Woo hoo – a lunch club and we’re going!

Sunday lunch round a big table with people you don’t know – how exciting is that? If you want to go to too, you can see the menu and book here -  http://walnuttreefarmlunchclub.blogspot.com/p/lunch-dates-and-menus.html

Pumpkin Time

By the side of the road

We should really have a competition for the

best produce displayed at the end of a garden.

               

Eye Eye

Had a little wander round the shops while my son played football and bought a whole chicken from this butchers. I’ve shown him how to joint it and make coq u vin with some of it, saving the rest for another meal. It was £6 – way more than a supermarket but we could certainly taste the difference. Grow my own veg but the sign on the shop opposite was tempting too as have just been on an apple hunt with my sister. Found lovely sweet wild ones that were just like Gala – apart from the holes.

      

Tracey comes to Suffolk

Tracey Macleod features fellow food blogger (listed on here first, Tracey) and new pub owner – The British Larder – in last weekend’s Independent. Also listed are Trinity at Crown and Castle in Orford, Maison Bleue in Bury and The New Roundhouse at Thorington – wherever that is?

Blueberries in Hepworth

Found out that we can buy fresh local blueberries right on our doostep here in West Suffolk. Jo Garden grows them at Hepworth www.gardenberries.co.uk and makes the best blueberry jam there too. She also sells the bushes ( currently on a special offer) if you want one in your garden to sprinkly a few on your cereal every day. Of course you can buy blueberries cheaper in supermarkets but it’s a bit like blackberries – why would you buy them from a supermarket when you  can get them from a farm or a hedge near you?

Harveys Garden Plants

 Lovely food. I had their version of Welsh Rarebit with salad and the most delicious piece of lemon cake filled with home made lemon curd with greek yoghurt on the side. Mum had a bacon sandwich in ciabatta-type bread and a piece of plum and orange cake. They say they use their own produce and it shows  in the moist yellow cake made with their own eggs. We both had their own fresh apple juice. And they  have some really nice plants too. Not your usual garden centre.   www.harveysgardenplants.co.uk is their web site but it doesn’t seem to want to connect on my computer… Harvey?

Alder Carr Farm with the Telegraph air hair lair

My friend Joe and I are at Alder Carr drooling over the cheese counter when we hear that so is the food critic from the Telegraph. I am not quick enough to give her my suffolkfoodie card but I understand food critics don’t like food bloggers much so maybe it’s for the best. Great Ploughmans though – big chunk of Suffolk Gold and a home made scotch egg. And a special hello to the nice man buying  cheeses beginning with g for his dinner party - we want to come!

www.aldercarrfarm.co.uk

Breast of lamb – is it the new belly of pork…?

This is the bargain of the week – a rolled breast of lamb from Asda, already cheap, but reduced to £1. I have cooked this lots of times, and it’s been tasty, crispy but as tough as hell. This time I read the intructions in a recipe book instead of guessing and rushing, and it said SLOW cooking. So I put it on at 100, went to work for four hours and came back to the most delicious and tender piece of meat ever. Turned it up for twenty minutes to crisp up and WOW, what flavour! It’s not for everyone as it’s very fatty, but with rosemary, broad beans and the first new potatoes out of the garden it was as tasty as anything I have had lately. Next time I will unroll it, put some stuffing in and serve it to my best friends.

Wyken Farmers market – new friends and older ones too

The day has finally come when my first free sample as a result of writing about food has arrived – HOORAY ! Bring on the presents/bribes/samples. So off to Wyken to get my macaroons and take a few pictures of the other stall holders while I’m there. And we liked the salted caramel ones best Min!