Lower Buckton Country House

Tomatoes in January

2012-01-17T19:39:00.000Z

The other night our on-site weather station recorded -5 and yet we're still gathering tomatoes from our un-heated greenhouse. All these salad leaves and greens are growing in the ground outside and a ladybird visited my kitchen yesterday! Salad days are here again!

Spring at Lower Buckton

2011-03-30T20:00:00.000+01:00

Salad Burnet

For me the changing of the clocks herald spring no matter the weather. To enjoy these lengthening days is nature's tonic for the winter-weary! As I write, the sunny evening shadows are passing over the Wigmore Rolls and there's a busy buzz in the air of birds, insects and animals astir. My window ledges are cluttered with Henry's seedlings being given a "warm start" before he relegates them to the un-heated greenhouse and then to the garden. I was pleased to see the back of "pheasant for dinner" half-way through February. Delicious as pheasant is, it belongs "in season", redolent of chilly winter evenings. We've had plenty of roots and I've made the last of the winter hoard of parsnips into soup, said goodbye to the leeks and the new season's are already sown. Looks like we've lost the Rosemary to acute frost damage. A huge bush, it took a hammering in 2009/10 and I was amazed it recovered but this winter's relentless frost and snow appears to have taken its toll. However not all is lost and we're picking the lemony sorrel, frilly fronds of fennel, peppery rocket, salad burnet, spiky chives, red chicory, lovage, land cress, sage and marjoram which are just left to get on with life and have come through the winter completely unscathed. Then of course there's all the truly wild stuff coming through such as nettle tops and ramsons (wild garlic). I feel a lot more soup on the way!

Daffs out for St David's Day!

HEREFORDSHIRE FOOD CHAMPION 2010

2010-07-19T00:48:00.001+01:00

Thank you all who nominated me. I was extremely pleased to be shortlisted for the award!

Please, please would you be kind enough to nominate me as a "Herefordshire Food Champion" in the up and coming Flavours of Herefordshire Awards 2010? As you may know that I've won the Flavours of Herefordshire "Best Breakfast" for three years on the trot and am giving that one a break this year. But the Herefordshire Food Champion award is a new category for this year and I'd love to be considered.

Your vote along with a few words to sum up what you feel is my ethos and approach to serving, promoting and supporting local Herefordshire food and food producers would be much appreciated.

Apparently, the HEREFORDSHIRE FOOD CHAMPION is based on the number of votes from the public! If you would like to nominate me please send your entry including the following details:

The following bullet points are the criteria on which I'd be judged and I have made a few notes besides each.............

Length of service to Herefordshire Food and Drink? - I opened Lower Buckton Country House in 2000 when I made a conscious decision that my food and drink served would be sourced from Herefordshire and from within a twelve mile radius of Lower Buckton. Everything either home-produced, grown reared, baked stirred & cooked at Lower Buckton or locally sought, bought and caught from small-scale, micro-businesses and farmers' markets which is all served in season.
Depth and breadth of knowledge of food produced in the county? Describe how aware the nominated champion is of the food produced in the county: My depth of knowledge is demonstrated by the amount of food and drink which is sourced from small-scale micro producers in the county and my utter commitment to supporting local businesses and the rural economy. I have a working knowledge of all the county's food/drink producers and the ability to impart my passion to all who're interested enough to listen!
Charisma and enthusiam of the individual? Describe the nominated champion's enthusiasm for the county - do they do anything special? Well, I'll leave you to comment on that but I hope that my enthusiasm is reflected in the passion I have for our local seasonal food in the county and that I believe that our food has a history, provenance and story to tell from plot to plate. The fact that I can tell our guests not just the name of the person who makes the cheese but can show you the fields in which the cows grazed that produced the milk and the name of the farmer who milked the cows and so and so on. The women who make our apple juice collect the apples from friends' non-sprayed, private orchards and press them at their small-holding about eight miles away; we think their juice sublime. All our meat is either our own home-produced free-range pork or from Doug Griffiths' Butchers in Leintwardine who has the only remaining slaughterhouse for many, many, many miles at the rear of his traditional shop. A true Food Hero indeed! These are sort of food producers who interest me. The small, the struggling, the ones who battle against all the odds. The farmers who've diversified, who've learned a new art in order earn "value added" from their product. The ones who've not been afraid of change but have remained principled and true to their roots in agriculture but developed to meet a more discerning and enlightened market.
How they promote Herefordshire in their work to the county, the UK and the rest of the world? My Cookery Courses and Food Safaris are specifically devised to promote our local food and drink and to inspire participants through taste adventures exploring Herefordshire's food and drink rich culture and heritage. The Cook Days evolve around whatever local, seasonal food is available at the time from which we're inspired to create spontaneous dishes. My Food Safaris are magical mystery tours and regularly visit a cross-section of food and drink producers across the county. Over the years I've made various TV and radio appearances: from a networked radio station in USA to prime-time TV in the UK all promoting Herefordshire produce. The most recent was being featured on BBC R4 Traveller's Tree in May of this year when the reporter followed one of my Food Safaris. I'm a founder member and committee member of Slow Food Herefordshire which organises various food-related events through the county. I've twice represented Slow Food at the Salone del Gusto in Turin. First as one of 30 cooks/chefs representing the UK at Terra Madre2006 and secondly as the Herefordshire representative at Terra Madre2008
FOOD FESTIVAL I regularly give cookery demonstrations at local shows and food festivals but the reality of my passion for local produce in Herefordshire is "my own" Mortimer Country Food Fair which I co-organise with a neighbouring business(Aardvark Books). We started the fair as a show-case to specifically highlight our local businesses within our community and to bring them together for a day to promote our own special corner of north Herefordshire. This fair has grown in size and takes place every year in Brampton Bryan. It is living proof of my commitment to promoting our local businesses and therefore supporting our local community.
I'm constantly promoting Herefordshire food and drink through my websites, blog, Twitter and Facebook
http://www.lowerbuckton.co.uk
http://www.foodtourism.co.uk
http://www.mortimerfoodfair.co.uk
http://lowerbuckton.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/agaqueen

BUT MOST OF ALL, I ENJOY SERVING MY BED AND BREAKFAST GUESTS "HEREFORDSHIRE ON A PLATE"..........

Please, please send your nomination details to:

Food Champion at Flavours of Herefordshire 2010, Visit Herefordshire, PO Box 4, Plough Lane, Hereford HR4 0XH

or email it to jlewis2@herefordshire.gov.uk

Don't forget to include my name and address, so that they know who you are nominating!

Carolyn Chesshire, Lower Buckton Country House, near Leintwardine, Herefordshire SY7 OJU

Please hurry because entries have to be in by Sunday 1 August which really means by Friday 30 July, I suppose!

Sausage Making for BBC R4 Traveller's Tree broadcast on Monday 10 May 2010

2010-05-11T17:05:00.001+01:00

EASTER MONDAY TREATS

2010-04-05T22:36:00.002+01:00

I'm slowly winding down from a very busy Easter weekend and there's still much hilarity issuing from the dining room. Henry's managing to eat something while all the guests are onto coffee and water-mint infusions. (It is nearly 11.00 pm so I let him eat....!)

Full-house for dinner plus a refugee from the Shepherd's Hut (which was extremely cosy with its wood-stove puffing away earlier) so we did Lower Buckton Pork. Always a winner!

A week or so ago I won a basket of fruit in a raffle. It was full of the sort of unseasonal stuff which I do
n't usually buy like hard, bullet-like unnaturally-looking black plums and under-ripe avocados. Anyway, by tonight the avocados had, at last, softened so, as I abhor waste of any kind and the avocados didn't ask to end up unwanted and unloved in my kitchen I set about "doing something with them". I thought they'd probably be pretty discoloured when cut open and even if not, did I have a lemon to squeeze over them to stop the rot? No! Oh well, ............ Henry had already brought in from the garden some French sorrel and Welsh onions so I thought, sorrel, that's a bit "lemony", that will do! A quick mash of the avocados (and amazingly they weren't discoloured at all), mix in the finely chopped sorrel and snipped chives, a grind of pepper, sprinkle of salt plus a slug of lemon-infused rapeseed oil www.justoil.co.uk saved the day! Spread over some toasted soda-bread, it was delicious............

Pudding was off the cuff........ I had a basin of tangy blackcurrant syrup-juice from last season's crop and had a sudden urge to make some grown-up jelly. I have a collection of over fifty antique molds which cry out to be used. So I chose a classic "sand-castle" type with turrets and things and made the jelly with a good glug of Herefordshire Cassis www.britishcassis.co.uk from Jo Hilditch and it turned out a real treat especially after the battlements were plastered with whipped Mawley Farm double cream. Eat your hearts out, Bompas & Parr! (Oh and there was more chocolate as well........!)

HAPPY EASTER! MUTTON BAKED in HAY

2010-04-04T16:49:00.003+01:00

For this year's Easter Sunday Feast I've decided to bake some mutton in hay. I'm writing this post in "real time", having just returned from gathering some ransoms (wild garlic) from my secret place beside a babbling brook. It's a gorgeous afternoon and I also tramped down to a hidden piece of water and sat on a log for a few minutes watching wild-fowl: swan, mallard, coot, moorhen, heron plus some unidentified (by me) wading birds.

The ransoms are smothering the vegetation on either side of the little stream, still young with leaves no more than about five inches and no sign of any flowers yet. I scrabbled and slipped in the leaf mold on the banks of the stream, enjoying the dappled sun-light filtering through the bare hazel branches above. Delighted to find a flowering primrose peaking through and a sweet patch of violets.

After filling my trug I returned home along a country lane which passes this delightful little church at Pipe Aston with its very special, early tympanum over the door. I then travelled on in the hope of find the Jersey girls out at grass enjoying the afternoon sunshine. They're some of the organic herd which supplies milk and cream for The Dairyhouse's delicious, organic yoghurts I serve at breakfast. Anyway, there they were, chewing cuds and giving me curious looks as a sneaked some photographs of them. However I'm such a rubbish photographer and the results are way too poor to publish here! So I'll just have to catch them another day.

Stopping on Burrington Bridge afforded me a lovely view of the meadering river Teme plus a few ewes with lambs at foot. Well, it is Easter and I am preparing to eat one of their relatives! Goodness! From this photograph you can't even see any but I can assure you they are there,,,, some where!

Now, on with the mutton story........

I've been out the garden and gathered some woody herbs: sage, thyme, rosemary, marjoram and bay. Henry's brought in some sweet meadow hay from the centre of a fresh bale. Jasper and Ayesha not too impressed at our commandeering their winter forage, but hey ho!

Here are all the ingredients laid out ready to go............

Note the Easter eggs with hen-cup, just to set the scene!

A rough chop of the ransoms then bash it altogether with some softening, local farmhouse butter, Welsh sea-salt and black pepper before slathering it all over the mutton.

Below is the mutton nesting on the hay before being covered with more hay, having some Herefordshire cider poured around it, getting covered with foil, a tin lid and going in the AGA for "as long as it takes". Long and slow I think...........

Shall catch up with this blog later. In the meantime I've a date with an Easter cake and a nice cup of tea!

Mutton baked in hay with wild garlic, part two!

I gave the guests a plate of oat biscuits topped with beetroot and chicken liver pate which I'd made yesterday. I love beetroot and had pureed some with coriander and seasonings then added it to a basic chicken liver and garlic mixture before blitzing the lot together. Ate some yesterday but by tonight the flavours had really developed well. Will certainly be doing that again!

Decided to whizz up a quick soup from the some water-mint, lemony French sorrel, Welsh onions and chives Henry had brought up from the garden this afternoon. What a combo! Threw in a pack of frozen peas, simmered then blended.........through the mouli. Shan't be doing that again in a hurry. Now I know why someone had donated the thing to a charity shop. Next time, get out the Magimix and never mind the washing up! Took a huge pot-ful through and served it with a basket of freshly made soda-bread - they all had seconds and some thirds!

After languishing in the Aga on a long slow cook the mutton beast was removed, unwrapped from its nest of hay and placed on a platter to rest. I strained off the juices (which have a wonderful, grassy smell!) through the hay, threw in some chopped ransoms with a slug of cream and gave it good bubbling for a few minutes while Henry carved the meat in the dining room. Fluffy roast potatoes, steamed purple sprouting and braised celeriac, carrot, parsnip with fennel fronds brought up the rear. The mutton was SO sweet and meltingly tender and plates were licked!

With a pudding of apple and pear crumble and some meringues with lashings of cream followed by a round of The Ludlow Food Centre's "Cheese with no Name" with more homemade oat biscuits I think the only non-UK ingredient used was black pepper. Absolutely everything else was either sourced/grown by us at Lower Buckton or was grown/produced within a ten mile radius of where we live. True local, seasonal food with love.

My pro-Aga rant on The Guardian's "Word of Mouth"

2010-03-15T18:58:00.001Z

Earlier today, Oliver Thring wrote something for Word of Mouth at The Guardian about Agas and all that's wrong with them. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/mar/15/aga-cooking

I was pretty incensed so quickly knocked-up the following as a "reply" in the comments section below his article.

So read on.......

My Guardian AGA rant

What twaddle! You don't need one of those silly tennis racquet thingys to make Aga toast!

I run a busy bed & breakfast business and since installing my Aga I've turned off three radiators, don't use an electric kettle, toaster, bread maker, microwave or use other heat source for drying clothes. I'm very capable of cooking souffles, stir-fries and charring the best steaks on a griddle to perfect "blueness". Anything can "grilled" in the oven from comforting cheese on toast to rosy-pink lamb cutlets. The crackling from our own home-reared pork is the stuff of (culinary) dreams and amazing Yorkshire puddings are perfectly possible! There is nothing it can't cook. It's ready to go all the time and can turn out a five course dinner for 25 in two hours. Anytime! Oh and I rarely do stews! A properly running Aga does NOT take ages to heat up & doesn't cool down at the drop of a hat. Breakfasts are the best!

My Aga is like the Olympic flame: it never goes out. On its six-monthly service days I leave home, allowing my husband to tinker with its bits & I won't return until it's up to speed again! Sadly (luckily for me!) any hot summers we may have never permeate my kitchen enough to consider turning it off. Anyway it's my work-horse from which I earn my living. I also run Cook Days & Demonstrations from around my Aga specialising in cooking with local seasonal food from small-scale artisan producers.

There are no cooking smells, grease, condensation and steaming up to contend with. It's clean, cosy and comforting.

Never mind the stereotypical reasons for Aga ownership to dry boots & dogs, hatch eggs & keep tiddly lambs alive and just be a glorified meringue-maker! The Aga is truly my necessity and is absolutely not an extension some ego-centric-country-dwelling dream! (Although I do dry boots, make meringues and live in the country!).

I'm sitting beside it right now, laptop on knees, tea on the side and scones in oven, waiting for guests to arrive......

Come and experience my Aga in action! Stay at http://www.lowerbuckton.co.uk or follow me on http://www.twitter.com/agaqueen

Brock Hall Farm's Brockette goats' cheese with new-season's Worcestershire rhubarb & Seville orange relish.

2010-03-11T19:03:00.002Z

Sarah at Brock Hall Farm near Ludlow rears and keeps a dairy-herd of goats and makes the most delicious, fresh-tasting cheeses. Brockette is her latest addition and I think it makes a creamy partner to this zingy rhubarb sauce.

Serves two as a shared dish for light starter with some crusty bread

1 whole Brockette

for the relish..........

3 cups diced rhubarb (rinsed)

¾ cup sugar

1 Seville orange, zested & juiced

quarter tsp chili flakes

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 small onion, minced

(extra liquid)

Place all relish ingredients in a medium saucepan. Slowly, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring every so often, for about 10 minutes or until mixture thickens. Add more juice/water as required. Cool and serve alongside the cheese

Fried smoked salmon skin

2010-03-02T17:48:00.001Z

"Fried smoked salmon skin" doesn't sound like the most appetizing description for my next recipe! You can hardly call it a recipe either: it's so simple and the best way to use up something that would in all probability be thrown away. That's just pure waste. So the next time you have a side of skin-on smoked salmon, here's what to do with it after you've enjoyed the flesh.

I get all my smoked salmon from The Organic Smokehouse which is just up the road from me at Clunbury Hall about seven miles away. Michael and Debbie Leviseur have recently been awarded a Royal Warrant from HRH Prince of Wales and when I went there the other week their (huge) plaque had just arrived and they were lunching at the House of Lords! All very grand. However, they truly deserve it, their salmon is delicious and they smoke all sorts of other products including butter, cheese and salt. So now you know!

Cut the salmon skin into strips, heat a heavy-based frying pan with a little olive oil and toss in a few strips at a time and fry until crisp and puffed. Tip out onto absorbent paper and do the rest. Easy! Just serve on a platter with maybe a wedge of lemon, although I don't think they need it and they certainly don't need salt. Eat alongside a glass of champagne as an appetiser before dinner or just anytime to you damn well like!

St Valentine's Day Chocolate Pots

2010-02-13T18:02:00.000Z

Seriously perfect chocolate pots to make for St Valentine's Day

4oz/125g the best quality/organic 70%+ dark chocolate you can buy

1 large, organic egg yolk

1/4 pint/150mls organic double cream

Have six espresso cups lined up ready........

Put the egg yolk into a mixing bowl with a pouring lip and fork lightly

Break up the chocolate smallish into pieces and lay them on a flexible board or sheet of paper

Heat the cream in a small saucepan to just boiling point and immediately pour over the cream egg yolk, beating with a wire-whisk then quickly throw in the chocolate pieces and beat/stir until melted and smooth. Add a small slug of alcohol (brandy or fruit liqueur) if you want to but I like the pure unadulterated version.

Pour evenly into the pots - scraping every last drop with a silicon spatula. Chill for a couple of hours in the fridge. They also freeze excellently so I always make a batch when I've yolks to use up after cooking meringues! Always remove from fridge about half an hour before serving - way too cold straight from the fridge!

The very first time I made these pots I honestly thought that the amount would be too little for six servings so I doubled it up and poured it into six ramekins. Absolutely no one, not even the hardiest of chocoholics could finish a whole pot so my greed won the better of me and I lost! Since then I've always used espresso cups and tiny glasses until I found these cute, heart-shaped cups which seem just perfect.

In this photograph I've served them with blobs of home-made mint and vanilla ice-cream for a change!

A True Taste of Herefordshire

2009-12-04T00:04:00.000Z

A few days ago our free-range, rare breed Berkshire pigs went off for slaughter. Not always a sad day even though they've been part of the family for quite sometime. We keep just a couple on average twice a year and "Built like hippos, behave like thugs" is a suitable description for Berkshires; these two were no exception. We give them no names, just numbers and I've lost count without consulting the paper-work, which is extensive; I think they must have been about P19 & P20. But who cares! Once you've been knocked off your feet for the umpteenth time whilst distributing tasty windfalls, parsnip tops and other vegetable garden trimmings for their delicatation, Pig Day down at AH Griffiths of Leintwardine can't come soon enough! Seriously though, Doug Griffiths' slaughter house is five minutes' away and we are SO lucky to have it. At present it's the only one of its kind in Herefordshire/Shropshire: traditional butchers' shop at the front (complete with displays of flesh & fowl on marble slab in the window) and slaughterhouse in the rear premises complete with rules and regulations to make the most compliant weep. For some good old country humour mixed with black comedy and a good smattering of political incorrectness, venture if you dare, to the cutting-room with your carcass instructions carefully prepared..........!

Today was Sausage Making Day and so for my demonstration/hands-on Cook Day I decided to make my own-recipe Pork with Perry, Little Herefordshire cheese and fresh herb sausages.

Firstly we gathered together a good lump of Monkland Dairy's unpasturised Little Hereford cheese, a bottle of Dunkertons' goodly organic Perry, some of our own pears, onions, garlic and fresh, green herbs from the garden. All sausages require a little "rusk". This is not just a padding and excuse to get away with using less meat. It really does help to bind the mixture and absorb the fat thus making for a better texture and taste. I like to make my own and today used a mixture of organic, UK grown porridge oats which I ground in the Magimix and some crumbs made from a good sourdough loaf from the Ludlow Food Centre.

After chopping, grating and mincing all the flavourings I added them to the coarsely chopped meat which was taken from the hands of pork and then poured over a good slug of Perry after which, the only thing to do is to get down and dirty, mixing with your hands to get everything amalgamated.

We then passed all of the mixture through the sausage-making machine on a coarse-mince setting
to get the consistency right..........
At this point it's a good idea to sample some of the mixture just to check you like it! So we passed some through the machine in "sausage mode" but without using the skins and frizzled it up and ate it with some toasted sour dough bread for a late breakfast. Add seasoning adjustments now:- some Halen Mon salt and the only imported ingredient: black pepper.......

After rewarding ourselves with a pot of Lavazza coffee and some homemade biscuits, sausage-making proper can begin.

The runners have to be prepared by unravelling them into little individual mounds of skins and then each one has to be sluiced through with cold running water to wash them out and lubricate them to ease the filling process.

At last sausage-making proper can begin!

It's always exciting when the first run is completed....

There's a definite art to looping-up the links.....

.......and the old kitchen stool has many uses!

......... They do say that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. However all that we cooked at the end of labours were eaten so fast and the rest were destined either for today's Cook Day participants to take home with them or for my own freezer, all I had left to photograph were a couple of "rejects" which Henry and I had for supper!

Oh well, here's to remembering P19 & P20!

BBC Radio 4 "Lives in a Landscape" broadcast Friday 13 November 2009

2009-11-13T11:55:00.000Z

As I write this I'm listening to BBC R4's "Lives in a Landscape". Listening to local people from my nearest shopping/market town, Knighton, just seven miles up the road across the Welsh border into the old county of Radnorshire, now known as Powys. Knighton has a split personality: the river Teme runs through and the town to the south bank is in Wales and the town to the north bank is in Shropshire, England. But that's not the only way the town is split. I'm listening to people, many of whom I know, talking about the proposed windfarm planned for Stonewall Hill which is just to the south east of the town. I'm listening to the people of Knighton who're bound together in this ancient market town yet opinions are split and views divided about the wind turbines which threaten to dominate this most beautiful wild place with its panoramic views for miles; sparsely populated with outlying farms and cottages along this ancient border between England and Wales. I ride up there. Through its old green lanes, mediaeval roads and sunken bridlepaths. It's home to red kites, buzzards and ravens..... and sheep. This photograph shows Knighton in the valley and we're riding through a mediaeval road which is the proposed access road for vast construction lorries and subsequent service vehicles. This road leads to a spider's web of ancient foot paths and bridlepaths across Stonewall Hill and if the planners and the rich landowner get their way these will be lost to all for the future.

For a A MUST read, the "Wind Farm Scam" by Dr John Etherington - this book literally blows the wind industry away.www.swindlefarms.com

Stay for bed and breakfast here at Lower Buckton www.lowerbuckton.co.uk and we'll introduce you to this unique "Life in a Landscape"

LOCAL TO LUDLOW MARKET

2009-11-12T21:39:00.000Z

On my way to Ludlow this morning I called in at my local butcher, Doug Griffiths of Leintwardine to order 56 lbs of his "pet mince" with which to feed my pride of Ginger Cats and all the local felines who've discovered this source of fresh meat without the bother of hanging around a rat hole for hours on end. Opposite his shop is a strip of raised grass verge with some old tree-stump remains, beside which was a carpet of funghi. I took this photograph in the hope of meeting someone who'd tell me if I should pick and eat........

Ludlow today was holding the bi-monthly local farmers' market which is so called, "The Local To Ludlow Market". Self-explanatory, really. I love this time of year with the cross-over from autumn to winter and always make a bee-line for the vegetable and fruit stalls, of which there are few. My first port of call is often the first I see or as, of today, I smell.

The scents of the quinces waft through the narrow lanes leading to the market square, luring me siren-like to unmistakable smell of ripening fruit. How I love these misshapen golden orbs which will transform a humble apple pie, create a glorious autumn tart and render into jewel-like jellies to serve with winter game and cheese.....These quince are from Old Sandlin Fruit Farm near Malvern, stalwarts of the Ludlow Market and from whom you can buy apples and pears almost until the next season's is ready
Bearing in mind I'm running a Non-meat Cooking Day this Saturday I was on the look out for fresh vegetables other than those Henry will give me from Lower Buckton's garden. I struck gold at "Roots at Rushwick", organic farmers with a passion for their craft. I quickly filled my basket with bunches of beetroot still with their stalks and leaves attached (more of those later), bundles of Tuscan black cabbage & Russian spinach plus some pack choi. After chatting away with Will for sometime he eventually offered me his "under the table" special. These were certainly not on show! Imagine my delight on being offered bags of cannellini beans still in the pod. Part of the pleasure of visiting your local farmers' market is strolling around, meeting and chatting with friends, showing them your purchases and sharing the delights of what you've bought and from whom. Luckily, when I bumped into my friend Lesley Mackley and found her coveting my cannellini, there were some left for her to buy. We were lucky indeed because Will had brought them in for my fellow Terra Madre cook Clive, down at the Green Cafe on Dinham's Millenium Green. Clive has a fab daytime cafe which serves simple food, beautifully prepared and cooked with style and panache. It's good news for we in and around Ludlow that his first evening opening is tomorrow and his second will be for a Slow Food Terra Madre event on Thursday 10 December.s Some Staffordshire oatcakes from fellow Twitterer @Fareground caught my eye. Shall use them on Saturday and fill them with a delicious vegetable and green salad mixture....... although I liked the sound of his bacon/cheese suggestions......

I also bought a fresh, young round of Welsh goats' cheese, some Gilly flowers which I may get round to planting in the old trough by the entrance to Lower Buckton plus a huge bag of fresh walnuts from Augernik Farm which is just outside of Ludlow. Shall make a parsley paste using these and some of Lightwood's Little Urn cheese which I bought at Mark's Mouse Trap shop in Church Street. Pictured above is Mark in his shop thinking of a £number£ to write on my account!

I paid a visit to the Tickmore Farm girls to order more of their delicious, home-pressed apple juice. Ruth and Judith specialise in pressing apples collected from traditional, unsprayed local orchards. Their small-holding is just south of Ludlow on Brimfield Common where they make wonderful hay and keep sheep. As for the funghi photographed above....... the delightful Guy from Romy cuisine, on being shown the picture on my camera pronounced them "Not for eating. Non!"!

Down to Clive's to pay for Terra Madre dinner tickets and I couldn't resist staying for some lunch and a chat....... Delicious leek and rosemary soup with homemade soda bread. His lively cafe is beside the River Teme in a restored mill building on the site of the old swimming pool. Obviously the mill-site is heaps older than the pool-site but I do have loads of memories of sunny days spent splashing about in the pool and scrabbling about on the river bank beside the mill-race and weir netting water-creatures into jam-jars tied with string as carrying handles.

Guy Fawkes Night Country Beef Stew

2009-11-05T20:40:00.000Z

Tonight I wanted something really warming and to feed some German guests who're staying here. Had to be totally "English style", seasonal and of course completely locally grown. So, you can't get nearer than our garden and the Leintwardine village butcher......this is how I started.........

Three pounds of Mr Doug Griffiths' prime beef stewing steak, especially selected by the ever-obliging Gordon (known by me as GallopingGordon).

Three onions from Henry's stash in the shed - he really must grow more next season.

A clove of garlic, from same stash - he really is a hoarder!

Couple of tbs of Bacheldre Mill flour
Tsp of Coleman's English mustard
Grind of black pepper corns

Pinch of Halen Mon salt - only tad, because will be adding pickled walnuts later and they can be a little on the salty-side.......

Ensure the beef is "dry" (press in a clean tea-towel if necessary) then mix the flour, mustard & pepper on a flat dish. Heat some oil, (I like to use Shropshire Rape-seed Oil) in a heavy-bottomed frying pan and add a knob of English butter. Roll chunks of beef in the flour mix and place in the hot fat enough to cover pan base. Quickly brown on all sides using tongs to turn. The butter helps to caramelise and brown the meat. Transfer the pieces to oven-proof stew-pot as you go along. Add a little more oil/butter as needed to sizzle-brown all the meat.

Peel and dice the onions, add more oil/butter to frying pan and cook till softened and slightly coloured. Bash the garlic on a board with the back of a chopping knive, remove the skin and crush then add to onions and cook together for a minute. Scrape all into the meat in the stew-pot then pour some liquid into the frying pan and bubble up, scraping all the meat residue in the pan. (I used apple juice from the Ludlow Vineyard) Pour into the stew pot then top up to just about cover the meat with some cider. The one here is a new to me, found it at the Herefordshire Food Festival and is call Orgasmic Cider. (Just hope it works for both of us!) Add some bay leaves (these are from the tree in garden of our holiday cottage in Ludlow), chopped sage leaves and some fennel seeds - these are all from our garden. Bring everything up to a simmer, stirring all the time then put in oven for a couple of hours. Bring out, check that the meat is becoming tender and add some quatered pickled walnuts............ Bring back up to the simmer and put back in a low oven for a minimun of another 30 minutes. Remove from oven and check for seasoning, you may need to add salt if preferred........

Here it is, straight out of the oven served with a dish of Lower Buckton leeks in cheese sauce and a bowl of the creamiest, buttery mashed organic potatoes you'll find! The leeks' sauce is made with Ludlow Food Centre's new blue cheese, Mawley Town Farm milk and Netherend English organic butter. Bliss!

The Germans loved it all............

Halloween Night Stuffed Pumpkin

2009-11-01T20:40:00.000Z

We had a house party of people staying over the weekend of Halloween which happened to fall on the Saturday. I took them all hunting during the day and wanted a simple, tasty dinner to prepare and cook for when we all returned, weary and tired in the afternoon. I'd previously bought a couple of pounds of quality stewing beef and minced it myself. I like to do it this way so that I'm in total control of what goes into my mince.......! Then I peeled and chopped a couple of onions and softened them in butter/oil mix in a large, cast-iron cooking pot, adding a couple of crushed garlic cloves as well. For the fiery spiceyness I tore up a last year's dried red chilli and pounded it together in a pestle with some freshly grated ginger and some fresh coriander seeds gathered from the garden. Gave it all good bashing and add to the onions then add the meat, turn up the heat and brown it all, grinding in some black pepper too. When beef all browned, I threw in a large spoonful of flour, cooked that into the mix for a couple of minutes before adding a pound of chopped-up soft tomatoes from the greenhouse. Cook it all up to a simmer adding water or stock until bubbling as you like it. Add a good handful of chopped flat mushrooms and some green herbs from garden. Put on lid and cook for sometime until all thick and amalgamated. Taste for seasoning and add salt as required.

Meanwhile slice "lid" off chosen pumpkin and scoop out the seeds. Place in pan and spoon in the mince mix. Replace lid and secure with wooden cocktails sticks if necessary. Cover with sheet of silver foil and bake in a low oven for "hours"! Check for tenderness of pumpkin flesh as you go along.

To serve make a large batch of blue cheese sauce, I used the Ludlow Food Centre's new Ludlow Blue. A big batch of garlic bread and crisp green salad is just perfect!

Brock Hall Goats' Cheese Delish-Dish

2009-10-08T23:23:00.000+01:00

Brock Hall Goats' Cheese Delish-Dish: perfect as a starter for four or supper dish for two....This recipe was devised from fresh ingredients from my "fridge & field" this evening. I love the taste of this tangy, fresh soft goats' cheese from Shropshire-based Brock Hall Farm and the excuse to use Dairy House's creme fraiche is never one to be missed. Combined with the lemony/citrus taste of fresh sorrel and the subtle green fennel from a fresh head of seeds, this simple recipe is delicious served straight from the pan or left to cool and serve at room temperature. While I was picking the sorrel I found some salad leaves, rocket & peppery mizuna, coriander sprigs & flowers, a few cherry tomatoes & basil leaves and the nasturtium flowers, leaves & dill flowers all gathered together to create an attractive salad.

Gather your raw ingredients together:

2 largish shallots

1 clove of garlic

1 oz/25 g Netherend organic farmhouse butter

splash of Shropshire Oils rapeseed oil

six largish leaves of sorrel with their stalks

2 organic free-range eggs

2 oz/50 g Brock Hall Farm soft, goats' cheese

2 oz/50g Dairy House creme fraiche

splash of non-homogenised/GM Mawley Town Farm milk

green fennel seeds

pinch of Halen Mon sea salt

grind of Malaysian black pepper

Melt the butter with a splash of oil in a 8"/20 cm shallow frying pan.

Add the shallots and soften in the butter. Crush the garlic and add to the onions after a couple of minutes. Remove the stems from the sorrel leaves and cut into 1/2"/1cm lengths and add to the onions continue to stir until all are softened.

Sprinkle in the green fennel seeds at the end of the softening process.

Crack the eggs into a roomy mixing bowl then add the creme fraiche and the soft goats' cheese.

Beat with a balloon whisk, adding a little milk if the mixture is too thick. Season with salt & pepper.

Shred the sorrel leaves and fold into the egg mixture along with with softened onion mixture from the frying pan.

Wipe the frying pan with some kitchen roll, smear the pan with a little butter/oil and heat. When the pan is hot pour in the complete mixture, swirl across the base of the pan and level with a spatula. Cook for a few minutes until the underside is brown and the mixture is shrinking away from the sides a little.

Transfer to under a hot grill or to a pre-heated oven and continue cooking until the top has set and browned a little. It should be soft & springy. Run a palette knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen then invert a flat plate over the top, carefully turn over and out. Serve with freshly picked salad leaves and a honey/ginger dressing.

GOOD, CLEAN, HONEST & FAIR are the watch words of the International Slow Food movement and ones which I also like to follow. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to use ingredients that are as local to me as possible and of course only those that are grown, produced and made by small-scale independents hence all the "name-dropping" in my recipes. Even the black pepper corns are from a Slow Food producer in Sarawak, Malasia! Obviously substitutes can be made and a recipe is just a guideline - do as you will or wish!

Our free-range, rare-breed pedigree Berkshires...

2009-09-19T00:23:00.000+01:00

Our Berkshires have generous neighbours who bring them their cabbage-white-caterpillar decimated cauliflours. (That was a bit of a mouthful!)

DEMMING AT WORCESTER FEAST - Friday 4 September 2009

2009-09-15T17:38:00.000+01:00

Heart of England Fine Foods invited me to dem at the first ever Worcester Food and Drink Festival aptly named Worcester Feast which took place around the Cathedral Close and within the walled gardens of The Commandery just down the road. I had the lunchtime slot on Friday 5 September and was asked to present "Worcestershire on a Plate"............ and took care to choose ingredients available from various stall-holders at the show. I enjoyed catching-up with David McCaw from The Fold Bransford & on conferring all our chosen recipes were similar, seasonal & made from local produce. Which was more than I can say for the other demmers on the day: not sure what prawns, pineapples, corned beef and tinned milk/cream have to do with the food of Worcestershire!

BAKED AUBERGINES with FRESH WALNUTS & LITTLE URN CHEESE - very appropriate because this cheese is made just outside of Worcester and was named to commemorate England winning the Ashes in 2005 and of course this has just recently happened again!

2 Aubergines from Evesham

rape seed oil - I used some of Just Oils from Staffordshire, who were at the show kindly gave me some to use. Love their smoked and flavoured varieties (I couldn't find a rape seed oil producer which comes from Worcestershire)

1 Garlic clove, crushed

1 tbs chopped onion

2 Drews' tomatoes, diced

1 rape seed oil

S&P

25 g/1 oz walnuts, chopped

15g/1 oz breadcrumbs

50g/2oz little Urn Lightwood, Lower Broadheath, 2005 Ashes

(pomegranite dressing: pom syrup, plain yog, lemon juice, mint, garlic, oil)

Preheat the oven to 200C/440F/Gas 6

Slice the aubergines lengthways

Smear a baking tray with a little oil and lay aubs on it then drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake for about 10 minutes until soft

While cooking, sauté the onions and garlic in oil and add the tomatoes and herbs and cook to soften add the chopped walnuts to the tomato mixture and season well.

Remove aubs from oven spread the mixture onto the slices and layer up to reform the shaped aubs. Remove carefully to a baking dish with high sides which will just hold the two aubergines.

Top with the cheese and breadcrumbs mix, drizzle over some more oil and bake in the oven to brown

Serve with fruity dressing on a crisp green salad - I have some pomegranite syrup brought back from holiday by a friend which is an ideal partnership with aubergines, but at the food festival I saw various piquant, fruit sauces for sale. Experiment by whisking a fruit syrup, lemon juice, oil and plenty of chopped mint ............

MUDDY BOOTS FOODS special burgers with green been & mint salad with crème fraiche & chilli jam sauce

Once again I'm indebted to the lovely Muddy Boots peeps for their generous contribution of some of their delicious Aberdeen Angus beef burgers which sell themselves really and require absolutely no "messing about". Just fry or griddle to rare/medium as you like them - please do not even dream of over-cooking to Hell and back! Then serve them with some salads such as this GREEN BEAN, HERB & MINT ensemble.......

Lightly steam some French beans (leaving them whole). While they're steaming, add to some oil: a clove of garlic crushed with salt, black pepper and a handful of finely chopped green herbs. I used coriander, rocket & lovage, all picked from or garden that morning then finely chop half a handful of fresh mint and add to the rest - aaaaah, that smell! Remove the beans from steamer whilst they'll still "snap" when bent in half (or thirds). Whatever their size, cut/snap them into inch long pieces. Whilst warm, throw them into a bowl and scrape in the oil/herb mixture - toss together and serve with the burgers........

COURGETTE & GINGER HONEYBUNS with CURD CHEESE/HONEY/HAZLENUT topping

these ingredients make 24 buns

250 g trimmed courgettes

1 tbs of grated fresh ginger

2 large eggs

125 mls rape seed oil

100g silver spoon granulated sugar

50g runny honey

225g s/r flour plus1 tsp baking powder

cup cake or muffin tins

topping

200 g cream/curd cheese

50 g honey

a little, freshly grated ginger & crushed hazlenuts

Coarsely grate the courgettes with mandolin or in food processor and squeeze out the excess moisture in a clean tea towel

Cream together the oil, eggs & sugar in a bowl and mix in the grated ginger.

Sieve in the flour, bp & whisk until mixed then fold in the grated courgettes

Spoon into muffin/cupcake tins and bake until firm to the touch and light brown. 190c/375f/g5 10 – 12 mins

Leave to cool a little before turning out and cover with the cream-cheese topping when cold & sprinkle with chopped hazlenuts

For the topping Beat 200 g cream cheese with the grated ginger

Worcestershire Pear Snow - Pears! The emblem of Worcestershire!

Peel and core chosen amount pears.

Cube and place in saucepan with vanilla pod/s & 1 tbs of honey per pear and cover with perry. Cook until soft and then puree. Then leave to cool completely

Whip one egg white per pear then fold the pear puree into the egg white.

Spoon into decorative, stemmed glasses and stud with fresh blackberries

Mortimer Country Food Fair - Saturday 11 July 2009

2009-07-12T23:38:00.000+01:00

Our second annual Mortimer Country Food Fair took place at The Bookery in Brampton Bryan and Aardvark Books and I worked really hard to create a successful day show-casing over 30 local businesses specialising in artisan food producers

2009-06-12T11:35:00.000+01:00

APPLE & GINGER MUFFINS

4 oz Silver Spoon British golden castor sugar

2 oz soft Netherend organic butter

Spices – ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, mixed spice (a little of what you fancy) Use fresh, grated ginger if available

9 oz Bacheldre organic stone-ground unbleached plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

8 fl oz Mawley Town Farm milk

4 oz chopped Herefordshire apples

1 oz chopped Herefordshire walnuts

· Cream together the sugar and butter

· Add the spices

· Sift the flour with the baking powder together and fold into the sugar/butter a little at a time alternated with the milk.

· Fold in the chopped apples and nuts

· Spoon into greased muffin tins or paper cases

Makes 12

Bake 200c gas 6 for 15 minutes or so.

TEME VALLEY HUNT FUN RIDE

2009-06-12T10:19:00.001+01:00

SUNDAY 14 JUNE 2009

BRAMPTON BRYAN PARK, SY7 0DH

between Knighton (Radnorshire) & Leintwardine,

just off the A4113

By kind permission of

Mr & Mrs Edward Harley & Mr and Mrs Jonathan Coltman Rogers,

local farmers and land owners

Approximately 15 mile ride in the glorious, private estates of Brampton Bryan

and Stanage on the borders of north Herefordshire and Radnorshire-Powys.

Grass rides, tracks and trails through woodland, grassland and upland.

Spectacular scenery and views.

OPTIONAL JUMPS, SHORTER CHILDREN'S ROUTE, ROSETTES

BBQ with LOCAL FOOD, TEAS, COFFEES & HOMEMADE CAKES

TRADE STANDS, LOADS OF PARKING, EASY ACCESS FROM A4113

ADULTS £15.00 ~ CHILDREN (Under 14) £7.00

All riders enter at their own risk and hard hats must be worn.

For further information contact 01547 540 532 – 07960 273 865

email carolyn@lowerbuckton.co.uk - www.lowerbuckton.co.uk

HEREFORDSHIRE SQUIRREL PIE

2009-06-07T17:56:00.000+01:00

Squirrels are back in season down at my local butchers', AH Griffiths of Leintwardine and the following is a tasty recipe for an open squirrel pie in savoury pastry.

Take TWO SQUIRRELS which have been skinned, gutted and cleaned in fresh water. Pop into an oven-proof pot and throw in a small, quartered onion (with skin), a carrot cut into chunks, a bay leaf, some fresh sage, half a dozen peppercorns and a tad of salt. Cover with fresh, cold water put on lid, bring to boil on hot-plate, simmer for a couple of minutes, skim off any scum and simmer gently for about an hour and half either on a hot-plate or in the oven.

Meanwhile make the PASTRY: You will need a 6"/7", deep, loose-bottomed cake tin

8 0z Bacheldre Mill wholemeal flour

4 oz Netherend farmhouse butter

1 large garlic clove crushed

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

1 tbs tomato paste, thick tomato sauce or a skinned, de-seeded minced tomato

water + S&P

Sift the flour into a large-ish mixing bowl, tipping in the "wholemeal bits" at the end.

Melt the butter, garlic, thyme, tomato, black pepper from a mill + pinch of salt in a small saucepan. When liquified, pour over the flour and stir/mix well until it turns 'doughy'. Whilst it's still hot push it with your fingers into the base of the tin and up the sides. Pushing and moulding with your fingers. Try and get it as far up the sides as possible whilst ensuring that the pastry evenly covers the base. Chill it in the fridge until required.........

THE FILLING

When the squirrels have finished poaching and are cool enough to handle, cut/pick all the flesh from the carcasses and put it in the bowl in which you made the pastry........(retain the poaching liquid for stock)

Have the oven heated to 400f/200c/g6 and bake the pastry case for 20 mins or so until golden, remove..........turn down oven low to 325f/170c/g3

THE FILLING.........

2 tbs Shropshire Oils rape-seed oil

1 onion, chopped

1 fat garlic clove, crushed

1/2 lb Lower Buckton Berkshire pork mince

1/2 lb steamed vegetables, cut into small dice: eg carrot, celery, celeriac, parsnip

flesh picked from the squirrels

In a frying pan heat the oil and soften the onion then add the garlic and pork mince, cook/fry to brown the meat then stir in the cooked vegetables, season with a little salt and pepper. Put the whole lot into the bowl with squirrel flesh and mix up.

TOPPING

Warm 1/2 pint whole milk in the saucepan you used for melting the butter.

Into a bowl, break 2 eggs plus on egg yolk and break-up with a fork. Pour the warmed milk onto the eggs and whisk well with a fork, add a little S&P.

Now fill the pastry case with the squirrel/pork mixture then trickle over the milk/eggs mix and place on a baking sheet. Put in oven for half an hour or so........... remove and sprinkle with a cheese/breadcrumb topping made from 4 oz Little Hereford cheese & 2 oz breadcrumbs from a good quality loaf.

Replace in oven for another 15 minutes or so until golden brown on top.

Allow to cool a little before un-clipping the tin and removing the pie. Good hot/warm/cold!

Bishops Castle "It's Not Just Tennis" Day, Saturday 30 May

2009-06-06T11:32:00.000+01:00

I was delighted to be invited to take part in the Healthy Eating and Exercise Day at Bishops Castle Tennis Club. Janie of Janie Cremer Feel Good fame (www.janiecremerfeelgood.co.uk) was there with her invigorating work-outs, salsa classes and healthy eating . We had a tent to ourselves and Janie gave a talk on the benefits of eating certain foods and drink and I then gave a cookery demonstration with the said foods. It was all very light-hearted and fun. Considering we had not discussed together what either of us would be talking about or cooking, I was really pleased to see that my chosen foods and recipes matched Janie's talk and foodie ethos. (Phew! Not much butter and cream about that day!)

THE RECIPES........

I was so pleased to receive a goody bag of various oats from the lovely people at Mornflake in Cheshire. (This is all because we Twitter like mad together!) Yes, they're the ones who've been milling oats "man and boy" since 1675 and most of the oats seen growing in the Herefordshire/Shropshire fields around where I live will be heading their way. So it's good to eat the view......... try kicking off the day with this rather yummy summer porridge.......

LOWER BUCKTON'S SUMMER PORRIDGE

Use berries in season as the summer progresses. On this day in late May it was just strawberries but the raspberries and so on are around the corner and of course, baked rhubarb would be wonderful. Apples? Find UK bramleys - they are still plentiful until the first early summer Discovery apples are available. The point of eating local and seasonal is completely missed if imported apples and berries are used........

Lower Buckton Summer Porridge - serve 2

75g Mornflake jumbo/organic rolled oats  

200ml Tickmore Farm apple juice  

150g Dairy House organic natural low-fat yoghurt  

2 tbsp Herefordshire soft berries: raspberries/tayberries/loganberries 

1 to 2 tbsp Shropshire runny honey  

6 Shropshire strawberries, hulled

1 unpeeled Shropshire apple   

METHOD

In a large bowl, soak the rolled oats in the apple juice for about 30 minutes.

Add the yoghurt, soft berries and honey and mix well.

Grate the apples directly into the bowl (quite OK to use pips and core) then quickly toss through.

Slice the strawberries on top of the mixture.   

Divide the porridge between two bowls drizzle with a little extra honey and strew with any seasonal nuts: hazel, cob, walnut and so on, then eat!

Shropshire chicken with Puy lentils

2 tbs Shropshire rape seed oil

4 Free-range chicken breasts, skinless (lovely Bryn Derw is available at Strefford Hall Farm Shop and the Ludlow Food Centre)

1 Onion, chopped

2 Cloves garlic, crushed

1 Red pepper, de-seeded & cut into ½ inch dice (UK grown are available in veg boxes and Farmers' Markets throughout the summer)

150 mls White wine find some from the Wroxeter or Ludlow Vineyards (drink the rest)

350 mls Chicken stock (if not using fresh, homemade use Kallo organic cubes)

115 g Organic Puy lentils – rinsed well in cold water (these little French darlings are so easy to use: the UK not being big on growing lentils, in season or not!)

225 g Fresh tomatoes, chopped

1 tbs Rosemary, pulled apart

S & P

Heat half the oil and brown the chicken on all sides, remove to a plate. Add the rest of the oil and soften the onion and garlic & pepper. Pour in the wine and boil for 1 minute, then add the stock and bring to the boil. Pour in the lentils and the tomatoes – bring back to the simmer and add the rosemary. Simmer for about 20 minutes. In the meantime cut the chicken into “bite-sized” chunks and add about half-way through the cooking time. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with a green salad and griddled aubergines/courgettes/tomatoes…………..

SPELT & COURGETTE GRIDDLE CAKES makes about 8

450g/1lb courgettes

Grate coarsely into a clean tea-towel, sprinkle with 2 tsp salt, roll up and leave for ten minutes, squeeze out the excess moisture and transfer to bowl

1 Egg

150ml milk

75g Bachledre Mill wholemeal spelt flour

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp cayenne

½ tsp cumin

6 spring onions

2 tbs chopped parsley

S & P

2 tbs Shropshire rapeseed oil

In a large bowl beat the egg and milk together then add the flour together with the baking powder and the spices and mix well

4 Trim and finely chop the spring onions

5 Squeeze out the courgettes and add to the flour mixture with the onions, parsley + S&P - mix in together.

6 Heat a heavy based frying pan with the some oil…..and drop in four table spoons of the mixture, flatten carefully with back of spoon and cook until light brown then flip over and do the same for the other side - takes a couple of minutes or so each side. Remove and keep warm and repeat with remaining mixture.

"HARD CHEESE" BEETROOT, ORGANIC PEARLED SPELT & MINT SALAD serves 4

50 g organic pearled spelt – cooked (like rice) until tender

2 50 g cooked beetroot

1 small onion

½ cucumber

handful chopped parsley

handul chopped mint

3tbs Shropshire rape seed oil

lemon juice

S & P

Dice the beetroot and chop the onion into a large bowl

Peel the cucumber, halve lengthways and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon, then chop into small dice.

Chop the herbs finely and add to spelt mixture

In a small jar, shake up the oil, lemon juice & S & P

Add to the spelt mixture – stir & chill (over night)

Before serving – shave over some hard, Parmesan type cheese – Pecorino or Worcestershire Little Urn or soft goat’s cheese if preferred

SPRING GREEN COLESLAW

For the Dressing

150 g plain low-fat Dairy House yoghurt

2 tbs Shropshire rape seed oil

1 tbs vinegar

S & P

For the Slaw

115 g roots (celeriac/carrots/parnips/whatever)

175 g cabbage

4 sticks celery – trimmed

½ green pepper

½ bunch spring onions

1 tbs chopped green herbs (parsley/coriander/whatever)

Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a serving bowl

Julienne the root veg on a mandolin

Shred the cabbage – discarding any tough, ribby pieces

Cut the celery finely

De-seed the green pepper and slice finely, diagonally

Trim the spring onions and slice finely.

Add all ingredients to dressing and toss together.

Sprinkle with crushed/chopped hazlenuts if fancied!

COEURS A LA CREME WITH STRAWBERRIES

Sweet, rich little puds, traditionally made in ceramic, heart-shaped moulds with small drainage holes in the bases. Makes four

300 g/10 oz either curd cheese or fromage frais (from The Dairy House, Weobley)

1 tbl spoon clear, Shropshire honey

150 ml/5 fl oz/ crème fraiche or plain yoghurt (from The Dairy House, Weobley)

Strawberries to serve (from Kirkennel Farm, Ashford Carbonel)

Mix the curd cheese/frais with the honey then beat in the crème fraiche/yoghurt

Line four holey-moulds/dishes with dampened fine muslin or cheesecloth

Spoon in the mixture, level off, place on a plate or tray, cover and chill over night

Turn out onto plates and serve with strawberries and/or red berry sauce

If you don’t have molds, cut down six paper cups to make them shorter (2”-3” high) and using a wooden cocktail stick, poke holes in the base of each cup, enlarge the holes slightly with the stick. Line the cups with dampened cloth as above…….. or make a large one in a lined seive....

This recipe appeared in the Shropshire Star on Saturday 13 June 2009

Cooking Good Cookery Course at Lower Buckton May 2009

2009-06-06T10:32:00.001+01:00

Birthday Cook-in for Cup Cake Queen Anna who makes wonderful cupcakes for a living and attends lots of Farmers' Markets in and around Manchester. Her company is "The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon" www.dishandfoodspoon.co.uk. On her birthday line-up were: Apple and ginger muffins; fresh herb scone bread; seeded flat breads; white bean with garlic, chili & spring onion dip; steamed asparagus with quails eggs; pan-fried chicken with two-way coloured chard; salad of peppery, garden leaves with griddled augbergines and tomatoes; chocolate salami, vanilla cupcakes with sweet, cream cheese frosting and last but not least a mega-serious chocolate roulade....... We cooked till we dropped and then scoffed the lot!

TENBURY WELLS FOOD FESTIVAL

2009-06-03T13:24:00.000+01:00

Saturday 23 May was a blazing hot day for Tenbury Wells' food festival and it was lovely to be down river in what I suppose is my home town. Having been born/brought up a Shropshire Lass in Burford we always swung between Ludlow and Tenbury. Our postal address was Tenbury which is of course just over the border into Worcestershire, the farm was mostly in Shropshire but some of its land was across the Ledwyche just over the border into Herefordshire......... so I have mixed loyalties! I was invited by Heart of England Fine Foods to do a demonstration in its mobile cooking theatre and I chose the day's theme of "Worcestershire on a Plate". The festival was brimming with really good food and drink stalls from the area and I carefully chose my ingredients from and to reflect what was on offer. Here are the recipes...........

1/ Summer Cucumber & Mint Soup or Face Mask*

2 cups plain, The Dairy House organic yoghurt

1 medium Worcestershire-grown cucumber, peeled then grated on a mandolin

1 handful of fresh mint - finely chopped (from your garden or steal a neighbour's!)

1 tbs of fresh coriander (grow in garden or buy local grown)

half tsp chili flakes (grow in garden or buy local grown)

S&P to taste

Blend all ingredients together in a food processor, season to taste and chill well before serving.

*omit the coriander, chili and S&P and you have really good face mask!

2/ Steamed Asparagus with Quails' eggs, ewe's milk Cheese & shot glasses of melted Butter & Chives

1 bunch of Goodmans' Worcestershire asparagus

4 quails' eggs

2 oz Netherend Farm organic farmhouse butter

2 oz Lightwood of Lower Broadheath Little Urn* ewe's milk cheese

A few snipped garden chives

4 shot glasses

S&P

Trim the ends of the spears and place in steamer basket over boiling water. Steam for no more than five minutes, remove and keep warm. Meanwhile melt the butter in a small saucepan and divide between the shot glasses and snip some chives over. Crack the quails eggs into the (still simmering) steamer water and poach for no more than a minute. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper/clean tea towel and place on the spears which you've divided between four, warmed serving plates. Shave over the Little Urn cheese and a grind of black pepper and maybe some salt depending upon how salted is the butter. Pick up the spears with fingers and dip in the shot glasses of melted butter then dip in the softly poached egg...........

* Little Urn is so called after England's victory over the Australians in the 2005 Ashes and is a good alternative to Manchego and Pecorino - and it's British!

3/ Cabbage leaves stuffed with organic Spelt, Shallots, Mushrooms and Lovage

4 large Worcestershire-grown cabbage leaves

2 tbs Worcestershire-grown rape-seed oil

2 shallots, skinned and finely chopped (grow in garden or buy local grown)

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed (grow in garden or buy local grown)

1 oz Netherend organic farmhouse butter

4 oz mixed mushrooms (watch out for foraged funghi)

1 mugful of cooked Sharpham Park organic pearled spelt grain (or brown rice alternative)

1 tbs of finely chopped, fresh Lovage (grow in your garden)

1 oz chopped hazlenuts (collect them in the autumn)

S&P

Steam the cabbage leaves for a minute or so until pliable and then cut out the very thick part of the main rib if necessary. Using a heavy bottom pan, soften the shallots in the oil, add the butter and cook for a minute then add the butter and the mushrooms continuing to cook until the mushrooms are yielding. Stir in the cooked spelt grain and the lovage, season to taste. Lay the leaves on a chopping board and divide the spelt mixture between them. Roll up from the stalk end folding in the sides as you go to form neat parcels. Keep warm on a buttered plate and serve with a simple Homemade Tomato Sauce..........

1/2 lb of fresh, local grown Worcestershire tomatoes (Drews of Great Witley)

1 shallot (as above), skinned and finely chopped

1 clove of garlic (as above), peeled and crushed

1 tbs rape-seed oil (as above)

Handful of basil leaves (grow in garden/windowbox or buy local grown)

S&P

Soften the shallot in the oil for a few minutes, add the garlic and continue cooking for a minute. Roughly chop the tomatoes and add to the onions/garlic - cook until pulpy then season to taste, then tear the basil leaves into the pan and stir........(add a little vegetable stock if required) serve over the stuffed cabbage leaves as above.

4/ Griddled Aberdeen Angus sirloin Steak from Muddy Boots with Worcestershire-grown Aubergine, Tomatoes and Old Worcester Cheese

The lovely Miranda Gallimore was at the Festival selling her wonderful, grass-fed pedigree Aberdeen Angus beef which was lucky for me because I'd planned to cook some chicken but found there to be no oven on the cooking bus!

Take a cast-iron griddle pan brush with oil and heat. Slice the aubergines and brush each one with oil on both sides then lay across the pan and cook, turning occasionally to make each one criss-crossed with griddle marks. Add the halved tomatoes "face down" first and continue cooking, then turn over to finish. Pepper the steak/s flesh and salt the fat. Remove the vegetables to a warm place. Then, using tongs, hold the steak so that the fat is on the griddle to sear, sizzle and cook until browned and crispy then lay the steak/s across the grids and sear on both sides then try not to spoil a fabulous piece of meat by cooking beyond rare! Serve with the aubergines and tomatoes with some Old Worcester Cheese shaved over the tomatoes. A wonderful dip or dressing is made by mixing together Dairy House creme fraiche with What a Pickle!'s Tomato Chilli Jam - so delicious!

5/ Coeurs a la Creme with vanilla strawberries

Sweet, rich little puds, traditionally made in ceramic, heart-shaped moulds with small drainage holes in the bases. Makes four

300 g/10 oz either curd cheese or fromage frais (from The Dairy House, Weobley)

1 tbl spoon clear, Worcestershire honey

150 ml/5 fl oz/ crème fraiche or plain yoghurt (from The Dairy House, Weobley)

Worcestershire-grown strawberries to serve

Mix the curd cheese/frais with the honey then beat in the crème fraiche/yoghurt

Line four holey-moulds/dishes with dampened fine muslin or cheesecloth. Spoon in the mixture, level off, place on a plate or tray, cover and chill over night. Turn out onto plates and serve with strawberries.

If you don’t have molds, cut down six paper cups to make them shorter (2”-3” high) and using a wooden cocktail stick, poke about 10 holes in the base of each cup, enlarge the holes slightly with the stick. Line the cups with dampened cloth as above……..

6/ Roast Rhubarb with sweet Cecily - rinse some garden-grown rhubarb and cut into inch long chunks. Place in an oven pan and sprinkle with silver spoon sugar (made from British grown sugar beet) and some sprigs of garden-grown sweet Cecily. Bake in a medium oven for 15/20 minutes until soft. It's lovely with a grating of orange zest as well. Nice thing about cooking it in the oven is that you don't end up with the fruit too watery........... Have for breakfast with Mornflake organic oats soaked in Teme Valley Apple juice....... healthy!

Most of the above photographs were kindly taken by Bill Pearson http://goodfoodshops.blogspot.com/ - thank you Bill!

2009-05-22T00:12:00.000+01:00

Baby pink beet root, shallots, herbs with organic pearled spelt

2009-05-21T00:29:00.000+01:00

Apple Snow made from the last of our over-winter stored apples. Love the fact that our autumn apples can keep us going until the rhubarb appears........

2009-05-20T16:43:00.000+01:00

Lower Buckton has only entered the Flavours of Herefordshire's Best Breakfast competition three times: 2006 - First Prize Winner, 2007 - First Prize Winner & 2008 Outstanding Achievement Winner. Apparently you're not allowed to win three years' consecutively! Contemplating entering for 2009 - shall think about it over the weekend..........

Oh and here's a photograph of some of our Gold Award winning marmalade from the National Marmalade Festival 2009.

If you run or are thinking of setting up a bed and breakfast business the knowledge you'd gain from attending a "Best Breakfast" Cookery Course at Lower Buckton would give you the "edge" over your competitors in the breakfast stakes! More details are on www.foodtourism.co.uk

2009-05-20T09:49:00.000+01:00

I think I've just created an RSS feed from my blog to my Twitter accounts so this is to see if it works!

2009-05-18T23:45:00.000+01:00

Chocolate pots with homemade water-mint iced cream: serve to lovers xxxxx

2009-05-18T23:41:00.000+01:00

Ginge the Wonder Cat

2009-05-18T23:19:00.000+01:00

Henry has been out with his stripey lawn-mower!