A Great Charity Supper Club at Huntsham Court

I enjoyed a great meal provided by Posh Nosh last night at the fabulous Huntsham Court near Tiverton.

The venue was luxurious, the host-owners were super friendly (and so generous to donate the venue for the two evenings to the local charity), we met some really nice people and enjoyed listening to the entertainment provided by The Westenders.

If you ever go to Huntsham Court (it is a private venue suitable for huge house parties, weddings or other special events), get good directions - we got so lost in the maze of country lanes in the dark and rain - but that was our own fault.

A great night out.  Not one that I would have anticipated enjoying, but I did because it was so well done!  Check out their future events and supper clubs.

Review: Not so Jolly Good - The Jolly Good Fish Cafe, Teignmouth

Three of us had lunch at the Jolly Good Fish Cafe in Teignmouth in November 2013.  We all chose the cod, chips and peas (there was no chicken or haddock that day. They also said that the fish were one size only - this didn't bother me).  This picture is not an actual shot of our meal!

Thanks to Tripadvisor for this interior photo.

Number 1 fish was discoloured and smelt strongly and wasn't eaten.
Number 2 fish was slightly discoloured and had a slight whiff and was partially eaten
Number 3 fish was slightly discoloured and had no smell and was mostly eaten.

The woman working there said that she was 'unhappy' with the fish that was delivered.  Personally, I wish she had rejected it - that's what I would do.  I certainly wouldn't have served the fish to paying customers.

My companion chose a pineapple fritter from the menu as a replacement...they had no pineapple....and came back to tell us they couldn't buy any locally.  I have a fresh one and tin of it at home and ALMOST went back to get them.

They also forgot to bring my bread and butter which was included in my meal deal.  What a shame.  We are local to this place and eat fish and chips regularly.  So, they tried to remedy the situation, but the situation shouldn't have arisen in the first place.

We will be returning to Finn McCools next time - that place has never let us down in any way.

Langage Farm Clotted Cream - Devon's Best

These pictures don't really need any additional description!  

One of my favourite things to eat: chocolate brownies made by my daughter (she is 13 and already a great cook) using the River Cottage recipe, no nuts for us, and then glammed up with some local raspberries and a mountain of Devon Langage Farm Clotted Cream and served in a vintage glass sundae dish from Antiques Ad Hoc in Ashburton. Perfectly delicious.  And a great treat to serve some visiting members of the family at the weekend.

Dawlish Warren: New Farm Shop and Blackberry Picking

 The blackberries were easy to pick this year...(and will be turned into many many crumbles!) there were so many, they were of good ripeness, colour and size and they weren't covered in cobwebs!  It is probably too late now - sorry.  Although they may still exist in other parts of the country or world, but the Devon ones were early.

 We stopped when we noticed a Farm Shop near Dawlish Warren.  We bought some pies for lunch and some Devon cheese (Sharpham) because we fancied it.

The guy in the shop is very friendly and his primary focus is  Mushrooms - they were the best I have ever seen....but I cannot eat them unfortunately.  Please try them - they looked incredible.

They are based near Dawlish Warren, East Devon, about half a mile from the sea.  They also lent me two books which was a really kind gesture.

Revamped Exeter Pizza Express

 The Pizza Express in Exeter overlooks the Cathedral and is a good building.  We couldn't get into the Torquay one on a Saturday night so went to the Exeter one instead.  It has had a revamp (I have no idea when).  The oversized pepper mills have gone and the 'one flower, one vase' per table also seems to have gone.  I had a soft spot for that.

They have painted the woodwork, put in some new lampshades, paintings and transformed the old seated window areas upstairs.

There were also a party of fancy dress superheroes when we were there which was very entertaining!

This is a photo of the children's dessert!

The children used the vouchers they received for Christmas from their grandparents, we did the usual paying our own way thing.  It is worth remembering that it only costs 25% menu prices if you use Tesco Clubcard vouchers.  £2.50 vouchers translates into £10 at Pizza Express - what a bargain.  Always a good night.

Cafe Review - The Courtyard Deli, Falmouth

It was a really hot day in August and I sat outside in the 'courtyard' of the Courtyard Deli, Falmouth.  Nobody took my order for over half an hour - I was waiting for three members of my family, but I would have liked a coffee or tea while I waited.  My family were in Beerwolf  next door.  This place has developed from a book stall into a pub / bookstore and we all love it.  Apparently their food isn't really great (yet) so it might be worth popping next door for coffee / tea/ lunch.

I also had a long chance to look around the courtyard of the deli.  I think they could do more with the area.  The bins and air con unit from the pub adjacent are TOO visible and the table where I was sat was so sloping that the waitress had trouble putting glasses on it without them sliding downhill.  There was also quite a bit of litter around, plus flowers that needed deadheading more than my own at home.  And that's saying something.

Sooo, I was feeling worried about the food as the attention to detail in the 'courtyard' just wasn't there.  When my companions arrived we all ordered different dishes so I got a good idea of the menu.  My son ordered the homemade tomato and basil soup with garlic bread which he loved.  My daughter had the quesadillas which she thought were alright (we have them a lot at home so they might have had to live up to them!), my husband had a plate of local bread, cheese and charcuterie which he loved and I had some spinach filo pie with salads which was fine, although not outstanding.

I had a wander around the shop later and thought the interior was charming.  The friendly owner chatted to me and even provided a website for me to source a difficult to find ingredient that she didn't have in stock.  I was very grateful and I bought some local cheese.  A satisfying but not perfect lunch.

I was a guest of the Courtyard Deli but I was able to write what I wished

Quickjars Jam Jars - Handy at this time of year!

I used these great jars from Quickjars.  I have to say they were well packaged and so spanking new - it was lovely to pot up some compote into brand new jars rather than some hastily washed ones that I have been keeping.  So far, they have served me well and I still have masses to use.

Autumn is approaching and my veggie patch is telling me that it is now time to make jams and chutneys.  I made my first JAM of the year with some amazing plums that some visitors brought from their garden in Cheshunt. Thanks to C and S!  They were delicious just to eat but they brought me kilograms so I had to make JAM.

 Only........it didn't set.  I used the Pam Corbin recipe from the River Cottage Preserves book - I know my daughter used it last year and the jam did not set.  You need to boil it for longer than it says I think as this is not at all set.  Not even remotely, so it has now been renamed Plum Compote.  It is delicious on ice cream and last night we had roast apricots, mascarpone and a splash of the compote.  It was amazing and I wouldn't have ever thought of using runny jam.

There were still some plums left over so I made three plum cakes from a random web recipe that I can no longer find.  It contained ground almonds (but only 50g) and plenty of plums.  The large cake needed at least ten minutes longer to bake and it was still a bit gooey inside - but we really don't mind this!

I was given the jars free of charge from Quickjars but I was free to write anything I liked and use them as I wished