Another busy day

Well, after a day of rain yesterday, the allotment looked good today, weeding is so much easier when it has rained! I think two of my hens are broody because this is the second day that they have spent in the nest boxes, they haven't moved so I need to do something or the other hens will stop laying.

Dorothy, my little Bantam chicken is so protective of her eggs, she goes for you if you try to remove them, so I sometimes have to wear my gloves when I collect the eggs. I was expecting a basket full today but only had 8, which was slightly disappointing.

My broody girls

Well, back to my gooseberries, because yesterday evening I promised that I would tell you all about what I was going to make. After giving it a lot of thought, I decided to make a creamy vanilla Panna Cotta, with a gooseberry and ginger compote, sounds delicious doesn't it?

Here is the recipe for the Panna Cotta:

3 gelatine leaves

250ml/9fl oz milk

250ml/9fl oz double cream

1 vanilla pod, split lengthways, seeds scraped out

25g/1 oz sugar

Soak the gelatine leaves in a little cold water until soft.

Place the milk, cream, vanilla pods, seeds and sugar into a pan and bring to a simmer.
Remove the vanilla pod and discard.
Squeeze the water out of the gelatine leaves, then add to the pan and take off heat.
Stir until the gelatine has dissolved.
Divide the mixture among four ramekins and leave to cool.
Place into the fridge for at least an hour until set.

For the compote you will need:

500g of gooseberries, topped and tailed
75g of caster sugar
50ml of water
Ginger

To make the compote, put the gooseberries into a pan with sugar, water and ginger, then bring to a simmer and cook gently for 10 minutes, until the gooseberries are soft. You can leave it to cool, or serve it warm.

Enjoy!