Dinner at the Cley windmill

Cley windmill
Originally uploaded by Mr_Chips
The windmill is in a superb position on the edge of the salt marshes in North Norfolk. You can stay there and it is also open for dinner so I couldn’t wait to book in.
When you arrive you are shown into the sitting room. It is a cosy room with a [...]

Snape Maltings

Then you go to Snape to visit the The Maltings. What a strange name and redolent of music and Radio broadcasts – “Welcome to the Aldeburgh Festival and tonight’s concert is broadcast live from The Snape Maltings…” From seeing no-one to being with everyone, that is the Zen of the place.

Red Cabbage

This is an excellent winter vegetable to have with casserole of pheasant.
Ingredients
1 red cabbage
2-3 cooking apples
2 or 3 large onions
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
sherry glass of wine vinegar
What to do
Chop cabbage into 1/4s remove stalk and slice the apples and onions.
Put a layer of cabbage in the saucepan followed by a layer of onions, apples, brown [...]

Pumpkin Chutney

Pumpkin Chutney is a great accompaniment for all sorts of dishes. I like it on a ploughman’s lunch with good cheddar cheese and homemade bread.
Ingredients
21/2 lbs pumpkin
1lb tomatoes
1/2 ib onions
2oz sultanas
3/4 lb soft dark brown sugar
3/4 ibs caster sugar
salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger, black peppar and allspice,
2 cloves of garlic
1 pint wine vinegar or cider vinegar
What [...]

The Black Venus, Challacombe, Devon

River Barle on Exmoor
Originally uploaded by Mr_Chips
A delightful pub on Exmoor and ideally placed if you go walking up to Pinkery Pond. I went with D&J on a wet wintry night but there was a warm cosy welcome inside and we were soon drinking some ale and looking at the blackboard menu being careful not [...]

Pumpkin Curry

Pumpkin
Originally uploaded by Mr_Chips

I love growing pumpkins although rarely successful and this year’s crop was lamentable. About 8 small sized pumpkins was the result of immense effort with many seedlings. I like to grow giant ones and all sorts of strange shaped squashes. The dreams in March are immense but all I end up with [...]

Lemon Drizzle Cake

Lemon Drizzle Cake
Originally uploaded by Mr_Chips
This is a wonderful light cake that my mother makes. It is simple to make and very heart warming.
Ingredients
250 g unsalted butter
250g castor sugar
4 large eggs
zest of a lemon
250 g self -raising flour
8 tablespoons milk.
For the syrup
juice of 3 lemons and 200g icing sugar
Cream the sugar and buuter. Add [...]

Crab Apple Jelly

Apples
Originally uploaded by Mr_Chips
Crab Apple Jelly
I am always amazed at the sight of wild crab apples hanging from autumnal branches in the woods where you least expect to see apples. Sometimes there is the sad site of a tree that has lost its load and there is a carpet of apples at its feet. Slowing [...]

Use your loaf

Use your loaf
Originally uploaded by Mr_Chips
I always make my own bread but one of my contacts on Flickr-Falling Sky- posted his results of using a recipe from the Guardian. I tried it out and was impressed by the taste and airy nature of the final loaf. It uses the sponge method of soaking half the [...]

Blackcurrant sorbet

Blackcurrants
Originally uploaded by Mr_Chips
It is a shame that redcurrants and blackcurrants come to fruition at the same time! This weekend has been a frantic cooking time.
The blackcurrants are difficult to pick. They hide away beneath the leaves but we got two huge bowls full. There are various methods for making sorbet but this is [...]