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Rover Park and Caramel Popcorn

July 15th, 2012 | Posted by Ruby in Favourite Places | Holidays | Snacks - (Comments Off on Rover Park and Caramel Popcorn)

This is the 2nd year that Cheri and family along with some friends spend a long weekend at Rover park.  Camping in the middle of winter. The reason – Monster Trucks…. it’s a boy thing. But for the children it was a great holiday in the country.  Sadly Rover Park has now closed.

 

 

 

And lots of fun around the fire at night.

Well needless to say, Cheri and Beth were planning menus months in advance, including a Ragu Napolitano that is always a huge success – from a recipe given to me by an old Italian friend.  I’ll post this recipe sometime soon.

The star of the show was definitely the Diddle Daddles (aka caramel popcorn), however these apparently didn’t last much beyond the drive up to Rover park.

Recipe for Diddle Daddles

Ingredients:
1 1/2 litre jug filled with popped popcorn (starting with about 150 grams un-popped corn)180 grams butter
1 cup soft brown sugar
1 cup caster sugar
100 grams liquid glucose or corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Bicarb
1 Tablespoon cream
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Method:
  1. Set oven to 120 C
  2. Line 2 baking trays with wax paper
  3. Place ready prepared popcorn in a large heatproof bowl
  4. In a deep saucepan melt butter and then stir in sugar, glucose and salt 
  5. Bring to boil stirring frequently, once boiling stop stirring and let boil for about 5 minutes, remove from heat
  6. Add Bicarb and stir (be aware that the Bicarb will cause the mixture to bubble up rising vigorously)
  7. Stir in cream and vanilla
  8. Pour caramel over the popcorn and stir briskly – a bit of a challenge as it becomes very sticky
  9. Spread popcorn onto the trays to achieve a single layer of popcorn as best you can
  10. Place trays in oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes
  11. Remove trays from oven and allow to cool
  12. When popcorn is cool break into pieces 
  13. Store in a ziploc bag
  14. It lasts as long as you can keep away from it 

A visit to Cafe Mila – Godalming

June 17th, 2012 | Posted by Ruby in Favourite Places - (Comments Off on A visit to Cafe Mila – Godalming)

Whilst Jacques was over in London for the weekend we took the opportunity to go to Godalming to visit Stephen and Jane at their eclectic Cafe Mila.  What once seemed a pipe dream is now a reality. They’ve found the chapter what was the lacuna in the Godalming manuscript.  With the downstairs area the designated kids space, there’s also quiet space for the non-kids upstairs and a spacious yoga studio for the yogis and yoginis.

 

With lots of creative vegetarian dishes it also manages to satisfy the carnivores amongst us.

And then took a stroll along the banks of the River Wey.

Returning to Café Mila for coffee and a slice of their wheat free chocolate brownies – oh so yum.

 

Saturday morning at the Bio Marche

June 3rd, 2012 | Posted by Ruby in Favourite Places | Summer - (Comments Off on Saturday morning at the Bio Marche)

We have a Saturday ritual when I’m in Paris.  Jacques and I walk down to the Bio Marche on the Boulevard des Batignolles.

This is our local organic market that sets up on a Saturday morning.  So we take the shopping trolley and fill it with great fresh produce and some wonderful Organic 24 month old Comte cheese – my absolute favourite. And of course whilst we’re there – a wheat grass shot at the herb stall that always makes me feel particularly healthy.

Walking along the tree lined Boulevard with Muffin is always a slow process – she loves all the smells – checking on all recent visitors.