Forest walk in New Forest

A few weeks back we visited the nearby New Forest and had a nice winter walk there. Back then it was still a bit icy, so it was a very refreshing and energising. It was quite unusual that those parts of the forest were so empty of people, as they are usually quite popular walking and cycling routes. I guess the weather kept the crowds away. That was even better for us, just us and the nature, bliss!

Of course we did some of the usual pony spotting. The ponies were wearing their thick winter coats and grazing happily. We also saw a large herd of deer, but they were too far away to take a photo. I didn't dare to approach them more, as they surely would have ran away.

I'm sorry that I didn't come around posting these photos earlier, but here they are now. In the meanwhile it's much more spring like already.

Vibrant Forest Brewery Summer Beer Festival

I had a lovely day out yesterday. First a forest walk in New Forest spotting wildlife and plants and then a beer festival. I haven't been much to New Forest lately, even though it's basically right at our doorstep. It was nice to go again to watch ponies and cows graze.

The beer festival was organised by the local Vibrant Forest Brewery. Already last year I went to their autumn beer festival. This time we also got to sample excellent beers and ciders and there was even a vegan café, Radical Roots Cafe. Also all the beers are vegan friendly, as they are unfined. Vibrant Forest launched their new beer called Bourbon Oktober, an imperial Russian stout. It was a really tasty and strong dark beer. Belgian Zuur is one of my favourites and I had quite a bit of that. It's a pale sour, very drinkable and citrusy.

Here are a few photos from yesterday, which was a partly thundery and partly sunny day.

Vibrant Forest Beer Festival 2015

Vibrant Forest Brewery is a microbrewery in New Forest and yesterday they organised this Vibrant Forest Beer Festival that I had the pleasure to visit. I often go to New Forest for walks, as it is nearby. This time we also had a little stroll through some parts of the forest, which was very vibrant indeed and we got really lucky with the weather as well. Here are some photos from the walk and from the beer festival.

I tasted a variety of the beers and one cider and they were all excellent and different. The beer by the Vibrant Forest Brewery is unfined, which makes it suitable for vegans and vegetarians. The beers are therefore cloudy, but very fine in taste. I also bought some bottles to take away and will be enjoying them home.

These are the drinks I tasted together with my partner:

• Summerlands Session IPA 3,5%
• RadicAle Belgian Zuur Bier 3,5%
• Nova Foresta Hoppy Amber Bitter 3,8%
• Flying Saucer Golden Hoppy Ale 4,3%
• Cydonia Martian Red Ale 4,7%
• Nelson Sauvin Vibrant Pale Ale 5,0%
• Summit Vibrant Pale Ale 5,0%
• RadicAle Oat & Coffee Stout 5,7%
• Kaleidoscope India Pale Ale 6,5%
• Dorset Sunshine Cider 6,5%

 

New Forest walk

Last Saturday we went for a nice walk in the New Forest National Park. I always enjoy a visit there very much and this time was no exception. The weather was good and there were plenty of ponies and cows about and plants were thriving everywhere.

Here are some of the photos I took during our walk. I'm sorry about the short text, but I'm about to go on a short day trip again. I'll rather let the photos speak for themselves.

Tomato and herb tartelettes

I went to a serene Saturday stroll in New Forest yesterday, and I baked these easy tartelettes in the morning to be taken with as a snack. They really tasted extra special among ponies in a beautiful weather. I want to share a few photos I took there with you.

Now to my recipe that makes about 24 tartelettes. I used my colourful silicone muffin cases that my mum has bought me for the baking.

Ingredients

600g puff pastry sheets

About 24 small tomatoes (1 per case)

100g cheddar

100g mozzarella

3 shallots

2 garlic cloves

A handful of fresh basil leaves

1tsp oregano

1tsp sea salt

½tsp ground black pepper

1tbsp olive oil

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180C.

Chop the shallots and garlic finely and cook them in olive oil briefly until soft. Add the oregano, salt and pepper to the pan. Grate the cheese and roll out the puff pastry thinly, unless you're using already rolled out pastry.

Cut small circles from the pastry with a round cookie cutter, so that when pressed to the muffin case, it rises up and fills out the bottom and the sides; each pastry circle therefore needs to be a little larger than the bottom of the muffin case. First put some of the shallot mix onto the bottom of each case. Then place a single tomato in the middle and fill the cup with the grated cheeses and basil. I chopped the basil leaves coarsely and mixed them with the grated cheese before filling the cases.

Bake at 180C for about 15 minutes. These tartelettes can be enjoyed straight away or even as a cold canapé later on.

Stay hungry!

Your VegHog