It's 33 degrees and rising here. Where's the cloud cover and showers that were promised on the weather reports this morning? By the way, the preserves in the stall at the gate are safely cooled in an eski out there now. There are fresh jams and chutneys, as well as a cordial syrup made from … Continue reading Homemade icy poles

First trial bake in the bread oven Robert built. First 20 pizzas were baked and then, with trepidation, the first 2 large loaves of bread. Cooked like a dream, looks amazing, smells even better.

Just look at these beautiful little things - quail eggs. I bought them from friend Jacki Niemann yesterday when she came to visit. I've not had the luxury of working with them before so was not quite sure how to go about it. Thankfully Jacki was able to provide me with plenty of advice in … Continue reading Quail eggs!

Great excitement today! Robert decided to fire up the bread oven for its first baking run. Good idea - it meant that we had people on hand in the cooking class to trial the first pizzas to come out of it, including a gluten free one. It cooks like a dream. It's not so fiercely hot … Continue reading The Bread Oven

So here's how the ricotta turned out, made from the whey after making the halloumi. Very pleased with it - next time a little more salt for my taste, but texture was very good, the real deal.

I've been having fun making cheeses recently, so thought I'd make some halloumi a few days ago. I didn't have enough pasteurised milk on hand so made up the difference with UHT milk. I'd always wondered if that would work. Not a good move, don't try this. However, second attempt worked brilliantly. It tastes amazing … Continue reading Halloumi

How pretty is this valley! Just arrived home a few minutes ago to see a summer mist creeping up the hillsides. Raced inside for the camera - the photos don't really do it justice, so beautiful. However they are good enough to share to show what we enjoy here in this lush and fertile Derwent … Continue reading Idyllic Valley

Some of the activity in the Making and Baking Yeast Goods class today. By the time we finished baking, it reminded me of the Disney Wizard's apprentice cartoon - only this wasn't soapsuds, it was bread on every available bit of bench space and spilling out of every oven. There was Monkey Bun (of course!), … Continue reading Making and Baking Yeast goods

Many thanks to everyone for their concern for our Della. You will be pleased to know that the post-op report from the vet was good. Today for the first time since the attack she toddled up to the cooking school door while a class was in progress (she is ever-hopeful that it's sausage making day). … Continue reading Great expectations

The produce this year is stunning, both in the garden and in the surrounding Derwent Valley in general. The shelves and benches in the cooking school are loaded down with preserves and all the storage cupboards in the house are groaning with their overload of filled jars. I'll stock up the roadside stall with a … Continue reading Bottling and Preserving!