwerk is a bit of a loner and lays…
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We gutted the linen closet today. Four bags of textiles and two bags of rubbish that neither of us can explain. I’m sure holding on to double-sized bed linen despite the fact we have a king-sized duvet made sense at some point, but we couldn’t take the untidiness any longer. Mr Fig and Pen is…
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When I wrote weekly skincare reviews, I was trying new products nearly every day. It was fun, but it didn’t do my skin any favours. Now that I have a routine that works, I’m not keen on losing progress by using something that might irritate or upset my skin. I stick to my holy grail…
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Since giving up meat, I’ve found sandwiches a bit challenging. While vegetarians can enjoy cheese or egg filling, there are precious few options for vegans. I’m not vegan myself, but I am trying to cut down on dairy. Yesterday I adapted one of my favourite recipes for chicken salad and was happy with the result.…
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It’s done! With no building or woodworking knowledge, I’ve put together a really cute little egg stand from which to sell eggs in front of my house. For the base, I used this ODDVAR stool from IKEA, but instead of fastening the base to the seat of the stool, I attached it to this hen…
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This beautiful plant came bursting out of our garden wall a couple of years ago. It’s quintupled in size since I first noticed it, and it’s looking quite pretty this year. It’s fragile, though, and I’ve been unable to get at the roots to transplant it. Each attempt has led to my tearing it out…
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