County mouse calls for apple recipes

A glut of apples has led country mouse to call for new ideas for what to do with this bounty of different varieties

Country mouse, Country Life magazine
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The walk from our office to Waterloo Station is unremarkable except for the marvellous bakery Konditor & Cook, whose delicacies glint at you through the glass window like diamonds in a Bond Street jewellery shop, and a cat of such enormous proportions that all the commuters know it as Cow Cat.

The giant feline languishes for a tickle or a morsel en route, but otherwise the walk is an unremarkable function of the daily journey. Except for the fox. Last week, a dog fox idled along the pavement in the opposite direction to commuters, passing within a foot of many. I was alone in stopping and looking in amazement. I've certainly never been so close to one, but nobody else looked twice. Seeing a fox is clearly commonplace for Londoners, unlike us country dwellers.

Back in Hampshire, it's the apple trees that are getting my attention. I've never seen such a bumper crop and, having recently moved there and not knowing the varieties, I've been biting into the different types to discover whether they are cookers or eaters-the star is a tree whose apples are wondrously red and sweet. What everyone needs now are some new recipes to deal with the glut, so please send me any family favourites.

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Country Life

Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.