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Please could you let us know when/if the apple press is visiting the village. My mum thinks that there is supposed to be one planned but does not know when. Thanks
Jackie Bateman

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Andrew Holmes is based at The Old Slaughter House in Tissington.
Many will know Andrew who worked for Nigel Brown Butcher in Ashbourne for many years.
Along with fresh meat, Andrew stocks a range of cooked meats, delicious hand made scotch eggs with cracked black pepper, Hartington Cheeses, Oatcakes, Sausage Rolls, Pies. You can place a regular order for milk too. Christmas Orders are now being taken.
Telephone 01335 350186

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Apples everywhere …

During daytime I put a box with apples out at the bottom of the drive near Creamery Green. Please, please help yourselves! Some are perfect, others have the odd blemish.

Here is my favourite recipe for Dutch Apple Pie:

175 g margarine

300 g plain flour

a pinch of salt

3 tsp baking powder

100g caster sugar

1 egg

Line the bottom of a spring form (10 inch) with baking paper, mix the ingredients and line bottom & sides of the form with the mixture (you’ll need plenty of flour on your hands to stop the mixture from sticking to your hands).

Approx. 600-700 grams of peeled, cored and sliced cooking apples. Mix with some sugar, lemon juice and grated zest, sultanas and cinnamon. Mix. Push slices into inside of the pastry rim for firmness and use the rest to fill. Bake at approx. 170 C for approx. 30-40 minutes.

60 g granulated sugar

60 g margarine

60 g sliced almonds

Breadcrumbs (white – 2 slices)

Vanilla essence (a few drops)

Cinnamon

Mix, add as topping once the pastry rim starts to go brown. Bake for a further 10 minutes until golden brown.

Saskia T

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Whilst the Sycamore kitchen is undergoing a refurb, you may be interested to know that the Bentley Brook has recently launched a Friday night steak night. There is also pie night on a Thursday.

Continue reading for details….

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas which has got me in the mood for my favourite Christmas tipple! Lots of us enjoy a glass (or two) of mulled wine at this time of the year and are familiar with the European Glühwein. My favourite is the Finnish variant which they know as Glögi, a real winter warmer.

Ingredients

Blackcurrant juice with some sugar in it, 0,5 litre
Cinnamon bar, 2 to 4 pieces
Whole cloves, about 10
Cardamom seeds, about 8
Allspice whole, 4 pieces
Star anise, 1-2 pieces
Sugar, 10 to 12 cubes
Red wine, 0,5 litre
Vodka, 0,5 dl
Some raisin and almonds

Method

1. Heat up the juice with all the spices slowly to boil – give it 30 min or so.
2. Let it cool a little. Add some sugar to your liking and then add the red wine.
3. Reheat quickly. Add vodka just before serving.
4. Pour to glasses through a sieve, add raisins and almonds.

As an alternative try a white Glögi substituting apple juice for the blackcurrant.

This recipe was shared with me by some good friends in Finland. I’m sure many of you have your own favourite Christmas tipple, please share them with us in the comments section (or just leave me a bottle at the Legion 😘)

Season’s Greetings

Michelle

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Here’s a couple of drink ideas using some very readily available local produce – blackberries and our old friend the courgette!

Firstly here’s one for blackberries of which masses can be found by the lanes and paths around the area. This requires nothing but a bottle of vodka, blackberries and sugar.

Blackberry Vodka

Ingredients

• 70cl Bottle of vodka
• 100 gram of sugar
• Blackberries

Method

• First remove 1/3 of the bottle of vodka and have a sit down 😂👍
• Add the sugar to the remaining vodka in the bottle
• Wash and dry blackberries and add to the bottle till it’s full
• Put the top on the bottle, give it a good shake and put in a cool dark cupboard
• Give it a shake one a week
• After a few weeks have a taste and add a bit more sugar if you think it needs it
• Should be ready to drink after 3 or 4 months. You’ll need to strain it through muslin or similar and store in a clean bottle

Try other fruit such as damsons and alcoholes such as brandy

And now the answer to that scourge of the vegetable plot – the forgotten courgettes

Courgette martini

Ingredients

• 1 courgette, coarsely grated
• juice 2 lemons
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 25ml vermouth
• 50ml gin
• ice
• mint to garnish

Method

• Mix the courgette with the lemon juice and sugar and leave to steep for 1 hr. In the meantime, place a martini glass in the fridge to chill.
• Strain the courgette mixture through a sieve into a jug.
• Fill a cocktail shaker with ice then add 25ml of the courgette syrup followed by the vermouth and gin.
• Stir gently a few times then strain into your chilled glass. Garnish with a mint leaf and serve.

Enjoy!

Mich x

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Most of us are, I think, are aware of the benefits of eating locally produced, fresh, seasonal foodstuffs over high carbon footprint, air freighted, vacuum packed, tasteless supermarket offerings. So here is a list of foods that are seasonal (so at their best now), many produced locally.

Seasonal produce for June include:

Lots of veg but I think we will struggle to find some of these locally produced even with the current heatwave!-
Broad beans (not in Monty’s garden)
Peas, Courgettes, Asparagus, Lettuce, Cucumber, Radish, Tomatoes, French beans, Mange tout, Chicory, Rocket, New potatoes

These you are more likely to find locally (even in Monty’s garden)-
Elderflower, Strawberries, Raspberries, Cherries
Gooseberries (there are loads of gooseberry recipes here, including gooseberry ginger beers, fool, jam, cheesecakes and a mackerel salad (http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/collections/gooseberry-recipes/))

Rhubarb (still)

These definitely not grown locally!-
Mackerel, Sardines, Haddock, Crab

And of course the local speciality –

Lamb (still!)

Recipe Time

I have made this and it’s really nice -simple and fresh (and quick) – it needs a table in the sun and a large glass of crisp dry white to go with it (of course!), so ideal for our current weather.

Charred Fennel, Peas, Prosciutto & Pecorino
Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 large fennel bulb with fronds
• 400 g fresh peas in the pod (I have used frozen before but they need to be good quality and ideally ‘petit pois’)
• 80 g sliced prosciutto (or parma ham)
• 40 g pecorino
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Juice 1/2 lemon
• Few fennel and/or dill fronds, torn
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Pick of the fronds from the fennel and set to one side.
• Cut the fennel in half from top to bottom, then lay the cut side on the board and cut each had half in lengthways again, but leaving the quarters joined at the root so that the fennel holds together.

Method

1. Place a heavy-based frying pan over a high hear, while you brush the fennel with oil and season with salt and pepper.
2. With the pan is smoking, chargrill the fennel on all sides until slightly softened. This should take about 4 minutes on each cut side. You want your fennel to still have a good bite to it, you don’t want it completely soft.
3. While the fennel is cooking, bring a large pan of slated water to the boil and have a bowl of ice water to hand.
4. Pod the peas and blanch for 1 minute, then refresh in the cold water. Drain and tip into a bowl.
5. Once your fennel is cooked allow it to cool slightly and then mix in with the peas. Tear over the fennel fronds (reserving a few to finish the dish) and add the lemon juice and some olive oil.
6. Drop the fennel and peas onto your serving plate and give it a gentle shake so that the fennel moves around the plate naturally. Lay the prosciutto lives over the top and use a small knife or peeler to cut nuggets of pecorino to scatter over it. Finish with salt and pepper, more olive oil and a sprinkling of fennel / dill fronds.

For more recipe ideas  (more…)

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Ok so I was working through the list of seasonal foodstuffs and possible recipes and thought I should cut to the chase and get to the best bit first – the drinks!

Following on from the success of my Rhubarb Mojito here’s a couple more ideas incorporating seasonal, locally available ingredients. These will be ideal alongside the mojito for those entertaining during Open Gardens.

Elderflower Cocktail

Ingredients

• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 30ml of gin
• Prosecco
• elderflower cordial
• ice

Method

• Fill a cocktail,or wine glass with ice. Add the lemon and lime juice, the gin, then a good splash of elderflower cordial
• Fill the rest of the glass with Prosecco then have a taste (you want about 2/3 Prosecco to 1/3 everything else)
• Add more elderflower if it’s too tart for you. Garnish with a few berries or a few slices of strawberries

Of course at this time of year you can make your own elderflower cordial as the Elderflowers are blooming everywhere around the area.

Strawberry Lemonade

Ingredients

• 300g (10oz) hulled strawberries
• 300g (10oz) caster sugar
• Juice 5 lemons
• Still or sparkling mineral water, to dilute
• Sliced limes and strawberries, and sprigs of mint, to serve

Method

• Put the hulled strawberries, caster sugar and lemon juice into a blender and pulse until smooth.
• Strain the mixture through a sieve into a large bowl and stir thoroughly to ensure all the sugar dissolves.
• You can transfer the cordial to a large bottle or storage container until needed.
• Dilute with still or sparkling water (about 1 part cordial to 4 parts water) and serve with ice, lime and strawberry slices and sprigs of mint.

and the best bit – If you fancy making it into a cocktail, simply add vodka to taste!

Stay tuned for some recommendations of seasonal foods and recipes

Mich x

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Hi everybody! And welcome to my new monthly cookery blog post! I’m so excited I hope you will be as well when you try the dishes I have for you!

In my dishes I will be trying to use locally sourced and seasonal ingredients. If anyone trying the recipes needs help on getting ingredients I can help point you in the right direction or even share some of my own extensive stocks for rarer supplies.

For my first offering I thought it would be fun to do a complete 3 course seasonal meal! (Well it was seasonal when I started thinking about it in April, but then I had a few too many Rhubarb Mojitos!).

Among the ingredients at their best at this time of the year are watercress, asparagus spinach, lettuce, Jersey Royals, prawns, gooseberries, and purple sprouting broccoli. Growing locally you’ll find wild garlic, lamb (obviously) and rhubarb (I can point you to a few easily accessible gardens if you don’t have any growing yourself 😉

So here’s the menu-

Wild Garlic Soup

Roast Leg of Lamb on Boulangère Potatoes

Rhubarb Mojito

I had intended to include a rhubarb based dessert but then discovered this mojito and thought why bother! For those not inclined to try the full 3 courses I recommend jumping to the mojito now 👍🏼

If you try any of my recipes, or have a favourite of your own drop us a line at parwich@hotmail.co.Uk or “Leave a Comment” below.. 

Mich xxx

For ingredients and method

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Today is Shrove Tuesday; it’s the day before Lent starts (which is on Ash Wednesday). Another name for this day is ‘Pancake Day’. The name comes from the custom of using up all the fattening ingredients in the house before Lent, so that people were ready to fast during Lent. In days gone by, for most people, these ingredients were often eggs and milk. A very simple recipe to use up these ingredients was to combine them with some flour and make pancakes!
My favourite tried and tested pancake recipe is pretty quick and simple, it requires no ‘resting’ and it comes from my old friend Delia Smith. Click here to be taken to the recipe on her website, or on continue reading, below, for a copy of the recipe.

When I was growing up (a process that is still largely incomplete….), there were two main toppings for pancakes:
• lemon juice and caster sugar, or
• golden syrup.

A more swish alternative was to make crepe suzette – a boozy orange liqueur recipe. Click here for Delia’s version.

These days there are so many cooking programmes on TV and so many different ingredients available to us, from all over the world, and I was wondering if anyone had any unusual or favourite pancake recipes, or toppings that they would like to share…..?

On a slightly different note…. Obviously Ashbourne is famous for the Shovetide football. But… did you know that in Scarborough Shrove Tuesday has been known as Skipping Day for around 100 years? The foreshore road on the south bay is closed and everyone heads over to the beach to participate in ‘long-rope’ skipping! (I kid you not and, to demonstrate, here is a photograph from 2015, courtesy of the scarborough.co.uk website!) There were also sand castle competitions and pancake races on the beach…..

Again, I was wondering…… are Ashbourne and Scarborough unique, or does anyone know of any other unusual customs in other parts of the country?

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