Eee I eee I oh....old McHodgson's trip to the farm!

This week I'm feeling all at one with the land after being invited to spend an afternoon at Millets Farm Centre in Frilford, Oxfordshire. Not knowing quite what to expect when I got there, this was unlike any farm centre I'd been to before. There's a farm shop packed with fruit & veg grown on site, a selection of local produce sourced within 50 miles & an assortment of other foodie goodies. There's also a garden centre, restaurant, farm zoo, children's play area, trout fishing lake, 10 acres of woodland & wetland walks, a craft gallery & if that's not enough to keep you occupied there's 50 acres of pick your own fruit & veg...phew!

I was invited to explore the PYO fields & learn a little more about what it takes to successfully grow such a wide selection of crops. Our guides were the very experienced & knowledgeable Orlin Atanasov & Les Britten. Orlin looks after the fruit, Les looks after the veggies! I love PYO farms, so much so that I even visited one on my birthday last year...I know not very rock & roll. That said I'd never given much thought to the work that goes on behind the scenes to bring you all that lovely produce.

Now I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to gardening of any nature, I live in a flat and my basil plant is about as good as it gets! So I thought I'd share some of the interesting facts I picked up, along with some of my favourite photos of the day.

Teepee's for peas! A favourite fun pass time for Rooks is pulling up broad beans, they don't eat them, just pull 'em up!

Beautiful beetroot, one of my favourites, but unfortunately not ready for picking yet :-( Orlin & Les will choose several different varieties of one crop so that the season is staggered, bringing us more delicious produce for longer!

This is the start of the brussel sprout crop, this lot will be ready for Christmas. They have a bunny barrier round them, I always thought bunnies liked carrots not sprouts?

Rhubarb or beebarb as we call it in our family. Apparently it's like a weed & will completely take over your garden if you let it.

The most delicious raspberries I think I've ever tasted, these are a variety from Canada.

Succulent cherries, yum! I can see why they call the fruit of coffee plants cherries, these look almost identical!

I'd like to say a big thank you to Jo & the guys at Millets Farm for inviting me along, I had a lovely afternoon. If you find yourself in the Oxfordshire area, the centre is well worth a visit. Have a look at their website for details of special events. I'm intrigued to experience the Maize Maze which is due to open mid July! Take care, Rebecca x

I wonder how long the waiting list for a Windsor allotment is?

Week 47 - Florentines

Blimey it's cold! Hope you're managing to stay warm & haven't been snowed in, we've had rather pathetic flurry in the Royal Borough so sadly no snow days for me :-( I'm very excited that the Windsor Ice Rink returns this year! It's in Alexandra Gardens in the centre of Windsor, right by the banks of the river, it's a beautiful setting & sure to make you feel in the Christmas spirit. It opens this weekend, take a look at the website for opening times & booking information.

So I'm launching into full on foodie prep for the festive season & this weeks recipe has become a bit of an annual tradition. I really like making foodie gifts at Christmas & these are perfect to take to dinner or a party as a thank you gift. Last year I also made Santa cookies for my friends at work, the idea was to leave them for Santa on Christmas Eve, but if I'm honest I don't think many of them made it out of the office! Florentines are really easy to prepare, but if I'm honest once they come out of the oven they are a little fiddly to finish. But have patience & it'll be well worth it in the end!

150g butter
150g light brown sugar
100g flaked almonds
50g chopped nuts
40g mixed peel
100g glace cherries
100g raisins
150g dark chocolate, melted

1. Melt the butter in a pan, stir in the sugar & heat gently until it dissolves & just starts to bubble. Take off the heat & stir in all the other ingredients.

2. Line a baking sheet with baking paper & place small dollops of the mixture, leaving space in between for them to spread. Bake in the oven at 180c/GM4 for 8-10 minutes.

3. Lift out the oven, slide the paper off onto a wire rack for the florentines to cool. Line the tray with fresh paper & spoon out the next batch.

4. Once all cooked & completely cooled, carefully peel them off the paper, you might need to slide a knife underneath to help. Place them face down on the paper & cover the bottom with the melted chocolate & leave to set.

When the chocolate was completely set I packed them into sellophane gift bag. I bought mine from Morrisons supermarket, but did also notice them in Sainsburys. They were around £2 for a pack of 10, with ribbons & I just added a simple silver gift tag. My batch made 28 florentines, but you could easily half or double the quantities depending on how many you need. Enjoy! Next week I think I'll be trying my hand at some baking construction, until then, Rebecca x

Week 39 - Christmas Cake

Hello, how are we all? So bad news out of the way first, I didn't win the Brownie Bake Off :-( Lets get straight on to happier news from cake towers!!

You may remember a couple of months back I told you I'd joined a gym to try & counteract all the cake I was scoffing as a result of this challenge. Well it was a 6 week trial & in true me style I got bored & have decided not to join up full time, so that leaves a big exercise shaped hole in my week. You might not know this, but as well as being an amateur baker & fluffy marketer, I'm also a tap dancer & go to a class once a week! Inspired by Strictly starting again I decided I'd have a go at a new dance class. I say dance, it's aerobics really, but takes it's moves from a number of different dance styles & it's the new 'thing' to do apparently. It's ZUMBA & quite honestly it's bonkers! You really have to leave your self consciousness at the door & are encouraged to shake what your Mama gave you as much as possible (sadly mine shakes in different directions at the same time!) It's a brilliant work out & a lot of fun, I've never laughed so much through a class before, I'll definitely be going back. I hope I won't get bored of it, I'm starting to run short of exercise options!

Now you may look at the title of this weeks post & think, give over, it's only October I can't possibly think about Christmas yet? But it's exactly the right time to make the cake, especially if you're like me & want it to marinade in brandy for the next 10 weeks. This is a bit of a tradition in the Hodgson household & usually comes with a ABV rating!  The recipe is taken from an old Good Housekeeping cook book that has been in the family for years.
225g currants
225g sultanas
225g raisins
100g mixed peel
100g glace cherries chopped
50g flaked almonds
225g plain flour
1tsp mixed spice
225g butter
225g soft brown sugar
Grated rind of a lemon
4 eggs, beaten
2tbsps brandy

1. Cream the butter, sugar & lemon rind until light & fluffy, then add the eggs a little at a time, beating as you go. Fold in flour, spice & brandy, finally mix in the fruit & nuts.

2. Cut out a piece of baking paper to line the bottom of the tin, then cut another piece that will fit around the inside of the tin. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin & bake in the oven at 150c/GM3 for 3 3/4 - 4 hours. To stop the top over browning I cover it with a piece of baking paper after about an hour and a half.

3. When cooked, lift it out & leave to cool completely in the tin. I leave mine in the baking paper & store it in an airtight tin. About a week later, poke holes in the top of the cake using a skewer, then drizzle a tablespoon of brandy over the top. Repeat once a week (or as often as you like!) until Christmas.

I usually decorate my cake the week before Christmas, so I'll keep you posted about my decoration of choice this year. Enjoy your week, I'll be back with a treat I'm creating for my best friends birthday...it's set to be a challenge for me! Till then, Rebecca x

Week 36 - Fruit Bread

Phew, I'm back from my European tour of the Douwe Egberts offices! It's been an interesting month, I've learnt far more than I ever thought I would about coffee, however I'm really looking forward to having some more time to concentrate on my baking. Apologies, I feel like I've neglected you over the last few weeks & I don't think things have been up to my usual standard. That's probably because I've taken to baking at all hours & I've realised 1am is not my finest hour for creating recipes!

Did you watch the final of the Great British Bake off last night? I don't know how they came to a decision between the final 3, they were so close! I would have been happy whoever won, I kept changing my mind every time they presented another delicious baked goodie. I think my favourite from the final was Ruth's Mint, Ginger & Blackberry cakes, they looked so gorgeous. Just reinforced the fact that I need to go on a cake decorating course to make mine look a little prettier! There's talk of another series for next year...hmm, maybe?? In the meantime I've signed up for the Great Brownie Bake Off that's being hosted by The Chocolate Consultancy on October 9th, so I'll be spending the next 3 weeks perfecting my brownies!

This week, having more time, I decided to have a go at making bread. I've always cheated & used my bread maker, but thats now been banished to the back of the cupboard to make space in my kitchen for my new coffee machine. It was pretty simple to make actually, you just need patience, checking the airing cupboard every 10 minutes to see how it's doing is probably not ideal! I decided to go for a rich fruit bread that I could either eat for breakfast or afternoon tea.

250g strong white bread flour

35g butter melted

35g caster sugar

1/2 tsp salt

7g sachet dried yeast

1 egg beaten

1 tsp ground cinnamon

35g sultanas

30g mixed peel

75ml milk mixed with 75ml water

Zest of 1 orange & 1 lemon (plus a little squeeze of lemon juice

1. Put the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, butter & egg into a large bowl. Add the liquid a little at a time, once it's all combined, stir for at least 3 minutes. Tip out the dough onto a surface dusted with flour & knead for a further 5 minutes. Add a little more flour if needed to get a smooth elastic dough. Pop it back in the bowl & leave to rise for 1.5 hours.

2. Mix the fruit, spice & zest together in a bowl. Tip out the dough back onto the board & combine the fruit mixture into the dough. Shape it into a sausage & place it on a baking tray lined with parchment. Leave to rise for another hour.

3. Bake in the oven at 220c/GM7 for 20 minutes until golden brown. Lift out & leave to cool on a rack.

I'm so chuffed with my first from scratch loaf of bread. It's delicious sliced, toasted & smothered in butter, I can highly recommend it! Have a good week everyone, see you next week, Rebecca x

p.s. has anyone else made their Christmas cake yet? I'm starting to stress it's nearly October & I haven't made mine yet...I'm losing valuable alcohol soaking time!!