The lovely cow shed

04/09/2026

A little behind the scenes from The Lovely Cow Shed kitchen today… ❤️

When you run a catering business I think sometimes people only ever see the finished buffet laid out looking pretty — they don’t see what actually goes into getting it there.

Having run social clubs for most of my working life, I reckon I’ve seen (and eaten 🤣) my fair share of buffets and hotpots over the years, so when I started The Lovely Cow Shed I knew I wanted us to make as much as we possibly could fresh, here in our own kitchen.

And today was definitely a HOTPOT day. 😂

Me and Julia have made NINE of the blooming things — cooking off all the meat, preparing the potatoes, making the pastry crusts from scratch AND baking bread to go alongside them.

I’m not going to pretend absolutely everything is homemade though… our cheese, potato & onion pie has puff pastry on it and I BUY THAT. 🤣🤣 Life is far too short to start laminating pastry when you’ve got nine hotpots on the go!

But the bread? Ours.
The hotpot? Ours.
The pastry crust? Ours.
The salads, coleslaw, cakes, puddings and all the other bits that leave this kitchen? As much as humanly possible, made right here. ❤️

I even made a batch of homemade ketchup last night. Am I happy with it? Nope. 😂 It’s not quite tart enough for me, so I’ll be fiddling with that and having another go next week. That’s the joy of making things yourself — if it isn’t how I want it to taste, it doesn’t make the cut.

By the end of today me and Julia were well and truly hotpotted out…

And guess what?

We’ve got to do it all again tomorrow. 🤣🤣🤣

So here’s a little glimpse behind the scenes — flour everywhere, pans everywhere and two women wondering why on earth we didn’t choose office jobs. 😂❤️

But homemade food, made properly, is what we do. And I wouldn’t really have it any other way. ❤️h
Happy birthday Paul hope you had a lovely evening,

Party 1 of the weekend done off to bed tomorrow is a busy one!

02/09/2026

Well… Bookclub number TWO and I honestly feel like we’ve all known each other for ages already! 📚❤️

We had some new faces tonight and a few who’d been away for our first one, so we started with a quick round of who we are and, more importantly, what we actually like to read.

Which, as it turns out, is apparently NOT One Perfect Summer by Paige Toon. 🤣🤣🤣

Oh dear Paige… it wasn’t pretty. 😂
There were a LOT of 0.5/5s flying around the table! These lot are clearly serious readers.

Although I did offer my copy of The Offing out to anyone who wanted it — quite possibly the most wordy book I’ve ever read 🤣 — and funnily enough THAT was still sat on the table at the end of the night, so perhaps they’re not THAT serious! 🤣🤣🤣

Once we got into the questions everyone really relaxed, there was lots of chatting, laughing and some VERY definite opinions — exactly what I wanted these evenings to be about. ❤️

And don’t worry ladies, this sort of book clearly won’t be appearing again…

until it’s my turn to choose. 🤣📚

Obviously we had to feed everyone too! Tonight was quiche, salads, homemade coleslaw & roasted potatoes, followed by hot chocolate fudge cake and ice cream. Because discussing literature is hungry work. 😂🍰

Then out came the spinning wheel to decide our next victim… I mean book… 🤣

And Lynne’s choice won — Six Little Letters. 📖

Let’s hope this one manages to scrape itself above 0.5/5 or I might need to find a slightly less brutal bookclub. 😂

I really hope everyone enjoyed tonight. I know I did — it certainly cheered me up. ❤️

See you all next month… and Lynne, the pressure is ON! 🤣📚❤️

01/09/2026

When it’s September already but the sun is still in the sky… ☀️❤️

I’d spent FAR too long scrolling looking for a dress for an upcoming wedding 🙄🤣 in between getting afternoon teas out and making tea for tonight’s bookclub, and eventually I thought right, enough! I need some fresh air.

Luckily I had a job that needed doing…

I’m catering a wedding in October and I want to make some delicious haw & apple ketchup to go with their chipolatas as a canapé, so dish in hand I headed off to see what I could find.

And just LOOK at it up there! ❤️

The heather, the sunshine, the old stone walls… sometimes you forget what’s right on your doorstep.

The haws are definitely a bit scarce this year. I don’t know whether our hot summer is to blame or whether the birds have already scoffed the best ones 🤣 but I managed to find enough to get me started.

There were even a few wild raspberries still hanging on and some blackberries to be found. ❤️

So here’s my afternoon in photos.

Yesterday I didn’t feel great at all and today I just needed to get out of my own head for a bit. Fresh air, a walk, a bit of foraging and remembering to look around you really does work wonders.

Plus I’ve got my steps in now, which means the cake at bookclub tonight is basically calorie free.

I’m pretty sure that’s how it works. 🤣🤣❤️🍰

26/08/2026

Having a moment 🙄🥲

I am generally a crazy, manic person and my WORST nightmare is invoices, matching payments and all that boring paperwork… and just when I’d finally got used to how Starling worked, they’ve gone and changed it!! 😩🤣

So I’ve taken myself off for a little time out in The Granary before I throw the laptop out of the window 😂

And while I’m sat here I thought I’d introduce myself to those of you who don’t know me — I’m Ann, owner of The Lovely Cow Shed 👋❤️

And I thought I’d show you one of my favourite things in The Granary.

See the books on the wall behind me? Guess who drew them…

Yep, the one and only — my lovely daughter India ❤️ And yes, she is as crazy as me… if not worse 🤣🤣

She made this for me when we opened The Granary and the cow is Lovely, hubby’s favourite cow. She was an amazing 22 years old when she died and she’s actually how The Lovely Cow Shed got its name. 🐄❤️

Lovely will always be a wonderful memory and I hope all the buffets, parties, supper clubs and celebrations that leave here create lots of wonderful memories for you lot too. 🥰

Right… enough chatting and relaxing.

Back to the bloody invoices!! 🙄🤣

23/08/2026

23/08/2026

Is the craziness finally starting to quieten down?! 🤞😂❤️

This week started with me having what I’m calling a sort of day off 🤣 I joined in with making hares in The Granary. I was still hosting (obviously I can’t quite manage a proper day off 😂) but I absolutely loved sitting down, concentrating on something completely different and enjoying everyone’s company. And I’m rather chuffed with my hare! ❤️

Then Tuesday brought one of my favourite nights of the month… BOOKCLUB! 📚❤️ Another super night, lots of chatter and a nice easy read with Regretting You by Colleen Hoover. Colleen always gets a 5/5 from me although the group settled on a very respectable 4/5 😂

Then came the glamorous bit nobody sees… food shopping for home! Apparently I still have a family, a house and people who expect feeding even when I’m not working 🤣🤣

Friday we were back at it with afternoon tea for 50, helping the family welcome their guests and WOW did the heavens open! Rain, thunder, the lot 😜☔️ Thankfully a bit of Lancashire weather never stopped us!

And the last job of the week is a lovely one — finishing off Elaine’s 70th birthday weekend with a family get-together. ❤️ I’ve known Elaine for a very long time, so this one feels extra special and I’m more than happy to finish my week celebrating with them.

Then… dare I say it… I think next week might actually be a little quieter. 🤣🤞

Although knowing me, I’ll find something to fill it with! ❤️

20/08/2026

It’s that time of year again when all you lovely folk start turning up with bags and baskets of your extra foraged goodies ❤️

So tonight I’m making… can you guess what it is? 👀

I absolutely LOVE this time of year. If you’ve grown too much, picked too much or simply can’t face making another jar of anything, you all seem to know where to bring it 😂😂

Nothing goes to waste round here — it normally ends up simmering in a pan, baked in a cake or appearing on a supper club menu somewhere along the way!

Any guesses what’s bubbling away tonight? 😋❤️

Do you want to learn how to use your foraged goodies we could get together for a recipe testing in my kitchen I’d love to spend time with some like minded folk!

18/08/2026

📚❤️ BOOKCLUB TUESDAY… and another cracking night!

This month we read Regretting You by Colleen Hoover and it went down rather well with a very respectable 4/5! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A really easy read, plenty to talk about and, as usual, our discussions wandered off in all sorts of directions 😂 But that’s half the fun of bookclub isn’t it?!

Then obviously we had to eat… because we don’t do bookclub without feeding everyone! 🤣

Quiche, salad, coleslaw and roasted potatoes followed by a rather delicious Ferrero Rocher gateau for pudding. 😋❤️

Now onto next month and I’m REALLY looking forward to this one…

📖 Things Bad Began by Emily Fairfax

It’s a semi-autobiographical book and even better, Christine herself will be joining us for a Meet the Author evening! ❤️

We’ll be able to chat to her about the book, the real life behind the story and how her own journey evolved from teacher to author. There’s something very special about reading a book knowing that next month the person who wrote it will be sitting around the table with us answering all our nosy questions! 😂📚

After how much we enjoyed having an author join us recently, I think we’re in for another fabulous evening.

Good books, good food, great discussions and plenty of laughs.

Not bad for a Tuesday night is it?! ❤️📚😂

17/08/2026

YES — a day off!! Well… an Ann version of a day off because obviously I still ended up making lunch for everyone 😂😂

Today I actually got to sit down and JOIN IN with one of our workshops in The Granary and I absolutely loved it! ❤️

Richard from Twisted Earth Ceramics came along to teach us how to make these gorgeous hares and the man has the patience of a saint 🤣 He’s also got a brilliantly dry sense of humour which made the day even better.

For a few hours I had to concentrate on something that wasn’t cooking, cleaning, catering, emails or wondering what job I’d forgotten to do 😂 And look at my little hare!! I’m rather chuffed with him 🐰❤️

We had such a lovely bunch around the table, including lots of new faces visiting The Granary for the first time. There’s something really nice about a table full of people chatting, laughing, getting covered in clay and creating something completely different.

I am already plotting some more collaborations with Richard for early next year, so I need your help…

What would YOU fancy making?
A hare 🐰, badger 🦡, donkey 🫏 or Highland cow 🐮?
And would you prefer a weekend workshop, or can you lovely lot escape during the week too?

A huge thank you as well to Brambles Wildlife Rescue for holding the workshops with me and for my lovely gift ❤️ and to another very creative lady who arrived with another beautiful present for me. I really am very lucky.

Now I’m off to admire my hare and pretend I’ve had a day off. 🤣❤️

16/08/2026