I know I have been very poor at keeping up my diary but I have a defence (sort of). Since I posted last Friday, I’ve made 20 little pots of jam, 120 scones, 48 portions of beef pie, 24 portions of lentil, broad bean and Cornish Blue cheese pie, while managing to also do a load of stuff in the kitchen and garden too…..not to mention working all day on Saturday and Sunday.

The jam was made from the bilberries and wild strawberries that were my last posting, mixed with other (mostly bought) fruit. The scones have been made from a mixture of traditional wheat and spelt, mixed with local butter and milk. The beef pie has been made from Dexter cattle beef, reared by two of life’s “good guys”. A gentle, kind couple who treat their small herd with kindness and dignity, not to mention feeding them only grass and hay (no BAD things), letting them graze out-doors throughout their lives and taking them only on a short (10 mile) journey to the abattoir where they are butchered. I’ve tried to do my best to stick to their principles and have marinated the beef in Doom Bar for 24 hours, cooked it slowly for eight hours until it’s drippingly tender, picked it over to remove any little fatty bits then made a simple onion gravy to provide moistness. Finally, it’s been topped with suetcrust pastry, with a little sage and parsley chopped into it.

The pie for vegetarians is brimming with home-grown stuff, not to mention having cheese from less than a mile away from home. The crust is made with organic Kamut flour, an ancient type of flour that makes short pastry and is wholegrain. Of course the butter in the pastry is local too.

I am now half way through making Cornish apple cake (marinating apples as I type).

My friends and relatives have all been aghast at me choosing to cook my own wedding food but think of it this way. Would a caterer have gone to such lengths to find truly kindly reared beef? Would they have been so keen to source organic, local produce when profits might be eroded? Most importantly, would they treat the vegetarian meals with as much tender loving care as those of the meat eaters? I strongly believe the answer to all of these questions is no.

Now the only advance cooking remaining is the fish pies – I’ve got the fish on order from a local supplier of line caught, sustainable fish. Closer to the day, there is more cooking to be done but hopefully it’s under control well enough now to be able to sleep a bit more easily over the coming week or so.

Yes, I’ll freely admit to being insane. I’ll equally freely admit that I’m more than a little nervous about the timings and the on-the-day management. BUT, I’m also sure that our wedding guests will be served with food that I am completely confident is the best I can make it.