Food & Drink

New Blackmore Vale, July 23, 2021 Food & Drink Cooking...

with Mrs Simkins

Bacon and Egg Pie Straightforward and deliciously satisfying, a simple bacon and egg pie is fantastic served warm, fresh from the oven: it’s still good cold but warm is on another level. Serve as a sustaining snack with a dab of mustard or brown sauce; mayonnaise is good too. Alternatively serve with a big fresh salad. Some of us like it with baked beans in the colder months, and smooth mashed potatoes, plus brown sauce. A slice of warm bacon and egg pie makes me feel as cosy and warm as a really good sausage roll. Cooking bacon works best as you generally get a lot of chunky lean meat and it’s very economical (look in Aldi, Lidl and Asda) but use chopped rashers if you prefer. Filling 200-250g cooking bacon, chopped 1 teaspoon of oil, optional 6 medium eggs Ground white pepper to taste Pastry 500g plain flour 250g cold salted butter, diced 4½ tablespoons icy cold water Plus: 1 extra egg and a tablespoon of water (or brush with milk) Preheat oven to 200C (180C fan oven) gas mark 6 or equivalent You will need a greased 20cm (8 inch) or similar capacity baking dish, round or square Fry the bacon lightly in as little oil as possible: you may not need any. Set aside. Make the pastry in the usual way or for speedy extra-light results whiz the flour and butter into fine crumbs in a food processor. Add the water and whiz until large clumps form. Remove from the machine and knead gently into a ball. Divide the pastry in half and use half to line the bottom of the dish: roll it out a little thinner than a one-pound coin, it shouldn’t be too thick. Leave a little overhang. Arrange the bacon in the dish, making a slight hollow nest for each egg. Crack the six eggs into a cup one at a time and slide each one carefully into the bacon ‘nests’ Season with white pepper. Roll out the remaining pastry and lay it carefully on top of the pie. Press the lid and bottom gently together, trimming any overhang and indent the edges. Make a couple of steam holes in the lid: avoid piercing the yolks. Beat the last egg until frothy with a tablespoon of cold water and brush over the pie. Bake for 2025 minutes until golden. MrsSimkins.co.uk twitter.com/MrsSimkinsCooks info@MrsSimkins.co.uk

Mum’s Kitchen...

with Diana Holman

Raspberry and Amaretti cake

This cake makes a delicious dessert served with cream. It is so quick and easy to make using a food processor. You could use blueberries or gooseberries instead of raspberries if you wished.

Serves eight Ingredients 110g (4oz) butter, softened, plus extra for greasing 110 (40z) self-raising flour 110 (4oz) caster sugar ½ teaspoon baking powder 2 large eggs 225-250g (8-9oz) raspberries 55g (2oz) Amaretti biscuits, roughly crushed 1 tablespoon demerara sugar

Preheat the oven to 160C (140C) fan. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin. Crush the Amaretti biscuits briefly in a food processor, and tip out into a basin. Put the butter, self-raising flour, caster sugar, baking powder and eggs into the processor and whizz them together for about 30 seconds until well mixed. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and spread evenly. Arrange the raspberries on top, pushing them lightly into the mixture. Sprinkle on the crushed Amaretti biscuits evenly over the top, saving a tablespoon to add when the cake is cooked. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Scatter the remaining biscuit crumbs over the top of the, followed by the demerara sugar. Can be served warm or cold.

New Blackmore Vale, July 23, 2021 Food & Drink You’d be a fool not to try this recipe this summer

Rebecca Vincent is a nutritionist working in Wincanton and Yeovil

This time of year, we are inundated with lots of seasonal berries. I have chosen to use gooseberries and strawberries for this recipe, but it would work well with any berry combination you prefer and is a great way to use up a glut of fruit. Take the recipe and make it your own! Strawberries are excellent sources of vitamins C and K, manganese, folate, and potassium. They are also rich in antioxidants including the anthocyanin pelargonidin which contributes to their red colour. While I’m sure we have all felt drawn to the largest strawberry in the punnet, the medium-sized strawberries are often the more flavoursome. Gooseberries are great sources of vitamins C, B5, and B6, copper, and manganese. It is the organic acids present in gooseberries, including malic and citric acids, that are responsible for the tart taste they are known for. While this can mean they are quite sharp, the addition of strawberries in this recipe adds a natural sweetness that compliments the sharpness beautifully and reduces the need for additional sugar sources. Gooseberry and strawberry fool

(serves 4) 300g gooseberries 300g strawberries 180g of plain live yoghurt 1tbsp honey a couple of extra strawberries to serve Nip the tops off the gooseberries and pop in a saucepan on a medium heat with the honey and just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Gently heat, stirring regularly. Take the tops off the strawberries and cut into quarters. When the gooseberries are starting to soften add the strawberries and continue to stir regularly. Once the strawberries have softened as well take the mixture off the heat and allow it to cool. Once cool enough to handle safely blend the mixture until smooth. Leave to cool fully. Optional additional flavours include elderflower cordial, cinnamon, or black pepper. Mix half of the fruit mixture with the yoghurt, then layer the yoghurt mix and the remaining fruit puree in a glass. Pop in the fridge to cool for an hour or so, then serve with the extra strawberries, and enjoy! n Rebecca Vincent BSc BANT registered nutritionist 07515 019430 rebeccavincentnutrition @gmail.com

Café is paradise found

An ethical and eco café is offering a slice of paradise in Gillingham. Eden, the project of St Mary’s Church, is a plant based community café and loose goods refill and recycling hub which opened at the Vicarage School Room during the first lockdown. Founder member Revd Eve Peglar said: “We want this to be a café space where the community can come, relax and meet their friends. Simply have a bit of peace and quiet and read a book. Or groups can come and use the café as a meeting place.” The ethical and ecological basis of Eden fits well with one of the charitable aims of St Mary’s Church – to work towards caring for the whole of creation. Any funds raised will contribute towards continuing this work. The Queen Street venue was redecorated at the end of lockdown and while specially arranged each week for the café, is still available as a venue for community hire. Eden uses TerraCycle for its recycling collections and a host of packaging and materials, not presently recycled through kerbside collections, are taken including crisp packets, biscuit, chocolate and sweet wrappers, bread bags, used up pens and felt tips. Eden loose goods and café is open on: n Wednesday 2pm-5pm n Thursday and Friday 10am-12noon n Sunday 11.30am-1.30pm Bring your containers to refill a wide range of food staples, cleaning materials and treats. You can follow Eden on instagram at @edengoodsandcafe or even better, call by and say hello.

Enford

Farm Shop

Durweston DT11 0QW Home reared and locally produced meats, game, deli, fruit, veg, free range eggs and lots more. Follow us on Facebook for all our latest meat pack deals and what’s in fresh that week. Fresh 昀sh van in the car park Wednesdays 9.30am-2pm Half a pig approx £100 Chicken feeds etc available Open Wednesdays to Saturday 8.30am-4pm. Outside shop with self service for essentials 8am-8pm open daily 01258 450050

It’s a dream come true as Phil and Jo

ON TAP: The staff are ready to welcome you at the bar

Welcome to the Kings Arms!

Save £5! Off your meal over £30 in July & August, just bring this advert along...

A friendly family-run pub offering superb locally-sourced food, home-cooked to order

Open Wednesday – Saturday. Lunch from 12 noon, Evening Meals from 5.30pm. Open all day Sunday from 12 noon.

2-course lunch special offer for £12 Wednesday – Friday

East Stour Common SP8 5NB Gillingham Tel 01747 838325 www.kingsarmseaststour.com

By Karen Bate

newsdesk@blackmorevale.net

A London couple desperate to jump off the corporate treadmill are celebrating the start of a lifelong dream after getting the keys to The Stapleton Arms in Buckhorn Weston. While Jo dreamt of vineyards, Phil was dreaming about owning a guesthouse by the sea and the first lockdown gave the couple the chance to discuss their future and their dreams. Phil said: “We chatted and decided that a blend of the two ideas could be a pub with restaurant and rooms. Once lockdown eased, we started our search across Dorset, Devon and Somerset. What was important to us was to be part of a community.” And then The Stapleton Arms flashed up and the pair were struck with the building, its four letting rooms, the grounds and paddock, perfect for their six-year-old son William, and suddenly their plans began to feel real. As the family headed home after that first visit, Phil had an inkling he had been there before but couldn’t place it until he realised it was where his best friend Alex and his wife Sarah were married. And in a strange twist of fate, Sarah’s brother Simon and his wife Douanne have recently bought The Queens Arms in nearby Corton Denham. Since March, the couple have been revitalising the building, jet washing, painting and making repairs. And the couple held a socially-distanced garden party with 20 villagers helping to clear the brambles and pull the weeds from the neglected garden. The entire pub has been given a complete overhaul and the garden is crammed

unveil the refurbished Stapleton Arms

with flora and fauna. Phil said: “We have had neighbours and villagers offering to help and support us and we have made genuine friendships, which has overwhelming. The first week we were open was actually very emotional for us, to see them here enjoying their old pub again. We really do feel honoured that the pub and the village have seemingly chosen us to be the custodians.” Jo and Phil’s vision for the Stapleton Arms is for a wellsupported local, with a good selection of ales and cider and outstanding locallysourced food to create pub classics and the more adventurous specials created by renowned chef Michael Bright, who is at the helm in the kitchen Phil said: “We went for dinner and ordered our son William fish and chips to come with our starters, as he is a slow and difficult eater. William literally wolfed the lot down before we had come close to finishing our starters – this is when we realised Mike is our perfect chef! People in the village have said his fish and chips are the best they have ever tasted. “Mike cooks scallops to perfection, which is another speciality dish of his. We hope to become a destination pub with a menu inspired by local producers. And we have an excellent wine menu.” n stapletonarms.co.uk