Welcome to the October Library Diary!
Ahhh Autumn - my favourite time of the year. Damson Hill looks beautiful with the leaves turning and I get to create all my favourite warming soups. Betty is still going strong, all ready to provide a warming cuppa whenever required and my thoughts are turning to the run up to Christmas (we’ve got some lovely, festive things planned!) I hope you’re still enjoying your Library Workouts. Don’t forget that if you need any tips or advice about how to get the best from your fitness regime, I’m just a phonecall (or whatsapp message) away!
Weekly Pilates, HIPP & TRX, Woodland Workout and Yoga classes continue.
Woodland Workout : Tuesdays 9.15 - 10am & Saturdays 8.00-8.45am | PRICE: £10 per class | Book in advance or just come along.
The Firm (and the flexible) Men's class takes place on the first Tuesday of every month from 8pm. So popular that I might have to start a second class!
The next Damson Hill Hike is booking now for Sunday 21st November.
‘Give me 5’ Challenge
A new challenge for you
I’ve got a fabulous five day reps challenge starting from Monday of next week and I’d love it if you’d join in!
Start out nice and easy on Monday with just 10 reps of each exercise, then each day increase by 10 until you really go for the burn on Friday with 50 reps.
You can check in with the rest of the group on WhatsApp for a little bit of motivation. Why not share a pic of you taking part… or relaxing afterwards.
Recipes for October...
I am a HUGE fan of a one pot. I love that the one pot season is beginning again but before we truly get there I thought I’d give you some risotto recipes this month but on flicking through my books I came across this one and so I have found 3 recipes for you here, some rice is still involved but also a soup!
Stunning recipes in her book, however, they are not my usual quick and simple chuck it all in really quickly and tada its done. But they are truly worth the effort as they are all just a little different which I love. I will simplify the three recipes here for you. Great for dinner parties with a difference and vegetarian too so add any kind of meat or fish protein to the mix.
BIRYANI WITH SAFFRON & GOLDEN VEG
Serves 4 to 6 as a main meal
8 cardamom pods, 1 small cinnamon stick, 4 cloves, a few nutmeg gratings, 1 tsp fennel seeds, 3 bay leaves, a pinch of saffron, 4 tbsp coconut oil/butter, 4 onions sliced thinly, thumb sized ginger finely chopped, 3 garlic cloves finely chopped, 1 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp garam masala, 400g root veg (carrots, squash, sweet potato etc) chopped small, a handful of mint & some coriander roughly chopped, 300g basmati rice 50g flaked almonds.
Preheat oven to 200c fan. Put the cardamom pods, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, fennel seeds, bay and saffron in a pan with 700ml water. Bring to the boil and turn off then cover and allow to infuse.
Melt 1 tbsp oil/butter in a casserole dish and add the onions, followed shortly after with the garlic and ginger then once all softened add the turmeric, garam masala and chopped veg. Add more oil.butter if necessary and pop the dish in the oven for 5 - 10 mins. Then take out, transfer the veg to a bowl adding the herbs and season well.
Then melt the remaining butter in the heated casserole dish (pop in oven for. a bit before you add the butter), then add the rice and heat in the oven for a few mins, strain 2/3 of the spice water you prepared earlier, cover and put in the oven for about 5 mins.
Right so now you are going to layer it up like a lasagne. Take 2/3 of the rice out of the casserole dish and pop aside, now pour all the remaining spice water on top of the 1/3 of remaining rice, spoon over 1/3 of the veg mix, Layer another third of rice over the top then another third of veg on top of that. Finish with the final third of rice then veg.and scatter the almonds on top Cover with a lid and then cover it all with foil. Cook in the oven for 40 mins reducing the heat to 170c fan after 20 mins. Fluff to serve!
CARROT SOUP WITH TAHINI & ROSEMARY
Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil, 1 large onion finely chopped, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 2 garlic cloves chopped, 500g carrots into 1cm rounds, 1 can chopped toms, zest & juice of an orange, 1 litre stock, 1 can of chickpeas, some fresh rosemary, 1.5 tbsp sherry vinegar, 4 tbsp tahini, a splash of extra virgin olive oil
Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onion, then some salt, the garlic, and paprika cooking for another minute or so. Add the carrots, tomatoes, and orange zest and juice, let everything start to simmer then add the stock and bring to the boil. Reducing to medium heat simmering until the carrots are tender.
Whilst the soup is simmering, rinse the chickpeas and pop them in the oven to roast with some oil and the rosemary and a bit of salt, should only take about 10 mins.
Once the carrot soup is ready, take off the heat and stir in the sherry vinegar and half the tahini, then blend.
Serve the soup topped with chickpeas, the rest of the tahini and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
GREEN PEPPER & PISTACHIO PESTO RISOTTO
Serves 4
For the Pesto: 4 green peppers, 75g shelled pistachios chopped and toasted, 1 garlic clove peeled, juice of 1 unwaxed lemon, 100ml extra virgin olive oil, a large bunch of fresh basil, 30g grated pecorino/parmesan
For the Risotto: 1 to 1.5 litres of stock, 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 onion finely chopped, 2 cloves garlic chopped, 400g arborio rice, 200ml white wine, 50g butter
Char the peppers under the grill and set aside (or roast them if you prefer). At the same time heat your stock in. pan.
Then in another pan heat the oil and sauté the onions until soft then add the garlic, after a couple of mins add the rice and a little more oil if needed, toast the rice for 5 mins, then pour in the white wine and allow to evaporate as you stir. Continue this with the stock until you’ve finished it. Get on with your pesto whilst you stir the rice from time to time.
Now the peppers are cool peel off and discard the charred skin, deseed and cut into pieces. Put them in a food processor with the pistachios (reserve some for a garnish), garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, basil and half the grated cheese and blend until smooth, adding a bit of water if too thick,
Check the rice, apparently if you break a grain in half you should see a tiny speck of white this is perfect as it will be al dente. Add the butter, half the remaining cheese, season and stir through most of the pesto, then pop a lid on and allow to sit for 5. If too thick add a little more stock or boiling water.
Top with the rest of the pesto and remaining cheese, some basil leaves and chopped pistachios.
Workout Highlight of the Month
Another full body weighted workout here for you. It wasn’t that long ago that the early mornings were light and bright, this is from 1st September! I’m too scared to go down there now for the Wake Up Wednesday Workout in the dark….
30s work for full body dumbbell exercises and a cardio blast finisher, You will feel it - try it out, its just a 21 min workout! .
NOW HERE'S A SUITABLY SEASONAL (AND RATHER FABULOUS) OFFER FOR YOU...
20% off Miss PomPom for you!
You might have spotted some of Miss Pom Pom’s gorgeously bright and cheerful knits on my head before and their huge bold scarves. Her bobble hats and scarves are all ethically produced, designed in the UK and are super snuggly. Their scarves are a statement and HUGE!
They’ve kindly offered a tidy 20%OFF, exclusively to Library members for ONE WEEK ONLY - from 25th October - 31st October 23.59pm. Perfect timing for getting kitted out for the colder weather - or for picking up an early Christmas gift or two.
To claim your discount, just pop along to www.misspompom.com for a browse and once you get to checkout, use code damsonhillcottage
How about escaping to Damson Hill Cottage for some glamping?
Glamping is happening at last at Damson Hill Cottage! We’ve been busy building and revamping and now we can offer a choice of lovely (and pretty luxurious) accommodation. There’s a glorious outdoor shower (with piping hot water), use of a variety of facilities including our pizza oven and outdoor deck (perfect for setting up a movie screen or a special celebratory dining or dancing area). You could book in to join a Woodland Workout or other classes if you like. You could order a specially prepared meal. You could head to one of the lovely local pubs, venture on a hike or just relax with a coffee, courtesy of Betty the Caravan Cafe…. or all of the above!
We’re aiming to tailor our glamping experiences to suit you perfectly so we’re keeping things flexible. Choose to book into the Shepherds Hut (sleeps 2), The Pod (sleeps 4) or the Bell Tent (sleeps 6) - or you could book the lot for a bigger group. Then just let us know what extras we can provide to make your stay perfect. Ideal for special celebrations, romantic escapes, getaways with friends or family time.