Fudge – for thought

So far for our store cupboard summer treat we've covered the chocolate fudge, the seasonal fresh fruits and the berry coulis. I also mentioned in “Two down, seven to go” the warming/melting of the fudge to use with ice cream – for those who love warm over cold to encourage the melting it's the ultimate indulgence.

If you are a regular follower of the blog you'll know about the no-churn vanilla ice cream recipe I use all the time and the modifications, like adding sticky toffee sauce.

Here's another variation.

Instead of using the berry coulis to drizzle over ice cream, melted fudge and fresh fruits, add the coulis to the basic vanilla ice cream recipe :

1 x 397g tin sweetened condensed milk

1 x 600ml double cream

2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Put the condensed milk, cream and vanilla into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk until it is thick and stiff – like pipeable whipped cream. Spoon the mixture in a lidded freezer-proof container and freeze for at least 6-8 hours or until firm.

The only change to the coulis recipe is don't add a splash of water to loosen. Fold the coulis into the ice cream – using the hand mixer blades will give you a ripple effect and then freeze as per the recipe.

Take a scoop of ice cream – vanilla or the ripple version, add melted chocolate fudge, top with fresh strawberries or raspberries – or both - add a final flourish with a drizzle of coulis.

Coulis note – even if you're making a ripple version of the ice cream you could set some aside for extra drizzling.

Serve in a tall glass with a chocolate wafer roll – summer sundae anyone?

The Fudge follow on …

… remember the chocolate fudge

It occurs that it can be the beginning of a great store cupboard/fridge/freezer summer treat. If you need a reminder of the recipe then check out “Two down, seven to go” for chapter and verse and for the hints and tips too.

Moving swiftly on - use seasonal fruits – strawberries or raspberries, to compliment and serve with the melted fudge and make a coulis – whilst the raspberry season isn't as long as the strawberry you can buy frozen if all else fails.

Both fruits are a perfect marriage with chocolate.

Berry Coulis

200g strawberries, hulled and halved

200g raspberries

75g icing sugar, sifted

Heat the fruit in a large pan for 4-5 minutes or until the fruit starts to break down. Add the icing sugar and continue to cook for a further 2-3 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor and blend until smooth, add a splash of water if necessary to loosen. Strain the coulis through a sieve and set aside to cool. Chill in the fridge until needed.

If you feel the need to ease your chocolate conscience, using seasonal fresh fruits will do the trick – all you need now is ice cream!

The Whitby Chronicles – Thursday

I jest not – it's still raining. Being of northern stock I like to think I'm used to rain … how wrong can a girl be!

I don't think any of us have changed plans so frequently as we have in the last couple of days – originally our stay was until Saturday, leaving at 10am. Since the forecast isn't looking much better we've changed our dinner reservation at Sarah's from tomorrow evening to tonight and we've decided to head home tomorrow.

We are going to make the most of our last day and have decided to visit Robin Hood's Bay (RHB) and Scarborough.

On arrival at RHB, as is the norm, park at the top and a steep walk down to the bay. Just in case you think I'm being a drama queen about the weather - here's a photo I took at the top – I had thought that the lamp post had been hit by a vehicle - now I think it leans because it's weather beaten by the wind and rain! You can see it's a tad inclement.

RBH is charming, despite the rugged North Sea at its best.

It's very pretty, all sorts of nooks and crannies, like these steps to the Museum of Local History – as you can see, it's always a climb.

Back to the top and we are in need of sustenance so, spotting The Victoria Hotel opposite the car park and advertising a Tea Room we decided to pop in and ask if they welcomed dogs. Absolutely – what would have been a “snug” back in the day at the front of the hotel is now a Tea Room with comfy sofas and chairs. We were all very damp but it made no difference to the hospitality - revived with coffee, cake and scones we set off for Scarborough.

Thank you The Victoria Hotel, Station Road, Robin Hood's Bay, YO22 4RL.

Scarborough was worth the visit although it had to be a drive through – could be on the list for a future longer visit.

Back home to start packing and then a farewell visit to Sarah's this evening – another crème brulée – oh joy!

We still had heaps of stuff on our list, for example, we wanted to take a train ride from Whitby to Pickering but it would have been pointless since it's difficult to see anything through wet windows.

It's a pity about the weather, nevertheless Whitby is still a great place to visit and we've all had the best time.

Holiday Notes :

If you're contemplating a holiday in this neck of the woods – and not already gathered - almost all of the places we've visited have parking at the top of places of interest so you have to walk down very steep hills to the places below and then back up again. You'll need change for pay and display parking too.

Leave your Louboutin heels and Gucci loafers at home – neither are designed for cobbles and steep hills.

If, like me you have hair that has a tendency to frizz in damp weather – good luck – take a large can of hair spray – you'll need it!

Happy Holidays,

Soggy by the sea xx

The Whitby Chronicles – Wednesday

Welcome to wet Wednesday and sadly they got the forecast absolutely right – hatches definitely battened down and I couldn't have chosen a more appropriate idiom.

Not wishing to flout tradition, on holiday as a kid when it rained we wrote our postcards – here's one from Rose to her doggy friends :

“Dear Ella, Bos, Ollie, Wilby and Harry,

I'm having the best time – my favourite outing so far was to the beach and the sea. I don't know what all the fuss is about just because it's raining – I couldn't care less!

I love this holiday stuff – pampered and spoilt.

Here are three of my holiday snaps I thought you'd like :

Interrupting Shirl who was knitting – now tickling my tummy.

Just thought I'd check that all is well – great view of any comings and goings.

My personal favourite – I've had a very busy day.

Wish you were here!

Love Rose xxxxx

It's still raining and tomorrow's forecast isn't looking much better.

The Whitby Chronicles – Cosa Nostra

At first glance quite modern, spacious and pleasant. The menu was nothing out of the ordinary and a couple of us had antipasti – mixed meats, olives with Balsamic and olive oil followed by main courses of fillet steak, lamb and pizza.

We weren't over impressed by the “on the job training” of waiting staff. Not a great first impression.

In fairness there seems to be mixed reviews from one extreme to the other. It wasn't the worst meal ever but it certainly wasn't the best.

It's a great shame. As we know Whitby is famous for its fish and chips but holidaymakers can only take so many portions and need a change of cuisine – a little care and attention to the detail and, more to the point, the food at Cosa Nostra, would make for a lot of happy customers and a successful, profitable restaurant. Definitely a missed and potentially lucrative opportunity.

P.s. I can never finish a whole pizza – a small tip – take it home – roll each triangle from the widest edge, finishing at the point so it looks croissant ish and wrap tightly in foil. Part of lunch next day warmed in a hot oven for a few minutes!

Pps. The forecast looks even worse tomorrow – batten down the hatches!

Cosa Nostra, 161 Church Street, Whitby, YO22 4AS

The Whitby Chronicles – Tuesday

Remember I said that the rain was on its way – they got that right! The forecast is not good for today – I suppose we should count ourselves lucky it has lasted as long as it has! It does say that it will get better later in the day – which is just as well because we've booked a table tonight at an Italian Restaurant opposite Sarah's. Seemed like a good idea – a change is as good as a rest, as they say.

In true bulldog spirit we held our breakfast committee meeting and decided that we'd drive up to Whitby Abbey and visit St Mary's Church next door, having a look at the 199 steps to and from the old town from the top.

Nobody thought about the fact that the higher and more exposed you are to “weather”, the wetter it is – hmm.

Car duly parked – can't remember how much it cost - we made our way to the entrance - £27.20 later and this is with concessions for wrinklies – we declined to pay £4.50 for a guide book. We were handed a walkie talkie gizmo which, it transpired, only made sense if you'd paid £4.50 for the guide book. We walked through the Abbey ruins – which were exactly what you'd expect – ruins - onwards into the Museum, passing a small group of people in a taped off area clutching a metal detector. It would be fair to say it took 15 minutes tops to walk through the Museum. English Heritage must be making a fortune and it was not worth the money. If we'd paid top price - £30+ we'd have been even more unhappy.

What a swiz!

St. Mary's Church was an improvement although the weather wasn't getting any better. Does anyone know what I mean by “mizzle” or “Welsh rain” - it's that fine, very light but extremely wet stuff! Whilst none of us are bothered about getting wet, there's wet and there's sodden.

The Church is definitely worth a visit and we'd definitely return when we can see to read the gravestones. At this point we decided that me, Shirl, John and Rose would walk down the 199 steps into the old town and home and H would collect the car and meet us back at the ranch. Seemed like a good plan.

The descent was great fun and a great view. Thinks – if we'd climbed the steps, called in St. Mary's and looked across at the Abbey ruins we would have saved all that dosh.

Remember the group of people and the taped off area with the detector? By the time H made his way back from whence we came, they'd moved and H had to divert – across a field – to get back to the car park.

We made it home before H did. You can imagine our opinion of English Heritage is not a glowing one.

It sounds ridiculous but the weather has been so miserable and we were slightly damp that we resorted to central heating – a little comfort and warmth goes a long way.

The good news is it has stopped raining and we'll be able to walk to the Italian Restaurant, Cosa Nostra – slightly disconcerting – I had no idea the Mafia cooked – I always thought Cosa Nostra referred to the well known families with dubious connections shall we say!

The Whitby Chronicles – Sara's

Lets begin with a photo :

Here are a couple of examples - the Starters and Fish & Chips, followed by the Seafood and Salads choices :

Don't be put off if you'd prefer meat – you can get steaks and casseroles too!

I'm not going to drone on – take our word for it – all four of us – it's a great place to eat.

There are probably two highlights of the evening.

You may notice that “Moules Mariniere” is on the starter menu – fresh steamed wild mussels with white wine, garlic, cream and parsley. Pretty standard you'd say for a fish restaurant and you'd probably be right.

Here's the Before and After :

“So what – a bowl of mussels is a bowl of mussels”. Bear with me.

Shirl and John lived in France for a number of years and are more than qualified to offer an opinion on this dish. John said, “the best mussels I've had since leaving France”. Another big tick for Sara's.

It's what came afterwards :

As John enjoyed his starter he created this collage of shells – if I hadn't watched him create I wouldn't have believed it. Eat your hearts out – sorry for the atrocious pun – Carl Andre and his Bricks in 1966 and/or Tracey Emin's Bed in 1998 – this is my submission, on John's behalf of course, to Tate Modern!

Finally, when was the last time you went into a chippy and ate dessert? I don't think so. Personally I don't expect dessert - I'm not a fan and usually so full I can't make room anyway. How wrong can a person be. If I had a dessert weakness if would be for creme brulée – yep there it was and here it is in all its glory :

and for those who don't fancy the Brulée, how about Pavlova?

Sara's is like no other chippy I've ever been in – not surprisingly the Chef is French, Natasha and we'll be back!

A great night, with the best company and food too and I'll never forget those mussel shells!

P.s. By the way – we have been checking the weather forecast – I know we have a reputation for being obsessed with it. It's all beginning to come back to me - when holidaying in the UK everything you do is controlled by the weather. Guess what – it's all change tomorrow, the rain is on its way!

Sarah's Mister Chips 68-69 Church Street, Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO22 4AS – www.misterchipswhitby.co.uk