Hello!! News update on our Little Willow Farm

Hello there!

Sorry it's been so long since I last blogged! Life has been hectic and many changes have been made. Our ducks have been staying with a good friend of ours while we rearrange the duck area so that they have more space(as we are also getting a drake named Daffy!) and so that we can keep their area cleaner for longer periods of time! Ducks are very messy even if you only have four!!.

Our baby chicks are no longer babies and some have just come to the point of lay! Out of the five eggs that hatched we got four hens and a cockerel. They are now 17 weeks old and have been integrated with a bigger flock.

I have been trading our Porcini mushrooms as far as America!! I have received a gorgeous jar of homemade maple syrup and scrummy blackcurrent jelly!.

Breeding has started here at Buttercup Bunnies and we have some real beauties in the nest at the moment. Including pure blue standard Rex, tri standard Rex and harlequin standard Rex all looking lovely!

I will be telling you about a new venture we are planning about on my next blog, but what I can tell you is that it's very very exciting!!!
Please feel free to follow my pages on Facebook, I have 'little willow farm' for all farm related news and also I have my bunny page 'Buttercup Bunnies' for all the cutie bunny photos your heart desires! Hehe!

Farewell until next time,

Lucy xx

Porcini for Christmas...

With Christmas just around the corner, we have decided to sell some of the beautiful Porcini mushrooms we have been gathering.  They would make the most amazing gift for the foodie lover!

As you will see, our mushrooms are a beautiful white/paler colour which means they are freshly harvested.  

George cuts our mushrooms quite thickly before the drying process to keep the meaty texture but you can obviously chop your mushroom to the size that you require.  Remember, a little goes a long way with dried mushrooms so we have shown you in our pictures what 50g looks like.

One of my favourite meals to make with this mushroom is Risotto but the possibilities are just endless!

50g bag - £6.50 (plus £2 p&p UK)

100g bag - £12.00 (plus £2.50 p&p UK)

200g bag - £23 (plus £4 p&p UK)

Just email willow.farm@btinternet.com if you wish to order some

Love Lucy

xxx

Brunch Time!

Here we have one of our favourite brunches, courtesy of 'Buttercup' our slightly over sized duck, who lays the most gigantic eggs and double yolkers at that!

I learnt this little trick from watching one of Jamie Olviers cooking programmes. It showed how to poach an egg...fuss free!

So for anyone who didn't see how Jamie did it, here it is...

All you do is place some clingfilm in a cup, enough to drape well over the sides. Drizzle a little olive oil in and rub it around on the clingfilm.

Crack in your egg and you can also add some herbs and pepper if you like but I just added some salt. 

Tie up your little eggy parcel and place into water that is boiling. For the duck eggs it takes a bit longer but hen eggs should be done in a couple of minutes.

Take out your parcel and carefully cut it open and place your poached egg on hot buttered toast and serve immediately! 

Most importantly, enjoy! 


xxx

Nanny Liza's Porcini & Beef Sugo (Sauce)

This recipe was taught to me by my mother in law and i have stuck to
her recipe for the last 14 years and its never failed me!

The basic recipe is a Neopolitan sauce.  You may wsh to add minced beef, or bacon,
or vegetables, or anythng of your choice but the basic Neoploitan sauce
is always the base to them all.

I'm adding Porcini mushrooms to this dish, but if you don't have those,
any mushrooms will do.

The Porcini mushroom has an amazing rich beefy flavour, and only a
handful of dried Porcini is needed to flavour the sauce.

Ingredients: 

                    Minced Beef
                    Onions
                    Garlic
                    Handful of dried Porcini mushrooms
                    Two tins of chopped or plum tomatoes
                    Tomato puree
                    Italian mixed herbs
                    Salt and Pepper
                    Sugar
                    Pasta

Method:

1) Firstly, chop a couple of small onions and 4 cloves of garlic, and
place in a pot with a little olive oil. Fry them off gently, making
sure not to brown them too much. If you are using fresh mushrooms, you
should add them now, so they get a chance to loose some of the water
they retain.

2) Add your mince beef and cook until brown.

3) Add a tablespoon of tomato puree and stir in, then add your tins of
chopped or plum tomatoes.

4) Place your dried Porcini in a bowl and add enough boling water to
cover them.  After a few minutes, the water will turn brown and that is
the most fabulous Porcini liqour. Add both liquor and Porcini to your
sauce and stir in.

5) Add a good dash of salt and pepper to taste and also add your herbs
and a teaspoon of sugar. Bring to the boil and then simmer for a good
45 mins to an hour.

6) Bring a pot of water to the boil and add a pinch of salt and then
add your pasta, once cooked, drain and mix well with your Porcini &
Beef sugo and serve immediately. 

Add grated parmesan or cheddar and most importantly... Enjoy! :) 

Oh before I pop off, just look at these Porcini mushrooms from our latest day out picking.  Such a fab day and these ones were just huuuuuuuuge!!

Mia holding one bigger than her head!

My husband George looking really pleased with himself!

Don't forget we love to answer your questions or hear what you have to say so just ask away!

Lucy

xxx

Nanny Liza's Chicken Brodo

This recipe is mainly cooked on a Monday in our house as it requires the leftovers from Sunday's roast chicken! Brodo translates into Broth in English, and its one of those feel good meals that my mother in law swears by for curing the common cold!

With this particular broth being of an Italian style it contains pasta rather than potatoes and the broth is clear. Now I use a massive pot for cooking this as i like to make enough for two separate meals, but if you wish to make a smaller portion just reduce the basic ingredients slightly.


Ingredients:

1. Chicken carcass ( Either previously cooked or uncooked)
2. 8 Carrots (medium size) In halves.
3. 4 Onions (medium) In halves.
4. 6 Celery sticks, In halves.
5. 2 Bay leaves
6.Salt & Pepper
7. Tomato puree (Optional)
8. 400g of Pasta

Method:

1.Place your chicken carcass in the pot, along with the carrots, celery and onions. Fill the pot almost to the top with water and place on the heat.

2. Allow the pot to come to the boil.  If using an uncooked chicken carcass then it will chuck out froth that will sit on the top of the water so continually scoop this off until the chicken stops throwing the froth out! A previously cooked chicken carcass wont chuck out as much froth if any at all.

3.Place in your Bay leaves and I like to season well with salt and pepper as the volume of the water is quite vast. If you would prefer your Brodo to have a red tinge rather than natural, now is the time to put in the tomato puree.

4.Allow to cook away for roughly an hour and a half, or until at least a third of the volume of water put in has evaporated.

5.Turn of your Brodo and allow to cool well for at least 30 mins.

6. Once cooled, its time to strain the Brodo and set it aside. Separate the carrots and celery from the chicken and allow to cool for a few minutes. Discard the onions and bay leaves.

7. Place your Brodo back in your pot, chop the cooked carrots and celery into smaller more manageable pieces, and strip the chicken carcass of all its chicken and place it all back in the pot with the Brodo and bring to the boil.

8. Once at the boil add your pasta and continue to cook until the pasta is al dente (has a little bite). 


Serve with crusty bread and its nice sprinkled with a little freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

 Our lovely tomatoes

I really hope you enjoy cooking this and most importantly, enjoy eating it!

Lucy

xxx

Our Veggie Plot

After a fantastic harvest this year of courgettes, celery, sweetcorn, onions, lettuce, radish and peas in the pods, we are still harvesting our tomatoes as we speak.


I think it has to do with the humid weather we have been having; our starwberries are on their 3rd flush of the year!!! 

Also having the veg plot a tier below the pen for the ducks i think has made a huge difference.  


George jet washes the duck area every 3 days and all the organic matter is pushed down onto the lower tier were the veg plot is and I can honestly say that the size and quality of the veg we grew this year is definately down to the wonderful duck poo!!! Its true! 'Blood, fish and bone' was dug in there too which obviously helped it all along.


Have any of you been growing your own veg this year? We would love to know your stories!


Lucy
xxx

Pretty Dahlias

Hello Friends!

So, it's back to Willow Farm for the children and I.  We spent the half term down with my parents in Dorset and had a really lovely time on the coast.  The sea air did us all a world of good.  Even if it was wild and windy down there.

Our little chicks are really growing in size.  It's really funny watching them get piggy back rides from their Mum! Haha.

I just wanted to quickly show you some pictures of the beautiful Dahlia's that we had this summer.  These are their final days now but we have really enjoyed the little colourful display they have given us and can't wait to grow more for next year.

From top to bottom - 

Dahlia 'Chocolate'- Irresistible chocolate scented dahlia, smells good enough to eat! Half hardy tuber.

Dahlia 'Bridge View Aloha'(Giant)- Spectacular flower heads on upright stems, reveling sunshine yellow petals each with a burning red tip- Semi Cactus Dahlia.

Dahlia 'Bishop Of Llandaff'- Reaches 30 inches on lovely dark foliage, Two or more rings of generally flattened florrets, the center forming a disc- Paeony Flowered Dahlia.

Dahlia 'Bracken Ballerina', it reaches a height of 4 ft, and is one of the best Pinks in the waterlily dahlias, and has endless flowers.

See you all very soon.

Lucy

xxx