Hexton Countryside and Walks

Did you know that we have a very own small nature reserve  - Hexton Chalk Pit 

Supplier Spotlight ~ Nick ~ Woodturning

Nick has been woodturning for about ten years,

Hexton Village Hall ~ a little bit more history

 

It was Sir James Hill that built the Hall after he moved into Hexton manor in 1918.

Supplier Spotlight ~ Sandra ~ Decoupage and Models

Sandra has been bringing her decoupage down for a while, she has started decorating these pots, with lovely wildlife themes.

Supplier Spotlight ~ Nicki ~ Crochet and Sewing

When Nicki is not making jam she is busy crocheting or sewing.  Living in Hexton she walks all of  her makes to the shop, very environmentally friendly!

Supplier Spotlight ~ Sammi ~ Handblown Glass

Sammi is a local artist who has been hand blowing glass for 4 years and is currently creating her pieces when she’s allowed to stay late after work.

Supplier Spotlight ~ Vera ~ Naturalis Candles

Vera has been bringing her makes along to Hexton Country Matters for quite a while now, and keeps her space nicely stock with pretty packaging, making her candles a perfect present, but of course you can treat yourself too.

Supplier Spotlight ~ Nicki ~ Jams & marmalades

 

Nicki lives locally and loves to cook she has been making preserves for Country Matters for a number of years, and made in small batches they sell quite quickly.

Recipe ~ Summer Pudding

With the abundance of soft fruit in the summer months here is a really easy recipe, and it is even low in fat :)

Supplier Spotlight ~ Carolyn ~ Handmade Fabric Bags & Accessories

Carolyn, a crafter and a gardener, has been bringing her handmade items to the shop now for 9 years or so, she started with some crochet & knitting, and garden plants from seeds or cuttings.

Supplier Spotlight ~ Hanknits ~ Dawn

Dawn is a regular at the Country Matters Hexton shop, you will see her in there serving, and probably knitting too, she never seems to stop knitting.  

Supplier Spotlight ~ Carolyn ~ Greetings Cards and Decoupage

 

Carolyn has been bringing her handmade items to the shop now for 9 years or so, and here the last featured of the crafts she brings down.

Supplier Spotlight ~ Carolyn ~ Mosaics

 

Carolyn likes to dabble in various crafts, and you will see her makes in Country Matters.

Supplier Spotlight ~ Carolyn ~ Crochet & Macrame

 

Working with cotton yarn Carolyn has made pretty summer jewellery.

Supplier Spotlight ~ Corbett & Son ~ Local Honey

We have been a regular stockist of Corbett & Sons local honey in the shop for a number of years, they are just down the road in Barton Le Clay.  

Lemon Curd ~ Recipe

 I just love lemon curd and not had it in a long while, I decided to make some and it is surprisingly easy.  Lemons and eggs are normally available at Country Matter Hexton, you only need butter and sugar.

I just followed the simple recipe on the BBC web site, there are recipes with extra egg yolks, but this one worked for me.

Basically the recipe is 1 lemon, 1 egg, 50gms sugar, 25gms butter, and make quantity bigger depending how much you want.  It doesn't keep that long - recommended only 2 weeks - so you don't want to make too much unless you share it.  I gave one of my jars away.

I made 2 small jars, I put my jars in the dishwasher, and then whilst I was making the curd, I put them and the lids in the oven, so that they were sterilised.  For your own purposes/personal a reused jam jar lid is fine.  If you were going into mass production I recommend you buy new lids :)

Here how I made mine:

2 lemons, zested and then squeezed,

put in large bowl (that will fit on the top of a saucepan) add 50gms of butter and 100gms of sugar (it suggested caster but I didn't have any).

Get a saucepan on hob with water in it, and bring it to a simmer.

I started heating mine in the microwave, stopping and stirring every now and again, until butter and sugar has melted....but you can do all of this over the saucepan.

Place your bowl on the saucepan, the water should not touch the bowl it should be steam that is heating it.

Now beat the eggs together, and add to your mix, keep whisking it for about 5 - 10 minutes, you will notice it starting to thicken. Put into your jars, and seal whilst hot, I left the zest in mine - sieving seemed like a bit of a faff......once cool put in the fridge.

Christmas is on its way, and we have some lovely different ideas for presents, along with gift bags and Christmas cards.

Swede or is it a Turnip

 

We normally have swedes when they are in season, and are a veg that are super tasty and can see you through the winter. 

Lemon Loaf ~ Recipe

Lemons are always available in Country Matters Hexton, add a slice to your gin & tonic, did you know you can freeze lemon slices, and they keep for ages in the fridge?  Or you can make this delicious lemon loaf

Carrots

 

At Country Matters Hexton, we collect our fresh fruit and veg on a Thursday and this will normally include carrots and wherever possible these will be as local as possible.  You can buy as many as you want and you can bring your own bag, or we will pop them in a brown paper bag.

Did you know that: 

• Carrots were first grown as medicine.
• They were originally purple, red, white, black or yellow.
• They were imported to Europe in the 14th century, and into UK in the 15th century.
• Orange carrots were bred by the Dutch to match the House of Orange.
• In WW2 carrots were used to make marmalade and fizzy drinks.
• Apparently weight-loss-friendly food, linked to lower cholesterol levels and improved eye health.
• Their carotene antioxidants have been linked to a reduced risk of cancer.
• There is an entire website dedicated to the carrot
• 
  

And let's be frank they are excellent value, you can boil them, roast them, mash them, make soup bake them - would love to hear what you do with yours

Lovely carrot cake recipe here:

There is an entire museum devoted to the carrot (well virtual anyway)

www.carrotmuseum.co.uk

and it tells you that:
"There are good reasons to include carrots in human diet, since they are enriched with carotenoids, phenolic compounds, polyacetylenes, and vitamins and by this reason they may help reduce the risk of some diseases. Experimental evidence has reported that these carrot compounds exert antioxidative, anticarcinogenic, and immunoenhancer effects. Anti-diabetic, cholesterol and cardiovascular disease lowering, anti-hypertensive, hepatoprotective, renoprotective, and wound healing benefits of carrot have also been reported. The mechanism by which these carrot compounds decrease the risk of some diseases is complex and sometimes largely unknown. The cardio- and hepatoprotective, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic effects of carrot seed extracts are also noteworthy.

Visit our Facebook page and 'like us'  Hexton Country Matters.

Flapjacks ~ Recipe

You can be rest assured that we will have a supply of Scott's Porage oats - Helen's favourite.

Apart from hot porage and overnight porage, you can make flapjacks.

On the back of the pack there has been a recipe

This is my favourite recipe:

6oz (150gms) Butter or Margerine

4oz (100gms) brown sugar (or mix of different depending on the filling)

2oz (50gms) syrup - I find it less messy to weigh it

12oz (300gms) oats

cinnamon or mixed spice

then optionally add up to 8oz (100gms) your favourite dried fruit, chopped apricots, dates, walnuts, cherries.

I have even added a mashed banana if there has been an over ripe one in the fruit bowl.

I found it best to line my tin with baking paper/parchment (do not use greaseproof it sticks to it), and cut into pieces when still slightly warm.

You can pretty much put in any shaped tin, and could even dip into chocolate and put in fancy bags for Christmas presents - who doesn't love a handmade gift.