We see food as the centre of the world. Food for us is all that we do – we farm, we cook, we celebrate, we nourish our bodies. Real food is what it’s all about and the joys that come from that.

A lot of work goes in to each meal that we eat. The majority of our food is from the farm, except for grains and beans which we source locally, coffee/tea, chocolate and some spices. Our food follows the seasons – we use what we grow or forage around us, we preserve and ferment what we have in abundance seasonally and raise and hunt our own meat (which we eat little bits of). We are big into traditional ways of eating, milling our grains fresh, soaking beans and eating in balance with nature. We try to always have something fermented with every meal, whether it be a lacto-fermented pickle we made back in summer or fermented grains.

Seasonal eating is in all ways good. It’s best for your body, the environment and it’s a way to really celebrate ingredients. So this day in a plate is based on our winter menu – which consists of lots of warming foods of root vegetables, grains, stored pumpkins, potatoes, sweet potatoes and grains. In summer, it’s more about fresh tomatoes and cucumbers of every variety, stonefruit and an abundance of zucchinis!

8/9am: We are slow eaters on winter mornings, things just move slower in winter. Our meals generally begin with a warming porridge, topped with preserved fruits (such as cherries and quinces). We might also have coffee, tea, a “whatever is in the garden juice/smoothie” (at the moment it’s lots of carrot, greens, beetroot and cold stored apples from Autumn), or orange juice (which are abundant right now!).

1/2pm: We generally have any mixture of good things, on a plate, with our gluten free sourdough bread. This generally consist of a mix of something like: eggs from the girls, some beans, fried greens or edible weeds, a cucumber pickle, some preserved tomato sauce and a roasted or steamed vegetables (at the moment it’s Brussels sprouts and stores sweet potato). In summer, this would be more like a raw salad, but in winter, this is how we roll.

7pm: This one is a good soup or stew + beans, lentils or a little bit of meat for flavoring. Or after a big day, we love to have a share plate, with some of our preserved olives, homemade feta, braised brussels sprouts and roasted vegetables. Plus a good glass of natural wine.

After dinner: Herbal tea time, generally a peppermint or lemongrass.

snacks/dessert:
Sweets: We aren’t actually big on sweet things. Sometimes we make some almond cookies as a treat or good orange cake. Otherwise our homemade yoghurt with honey or a fruit/veg smoothie.

Savory: Snacks are generally just raw veg as we are working in the garden – at the moment the favorites are carrots and snow peas (which have just popped up!). or a good preserved olive.

The way we eat, overall, is about balance – lots of good, real ingredients, some occasional well raised and sustainable meat and a little bit of good natural wine. A balanced approach.

Check out Matt & Lentil's gorgeous Instagram and Grown & Gathered website.