Sullington Windmills WI

Three ripe bananas were the requirement for this very easy recipe, taken from my son’s ‘Complete Children’s Cookbook’ (2022 edition).

I’m sure that most people have cooked a banana loaf or cake in their time, in order to make good use of overripe bananas. There are so many variations out there, with some cooks still trying to find the ‘perfect’ banana loaf.

I have made quite a few myself, but the recipe chosen for July was very simple, obviously aimed at children, and had a good and tasty result.

I had to adapt the recipe, after discovering that I had no pecan nuts in the house and the walnuts that I did have had gone off. I added 100g of dark chocolate chips instead, which I think worked well. In fact, some people may prefer the chocolate chips and, as most schools are nut free these days, they could be a logical alternative to nuts in a children’s recipe.

** NEXT MONTH**

I am hoping that August will be a warm month and to that end I am suggesting following a no-bake recipe. Something that is easy, looks good and requires no need for hot ovens.

Therefore, I will be attempting Passion Fruit & Ginger Nut Tartlets from the August edition of the Waitrose Food magazine. The recipe can also be found online [click here].

As always, please join in with me and send me some photographs of anything that you bake.

What a pleasure it was to welcome Stephen to our meeting this month.

We enjoyed a truly interesting and informative illustrated talk, learning all about the National Coastwatch Institution (NCI), a volunteer organisation who work with Search & Rescue services and HM Coastguard to keep our coastal waters safe.

Set up in 1994 to restore a visual watch along UK shores after the closure of some Coastguard stations, the NCI is a 100% volunteer-run organisation whose first priority is the preservation and protection of life.

We were informed about the types of duties that a watchkeeper will undertake, the types of emergencies that occur and how you can train and become a watchkeeper. We watched a short video that put all of this into perspective and drove home the message of how dangerous the sea can be, how quickly things can change and how amazing the rescue teams are, be they the NCI, HMCG or the RNLI etc.

The NCI appears to be a forgotten hero, without whom many lives would be lost every year.

A donation is always welcome to maintain and improve their essential services and support equipment.

On a hot sunny day, very reminiscent of the book we were about to discuss, the Book Club met in a shady garden for an al fresco discussion of Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier.

Most of our group really enjoyed this book, despite having some initial reservations. The majority particularly loved the beautiful descriptions of Cornwall as du Maurier writes about the natural world very evocatively.

“When the east wind blows up Helford river the shining waters become troubled and disturbed and the little waves beat angrily upon the sandy shores. The short seas break above the bar at ebb-tide, and the waders fly inland to the mud-flats, their wings skimming the surface, and calling to one another as they go. Only the gulls remain, wheeling and crying above the foam, diving now and again in search of food, their grey feathers glistening with the salt spray.”

However, some felt there was a little too much description before the story really developed.

Most of us enjoyed the love story in the book and the way our heroine, Lady Dona St Columb, kicked against the expected social mores for women of the time. Despite her desire for adventure and to be free, however, the group noticed foreshadowing within the book that Dona possibly wouldn’t be able to abandon her children and run away with her lover, the pirate Jean-Benoit Aubrey.

“you forget…that women are more primitive than men. For a time they will wander, yes, and play at love, and play at adventure. And then, like the birds, they must make their nest. Instinct is too strong for them. Birds build the home they crave, and settle down into it, warm and safe, and have their babies.’

The final quarter was found to be the most enjoyable, even for those who on the whole disliked the book. This is when most of the action takes place, with Dona helping her lover to escape being hung by the rich men he has stolen from.

For some the ending was disappointing and unclear - did Dona run away with her lover or stay with her boring, if amiable, husband and her beloved children? Read the book and see what you think happens next.

All in all a good, swashbuckling, easy-read that has convinced some of our members to try another Daphne du Maurier novel.

The next book to be read will be "The List" by Yomi Adegoke.

This will be discussed on Friday 8th August 2025.

Friday 27^th June was National Cream Tea Day and in celebration of this I was selling cream teas at Storrington Cricket Club on Friday 27^th and Saturday 28^th June to raise money for the clubhouse redevelopment project.

In preparation I made a very large batch of scones to a Mary Berry recipe that I have used many times in the past. This is a really reliable recipe that gives lovely moist and well-risen scones. I made the same recipe with and without sultanas in order to have a mixture of both plain and fruit scones.

I was very lucky to have jam and clotted cream donated to me from The Cream Tea Society, which made the whole event more profitable.

Both days were hot and sunny and people turned out for cricket practice on the Friday evening and also to play and watch the men’s 1^st team match on the Saturday afternoon.

A lovely event that raised around £150 for the cricket club.

** NEXT MONTH**

With all of this hot weather, I have noticed that my bananas are getting overripe very quickly.

Therefore, I will be baking a banana loaf to use them up. I have come across a recipe in my son’s cookbook that I am going to try [click here for a very similar recipe], but please feel free to follow any recipe of your choosing.

If you really can’t bear to turn on the oven in this heat, then why not add the bananas to a fruit smoothie or freeze them to use another time.

As always, please join in with me and send me some photographs of anything that you bake.