Fudge - a success story

Fudge - a simple sweet treat made with just a few ingredients, but boy has it given me problems in the past. 

But at last I have made fudge that has set and cut into lovely cubes. I think it is an improvement on last week's fudge failure and even  the year before. 

What was different about how I made the fudge this time? Well to be honest I am not really sure.  It could be that I have used a different saucepan, one with a heavy bottom. Or I used a different recipe, or even that I used an out of date tin of evaporated milk! 

I used a recipe from Good To Know Recipes. The only difference being I added a 'dollop' of crunchy peanut butter to the fudge as I was stirring the fudge off the heat.

If you have a favourite fudge recipe you can recommend to me, do  let me know.

Who fancies pudding?

Sticky Toffee or Blackberry and Apple, both are classic puddings, but in this instance I am talking cheese not pudding.  

The Sticky Toffee Cheddar Cheese was a gift from my sister following a recent trip to Derbyshire. Whilst their she discovered Hartington Cheese Shop and their amazing selection of cheeses. Sticky Toffee Cheddar a great way to combine my love of cheese and puddings in one, it really was most enjoyable on a plain cracker. I am sure there are a number of you pulling a face at the thought of this cheese, but it certainly gets my seal of approval. 

The Black Berries and Apple cheese was a discovery at local food fair, they had a number of unusual cheeses all of which were available to taste - my kind of food stall. Maybe this cheese was a little less unusual than the Sticky Toffee, after all eating fruit with cheese and crackers is a great marriage of foods. Another tasty cheese winner in my eyes.

Do let me know if you can think of a way I could incorporate these cheese into a meal or pudding.

Sowing Carrots and sieving soil

Growing Carrots - I am a little later than planned at sowing my carrots this year, for me it's not just a case of sprinkling a few seeds into the soil. I like to make sure the soil is prepared well to ensure a harvest of big, strong cylindrical Carrots.

As my carrots are sown in one of my raised beds, it results in them being well protected from carrot fly. This also means minimum bending for me. The Carrots of choice for me this year are Autumn King and Early Nantes 2.

Using a trowel I remove the soil where I will sow the Carrot seeds creating a channel, just past wrist deep. Then the fun starts - using a large garden sieve rub the soil through, you will then be left in the sieve with small and large stones. Watch out for worms though, you do not want to end up grating worm! I  chose not to shake the soil through the sieve, I do not have the arm muscles. You will be left with a channel filled with stone free soil for your carrots to grow straight and long without hitting any obstructions.  

Tip - it is best to sieve the soil when the soil is reasonably dry, if we have had days of rain you will find the sieving impossible.

Photographs taken using my phone.

Afternoon Tea - Goldstone Hall, Shropshire

Sandwiches, cake and tea perfect!

What a delightful Afternoon Tea my sister and I enjoyed last week at Goldstone Hall near Market Drayton, Shropshire.  

Goldstone Hall - Afternoon Tea Menu

Sandwiches:-

Roast beef and horseradish

Ham and grain mustard

Farmhouse Mature Cheddar and Goldstone tomato chutney

Homemade fruit scone with mixed berry jam

and Devonshire clotted cream

Chocolate eclair

Victoria sponge

I was pleasantly surprised by the array of teas available, I selected Citric Lemon which is similar to Earl Grey with oil of bergamot. My sister chose Keemun Black China a delicate flavour and a light body, both were delightfully refreshing.

The sandwiches were presented on a slate, the bread light and fresh. The ham in the sandwiches was really tasty, and sourced locally from Buttercross Farm (which also do some amazing sausages too). There was just the right balance of cakes not too much or over rich, the chocolate eclair was perfectly dinky!

Afternoon Tea at Goldstone Hall cost £12.50 - fabulous value for money and with some lovely extra touches. Such as the ribbon tied napkins, our plates were cleared once we had finished the sandwiches and we're given new plates to tuck into to the cakes. 

Goldstone Hall gardens

We even had a brief stroll around the gardens, which were looking very tidy and manicured. They had a fabulous outside area that would make a most enjoyable afternoon tea in the Summer overlooking the gardens. They have some planned openings for the National Gardening Scheme during the year. 


Goldstone Hall is definitely a place a will visit again and certainly epitomises Shropshire's Best.

How does my garlic grow?

How does your garlic grow

Back in January I planted my gleaming white garlic cloves courtesy of a competition win from Woollygreen. For months there were no signs of life in the soil. A few weeks ago in preparation for  planting up the raised beds, they were covered with an old shower curtain and some bin bags. A simple blanket to help warm the soil up.

Earlier this week I peeked under the covers and behold - I found green shoots of garlic. Long may the sunshine and my garlic grow.