Rachel Rowley, husband Chris and her brother-in-law Chris run Ballintaggart Farm in Grandtully
Apples
I love September, with one foot in summer and the other in autumn. I’ve even embraced the recent stormy weather because it makes me feel that an increased amount of so-called comfort food is justified. The wind brought down a lot of our apples and the accelerated harvest has seen us making cakes with crumble topping, breakfast compotes to top porridge, tarte tartin and apple bread and butter pudding, alongside apple and date chutney and classic apple sauce to accompany slow roasted pork.
Planning ahead
Most excitingly for us, our new venture, the Grandtully Hotel by Ballintaggart is now open and our first guests have enjoyed exploring the new spaces and our new menus.
At home, speedy meals have been key. Highlights have been simple pasta carbonara, chicken noodle soups and cottage pie with “fridge drawer mash” – whatever’s left there – parsnip, carrot, green beans, celeriac, all work well! In our family meal planning, I’m thinking more about batch cooking so that we can enjoy tasty, substantial meals prepared well in advance – easy ragu ready to top pasta, stuff wraps or accompany baked potatoes, chicken and spinach bake, cannelloni and simple curries are all on the list.
Music to cook to
Listening to Take That The Ultimate Collection – cheesy but upbeat!
