April 2010
April is a schizophrenic month with fluctuating temperatures and bright outbursts of sunshine chased away by fierce blustery showers - denying gardeners their desire to sow seeds. But Nature is massively preoccupied with its endless Spring to-do list! The volume of birdsong increases in the annual quest to find a mate and twig collection becomes a seemingly never-ending chore. Trees are beginning to display buds and at Westonbirt Arboretum the glorious camellias are opening up with early rhododendrons and cherry blossoms just behind. However, we must be patient this year for the stunning display of magnolias. Hedgehogs, dormice and frogs are all emerging from hibernation to look for food and find a mate. Although the derivation of the name April is uncertain, it seems the link to the Latin verb aperire, "to open," has to be significant with all the new beginnings and annual awakening of trees and flowers!
Whilst all these signs in April set certain optimistic expectations and promise of great things to come, it doesn’t help the natural larder that we rely on here at The Priory Inn. Being bound by our own house-rule of buying as many of our ingredients within 30 miles of Tetbury - and thereby focussing on seasonal produce - becomes tough at this time of year, as April marks the early stages in the “hungry-gap”. The significance of this for our forebears was that they were forced to carry on depleting Winter stocks until the arrival of the staple crops.
The “hungry gap” frustrates gardeners and chefs but it’s ironic when out walking in the countryside that the hedgerow plants are just starting to come through thick and fast. And this is therefore the best time to turn to the time-consuming, but satisfying art of foraging def: “wandering in search of food or provisions”. Wild garlic loves damp woods and shady hedgerows and its strong smell is often detected before you see it. The leaves and flowers can be picked while young and tender, with torn leaves for salads or cooked in soups and sauces. You are never far from nettles which are now making their annual resurgence. The young sprouts and tender tops can be used until about mid-May and have a spinach-like taste which works well in soups or in ravioli with ricotta. Wood sorrel’s pretty lime-green leaves grow throughout Britain in woods and shady places. They have a sharp lemony taste that is good in small quantities in salads. Marsh samphire turns the tidal mud flats around the coast green in Spring - expensive but particularly good with fish. Advanced foraging involves the tapping of birch trees during the short sap season – the emerging liquid can (apparently) be made into wine…
As we continue our quest for new suppliers within 30 miles of Tetbury, we are delighted to have made contact with Pancake Farm in Chedworth (Food Miles 20) who will be supplying us with rose veal for our specials board from their herd of Holstein/Freisan cows. The understandable reasons for people feeling uncomfortable about eating intensively farmed veal from Continental Europe do not apply to this meat in any way whatsoever due to the way these animals are raised and treated. The calves live in airy, straw yards in small groups and they are fed on milk and home-cut hay. The dark, rich colour of the meat can only come from slow-grown, unstressed animals subject to high quality controlled stockmanship which removes the need for antibiotics and other medicines. At around 6 months old (the same age as pork and lamb), the calves are taken in their small groups to slaughter in a nearby family-owned abbatoir. The resulting meat is smooth, tender and rich – packed full of flavour and healthy eating too! We hope you will try our special rose veal and please let us know whether you have enjoyed it.
As the month of May approaches, we are celebrating the arrival of Spring and everything that is good about Real Ales and traditional cider with a Festival on Saturday May 1st between 3 – 7pm. If you like good food, love good ale or cider and enjoy listening to live music, then we think you might quite enjoy a couple of chilled hours outside The Priory in the May sunshine(?). Phil King from Bristol is one of our musicians playing who has a really strong following – he’s a talented guitarist with some great tunes. Tinkerscuss is the other band - local girls singing anglo-celtic “shanachies” of old. Our Festival nicely coincides with the annual activities at the Badminton Horse Trials, so come back early (it’s only dressage day…!) and join us for a pint.
Live Sunday music has become an integral part of our product here at The Priory Inn – we start the music every week at 8pm. On the 4th is Gren Bartley a contemporary singer whose roots are in folk and blues, 11th Ruth Royall an emerging talent who is back by popular demand, 18th Peter Gill and his chilled-out jazz sounds, and 25th King Rich who is a regular singer/songwriter with great presence. Please see our website for a link to more information about each singer. Entry is free and we really hope that you come and support live music with us – and there is no better way to spend a Sunday night! See our full list and links here.
“April golden, April cloudy,
Gracious, cruel, tender, rowdy;
April soft in flowered languor,
April cold with sudden anger…”
Ogden Nash and a few of his reasons to “Always marry an April girl”
TL Kelly 1st April 2010
