So excited this week when samphire appeared at Aylsham farmer’s market…. at not 1 but 2 stalls. We are so lucky here with how much samphire costs…. i’ve seen it on sale in London for 7 pounds per lb. We bought a huge bunch for 2 pounds!
Simple is best with samphire… we soaked it a couple of times to clean out the sand and make it a little less salty. Then boil it for 5 mins. If you are going to put butter on it, make sure it is unsalted!
We dipped ours in soft-boiled eggs…… fantastic! Abbie tried it for the first time and it was more like than love. She preferred to be given the tips rather than suck it off herself. We just didn’t make a fuss…. we’ll no doubt be having it again this summer.
As you might have noticed, we love our spice in this household. My husband has been making his own personal countdown to the chilli festival which, for him, is one of the annual highlights of the summer holidays. For the past few years, Felbrigg Hall, here in North Norfolk, has hosted chilli growers and producers of chilli products from all over the UK. You might think that an event such as this would have a poor turnout… if so you couldn’t be more wrong!! Every year the event has become more and more popular and this year, with the temperatures rocketing, people turned out in their hundreds to sample some of the UKs hottest, smokiest and most deicious chilli products.
NEED WATER NOW!
We arrived before lunch and quickly set to making a picnic. Smoked salmon tart, pakoras, bhajis, thai food and freshly squeezed lemonade were all gathered from nearby stalls. Abbie tried everything… I was really impressed, although the draw of playing in the woods was too great!
My favourite part of lunch has to be the tofu and green bean red curry from this stall – AMAZING flavours!
Truly fantastic Thai food
Mention also has to go to the venison, chocolate and sloe gin pie from these master pie makers… delicious!
Master pie makers!
lemonade and an amzing venison pie!
We buy loads of these products - superb chilli growers
Tried a hot sauce (like Tabasco) here that nearly blew my head off – it was called ‘Ultra Heat’- no kidding! Also saw one called the Bullet.. bullet attached inside which was a tiny spoon about the size of a petit pois – this was the quantity needed for a meal for four. I bought a slightly tamer hot sauce made from chipotles, which are smoked jalapenos. We also bought a jalapeno plant, grown by Felbrigg growers, in order to have a go at making our own chipotles at home… watch this space!
On a gorgeous day such as today, we thought we’d make the most of the sunshine and ‘Pick our own’ at Groveland PYO and Farm Shop, Roughton, Norfolk. We were the only ones there which was fantastic as there were thousands of beautifully ripe, super red strawberries. Abbie loved looking for perfect berries and shouting ‘red alert’ when she found one!
Great to have them at child height - makes for easy pickin's
One that had the potential to make it into the punnet
There is much to pick at Groveland and we will be back for the raspberries and tayberries later in the season. Abbie was keen on tomatoes, but these were of course still in the flower stage.
Hunting for tomatoes - may have to wait a while!
We then went into the Farm Shop, which boasts a butcher, fresh fruit and veg, local beers and ciders, local cheese and other dairy products as well as a large organic sections and eco-friendly cleaning product section. You can even fill up your Ecover containers here! They also have a cafe if you are in need of some refreshments after your PYO exertions. Abbie ran around like a child in a sweet shop, but was mostly interested in gooseberries and also insisted that we bought some more broad beans – she loved the ones we had on Sunday. I was interested to see how fat our pods need to be before we can pick our peas – at least another week is needed I think!
In Groveland Farm Shop, Roughton
I love Bottle Green Elderflower cordial and was about to get some more, when I noticed this new product – a vibrant pink cordial; the taste is so summery and I can see it also being used a syrup over ice creams and sorbets. Groveland is a real Norfolk gem; we will definitely be back very soon.
Norfolk cordial - red gooseberry and wild elderflower - makes a great pink fizz with sparkling water!
We have had one of the best days ever…. I have been waiting to go to Bewilderwood since before Abbie was born and we have held off until this year (which I am glad about as I now think Abbie is the perfect age) but today…. WE WENT! I don’t know who was more excited!! In case you are unaware of this place….
Anyway, the focus of my post is about our lunch, but I have to also mention some of the awesome things we have done today…. more of this later! We decided that as we would be clambering up ladders, across scramble nets and hurtling down slides, that we wouldn’t take a picnic to this particular adventure park until we had more experience…. and I am always curious about food at theme parks; remembering the 6 euro disgusting pannini at Disneyland and crazy queues that we had to endure to get anything! Most attractions around here sell primarily fast food at rip-off prices and so it was with some trepidation that we made this choice today.
However I was very pleasantly surprised; decent food, some organic! and at reasonable prices. I meant to take a picture of the menu, but forgot due to hunger! So I will recount the options and hope I don’t miss anything vital – Jon and I both went for the jacket potato option – 3.25 with a choice of 1 pound toppings like cheese, coleslaw, beans or the more expensive chilli/veg chilli (2.50) – portions were very generous; I didn’t finish. We also had really nice drinks; Jon an organic coca cola and me an Elderflower drink. Abbie chose a Swampy lunchbox; cheese sandwich (could have had ham), oj or apple juice, organic yoghurt tube, apple, colouring page and pencils – all this for 3.25. Abbie was totally happy with her choice. Also available were jumbo sausage in a roll (next time!), various sandwiches, savoury pastries, muffins, cakes and fruit. Drink selection was varied and we also sampled some of their ice creams later (raspberry ripple, honeycomb and toffe fudge) all which got two thumbs up!!
A quick apple break between climbing, swinging and sliding
There were 2 other food places… the Snack Shack and the Cosy Cabin which served only the cold options, but all eateries were spaced well around the park.
We had the most incredible day at this park, it is so brilliant not to queue for more than 5 minutes for anything (on a hot half-term day!) and all the time you are queuing, you are moving along walkways or up staircases so there is always something to see. I have put a sample of the best bits in these thumbnails!
The wobbly wires
Swinging...
Digging...
Balancing...
Decorating a boot for the Thorneyclod
.... and hanging it in his Far tree!
Starring as 'Leaflette' in the interactive storytelling... she did really well!
About to do a climb in a tight squeeze at the Tricky tunnels!
walking through the treetops
Catching the boat back... through the swamp
An absolutely exhausted Abbie (she fell asleep on the 15min journey home!)
Came home from work on Saturday to find a joyous husband dying to relate his latest culinary find!! ‘You know the woman we usually get our eggs from (down our road)……. well today I went to get some eggs and…. (all these pauses for effect!) she was selling asparagus for 1.50!’ I immediately thought ‘Probably weedy, thin, woody stalks’, but NO! fat juicy spears and a big bundle! We have regularly counted our blessings to live here this year (after 5 years of wishing to be back in Houston!) and today was another reminder of the brilliance of living in North Norfolk!
Now, if you have read my recent posts about asparagus, you may have read about my surprise at Abbie not liking it, after she couldn’t get enough of it last year. Well I have to say, I don’t do Annabel Karmel and hide it in her food, or turn it into a rocket/smily face/balloon animal! I just keep serving it up!! Research says that it only takes 10-12 tastes of a food that you don’t like before you can at least tolerate it….. I’ve served it up 4 times in the last fortnight and tonight was the first time Abbie gave it a thumbs up. Now we are off to get some more this morning – prepare for asparagus dishes aplenty!!
kidandkitchen 