by CoombeMill
22 February 2012 21:44
The Gallery 92 - Landscapes
I have never entered the The Gallery before but know it is a popular link up by the lovely Tara over at Sticky Fingers.
When I saw this week's theme was "Landscapes" I just had to join in. I have so many favourite snaps around our farm and the local beaches it is hard to choose, but in the end I settled for this simple one taken last Summer along our wooded path where Farmer Nick's Little Helpers go each morning by tractor to feed the animals.
Why not pop over to Sticky Fingers and see all the other landscape entries this week.
by CoombeMill
21 February 2012 08:47
Sticky Toffee Pudding to die for
Of all the puddings I make for the Coombe Mill Cuisine range this is still my favourite. It is so mouth wateringly tasty and over the top delicious, but it does take a sweet tooth to really appreciate the flavour. On reading the ingredients the name Calorie Catastrophe becomes abundantly clear! I promise this one is worth 'banking' a few calories in anticipation! The quantities here will serve 8.
Ingredients for the sponge
50g butter
325g granulated or caster sugar
85g of evaporated milk
2 eggs
150g chopped dates or raisons
150ml water
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
150g SR flour
Ingredients for the Sauce
75g butter
260g sugar (brown is more tasty but granulated will do)
255g evaporated milk
Method
Beat together the butter with 150g of the sugar, when fully mixed gradually beat in the eggs (if you are wondering why there are 4 eggs in mine, it's because I scale everything up with a large family and the business)
Meanwhile on the hob bring to the boil the milk, water and dates with the rest of the sugar. Remove from the heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Make sure the saucepan is a good size as it will bubble up when the soda goes in.
Use a metal spoon to fold the flour into the beaten egg mixture (it is very stiff towards the end)
Stir in the date mixture till it is all smooth and transfer to a buttered oven proof dish and cover loosley with foil.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180 for about 40 minutes.
To make the Sauce:
Place all the ingredients in a saucepan over a low heat until butter melts, then bring to the boil stirring constantly and boil gently till the sauce thickens - about 5 minutes. Serve with the pudding. Yum!
Here at Coombe Mill
For the Coombe Cuisine range I pour the sauce liberally over the top before freezing to make a lovely gooey pudding served up after a hard day at the beach with clotted cream from our shop fridge! Worth helping the children to dig a few sandcastles with this treat in store!
This recipe freezes really well and can be reheated in the microwave (retains the moist texture better than re heating in the oven).
Do give it a go and let me know if you agree that this is a secret worth sharing.
by CoombeMill
19 February 2012 06:12
Sshhhh.........
I am linking my picture of the week to:
by CoombeMill
18 February 2012 13:06
Frogspawn galore
Sometimes I am amazed by how many different activities the children can come up with on the farm. This week Theo and Jed found Frogspawn and were keen to show me. Round the lakes and down in the boggy sections of wood we discovered vast amounts. I think it is going to be the year of the Frog at Coombe Mill!
The boys had hours of fun with me in and out of the boggy sections, finding new stream sources, frogspawn clumps and of cause welly sinking patches!
What have you been upto this week? Do share your outdoor adventures here on the linky and take a peep at what others have been doing. If you can grab my badge here too that would make my day. Country Kids supports healthy outdoor play for children.
by CoombeMill
13 February 2012 19:30
A chance encounter
I was running along the camel trail late last year when I bumped into the year 5 / 6 primary teacher from our children's local village school. When I asked her what she was up to peering along the river bank she explained she was looking for a good place to come with the children as a day trip to bring their study of river and ponds to life. "Why not bring them down to Coombe Mill" I suggested, we have lakes, streams and the river Camel.
A school trip was developed
It was the perfect answer, we exchanged worksheets, the children continued with their study in class then out went the letters for a trip to Coombe Mill to see how much they could really discover. They arrived armed with clip boards and descriptions of beasties to identify, homemade nets from cane, tights and wire and yoghurt pots to capture their wildlife.
They were rewarded with plenty of pond skaters and dragon flies together with unknown beasties which they draw on their clip boards to identify back at school. The focus of their time was around the top end of the old trout lake which turned out to be perfect.
The mishaps
Well it wouldn't be a school trip without one managing to fall in!
After completing the pond work Farmer Nick added to the morning with a trip around the farm on the tractor. They all had a magical morning up close with the animals.
I love the way the hands go up as Farmer Nick takes over as teacher. It could only be a school trip!
See the rest of their farm adventures on video here. They really were a pleasure to take round
Back at the house it was relays to the bathroom and utility for hand washing before they tucked into my homemade cookies and fruit in our kitchen whist discussing all they had experienced here at Coombe Mill.
It must have made an impact on the children as now after any school cooking class, they safe all the vegetable scraps for Dotty and her piglets to enjoy and hand them to me to take at the end of the day.
I have a feeling it won't be the last school trip we host!
You can find plenty of helpful worksheets on the education page of our web site from foundation stage through to Key stage 2, including the pond life sheets the children were working on and how to make the dipping nets they used here on the lake. http://www.coombemill.com/education