Pitstone Windmill

Pitstone Windmill stands in the north east corner of a large field near the parish boundary of Ivinghoe and Pitstone in Buckinghamshire. It is thought to have been first built circa 1627 as this date is carved on part of the framework. This is the earliest date to be found on any windmill in the British Isles. It should be remembered that such a structure would have had to have frequent repairs made to it, so it is quite possible the mill predates 1627.

The design of the mill is what is known as a post-mill. This means the whole superstructure of the mill rests on one main post. This post arises from ground level through brick and a foundation chamber; the post then acts as a pivot for the timber built structure above with the sails. Consequently, the upper section of the mill and sails could be turned towards the direction of the wind. The mill machinery in the upper rotating section was reached by a long flight of external steps.

For many hundreds of years grain grown in the two adjoining villages was ground at the mill into flour. In 1874 the mill was bought by Adelbert Wellington Brownlow Cust, 3rd Earl Brownlow who owned the nearby Ashridge Estate. He subsequently let it to a local farmer, who ran a successful milling business from the mill.

What Is Resort?

Resort:
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company. Such a self-contained resort attempts to provide for most of a vacationer's wants while remaining on the premises, such as food, drink, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping. The term "resort" sometimes is misused to identify a hotel that does not provide the other amenities required of a full resort.

Destination Resort:
A destination resort is a resort that contains, in and of itself, the necessary guest attraction capabilities—that is to say that a destination resort does not need to be near a destination town, historic site, theme park, or other to attract its public. A commercial establishment at a resort destination such as a recreational area, a scenic or historic site, a theme park, a gaming facility or other tourist attraction may compete with other businesses at a destination. Consequently, another characteristic of a destination resort is that it offers food, drink, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping within the facility so that guests have no need to leave the facility throughout their stay. Commonly these facilities are of higher quality than would be expected if one were to stay at a hotel or eat in a town's restaurants.

All-inclusive Resort:
An all-inclusive resort is a resort that, besides providing all of the common amenities of a resort, charges a fixed price that includes most or all items. At a minimum, most inclusive resorts include lodging, unlimited food, drink, sports activities, and entertainment for the fixed price. In recent years, the number of resorts offering "all-inclusive" amenities has decreased dramatically; in 1961, over half offered such plans and in 2007, less than ten percent do so.

Golf Resorts:
Golf resorts are resorts that cater specifically to the sport of golf, and include access to one or more golf course and or clubhouse. Golf resorts typically provide golf packages that provide visitors with all greens and cart fees, range balls, accommodations and meals.

Ski Resorts:
A ski resort is a ski area plus amenities that generally make them a destination resort. This includes accommodations and other amenities adjacent to the ski area. Some ski resorts offer lodging options on the slopes themselves, with ski-in and ski-out access allowing guests to ski right up to the door. Ski resorts often have other activities, such as snowmobiling, sledding, horse-drawn sleds, dog-sledding, ice-skating, indoor or outdoor swimming, and hottubbing, game rooms, and local forms of entertainment, such as clubs, cinema, theatre and cabarets.

Seaside Resorts:
Seaside resorts are located on a coast. Many seaside towns have turned to other entertainment industries, and some of them have a good deal of nightlife. The cinemas and theaters often remain to become host to a number of pubs, bars, restaurants and nightclubs. Most of their entertainment facilities cater to local people and the beaches still remain popular during the summer months. Although international tourism turned people away from British seaside towns, it also brought in foreign travel and as a result, many seaside towns offer foreign language schools, the students of which often return to vacation and sometimes to settle.

Luxury Resorts:
A luxury resort is an expensive vacation facility which is fully staffed and has been rated with five stars. Luxury resorts often boast many visitor activities and attractions such as golf, watersports, spa and beauty facilities, skiing, natural ecology and tranquility. Because of the extent of amenities offered, a luxury resort is also considered a destination resort.

Mega Resorts:
A Megaresort is a type of destination resort which is of an exceptionally large size, sometimes featuring large-scale attractions casino, golf course, theme park, multiple accommodations. The hotels and casinos along the Las Vegas Strip are often considered megaresorts due to their immense size and complexity.

Historical Resorts:
A famous resort of the ancient world was Baiae, Italy, popular over 2,000 years ago. Capri, an island near Naples, Italy, has attracted visitors since Roman times. Another famous historical resort was Monte Ne near Rogers, Arkansas, which was active in the early 20th century. At its peak more than 10,000 people a year visited its hotels. It closed in the 1930s, and was ultimately submerged under Beaver Lake in the 1960s.

TROPICAL FRUIT FOOL

INGREDIENTS:
1 medium ripe mango
½ tsp finely grated lime rind,plus extra to decorate
½ tsp vanilla essence
2 kiwi fruit
2 passion fruit
1 medium banana
2 medium egg whites
2 tbsp lime juice
425g/15 oz can low-fat custard


1.To peel the mango, slice either side of the smooth, flat central stone. Roughly chop the flesh and blend the fruit in a food processor or blender until smooth. Alternatively, mash the chopped mango flesh with a fork.


2.Peel the kiwi fruit, chop the flesh into small pieces and place in a bowl. Peel and chop the banana and add to the bowl. Toss all of the fruit in the lime juice and rind and mix well to prevent discoloration.


3.In a grease-free bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff and then gently fold in the custard and vanilla essence until thoroughly mixed.


4.In 4 tall glasses alternately layer the chopped fruit, mango puree and custard mixture, finishing with the custard on top. Leave to chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.


5.Halve the passion fruits, scoop out the seeds and spoon the passion fruit over the fruit fools.


6.Decorate each serving with the extra lime rind and serve.

VARIATION
Other tropical fruits to try include papaya puree, with chopped pineapple and dates,
and tamarillo or pomegranate seeds to decorate. Or make a summer fruit fool by
using strawberry puree, topped with raspberries and blackberries, with cherries to finish.

PAN-COOKED PORK MEDALLIONS WITH APPLES & CIDER

Ingredients:
- 8 lean pork medallions, about 50g / 1¾ oz each
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- Medium onion, finely sliced
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 150 ml / 5 fl oz / 2/3 cup dry cider
- 150 ml / 5 fl oz / 2/3 cup fresh chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 green-skinned apple
- 1 red-skinned apple
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh sage leaves, to garnish freshly cooked vegetables, to serve


STEP1
Discard the string from the pork and trim away any excess fat. Re-tie with clean string and set aside until required.

STEP2
Heat the oil in a frying pan and gently fry the onion for 5 minutes until softened. Add the sugar and cook for 3-4 minutes until golden.

STEP3
Add the pork to the pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side until browned. Add the sage, cider and stock. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.

STEP4
Meanwhile, core and cut each apple into 8 wedges. Toss the apple wedges in lemon juice so that they do not turn brown.

STEP5
Add the apple to the pork and mix gently. Season and cook for 3-4 minute until tender.

STEP6
Remove the string from the pork and serve immediately, garnished with fresh sage and accompanied with freshly cooked vegetables.


COOK’S TIP
If pork medallions are not available,
Buy 400g/14 oz pork fillet and slice
it into evenly-sized medallions yourself.

PEACHY UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Ingredient:
-4 tablespoons butter or margarine
-½ cup Imperial Golden Light Brown Sugar, packed
-2 cups (29-oz. can) peach slices, drained
-4 maraschino cherries, halved
-2/3 cup butter or margarine
-1¼ cups Imperial Granulated Sugar
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-2 eggs
-1½ cups all-purpose flour, unsifted
-1/3 cup cocoa
-½ teaspoon each baking soda and salt
-½ cup buttermilk or sour milk

Method:
1.Melt 4 tablespoons butter or margarine in 9-inch square pan.
2.Sprinkle Imperial Golden Light Brown Sugar over butter. Place rows of peaches on mixture.
3.Add cherries randomly, cut side up.
4.Cream 2/3 cup butter or margarine, Imperial Granulated Sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl.
5.Add eggs, beat well.
6.Combine next 4 ingredients alternately with buttermilk to creamed mixture.
7.Pour into pan then bake it at 350’F for 60 to 65 minutes or until cake tester inserted comes out clean.
8.Invert into serving plate immediately.
9.Serve warm.
10.Can be serves up to 9 people.

Creamy Sweetcorn Soup

Creamy Sweetcorn Soup
Ingredients:
-1 large onion
-1 large potato, peeled and diced
-1 litre / 1¾ pints / 1 quart skimmed milk
-1 bay leaf
-½ tsp ground nutmeg
-Salt and pepper
-450g / 1 lb sweercorn kernels, canned or frozen, drained or thawed
-1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
-3 tbsp natural cold water
-4 tbsp natural low-fat fromage frails (unsweetened yogurt)

TO GARNISH:
100g / 3½ oz lean ham, diced
2 tbsp fresh chives, snipped


STEP 1:
Place the onion and potato in a large pan and pour over the milk. Add the bay leaf, nutmeg and half the sweetcorn.
Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes until the potato is softened.
Stir occasionally and keep the heat low so that the milk does not burn on the bottom of the pan.

STEP 2:
Discard the bay leaf and leave the liquid to cool for 10 minutes.
Transfer to a blender and process for a few seconds. Or, rub through a sieve.

STEP 3:
Pour the smooth liquid into a pan.
Blend the cornflour (cornstarch) with the water to make a paste and stir it into the soup.

STEP 4:
Bring the soup back to the boil, stirring until it thickens, and add the remaining sweetcorn. Heat through for 2-3 minutes until piping hot.

STEP 5:
Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Stir in the fromage frais (yogurt).
Ladle the soup into warm bowls and serve sprinkled with the diced ham and snipped chives.

VARIATION:
For a more substantial soup add 225g / 8 oz flaked white crab meat or peeled prawns (shrimp) in the step 4.

Wine Tasting Method

How To Taste Wine
Wine tasting is a sensory examination and evaluation of wine. A professional wine tasters use a constantly-evolving formal terminology which is used to describe the range of perceived flavours, aromas and general characteristics of a wine. A wine overall quality assessment, based on the examination, further careful description and comparison with recognized standards, both with respect to other wines in its price range and according to known factors pertaining to the region or vintage if it is typical of the region or diverges in style or uses certain wine-making techniques, such as barrel fermentation or malolactic fermentation, or other remarkable unusual characteristics. Whereas wines are regularly tasted in isolation, a wine quality assessment is more objective when performed alongside several other wines, in what are known as tasting flights. Wines may be deliberately selected for their vintage or proceed from a single winery, to better compare vineyard and vintages, respectively, in order to promote an unbiased analysis, bottles and even glasses may be disguised in a blind tasting, to rule out any prejudicial awareness of either vintage or winery.
To ensure impartial judgment of a wine, it should be served blind that is without the taster having a look at the label or bottle shape. Blind tasting may also involve serving the wine from a black wine glass to mask the colour of the wine. A taster’s judgment can be prejudiced by knowing details of a wine, such as geographic origin, price, reputation, colour and other consideration in the wine tasting.
The vertical and horizontal tastings are wine tasting events that are arranged to highlight differences between similar wines. In a vertical tasting, different vintages of the same wine type from the same winery are tasted. This emphasizes differences between various vintages. While in a horizontal tasting, the wines are all from the same vintage but are from different wineries. Keeping wine variety or type and wine region the same helps emphasize differences in winery styles.
There are five basic steps in tasting wine; colour, swirl, smell, taste, and savour. It is also known as the five Ss which are See, Swirl, Sniff, Sip, and Savour. A taster must look for clarity, varietal character, integration, expressiveness, complexity, and connectedness. A wine colour will also be judge by putting it against a white background. The wine glass is put at an angle in order to see the colours. Colours can give the taster clues to the grape variety, and whether the wine was aged in wood.