Well folks, just so you don't think that I have neglected this blog...the news is that we have had a wonderful new website created for us and built into this website is a Sue's News page. So from now on I am planning on keeping that updated. So please check out the new site on www.harropfoldfarm.co.uk
Hope to see you there!
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
Thursday, 21 May 2009
A sign of warmer weather?!
An early breakfast this morning for a guest travelling a very long way away set me forward in the day's activities! Lovely to wake to that beautiful chattering sound above the bedroom window, the swallows I think have hatched since occasionally I see a broken egg shell being pushed out of the nest and landing on our bedroom window sill. Their displays over the farmyard this morning are easily seen as I am sitting at the kitchen table, since the weather is once again so damp they are diving low over the courtyard catching the flies.
However, the welcome is not damp on arriving here, in fact it is quite positively spring like with yesterday's guests seeing Leah's beautiful, now legendary cupcakes with little pink piglets on top! If you haven't been tempted to join her Cupcakes Galore day - take a quick peek at Leah's website - www.leahspantry.co.uk and I think you may be then!
The Bluebells have finally blossomed in the woods, and yesterday our guests walked down to Bollington to explore the Bollington Festival, they arrived back at Harrop Fold so excited to tell us all about the beauty of the woods. Their photographs certainly showed the intensity of the beautiful colours. I love seeing these flowers as they always remind me of when the children were small and we used to sit on the seat by the stream looking for the fairies, the boys could be a little unkind to the girls who always, without fail, saw the fairies dancing through the Bluebells!
Last week Northern Harvest brought us the first Cheshire Asparagus - is that a sign of warmer weather? So delicious it was that we bought two grades, one for soup which was divine and another for steaming. Northern Harvest deliver here on a Thursday and so it was Cheshire Asparagus for supper again last night! Perhaps you might like to try some and cook it just as we love it.
Take a bunch of Cheshire Asparagus, steam until it is to your liking. In the water below, poach an egg and in a frying pan toast some breadcrumbs with fresh chopped herbs from your garden. (Here we have parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme growing in the kitchen garden along with some oregano, we chop whichever we fancy).
When it is cooked lay the asparagus on the plate with the poached egg to the side and sprinkle with herb breadcrumbs...um...yummy! This is surely a different take on the poached egg and soldiers!
Last week saw the launch of Taste Cheshire - the Cheshire Foodtrail - another wonderful idea from Visit Chester and Cheshire. What a great evening everyone enjoyed at Spitting Feathers in Chester - who could fail to enjoy an evening in a brewery?! lovely beers and Cheshire Cider along with delicious titbits of cheese and very tasty canapes. The food trail suggests a trail of delicious places all over Cheshire and yes, Harrop Fold is featured in one of the trails. The gorgeous books are available here at the farm and I know the guests who have been here this week have all taken one and visited more than one of the suggested places.
Looking forward to our next evening out with our lovely, lovely friends from Visit Chester and Cheshire which will be the Annual Cheshire Tourism Awards to be held at Chester Racecourse two weeks tonight. Once again Harrop Fold Farm has been shortlisted in a couple of categories: Bed & Breakfast of the Year (which we won in 2006) and A Taste of Cheshire. Our judging felt as though it went well, the judges were so interesting and they put us at ease, so it is down to their decisions...fingers crossed though! We do try so hard to go the extra mile for our guests, but that is so easy due to the welcome encouragement we receive from them.
Time to put the next lot of breakfasts on...I think this morning I will tempted to join in. Who can resist Harrop Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Cheshire Tomatoes and Mushrooms and some of Jeremy's handmade Blackpudding? Certainly not me this morning! Finished off with some homemade Lemon Curd and Cheshire Rhubarb and Ginger Jam. Yum yum! Oh no! I do have to try to squeeze into my evening dress soon though!
Catch up again shortly,
Love,
Sue xx
However, the welcome is not damp on arriving here, in fact it is quite positively spring like with yesterday's guests seeing Leah's beautiful, now legendary cupcakes with little pink piglets on top! If you haven't been tempted to join her Cupcakes Galore day - take a quick peek at Leah's website - www.leahspantry.co.uk and I think you may be then!
The Bluebells have finally blossomed in the woods, and yesterday our guests walked down to Bollington to explore the Bollington Festival, they arrived back at Harrop Fold so excited to tell us all about the beauty of the woods. Their photographs certainly showed the intensity of the beautiful colours. I love seeing these flowers as they always remind me of when the children were small and we used to sit on the seat by the stream looking for the fairies, the boys could be a little unkind to the girls who always, without fail, saw the fairies dancing through the Bluebells!
Last week Northern Harvest brought us the first Cheshire Asparagus - is that a sign of warmer weather? So delicious it was that we bought two grades, one for soup which was divine and another for steaming. Northern Harvest deliver here on a Thursday and so it was Cheshire Asparagus for supper again last night! Perhaps you might like to try some and cook it just as we love it.
Take a bunch of Cheshire Asparagus, steam until it is to your liking. In the water below, poach an egg and in a frying pan toast some breadcrumbs with fresh chopped herbs from your garden. (Here we have parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme growing in the kitchen garden along with some oregano, we chop whichever we fancy).
When it is cooked lay the asparagus on the plate with the poached egg to the side and sprinkle with herb breadcrumbs...um...yummy! This is surely a different take on the poached egg and soldiers!
Last week saw the launch of Taste Cheshire - the Cheshire Foodtrail - another wonderful idea from Visit Chester and Cheshire. What a great evening everyone enjoyed at Spitting Feathers in Chester - who could fail to enjoy an evening in a brewery?! lovely beers and Cheshire Cider along with delicious titbits of cheese and very tasty canapes. The food trail suggests a trail of delicious places all over Cheshire and yes, Harrop Fold is featured in one of the trails. The gorgeous books are available here at the farm and I know the guests who have been here this week have all taken one and visited more than one of the suggested places.
Looking forward to our next evening out with our lovely, lovely friends from Visit Chester and Cheshire which will be the Annual Cheshire Tourism Awards to be held at Chester Racecourse two weeks tonight. Once again Harrop Fold Farm has been shortlisted in a couple of categories: Bed & Breakfast of the Year (which we won in 2006) and A Taste of Cheshire. Our judging felt as though it went well, the judges were so interesting and they put us at ease, so it is down to their decisions...fingers crossed though! We do try so hard to go the extra mile for our guests, but that is so easy due to the welcome encouragement we receive from them.
Time to put the next lot of breakfasts on...I think this morning I will tempted to join in. Who can resist Harrop Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Cheshire Tomatoes and Mushrooms and some of Jeremy's handmade Blackpudding? Certainly not me this morning! Finished off with some homemade Lemon Curd and Cheshire Rhubarb and Ginger Jam. Yum yum! Oh no! I do have to try to squeeze into my evening dress soon though!
Catch up again shortly,
Love,
Sue xx
Sunday, 26 April 2009
The Green, Green Grass of Harrop Fold & Peter Jones' Watercress Soup
What a lovely few weeks we have enjoyed here at Harrop Fold, we escaped for a family 3 nights away last week, closing the doors and leaving our kind Helen to look after the home and feed the animals.
On our return we were surprised to see the hawthorn had blossomed in the bottom field and how green the fields are looking. The farm animals are becoming broody, one of the doves sitting up in the dovecote on her nest, and one of the bantams has become broody and she is sitting guard over a clutch of her eggs. Mr Peacock is looking to do some courting but cannot find a peahen so he spends alot of time following the hens!
Today George and David have borrowed Rachel's huge tractor and muck spreader to spread the fields before turning the cows out for the summer. I think they are ready for a good run round - the cows not the boys! - but the grass is always greener...as they seem to plot escape routes from the field when they are actually turned out!
I spent a very happy birthday having dinner with the nearest and dearest and was given the most imaginative present from George...two tiny piglets! We have named them George and Pudding since one of them is so cute and cuddly. They are growing at the most astounding rate, and yes they will be enjoyed by us all! They really enjoy living in the cow barns, in their own sty but securely next to the cows who were so interested when they arrived. It is great too to see them enjoy all the cupcakes and various bits and pieces which are actually left...occasionally! The other new temporary residents are 8 Aylesbury ducklings, but they have almost grown into ducks now, their quacking sounds brilliant and certainly confused the dogs!
The Visit Chester and Cheshire Annual Awards for 2009 have been announced and for the 4th year we have been shortlisted in 2 categories: Bed & Breakfast of the Year and A Taste of Cheshire. We are, of course, delighted! Delighted once again that we have successfully reached their standards and delighted too to be going along to their fantastic night of celebrations at Chester Racecourse in June. We must now organise our tickets! And as everyone knows, we just love Chester.
The family all visited the Chester Food & Drink Festival over the Easter weekend which was a brilliant couple of hours spent in the sunshine tasting lots of yummy food! I loved the Menai Oysters - umm just thinking of that lovely salty seaside flavour! however, my favourite treat from the day was Peter Jones' Wirral Watercress. We took home a couple of packets and made the best ever Wirral Watercress Soup - so maybe you would like to try this yourself:
Harrop Fold Wirral Watercress Soup from Peter Jones' farm
On our return we were surprised to see the hawthorn had blossomed in the bottom field and how green the fields are looking. The farm animals are becoming broody, one of the doves sitting up in the dovecote on her nest, and one of the bantams has become broody and she is sitting guard over a clutch of her eggs. Mr Peacock is looking to do some courting but cannot find a peahen so he spends alot of time following the hens!
Today George and David have borrowed Rachel's huge tractor and muck spreader to spread the fields before turning the cows out for the summer. I think they are ready for a good run round - the cows not the boys! - but the grass is always greener...as they seem to plot escape routes from the field when they are actually turned out!
I spent a very happy birthday having dinner with the nearest and dearest and was given the most imaginative present from George...two tiny piglets! We have named them George and Pudding since one of them is so cute and cuddly. They are growing at the most astounding rate, and yes they will be enjoyed by us all! They really enjoy living in the cow barns, in their own sty but securely next to the cows who were so interested when they arrived. It is great too to see them enjoy all the cupcakes and various bits and pieces which are actually left...occasionally! The other new temporary residents are 8 Aylesbury ducklings, but they have almost grown into ducks now, their quacking sounds brilliant and certainly confused the dogs!
The Visit Chester and Cheshire Annual Awards for 2009 have been announced and for the 4th year we have been shortlisted in 2 categories: Bed & Breakfast of the Year and A Taste of Cheshire. We are, of course, delighted! Delighted once again that we have successfully reached their standards and delighted too to be going along to their fantastic night of celebrations at Chester Racecourse in June. We must now organise our tickets! And as everyone knows, we just love Chester.
The family all visited the Chester Food & Drink Festival over the Easter weekend which was a brilliant couple of hours spent in the sunshine tasting lots of yummy food! I loved the Menai Oysters - umm just thinking of that lovely salty seaside flavour! however, my favourite treat from the day was Peter Jones' Wirral Watercress. We took home a couple of packets and made the best ever Wirral Watercress Soup - so maybe you would like to try this yourself:
Harrop Fold Wirral Watercress Soup from Peter Jones' farm
- Take an onion and a small potato (to use as the thickening agent) chop and sweat in a heavy bottomed pan (putting on the lid) with some Westry Roberts farm churned butter to stop any sticking.
- When completely soft - but not coloured, cover with stock - obviously depending on the amount of watercress, I usually use around 2 pints.
- When the stock has reached boiling point continue simmering until the potatoes are tender and then add the couple of packs of watercress, cook for around 2 minutes and then using a hand held 'whizzer' whiz until the watercress has blended with the veg and stock. I think the secret is to drop the watercress in at the end for a short time as then you keep the wonderful bright green colour.
- Ladle into soup dishes and for an extra treat, drop a dollop of Delamere Dairy of Knutsford creamed Goat's Cheese into the centre of each bowl...yummy!
Whilst for this tasty soup I confess to using Swiss Bouillon stock, (but let's keep that a secret!) when making our delicious Cheshire Onion Soup we do then always make our own stock, tonight we are eating a rib of Harrop Fold beef, and I will keep the rib bone, roast and then boil up in the stock pan with some of our lovely Cheshire root veg from Northern Harvest and this will make the most delicious stock.
So whilst on this food note, I must go and make our lunch - well I say make! Leah has made us a delicious Smoked Salmon tart with some beautiful smoked salmon from the Cheshire Smokehouse and we are being used as an experiment as she has used Cheshire potatoes as the base for a potato pastry case. So mouth watering, I will assemble a salad as the family will be in soon.
Speak soon,
Love, Sue x
Friday, 10 April 2009
A very Good Friday at Harrop Fold
What a lovely treat we had this morning, when popping out of the backdoor to feed Mr Peacock I heard a familiar chirping overhead and yes, our favourite visitors are back. This morning the first of the swallows have taken up residence in their old nest above our bedroom window. I just love waking to their jolly chirping noises, I never tire of the sound and it does make me think of warmer, (hopefully) sunnier weather ahead.
The other treat we have had this weekend is taking delivery of the first of our Cheshire rhubarb, so on the aga this morning is our 2009 Cheshire Rhubarb and Ginger jam, yummy! Last night I was busy making Lemon Curd with Westry Roberts wonderful farm churned butter and the deliciously romantic Amalfi lemons, all combined with our bright yellow yolked eggs. So this morning the Stevenson children have all been eating lots and lots of hot toast and lemon curd, must lock it away or it will not last our guests!
Busy weekend here, but Leah and I are hoping to be able to go to visit the Chester Food and Drink Festival - cupcakes allowing! Dear Alice and Edward have swotting to do for their finals and GCSE's so I will have to make loads of tasty treats to sustain them.
Before closing, must mention another lovely article with a beautiful photo of Leah, looking very rural with the hens. The May edition of Country Homes and Interiors has run a feature on Harrop Fold and the cookery courses enjoyed here, we do have a few copies around the farm!
Jam is smelling divine, so must go and jar it.
Wishing you all a very happy Easter weekend, and hope to see you soon.
Love, Sue x
The other treat we have had this weekend is taking delivery of the first of our Cheshire rhubarb, so on the aga this morning is our 2009 Cheshire Rhubarb and Ginger jam, yummy! Last night I was busy making Lemon Curd with Westry Roberts wonderful farm churned butter and the deliciously romantic Amalfi lemons, all combined with our bright yellow yolked eggs. So this morning the Stevenson children have all been eating lots and lots of hot toast and lemon curd, must lock it away or it will not last our guests!
Busy weekend here, but Leah and I are hoping to be able to go to visit the Chester Food and Drink Festival - cupcakes allowing! Dear Alice and Edward have swotting to do for their finals and GCSE's so I will have to make loads of tasty treats to sustain them.
Before closing, must mention another lovely article with a beautiful photo of Leah, looking very rural with the hens. The May edition of Country Homes and Interiors has run a feature on Harrop Fold and the cookery courses enjoyed here, we do have a few copies around the farm!
Jam is smelling divine, so must go and jar it.
Wishing you all a very happy Easter weekend, and hope to see you soon.
Love, Sue x
Monday, 23 February 2009
Harrop Fold wins Countryside Alliance Local Food Award
We are the 2008 Countryside Alliance Local Food Award winners for North West England Yippee! And we are going to the House of Lords for the presentation ceremony which will be a great treat I am sure. Regional Director and Head Regional Judge Richard Dodd commented: “Harrop Fold is a business run with passion. A B&B set on a 20-acre farm, at Harrop Fold Farm you can take a tailored foodie break weekend and watch your supper being cooked, which is an approach I had never heard of before. Leah Stevenson is passionate about cooking and local produce and encourages guests to take part in her demonstrations. I don’t think I have ever heard of this approach and think it will do wonders for food education as well as enjoyment of local, seasonal produce in a beautiful rural setting. A real one-off, and I hope the national judging panel is as enthused as I am!”
We are really proud as we have always championed local produce, David being the son of a farmer and me being the daughter of a butcher it has been second nature and something we have always shared with our guests and now to receive this credit is fantastic!
Leah is having a fabulous time; this month saw a wonderful article in the BBC Good Food Magazine, along with a lovely photo of Leah in action teaching Caroline her tricks of the trade! Today Leah has been nominated for the Cheshire Woman of the Year Award 2009, which means another lunch, this time at Eaton Park, Chester. Oh...how enjoyable food is!
Snow has been the topic of conversation here at Harrop Fold...lots of it. Fortunately the good folk at the Highwayman offered their car park to our guests and we ferried from pub to farm in the Landover. We were so glad when the thaw came and found poking up through the garden were the first pretty little snowdrops, I love that little promise of spring.
My friend Brenda, from Red Oaks Farm, delivered to us half a lamb which was delicious and again made me think about spring and the tasty, tasty spring lamb which will be around quite soon, can you imagine anything tastier than Cheshire lamb and Cheshire Asparagus? We are coming to the end of our Cheshire fruit jams, but we do have one kilner jar of Tayberry left and then I will be making a fresh supply of English Rhubarb and another pan of gorgeous Amalfi Lemon Curd, yummy! David’s Mum makes the best marmalade, but unfortunately David is very possessive over this!
Fortunately, the hens have started to lay again and this evening we are having a practice run of pancake making...and the first are on the table...so must go and feast again!
Speak again soon,
Sue x
We are really proud as we have always championed local produce, David being the son of a farmer and me being the daughter of a butcher it has been second nature and something we have always shared with our guests and now to receive this credit is fantastic!
Leah is having a fabulous time; this month saw a wonderful article in the BBC Good Food Magazine, along with a lovely photo of Leah in action teaching Caroline her tricks of the trade! Today Leah has been nominated for the Cheshire Woman of the Year Award 2009, which means another lunch, this time at Eaton Park, Chester. Oh...how enjoyable food is!
Snow has been the topic of conversation here at Harrop Fold...lots of it. Fortunately the good folk at the Highwayman offered their car park to our guests and we ferried from pub to farm in the Landover. We were so glad when the thaw came and found poking up through the garden were the first pretty little snowdrops, I love that little promise of spring.
My friend Brenda, from Red Oaks Farm, delivered to us half a lamb which was delicious and again made me think about spring and the tasty, tasty spring lamb which will be around quite soon, can you imagine anything tastier than Cheshire lamb and Cheshire Asparagus? We are coming to the end of our Cheshire fruit jams, but we do have one kilner jar of Tayberry left and then I will be making a fresh supply of English Rhubarb and another pan of gorgeous Amalfi Lemon Curd, yummy! David’s Mum makes the best marmalade, but unfortunately David is very possessive over this!
Fortunately, the hens have started to lay again and this evening we are having a practice run of pancake making...and the first are on the table...so must go and feast again!
Speak again soon,
Sue x
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