On A Crisp Autumnal Morning

Waking up to the layer of frost covering the land and the stillness of the animals makes me remember just why I love the autumn. The beautiful coloured leaves that litter the ground and the chill that makes your nose go red! Being a photographer I relish this season, taking advantage of the morning sun shining  through the trees to capture some beautiful, unique and stunning shots, some of which have been featured in magazines such as the 'Cheshire Life'.

'The Golden Tree'

'Nature's Buffet'

'The Horizon Line'

'Frosted Leaves

'Colour of Nature'

Personally, I think the best way to capture the stunning side of nature and the countryside is to take natural shots, sometimes a posed shot is needed but most of my images are simply as I find them. I also think that having an animal in shot or some sort of focal point, whether this be a centre shape for example the sun or area of light, is important. I also tend to work on the rule of three, a handy tip for any aspiring photographer. Each photo of mine can be split into three sections which all balance each other out, this is explicitly shown on the Colour of Nature picture, as you see the bottom third is darker with few leaves, the middle third is brighter with less leaves and the top third in order to balance the others is as bright as the middle but with more leaves consequently creating a pathway for your eye to follow through the picture. 

The countryside lends itself beautifully when being a subject of photography is concerned. You can capture the ice that may only last five minuets when the sun appears for a lifetime through a lens. The next frosty morning we have, I urge you to throw on your dressing gown and grab your camera, go and see what beauties you can capture!

Please keep reading my blog, every page view means a lot and feel free to comment a subject or topic you would like me to cover in my next instalment. 

But for now, speak soon with

Country Kitchen Classics

Let's make it clear from the onset, I love good food, tea in particular... my stomach's rumbling at the thought! I think it runs in the family, my Grandpa used to cook in the Cheshire Regiment so he used to feeding the masses with good healthy food, and living on a farm I wasn't going to let the appreciation of a good meal disappear! So when your sat on a cold, wintery evening after doing everything you need to do for the day, what's better than a country classic Apple Crumble with a steaming custard! 

Now being a farmer ... I tend not to go with weights for ingredients but simply the look and taste of things, but I've managed to find our old family recipe for this quintessential pudding. Enjoy! 

Apple Crumble

FOR THE FILLING 

450g Bramley Apples

1/2 Cup of Water 

2 tbsp Brown Sugar 

1/2 tsp Cinnamon (optional but adds a real seasonal flavour)

 FOR THE CRUMBLE 

• 300g Plain Flour
• 175g Brown Sugar
• 200g Unsalted Butter

METHOD

Now for me, I prefer softer apples and for that I stew my filling. I think this recipe is perfect for children as the soft apples are so easy to eat and have a lovely texture compared to the crunchy crumble top. Aprons at the ready? This could get messy! 

1) Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2)Place the flour and sugar in a large bowl and mix well with your finger tips. Taking a few cubes of butter at a time rub into the flour mixture(it helps if you have colder hands as the butter will stay cool and not melt). Keep rubbing until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. 

3) Core, peel and dice your apples into about 1cm cubes, don't worry if this is done roughly it just may take your apples longer to stew. 

4) Place your apples and water into a saucepan and warm over a gentle heat, once the apples have started to soften, add the sugar and cinnamon stirring often. 

5) Once your apples are soft and stewed to your taste (some people will like a softer filing than others) place the filling in an oven proof dish. 

6) Taking care not to burn yourself on the hot apple mixture, sprinkle over the crumble topping covering all the filling. Be generous with this, in my opinion the golden crumble is the best part!

7) Bake in the over for 30 - 35 minutes or until the crumble is a golden colour and the apple mixture bubbling. 

Custard

FOR THE CUSTARD

1 Pint Milk

• 2floz Single Cream
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 4 Egg Yolks
• 30g Caster Sugar
• 2 tsp Cornflour

METHOD

1) In a sauce pan, bring the milk and cream to a simmer over a low heat.

2) In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour until blended.

3)Pour the hot milk and cream over the sugar mixture and whisk continuously.

4) Place the mixture back on the heat, add your vanilla extract and gently stir until thickened. 

Slather this over your beautiful apple crumble, sit back and relax with this winter classic . I hope this proves useful, enjoy and happy baking!

Keep checking out my blog for more country side memes, updated regularly. 

But farewell for now my countryside lovers, with

  

Talk To The Animals

I think it's safe to say that I've always been a horse crazy girl, since I first set my eyes on my Grandparent's Shetland Pony nearly nineteen years ago! I'd sit on a bucket and sing to her, groom her and sneak her a cheeky carrot so Tipsy was clearly to blame for the fact that 'A HORSE' was at the top of my christmas list every year. I started riding when I was about eleven and progressed pretty quickly to riding strong scopey hunters. 

Thanks to my mum, this was the year dreams came true, sorry about the cliche, but as I sit here typing, Milo my 16hh, four year old, Irish Draught x Welsh Cob is grazing away (and probably doing something he shouldn't be...) in the field. 

He's quite a looker and he knows it, posing at passers by with his ears pricked. He's only been here a week but it's clear he's quite cheeky... I've just looked out of the window to see his head over the fence with half of my grandmother's plants in his mouth... 'Oh No Milo' is a phrase we hear quite often! His character shall we call it makes him him and it's safe to say I love him already! 

'Oh No Milo! Not The Leeks!'

Anyway, enough about the big boy, now for you to meet the terrible twosome, my 'pet' sheep even though they act more like dogs! My partner and I rescued them as lambs from awful conditions under the care of a so called shepherd, cold stale milk, unclean bedding and highly infectious diseases floating around the air meant we just had to get them out and when four out of the six hand reared lambs died it was the final straw. Well enough of the morbid stuff, Little G and Dot are having the best life they could imagine. I understand they're only sheep but when you see the bond they have created due to the experiences that they have had it truly is incredible. They never stray more than five feet away from each other and run to their mummy whenever their scared. I spent about an hour just stroking them on bonfire night as they legged it up the field to me at the gate! Just call me Little Bo Peep! 

The dogs need a whole post to themselves! Keep checking out my blog for some country kitchen classic next time as I got busy making... there was flour everywhere but we'll keep that quiet! 

Anyway, bye for now, with 

      

A True Country Girl

Having blogged lots in the past for work purposes I decided why not blog about something you love? Brilliant idea, I'll blog about farming and the beautiful world around us with the little things that people so often miss. I adore the country side, the wilderness and the untouched landscape and living on a farm with a horse outside my window and sheep grazing on the land just fuels this passion! Most other 19 year olds would rather watch TOWIE or X Factor than the hay being baled, but not me, I'm a true country girl *Rushes to dig out the Cowboy Hat*.  

One of my favourite places to visit has to be Wheelock Farm Shop, although it seems pretty dangerous for the bank balance, where they effortlessly display the best of the crop like this beacon of huge bright orange pumpkins! With new housing estates popping up out of the blue, it's hard to sometimes remember the simplicity of what was and what the land under the houses once offered us like this beautiful selection of tasty apples... Don't get me wrong I love sweeties but that's a true pick 'n' mix! 

The aim of my blog is to capture the true old fashioned life style of agriculture through the eyes of someone with farming in their blood. Keep checking out my blog and I hope you enjoy what is to come... but for now I must go and muck out the stable... I think this may be one of the small things that I'm not a fan of when concerning the country side... 

Bye for now, with