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Sunday 19 August 2018

Lemon Curd for the Community at Fountain Hill.



4 lemons & zest
2 cups caster sugar
1/4 cup of butter
3 eggs + a yolk

So easy this and children love tasting it along the way and the colour. Slowly disolve the sugar in the 4 juiced lemons, the zest of the lemons & butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water as you would melt chocolate. (dont let simmering water touch the bowl) just how I do it.
   When the sugar disolved whisk eggs In slowly and cook with same method for about 15-18 minutes (I never let it bubble) stir as you go. Allow the lemon curd to cool and fill your jars and eat some.

Saturday 18 August 2018

Community Baking with Children, Simple Fun Scones. There Own Recipe.

Fruit & Plain Scones
2 cups of self raising flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of sultanas
The Fun Bit
Crumb together 2 cups of flour, pinch of salt and butter. Add sugar and bring together to form a soft sticky dough using the milk(save a little for top of scones later) Roll out dough and cut 2cm thick circles and place on a well floured baking tray. Preheat oven 180, milk wash scones and then bake for 15-18 minutes. Cool on a rack then dust with icing sugar.

Friday 3 August 2018

Fountain Hill: The Simple Things we forget!


Planting & harvesting at the Allotment
In Manchester.
The one thing here at Fountain Hill which Is so simple really and having give up on let's say "normal society life" me and the boys have really started to enjoy meal times on a whole new level, almost like a new experience. Sounds odd doesn't it?, well to me it does. How can meal times be a new experience? You cook, you eat you've had your meal. Let me explain.
We started our permanent journey after giving up everything and living from our rucksacks with a trip up to Manchester "Fire Station Square Pottery" our Aunty & Uncles (Ang & Ian) place. There home Is a pottery, yeah it's very cool, not as cool as them though. One of them, you'd have to meet them. So it came round to meal time, I sat round the table drinking coffee, the boys helped Ang collect some of the food to be enjoyed from the allotment and then prepared and cooked the meal and set the table, Ian came back and fourth from the pottery helping and joining In with the conversations then the meal was ready. All of us sat together and enjoyed a lovely meal, chatted about the food, chatted about new adventures, new experiences and even delve into the past a little. There was no rush, it was a happy table. It felt strange to me there was no rushing from work to get boys from school "society's prison of control for children" to get home to have time to prepare tea and cook it before it was time to prepare for the next day.
       "We have also met the amazingly good looking giant Oliver Mackay he is a God among men". Sorry guys It's me again Gav, Olly part of Fountain Hill community and Magical Youth crew rudely came into my room disturbed me gave me my post and took over the blog and had his say on himself as per usual. He has his youth so we have a continuous banter, he assumes he is taller, more good looking, better with the ladies and stronger. Yeah he is taller I'll give him that. Anyway enough about Olly. He's a great a lad, Coban and Jacy my son's think he's so much cooler than Dad. Where the f@&k was I?
Local Fish Market In Dieppe France
Meal Times here at our Tent Home In
France
 
 So we found ourselves back In the beautiful place of North France, Normandy camping on a camp on a nature reserve. Stunning place. I continued our beautiful meal times by heading down to the local markets picking up local food such as fish and veg and preparing the meal and cooking it with my boys. Hey I still had back up when I couldn't be bothered, lads I'm not in the mood today there's backup super noodles In the bag. Super noodles are ace. After some two and a half months In France we were due to travel back to Fountain Hill but this time we were staying for three months plus. We have no time scale which is another thing we are getting used to.
Now we find ourselves back at the magic. Jumped straight In where we left off from our previous time at Fountain Hill.


Harvesting Day at Fountain Hill
Polytunnel



    Meal times here are awesome. I've seen a little bit of tension at meal times but when your cooking for fifteen, eighteen and twenty some people at a time that's allowed with children running through Is It ready yet, I'm starving I'm going to die. It's great to watch and be part of.  Food is collected from the poly tunnel and gardens and brought to the kitchen, recipes are looked over or sometimes it's off the top of our heads, a count of people Is done and wrote on In chalk on the chalk wall near the cooker so we know who's here. It's a vegetarian kitchen here and the smells and flavours are insane. So it's normally about six o'clock In the evening, a shout out from the kitchen Is made "foods done" and from person to person it gets round to everyone and within minutes we are helping ourselves to the food and taking a seat and this where meal time becomes like no other, feels kind of special to be part of, feels like as a child myself where was this time In my life, I don't remember times like this unless it was a Christmas meal or a meal out to some so called nice restaurant which was always really uncomfortable. Even at a young age I could remember the tension, like no one got on really or couldn't accept certain people. Would always hope my aunty was coming down to throw a bit of madness In and talk about something positive, constructive and interesting to me which seemed to be normal from this random get together.
       So this what meal times means to me and the boys here, people from all walks of life, at any age can all sit together and enjoy good food. We can praise the food, guess the ingredients, hey we can even say we think it needs a little more of this and that or as simple as I don't like it, it all makes great conversation round the table. We make plans, people offer advice. We agree and disagree. Jokes are made and there is a abundance of laughter from all most of the time, it feels special, like you belong to part of this magic community, something me and the boys have not experienced and I think we will take this away with us where ever we end up In our journey through life. I always say it's the simple things and who new a meal could have so much effect on us. But it's not just a meal here and again I can only describe it as The Magic of Fountain Hill.
Jacy Helping out around the Gardens
Food Preparation


If anyone does take the time out to read my up and coming stuff on the blog, thank you! I do go on and I'm unsure on my writing ability but hey this Is me and my boy's life's. It's real and it's happening now! Thank again.
Poly Tunnel Is full of Life