Apple and strawberry pie ~ recipe

We've been waiting until the English strawberries were in to share this customer recipe for a strawberry and apple pie.

Ingredients:

Pack of ready made shortcrust pastry

7 dessert apples (we suggest Royal Gala but our customer uses whatever she happens to have in her fruit bowl)

500 grams strawberries, washed, plugged & halved

2 tablespoons sugar + additional sugar for sprinkling on the pastry crust

Beaten egg for glazing

Method:

Peel, core & quarter the apples.

Put the apples in a saucepan with the sugar and 2 tablespoons of water, par cook until water is absorbed, watch carefully so the apples don't burn. Remove from heat and add the strawberries, leave to cool while you prepare the pie crusts.

Roll out the pastry and line your greased pie dish with half the pastry reserving the other half for the pie lid.

Spoon the cooled fruit mixture into the pie, top with pastry, seal edges, make a hole in the centre for steam to come out.

Glaze with beaten egg, sprinkle with sugar and cook in a pre-heated oven for 35-40 minutes Gas Mark 4, 180c, 350f until the pastry is golden brown.

Remove from the oven, serve warm or cold. Very nice with ice cream.  



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Georgian Apple and Rose Petal Pie ~ Recipe

Apple pie is a great favourite served with custard or cream but have you ever heard of apple and rose petal pie? No, neither had we until a customer kindly shared this recipe with us:

Ingredients:

225 grams (8ozs)  puff pasty 

675 grams (1 1/2lbs)  Bramley apples

125 grams (4ozs) granulated sugar + additional sugar for sprinkling on crust

Grated rind of 1/2 lemon

A handful of rose petals (scented), washed with the base pinched out.

3 cloves 

A blade of mace 

Beaten egg to glaze

Method:

Peel, core & slice the apples into thick slices.

Place the apple peel, cores, cloves and mace in a saucepan with enough water to cover them.

Bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Remove peelings, cloves and mace before dissolving 125grams of sugar in the syrup, leave to cool.

Put the apple slices in a pie dish, sprinkle the grated lemon rind on top then add the cooled syrup.

Next scatter the rose petals on top.

Roll a pastry lid and cover the pie, leaving a hole to allow steam out.

Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle lightly with sugar.

Put the pie dish on a baking tray and cook in a preheated over for 10 minutes on Gas Mark 8, 230c, 450f, followed by a further 30 minutes at Gas Mark 5, 190c, 375f.

Remove from oven and serve with clotted cream. 

Bee Body Part a video for World Bee Day

It's World Bee Day so we thought we'd share this fun video about the structure and function of a bee's body parts.

Interesting use of a toilet brush!

Watch it, it's educational and great fun especially for children :

Bee Bodies: Structure and (Fun)ction from Bug Chicks on Vimeo.

Queen Anne's Lace

It's everywhere at this time of year, in the hedgerows, at the roadside, in the orchard, Queen Anne's Lace :

Queen Anne, Queen Anne, has washed her lace
(She chose a summer day)
And hung it in a grassy place
To whiten, if it may.

Queen Anne, Queen Anne, has left it there,
And slept the dewy night,
Then waked to find the sunshine fair,
And all the meadows white.

Queen Anne, Queen Anne, is dead and gone
(She died a summer's day)
But left her lace to whiten on
Each weed entangled way. 

                                                                                                         Mary Leslie Newton 

Rhubarb Rhubarb Rhubarb ~ a weekend treat ~ Crumble

We're now pulling stalks of green and pink freckled rhubarb by request, you won't get it any fresher than that unless you have a patch of rhubarb in your own garden.

So who fancies rhubarb crumble for pudding?

Everyone has their own favourite crumble topping but just in case you fancy a change  so we thought we'd share ours':

3 ozs of butter
4 tablespoons self-raising flour
2 big handfulls of porridge oats
4 tablespoons of cane sugar

You know what to do don't you? Rub the flour with the butter etc

A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch ~ review

If you've ever visited our tea room and farm shop you'll know we have a love of books and reading so we thought it would be nice to share the occasional book review here on our blog:

"Never judge a book by it's cover" ~ but we do don't we?

It was the cover of Charles Finch's A Beautiful Blue Death that caught my eye!

"Charles Lennox, Victorian gentleman and armchair explorer, likes nothing more than to relax ib his private study with a cup of tea, a roaring fire, and a good book. But when his lifelong friend Lady Jane asks for his help, Lenox cannot resist the chance to unravel a mystery.

Prudence Smith, one of Jane's former servants, is dead of an apparent suicide. But Lenox suspects something far more sinister: murder, by a rare and deadly poison."

First off I'll say that I did actually enjoy this book BUT I can see how others would find it enormously irritating and throw it aside.

Don't they say "Write what you know about"?

Sorry but Mr Finch doesn't seem to know much about the social mores of Victorian England, the geographical layout of London and maybe not that much about British history. I winced at the use of the name Lady Jane Grey for Lenox's childhood friend. Lady Jane Grey having been the unfortunate 9 day Queen of Tudor England who was executed in in 1554. I further winced at the over familiarity of servants to their employers and amongst many other anomalies was astounded to find Lenox drinking Rye rather than Scotch whiskey.  And for a gentleman to have to ask someone of lower social class than himself where to purchase waterproof boots in an age when someone of Lenox's standing would be wearing made to measure footwear, well that would have been unheard of.

"England and America are two nations separated by the same language" George Bernard Shaw

I also found the use of American English rather than British English somewhat grating ~ Lenox would have changed his trousers not his pants, eaten scones not biscuits etc etc

If you can cast all that aside it's an okay murder mystery, not exactly thrilling or over taxing, a book that's not as good as it's cover!

Having said all that it's now available to purchase in the second hand section of our 50p book sale in the tea room and farm shop.

The Orchard Tea Room & Farm Shop

Redmoor Lane

Wisbech

Cambs

PE14 0RN

Open 10-4 daily 

Interview with the artist ~ Moira Johnson

Moira Johnson is currently exhibiting her art here at The Orchard with another local artist Sally Anne Goodale, as we last interviewed Moira back in 2016 we thought it would be nice to catch up again with a fresh interview. 

Moira please tell us about your work? 

I first started painting in watercolour, then progresses to oils which I loved. As oils are very messy, and not easy when painting outside, I tried acrylics, they are now my preferred medium.

What are you currently working on?

I am currently working on a painting of a Jersey Cow. I love painting animals and have done several pet portraits as commissions ~ dogs and cats. I also love painting landscapes.

How did you decide to become an artist?

I became an artist after attending a "Beginners Painting Weekend" run by Chris Parker, I enjoyed it so much that I signed up for another weekend, then went for several painting days with him. I joined a course at the local college with Andrea Taylor, then I was invited to join Wisbech Art Club. I have been secretary of the Art Club for several years. I love going to demonstrations and workshops, it is very inspiring to see how other artists paint and pick up tips.

What's the best advise you've been given as an artist?

The best advice I have been given is to look at shapes, colours and tones and paint what you see.

What are your life and work goals for the future?

My goal for the future is to spend more time painting. My friend Sally Goodale and I are in the process of setting up our own website which we hope will be up aqnd running very soon. 

Moira Johnson is currently exhibiting her art here at The Orchard with another local artist Sally Anne Goodale, as we last interviewed Moira back in 2016 we thought it would be nice to catch up again. 

Many thanks to Moira Johnson for agreeing to be interviewed for The Orchard Tea Room and Farm Shop Blog. You can view Moira & Sally's art daily 10am -4pm during March 2016 at:

The Orchard Tea Room and Farm Shop

Redmoor Lane

Wisbech

Cambs

PE14 0RN

Telephone: 07527 046184
Website: theorchardtearoom.co.uk Twitter: @OrchardTeaRoom Facebook: The Orchard Tea Room