The boat we towed to Scotland, sailing on Loch Long.
On our way up to Cove on Loch Long in Scotland, towing a 1 tonne boat and trailer, Dad and I stayed at a wonderful and eccentric bed and breakfast called Thurst House Farm near Sowerby Bridge in Yorkshire. It is part of an organisation called ‘Wolsey Lodges’, a group of B&Bs in period houses in the UK and France with owners who want their guests to feel like ‘part of the family’.
That we arrived at Thurst House at all was nothing short of a miracle : I did not consider the factor of towing a 22ft boat up miniature, very steep Yorkshire roads when I made the booking…
Anyway, when we did arrive, the owners offered us wine and sat down in their sitting room with us and dinner was eaten round the family table with them. The menu was old-fashioned, modest and delicious. The final course was homemade ice cream with a biscuit. It had a great flavour and Judith, our host, gave me the recipe, which is extraordinarily simple.
I have adapted the quantities, and changed the method slightly to improve the texture, but the taste is excellent.
Ingredients:
110g gooseberries, blitzed and sieved (optional)
juice 2 ½ lemons and zest
300ml whole milk
600ml double cream
400g caster sugar
How to make:
Mix all of the ingredients together thoroughly until the sugar is dissolved.
Pour into a covered plastic container and freeze.
To improve the texture, when frozen, remove from container (run warm water over edges to release, it should melt easily) and cut up into chunks and place in a blender and blitz very thoroughly until smooth. Replace into container and return to the freezer.
Eaten with:
Lemon polenta cake.
Dinner Document 