Day Twenty two-Lavender tearooms and singing hinnies-Etal, Northumberland

The Lavender tea rooms at Etal has only been in the capable hands of its new owner for 12 weeks but already she has made a considerable difference. The once cluttered shop has been opened up and a new line of Lavender tea rooms products including Jams and biscuits line the shelves. The tea rooms come village shop come post office are at the centre of this unspoilt village. The other main focus is the imposing Etal castle. The new propietor originally is from Melbourne in Australia and after living in Sheffield she felt it was time to create a new more idyllic life for her husband and two daughters. When the opportunity to take over the Lavender Tea rooms came up she jumped at the chance.”We always thought we wanted to have our own coffee shop or tea rooms so when this came up we took it”. With a friendly and chatty persona I’ve no doubt ‘The Lavender tea rooms’ will be a success.

The Lavender Tearooms traditional Northumbrian Singing Hinnie.

This is the size of a large teaplate and can be eaten with butter and jam or for a heartier tea have it with fried eggs and bacon.

INGREDIENTS
250g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
30g butter, and a bit extra for greasing the pan
30g lard, and a bit extra for greasing the pan
1 1/2 tbsp currants
2/3 cup of skimmed milk*
extra butter to serve
METHOD
· Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.Rub in the fats and stir in the currants. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk.
· Stir to make a softish dough (about the consistency of scone dough) - Divide and form into rounds. Roll each round on a floured board to a thickness of one centimetre.
· Heat a heavy pan.When hot, grease the pan with a bit of butter and lard and when it is "singing", lower heat, put in the hinnies and cook over moderate heat, turning after five minutes.
· Expect the cooked side to be speckled with darker patches.
· Cook the other side, cool briefly and either slather with butter and cut into wedges or cut into wedges, split carefully and put a knob of butter inside.
* This would originally have been made with the skimmed milk remaining after separating the milk to make cream Makes: 2 x 12cm rounds