Summer Strolls in Staffordshire...

As some of you will know - one of my favourite pastimes is to walk with my pal Stan the Simply Border through Staffordshire countryside. It is where I feel at home, calm and I can take time to dream, plan and be inspired by the unspoilt views. Stan always, always leads the way...

Despite the fact that we are bemoaning summer as a somewhat fail this year, strolling through the fields, you can see that the seasons are still rolling on. The long meadow grass is slowly being cut filling the air with that unmistakeable smell of high summer. Crops have happily coped with what the climate has thrown at them and local farmer's report no major disasters in summer crops like Rapeseed. 

At the centre of summer sits food - local, home grown, full of flavour and full of memories. One memory that sends me straight to childhood is Gooseberry Fool...creamy, sweet, sharp and delicious. Here Is Nigel Slater's classic recipe:

Serves 6
450g sharp cooking gooseberries
3-4 heaped tbsp sugar
300ml double cream

Top and tail 450g of sharp cooking gooseberries. Tip them in a pan with 3 or 4 heaped tbsp of sugar and one or two of water, then bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes until the fruit has burst. Cool then chill. Crush with a fork. Whip 300ml double cream till thick, but stop before it will stand in peaks. It should sit in soft folds.

A Room with a View

It feels as if I can honestly say that it feels like summer! I know we are nearly upon the longest day, but up until now there have only been snatched moments of warmth.

Today Staffordshire is looking beautiful. The meadows are mown and the cow parsley is abundant in the hedgerows. There is a haze about the air and all is calm, warm and scented. Sitting here at Simply Staffordshire HQ, I am enjoying the sweet scent of the lilacs in their last flush of bloom and the new, heady smell of the honeysuckle - this year rampant! Yellows are coming into the garden too with the day lilies bursting by our door. I am hoping this burst of warmth will help the strawberries along - a proper pick your own!

Simply HQ is a hive of activity too...a new website directory is coming with lots of new members coming on board...a new workshop programme on its way for the late summer autumn and a new initiative to celebrate Staffordshire in the pipeline!

If you want to explore your own county of Staffordshire, want to support local business or want to visit Staffordshire, stay and discover then please stay in touch, share our website and we will take you on a journey!

www.simplystaffordshire.co.uk

A Marriage Made in Staffordshire...

I have just spent a weekend that was one of those unique & special times in life when you stand still and observe the beauty in the world. Poetic? Yes, unashamedly. A wedding is something that brings together family & friends to celebrate love and this weekend there was a wedding that did just that in a stunning and special place on the Staffordshire/Derbyshire borders.

Beechenhill Farm....

Not only was this wedding about my family & the people I love, but it was also in and about a place I love - creating a moment in time that I will never forget.

As many of you will know, my heart is lost to Staffordshire, its countryside, people, places, food....oh the list goes on - so you might imagine how excited I was at the prospect of the wedding of my baby sister & the lovely Jason- a wedding absolutely packed full of all those special ingredients - place, people, home made food, home grown flowers, family heirlooms.....

Burleigh Teapot arrangement...

Martha, Jason & Fi...

The place was Beechenhill Farm at the top on Ilam in the stunning Staffordshire Peak District. It is an underplay to call this place "award winning" because it is more than that. Set atop of a hill overlooking Ilam below and sweeping views, Beechenhill is run by Sue & Alex (not to forget their invaluable support crew) who simply "get it". They know how to help, not interfere, support, advise, stand back, join in, stay calm - all vital ingredients for a wedding. They allow people to create a truly unique and personal wedding by loving what they do. Thus lugging home grown flowers, much loved china, family table cloths, home made food, home grown food and personal touches is welcomed and encouraged. All these ingredients make a perfect recipe for a wedding full of exactly what a couple would want. The wedding party takes over the whole place for the weekend - so gorgeous eco cottages and B & B accommodation awaits too!

A bridal couple's room with a view....

Food & drink are crucial to a great party so the food was home made by the bride & family or sourced locally, including delicious ham, beef, sausages & cheese from Denstone Hall and beer from Freedom Brewery. Included on the menu, cleverly created by the new Mrs, were sausage & apple tarts, leek & Caerphilly Crumble pies, home grown green salads (complete with the secret family recipe dressing), roasted vegetables with couscous and much more. Pudding choices included her infamous brownie or Mum's amazing rhubarb syllabub (home grown naturally).

Fit for a wedding....

Flowers were largely grown by Mum and arranged (that would be me & Mum!) in favourite Staffordshire pottery teapots, jugs & vases.

The weekend was topped off with more food on Sunday while gazing at the view and gossiping about the fun from the night before - bliss!

Rhubarb Syllabub & Brownie cooks...

So wishing Martha & Jay love & happiness in their marriage, thanking Sue & Alex (& all their helpers) for their superb hospitality, Fi & Jamie for unending support and of course Staffordshire for its beauty and setting!

A New Home for Simply Headquarters

We have been a little quiet over the last few weeks because we have moved offices! I had no idea it would be quite so exhausting and long winded! We have also been busy introducing great new features on our website - something that is ongoing. Despite the wifi going wayward and the desk going demented, I think I can say we are up & running again and finally catching up with follow ups, prospective members, renewals and planning our next meeting.
So...if you are thinking of becoming part of our new member of the Simply gang....take a peek at our Join Us page for more details and on line application.
Here is a sneeky pic of Simply Staffordshire Towers!

Mother's Day workings...

Although I am not one to buy into the pink glittery special days created by card companies and supermarkets, I do really like to to take time out to honour all the special women in our lives that have served to mother us and nurture us. I am a daughter, a sister, a business woman, an auntie, a niece, a grand daughter, daughter in law and a Mum myself. I am always reminded of the impact all these relationships have had on me and how they have shaped the person I am today. Although not always easy or straight forward, always a learning experience and always valuable.
Every generation has had its challenges and struggles - war, poverty, illness and more and I sometimes think the challenge for today's Mums of around my 4 decade age is how to balance all the balls we juggle. I absolutely believe that women should have as many choices as men, that women are capable of anything they put their minds to. I think though, that the reality of our modern, have it all society, can be crushingly difficult, exhausting and painful. As girls of the 80's, we were told we only had to work hard and we could have everything - a job, career, children, families, beauty and longevity. As women of today we know that isn't the whole story.
Please don't mistake this as a whinge....it surely isn't, but a reflection of the reality of many today in the UK. I have chosen to run my own business because I knew that my pre children corporate career was completely incompatible to a home life and a secure & safe home for kids. I have chosen this path to be flexible, be there for the kids and the family while forging a work life that I love and that will fill my days when my kids don't any more. This flexibility is a giggle though...as I am not sure I have a girlfriend who doesn't do the lions share of the home stuff (food, meals, washing, arranging dentist appointments, worming the dog etc....). Even today of all day's I have a sickly offspring that threatens to completely turn my working day on its head tomorrow. I breath & say this is why I am self employed....
On top of this normal calendar chaos is the helpful media impression that as we hit 40, we also hit our sexual peek & beauty. We shine a confident, mature, inner peace glow...lose the greys, cellulite, run for miles, eat no carbs & still have time for girlie nights away. Um......
What keeps me going is that I am wholey imperfect, slightly grey, prone to panic and calendar meltdowns, have moments when I feel no older than 18 and certainly haven't got a grip on my work life balance. I try to take each day as it comes and totally rely on the women I love for support.

In business, I find that women are great at networking and most are great at sharing their knowledge, time and help. Women are innovative and forward thinking and often good at challenging the status quo. They can be resilient and tough with an ability to multi task like no other. I realise I am like many other working Mums...fraught, happy, exhausted, innovative, tough, fulfilled, panicky, chaotic, focussed, control freaky, disorganised, smiley, loved, hopeless, workaholic, passionate, persistent, plump, fit, busy and brainless...usually all in the same day!
Happy Mother's Day to all those mums out there working hard, getting it right, getting it wrong and more than anything not being perfect.

Vintage February Food

It has been a long cold month since I last got round to a Blog post! I have been very busy with the business network including a trip to Westminster, getting involved with a new local Food Festival, delivering workshop and more.
February can be a tricky month for many...I am very happy to go with the seasons and accept them for what they are, but February can be bitter and can drag with increasing feelings of desperation for some signs of spring and sunshine. Slowly we begin to emerge from our winter hibernation searching for green shoots, signs of life, the sound of chatting birds in the trees and longer days.But at the same time, we still need nourishment, warmth, simple sustenance and to protect ourselves from bugs, germs & illness. Food, for me at this time of year, has to be simple but hearty, easy but comforting and interesting so that I can resist turning to treats that I don't need. A couple of weeks ago a re discovered my great Aunt in Law's hand written recipe books. A woman ahead of her time, she ran a bakery & shop for many years and lived until she was 95. The books are delicate and hand written in pencil with comforting splashes and notes in the margins. They include recipes like Queen Fancies, Savoys, Best Slab Parkin, Lemon Snow, Chorley Cake and Lemington Buns. There are several recipes with lovely vintage terms like "gills of syrup" and "shortening". The books date back to the 1930's and 40's and display a frugal wisdom, producing great food on a budget and accounting for shortages. As we all try to make our food go further while enjoying a make do & mend, vintage feel, I wanted to share some of the best recipes with you. Here is one to start you off...

War Cake
 This egg free cake stores brilliantly and can bee eaten with a cup of tea or served with some warm custard for a quick pudding on a Sunday.

War Cake

1lb Plain flour
8ozs sugar
6ozs fat
1/2oz bicarbonate of soda
8ozs currants
8ozs sultanas
1/2 tsp mixed spice 
1/2 wineglass of vinegar
2ozs milk

This cake can be made in any shape tin and some use a German bundt tin but I use a loaf tin. Rub the fat and flour together with the tips of your fingers as you would for pastry. Then add the sugar, bicarb, fruit and spice and mix through with a blunt knife. Mix the dry ingredients with vinegar and milk until you have a dough and fill the buttered tin. Auntie Wynne was unclear about how long to bake for, but I have found that about 40 minutes at 180C or Gas 5 works fine.

Sunday Sunshine in Staffordshire

What a week of weather - I realise that this is not an original subject but we as humans, we tend to ride on the tide of the changing seasons, weather and atmosphere we are in. Allowing yourself to go with the flow of the weather means that we can really live in the moment in which we are presented at any one time. We can wallow in the energy, light and feeling of each day and night that comes and, for me, this feels like a privilege. I can then appreciate each day even if it is cold, grey and wet, knowing that spring days will come and that it is necessary for wildlife, flora and fauna to have dark days to enjoy light days to their full.

I am getting poetic, but I am positive that if we allow ourselves to be appreciative and thankful for everyday we are happier folks. I am no expert in always living in the moment and do tend to spend this time of year making plans and looking to the future. This week has been so busy with work and hectic in its pace, so to help myself switch off I have been dreaming of my veg patch plans and my office BIG MOVE!

Yes, I am moving my office from the house to the shed...not just a shed, but a new home for my business, a space for inspiration, peace and quiet and with a view over my garden and veg patch. Thus tidying up and improving the veg patch project goes hand in hand so there is no upset to my newly found serenity!!

My imaginings are taking me to a place of vintage fabrics, streamlined filing, quite a big dollop of girlyness but not too much clutter and an inspiring view of my pest free, abundant, weed free vegetables (like something in Monty's garden)....are you getting a picture?

So today feels like the first day of planning. The sun is out and for the first time in weeks, we can see the green fields, new shoots and feel some warmth on our faces. Snowdrops have been undeterred by the heavy snow and have simply sat waiting for their moment, without fuss or panic. The Hellebores are doing the same....happy to wait, knowing their show will be appreciated by all. As the project progresses...I may share some pics and you can see how my day dreamy plans come together and Spring springs.