My day just got a whole lot better.
After a rubbish night’s sleep, being kept awake by itchy feet, literally, not meaning I was thinking of leaving home or anything. What does itchy feet mean? Long exotic journey, new exciting adventures or just a trip to the chiropodist? Or bedbugs?
Add in a frantic pre-school search for a missing PE kit, forgetting the baritone and having to come back home half way to school, a text saying I haven’t paid for the school trip to the Christmas pantomime and finding myself cashless when the window cleaner knocked at the door, a good morning it was not.
And no scones left to console myself.
After a morning spent washing and ironing I wanted something quick and easy for lunch. Actually what I really wanted was a nap but that wouldn’t go down very well with the unwalked dog or the unplugged hoover. I spotted a lonely advocado sitting in the fruit bowl, a quick pinch revealed its ripeness and holding my breath as I cut it in half, I breathed a sigh of relief to find it was a perfect specimen. Not a brown spot or freckle in sight, no bruising or little irritating veins, just a beautiful pure green fruit, waiting for me to eat it up.
I love advocado pears, but I know a lot of people who don’t like them or worry about the amount of calories they hold in their delicious creamy flesh. If all the hype is to be believed, an army of advocados alone could bring about world peace, cure all mankind’s ills and make Jake win Strictly. On a more serious note, they are high in monounsaturated fats which help lower LDL ‘bad cholesterol’. High levels of the carotenoid lutein make them good for eye health and oleic acid is beneficial for the heart. Just for good measure add anti-inflammatory properties and more potassium than a banana. That all makes a pretty damn good argument for eating more of these little superfood heroes.
Advocado pear with cheese has been a thing of mine for thirty years and I never tire of the combination of tangy, salty cheese and soft, rich, green flesh. In the fridge, a pack of Hawkston cheese from the Rodwell Farm Dairy in Baylham, Ipswich was just the thing to seal a marriage made in heaven. The cheese is made from unpasteurised whole milk from the dairy’s own herd and is the first cheese that the dairy produced back in 2006. The Richards family have been milking cows at the farm for 75 years, venturing into cheese production in the mid 90’s from a new, modern cheese producing unit built into an old redundant calf shed.
Hawkston is a pale, crumbly, slightly acidic cheese based on the lines of Caerphilly and the like. It’s dryness does not preclude it from slicing but on this occasion I wanted it crumbled wantonly over the top of my perfect advocado.
A slice of homemade crusty bread, topped with sliced advocado and crumbled cheese. A little drizzle of olive oil, sea salt and black pepper was all it took to make me smile again.
I bought my Hawkston from Rickinghall Farmers market, nearly on my doorstep here in Suffolk, where Susan sells her cheeses on the 2nd Saturday of every month. Rodwell Farm cheeses can be found at several outlets and the producers can be contacted direct on 01473 830192.
PS. No financial or other reward exchanged hands for this post.
