Cookery book challenge : weeks 33-36

Another month and another update on my cookery book challenge. Overall, I think it was a pretty good month, so let's take a look at what we found and what we tried.

Week 33 : Delia's Winter Collection - Delia Smith

One of the downfalls of randomly picking books out of a hat is that there's always the chance you'll end up with a winter cookbook in the middle of summer! Luckily there was still plenty to tempt us and we ended up choosing one of the more summery dishes.

Seared spiced salmon with black bean salsa

I couldn't find black beans in the supermarket so substituted pinto beans. I don't know if it would have made much of a difference as we found it very tasty anyway. Simple and flavourful. The recipe is here if you fancy trying it yourself.

Week 34 : Chinese Food Made Easy - Ching-He Huan

Chickpea is a huge Ching fan so was thrilled when this finally made an appearance. Unsurprisingly she picked out a lot of recipes to try but, for some reason, I just wasn't as enthusiastic. Looking back now, the photos look tempting and the recipe I chose was delicious: I guess sometimes you just have to be in the mood.

Bang-Bang chicken

I'd definitely be in the mood to eat this again. It took me a while to make but only because I'm slow at chopping. The dressing couldn't be easier as you just chuck everything in a blender and then warm it up. Fresh and tasty. You can find the recipe here.

Week 35 : Jamie's Dinners - Jamie Oliver

Another of my Jamie Oliver books: I own six and I think there are still a couple to go though it's hard to keep track after all these months! Lots to tempt us so I ended up choosing two recipes.

Tray-baked chicken Maryland

Chicken stuffed with banana! It was just so intriguing I had to make it.

I'm not sure the banana did add anything except sweetness. Odd but not unpleasant! However, chicken, bacon and sweetcorn are such a classic flavour combination that it couldn't really go wrong. Surprisingly, what made the dish for me was the fresh mint. I don't think I'd have thought to add mint myself but it worked so well and really lifted the flavour of the whole dish.

I'd make this again, with or without the banana, and especially because it was a one-pot meal and so saved on the washing up! If you're as intrigued as I was, you can find the recipe here.

Chicken Tikka Masala

I expected this to be full of flavour but was underwhelmed. It was good but just not memorable. You might think differently, in which case you can find the recipe here. I notice his latest cookery book has another version though which might be worth a go.

Week 36 : The River Cottage Family Cookbook - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall & Fizz Carr

This was close to being the first cookery book from which we chose no recipes! Not that there aren't recipes but they're aimed at beginners so there was nothing to really grab our attention. Having said that it's an interesting read with lots of information about ingredients. It's just not something I'll be consulting on a regular basis for meal ideas. Having said that, I did manage to pick out a cracker.

Spicy bean stew with sausages

Oh my, this was so good! You can't really go wrong with beans and sausage but it was so full of flavour and I particularly liked the unusual addition of ground cloves which added a perfumed warmth. This would be lovely eaten around the fire on Bonfire Night. The recipe can be found here.

And so concludes this update. I'm surprised I'm still going strong after 10 months and reckon there's about 3 months worth of books to go - the finishing line is in sight!

I've had a day off today and spent it with my friend, Sue - oh the luxury of a mid-week day to myself! We had lunch and went to the cinema to see The Maze Runner. We both really enjoyed it and, if you like sci-fi or enjoyed films like The Hunger Games and Divergent, then I think you'll like this one too. Hope you've had a good day - the weekend is almost here :0) x

Wycoller

There's been a definite change in the weather and seasons this week. Autumn has finally arrived in all her russet and golden glory (plus the blustery showers and downpours) and I've been marvelling at all the wonderful colours. However, I still have a couple of summery things to show you, so let's go back in time.

After visiting the singing ringing tree in July, I really wanted to visit some of the other panopticons in Lancashire. So, at the end of August, we (with the addition of Chickpea's boyfriend) headed to Wycoller Country Park, near Colne, to see the Atom. First we headed into the village.

I was amazed to learn that there had once been plans to put a reservoir here so all of these lovely cottages would have been under water. Thank goodness they changed their minds.

There are only a handful of houses in the village which lay abandoned for many years after the residents (mostly weavers) moved out to find work. There's no through roads and only residents and disabled visitors are allowed to bring in vehicles.

Ahead of us were the ruins of the 16th century Wycoller Hall. You can either cross the Beck using the ford or walk over the bridge...

Wycoller was also known as the Valley of the Seven Bridges, three of which are very old. This one is the Packhorse bridge which is of uncertain date but seems to be from sometime between the 13th and 15th century.

Like a lot of the bridges, it's pretty narrow and not for the unsteady!

Wycoller Hall is rumoured to have been the inspiration for Ferndean Manor in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre.

Leaving the Hall, we crossed back over the beck using Clapper Bridge (also called Hall, Weaver's or Druid's Bridge), which is equally as precarious as the Packhorse. It originally had a clog-worn surface but it was chiselled flat many years ago after a farmer's daughter died after falling from it.

Next stop was the cafe for a spot of lunch.

For such a small place and isolated location, there was a really good menu and very reasonable prices. I couldn't resist the pie, peas and gravy for a bargain £3.95!

Tummies full, we headed out to follow the path up to the Atom.

Along the field boundaries were these unusual slab stone walls, which look a bit like gravestones. They're known as vaccary walls and are thought to be unique to the Pennine area of Lancashire and Yorkshire. These are believed to be medieval: vaccaries were cattle farms.

Another view of the vaccary walls with Pendle Hill in the distance.

And there's the Atom in the distance.

It's made of ferro-cement and is coated in a metal-based paint. Can you see a stump in the middle inside? That once held a polished steel ball but some horrible person(s) has stolen it! You can see what it would have originally looked like and photos of it during construction here.

Having played around peeping in and out of the windows and admiring the amazing scenery, we carried on following a circular route back to the village.

The rocks on the hill are part of Foster's Leap where foolhardy souls try jumping across the gap between two of the larger ones!

Small Copper

The path took us straight through the manicured lawn of the farm ahead of us, which I felt a bit awkward about. However, they must be used to people tramping through their garden and it is a public footpath.

Over another small wooden bridge to cross the beck.

This is the last of the historic bridges, Clam Bridge, and by far the oldest as it's believed to be over 1000 years old.

I don't know how old the Copy House Bridge is but we crossed this one to follow a short path through a new plantation.

I'd love to know what bird this feather comes from. Chaffinch?

Back down on the main path, near to the village, there are willow sculptures and a tunnel.

Caterpillar of the white ermine moth

And that brought us to the end of the trail. It's well worth a visit if you're in the area as it's such a beautiful place. The Pendle and Bronte Ways pass right through the village too if you fancy a longer walk. There's lots more information and downloadable fact sheets on the Friends of Wycoller web site too.

Do you have anything planned for the weekend? We'll be having a quiet one again though not really through choice. I've managed to hurt my little toe and can't put a shoe on at the moment. Remember how I said about Autumn arriving this week? Well, I'm still having to wear flip-flops! Nothing a bit of rest and relaxation won't sort out though that's not exactly my strong point. Hopefully I'll be able to finish the scarf I've had on my knitting needles for absolutely ages and do some other crafting.

Enjoy your weekend whatever you have planned. x