From this...
to the barn course 40 years later...
to this week...
Boarding completed before the monster hail began.
It's official, a weather-proof, dove-proof side to the Mill House!
- Humbug "Spirit Level" Taylor lending a hand
Wiston before the "storm"...
LDF Mini Eggs
Easter is a very exciting time at Lower Dairy Farm. The cows cannot help but get into the spirit of Easter, Humbug's joined in trying to eat the Easter decorations in the house and I seem to be rewarding myself with one Cadbury's Easter Egg for every word of my thesis I write.
But that's okay because Dolly our special (full-size, not bantam) Easter chick has started laying again, doing her bit to keep you supplied with eggs.
Well, trying at least. Introducing LDF's very own miniature, yolk-free eggs...Mini Eggs if you will.
Happy Easter!
Roll up, roll up!
For the past week the valley has roared with tractors rushing to cultivate, drill and do whatever it takes to keep some moisture in the soil. To celebrate the end of drilling and another week of arrivals (not forgetting my updated list of future calvings in, get this, date order), it's time to feed those tired, hungry farmers!
Today, we're honouring our very own Easter chicks with a family favourite, Cheesy Yorkshire.
Forget toad-in-the-hole, this is far superior! And don't worry Marmite-haters, you cannot taste it (trust me), so unless you are allergic to or have a genuine phobia of Marmite, you are not allowed to leave it out. No excuses!
Cheesy Yorkshire
6oz plain flour, 3 of Lower Dairy Farm's finest eggs*, ~1/4 - 1/2pt milk, 1 onion - diced, 2 tsps chopped sage (mixed herbs if easier), 1/2 tbsp Marmite, cubed cheese - Cheddar is best (British of course)
Dice the onion and brown in a little oil in a cake or roasting pan/ovenproof dish. Make the batter as for a Yorkshire pudding - combine eggs, flour, milk and beat until the batter "whoops". Beat in the herbs and Marmite. Sprinkle cubes of cheddar over the onion and pour over the batter.
Cook at 220oC (G.M.7) until well-risen, cracked and golden. Don't panic if it doesn't rise or falls flat, some (me) say the denser version is the best!
Delicious hot or cold (excellent picnic food) and particularly good for breakfast - if it lasts that long!
WARNING: Batter may have mesmeric qualities. People have been found staring at batter - or cooking it with the power of their mind?
* Multiply quantities up or down with 1 egg for every 2oz flour.
World exclusive
Introducing Justine Bieber. No paternity test necessary, but that hair on a calf? Either freaky, or pretty damn cool!
And just because he doesn't share a truly tenuous link to a global superstar, in a week of new arrivals, this poser also joined the herd.
A papped shot complete with gormless passer-by in the background. Three down, one to go in March. Humbug has even joined in the celebrations by turning ginger to blend in with his Hereford friends. Either that or as much-needed camouflage in his chosen Olympic discipline...Chicken Chasing. Sigh.
As seen in Essex Life!
Forget TOWIE, rush out to your newsagent (if you live in Essex at least) and read all about life in this fantastic county!
And don't forget Great British Beef Week April 23rd - 30th! Start saving those pennies for Help for Heroes!
No more tears
Yes, it's time to celebrate the not so humble horseradish!
Hannah really has taken one for the team in making this for you. Us delightful children very kindly bought her some "onion goggles" for Christmas to help, but let me tell you, anyone entering the kitchen when grating is in progress leaves a lachrymose mess. In fact, it is sometimes essential to tag team the production to allow those afflicted to temporarily recover. But away from the production, made to a Victorian recipe preserved in a little vinegar, it is delicious! And of course, grown on (and on the verge of taking over) the farm! It is available ready-grated in jars (milder), or as an entire root for those brave enough...
In other tear-jerking news, I've just returned from loading the pigs. I was genuinely sorry to see them go until one decided to bite me. In their last few weeks, we've given them a slap-up diet of turnips, swede, cabbage, chard and many other vegetables from Humbug's and my scrumping missions to the former kitchen garden at the Anchor Inn - Humbug pictured here looking bored in a turnip patch. The biting therefore seemed a little mean, however, we think their outdoor lifestyle and a diet full of vegetables, whatever they were rooting up so insistently, not to mention the acorns and garden produce from the good folk of the village will make for delicious pork.
For us, it's not just delicious pork, they have cleared a largely unusable field of scrub that can now recover to grassland. Good for the cows and massively saving our muscles! I shall miss their squealing and squabbling and hope to replace them soon and maybe even have piglets born on the farm...Sadly, the next lot will be away from the roadside - they proved quite a draw and definitely played up for the crowds! The next site earmarked for clearance is Bethlehem, the site of a little wooden hut in a copse, with a spectacular view of the valley. Only the best for our Horkesley Porkers...!
Mission Marmalade
It's a noisy time of year with the cows queuing up at the gate waiting to go out with every sunbeam that appears. Whilst they're bellowing their indignation at every human, car, bird or dog that passes, Hannah is on a marmalade mission in the kitchen. Batch two of this year's marmalade - and she's still going!
With a house filled with the delicious smell of Seville oranges, we've entered the annual "no adopting of Peruvian bears found at railway stations" season. A sad time for Colchester station's orphan bear population.
But we don't need a bear! They might be quieter than the cows, but we've got our own little Paddington here on the farm (albeit from Dorset not Peru, wearing a sou'wester and willing to eat anything from clothes pegs to ancient rabbit). Fearless cattle dog Humbug is prepared to work in any weather (but not mud - really useful on a farm) and was found yesterday with his head inside a cow's mouth. Who needs a dentist?
Whilst buying him a sou'wester may have jinxed rain for the spring, he has at least stopped shivering in the farmyard. Off now to feed (guaranteed to quieten down the cows) and test Dad's photography skills with a picture of me and a cow. It's day two and we're yet to get a picture in which I'm not standing gormlessly in a barn with my eyes closed, the cow and I are both still, I'm not being attacked by a cow - forgotten dog treats in pockets lead to mass attack, or worse still, a picture in which I look like I actually like cows. But it's all part of the celebration of ...
This year's Great British Beef Week runs from 23rd - 20th April and this year butchers, supermarkets and retailers taking part will be raising money for Help for Heroes.
So bring on St Georges Day and a celebration of Great British Beef! For more information, and the chance to win £500, head to www.greatbritishbeef.co.uk