Winter has arrived

Athelhampton House, a lovely Tudor Manor House hosts a Christmas fair every year. It is always a lovely event in a stunning setting. We found some delicious local ewes cheese including a blue one which we had not seen before, it is always good to find local producers of delicious food. Dorset conker gin were there, they also make a sublime coffee gin liqueur. It is so positive to see so many local producers of high-quality delicious food.

The colder weather really does feel that winter has arrived even if it feels too early, I don’t enjoy long cold winters even if snow is beautiful it does make life difficult with cancelled trains, that is if they are not on strike, closed roads etc, on the other side it is lovely to disappear indoors with a lovely log fire, cold weather often means sunny days which is so much nicer than grey wet days. Its also a good excuse to do some lovely indulgent food, rich casseroles, roast vegetables, baked jacket potatoes with lovely crisp skin and fluffy insides, so much of this sort of food can be cooked in a slow cooker sitting waiting for when one gets home cold and tired. When I make a casserole, I always make much more than we need and then freeze pot of it ready for days when I have been very busy.

A fun nibble to make to have with a drink are spiced baked nuts, you need 400g of mixed unsalted nuts. In a medium bowl mix one egg white with ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, ½ tsp mixed spice, 25 g sunflower seeds, a tbs sesame seeds, ½ tsp fine salt and freshly ground pepper, add the nuts. Make sure that everything is well coated, scrape onto a lined baking tray and spread to an even thickness. Cook in an oven 180̊ gas mark 4 for about 15 minutes. Cool completely before serving. These can be made a week ahead, store in a sealed jar or airtight container. You may find that they are too moreish to last long enjoy.