May Day Fayre at Apley Farm Shop

 

Asparagus & wild garlic veloute

Hoorah the sun is shining (for the time being at least !) & Apley Farm Shop is setting up for our first May Day Fayre with traditional Maypole dancing, James Bazley’s Have-a-Go circus school & live performances by the Jodie Leigh’s School of Dance from Bridgnorth. There will be other fun games & activities for all ages. Free entry, though charges may apply to some activities.

Jodie & her dancers will demonstrate the Maypole dancing, then leave it to you to Have-a-Go !

For all ages, it’s a great day for breakfast, coffee, lunch or Afternoon Tea in The Creamery Café & a great day to enjoy Scotty’s Animal Park too, if you have children in tow. In the Farm Shop itself, pick up some asparagus & Apley cheese – both on promotion. We always have some kind of eggy recipe on Sunday nights & last night it was asparagus & cheese omelette – totally scrummy after a busy Sunday out & about.

Annie’s Reiki Centre opened at Apley Farm Shop on Friday 1 May, so drop in there for an Indian Head Massage or a Reiki treatment.

We’re also delighted to announce tha Apley Plant Centre is coming to Apley Farm Shop at the end of the month – more on that later !

Phil Allen, Head Gardener of Apley Walled Garden, was on BBC Radio Shropshire’s Gardeners’ Question Time yesterday (Sun 3 May) 12-1pm. I’ll make a link here later (all children at home – rushing around !), so if you missed it, you can listen again.

Here’s another 3 recipes using asparagus & wild garlic from the Apley Estate woods. The Wild Garlic season doesn’t last long, so enjoy it whilst it’s here !

Wild garlic Velouté (the green sauce in the photo here!). I will add a more precise recipe later, with quantities

• Asparagus spears
• Button mushrooms
• Wild garlic flowers to garnish

For the veloute, blend together:

• Wild garlic
• Milk
• Cream
• Salt & pepper

Asparagus wrapped in filo pastry

A friend made these canapes at the start of a dinner party she held recently. I arrived very hungry, so they tasted extra delicious to me !

“Par boil thin asparagus tips in boiling water, allow to cool before wrapping each asparagus tip in a slice of parma ham. Use x 2 strips of filo pastry for each asparagus and baste together using melted butter then wrap the pastry around each asparagus.  Lay the asparagus on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.  Lightly baste the pasty with beaten egg and cook in the oven for approx 15 mins at 200 degrees, and serve warm.

The asparagus can partly be prepared in advance (i.e. the day before), par boil the asparagus and wrap in parma ham.”

Chicken & wild garlic recipe

I’ll be cooking this on Thursday (we always have poultry & game on Thursdays). Here are the ingredients – I’ll add more detail later !

• Fresh chicken thighs from Apley Farm Shop’s own butcher
• Wild garlic
• Thyme
• Butter
• Salt & pepper