Milly's cooking up a treat in the Yelvertoft Countryside Kitchen
Milly is a mum to two boys and farmer's wife, based on a livestock and arable farm.
I’ve a real passion for growing food and cooking delicious meals the whole family can enjoy. That’s why I created a food blog and Facebook page called No Fuss Meals for Busy Parents to share recipe ideas, local ingredient suggestions as well as focus on food producers, providing a connection between the food produced in the UK and how to make quick and easy meals.
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You can follow me on Facebook and Instagram @NoFussMealsForBusyParents or the website is: www.nofussmealsforbusyparents.food.blog
Now that lockdown restrictions are easing, its high time we got out into the great outdoors and enjoy a picnic with family and friends. Whether that be in your back garden, in the local park or when you are out and about, be sure to take the time to make a few tasty treats to brighten up your day.
What are the things you enjoy most on a picnic? I love making some sausage rolls, cheese straws and a quiche, but the best thing of all is a scone.
Scones are quintessentially British picnic food. And what’s more, they use many ingredients that are produced on the farm: flour, butter, milk, cream, sugar, egg and jam.
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In Northamptonshire, we are fortunate to have our very own flour mills. Heygates flour mill at Bugbrooke for example has had a mill on the very same site for over one thousand years according to the Domesday Book. The site is situated next to the River Nene and produces more than 80 grades of flour for breads, cakes, pizzas, burger buns, chapattis, biscuits and more besides, supplying large manufacturing plants, in-store supermarket bakeries and craft bakers, delivering 24/7.
If you look around the fields at the moment you will notice how the wheat crop will start to turn from green to yellow as it ripens. Come the end of July it will be time to harvest and much will be sent onto Heygates for milling.
All this talk of food is making me hungry so here is my recipe for scones. Have a go and let me know how your bakes turn out. There is always a debate about if you should put the jam or cream on first!! I spread jam first and then cream on top…
I hope you can enjoy a picnic this summer!
You will need:
350g self raising flour
1tsp baking powder
85g butter
3 tbsp sugar
175ml milk
Squeeze of lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
An egg for glazing
Jam and clotted cream to serve
Heat oven to 200c / gas 7
Pour the self raising flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl and mix
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Add the butter and rub with your fingers to make a fine crumb – this is the really fun part!!
Add the sugar and mix
Put the milk into a jug and warm slightly in the microwave for 30 seconds. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract to the milk
Make a well in the dry mixture and pour the milk into in.
Combine until it makes a dough
Place the dough onto a floured surface and roll out with a floured rolling pin
Use a cutter to create your scone shapes
Please scones onto a greased / lined baking tray
Brush some eggs over your scones
Bake for 12- 18 mins until golden brown and risen
Allow to cool slightly and serve with jam and clotted cream. You can also freeze them and eat on another occasion.