Enjoy the taste of summer with these 4 fruity desserts. Plus you can read about a foodie trip to the Waveney Valley and find #CookBlogShare week 27 linky.
Gosh what a busy month June been! So much has happened since the last #CookBlogShare on Recipes Made Easy that it feels like it was much more than a month ago. A lot seems to be happening at once. I have been on a fabulous foodie tour of the Waveney Valley; more on that in a moment, spent 5 days in Prague, a city much changed since my last visit 20 or so years ago and as this post goes live I will be away yet again this time in the North of England. After that, I have nothing much planned so I guess I had better make the most of it.
A Foodie Tour of the Waveney Valley
One of the many things I love about being a cookery writer is that I sometimes get the chance to see how our foods are produced. Regular readers will know that I have a couple of holiday cottages in north Suffolk. One of the reasons I love going there so much, apart from the lovely gentle rolling countryside and the beautiful varied coastline, is the great locally produced foods you can get there. So when I got the chance to go on a Guild of Food Writers trip to visit producers in the nearby area, I jumped at the chance.
After taking the morning train to Diss we were picked up and taken to Fen Farm Diary who produce the award-winning Baron Bigod, a brie-style cheese as well as other raw milk products. We were given a tour of the diary and had the opportunity to watch the cheese making in progress. The Dairy is right next to the milking shed so you don't get fresher than that. We then got to tour the farm, home to their mixed herd of Montbeliardes and Friesians.
This was followed by a delicious picnic up on the hill opposite the dairy where of course the Baron Bigod cheese took centre stage.
Next, we moved on to Wakelyn’s research farm to meet Hodmedod’s, suppliers of British-grown grains and pulses and winners of Best Food Producer in the BBC Food and Farming Awards 2017. We got to see some of Hodmedod’s British lentils being grown at the farm, ( until then I had no idea what a lentil plant looked like) which was set up by the late Prof Martin Wolfe, a pioneer in agro-forestry research, and to hear how the two have worked together on crop trials.
That evening we enjoy the warm welcome of Hales Hall, a stunning medieval house with a magnificent tithe barn, set in beautiful formal gardens and surrounded by wild meadows. We had the entire house and its satellite cottages to ourselves. Supplied with local produce, including bread from the nearby Penny Bun Bakehouse amazing game pies from Truly Traceable and accompanied by wines kindly provided by Adnams, we cooked our own dinner together in the vast and well-equipped kitchen of the hall.
After a leisurely breakfast, the next day we left Hales Hall for Flint Vineyard, where Ben and Hannah Witchell gave us a tour of the vineyard and winery before a tasting session. I loved all the wines but particularly the Bacchus. Others raved about the Pinot Noir.
While at Flint vineyard, we also got to meet Jackie Kennedy from Marsh Pig to taste her award-winning British charcuterie, made from free-range pork and rare breed beef. We had already had a taster of this fabulous charcuterie at our picnic the day before.
All good things must come to an end but not before a fabulous two-course lunch at The Fox and Goose, Fressingfield. It's a tough life being a cookery writer but someone has to do it!
All the producers we visited were within a 10 mile radius of my cottages some just into the county of Norfolk. I knew the area produced great produce, indeed we could easily have spent longer meeting more great local producers, but that would be greedy. A huge thank you, Linda Duffin aka Mrs Portly, for all the hard work in organising the tour and to all the fabulous local producers who made us so welcome.
Back to earth and
#CookBlogShare 4 Fruity Desserts
As per usual it never easy choosing the best of the recipes linked up to #CookBlogShare as each week there are so many fabulous recipes linked up. Last week was no exception. Looking for a theme it was clear that sweet dishes were appealing just now with more sweet than savoury dishes. Perhaps it is because now there are so many fruits available at this time of the year to add flavour to our desserts and bakes and so we have it. I've chosen 4 rather delicious looking fruity desserts for my pick of the week.
Lemon Curd Cheesecake
I love cheesecake and my favourite is lemon cheesecake, so its not surprising that this Lemon Curd Cheesecake from The Baking Explorer took my eye. Kat added lemon curd, lemon extract and lemon zest to this cheesecake filling so there is no doubt you’ll get that lemon hit in every bite! Plus there’s extra lemon curd on top which makes the whole cheesecake look so bright and summery. If I wasn't already won over by all that citrusy yumminess, its a no bake too which in the summer is another win.
Roasted Rhubarb Ice Cream
It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of rhubarb so this Roasted Rhubarb Ice Cream from Curly's Cooking was the next fruity recipe to really catch my eye. Although the main growing season is almost over you may still find some rhubarb in the shops. if you grow your own you may find like I do you are able to harvest through the summer.
Simple Peach and Blueberry Crumble
This Peach and Blueberry Crumble from Everyday Healthy Recipes, is low in sugar and easy to make from just a handful of ingredients. The unusual combination of peach and blueberries is so colourful and looks absolutely delicious.
Healthy Crumble
My final fruity choice were these Healthy Crumbles from TheFree From Fairy. Being Gluten and diary free as well as free from refined sugars and low carb they are ideal for someone on a restricted diet.
Sylvie
I'll have one of each of those yummy fruit dessert, please!! All so delicious looking!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Hard to decide which to try first but i think it would be the lemon cheesecake
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Yes that one gets my vote but they are all yummy
Corina Blum
It sounds like you had a fantastic foodie trip! I love these fruity recipes too. I'm a real fan of crumbles and homemade ice cream as well as cheesecake - I really wouldn't know which to choose if I had to!
Monika Dabrowski
Thank you for featuring my crumble! That rhubarb ice cream looks delicious. Your trip sounds amazing, better than any sun holiday abroad! I'll be back later with a new recipe, once I've made it:)
Lou | Crumbs & Corkscrews
What a fabulous foodie tour, wonderful produce, and producers! I love meeting the people who create such great food and seeing how they do it. And again another week of fantastic recipes; the roasted rhubarb ice cream sounds amazing. Thank you for hosting this week 🙂
Janice
Fabulous looking dessert ideal for summer celebrations.
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food
The trip you've described above is one of my fantasies! These desserts are also the stuff dreams are made of. I can't decide which one I'm going to make first!
Vicki Montague
What an incredible trip! I would love to do something like that. It sounds like so much fun. As a kid I remember going and visiting Cheddar and watching them make cheese. So fascinating. What a great roundup of recipes. Thank you so much for featuring one of mine!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
I love finding out more about how are food is produced and meeting local producers ws all the better.
Donna
Fruity desserts are always my favourites! These look fab!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
I agree especially in the summer
Jhuls | The Not So Creative Cook
Hi, Jacqui! I brought with me a famous Filipino delicacy called Kutsinta. I hope you'll love them! Thanks a lot for hosting & I wish you are having a wonderful week! x
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
I love to try new recipes like this
Cat | Curly's Cooking
Oh wow, it sounds like you had a lovely foodie trip! Thank you for including my ice cream 🙂
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
It really was an amazing trip.
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie
Wow! What a month you've had - I should think you'll be in need of a rest when you get back from your latest trip! I loved reading about your foodie tour of the Waveney Valley - and you made me realise I had absolutely no idea what a lentil plant looked like, either! Great roundup - last week really seemed to be the week for crumbles didn't it? And the week before it was chicken nuggets - I wonder what this week's impromptu 'theme' will be? Eb x
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Yes it really was almost 4 crumble recipes 🙂 and indeed its been a busy few weeks.