This week I have mostly been eating.....

I would never describe myself as a cook or even a foodie, but I do love my grub (and something to wash it down with of course) and over recent weeks I have had several conversations with people about food where I have noticed a pattern. Often these are just the normal office chats about what to cook for tea that night, but when we start comparing notes, I find that people are surprised by the variety of what we eat and also the fact that I plan all my meals out. Mr Owl has also reported several similar conversations in his office recently, mainly revolving around 'what else can I cook with chicken' and 'how can I spend less on my food bill'.

At the same time as this we have been trying to make more effort to expand our diet to include more vegetables and to push ourselves to try more recipes (this is largely due to me spending far too much time reading amazing food blogs like the beautiful Manger at http://mimithorisson.com. I am soo jealous of everything on there). The trip to River Cottage a few weeks ago just helped to encourage this.

My mum was a great cook and always cooked us a wide variety of meals, so I guess I get a lot of it from her. I remember in the months before I first went to university she would get me in the kitchen every time she cooked something that she thought a student could do, and made me cook it. When I actually went, I had a little notebook with lots of basic recipes all written down. Thanks to her I found I was spending lots less on food than everyone else while eating what I thought were nicer meals (Stag Chilli anyone?) This habit carried on when I left uni and over time I like to think I have got better and more adventurous with what I cook. Mr Owl also enjoys his cooking and now it is one of the most relaxing parts of our evening when we get home from work and can cook a meal together - ideally while playing a few tunes. (that sounds a bit twee when I write it down but it is true)

The meal planning is due to the fact that there isn't a supermarket that near to us and I don't want to waste lots of my time driving back and forth to one. Additionally if I plan the meals out then we find that we spend less, waste less and eat more healthily. For example we ate 2 Southeast Asian meals last week because I knew I would have more beansprouts, and coriander than I could use in the one we had thought of, so rather than waste them we did a second meal- less cost, less waste.

So I am hoping to positively use the pressure that comes from sharing online to try and encourage us in this even further, and to possibly show any readers that it is feasible to cook a variety of dishes in the week. Hence 'This week I have mostly been eating..'  every time I write that I start craving taramasalata!!

Here is the basic idea- once a week I will be listing the meals that we had the previous week- in theory this will be on a Monday but no promises. I am not going to detail recipes but I will endeavour to state or link the sources for them where they exist. If anyone does read this and wants more details then please just comment. If you are lucky you might get a photo or two as well.

Assumptions: I have not made the basics e.g. pasta, rice, noodles, chips bread unless stated. Everything else is made from scratch unless marked as bought (b)

Monday: Minestrone Soup (b)

 Covent Garden Soup

Tuesday: Cod with Laksa Noodles

 Rick Stein - Seafood Odyssey (photo below)

Wednesday: Carbonara

 Jamie's version with cream and cheese rather than the purer egg only version. We used mushrooms    rather than courgettes

Thursday: Thai Salad

 My own recipe

Friday: Troncon of Turbot with an Olive Vierge sauce
 Rick Stein - Seafood Odyssey (photo below)

Saturday: Ate Out (Artisan Manchester)

Sunday: Lasagne

 My own recipe

Little Owl 

 

River Cottage Canteen- Axminster

We didn't plan on eating at the River Cottage Canteen and Deli in Axminster, we thought it might be too much of a good thing in one weekend. However some googling and an honest discussion with Kathryn from our B&B assured us that this really was the best option for food - I am so glad we did!!  Luckily we managed to book a table online that Saturday afternoon for the evening, but I would recommend allowing more booking time, especially in the busier seasons.

Although the canteen appears small from the outside, it goes right through to the back and opens up into a lovely high ceiling-ed room. There is a small stage area at one end and they regularly have bands on. I would love to come back for one of those evenings, live music while dining!

The menu itself consists of 'small plates' which you can either order like tapas or have as a starter and then the 'bigger plates' for mains. The menus are very healthy sounding, often with minimal carbs in them, but don't let this put you off. Mr Owl went all meat, with beef tartar and horseradish to start and then beef rib with lentils for his main. I had crab to start and Merguez lamb with rhubarb (I can never resist rhubarb) and quinoa for the main. For once neither of us had food envy, we both loved our own dishes and the other's dishes equally. It was outstanding. We finished off with a cheeseboard and a coffee with chocolates which we shared between us. Thank goodness we had a nice stroll back to our bed to help walk it all off.

I couldn't finish this without mentioning the fantastic staff at the canteen. Our own waitress was brilliant, she was able to help on queries about the dishes and was friendly and attentive. When she realised at the end we were attending a course at the HQ the next day, we even got 20% off the bill.

If you are going to be in Devon/Dorset then I would highly recommend making time to visit the River Cottage canteen. I know we will be back!

Little Owl 

Wyke Farm B&B, Axminster

Part of what made our River Cottage weekend away so good was the beautiful B&B we stayed at. Wyke Farm is listed on the RC website as it is fairly near the HQ where the course is and we weren't disappointed.

There are 2 B&B rooms and 2 self catering cottages in this beautifully renovated former dairy farm. We were staying in 'The Dairy' which as the name suggests is in the former dairy itself. The room was enormous and beautifully decorated with a view across the courtyard to the hillside beyond. There was even a private door linking us to the breakfast room- nothing makes you feel more at home than being able to walk to breakfast in your socks and slippers.

The breakfasts themselves were fabulous, the usual array of cereal, yoghurts and fruit to help yourself and then Kathryn would do you a fried breakfast to order. The field  mushrooms were amazing with bright yellow scrambled eggs from their hens. However if you are off to the River Cottage for the day course then it might be better to have a more restrained breakfast.

From the farm you can walk over to the HQ, cutting across a couple of fields behind the farm then up a lane. However be warned it is a steep hill on the way up and you should allow 45mins if you don't want to arrive too hot and sweaty. It is also possible to walk into Axminster in the evening in about 30mins if you are eating/drinking there.

I think what finally made our stay here was the warm welcome from Kathryn and her husband John. Nothing was too much trouble for them and they made us feel very welcome in their beautiful farm, but without being too intrusive if you just wanted peace and quiet. If we come back down this way we would definitely be staying here again!

Little Owl 

River Cottage Experience

As my Christmas present this year Mr Owl bought me (us) the River Cottage Experience one day cookery course and meal at the actual River Cottage itself down in Dorset. There are not words to say how excited I was at this present, I have been looking forward to it for ages, and 2 weekends ago the day finally dawned. We were staying at the fantastic Wyke's Farm who I will mention in their own review as they thoroughly deserve it. However from there we could walk slowly (up a big hill) to River Cottage HQ for the start of the course at the very respectable time of 11.30 for 12. We were there a little early so had time to do photos by the sign much to the amusement of the tractor driver waiting to take us down to the farm itself- yep you start with a ride on a tractor!!

The course is held in their cookery workshop and runs with about 20 people. While most people were in pairs there were a few individuals too, and the friendly atmosphere and the communal cooking stations meant they weren't alone for long. The cooking school is all glass on one side so you can enjoy looking out over the river and down the valley and miraculously the day we went the sun was shining making it even prettier. The day started with a 'snack' to get us all ready, a mustardy salad with bull's blood black pudding and focaccia. It tasted delish! (they do cater to any dietary requirements if any vegetarians reading this are put off).  Then it was an introduction to our chef for the day Andy and his behind the scenes helpers. To maximise cooking time there was a whole team of washing up fairies to help us during the day, I definitely need to get me one for at home!  We started off by beginning a loaf of bread which we would return to throughout the day as it proofed. Then having left some yoghurt in the fridge to start slowly, drippingly turning into cheese we went off to explore the farm, meet the animals and forage some nettles for later.

Once back, it was a lesson in making pizzas, where we each got to practice our own and then cook them in the outdoor pizza oven to have for lunch, prompting much discussion of the feasiblity of somehow building a pizza oven into our little garden at home. When we discovered later that half a pig was being smoked in their outdoor smoker the garden makeover plans had to be started all over again!  The afternoon was  a flurry of activity, including continuing the bread, making beetroot hummus, profiteroles and starting our own bacon curing after a course in butchery! I was surprised at how easy the profiteroles were, though I have yet to master creme pat. It was brilliant to do so many different and varied items, all of which would then be incorporated into our evening meal.

One of the main appeals of the River Cottage Experience course was the fact that the whole thing ended with a three course meal in the farm cottage itself. The meal used many of the components we had cooked during the day, but was finished and assembled by the chefs, while we recovered from it all with a glass of sparkling elderflower. The nettles we had foraged earlier were used in one of the canapes with scallops and chorizo. To start we had our Labneh yoghurt cheese with the beetroot hummus and our bread. The main was the smoked pork shoulder with squash and roasted veg. To finish it was the profiteroles stuffed with a  cherry liqueur chocolate cream- heavenly! Unfortunately I was so busy eating it all that by this point I forgot to take any photos. Apologies- but trust me it was amazing!

I would not hesitate to recommend this course to anyone even vaguely considering it. I loved the fact that we got to do a variety of different things, meaning even if you are keen cook there will probably be something new to you, but nor was it so 'cheffy' that an absoloute beginner wouldn't enjoy it too. The whole feel of the day was very relaxed and we were kept very well fed and watered throughout (top tip- don't have a full English for breakfast that morning!!) and the meal in the evening was the perfect culmination to a perfect day. Now I just need to figure out when we can go back to do another one!!

Monthly Memoir: March

I can't believe March is already over. It is normally February that flies past, but this year March is taking that honour. I realise I only posted twice as well, which seems a bit poor, however as I am writing this for me I am not going to apologise. I did however have quite a busy month so need to retroactively write some posts to cover it all. Meantime here is a quick review for my own records.

One word to sum up the month?

Brilliant!

Do something/go somewhere other than the norm?

Yes- a fantastic weekend away down in Devon at a certain farm cottage by a river. Post coming soon I promise!

Best meal?

Hmm tricky as there were two excellent meals this month and can't really compare, so guess I should just stop being lazy and do a post on them. 

Best drink?

Bottle of Chateau du Vieux Parc, Corbiere 2012. Was very very nice.

Buy anything new?

Yes - some new boots and a lovely bright dress in the sale from M&S (when they had stopped messing up their online orders)

Wear anything good?

The boots mentioned above. Mr Owl has been rocking some fab outfits of late, am going to have to try and sneak a photo of him to post.

See anything good?

Chappie- by Neil Blomkamp. I loved this film and totally recommend it. (Along with his first two films: District 9 and Elysium). Set in South Africa it was one of the most interesting takes on AI I have seen.

Anything else?

Generally it was a great month I just need to catch up on writing about it all.

Little Owl