Jordans Mill

It was a bright and sunny day a few months ago so we took oursleves off to Jordans Mill.  It isn't far from Ampthill and was only around 25 minutes.  They have recently had a major change and invested in the historic mill and site.  

They offer guided tours around the mill or you can just wander around and read through the information boards.  I will be honest and we didn't really spend much time in the Mill, there are lots of stairs and my companion wasn't feeling up to the climb!  

We just wandered around the gardens that are laid out neatly with a paths that takes you through, and loads of seating. 

There is also a meadow with a small wooded area to wander around too. 

The gardens aren't vast, but depending on the weather it can be a pleasant hour.

You can click through on the link above for lots more information about the site - this is the new building that houses the restaurant and a small shop. 

For those of you that have visited prior to the refurb - the shop has a limited range, but does stock most of their products along with locally milled flour and some dried fruit and cereals.

They have a range of cakes, snacks and refreshments and a lovely deck that looks over the water, with umbrellas for shade if required, and seating inside. 

I couldn't resist a picture of this cheeky chap that
was climbing into a garden :)

We visited Parkside farmshop on the way there - it is only small but worth a visit and had a surprisingly amount of stock in there.

Willington Dovecote - National Trust

The only National Trust building in Bedfordshire is Willington Dovecote, we stopped by there recently and had the pleasure of being shown around the Dovecote, Stables, and also the church.  It was well worth the visit, you can go for a walk to the river after.

It is only 20 minutes or so from Ampthill.

There are 1500 'nests' in each of the two dovecotes - so a lot of doves/pigeons used to be here...and you know what would accompany that many birds....

This is the stable building that also remains as part of the farm buildings.  They do have some information in the Stable building, and there is speculation about its original reason for being built.

The chap that showed us around was very knowledgeable and is keen to promote the site, and would love to be able to get some better info boards.

They have been organising events such as a vintage car day


Check the National Trust site for event information:
NT Events

They are taking part in the Heritage open days next Saturday 13 September 2014 at 1:00pm - so make a date in your diary.

The village school was donated by the Duke of Bedfordshire.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

This was a recipe that was given to me by someone on my www.Craftsbycarolyn.co.uk/craftforum and it is great. Ever since I have had the recipe I make it every Christmas and it is my Mother in Laws favourite.


It is so light and moist, and without the sauce almost healthy :)





Ingredients
175g (6oz) dates stoned and chopped
300 ml (10fl oz) water
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
50g (2oz) unsalted butter
175g (6oz) caster sugar
2 eggs beaten
175g (6 oz) self-raising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

300 ml (10 fl oz) double cream
59g (2oz) Demerara sugar
2 teaspoons black treacle


Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4 and grease a 2 lb loaf tin or line it - it was also suggested in the recipe that is work on a 28 x 18cm (11 x 7 inch) baking tin.  I only line mine with a strip the length of the tin, and leave a bit so that I can pull it out.  But the liners are good too, This picture is quite old and I must have used a liner then :)

Boil the dates in the water for about 5 mins until soft (does not take long), I did these in a bowl in the microwave, mash them with a fork then add the bicarbonate of soda. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (I normally start this whilst the dates are boiling), then add the eggs and beat well. Mix in the dates mixture, flour and vanilla essence then pour into the prepared tin. You don’t need to wait until the dates cool down. The mixture looks quite runny but don’t worry. Cook in a pre-heated oven for about 30-40 mins depending on size of tin, until just firm to the touch, it was more like 40 mins for me.

The actual cake will serve around 8 I reckon and the sauce 4 to 5 - as you can see we added a blob of clotted cream on ours, but we also like vanilla ice cream as well :)

It freezes really well and keeps moist for a long time. I just re heat it in the microwave. It is a nice cake on its own and is low in fat! If you intend to serve 8 you will need to double the quantity of sauce.

Savoury Turnovers

We have tomatoes and courgettes for sale on the market at the moment, and they should be available for quite a few weeks now - here is a simple idea to use them.











Roll out a pack of puff pastry (half at a time might be easier), and cut into 12 squares in total.

Chop an onion - red would be good and fry it gently, then add some courgette - diced or sliced which ever you prefer. Put this mixture from corner to corner, and add some diced feta and some sliced tiny toms - make sure it looks attractive at the ends, add some seasoning and herbs.  Fold over the two corners, and seal with milk or egg. I brushed with milk - or for a shinier finish brush with beaten egg.

Cook them for about 15 mins in a fairly hot oven, I always guess these type of things but sure the pastry pack will give guidance.

Hitchin Lavender

We popped over to Hitchin Lavender last week, it is about 20 minutes drive from Ampthill, and easy to find, the village of Ickleford is lovely to drive through also.



The Farm is a working farm with a huge field of lavender that looks magnificent as it goes up a slope. The smell and the sound of the bees was fantastic.  You walk along rows of lavender cutting as you go as they provide a bag and scissors for you to trim the sides of the plants to your hearts content.






We also had a leisurely lunch there, they offer a selection of sandwiches and paninis and also quiche and salad which is what we chose.  They were very busy so unfortunately some of the quiches had gone - but second choice was just as good and service quick.  They also had cakes - but didn't partake :)




Along with the lavender they have planted a field of sunflowers that you could pick for 50p each - this was a challenge in itself with the supplied scissors ...but worth it, my 3 sunflowers looked great and soon perked up having had stems cut and put in loads of water.

Having spent all that time in the field getting quite hot we sat and had a homemade lavender ice cream afterwards, apparently also made in Hitchin, but cannot recall the name!



There is plenty of space to sit and have a picnic and lots of families were enjoying the sunshine and lavender.

Here they are - light was fading and they had were loads better an hours or so later:

Runner Beans

Runner bean season is upon us now, and we will be having some locally grown on the market over the next few weeks.  Sadly we do not have as many as years ago due to members moving away...so if you have a glut you know where to sell them, you don't always have to be selling items to join...check out our join us post.  We also have french beans - just as an aside.

I have childhood memories of my parents with a load of runner beans that they had grown on the allotment, and no freezer  - yes really - we didn't have a freezer...they only became affordable and popular in the late 60s early 70s - I think we had one before other people as we had so many vegetables that needed freezing! see it tells you all about it here: http://www.retrowow.co.uk/retro_britain/70s/70s_high_tech_household.html :) .


I remember us all in the kitchen with a bean slicer at the kitchen table, piling them into glass sweet jars - you know the type that sweetshops have boiled sweets and salting them as a way to preserve them.  I have just found a link here to prove that I wasn't going crazy... http://www.1900s.org.uk/1900s-preserving-beans.htm
and then delving a little bit further it seems as though some people recommend this way of preserving over freezing - here is a youtube video and HFW-forum.



I personally remember them tasting quite salty, but that may not be accurate - I was a bit fussy as a child!  And I am pretty sure that my parents added more salt to cooking than I have ever done, and maybe they didn't rinse them enough?


So back to the bean slicer you fed in the beans and turned the handle a bit like a mincer...it was clamped to the table.  I have searched around and it was a bit like this one - ours used to have a little gadget on the top that you slid the beans along to 'string' them, no most of the varieties are stringless anyway.  I wonder if my parents still have it?

We do have a modern hand held one - no where near as quick, and not so much fun as we all had turning the handle.

Shaws Corner - National Trust

The journey is around 45 minutes drive from Ampthill (22 miles), a pleasant country drive.  It is the former residence of Sir George Bernard Shaw. 

I would think unless you are a really big fan of GBS you will only spend an hour or so around there.  It was a nice afternoon out and lovely to take a picnic, as there are no catering facilities there, just some ice-creams.


The garden is lovely and slopes away from the house, but I did feel that it could do with some attention, particularly the flowerbeds, the orchard and wooded areas are fine.  GBS had a writing hut which is still in the garden.

As you can see the house in not a 'stately manor' just a large house with servants quarters.




There are some seats around the grounds and we did take a picnic and enjoyed just sitting in the grounds in the sunshine.










There is a lot of information about GBS in the house and there are volunteers that take you through a lot of the history.  If you enjoy the history of the writer there is so much to see, and it is still as he left it.   

Parking can be a bit tricky, as the car park is quite small, but there is a steady stream of people coming and going.

As we are National Trust members it didn't cost us anything for the entry, I did think that the entry price was a bit high at the time.