Welcome to the September Library Diary!
It’s definitely not been the long hot summer we were hoping for but here’s to a fabulously beautiful Autumn. Its been busy, busy at Damson Hill Cottage over the holiday, with lots of kids to entertain plus quite a few exciting projects on the go! Glamping plans are coming along beautifully (if a little bit slowly), our old friend Betty has had a facelift plus we welcomed back some friends for a ‘Restore and Revive’ day (read on to find out more). I hope you had a lovely Summer, and are keen to get back into a routine with plenty of 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!
Pilates Classes are back on in the studio or on the deck. They are fairly full but get in touch if you're interested and we can see if we can find a space or add you to the waiting list.
Woodland Workout continues, feel free to bring friends, family, kids and babies along too!
Tuesdays 9.15 - 10am & Saturdays 8.00-8.45am | PRICE: £10 per class | Book in advance or just come along.
Our new monthly class for men in need of a little help with flexibility & core strength is begining on Tueday 7th September from 8pm.
There are still spaces available for the next Damson Hill Hike on Sunday 12th September at 9.30am.
The next Lift Lean 14 day lifestyle programme starts on the 13th September.
You can read more about all these in the 'classes' section of the website.
Look what’s on offer for Library Members now!
THERE’S A SPECIAL WHATSAPP GROUP, JUST FOR YOU….
If you need a bit of motivation, some tips on the best workouts for you, any guidance on aches, pains or you’d like to request some specific workouts then you can use The Library WhatsApp group if you like. Hopefully it will be a great way for members to recommend workouts or provide tips too.
…AND THERE’LL BE A TARGETED FITNESS CHALLENGE THAT YOU CAN GET INVOLVED WITH EACH MONTH!
New for Autumn, I’m going to be coming up with a monthly challenge (which I’ll show you via the WhatsApp group). It’ll be 7 days of specific activity (maybe 7 exercises for 7 minutes for 7 days, targeting arms or legs or focussing on planks or lunges). Join in or not - it’ll just be something fresh each month to keep you motivated and moving!
Recipes for September...
I bought this book some time ago, flicked through, after many recommendations from friends and then never really used it. I’ve now come back to it and there’s some fabulous recipes (of course!). Here are a few for you to have a go at or indeed buy his book!
I’ve decided to go with three side dishes this month. Sweet potato fries are my favourite and I’ve never quite made them crispy enough so here’s a recipe to help with that. I’m also useless at cooking rice, John used to always cook it and could never understand why I couldn’t do it properly, so I always opt for the microwavable sachets now. However, I love this recipe here for baked rice, have a go! Lastly, an alternative to some of my favourite greens, with just a little twist.
SWEET POTATO FRIES
Serves 6 to 8 as a side
3 very large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1.5cm thick chips (1.2kg), 1 tbsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 3 garlic cloves crushed, 30g polenta, 100ml olive/coconut oil, 1 tbsp sumac, sea salt.
Preheat oven to 220c fan. Mix the sweet potatoes with the paprika, cayenne, garlic, polenta, oil and 1 tsp salt and pop it all in a big tray lined with baking parchment into the oven for 25 mins, stirring once or twice. Remove from the oven and sprinkle over the sumac and 1 tsp sea salt.
BAKED MINT RICE
Serves 6
400g basmati rice, 50g unsalted butter, 800ml boiling water, 50g mint, 150g feta crumbled, salt and black pepper. Salsa: 40g pitted green olives sliced, 90g pomegranate seeds, 50g walnut halves roasted and broken, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses, 1 garlic clove crushed.
Preheat the oven to 230c fan. That’s high!. Place rice in a high sided oven proof dish approx 20 x 30cm, season then pour over the butter and boiling water. Top with the mint and cover well with foil. Bake for 25 mins until fluffy and cooked.
Put all the ingredients for the salsa in a bowl apart from the mint and mix well with 1/2 tsp salt.
Once the rice is out of the oven, sprinkle with the feta, just before serving then top with the salsa and the fresh chopped remaining mint. Best served hot.
FRIED BROCCOLI & KALE WITH GARLIC, CUMIN & LIME
Serves 6 as a side
1 large head of broccoli, cut into small florets, 250g curly kale without tough stems, 3 tbsp olive/coconut oil, 3 garlic cloves crushed, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp chilli flakes, 10g mint leaves, 1 tbsp lime juice, salt.
Blanch the broccoli for 90 seconds in boiling salted water, remove with slotted spoon and refresh in plenty of cold water then pat dry. Do the same with the kale but for 30 seconds and squeeze out the water here.
Heat the oil on a high heat and add the garlic and cumin seeds for a few mins stirring, then remove the garlic and set aside. Then add the kale first for 4 mins and finally the broccoli with half the chilli flakes and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir for a min then transfer to serving dish, mixing through the mint and drizzling over the lime juice, serve with the remaining chilli flakes and the crisp garlic. For an added touch you can always add some roasted cashews too!
Workout Highlight of the Month
Hip hip hooray for HIP Pilates! I just love this class. So any excuse to encourage you to do one of these videos I will! I will be teaching a HIP class for the Wake Up Wednesday Workout next week so look out for it. But here is one from a warm day last summer with Bailey my slightly fiery but oh so loving 15 year old cat. Its a 30 minute workout focussing on squats, lunges and planks on repeat.
I will get a HIP Pilates class in for the next Lift Lean too, which don’t forget starts a week on Monday! So get yourself prepped for your post-summer getting back on it reset…….
INTRODUCING BETTY THE CARAVAN CAFE...
(Oh - and as a Library member you can have a FREE* cuppa on us!)
Our Caravan Cafe is up and running! (How about a free cuppa?)
Serving up an array of body-friendly hot drinks (including marvellous Moonroast coffee) and tasty homemade energy filled snacks, our Caravan Cafe has enough space for 7 visitors inside, plus bistro tables under cover outside and benches in the sunshine too. After studio classes and workouts, it’ll be open for refreshment (with me as barista) and at other times there will be an honesty box system so walkers, and passers-by can enjoy a drink-and-a-sit too. The perfect solution if you’re walking around the area and want to incorporate a rest-stop, or if you’re on the hunt for somewhere a bit different to pop along to for a chat with friends. You can find out more about Betty HERE.
As a library member, we’d like to offer you a *free* delicious Moonroast coffee (or a refreshing cup of tea) in September
We’d love you to pop along to Damson Hill and try out our lovely caravan cafe… and enjoy a drink on us. If you live too far away though, do not despair, you can still enjoy Moonroast coffee at a better than ever price if you shop at www.moonroast.co.uk and enter CODE DAMSON20 at the checkout. That will give you a one-off 20% discount (which lasts for a month) and then you’ll also get 10% off your next order (valid for 3 months, code sent with 1st order). Local Library members you can do this too!
Fancy a little bit of ‘R & R’?
If you and a bunch of friends have been meaning to get together for a catch up … why not book a ‘Restore & Revive’ day at Damson Hill Cottage?
A delightful day, to suit your exact requirements, consisting of tailored fitness sessions, a delicious three course vegetarian lunch and refreshments throughout the day. A woodland walk, plenty of time to chat and laugh, craft or cooking and holistic treatments can be organised too… …or whatever else you fancy.
Interested? Just get in touch to discuss your perfect itinerary! Read more HERE.
The lovely ladies at this particular retreat return every year, so I’ve got to know them really well now. This year we made some pickled red onions for them to take home and some fresh strawberry chia jam too. It was a ‘jam-packed’ day with a Pilates bias, despite the rain in early August it was a brilliant day with lunch in the kitchen with the bifolds open. Bliss.
...or maybe you’d like to host your own Retreat here at Damson Hill Cottage?
This summer has also seen Damson Hill Cottage host plenty of yoga retreats here too with other instructors, and soon we will be offering overnight retreats! So if you or your business would like to host an away day or event here, then just drop me a message and I’d love to chat.