A Year in my Fenland Kitchen

 It's the first Sunday of Advent and Christmas is fast approaching. Here in my Fenland Kitchen, sprouts are on the menu and I'm reminding myself that the, sometimes maligned, Brussel Sprout is not just for Christmas! So let's give them some love!  Rule number one is not to boil them into submission. Overcooking results in an unpleasant smell and is possibly the reason a lot of people claim that they do not like sprouts. Steaming or stir frying are the way to go ... or roasted as in this  recipe  by Love&Lemons. Alternatively, Brussel Sprouts are delicious raw and make a lovely salad. I hope you will enjoy this  recipe with a hint of sweetness from the apple and cranberries and agree that sprouts can be delicious! Speak soon. Annie x

...November is the pearl-grey month, the changeling between warm crimson October  and cold white December... These words are from a poem entitled  'A Poem for November' written by Alison Uttley of Little Grey Rabbit fame. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Little Grey Rabbit, she is the main character in a series of much loved children's stories, published between 1929 and the 1970s. The stories tell the tale of Little Grey Rabbit and her friends, amongst them, Hare, Squirrel, Speckledy Hen, Wise Owl and Fuzzypeg, and their everyday life in their woodland home. They are charming stories, told with great affection for the community of woodland creatures and beautifully illustrated by Margaret Tempest. Alison Uttley was born in Derbyshire at Castle Top farm near Cromford and had a deep love of nature as is evident in her writings. Apart from her prolific storytelling, she was also notable for being awarded a scholarship to study at Manchester University, where in 190

  For my first post of the new month of November, I give you what must be one of the best loved and most comforting of puddings, the Great British Crumble! A pudding which rose in popularity, it seems, during World War 2, when, due to rationing, it became a more frugal and economical alternative to a fruit pie. This crumble recipe, however, is a little more indulgent than the wartime recipes would have been and uses hazelnuts and dark chocolate in the topping. I used plums from my stash in the freezer, part of the plum harvest from earlier in the year and tweaked my usual crumble recipe to include more fibre and nutrients in the form of wholemeal flour and nuts and seeds. The dark chocolate may seem an indulgence, but as we know, dark chocolate ( and I used one with 75% cocoa) actually has a number of health benefits. We enjoyed our ( relatively) guilt-free pud with homemade yoghurt! Speak soon Annie x