Slowing Down in January

Hello from a very chilly Peak District.

The temperatures have plummeted but thankfully it is super-cosy at the cafe. We did it, we got over the line and reopened, and your comments and reactions have been all that we hoped they would be. Pre-xmas and Twixmas has been busy (thankyou!) and I'm looking forward to a slightly slower paced January to recharge, plan and rest a little.

Also, a big welcome to everyone who has signed up to our newsletter - I promise not to bombard you with too many over the coming year. Although I'm personally hoping for a slightly slower January, the cafe will be open every day going forward (bad weather permitting!) Head over to our website for our opening hours.

Me - in the newly refurbished cafe!

I don't make resolutions but every year hope for more balance between work, home and rest. It feels right in Winter to slow down, reflect, hunker down and take stock. How do you unwind? I love knitting and crochet and have several things on the go at once - the kids have put a couple of seasonal requests in which I need to complete before the weather gets warmer - there are great free resources online - I love Purl Soho who have a wealth of free patterns, often at beginner level.

It's also the time of year when good food and nourishment seems even more important.

A Comforting Way to Start Your Day

A comforting way to start your day is with a warming bowl of porridge - it's versatile - you can happily make this gluten & dairy free and be creative with your toppings; here is our go to cafe base recipe plus some ideas to ring the changes in the morning.

Porridge Per Person

I cup of porridge oats

2 cups of milk of your choice or 1 cup of milk/1 of water

Tablespoon of chia seeds (optional for extra protein)

pinch of sea salt

Winter Spiced Compote - lots of different spices but feel free to change up the dried fruit to your own favourites.

Ingredients 

1 Earl Grey teabag (or looseleaf)

Juice of half a lemon

500ml water

3 tablespoons of honey

2 tablespoons brown sugar (demerara or light brown)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 strips orange peel

1 strip lemon zest

4 cloves

1 star anise

4 cardamom pods - split open

12 dried prunes

12 dried apricots

1 handful dried cranberries or sour cherries

4 dried figs, de-stalked and chopped roughly

1 eating apple, cored and diced

Put the water, tea, sugar, honey, peel and spices in a largeish saucepan and heat on medium until the sugar is dissolved, simmer for 10 minutes or so to allow the spices to infuse. Strain the liquid through a sieve to remove the spices.

A comforting way to start the day!

Return the spiced syrup to the pan and now add the apples and dried fruit and poach gently for 10-15 minutes until the apples are tender. Taste for sweetness and adjust if necessary.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool. This will keep in the fridge for 5 days. Warm through before adding to your porridge bowl.

Other ideas; nut butter, maple syrup, nuts & seeds (toasting them gives even more flavour), banana, dark chocolate.

A Nourishing Menu

This need to nourish will as ever run through our Winter menu with warming soups making the most of seasonal veg, to one pots like dhal which are comfort food at it's best. Our pea soup has changed up for winter and is now lightly spiced with chilli flakes and cumin and cooked down with coconut milk. If you have any recipes you would like to share, you can email them to me.

If you are reading this and love baking at home you will notice we now stock some baking ingredients; you will find almond, vanilla and orange extracts, yeast, honey and hot honey amongst other things for sale at the cafe.

My January Recommendations

And finally, January recommendations; a cookbook from Justine Doiron called Justine Cooks - mostly plants (but not all) and vibrant recipes to brighten your Winter plate; podcast of the month for me must be the wonderfully irreverent & coffee loving Bill Nighy, which is sub half an hour of nothing much in particular. Instafeed is Martha Swales who is a young gardener with limitless enthusiasm to give you confidence to try something new in whatever space you have available - find her at marfskitchengarden on instagram. She's inspired us to start a tiny pond this year to encourage more wildlife to our garden.

Until next time, happy New Year, happy cooking and happy balancing.