The Real Milk Company - A New Way to Get Milk

Since my son has started his Stagecoach classes in Southwell, we have been driving through the beautiful Nottingham countryside on a regular basis. For the first time a few weeks ago, I saw a sign at the side of the road for The Real Milk Company.

A little investigation when I got home lead to finding out about a wonderful new venture just a few miles from my doorstep that would change my milk buying forever.

In a small wooden shed at the end of the farm drive is a milk vending machine, with steam coming out of it like some magical tardis, it delivers to you fresh whole milk that tastes exactly like milk should. I know lots of people drink semi-skimmed or skimmed so this may not be for them but we only drink whole milk, it's great for cereal and for hot chocolate and the odd latte I have these days.

Anyway, back to the vending machine. First of all you choose how much milk you want, you can get 1 litre or 2 litre plastic bottles, they even do a 1 litre glass bottle, which you can wash at home and bring back next time.

You then pop your money into the machine, your bottle in the machine under the spout and press the button, the milk then comes out and fills the bottle with the requisite amount.

Once you have finished you close the little door and a puff of steam comes out to clean the machine, ready for the next customer, and indeed there were plenty of customers, in fact two people visited whilst we were there, walking to get there milk. It sent me back to the day of the milk man, when milk was delivered to your door and was fresh.

If you are local to Nottingham then I suggest you seek out this wonderful little farm, you get to go and visit a beautiful slice of countryside support a local farmer and business.

How about a visit to Rufford Abbey and a little stop off on the way back, or in June this year as part of Open Farm Sunday The Real Milk Company will be opening their doors to show you the farm and what they have to offer. We will be heading up there to see the cows on the farm and to buy some milk of course, as well as heading to some of the other local farms as part of this wonderful day out. We've been for the past few years  it is such a great day out and a glimpse§ into an important part of our farming heritage and lives in this country.

Milk from the farm is £1 for a litre and £2 for 2 litres.

Open Farm Sunday

For the last two years we have been visiting Open Farm Sunday, this time of year farms across the country open their doors to members of the public, to get a taste of what the do, try and encourage people to buy local and so you can see what goes in to farming.

Manor Organic Farm in Long Whatton just outside of Loughborough is as the name suggests, an organic farm, this means that they can't use any chemicals on the land and it is all natural. As we walked through the fields Graham the farmer explained to us about how, instead of using weed killer to control unwanted plants, they have introduced a beetle that eats, dock leaves. They are a big problem within the cow fields and the cows don't eat them. We also got to see a sheep dog herding the sheep into a pen, very fascinating how it works and the different commands.

We got to learn about bees and how they make the hives, breed and make the honey. It was a really interesting talk and we all learnt a lot. We knew bee's were special anyway but the whole cycle of a bee is amazing, getting to see inside a beehive was also pretty special.

There was sheep shearing too, it was amazing to see the fleece come off in one go and then to touch the fleece, you could feel the lanolin in it which makes the water run off when they are out in the rain (I had always wondered why we'd never seen a soggy sheep). It was really fascinating, sad though that the farmers don't get much for the fleeces, about the same as it costs them to shear them. Surely for the cost of proper wool items you'd expect they'd get more!

The children both had a great time, learning about the different areas of farming, getting to know the animals and playing on the old tyres that made up the playground.

It was a really great day, we got to try some of the farms fabulous produce from the BBQ stand and the children both had a go at bread making, lots of fun and they got to eat their creation once it had been cooked.

If you didn't get chance to go on a Open Farm Sunday trip this year then do look out for it next year, it's a really great idea to help members of the public have an understanding of the time and effort that goes into farming.

We prefer to buy our meat from local farm shops, simply because the meat is so much better but we are also supporting a small business and our very important farmers.

Linking up to Country Kids on Coombe Mill and Magic Moments on The Olivers Madhouse.

Beautiful Beetroot Brownies

One sure fire way of getting everyone to eat fruit or veg in this house is to hide it and make it taste like something else.

So when I saw some gorgeous local beetroot the other day I knew I had to get some and make some yummy beetroot brownies.

Ingredients:

250g Dark Chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
250g Unsalted Butter
250g Caster Sugar
3 Eggs
150g Self Raising Flour
250g Beetroot, boiled until tender, peeled and grated ( I use a food processor with the grater attachment)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Grease a baking tin of approximately 20 x 30 x 3cm and line the bottom with baking paper.

2. Break up the chocolate into pieces, cut the butter into cubes then place them in a heatproof bowl. Melt over a pan of hot water (bain marie) stirring occasionally until completely melted.

Love melted chocolate and butter so pretty

3. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a bowl until mixed, you can use a handheld whisk but I tend to use a balloon whisk, then beat in the melted chocolate and butter until smooth. 

4. Gently fold in the flour and beetroot -don't overmix or it will make the brownies tough.

Beetroot is just a gorgeous colour

5. Pour the mixture into tin and smooth over the top with a spatula. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. A knife or skewer pushed into the middle should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Don't be tempted to overcook them! Remove the tin from the oven and leave on wire rack to cool before cutting into squares.

Best served warm with cream

This recipe is a winner and the children and my husband always ask for more plus it turns the cream a pretty purple colour so whats not to like, dare you try it on your family?

Linking up to recipe of the week over on A Mummy Too blog

Shopping Local to Make Great Food

I have been on a mission of late to shop local, so last weekend I met my grandparents for a coffee and visited a local greengrocers in the process.

The Fruit Bowl on Mapperley Top in Nottingham offers a huge range of fruit and veg, most of which is local or UK grown with the add addition from abroad that we simply don't have the climate to grown them.

My gorgeous selection of food consisted of, beetroot (for beetroot brownies), tomatoes, plums, cress apples, pears, onions, all from UK and then sweet potatoes (for soup) and peaches from abroad.

How fabulous to be able to buy so much English produce and the taste is so much better.

Since this week has been rather rubbish weather wise I made some simple sweet potato soup, just onion, sweet potato, stock, salt and pepper and some milk. Perfect for an autumnal day.

Do you use your local greengrocers? If not then why not give them a try next time you need some fruit and veg.

Sticky Fingers in Ashbourne

Me and my husband popped to Ashbourne last year for our anniversary and loved it, lots of independent shops, cafes and restaurants.

So when trying to think of something to do near Derby before a family party we took the children back to have a look around and a cup of coffee.

Whilst there we found a little ceramic painting shop which also housed a cafe and design led gift shop and what a wonderful find it was.

Obviously I opted for the hot chocolate which was divine and both me and hubby had a slice of millionaires shortbread, my children had a slice of rocky road and an iced shortbread biscuit all of which tasted amazing and got eaten too quickly for me to take a picture!

They also offer a range of light lunches including sandwiches, paninis, soup or a salad, made from local ingredients where possible.

The design led gift shop offers a delightful range of gifts, a lot locally sourced too which is always a bonus.

And finally the ceramic painting available looked fantastic, with a huge range of pots and paints and a gorgeous warm environment to paint in. I am sure would make the perfect addition to a day out with children or even a party, one day we will go back and give it a go for sure.

If you are live in Derbyshire or are there on a holiday I can highly recommend Ashbourne and if you are looking for coffee and a cake I can definitely recommend Sticky Fingers.

Local Craft Fairs

I went to a local craft fair on Saturday and was pleasantly surprised by the goodies on offer, perfect gift ideas that were very reasonably priced. Most were hand made and by buying from them I was supporting local small businesses.

So what did I buy, first up was this gorgeous button broach. Was thinking of giving it to my mum but I love it so much I might keep for myself.

Next were these quite frankly gorgeous gift tags, the lady was selling them at 25p each but said I could have the whole bundle for £1. There are about 30 in total and they are beautiful, think I might buy some brown wrapping paper and pretty ribbon to make them look simple and gorgeous.

And finally to make Christmas eve that little bit extra special some reindeer food, never done this before but since my son is really in to Christmas this year I thought I would give it a try. A fab little poem and bag containing 'food' will be perfect for spreading Christmas excitement.

So this year if you can make it to a local craft fair I highly recommend it, some great bargains to be had whilst supporting local businesses.

Buying local tastes great!

I recently bought some braising steak from a local butchers and it was the best I have ever had, without a doubt going to our local butchers is the best.

They offer local, good quality meat and although it is a little more expensive than the supermarket the quality is worth it.

I turned the braising steak I bought into stews and curry, the lamb shoulder into a roast dinner and a tagine and the chicken breasts are so big from there that you only need one to feed two of you.

Beef Stew made with Braising Steak, just melts in your mouth!

My favourite dinner of all time, slow roast lamb with a caper and mint gravy!

The range of sausages are beyond comprehension and with the butchers comes knowledge and extras that you simply don't get from a supermarket.

For instance if we buy a piece of beef for a Sunday roast you can ask for a bit of extra fat to roast on top, this leaves it tasting amazing and juicy.

You can ask for a cut of meat you don't find in supermarkets, for example beef skirt is perfect for fajitas.

I go by the philosophy of buying the most expensive meat we can afford and that the cheap cuts are usually the tasty ones, from neck to skirt to shoulder and braising.

If you can find a recipe that cooks the meat slowly then you are always onto a winner, it's all about the cooking and slow cookers are great for cheap buts of meat as well as being great for busy mums who work.

If you can, try and use local butchers. It makes me sad to see so few of them now days, that goes for bakers and green grocers too. I love the sense of community they offer which can be seen when in places like France, where the local Boulangerie is such a lovely experience, open from early in the morning till late at night and such a sense of community.

Supporting local businesses!

I always like to support independant and local businesses, so when I needed some new jeans this week I headed to a local boutique that I knew would satisfy my needs.

I wasn't wrong, I picked up a gorgeous pair of skinny jeans and top that look and fit brilliantly.

Where is this place you may ask and can I buy on-line, well it is in Hockley, Nottingham and yes you can shop online at Pink & Lilly.co.uk

Caroline the lady who owns it is lovely and helped me pick out pieces to try on, this is something you don't get in a huge department store as standard.

As the owner of a small family run business I am all to aware of how difficult it is at the moment and I feel it is this attention to detail that sets small businesses apart from the high street giants.

Yes sometimes it costs more, but for good quality and good fitting items that I want to wear they are prices I am prepared to pay.

If you can please support small and independent local or online businesses this Christmas, so they may continue to thrive and someone's hard work and passion isn't wasted.

If you have a second then please check out this list that the lovely Karen over at All About the Boys has started, it contains many brilliant independent retailers who would be so grateful of your business this Christmas.

Sad trip down memory lane, support your local shops.

I was doing my usual charity shop visiting in the town where I grew up and decided to look around the market, a once thriving market place that I remember visiting with my mum.

But now it is only a third of the size it used to be and this makes me so sad, I remember exactly what used to be there and where it was, there was the 'shoe man' and the 'egg lady'.

It pains me that my children will never get the sense of excitement I did from this and makes me more determined than ever to continue supporting local businesses.

This Christmas I am going to try and buy items from local and smaller businesses either via shops on the high street or on-line shopping.

So many people have lost their livelihoods in the recession and due to the building of large and 'cheaper' supermarkets who although bring jobs just don't offer the same personal service and experience I remember enjoying as a child.

I know it is probably too late now but maybe not, so next time your stuck for something to do on a Saturday morning why not take a trip to your local town and support the local businesses.