Bits and bats and time for a recce!

I'd never been to Dorset and was excited. A smidge of background, just in case you should be tempted to visit. Lyme Regis is actually on the Dorset-Devon border – very convenient for hopping backwards and forwards! It's famous for heaps of stuff. If you fancy yourself as an amateur paleontologist there are fossils on the cliffs and beaches and the coastline, the Jurassic Coast, is stunning. Not for nothing though are there warnings “Do not walk under the cliffs they are dangerous and could cause injury or death”! It does get your attention.

Most famous for me is the harbour wall – “The Cobb” with which I became acquainted from the John Fowles' 1969 novel previously mentioned. Part of the film of the book, made in 1981, is shot in the town.

More recently the television crime drama Broadchurch was filmed mainly at West Bay – not surprising when you see the spectacular cliffs – the Jurassic Coast at its most magnificent.

It's Sunday morning and the weather is set fair – time for our first adventure. Travelling east from Lyme Regis on the A35 towards Bridport we take the B3157 – past West Bay, carry on to Burton Bradstock and we've reached our destination – Hive Beach and the Café!

I hope I've helped you get your bearings.

Apart from the recommendation for the Café its other attraction and in fact a double whammy, is that the beach allows dogs and the Café does too! We were not disappointed. There's an ample car park next to the beach and the Café.

I think the best I can do is show you the photos from the beginning and you can make up your own mind!

Holiday time again!

Last year I reported on the Island of Anglesey. This year our travels have taken us to Dorset – it's as easy as sticking a pin in a map and see what you come up with.

Our mission in recent times has been to choose beach holidays in the UK so we can take Rose and not have to wrestle with hanging around at airports and having to leave our dog behind.

Our choice was governed therefore, by two criteria, it had to be near a beach and the sea and it had to be a place in the UK that neither of us knew – new adventures!

We chose Lyme Regis in Dorset and that choice came from John Fowles' novel, The French Lieutenant's Woman – a classic that I read in the early 70s – I shall pass over the film …

I digress. We rented a large house with parking and off we jolly well went. Rose packed her bucket, spade and a selection of balls for the beach!

As one does when going on hols you make sure your hairdressing appointment is before you go – am I glad I did. My hairdresser Steve hails from this neck of the woods and before I left the salon he reminded me he'd recommended a great place to eat, on the beach, near to Lyme and was kind enough to give me the name.

Top of my wish list is a dog friendly place to eat – a great location is a bonus oh and of course the food has to be good – not hi falutin' or posh, just good! Steve assured me that The Hive Beach Café in Burton Bradstock was a yes, yes and a yes!

Thank you Steve … what an absolute gem! There's a shed load of Rocky Road heading your way.

Strawberry Miso Ripple – the photos

the sweet white miso in the mixing bowl

the ice cream whipped, ready to ripple

adding the compote

rippled!

Et voila :

one scoop or two?

the ripple topped with the whole fruit compote

Most importantly … the verdict.

Silence is always a good sign, followed by the scraping of the dish, finally two words “beautiful” and “gorgeous” - not words you'd normally associate with strawberries and ice cream but hey I'll take them!

Strawberry Miso Ripple

Back to the strawberry compote. Instead of keeping the whole fruit or blitzing and passing for a smooth version why not have half and half?

When your compote has cooled :

Gently poor the compote into a large mixing bowl

and weigh the total amount

In my case this was 512g precisely!

Take 256g of the whole fruits and place in

a jar and fridge

Blitz and pass the remaining half and set

aside ready for use

Add the smooth compote to your batch of ice cream and fold gently through creating a ripple effect, then freeze in containers to suit.

Say hello to Strawberry Miso Ripple!

Photos up next.

Strawberries & ice cream …

… but not as you know this iconic summer treat!

Another no-churn ice cream – this time using sweet white miso paste – if you're not familiar with this product it's a Japanese seasoning – fermented soybeans with salt and koji, the resulting paste is used in savoury and sweet dishes. There are different types of miso the sweeter white version includes rice, barley and a smaller quantity of soybeans.

Here's the recipe :

Sweet white miso ice cream

Makes 1 litre of ice cream

100g sweet white miso paste

397 tin condensed milk

300ml double cream

Combine the miso paste and condensed milk in a bowl, mix well so that it loosens. If it doesn't disperse then use your hand whisk until smooth. Add the cream and whisk until it begins to thicken.

At this stage you may want to read the following piece which gives you a variation using the compote.

Decant into suitable containers – I'd suggest you decide on portion control that suits you, so a mixture of small and medium pots. Remember you can always take out more if you need it! Freeze overnight.

Allow the ice cream to soften for 10 minutes before serving.

I can hear you - “what's so different about sweet white miso ice cream?!” Answer – if you're a fan of the salted caramel flavour you'll like that sweet and salty “hit” the miso gives.

Strawberry Compote – photos

Just for fun and hopefully helpful too, here's a quick photo guide :

the strawberries, hulled – worth the effort

great therapy

in the pan with the sugar and the lemon juice

your cooked compote – just love the colour

in the jar ready to be fridged

Hmm … now for something a little different I think!

Another strawberry solution

High on my list of favourite recipes, especially using fresh fruit, are compotes. Here's a strawberry version :

A strawberry compote

500g ripe strawberries, hulled

4 tbsp caster sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

Cut the strawberries in half – or quarters if large – place in a large saucepan with the sugar and lemon juice. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved and then simmer. Cover and cook for 3/5 minutes until dark in colour and syrupy. Compote can be store in fridge for up to 2 weeks. I'd suggest you divide in half and freeze one for a rainy day.

If you prefer a smooth compote blitz and pass through a sieve.

As you can see it's not a difficult recipe, hulling the berries, i.e. removing the green leaf on the top and the stalk below, takes a little time but it's worth every second. You can buy a kitchen implement to do the job if you wish but using a paring knife and cutting in a circular motion will do the job just as well.

This is another flexible recipe for your culinary arsenal – you can leave the compote as is with visible berries or you can blitz it, as mentioned at the end of the recipe.

The result of your labours is an ice cream and a compote, ready to serve when you are.

Make the most of fresh seasonal fruits, as an example, melon, pineapple, grapes and raspberry all fit with strawberry – make up a large bowlful – coat the fruit in the compote. You can use small individual glass dishes to serve, topped with a scoop of ice cream. An even better idea would be to use tall sundae glasses and layer fruit and compote, a scoop of strawberry ice cream and then repeat. Decorate with four shards of chocolate bark and serve with two sundae spoons to be shared between friends!

What's not to love.