All in Order .

Just to let you know that when we feel the time is right to open our doors to welcome guests through our doors we are already ready .We understand the rules and regulations. We understand the precautions we need to take to make your stay as safe as we possibly can.

We are not opening for the time being as we feel that as lockdown eases that the virus will rear its ugly head again. With my dad been 97 and Jack and I the wrong side of 60  we feel for us it is not the right time. 

We do miss having guests here and I love to cook, so I miss the breakfasts ..the smell of cooking bacon. I miss cracking the eggs with their deep yellow yolks. I miss the smell of toast.  I miss your ohs and ahs when I set your plate down in from of you and I miss your cleared plates when you have finished. I miss the satisfaction I get form giving you pleasure of unexpected treats, of sharing our knowledge of the area. 

 

 

The R in ideas

They talk about the Coronavirus R how it spreads . Well I think R happens in a lot of forms. And today for me it was thanks to Rosemary Shrager.
I saw a post she had on Facebook .. of some very scrumptious looking almond palmier biscuits which Rosemary makes with left over pastry bits.
So I thought as there was no recipe for them that I would have to google them..well you know how one page leads to another so I ended up with ... well I needed 350 grams of ground almonds ,200 g of icing sugar ,the zest of 2 lemons and 2 eggs ..What could be easier. As some whole almonds were nearer to their use by dates I ended up putting them in the food mixer ...and milling them down.  It was a doddle as I was only half concentrating as I was talking to my cousin at the same time on the phone.I didn't read the end of the recipe as when you have made the dough you then get each ball and roll it in some more icing sugar.
As it was they tasted very good maybe didn't visual appeal have the  and you can see by one empty oven tray they are very addictive they are. Maybe this could be classed as a R too . The bottom ones are Rosemarys the top  ones Carr House Specials.

Easter Wishes

No Easter eggs this year I wasn't organised enough .Apart from milk and a quick trip to Mr Waind the butcher in Kirkbymoorside when I went to the vets the other week. `We have managed with one delivery from Hebdon

the green grocer  in Easingwold.

  For lunch today had some very nice lamb from our farm . Thanks to Nicholas. They sell it in the Wass Farm Shop and would thoroughly recommend you get some . They do local deliveries too with meat boxes being very popular .There is a website and also a Facebook page you can contact Annabelle to place your orders.

The cookery books keep coming out and talk about inventiveness. Jack has never had so many different meals although some have been good some I wont be making any more. As those of you who know Jack , he is fussy and every meal has to be a feast less he thinks he has been put on a diet. His cooking skills are more or less zilch and he doesn't like baked beans,  so baked beans on toast would be a proper no no . For me when I was in my 30s I survived on bacon sandwiches, pork pies and chocolate. Other than having vegetables on a Sunday at my mothers I think I racked up 3 jacket potatoes which was the whole of my vegetables intake in 10 years. And I weighed 3 stone less than I weigh now. I still find that habit hard to break.
Sometimes Jack enjoys a steak pie from Auntie Anne's Bakery in Helmsley which gets me out of cooking . We dont really have chips at home either as our Aga never seems to hold the heat long enough to cook them properly. So with this beautiful weather we are having, I sit in the garden and ponder through my cook books to see what we can have next .

I used this spelt flour the other day which was kindly given to me to try by the producers, Craggs and Co. where they say it is lovingly grown, harvested and milled in the beautiful North East of England . It is based at East Close Farm ,Sedgefield if you would like to try it ..  . Maybe it isn't really for making pizzas but I thought I would have a go -Jack doesn't really do pizzas either only the ones from the Grapes in Slingsby. We dont like to do the mileage to pick one up at the moment so he had to make do with a Carr House special instead.  The weather was so nice it even raised in the sunshine .We are very sheltered  and it quite a little sun trap here. It is nice just to sit in the garden and view the world from your garden seat .I dont expect you to have to knead the bread when you come to stay.