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Tag Archives: Diary of a Greedy Girl

Rosy apple cake truffles

02 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by Katie T in Uncategorized

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apples, cake bites, cake pops, cake truffles, Diary of a Greedy Girl, egg carton, gifts, lustre dust, mint leaves, pretty, rosy apple, rosy apples, white chocolate

2nd November 2011

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Rosy apple cake truffles as a thank you gift for our cider-making hosts.

Truffles are made with chocolate chip loaf cake, dipped in coloured white chocolate, then decorated with apple stalks and mint leaves. Bottoms are trimmed with a scalpel and polished with gold lustre dust.

Experimenting with loaf cake was fine but not as smooth a texture as a chocolate sponge (slightly grittier).

I also think it’s time to invest in proper chocolate colourings since the white chocolate kept seizing. Still happy with them though.as they’re mighty pretty!

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Above: The apples/cakes all packaged up and ready for their journey to Somerset.

I can’t stop using egg boxes as packaging, they kept the cake truffles safe throughout hours on the train and they just look so lovely and rustic. Mint leaves needed replacing (as you can see here) but that was no biggie. For longer periods of time perhaps I could make coloured chocolate leaves or candy them. Hmm…

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Happy Halloween!

02 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by Katie T in Uncategorized

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Diary of a Greedy Girl, halloween pumpkin, house number, seasonal

2nd November 2011

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A quick photo whilst I wait for the kettle to boil…
This year’s Halloween pumpkin. A bit of a cop out in the scary stakes, I know, but with house viewings very appropriate (and much more grown up, I think).

Cider pressing and a trip to the seaside!

02 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by Katie T in Uncategorized

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british seaside, cider making, crewkerne, Diary of a Greedy Girl, fresh fish, hix oyster and fish house, lyme regis, mark hix, seafood platter, the cobb, the harbour inn, zider

1st November

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A seafood platter overlooking the sea at the Harbour Inn in Lyme Regis on Sunday.

Last weekend was one of those that the British autumn was made for. 
My friend, Andrew MacDonald, invited a large group of us down to his house near Crewkerne, Somerset for the weekend to help him press his orchard apples for cider. So on Saturday, armed with wellies and waterproofs we all left the noise of London for the joys of the country. Hosted by Andy’s lovely mother (in the most beautiful home you might imagine), we were treated to two days of excellent food and drink as well as chocolate-box views and smashing company. Picking, washing, smashing, pressing and bottling the MacDonald family’s apples was followed by a Saturday night supper of cider-roasted pork stuffed with figs and Caerphilly cheese stuffing. Dessert was a ‘Maman-Blanc’ style apple and custard tart served with homemade gooseberry ice-cream. Not to mention lunch, breakfast, the veg and Bex Macdonald’s amazing blackberry jam, this weekend was a foodie heaven.
(More about the cider making later)

On the Sunday we all squeezed into the cars and drove for 30 mins to Lyme Regis. Lyme is one if my favourite places in the UK, if you can prize me away from the sea view then I’ll almost certainly be diving headfirst into one of the rock shops or the fishmongers, lost for hours and never to be found.
After much wandering and debating we ended up at the Harbour Inn, a popular but not inexpensive bar/restaurant with a seating area on the beach itself. For the prices I would expect no less, but I have not yet had a bad meal here, and this platter was no exception. Not to be fobbed off with a few defrosted prawns and some mediocre salmon, this was the most varied version I’ve had so far. You could tell that the fish was fresh and local. It included:
•Potted prawns
•Fresh mackerel pate
•Pickled seafood salad
•Rollmops
•Marinated anchovies
•Smoked salmon
•A huge mound of freshly picked crab.
Plus all the usual accompaniments, bread, salad, coleslaw etc.
The Boy had a huge bowl of mussels that were also good. Our friends mainly had fish and chips which I cannot comment on (although at twice the price of the nearby chippies I hope it was good). Washed down with a pint of local cloudy cider in the salty October sunshine, this greedy girl was in her element!

A little hindsight now has reminded me that Mark Hix has recently opened a restaurant in the Lyme area, Hix Oyster & Fish House. Given my never-ending appetite for seafood and Hix’s reputation for food provenance I would have jumped at the chance to sample the menu. Which is probably why it’s a good thing we missed it otherwise we’d all be going home with full bellies and empty, grumpy wallets! With the upmarket Rumours, the traditional fish bars and the Devon tea rooms, you really are spoilt for choice here.

 

Below: Apple pressing in Andy’s garden. Photo lovingly pinched from Miss Lizzie Gardner

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A Hampshire picnic from Newlyns Farm Shop

02 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by Katie T in Uncategorized

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Diary of a Greedy Girl, farm shop, hampshire countryside, newlyns farm, odiham, picnic

5th October 2011

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Sunny days = countryside picnics
Rain or shine, the Boy and I are always thinking with our bellies. The freak October heatwave gave us the ideal opportunity to have one last summer picnic so we raided Newlyns Farm Shop and found a sunny spot with a fab view of the beautiful Hampshire countryside.

Newlyns Farm Shop: 

It is no secret that I am a massive supporter of good animal-welfare practices. I believe that some things are worth the high costs and that moral values go hand-in-hand with our consumption of meat and dairy products.
When you drive into the Newlyns car park you are met by a small tribe of pigs, chickens and sheep. They are kept there in spacious pens as an example of the husbandry methods used throughout the farm. For some, walking out of the shop past the pigs, sausages in hand, might be too much. But to be shown how well-kept these livestock are means that I can be content that my purchases have not lived lives of suffering, and that makes my lunch just that little bit tastier.
If you are happy to invest in good food (it really is not a cheap place to shop), even once in a while, it’s worth having a splurge here.

What we ate (an edited selection):
•Ham hock terrine: A moreish, mustardy deli favourite. Perfect with homemade piccalilli.
•Rosemary crusted sheep’s cheese: Unfortunately not as fragrant and herby as expected, instead rather musty. Not recommended.
•Bramley apple juice: Surprisingly sharp but much more refreshing than a Braeburn or Katy variety. Would be lovely with a cheddar.
•Chicken liver and wild mushroom pate with garlic: Much richer than the average chicken liver pate, the strong garlic gave it a very ‘grown-up’ flavour.
•Mars bar rice crispy bites: A sickly but fun Newlyns classic.

Recent Posts

  • A photo journey from Fort William to Skye…. Inverlochy Castle, the Commando Memorial & some characterful wildlife
  • Rosy apple cake truffles
  • Happy Halloween!
  • An ice-cream at the seaside
  • Cider pressing and a trip to the seaside!

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