The smallest gin and tonic in the world...

...or am I just a giant?

This was taken earlier today at the Organic Food Festival in Bristol. My highlights for the day, other than my miniature organic G&T: a cooking demonstration with some sound advice on eating seasonal produce from the team at the Duke of Cambridge organic pub; the bountiful amounts of free cheese; and the best of all? - the sheep show! A New Zealander making 7 sheep dance to disco? Yep, it happened. 
N x

Cooking doesn't get tougher than this

Congratulations to Lisa Faulkner on winning the Celebrity Masterchef title; but Neil Stuke, you was robbed!

Nx

She Woolfed it down...

"one cannot think well, love well, sleep well, unless one has dined well"

Virginia Woolf

Thanks to Bristol Foodie for this rather lovely tweet.

Canteen dream

It was birthday time last week. Lucky us - we got a mini-break in misty Cornwall, a session at the spa, a rumble in the jungle, an american reunion and a very overwhelmed birthday boy. But this is a food blog - so where does this fit in? Well, we did discover a cute little organic cafe in St Just, THAT caramel shortbread, a damn fine pasty and a fabulous bed and, of course, breakfast... 

But the treat came on Thursday where the tradition of taking each other out for birthdays was a little bit special. I took Richard out to the top of his wishlist - the River Cottage canteen in Bath. 

On arrival, my excitement was mainly directed at the huge canvases of lovely farm animals (alive not dead) gracing the walls. What's more, the music wasn't bad either...

Currently, Thursdays are sharer evenings. Advertised as larger than tapas and an easier way to choose your meal - perfect!

Neither of us are wine connoiseurs. I'm starting to know my Chardonnay (bleurgh) from my Shiraz (yum), but you can't help but worry that going for the cheapest bottle on the menu is going to make you a bit of a plonker. Then came the 'number 1' - the cherry loveliness of RN13 - Vin de pique-nique from sunny France. Cherries? Rich's favourite. Result!

 

Then came our food, set in large terracotta tapas pots came our food. The top four on the menu, this was the easiest menu choice ever. We went for salt pollock croquettes with aioli; slow roast shoulder of pork with local veg ratatouille; spicy mutton flatbread with yoghurt; River Cottage greek salad with bath cucumber and, in hindsight-greedily, a potato and mustard salad (on the side).

The star were the croquettes. If pollock is the poor man's cod then I'll eat my laptop. These were undoubtedly salty but this only added to the luxuriousness of the taste, and we saved one each for our final mouthful of the meal. 

Coming a close second were the spicy mutton flatbreads. A first for me, i'm still fairly new to lamb having had sheep as pets as a child and thought of eating one much like eating the family dog. Don't worry - i got over it. The flatbreads were phenomenal. The spice was without heat, just full flavour. The only problem with this dish was that there weren't enough on the plate to keep up with my salivating mouth.

It felt very sweet to eat a greek salad with the knowledge that the ingredients had come from a garden with so much love. 

Surprisingly, the slow roast pork with ratatouille was the lightest dish, but provided a perfect contrast to the powerful pollock.

With a location in Bath we were inevitably surrounded by  folk for whom this presumably wasn't quite such a special treat, but Rich and I were completely elated from the first taste; and the platform on which our table sat was appropriate for our state of mind, and we're pretty sure the staff noticed our enthusiasm (we gave 5/5 across the board). For the record, the staff also were welcoming, attentive and knowledgable.

What was it I was saying earlier?... Lucky us. 

Heaven in a paper bag

Thank you St Ives Bakery. 

This makes my top five (#2-sorry westie, this means you're #6. fancy baking another batch?)

Nx

late night cake bake

Feeling gloomy? Want a big hunk of cake? I was lucky enough to discover the most amazing Zucchini and Walnut cake with my friend Emma in her lovely cake cookery book. And the best part? It's one of your five a day! We cooked deep into the night but just about managed to capture the process on our phones...

 I've got my hands full here. Emma's garden deep in the Peak District is full of lovely green courgettes-who needs the supermarket when you've got a potted garden?

Frantically grating the courgettes... So this is not only a healthy veg cake but this vigorous grating is great (grate) exercise!

Emma does a fab job in the kitchen-she's a natural. Check out that sieving technique!

After binding the gratings in with the cake mix, we blended in the walnuts. It's looking a bit like a bad night out at the moment.

Oh sweet moses this is a beautiful thing-and worth the two hour slow cook. Moist, rich and with a gorgeous nutty crunch.

Everyone I know seems to have an abundance of courgettes at the moment. Now all I need is a friend with a walnut tree! 

Nx

oily fish

Before I forget, the aforementioned Nicky (of leftovers fame) is a bit of a dab hand with a paintbrush (as well as being a senior lecturer in art and design). This fabulous foodie canvas now graces my kitchen wall and very lovely it is too. I'll let you know if/when she starts taking commissions.

That's a whole lot of blogging for one day - a record 4! Goodnight!

Nx