Last week I was off to see the Barber family, who make Cheddar cheese down in Somerset. I’ve been to see them before but, as they are the guardians of the last traditional cheese cultures, I wanted to talk to their cultures expert (I’m not very scientific so need such things explaining to me at least three times, preferably with pictures). I thought it only polite to take something suitably cheesy with me, so opted for scones, made with their 1833 Vintage Reserve Cheddar. There’s nothing worse than a cheese scone that isn’t cheesy so the 1833 is a good choice, punchy and tasty as it is.
Tag Archives: cheese
Olde York
I’m off to Devon for Easter and am looking forward to seeking out some little-known West Country cheeses. However, I’ve become aware recently that my selections have been displaying a distinct southern bias. So, to redress the balance before I go away, to give Margaret at From Pyrenees to Pennines a fighting chance at tracking down a cheese (they stock it in Booths!) and to please my mother, this week’s selection is from Yorkshire:
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Vulscombe, Red Pepper and Fennel Tart
I wondered if I could pass this off as a pie, in honour of British Pie Week. Pie, tart, pastry case, pastry base, it’s all the same surely? But in my heart of hearts I knew I had a tart on my hands (so to speak). Possibly a flan. But not a pie. Last week’s chunk of Vulscombe seemed to deserve something better than just me secretly scoffing it when the house was empty, plus I had a veggie coming for lunch which always throws me into a pickle. This is super easy, even if you make a mess of the puff pastry like I did and don’t use the right-sized baking tray.
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Vulscombe with Garlic and Herbs
It’s been a while. I’d like to say that my vacation from the blog has meant that I’ve lost at least half a stone due to eating less cheese. But I appear to have filled the gap with eating chocolate. And cheese but just not getting around to writing about it. Whoops. Anyway, I’m back on the cheese trail and this week I bring you an especially pretty one:
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Hibernation and a Hearty Kale and Stilton Soup
About this time of year, hedgehogs begin to stir, shivering their bristles and stretching out a little foot or two, in readiness to wake up after their winter slumber. All of which serves as a handy metaphor for this blog which, having snoozed through the dark, short days of December and January, is now ready to spring back into action. (I could at this point have just confessed to being busy, knackered and neglectful but, well, everyone loves a hedgehog, don’t they?)
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Radicchio and Durrus Risotto
I’m sure you have all been on the edge of your seats, waiting to hear of my progress up the allotment waiting list. Well, big news here, I have a plot! I’ve been pretty lucky to inherit a patch that’s been well-cared for until recently, compared to some of the weed forests that are also up for grabs. In fact I’ve been pretty lucky full-stop, considering that I live in London where some waiting lists are 40 years long and people even put their children down to secure an allotment for their future middle age!
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Courgette and Nottinghamshire Blue Cheese Soup
This week brought the exciting news that I have reached number six on the allotment waiting list and so should get my soft city hands on a plot in the next few months. Usually in London, to get an allotment you have to: a) wait for two decades; b) bump off the 73 people ahead of you on the list; or, c) sleep with at least seven senior figures from the borough council. Fortunately for me, one of my local allotments got funding a couple of years ago to regenerate some disused land to create about 70 new allotments and so the waiting list is short and the turnover relatively high.
Filed under Cheese Recipes
Crab, Samphire and Barber’s 1833 Quiche
Well, it looks like the summer holidays have certainly taken their toll on my blog. Museum visits, cricket in the park and excessive ice-cream consumption (not to mention the small matter of doing some actual work on top) left little time for writing about cheese. And the more you feel guilty about not doing something, the harder it becomes to actually do it after a while. Fortunately, the schools have opened their doors once more and, at the same time, the cheddar-makers at Barber’s asked me if I’d like to develop a new recipe for their flagship 1833 brand. It was just what I needed to get back on the cheese-horse again.
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Butternut Squash and Highcross Lasagne
This weather is crazy. Just when you think it’s time to live on watermelon and salad in your flipflops, hailstones the size of conkers start smashing up your greenhouse. It’s important to be prepared for all eventualities and this includes having comfort food and a slanket to hand. This lasagne is easy to make, fools small children into eating vegetables and is perfect for sub-zero summer afternoons. I used Highcross from Wildes Cheese which is matured in a vat of salt, water and lemon. It’s salty and crumbly, a bit like Feta and its sharpness goes well against the sweet squash.
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Inglewhite Buffalo
The wealth of information now available about British cheeses and their producers usually makes it pretty easy to research and write about whichever hunk has made it on to the blog. But boy oh boy was this week’s cheese ever a slippery one to pin down. It has taken sleuthmanship and cunning beyond the wit of man to find out even the basics. I’m mentally spent. So, here is it, the Loch Ness Monster, the Lord Lucan of cheeses, Inglewhite Buffalo:
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Fromage Homage 