I hope you all had a lovely Easter I know I did. Last Sunday we went for a lovely long 9 km walk along the Tarka trail from Meeth to Bury Cross and back. Whilst the weather was not amazing it stayed dry. The woodland was filled with primroses a good sign of things to come.
This section of the Tarka trail uses the disused railway line that used to carry the quarried clay to the pottery works. It provides nearly 30 miles of flat even surface between Meeth and Braunton.
On Easter Monday I had friends around for afternoon tea. I made the Bergamot Madeleine’s that I made a few weeks ago. My lemon drizzle bars that I made about a month ago and popped in the freezer defrosted wonderfully and I just had to add a little icing on top.
I made some dark chocolate chip scones which went extremely well with black cherry jam and clotted cream making them into a black forest scone.
Chocolate Scones
1 1/4 cup plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp cold butter
Combine until breadcrumb texture
1/4 cup of finely chopped dark chocolate
1/4 cup of double cream
1 small egg
Add to the breadcrumb mixture and combine until it forms a dough. Roll out till about 3/4 inch and then either use a round cutter or I made my scones square. Brush tops with a little milk
Bake at 375° for about 20 mins
For the sandwich filling I did egg and cress mayo, salmon and cucumber and cheese and tomato jam.
Salmon Filling
8 oz cream cheese
Small tin salmon
2 tbsp sour cream
1 tbsp chopped chives
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to season
Place all ingredients into a blender and blitz until smooth.
Tomato Jam
1 lb tomatoes skinned and cored and diced
1/3 soft brown sugar
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp grated ginger root
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp allspice
Salt and pepper to season
Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to boil and then turn down to simmer for around 45 mins.
The weather this week has been decidedly awful with rain and heavy winds which has definitely kept me out of the garden but on my dog walk yesterday I saw my first bluebells which is an encouraging sight.
I did pick up 2 oriental poppy plants and a fennel from our local veg shed yesterday and so will get those planted today. I have another pot of lettuce to plant out into my planter as well. Unfortunately one of my last lot got eaten by slugs. I have been saving all my egg shells and will bake them today and crush them to use around the plants the slugs seem to enjoy.
My granny square jacket project has been started again now I have received more yarn. Still a lot more to do but I try to do at least one square a day 😊
We have Supper Club this week and the theme is Mexican. I am providing homemade guacamole, salsa and sour cream. There are 6 of us now which I feel is about the right amount of people for a get together and mix of ideas.
Let’s hope the weather is better this week and I can get outside more, until next week keep stepping forwards!
Stepping Into Sixty and Out Of The Comfort Zone 