Author: crowlasludgvanwi

Our Living Well subgroup met on Wednesday at Sainsburys Community Room for their latest informative get together. The theme this month was sleep. Kathy gave a really interesting talk full of fascinating facts about sleep.They included the importance of sleep for physical and mental well-being, what happens as we fall asleep and described the various cycles we go through as we sleep. Kathy also provided everyone with a handout to take away on tips to help you sleep. At the end of the meeting the group did some seated exercises and finished off with a relaxing visualisation meditation .

In this month’s crafting session members learned how to make traditional Dorset Buttons. These pretty handmade buttons are traditionally made with a process of thread winding and sewing, and have been made in the County of Dorset as long ago as the 1600’s. Ram’s horns were used as the original ring base, wrapped with linen yarns for higher quality clothing and locally produced wool yarn for a more basic button. In 2017 the Heritage Crafts Association included Button Making in their list of endangered heritage crafts.

This soup is a result of what was left in the vegetable drawer of my fridge one autumn day. My husband is not a great fan of soups but he gave this a thumbs up Good for chilly days. Enjoy ! (Karen)

Ingredients

Small pack of smoked bacon lardons (100g)

1 good knob of butter

A good sized leek

2 sticks of celery

1 large carrot

1/4 butternut squash

1 big handful of red split lentils

Method

Chop up the vegetables

Melt the butter in the pressure cooker.

Add the lardons and cook for about 2 minutes.

Add the vegetables to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes giving them an occasional stir.

Season with salt and pepper.

Add the lentils to the pan and then add enough water to cover the vegetables and a bit extra.

Pressure cook on high for 20 minutes then release pressure quickly.

Fourteen members of our Meet and Eat group (plus Wendie’s mum) met this week for a delicious lunch at The Cabin, Perranuthnoe. The recently extended eating area has some lovely views over the beach. The Cabin is also open on a Saturday evening as ‘The Tipsy Crab’, and comes highly recommended by some of our members.

 September’s walk was a circular walk from Carn Gloose following the coastal path and returning through Cot Valley. This photo was taken from the coast path looking out towards Cape Cornwall.

On a sunny afternoon members met up in Penlee Park, Penzance to take part in a Photo Treasure hunt with our Camera Club. With a route that took in gardens, parks, back streets and the Promenade, there were clues and photo hints to follow that eventually brought everyone back to the lovely Orangery cafe at Penlee House Museum for well-deserved tea and cake. The clues, some of them straightforward, some more cryptic encouraged a fresh look at a familiar area.

There was a good turnout for the latest Walking Group outing. After a spell of hot weather the cooler day was welcomed as members enjoyed a circular walk around Godolphin, finishing with a well deserved tea and cake in the tearoom.

The White Hart at Hayle was the venue for this month’s Meet and Eat. This increasingly popular subgroup meet for lunch each month at a local venue. The White Hart in the centre of Hayle is a hotel that was built in 1838, by the shipyard and foundry owner, Henry Harvey for his sister Jane, as lodging and hostelry for visiting engineers, and still retains much of it’s original character and style.

Pasta Verde (serves 4)

INGREDIENTS

240g dried pasta (shape of your choosing)
80g asparagus tips (cut into 1 inch pieces)
120g frozen broad beans
120g frozen peas
2tbsp olive oil, plus 1 tsp
1 courgette, sliced
¼ tsp chilli flakes
1 lemon, zest and juice
50g Parmesan, grated
15g butter
10g mint, chopped

METHOD

1. Cook the pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water for eight minutes until al dente. Add the broad beans, peas and asparagus during the last two minutes. Drain, reserving 200ml of pasta water just in case you feel the dish is dry (personal choice, I don’t use it).
   
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and cook courgettes with a pinch of salt for eight minutes, stirring, until golden and softened. Add chilli flakes and cook for one minute. Set aside.
   
3. Combine lemon zest and juice, Parmesan, butter and remaining olive oil in a large bowl with plenty of ground black pepper. Tip in drained pasta and veg, along with half reserved pasta water if needed. Add more if the mixture is dry.
   Stir in mint and serve in bowls, sprinkled with more Parmesan.

ALTERNATIVES

If asparagus is unavailable adjust quantities of frozen beans or peas or use mangetout.
You can use broken dried lasagne sheets as an alternative to pasta shapes.

At our August meeting we try to take the opportunity to do something different. This year we went to the Community Garden armed with gazebo, chairs, cakes and scones and spent a lovely afternoon in the dappled shade, catching up and having a sing song.