My name is Cindy and I live in a beautiful village called Cubbington, which is nr Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, and I love being creative. I would like to share some of my creative ideas, some recipes, and also some stories about what I get up to every week. I will post regular updates about my exploits, whether that be at work or home, or while out in the countryside at the weekend ... I hope you enjoy it!
What did I do today? I had a very busy day, most of which was spent at Myer Bridge farm helping my friends, Gavin & Annette Wightman, as their Dexter cattle came back from slaughter today. It is really good to know where your beef has come from, the cows had a happy life in the field, they did not have any chemicals, and the meat was really marbled (which is a good sign), pure Dexter beef ... delicious.
Dexter cattle
We had to go to a village in Leicestershire (South Kilworth) to pick the meat up, which is a 40 mile round trip, and on the way back we had 200 kilos of meat in the car. It is a really quaint little village, very picturesque, and you would never have guessed that there is an abattoir there. It is a family run business, with a lovely old fashioned butchers shop at the front of the house, which is packed full of locally sourced meat. When we arrived back at the farm we unloaded everything, and boxed it all up for sale, it was hard work but by 10pm tonight it had all been sold, so it was well worth it. We also managed to keep a couple of sneaky little steaks back, which we fried with some onions for lunch, very nice, and we were ready for it!
Dinner!
It was a very rewarding day, and I bought a box for myself as well, so I am sure that over the next few weeks I will be rustling up some delicious meals, which will of course be accompanied by lots of fresh produce from my allotment. I'm typing this while I watch U2 live on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, then I'm going to get some beauty sleep as "I'm off to see The Wizard, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", at the London Palladium tomorrow ... now where did I put those red shoes? Cindy xx
Hello there, I have been so busy this week, I have spent a lot of time on the allotment, I have watched some tennis, cooked some beautiful meals, and picked some lovely juicy cherries from one of my cherry trees! I made some Panna Cotta again on Monday, but instead of the gooseberry compote, I made a coulis using some fresh raspberries from the allotment - it was delicious. Everything is very green at the moment, and while not everyone likes the rain, it has been great for the orchard plot, and there will be lots to pick over the coming weeks. There is a good crop of raspberries at the moment, in fact I picked a few today and I have a feeling that I will be making some jam very soon - maybe I could sell it? On Tuesday I made some Moroccan lamb (nice recipe James), and today I rustled up a quick prawn linguine (see recipe below), but I spiced mine up with some salmon which I marinated in chilli and honey - both were delicious according to my husband!
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2506/special-prawn-pasta The recipe today had to be quick and easy as I was engrossed in the tennis this afternoon, and forgot the time. I did have a nice bowl of fresh cherries to nibble on (from the plot), and I will be raiding the cherry trees again tomorrow. I went to put the chickens away tonight and I still have two broody hens, they haven't moved for nearly a week now, but we are getting plenty of nice fresh eggs I'm pleased to say.
Still broody!
I will be over on the plot early tomorrow and I am going to take some photos of the cherry trees and post them on here later in the evening. I also need to come up with another nice treat for tea tomorrow night so I will be looking for some inspiration, I'm sure that I'll find some. Cindy xx
Father's day started with an early visit to the plot to check how the chickens are getting on, and to collect some eggs for my home made chocolate brownie (a little father's day treat). I didn't stay for long as I have a busy day planned, and need to spend some time in my own garden this afternoon, which makes me feel slightly guilty about this update. Well, my last 3 updates really, after all, my blog is called Lucinda's Village Allotment! Anyway I have decided to post an "allotment only" update tomorrow to make up for it. I paid a flying visit to a local car boot sale to pick up some more plants, and this afternoon I will be planting these, along with all of the beautiful plants and flowers that I bought on Friday at BBC Gardeners World Live. The garden has had a good watering over the past 3 days so planting will be easy, that's for sure, however, the rainfall has also been good for the weeds (maybe that's a nice little job for my son Bradley). We also attract a good variety of birds to our garden, and this morning David filled up all of the bird feeders, and cleaned the bird table, before stocking that up as well. They are very busy at this time of year, and also very hungry, and the garden is a hive of activity. It's also really nice to see all of the juvenile birds (Goldfinches are my favourite), and they are so funny to watch, but they are ever so messy, especially the starlings! Well, my lovely piece of Myer Bridge Farm pork is almost ready, and I must say it smells delicious! I have a feeling that David is going to wash it down with a couple of glasses of Chardonnay, before tucking into a piece of my home made chocolate brownie. I have just posted a link to the brownie recipe, you should try it while it is still warm, mmmmmm! Cindy xx
