Old Macdonald had a farm......but for how long?

Old Macdonald had a farm...but for how long will this be the case for our British milk farmers? 

Milk prices are crashing, Russia has closed its borders to UK food imports and Dairy Crest has sold its loss making milk side of the business to zee Germans. Obviously, der Deutsch menschen are far more efficient than us Brits and have obviously seen something we've missed. Dairy Crest has retained the more profitable cheese (Cathedral City) and spreads (Country Life butter) parts of the business.

How long will it be before there is no longer a 'moo-moo' here and a 'moo-moo' there and a 'moo-moo' everywhere? Britain's landscape would certainly be a poorer place without those familiar 'black and white' beasts chewing on the green stuff. If prices continue to fall we might have to import our milk. The good old British public will have to dig deep and perhaps be waking up to the fact that they should be paying a realistic price for their daily pint of Semi-Skimmed. Ironically, I couldn't find a cow today but, we are in Essex!

Ok, enough of the doom and gloom....Some farmers are showing initiative and turning their farms into farmers markets at the weekend encouraging those high spending foodie types looking to buy local produce. 

Great Garnetts Christmas Market

Of course farmers markets have been around for many years but even they are beginning to show signs of reduced footfall with many going by the wayside. As years of near zero inflation and minimal wage increases takes effect on household incomes. However, some remain a good source of income for the farmer and help promote local businesses who work hard to provide some fantastic products that I guarantee you will not find in a superstore.

The likes of Great Garnetts, continues to buck the trend by providing their own hand reared high quality, award winning pork. At this time of year you will find some spectacular bronze turkeys just ready for Christmas, Boxing Day and into the New Year if you buy a monster! Sorry, not long to go guys....yikes!  


If you have not heard of Great Garnetts farmers market you can find out more information on their website by clicking here.

Gt Garnetts turkeys in the field

The turkey side of the business has flourished since it began in 1971 when fifty farm fresh turkeys were produced for customers. Today several thousand turkeys are produced exclusively for the Christmas market. Before the big day their turkeys enjoy life both outside in the paddock and sleep peacefully at night under protection of the barn.

Fresh local groceries from Rocket and Rhubarb. Kerry and Martin manage a small holding producing a diverse range of fruit and vegetables just outside of Ford End, near Chelmsford. Since 2010 they have been building their business and now deliver their vegetables across Essex to the local community.

I was interested to read on an American website about the 10 things you should NOT buy when visiting a farmers market. Interestingly, clean vegetables, honey and chocolate were on the list!

Magnificent Meringues 
Wood Cottage Pastries

Handmade Mint Dark Chocolate Truffles 
by Steven Tittle, Wood Cottage Pastries

As always it's good to end on a chocolate high! Steven Tittle, started his pastry chef career in Knightsbridge and in 2010 he set up his dream job as an artisan pastry chef producing a range of pastries, desserts and truffles. These delicate mint dark chocolate truffles were certainly a good choice and at £2.95 for eight handmade truffles an absolute bargain.

Not only are farmers markets good for farmers but also for the people who frequent them. Little did I know today that I would learn about the benefits of wearing silk underwear in the Siberian winter while building an oil pipeline! Who'd have guessed......

Labooko Zotter Kaffee

The St John Betjeman train

Southend-on-Sea, reminds me of an old mans mouth slightly fleshy, watery and slack after years of consuming too many sugary donuts and greasy fish n chips. A face battered by strong oily winds blowing in across the Thames estuary from Canvey Island. Teeth resembling a mix of slightly yellowing crowns, a few unsightly gaps, the odd blackened incisor and finally a splattering of pearly white shinners that are so intense they blind you with their brilliance. Southend-on-Sea, similar to Las Vegas is perhaps better seen at night. 

Dream Machine Classic Lancia Flaminia

Southend pier is without doubt a 'pearly white' if we are to continue the mouth teeth thing... It is the longest pleasure pier in the world and a Grade 2 listed building with amazing views of mudflats that extend for miles. 

Apparently, in the 19th century wealthy tourists would not stop at Southend preferring to birth their yachts at Margate thus avoiding the mud. In the olden days, when Councils had bright ideas, they decided to build this lengthy piece of wood into the estuary. This meant you could dock your schooner at anytime without having to worry about tides or mud, for that matter. 

The pier has its own train that runs up and down the whole length but you can walk the 7,080 ft for £1 and back again after a rest on the sundeck. 

This is not Jamie's Cafe

Disappointingly, Jamie Oliver's cafe looked as though it had seen better days. The film production team had long left and the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Jonathan Ross and friend Jimmy Doherty had obviously moved elsewhere. Jamie Oliver refurbished the cafe in 2013, turning it into an ice-cream parlour. Not much going on now? Well, who needs Jamie Oliver when you can have fantastic views of mudflats, big ships, Curlews and Oystercatchers!  

ACHTUNG nicht essen!

Ok, lets talk about chocolate from Zotter. I purchased this bar of Zotter Kaffee from a fantastic market in Vienna several months ago and as all the packaging is written in German I can't tell you too much about it. However, Zotter does have a good tip and warns you not to eat the chocolate unless you follow his top tip, "If you want to be a fine chocolate maker then you must not chew the chocolate but, enjoy the melting". Well something like that...

This has to be one of the most straightforward and underwhelming chocolates I've ever tasted from Zotter. Perhaps that's the point.....If it hadn't been for the packaging I'd find it hard to believe it was from Zotter. A million miles away from 'Plum and Caramelised Bacon'. I can only say the milk chocolate is smooth, creamy and sweet with a delicious and inoffensive coffee flavour. The packaging is probably the best thing about this bar but I did polish off both bars!

Labooko 2 Bars - Zotter Coffee

Florentines - Essex Style

Apart from the cream these are all the ingredients you require.

Now all chocolate production has come to an end for a few weeks, I can turn my attention to baking. 

If my memory serves me correctly I don't believe I have made Chocolate Florentines since I was at school which is far too long ago to even think about. 

From what I can remember these can be tricky little blighters especially in terms of timing so, don't have too many Christmas Disaronnos' as you will require all your faculties for this one! 

They will make a fantastic gift for somebody if you're still out there searching for that special, handmade gift.

Ingredients:

25g butter
75g golden caster sugar
10g plain flour
65 ml double cream
50g whole almonds, cut into thin slivers
50g ready flaked almonds
50g whole candied peel, chopped
25g glace cherries, chopped
25g angelica, finely chopped
175g milk chocolate


Method:

• Using a heavy based saucepan pour in the butter and caster sugar and allow to melt on a very low heat and continue stirring until mixture has melted. 

• Add the cream and stir until blended

• Stir in the cherries, angelica, nuts and peel and flour and continue cooking for a further minute.

• Remove the saucepan from heat for a few minutes and allow to cool

• Place heaped teaspoons of the mixture onto prepared baking sheets ensuring there is sufficient space between each one, as they expand while baking.

• Flatten each spoonful with the back of a teaspoon and then bake on a high shelf for about 10-12 minutes at 190 degrees or 170 C, fan oven or gas mark 5. Watch them carefully as they will change colour very quickly from golden to deep brown in an instant!

• When ready take them out of the oven and allow them to cool and harden for 2-3 minutes, carefully transfer them to a wire baking tray.

• Melt the chocolate in a basin over a saucepan of warm water making sure the water does not touch the basin. This will take between 5 and 10 minutes. 

• Using a teaspoon coat the bottom of each Florentine with melted milk chocolate.

This recipe makes 20 Florentines and will take approx. 60 minutes to make a batch. Top Tip: I will make them slightly smaller next time to make approx. 30.

The Loft Tea Rooms

In the past few years there has been a resurgence of interest in all things to do with tea, probably because as a nation we are going through a difficult patch. As we all know the British like nothing better than slurping and gulping down buckets of tea at times of trouble, "batten down the hatches and put the kettle on love, we might be here for a while!"  There has also been a huge increase in retro and vintage tea cups and associated china.

One such coastal tea room, The Loft (Tea by the Sea), situated in the village of Tollesbury opened in April 2011, in a converted Sail Loft. It will come as no surprise that sail lofts were originally used by

sail-makers to spread out their sales. 

Yesterday, it seemed that the whole village of Tollesbury had actually descended upon The Loft. Every nook and cranny was taken and we just managed to squeeze into a corner table. The place was rammed to the rafters with young mothers and their offspring, all very well behaved of course, chatting and enjoying speciality tea and scrumptious handmade cake.

Step back in time as you enter the tea room. The restaurant is decorated with an array of vintage china with many designs that I can remember as a child.  

The light egg shell blue melamine table tops and chairs have also been chosen with care to give that retro feel. Even the owner, Sheila, is dressed in retro clothing, well, I hope she was! The whole experience is very enjoyable. It's one of those places where the volume control on the vocals just keeps going up and up. It's vibrant!

Local sourcing is important and many ingredients come from the surrounding area including fresh locally baked bread, Wicks Manor meat and Essex Birds Chicken. 

Speciality teas, which are their forte, include Suffolk Special Blend; Earl Grey Blue Lady; Green Gunpowder; Egyptian Mint and Glamour which all sound very dramatic for cups of tea! 

The Suffolk Special Blend was excellent with a rich full flavour. I need a tea now.....

The menu is what I would call simple, uncomplicated and well executed including freshly made sandwiches, soup and bread (£3.95); Panini (£4.95); Homemade Cakes (£2.50); Mugs of tea (£1.45); Cappuccino (£1.90)  I don't think there is much time to faff in this little tea room. Gluten free cakes are also available.

We had a cake take-away!

Well, was it worth the 60 mile round trip from Chelmsford? Yes, absolutely! 

The tea room is open from 10:30 am until 3 pm and interestingly only open between Tuesday to Saturday according to their blog. 

The Loft, Woodrolfe Road, Maldon CM9 8SE

Chocolate Bunny - Marks & Spencer

Its all been happening in Chelmsford this week.  A deer runs through the town centre knocking a pedestrian to the floor and Simon Burns, Minister of State, Department of Transport, declares that he spends £80,000 per year on a chauffeur-driven ministerial car to and from Westminster.  Surely, a First Class rail ticket to Westminster would be more cost effective?  Simon defended his use of a government car by stating that he had classified papers that he needed to work on.  Isn't the Minister aware that there must be hundreds, no thousands of business men and women carrying sensitive documents to and from work......Simon, they use a briefcase and it has a lock. You must try one. 

It wasn't a wild rumor after all! Marks and Spencer has already started selling their Easter range of chocolate novelty items. The tins of Quality Street are still only half full and chocolate Easter eggs start appearing on the shelves! 

So, having waited patiently in the 'Returns' queue at my local Marks and Spencer's for far too long I decided a little treat was in order. 

Foiled Bunny

Described as a 'hollow milk chocolate bunny, weighing in at 180g. Priced at £5.00 or £2.78 per 100g. Wrapped in 'Easter' green foil, easily detachable bow and fluffy tail. All very cute!  In my opinion this is Marks and Spencer's take on the famous Lindt Gold Bunny.  Tesco is currently selling 3 Lindt Gold Bunnies for £1.20. At 10g each this makes them £6.00 per 100g.  Alternatively, you can buy a 200g Lindt Gold Bunny for £4.49 or £2.25 per 100g plus shipping from Lindt direct and your bunny comes with a little red bell.

30% cocoa solids

Unfortunately, my bunny looks like it has met a blunt instrument head on! I was very careful with bunnykins but, alas he has sustained a bit of damage and perhaps some outer packaging would have helped.  But, hey its going to be broken where its going!  None of the features are highlighted so the overall presentation is a bit plain and flat.  Interestingly, the chocolate is made in the UK but ribbon and fluffy tail are made in China.  Can't we make anything in our own country anymore?

The figure is well made with an even spread of chocolate throughout. Whilst the chocolate is sweet it is not overly sickly sweet and cloying.  Made with dried whole milk it has a smooth and velvety feel with an enjoyable caramel flavour.  An tasty piece of chocolate but, perhaps slightly expensive for what it is.  Some hidden chocolate treasures hidden within the bunny would have made its £5.00 price tag more attractive. Overall 6/10.

Posted by Richard.

New Year's Day walk. No, I mean Yomp!

I should have known better.  Tired from the night before I was obviously caught off guard.  After all these years I should have been known that when my husband, possibly soon to be ex-husband, invited me to go for a walk on New Year's day, it wasn't going to be a stroll in the park.  

The fact that he'd taken a ruck sack, a GPS gizmo, two pairs of thinsulate gloves and a few pairs of waterproof socks, possibly gave the game away but, the penny still hadn't dropped. As I've mentioned in previous posts Essex does have some hidden gems and whilst this walk was longer than expected it was probably one of the best I've been on in a while.

Our walk, no I mean Yomp starts at the Bell at Woodham Walter.  A lovely looking pub with lots of lucky people enjoying a pint and some wholesome food. Unfortunately, neither of us had taken any money! The Bell is where this walk starts and ends. The pub dates back to the 16th Century.

Beautiful clear blue skies with lots of great views over the Essex countryside. This view is looking out towards Ulting.

This is where we went off course. Don't head right. Continue up through the paddocks...it is much further than you think.

Dreamy looking house....if you've completed this walk before you can tell that we've gone off course and we had to walk up and down this road for several minutes until we found are way back onto the correct route.

Something from War of the Worlds or just a new washing line? This is where you are heading once you venture out of the paddock maze.

Chocolate lady walks across the not so 'giants causeway' and through the scary wibbly wobbly wood!  As you can see I'm wearing jeans, not the ideal walking apparel for the amount of mud we came across. Fortunately, we had good boots!
These pictures were taken in the Danbury Ridge Nature Reserve.

The walk takes you alongside the very posh and lush Warren Golf course. Pictures of golfers are boring so you have horses instead!

Another dreamy house with magnificent views

The end is in sight!

Photographer is about to get a bashing!

The End! Ok. this is the end of the walk not me.
The church of St. Michael the Archangel was built in 1563. It is the sole Elizabethan church in Essex.
A walk of approx. 5.5 miles takes between 2 and 3 hours if you avoid getting lost. Five miles of fantastic scenery and fun.....1/2 a mile too far. Remember to take food, water and money for drinks in the pub!

A complete and thorough review of this walk can be found at Essex Walks. 

Assam Tea Caramel Mou

Essex Festive Lights!

The glitz, the glamour, the Christmas lights of New York, Paris and Chelmsford....okay maybe we need a reality check here. Chelmsford is probably not on the same page as these other cities but we do have some very festive house lights appearing.  As the first snow appears so 'Essex Man', who has been dormant for most of the year, suddenly springs to life, climbing all over the outside of his house decorating furiously.  This year I think they're a little understated which is a bit disappointing. In previous years the next door neighbour has tried to out shine them but I think they've moved on to Carnaby Street.  I will keep my eye out for more festive 'Essex Style' decorations.

Chocolate production has gone crazy over the past few weeks hence why posts have been few and far between. So, before the onset of a champagne truffle storm I will take this opportunity to review an interesting morsel from William Curley. 

Ok, Mou is French for 'soft'. They say you learn something new everyday and they're right. The presentation is similar to that of the House Bars and each piece of soft caramel is wrapped in gold paper. Very sumptuous indeed!

2 blocks are better than 1.

Each piece of caramel has been dipped in 70% dark chocolate. May I suggest that you cut each bar into thin slivers, as trying to eat big chunks just means your teeth become glued together and your fillings will need replacing by morning. This is no reflection on the caramel which is delicious. Take a piece and just gently suck and squeeze it between the roof of your mouth and your tongue and you'll be in confectionery heaven within seconds! The trick is not to bite....

Assam Tea Caramel Mou 65g £4.60

The caramel is beautifully made with just a hint of malt and toffee apple scrumptiousness. The dark chocolate is also wonderful but in short supply an extra covering would have been nice. The Assam tea provides the malty flavour which just adds to the whole experience. Certainly one for the Christmas list.

Absolutely delicious and scores 9/10! To buy on line click here!

Prestat - Almond, Sea Salt on Milk

Before diving into a bar of Prestat. I thought I'd just talk about the historic Essex town that is Burnham-on-Crouch, as I believe it deserves a little mention.  As you would imagine sighted on 
the banks of the River Crouch (in the Dengie 100 Peninsula) there is a very large sailing community and the town boasts at least 4 yacht clubs including the Royal Corinthian which is one of the largest structures that can be found along the quayside. It was built in 1930 by Joseph Emberton. The growing popularity of sailing meant that boat building and sail making industries quickly sprung up. 


The town has a large number of important historical buildings dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries including the White Hart where the notorious pirate the Fiddler was caught. He was later hung in chains and executed and left to rot in a place now known as Fiddlers Point, Greenhithe.  


Looking for a great place to eat, no pun intended, then you should visit the Contented Sole restaurant in the High Street which I highly recommend. Just over the river you can see the village of Canewdon, a village that is reportedly the most haunted place in the UK.

Prestat

Ok, moving swiftly on from one old sea dog tale to a sea salty chocolate tale. I know that was bad....enough of this malarkey I hear you shout!

I can't believe that I've never tried chocolate from Prestat before. If their eye catching and barbie colouring is not enough to grab your attention then I can only assume are colour blind.

75g - Roasted Almond, Sea Salt and Milk Chocolate

Prestat has been making chocolates for royalty, nobility and stars of the stage and screen for over 100 years. Interestingly, for such a well established company, they are also committed to trading fairly and buy their cocoa from Africa to make this bar. Hit the link here to find out more about this amazing company.

This is a 35% milk chocolate and the overall presentation of the bar is not particularly shiny and it has a fairly 'soft' mouth feel about it. The mix of salt and crunchy, roasted almond nibs is just right balanced off against the sweetness of the milk chocolate. The chocolate is bit light in flavour but I imagine the sugar content has to be high to balance off the sea salt. This bar is so moreish and good value for money at £2.20/75g or £2.93/100g and deserves a high score of 7/10. Click here to buy on line from Tesco.