Home alone....

I'm in the sitting room watching the rain pour down outside. It's the kind of rain that hits the window like a child throwing gravel. It's a foul day. The waves are rolling in off the Atlantic and are hitting the west coast of the island making a noise like a creaking ship. Last night the wind gusted up to 90mph. It's the perfect day to be inside, to watch Scilly at it's most exposed and at its most perfect. 

We've been decorating the house. Using masking tape to cover the light switches and skirting boards and using big rollers to cover the smudges and scrapes from our guests suitcases as they came and went. Painting over 2012 and creating afresh for 2013. We've got another three weeks until our first guests arrive and it all starts again. We can't wait to share our house with people. To meet new faces and to welcome back some from 2012. But for now we are wrapped up warm, enjoying our solitude.

Chicken and vegetable pie (serves 4)....

1x 500g packet of puff pastry
a little flour
2 small chicken breasts
1 small leek
a little olive oil
1 fat clove of garlic
1 good handful of a green leafy vegetable (I used pak choi)
1 good handful of a sturdier vegetable (cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms etc)
10g butter
10g plain flour
125ml milk
salt and pepper
20g parmesan cheese
egg for glazing

Cut the pastry block in half and roll both out to about the size of an A4 piece of paper (one should be slightly bigger than the other.)

In a pan gently fry the chicken and chopped leek in the olive oil until the chicken is cooked through. Add the other vegetables, stir and take off the heat. Grate in a clove of garlic.  In another pan melt the butter and add the flour. Stir for around a minute. Add the milk and keep stirring until the sauce has thickened a little. Add salt and pepper and stir into the chicken and leek mix. It should create a shiny wet glaze rather than a creamy sauce.

Put the smaller pastry half on a greased baking tray. Spoon the chicken mix on top leaving any remaining sauce in the pan. Grate half of the parmesan over the top and season. 

Lay the bigger pastry half over the top and seal around the edges using a fork. Glaze with the beaten egg and the rest of the parmesan and make a small snip in the top.

Pop in the oven for around 20-30 minutes.

Serve with vegetables.

* I actually made a lower dairy version of this pie substituting the butter and milk for soya spread and soya milk and the parmesan for pecorino. The pastry of course is still full of butter but it justified it to me! 

Eating out in Thailand....

So we are back from our travels in Thailand and it was stupendous. I'm full of predictable plans to cook all kind of Thai dishes. I'll try not to bore you too much....

Mainland munchies....

 

Only 3 weeks left of our 10 week trip away. This week we're in Cornwall for New Year and then off to Thailand for a two week (very late) honeymoon. We start in Bangkok, then onto Cape Panwa and Koh Phi Phi. I am mostly looking forward to the Bangkok street food which everyone says is fantastic. I'd love any good food reccomendations for Thailand. Anyway here is some of what we've been eating in the last few weeks.....

 

 

Treacle Tart and Vanilla Salt at The Scarlet, Mawgan Porth.

 

 

Crab raviolo with Mylor prawn bisque, tarragon foam, rouille and crostini at The Scarlet. Probbl one of my food highlights.

 

Cocktails with bridesman Alex in London.

 



 

A chocolately delight at The Porthminster Beach Cafe, St Ives.

 

 

Japanese mackerel broth at The Porthminster Beach Cafe, St Ives.

Hubba hubba....

So we're in Truro. The B&B season on Scilly has finished and we have three months before it all starts again. To be honest I can't believe how fast it has gone and the FABULOUS people we have met and friends we have made. But we have various weddings and birthdays coming up over the winter that meant we had to be on the mainland. We decided instead of going back and forth we would spend ten weeks over here spending time with the friends and family we have missed so much this year.

 

The last couple of weeks we have been back in Truro and its been fantastic. It's great to bump into people whether you're shopping in town or on a semi empty beach. It's also been lovely to spend some time in Truro and appreciate it's stunning architecture and atmosphere which is easy to forget when you are living here.

 

On thing that's changed is The Hub's pop up restaurant on Lemon Quay. I bumped into one of my old work colleagues in the supermarket the other day and she said we had to go there as 'the burgers are the best in the world!'

 

 

We decided to go and get takeaway today and went for a kahuna burger with fries and winter slaw.

I love street food and it's great that this place has that kind of vibe. There was a lot of wide eyed mumbling when the other half was tucking in. Best burger in Cornwall? I think so. The most exciting new foodie place in Truro? Definitely.



Hat trick...

I've never really had to budget before. I've thought I have. When I was in my twenties and I lived in a little flat in Truro I was forever running out of money to put in the electricity meter. It was always half past seven on a Sunday night when the lights would go off and I would be left reading with a torch with my duvet up to my face (I also would never have enough money for heating!) But it was mainly because I'd spent all my money on gin and tonics the night before and magazines and takeaways. But now I share a bank account with the other half...a business account. Everything has to be recorded and checked and justified and we can't really justify a splurge at Topshop as a business expense. But I've actually enjoyed it. We hardly spend anything that isn't related to the business and I haven't really missed it. It's meant in January we can have our first holiday in 5 years (and it will be our delayed honeymoon.) To top it off we haven't had to pay to get to the mainland. Anyone who has ever visited Scilly will know the biggest expense is the flights to and from the islands. (The boat doesn't run in the winter.) At Bryher Fete this year we won flights and you have never seen two people more excited!

We also recently found out we won two nights and dinner at The Scarlet in Mawgan Porth which means we can finish our season here and go and enjoy two days of pampering in one of our favourite hotels. To top it off we won lunch for two at the Hell Bay Hotel in a coffee morning raffle so we went there to celebrate our luck and the end of our first season. 

Brown and white crab with passionfruit mousse and crusty bread.

Chocolate fondant with pistachio ice cream.

Bouillabaisse. The best ever.

* Please excuse the fact the courses are mixed up...I can't work out this new blog thingy!

Tresco and Bryher Food Festival

These are just a few snapshots of the Tresco and Bryher Food and Drink Festival I helped to organise in September. Everyone on Bryher showcased just how great the food is here. Bryher is famous for its cakes but it has so much more to offer...delicious fish and chips, seafood, fudge, vegetables, fruit.

This is Bryher Shop's famous Tattie Cake. Prince Charles took some home with him when he visited the island in July. 

Bryher Shop has a fantastic bakery so we can get fresh bread everyday. 

These were the pain au chocolat and croissants we sold on the Samson Hill Cottage stall. 

Fraggle Rock Cafe showcased lots of their local drinks and amazing cakes and meringues (below).

There were lots of free samples of cheese and wines for people to try. 

And the Hell Bay Hotel made a constant supply of crab and lobster ravioli. It was the best I have ever had. 

The next Tresco and Bryher Food Festival will be on September 14th and 15th 2013. Come along and enjoy!