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 :)

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.

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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.

Pickled Onions ~ Recipe

 

Autumn is upon us and the pickle season has started.  This week in Country Matters Hexton we have onions for pickling form not far away in Soham, Cambridgeshire.

Carrot Cake ~ Recipe

We generally have local carrots for sale.  This carrot cake recipe is super light and is lower in fat, I can't pretend it is calorie free....

Supplier Spotlight ~ Corbett & Sons ~ Honey

Corbett & Sons are selling their local honey in the shop, they are from Barton Le Clay, so very close to Hexton.  

Supplier Spotlight ~ Mrs Middleton's ~ Oil & Flour

We have been stocking Mrs Middleton's Rapeseed Oil for a number of years at Country Matters.  

Raspberries

Helen often has raspberries (blueberries too), and muffins are super easy to make.  They don't keep well, best to eat on the day (not all of them though!) and freeze any left.

Here is the muffin recipe:

I have a large jug that I always use for making muffins and find it easier to pour the mixture as it is runny, and all muffins are delicious straight from the oven.

200g plain flour
100g caster sugar
50g soft brown sugar
Cinnamon to taste (optional)
2 ½ Baking powder

½ teaspoon salt
90ml skimmed or semi-skimmed milk

80ml vegetable oil

1 large egg, beaten
5 drops vanilla extract
200gms (approx) fruit

• Preheat oven to 200 C / Gas 6 and add paper cases to a muffin tray.
• Measure out flour, sugars, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large jug. 
• Combine milk, oil, egg and vanilla in another jug.
• Add the liquid to the large jug and stir until just combined (mixture will be lumpy).
• Gently fold in fruit, divide amongst 10 cases, or around that number, cases should be 2/3rds full.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top, sprinkle with icing sugar when slightly cool.

This was a picture from a while back and I generally use a silicon muffin tray these days which is much easier than messing about with paper muffin cases. 

Fruit scones & delicious homemade jam

Fancy a lovely light scone and some homemade jam, check out our range of jams in the shop, pick up some eggs and flour and get making these scones, they are so easy you will have them ready to eat in less than an hour.

VE Day recipe idea - bread pudding

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This recipe makes enough to fill a traybake tin, perfect for using any leftover bread, including the crusts.

Baked Eggs - a quick lunch/light tea

The hens are starting to lay again and Eggs are available in Country Matters Hexton shop, so how abut this simple idea for a lunch/light tea.

This was a case of what was in the fridge/larder. - Recipe:

Supplier Spotlight - Honey - Corbett & sons

Corbett & Sons have recently started selling their local honey in the shop, they are from Barton Le Clay, so very close to Hexton.  It is certainly proving very popular.

See their Facebook Page

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American Pancakes - Recipe - Pancake Day - 25th February

It is pancake day soon, how about giving American pancakes a go?  This was my first attempt and they were easy.

Super fresh eggs in the Hexton Country Matters shop...here is the recipe:

VE Day celebrations - glassware & jellies

At Country Matters Hexton we have a good selection of vintage glassware, it will make your garden tea party have that special 1940s feel.  Make some jellies ahead of time, make them a even more special by adding some gin (or any other alchohol!)

Bread - in a bread machine - Recipe

We regularly stock Allinsons breadflour and yeast, making bread in a bread machine is so easy.  Maybe you have one tucked away in a cupboard and have forgotten about it?  Now is the time to get it out and give it another go, using this foolproof method.

I normally dust with flour and forgot before I put it in the oven.

Date crumblies - Recipe

Not posted in a long time, so thought a recipe would be good.  Please visit our Facebook page

A recipe given to me by a friend many many years ago, and not really sure what to call them.  They do make me think of the 'winter' as they have dates in them.  Bit like flapjacks with a lot less oats.

I make them in a 11 X 7 tray

Carrot & Fruit cake with honey

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This was a recipe I found in a book, and decided to give it a go - it was fab, and I would definitely recommend making it, we have carrots and honey in the shop - it is lovely and moist.