Food to treasure
In the meantime Margaret Davidson, author of "Kitchen Yoga - Understanding Food" has created a brand new recipe specifically for the site using Helen Henderson's Salmon Pate
This Page is devoted to highlighting the goodness of regional food in and around Glendale: its produce and its people. Because you cannot have one without the other - they go together hand-in-hand.
People engaged in producing quality foods are genuinely interested in putting the best produce into the food basket, which is why so much "Northumbrian fayre " carries the statement hand made. A human hand and heart is involved when and wherever quality features ahead of profit rather than the other way around.
We are very rich in natural resources in Glendale: wildlife is prolific in fish, birds and game, and the hill farms nurture both sheep and free-ranging cattle. Many farms are now organic. Obtaining fresh fruit, vegetables, and free-range eggs is relatively easy locally without any necessity to visit an out-of-town supermarket. We produce Cheese in a variety of textures and flavours, Honey from the heather-skirted hillsides, and natural medicines from plants ignored or forgotten, for the most part, by a technologically advanced society.
We have a Watermill that educates by way of demonstration how grains are translated into the flours we buy ready-packaged. It bakes, serves and retails what is produced on site, as well as supplying local outlets.
We are abundant in diversity, but not entirely self-sufficient, which is useful as a reminder of our inter-dependence on all creaures as well as each other. And we do like to share: we take real pride in offering our best to visitors and residents alike because to do so is to offer ourselves.
So this page, whilst bringing our Region's foods to the forefront will also feature its producers - background features, speciality recipes, and individual products available in local shops. Thus we come closer to the hands and hearts that nurture, tend, harvest, manufacture, market and retail the produce. In gaining some understanding of where our food originates we are more involved than alienated from that which nourishes us on the dinner plate.
And last, but defintely not least, we will feature the services that cook, blend and serve our produce: the restaurants, cafes and hotels, the variety of B&Bs that generously cater to all needs and requirements. And in the consumption of all this goodness we can be truly grateful for what we are receiving. So, welcome to the Food Page and welcome to Glendale.
The 10th Glendale Festival
Helen Henderson of THE FENTON CENTRE at The 10th Glendale festival
This year we celebrated with 18 food stalls, many from Glendale and surrounding area. These included fresh produce from Wooler's own Community Garden, Robson's famed honey from Chainbridge Honey Farm, fresh produce from Tweed Valley Organics, an eclectic feast of breads from The Great North Bread Company at Ford and Etal estate and, closer to home, Fenton Fine Foods from the Fenton Centre which already features on this page. Helen Henderson has produced a new variety of her delicious smoked salmon pate. It is a "must have" for all lovers of good wholesome food, and it now comes in jars that are easily stored in a fridge.
It goes without saying, her wonderful game pies sold out as did most of her selection of fine foods. Indeed most stallholders claimed they had had a successful day,considering..... And why the element of surprise?
Well.... there was the weather. In the past we have been blessed with a dry if not a blazing hot day. This year it rained, and rained, until 4.00 pm, when a shy sun barely peeped out for the last hour of festivity. I would suggest we are disposed to spend more freely when the feel-good factor of bright sunshine abounds so It all goes to show that where good local food is available we do seize the opportunity to avail ourselves of it - come rain or shine.
Curd Cheesecake using curds from The Northumberland Cheese Company
This year we welcomed stall holders from as far afield as Middlesbrough and Scotland, and in between we had wonderful cheeses from The Northumberland Cheese Company which operates from the Blagdon Estates near Newcastle. Although this company exists without the Glendale Region, Mark Robertson's unique cheeses are always available within the area at The Goodlife Shop in Wooler. Personally I have yet to find a sheep's cheese to outclass that produced at the Make-me-Rich farm.
I have included a recipe for a baked cheesecake made with curds from the Northumberland Cheese Company. It was first featured in "Kitchen Yoga - Understanding Food" and is replicated here by persmission. For those who would like to make it, you could ask David Girdwood at The Goodlife Shop to obtain curds for you or, failing that, you could visit the lovely coffeeshop at the Make-me-Rich cheese farm at Blagdon estates where individual cheesecakes are readily available.
CURD CHEESECAKE
1 x 23cm loose-bottomed flan tin
Sweet short crust pastry sufficient to line the tin
FILLING
450gm curd cheese mashed
½ cup double cream
2large organic eggs plus 1 organic egg yolk
75gm unrefined caster sugar
Finely grated rind 1 large organic/unwaxed lemon
Juice ½ - 1 lemon [according to personal taste]
METHOD
Heat oven to Gas5/190C
Line the flan tin with short crust pastry, prick the base and line with baking parchment. Fill with dried beans. Bake for 15 mins. Transfer onto a wire rack and allow to cool in the tin. Remove the beans and baking parchment.
Separate the egg whites from the yolks.
Place the mashed curds, yolks, cream, lemon juice, rind and half the sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat to a smooth consistency.
Whisk the egg whites until they form peaks, add the remaining sugar and whisk until you obtain a meringue consistency. Then, using a metal spoon, carefully fold into the cheese batter.
Spoon the mixture into the cooled pastry case, level the surface, and bake for 30 – 35 mins. until set.
Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before releasing from the tin. Use a spatula to separate the cheesecake from the base of the tin and transfer onto a serving dish
Come buy, come buy, while stock lasts!
Last year we attracted 8 stallholders so if this year's 18 are anything to go by, the Glendale Festival is proving increasingly popular with local food producers year by year. There is no reason to suppose we will not double our attraction next year with at least 36 stalls, each with a unique product to enhance and enrich our individual larders.
Yearle Mill - A Celebration House
The Miller's House was bought as a private house in 1979 and ten years later the derelict adjacent Mill was acquired because it was becoming hazardous. Preservation rather than commercial interest was the incentive but once the outer shell was restored a problem arose as to what to do about the interior.
Restoring the core would be a major undertaking requiring huge funding but by this time Elizabeth and Roger Miket were committed to their Ruin. To pay for the project they let their house, and devoted every minute of their spare time to physical hard labour - that included a gruelling 8 hour drive from Skye, where they were both employed full time. This prodigious undertaking translated into living on site in a caravan for 8 years in conditions that were not for the faint-hearted. In winter the cutlery would freeze on the draining board. And whilst they employed professionals in key areas, most of the work has been fulfilled by themselves, using reclaimed materials from a local woodyard and learning their trade along the way. To re-state the couple's absolute dedication: one year's birthday present from Roger to Elizabeth was a nail extractor!
David L Roberts Original Painting of the Mill Interior
The interior has been partitioned and made up room by room, with the advice and inspiration of the late architectural historian and artist, David L. Roberts who designed the oriel window on the top floor and whose painting of the shell says everything about the enormity of the task undertaken by the Mikets. Had there been a "grand plan" - beyond simply honouring the integrity of the building - it is doubtful the project would have been completed because looking at the Mill today one wonders how two individuals, and relative innocents at that, could possibly have produced such an inspired wortk of art.
What Elizabeth and Roger have re-created as The Mill is a unique combination of practicality and beauty: a simple robust structure reflecting its stark North Northumberland landscape, whose interior more than adequately reflects the softer hues and character of an area also commended for its outstanding natural beauty. Apart from physically re-building the structure and its interior, all the soft furnishings are designed and handmade by Elizabeth, a woman as exquisitely skilled with a fine needle as she is adept with a power hammer. The rooms are named and tastefully furnished accordingly with acquisitions from both home and abroad.
There never was an intention to live in the property because of its size and a chance remark of a friend in 2003 provided the obvious solution: make it accessible to others as a holiday let. Rural Retreats, a prestigious and professional company with its own dedicated website organise the lets. Yet even here the Mikets' personal touch pertains in the form of a "Welcome Hamper". Northumberland's abundance is generously reflected in the contents and a single glance impresses upon visitors the region's enormous capacity for fresh, wholesome produce.
The Mill's guests can expect warm fresh bread upon arrival. Included are biscuits and sometimes a cake - all made with Heatherslaw grains - cheese from Doddington, honey from Robson's of Chainbridge, local free-range eggs, and homemade marmalade, quite apart from organic butter, fresh organic juice, coffee, fruit and red/white wine.
Wild and Furry visitors: Ms Otter and shy friend
Personally I cannot think of a more inviting introduction to a holiday in one of Britain's loveliest locations and where visitors are warmly and generously received throughout Glendale. Yearle Mill reflects all that is good and worth celebrating in our World. Which is possibly why the property has come to be known as "The Celebration House" - so many people now celebrate special occasions such as anniversaries and birthdays at The Mill.
Its popularity as sanctuary extends even to local wildlife, like the nesting barn owls, and one extraordinary sighting this year was a pair of young otters attracted by the location's natural pond. This possibility of participating in and sharing that which cannot be measured or weighed is all down to two practical people with no clear vision beyond the "here and now", but with a keen sense of the appropriate and a lot of faith, flair, grit, and awesome commitment.
CHOCOLATE TORTE
This recipe is a derivation of one provided by Elizabeth Miket of Yearle Mill
INGREDIENTS
150gm Co-op dark orange chocolate [at least 70%]
2tbs strong black coffee
125gm unsalted butter
4 organic free-range eggs separated
100 gm unrefined caster sugar
40gm ground almonds
175gm warm mashed potato
pinch salt
6tbs cold poached blackcurrants and sliced eating apple
Method
Melt together in a double boiler the chocolate, coffee, and butter and stir until smooth.
Whisk the egg yolks until thick and pale, then whisk in the chocolate mixture.
Stir in the warm mashed potato and almonds and mix thoroughly.
Whisk the egg whites with the pinch salt until stiff. Stir 1/3 into the chocolate mixture to slacken it, then fold in the remainder.
Pour the mixture into a lined 20cm loose-bottomed cake tine and bake in a moderate oven 180C/Gas 4 for 30 mins.
The cake should be softy in the centre but a skewer should emerge clean. Cool in the tin for an hour before turning out onto a wire rack. Just prior to serving spoon on the cold poached fruit. Serve with thick whipped cream or clotted cream.
The Fenton Centre
Welcome to what was the first Taster Session on our Food Page Spring 2009
With the arrival of Spring and its promise of New Beginnings what could have been more appropriate than a visit to the Fenton Centre, and the Henderson family whose livelihood and aspirations for expanding their unique range of local delicacies could so easily have been anihilated by last year's unheralded floods?
A conservationist at heart, Simon Henderson, together with his wife Helen moved from Durham in October 1990 to set up a wildlife centre on the Milfield Plain. The idea was to foster and nurture our precious natural resources: otters, barn owls and other wildlife whilst at the same time providing an educational resource for school groups and farmers.
A grant from the Heritage Lottery allowed them to build but not run the requisite facilities so opening a cafe and gift shop to pay the bills seemed the obvious solution. The cafe was an opportunity for Helen to demonstrate her ability to transform local produce into truly nourishing and delicious pates, terrines and pies using only local suppliers and absolutely no articificial ingredients.
The business grew organically and was prospering until the mighty deluge of September 7th 2008! Noah himself would have empathised and might even have suggested he had had it relatively easy, with God on his side. For the Hendersons there was no white dove and a promise of "Never again!" The inevitable question arose, "Do we walk away from all this or start again?"
In the four years the Centre had been open there had been some wonderful heartwarming experiences. Such as the early morning visit from the family from Tyneside: Dad, Mum and six kids aged between four and ten all decked out in Newcastle United black-and-white stripes, all eager as beavers to discover what the country had to offer townies. So intrepid were these urban venturers they failed to rematerialise at the day's end and a search-and-rescue party had to set out. They had had the most wonderful experience. High as kites with enthusiasm they returned for more the next day.
Tynsiders apart, people visted from all over the world, and the centre was a firm favourite with school parties. Armed with such recollections the family rolled up sleeves, gritted teeth, and decided it was worthwhile carrying on. Besides, the last time the area experienced flooding on such a scale was over 200 years ago....in 1789. They re-opened on Wednesday 8th April, just in time for Easter.
They intend re-instating their normal year's programme of events but not all at once.The gift shop and tearoom are available to visitors now and plans are well- advanced for a new restaurant later in the year. This will offer Sunday lunches as well as opportunities to enjoy a leisurely evening dining on the finest food and wines whilst watching the sun setting behind the Cheviots.
Helen buys her vegetables from Tritlington, her meat from Johnsons' of Wooler and her bread from The Great North Bread Company. Doddington supplies her cheese and ice-creams, Chainbridge the honey and Patsy's Pickles from Foulden (nr. Berwick) bakes her gluten-free cakes. Jane Harbottle from Lowick makes the preserves, the eggs come from Sunnyhill and the coffee is obtained direct from Pumphreys of Newcastle. This is a truly local enterprise well worth supporting: what cannot be obtained locally is brought in via a local wholesaler.
Her current range of produce - three terrines, one pate and two salad dressings - is set to expand to six terrines and four pates, pickles, jams, chutneys and hand raised pork pies. Her wares are widely available locally - the Goodlife Shop in Wooler and at a variety of local markets - Morpeth every first Saturday of the month, Berwick Slow Food every second Saturday at the Buttermarket, Alnwick on the last Friday and Berwick on the last Sunday. She is currently working closely with Northumberland Estates with a view to supplying the Garden.
Spring Salmon Bake - a recipe using Helen's SALMON PATE - by Margaret Davidson, author of "Kitchen Yoga"
Spring Salmon Bake
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 very large unblemished organic baking potatoes well scrubbed
115gm or 2 heaped tbs Helen Henderson salmon pate
1heaped tbs. full fat creme fraiche
1tsp fresh organic lemon juice
½ tsp fresh horseradish grated or 1tsp commercial horseradish cream (use a brand with fewest additives)
2 scallions (spring onions) minced or very finely chopped
Organic Sunflower oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Rocket for garnish
Method
Brush the potatoes with a little sunflower oil, lightly salt, and prick the surface with a fork. Place on a baking tray and bake in a hot oven for approx. 1 hour. Test with the end of a sharp kitchen knife.
When the potatoes are baked, remove from the oven, cut in half lengthways and allow to cool slightly, until they can be comfortably handled. Scrape out the flesh into a large mixing bowl and retain the skins. If the skins split they can easily be re-moulded into shape when reassembling the bake .
Mash the potatoes to a creamy texture with the horseradish, lemon juice and creme fraiche.
Mix in the chopped scallions, reserving the green for topping.
Add the pate and blend thoroughly
Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heap the mixture back into the potato skins.
Return to a moderately heated oven and warm through
Garnish with the remaining scallions or rocket leaves
Serve at once.
Suggested Accompaniments
A basket of fresh warmed bread rolls with a large leafy green salad and organic cherry tomatoes for a warm Spring day
If the weather is chilly, rainy or downright inhospitable a huge bowl of creamed spinach or chopped, buttered spring greens together with mashed, creamed butternut squash or sweet potato will provide lovely rich contrasting colour as well as complementary texture.
Yearle Tamworths
The Dodds have farmed sheep in the Cheviots at Yearle since 1894 so it is no surprise that Sarah Dodds would continue the family tradition. That she should diversify into pigs was the novelty but a stint on a Wiltshire farm prior to moving onto Cirencester Agricultural College introduced her to Tamworths - handsome red-golden haired pigs. With no clear idea of what she was going to do with them, she popped 4 weaners [8 week old piglets to the uninitiated] into the back of her car and that was to be the start of her own twenty-year-old herd
The breed has a long lineage going back to Mediaeval times. There are only 300 sows in the entire country and they are cherished as much for this rarity, this continuum of olde England, as they are for their meat.
It is self-evident that Sarah Dodds loves her pigs. Hers is a practical love based on a mutual respect that contains no whiff of a sentimental romanticism. She leads an eclectic life: shepherdess, pig farmer, assistant curtain-maker and unofficial educator. In her own words she does not expect to die a rich woman but without question she lives a rich life.
The Tamworths are a small part of her bigger picture: they have to earn their keep. Financial loss would be an unaffordable luxury but she ensures they are healthy, content and as free from external stresses as possible throughout the entirety of their shared lives.
One has the impression that on some intrinsic level the pigs know the deal! There is an unspoken understanding. They are as accommodating to their mistress's lifestyle as she is to their basic needs: when she is lambing they are fed very early in the morning and again late in the afternoon. No squealing fuss about time-keeping schedules. They cope. They haven't been genetically defined so they are less highly strung. And they receive a good diet - the ubiquitous pig food mix is combined 50-50 with locally grown cereals which ensures the animals develop muscle rather than fat.
There's nothing here of the modern rush to promote growth artificially, no compromise to modern accountancy. Tamworths are fatter by nature anyway than other varieties. They take twice as long to rear as commercial breeds and if this makes them relatively more expensive to the ultimate consumer, they are accredited with more flavour. Besides, an animal reared as Nature intended in a relaxed and harmonious environment ensures its optimum value as a food: in short our bodies demand much more from an environmentally impoverished [intensively raised] animal than it requires from one raised organically.
Over 30 years ago the Nuffield Institute of Comparative Medicine reported that free-ranging cattle laid down polyunsaturated structural fats as opposed to saturated adipose fats in a ratio of 3:1 whereas in intensively farmed animals this proportion is reversed. [ See "Kitchen Yoga - Understanding Food" by Margaret Davidson p94.] It may be worth noting that human heart conditions are currently linked to an excessive uptake of saturated fats.
Tamworths make good bacon but are mostly raised for pork. When the piglets are between 8 and 10 weeks old Sarah sells them on locally to the Blagdon Estates near Newcastle and Tom Burn at Hunting Hall at nearby Lowick. Both have rare breed accrediting units.
She retains some piglets as breeding stock for other people. Coming from a background where all knowledge was freely shared, she has no truck with the modern "closed door" practice of retaining information within the profession, so from May to October she runs popular, regular one-day courses on pig rearing at the family farm. And it isn't all theory. Students get to handle the produce: they can feed and cuddle the pigs.
As always these courses are entirely practical: they are educational with a commercial objective. It is Sarah's hope that these newly-educated, would-be pig raisers obtain their stock from her.
And between July and the end of September, on Thursday afternoons between 3.00 and 4.00 p.m. visitors and locals can enjoy a farm walk where the pigs can be fed and handled outdoors. Expect a hands-on approach!
For details of the Course and Walks see www.yearletamworths.co.uk or email Sarah info@yearletamworths.co.uk . Just click the link from this website.
The Yearle Farm experience has to be "a must have" for the visitor and resident alike. You can buy Yearle farm pig products at Johnson's Butcher Shop, The High Street, Wooler.
Sarah's Dodds' recipe for Casseroled Pork with Vegetables
This recipe from Sarah Dodds of YEARLE TAMWORTHS is replicated with slight adjustments from Claire Macdonald's "Suppers"
Ingredients
2ib pork cubed into 1" pieces
3tbs sunflower oil
2 onions
3 medium leeks,
3 sticks celery, - all washed, trimmed and finely sliced
3 carrots cut into matchsticks
1 - 2 cloves garlic crushed
1tbs plain flour
1pint stock
3tbs tamari soya sauce
seasalt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning
Method
Heat the oil in a casserole, add the onions and cook until translucent; stirring to prevent sticking.
Add the garlic and prepared vegetables and cook for approx. 5 mins.
Remove with a slotted spoon, draining as much oil as possible, and keep warm.
Brown the pork a small amount at a time and retain with the vegetables as it browns.
Stir the flour into the liquid, stirring continuously and adding the stock gradually, stirring until the sauce bubbles. Add the soya sauce and season.
Replace the vegetables and meat.
Put a well-fitting lid on top of the casserole dish and cook in a moderate oven 180C Gas 4 for 45 mins.
If cooking in advance ensure the dish is completely cooled before refrigerating. And before reheating remove from the fridge and allow to rest at room temperature for an hour before re-heating in a moderate oven for 20 - 25 mins.
