We hope that you’ve had a great Christmas and are now looking forward to the exciting journey that 2014 will bring. Readers who follow us on Twitter and Facebook will have seen some of the things we’ve been up to throughout the year but as we welcome in a New Year we’ll celebrate some of the highlights of 2013…
Ready to Party?
I love this time of year, celebrating with family and friends then hopefully a few quiet days for reflection, rest and relaxation before we hit the New Year running.
As we are still within the 12 days of Christmas, a decadent dessert is always welcome to help celebrate the New Year or simply whisk away the wintery winds…
Here is the recipe for our Choc & Nut Meringue Stack. Do have a go and post your pictures on Twitter or Facebook – It’s not as complicated as it looks…
Looking back…
One of the biggest highlights of 2013 dropped through our letterbox in the very first week – it was Country Living Magazine featuring Hen Corner in Country in the City. We were then very pleased to be featured in many other magazines throughout the year as well as commissioned to write articles about our country life in London. Each of our features, publications and films can be found here.
At home…
We have been really pleased with the success of our courses. This was the first year that we ran our Bee Keeping Courses and Stir Up Sunday; we even delivered bespoke courses for a Hen Party and a 60th Birthday Celebration! Great fun was had by all with over 100 guests coming to Join us on the Journey since we started. More courses are lined up right throughout 2014, why not come along and meet us?
And Away…
Feather Down Farms kindly invited us to stay at Billingsmoor Farm in Devon; we had a wonderful time in their fabulous tents, enjoying hand-made pizzas whilst watching the sunset before huddling round the stove for an evening game of cards. It was such a privilege to meet Jayne and Robert Lammie and discover more about organic dairy-farming here in the UK. We highly recommend their holidays for 2014, the height of luxury in the good outdoors…
Coming up at the Corner…
This year we have planned courses right through 2014 giving everyone the opportunity for ‘A little bit of country life in London’. Our next course, on Wednesday 29th January, is right in the middle of the Seville orange season and we invite you to join us to make your own Toast and Marmalade. Bring your pinny and roll up your sleeves, this special course has been designed to help develop your artisan culinary skills as we create beautiful bread and marvelous marmalade…
Book of the Blog Post:
Chicken Nuggets: A Miscellany of Poultry Pickings
By David Squire
I was very pleased to receive this book as a Christmas gift, it is beautifully illustrated with top tips and wise sayings; perfect for the chicken lover in your life!
This book is available with many of our other favourites books from the Hen Corner Shop!
Other News:
- This year’s cider was wonderful with our Boxing Day Ham
- We made Foie Gras with the liver from our Christmas Goose and confit from the legs and wings
- The chickens are sheltering under their clear covers and are starting to lay more eggs as the days start to lengthen
Jobs for next week:
- Treat the bees with oxalic acid to control the varroa mites (yes, I’m a bit late on this one)
- Dust down the propagator for our early seed germination
- Plan the replacement of our raised beds – the wood has rotted so we are going to try recycled plastic timber
Happy New Year from all at Hen Corner!
Have a good week yourself…
Join us on the Journey!