Rectory Farm PYO

STRAWBERRY ICE 🍓

Got a bag of strawbs in the freezer? Try this fun and healthier alternative to lollies and drippy ice creams to help cool off on a hot summer's day 😎

Using a fine grater, grate your frozen strawberries into a bowl or mug.
Eat on its own for with a drizzle of honey or sweetened condensed milk.

High five to for this excellent strawberry hack!

HOLIDAY TIME 🍓☀️

Who's got a trip to Rectory Farm on their summer bucket list?

📸:

Gooseberry Jam and Cheese Sandwich by

Ingredients:

- Your homemade gooseberry jam
- Mature cheddar cheese, sliced
- Deli chicken slices
- Red onion, thinly sliced
- Bread roll (we used toasted ciabatta)

Recipe:

Open your bread, and layer the jam, onions, cheese and chicken. Use as much of each topping as you want.
Enjoy your new favourite sandwich!

Cheddar and Gooseberry Scone by ⁠
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Serves 8-12⁠
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Ingredients⁠
500g self raising flour⁠
1 tsp baking powder⁠
110g butter or margarine⁠
175g grated mature cheddar⁠
175g gooseberries, chopped⁠
200ml water⁠
Milk to brush the top ⁠
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How to:⁠
1. Preheat the oven to 220ºC/200ºC fan⁠
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, and butter together in a bowl. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until you achieve a sandy texture. ⁠
3. Mix in the cheese and gooseberries until coated in the flour mixture. ⁠
4. Add the water and use your hands to mix together until a sticky dough is formed. ⁠
5. Shape into a 2 inch thick disc and place on lined baking tray. Brush the top with milk and bake for 40-50 minutes until golden brown. Cover with foil for the last 15 minutes of baking to ensure it doesn’t brown too quickly. ⁠
6. Leave to cool before cutting and enjoy with butter. ⁠
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Cheddar and Gooseberry Scone by

Serves 8-12

Ingredients
500g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
110g butter or margarine
175g grated mature cheddar
175g gooseberries, chopped
200ml water
Milk to brush the top

How to:
1. Preheat the oven to 220ºC/200ºC fan
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, and butter together in a bowl. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until you achieve a sandy texture.
3. Mix in the cheese and gooseberries until coated in the flour mixture.
4. Add the water and use your hands to mix together until a sticky dough is formed.
5. Shape into a 2 inch thick disc and place on lined baking tray. Brush the top with milk and bake for 40-50 minutes until golden brown. Cover with foil for the last 15 minutes of baking to ensure it doesn’t brown too quickly.
6. Leave to cook before cutting and enjoy with butter.

From this Saturday our outdoor ice gelato cabin will be open DAILY throughout the school holidays 🍦

Between now and then, get your gelatos in cones and pots and lollies made from our own fruit from the café - we’ve got a flavour for everyone 🍓🍋🍉🍑🍫🍨🌰

Come and make the most of these sunny afternoons forecast over the next few days with some after-school strawberry picking and maybe a cheeky gelato 🍓🍦

… And add jam-making to your summer holiday checklist too. We’ve got strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants and blackberries to choose from ✅

Time to make some GOOSEBERRY JAM (recipe by ⁠)
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Ingredients (makes 1 jar):⁠
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600g gooseberries, topped & tailed ⁠
130g caster sugar⁠
15ml lemon juice (1 lemon)⁠
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Recipe:⁠
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Put the gooseberries in a nonstick saucepan with a splash of water, and put on a medium heat for 5 minutes stirring regularly so that the berries start to heat up and break down. ⁠
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Add the sugar and mix thoroughly⁠
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Add the lemon juice and simmer for 20 minutes on a low heat stirring regularly. Be sure not to have the heat too high or the jam could burn and stick too the bottom of the pan. ⁠
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Whilst simmering, remove any foaming/scum bits that form with a spoon.⁠
After around 20 minutes, your jam should start to thicken up. If it hasn’t thickened, keep on the heat until this happens. Once this happens you can now transfer to a sterilised jar. ⁠
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Seal and store in a cool dark place. The jam will be good for up to 6 months. Keep in the fridge once opened and use within a month. ⁠
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This jam is delicious on its own as a jam, or with some cheese! ⁠
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We will have fish and chip van here tomorrow (Sunday) for those of you who fancy a patriotic lunch before the finals 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿⚽️

Please note that raspberries will not be open for PYO on Sunday as they’ve had a busy morning today 😊

Berry Croissant Mille-Feuille by ⁠
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Serves 2 ⁠
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Ingredients:⁠
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4 croissants ⁠
300ml double cream⁠
¼ punnet of raspberries and blackberries ⁠
¼ tsp fresh sage, chopped⁠
2 tbsp honey⁠
Optional: icing sugar for dusting⁠
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Method:⁠
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Using a rolling pin, roll each croissant until flat. ⁠
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Heat a frying pan over medium heat and place the croissant in the middle of the pan. Fry on either side until golden brown approx 2 minutes each side. ⁠
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Drizzle 1/2 tbsp of honey on each side the croissant and fry each side until golden brown and caramelised approx 2 minutes each side. Repeat with each croissant, set aside to cool. ⁠
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Whip the double cream until stiff speaks form. ⁠
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Assemble your mille-feuille. Place once croissant on the bottom, spoon the cream generously over the croissant. ⁠
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Top the cream with berries of your choice. ⁠
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Sprinkle half of the sage on top of the berries. Top with another croissant. ⁠
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Dust with icing sugar. ⁠
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Assemble your second mille-feuille and enjoy! ⁠
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Berry Croissant Mille-Feuille by

Serves 2

Ingredients:

4 croissants
300ml double cream
¼ punnet of raspberries and blackberries
¼ tsp fresh sage, chopped
2 tbsp honey
Optional: icing sugar for dusting

Method:

Using a rolling pin, roll each croissant until flat.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat and place the croissant in the middle of the pan. Fry on either side until golden brown approx 2 minutes each side.

Drizzle 1/2 tbsp of honey on each side the croissant and fry each side until golden brown and caramelised approx 2 minutes each side. Repeat with each croissant, set aside to cool.

Whip the double cream until stiff speaks form.

Assemble your mille-feuille. Place once croissant on the bottom, spoon the cream generously over the croissant.

Top the cream with berries of your choice.

Sprinkle half of the sage on top of the berries. Top with another croissant.

Dust with icing sugar.

Assemble your second mille-feuille and enjoy!

Gooseberry Jam and Raspberry Baked Oats by ⁠
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Now is the PERFECT time to pick and prep this delicious summer breakfast!⁠
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Serves 2⁠
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Ingredients:⁠
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110g oats⁠
110ml milk⁠
2 ripe bananas⁠
2 tbsp gooseberry jam⁠
125g raspberries⁠
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Method:⁠
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Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan⁠
In a baking dish, mash your bananas before adding the milk and oats and mixing together. ⁠
Add in the gooseberry jam and the raspberries and mix through.⁠
Cook for 20 minutes until golden brown, and enjoy topped with some honey! ⁠
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Gooseberry Jam and Raspberry Baked Oats by

Now is the PERFECT time to pick and prep this delicious summer breakfast!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

110g oats
110ml milk
2 ripe bananas
2 tbsp gooseberry jam
125g raspberries

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan
In a baking dish, mash your bananas before adding the milk and oats and mixing together.
Add in the gooseberry jam and the raspberries and mix through.
Cook for 20 minutes until golden brown, and enjoy topped with some honey!

So we may not have blue skies and sunshine this weekend but lots of our crops are under cover so grab your wellies, punnets and carrier bags and come fill your fridges for the week ahead. We’ve got:

- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Broad Beans
- Gooseberries
- Redcurrants
- Blackcurrants
- Flowers

not here today but the café is open and serving hot and cold drinks, snacks and lunches ☕️

Tickets are selling quickly already for our Tractor Festival on September 21st and 22nd 🚜

We anticipate this will be a sell-out event with no tickets available on the day. Tickets £3 and under 2s come in from free - no ticket required.

BOOK HERE: https://rectoryfarmpyo.co.uk/events/pumpkins/tractor-festival/

Two Mayfield poached eggs on sourdough with Eadles bacon & guacamole on the lunch menu 🍳🥓🥑

Full breakfast and lunch menu available to view online, subject to occasional daily changes.

DELICIOUS spicy slow cooked pork baps with nachos and Mexican corn salad on our summer specials menu today 🇲🇽🌽

Happy Sunday everyone - we also have here today serving up their artisan sourdough toasties and there are plenty of strawberries, gooseberries, broad beans, redcurrants and blackcurrants to pick as well as all the beautiful blooms in our flower tunnel. Come on down 🍓☀️☕️

Raspberries and blackberries back on Tuesday.

Weekend incoming! We will have Brill Coffee with us this Saturday and Bentley and Butler Artisan Sourdough Toasties with us on Sunday ☕️🥪🧀

Lots of you have been asking for prices per kilo, so here they are!

The weekend is nearly upon us and we are at the sweetest of sweet spots in the year with countless crops all ready to pick:

- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Gooseberries
- Blackcurrants
- Redcurrants
- Broad Beans
.. And our flower tunnel is overflowing with colourful blooms priced from 12p - 60p a stem. We have pinks and scabiosa, gladioli, snapdragons and dahlias all ready for you to snip and take home. Bring your own secateurs and bags or buckets to fill and go wild!

We will also be serving a new summer special in the cafe this weekend: spicy slow cooked pork baps with nachos and Mexican corn salad.

Have you been raspberry picking yet..?

BROAD BEANS READY TO PICK!

Come on down and fill a bag - they're easy peasy to pick and podding and shelling is something the whole family can get involved with. Stay tuned for some of our favourite broad bean recipes...

In other news:

💚ARTICHOKE PYO IS ON PAUSE - you've picked us out!

🍇RASPBERRY PYO IS OPEN - but come early in the day to make sure you get some.

🍏GOOSEBERRY PYO IS OPEN - and they are perfect right now.

🌸FLOWER PYO IS OPEN - we have dahlias, snapdragons, scabiosa, gladioli and pinks priced from 12p - 60p per stem.

😋REDCURRANTS AND BLACKCURRANTS DUE TO OPEN ON THURSDAY - summer pudding time!

❌️ RHUBARB AND ASPARAGUS PYO OVER FOR 2024.
.. Oh and STRAWBERRY PYO IS OPEN! 🍓 🍓 🍓

This Saturday we will be welcoming back to the farm where they will be serving up ⁠iced coffees and some freshly baked treats from their coffee truck ☀️
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⁠We’ve got LOTS to pick this weekend: strawberries, raspberries, artichokes, gooseberries, pinks, dahlias, snapdragons, and the last of the rhubarb!

TRACTOR FESTIVAL 🚜 ⁠

Ever wondered what else happens at Rectory Farm beyond the strawberries, raspberries, sweetcorn and pumpkins? Short answer: LOTS! We grow 1000 acres of wheat and potatoes for our shop, for other local shops and restaurants, and for big household names like McCain and Warburtons.

On September 21st and 22nd this year we warmly invite you along to our Tractor Festival in collaboration with Thomley Families, to celebrate our 70th year of farming. We cannot wait to share a slice of our arable farming world with you – a side to the farm that never sleeps and provides work for a team of 50 brilliant people working hard to put good food on our plates.

We are very excited to be welcoming Banbury and District Vintage Ploughing Society to the event, with around 45 vintage tractors (and a horse and cart) putting on ploughing displays and competitions throughout the weekend.

As well as vintage tractors, you can also meet a fleet of modern machines from New Holland Agriculture - the tractors we use across the farm - with opportunities to sit in the tractors and meet our farmers. We will also be holding creative workshops run by our charity partner Thomley, potato harvesting demonstrations, activities such as archery (additional charges apply to some activities) and will have a host of local food and coffee trucks on site.

Tickets go on sale Monday 1st July with 50% of ticket sale profits donated to Thomley. Mark your calendars!

Dahlias and snapdragons 50p a stem! Gladioli 60p a stem! Scabiosa and pinks 12p a stem!

Bring your secateurs, bring a bucket and come pick a beautiful bunch of our colourful blooms in the flower tunnel 💐🌸🌼

📸:

Barbecued Artichokes (serves 2-3)

Another tasty treat from !

Ingredients

💚4 artichokes
💚1 tbsp olive oil
💚2 cloves of garlic, crushed
💚½ tsp salt
💚½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
💚Optional: Aioli to serve

Method

- Prepare your artichokes. Cut off the top 2 inches of the artichoke. Trim the spiky tops of the hard outer leaves. Cut the artichoke in half and scoop out of the fluffy inner section of the artichoke. Cut off the hard outer skin of the stem, leaving the light-coloured inner flesh.

- Steam the artichokes for 10 minutes.

- Remove from the steamer and place in a bowl. Pour over the olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper and mix.

- Place onto your barbecue and grill for a few minutes on either side.

- Tear off the hard outer leaves and strip the artichoke flesh from the bottom of the leaf with your teeth. You’ll then reach the soft inner leaves and heart of the artichoke that you can eat!

- Enjoy with aioli!

Our beautiful pinks are ready to pick! Bring some secateurs and pick a pretty posy for your kitchen table 🌸💓🎀

12p a stem - go wild!

📸:

FATHER'S DAY PLANS..?

Treat Dad to a hearty Farmer's Breakfast - or our Poached Eggs and Asparagus on Sourdough special - this Sunday, followed by a stroll around the farm with a cup of coffee, picking all his favourite things.

Teacakes with our own strawberry jam, baps and vegetarian breakfasts also on the menu 🙌

This will be one of your last chances to enjoy our own asparagus before it's all gone till 2025!