A weekend of eating out

We were in Cheltenham this weekend. A beautiful place that we've never visited before. We had actually gone to visit friends who kindly gave us a tour.

We had lunch at O'Neills - more for convenience and a pleasant outside eating area. I don't think any of us expected much. The menu looked interesting and we soon ordered a 'light' lunch. When the waitress took our empty plates away she asked the obligatory question "Was everything alright for you?" We replied "Yes, thank you... actually!". She laughed and said she heard that a lot! So there you go! O'Neils is good for a tasty, affordable lunch. Whether it was because it was a Cheltenham O'Neils remains to be seen...

The following day we met some other friends for Sunday lunch at The Flowerpot in Derby, a real ale pub which puts on regular gigs. The kitchens have changed management a few times in recent times and although the last time we had Sunday lunch there it was OK, it wasn't a meal that would have made me return (think too much mashed potato and overcooked veg).



This time it was one woman on her own and our table of 10, plus whoever else was eating there at the time. The veg was not over cooked or under cooked,so just right! The gravy was tasty, the yorkshire puddings seemed ok... no mashed potato (not my idea of a good SD supplement). Perhaps the only critiscm would be that there wasn't enough meat and maybe it was slightly overcooked but the gravy compensated for that. For the price, we'll be back!

Mushroom risotto

Even my husband, The Meat Eater, enjoyed this without once stating that "there's something missing"!

Serves 2 as a main meal or 4 as a starter

Half an onion finely chopped
Stick celery finely chopped
Oil for frying
100 - 150g mushrooms
3 tbsps of fresh herbs 
50 ml white wine or vermouth
risotto rice
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1l of vegetable or chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
50-75g fresh or frozen peas
A large knob of butter (50g approx.)
100g cheese

Bread (sliced)
garlic clove
olive oil
tomato

Finely chop the onion and celery and sautee gently in a wide bottomed pan or a frying pan with a lid, until soft and transparent. Add the mushrooms and half of the fresh herbs - I used thyme and lemon balm this time. Next, add the rice. Stir, coating evenly with the vegetables.

Once the rice has started to turn transparent (a couple of minutes), turn the heat up and add the wine or vermouth. Allow the liquor to absorb and then add the garlic, stir and add a ladle of stock. Keep stirring the rice until it has absorbed the liquid and add another ladle of stock. Taste the liquid as you're stirring and adjust seasoning accordingly. As I used a homemade chicken stock, it needed 3 pinches of salt and a good twist of black pepper. Add the peas after about 10 minutes.

Carry on stirring and adding stock, until the rice is almost cooked but with some bite to it and you are happy with the seasoning. When it reaches this stage, turn the heat off and add the butter, the rest of the chopped herbs and half the cheese. Put the lid on and leave for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, stir well then dish up, placing the rest of the cheese on top.

The trick with risotto, I feel, is to use plenty of stock, to continually taste and adjust
the seasoning and to not overcook the rice - there should be a slight bite to it.

This can be served with a slice of toasted bread. Once toasted, drizzle with olive oil and rub with half a clove of garlic, followed by half a tomato.

A simple side salad of chopped tomatoes drizzled in olive oil with chopped garlic would also work well with this.

Enjoy!

Campfire cooking

 We still want tasty, healthy yet simple to produce food even when we're camping. With 2 stove tops, a grill and a barbecue to hand, we have to be more creative than usual. The beautiful thing about camping is that invariably we are close to good produce - farm shops etc. Shopping tends to be done daily due to lack of storage, so at least produce is fresh. Salads, bread, rice, pasta, packet cous cous are all good staples along with the obligatory sausages, bacon, eggs, tinned tomatoes and beans...

Favourite Camping Recipes
 A favourite start to a camping trip (after a hard drive and even harder setting up) is chilli con carne which I've made previously and frozen. The idea being that it defrosts on the way down AND helps to keep the cool bag cool... Serve with crusty bread or rice.

 This next idea is very simple - chopping up whatever veg is available (preferably onions and peppers, at least), frying off with chorizo, adding tinned tomatoes and serving with, rice, pasta or bread. You could also break an egg per person into the simmering mixture, serving once cooked.

 As long as you take (or buy) a fairly decent oil and vinegar, a few dried herbs & spices, garlic, stock cubes, salt, pepper and maybe tomato/brown sauce, you can't go wrong. The fresh air always makes the food even tastier anyway!

 Pasta with a tomato sauce, chicken curry with rice, lamb or beef mince kebabs or chicken kebabs served with salad, pitta or cous cous... You can also make stove top stews with new potatoes. Just buy good cubed lamb, beef or chicken, add tinned beans maybe, tomatoes, seasonings, chopped veg and serve with bread or rice maybe.

Hot dogs and burgers are easy enough to throw together. Maybe boil some sweetcorn cobs and barbecue some vegetable kebabs. Halloumi is an excellent addition to a barbecue. It's good marinaded in an oil with herbs and grilled, fried or added to your veg kebabs. It's salty flavour is moreish and it's meaty enough to satisfy any appetite!

You can also serve pies and quiches with salad or put together a ploughmans with eggs, pork pie and of course, lots of cheese.

Tasty snacks, whilst watching the sun go down which are both tasty and simple could be fresh bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping, hoummous and breadsticks, olives

For a good Sunday Roast find your nearest decent hostelry, order a pint and sit back!!

Family camping

 Camping is certainly a favourite way for us to spend time together as a family and see different parts of the country.

 My love for the UK is developing as we travel. Although I would happily board a plane to sunnier climes, there is always something utterly compelling that brings us back time and again to camping. When the weather is behaving itself, the views, the air, the beautiful spaces that make up this country are all worth it.

At the end of 2010 we took advantage of a sale (and my husband's redundancy money) and purchased our fanciest tent yet. It's got good sized bedrooms for our little, yet growing family and a good living area with (ha ha!) windows - and curtains!!! Gone are the days when I would sneer at anyone who didn't use a bed roll mat... We are the Family With Luxuries now. With a young family and UK weather, I have to admit it makes sense. I would never leave my airbed at home now and we even have facilities for hook-up now. Our morning cuppa is ready in moments, and, if we have the energy, we can stay up to the small hours enjoying the peace and quiet. Have to admit though, I'm not long behind the kids when it comes to camping bedtimes!

 Last year we took advantage of the tent no less than five times. Our maiden trip was to a favourite local haunt, Hulme End, near Hartington and the Manifold Valley in the Peaks. An absolutely stunning, and popular location.

Manifold Inn, Hulme End

 There are 2 campsites in the teensy village and we always choose the site behind the Manifold Inn. It is very basic and very cheap but we tend to go there for a couple of nights only at a time. There is plenty to do if you enjoy walking and cycling (it is conveniently placed at one end of the Manifold Trail) and the pub is an excellent find. Good ales, a fantastic menu and a charming beer garden. It's only a couple of miles from the lovely and popular  village of Hartington which is worth a visit. Can't recommend the place enough.

 Our next trip was a Busman's Holiday really. I work for a magazine publishing company and it was their annual Crich Festival for boat owners. I worked and Chris and the kids wandered about the site enjoying what the show had to offer...

The miniature railway at Orchard Farm, Filey 

This was followed by a weekend in Filey, North Yorkshire. Our group of friends is becoming more and more far-flung and we decided to meet up for a weekend of camping, kids, food and the odd drink. Or two.

Again, a lovely site and we were lucky with the weather. Orchard Farm was spot on, with excellent facilities; lovely site for the kids and it accommodated the (drunken) adults pretty well too!

Not having been to Filey in a very long time, we had a recce to the beach front and were pleasantly surprised by both the beach and the town. It's a lovely old fashioned beachside town and the park located very near to the beach is attractive and has lots for the kids to do. We enjoyed it so much that we vowed to make it an annual event. Unfortunately it's looking like this weather is putting pay to that idea this year...

Our fourth camping trip took us to a fantastic site in Cornwall. Treveague Farm, on the Rose Peninsular below St Austell, is wonderful and we're looking forward to our return visit later on this year. We had a fantastic pitch overlooking the bay which was good for sunsets and early morning mists. 

View from Treveague Farm, Gorran

Although a working farm, it is very much a campsite; friendly and with excellent facilities, a lovely cafe serving locally reared produce, coupled with a little farm shop and restaurant. Throughout the summer months they put on entertainment for the children - story time in the Teepee by a local storyteller -and a barn dance. There is also a hide for viewing the badger family which is very popular and the only place on the entire site where the kids are quiet for long periods! It is well placed for some amazing and not overly populated beaches. You can walk to some of the beaches but last year when we visited our little girl was eighteen months old, so these were largely off-limits to us. We had a brilliant time. Have I said that already?

Our final trip of the year took us to the Gower Peninsular, South Wales.

Rhossili Bay, Gower Peninsular

It's not an area that I was familiar with before and I was thoroughly amazed by the beautiful landscapes we encountered, from driving through the moors to get to our campsite, Bank Farm, Horton, to the the stunning beach at Rhossili Bay. The weather was very typical for Wales I must admit, although we were lucky for our trip to the beach.

Camping once more on a beach headland proved extremely hair raising at times due to some inclement (to put it mildly) weather. It was the only time I have ever felt unsafe when camping, so maybe next time we visit, it might have to be self-catering!

The campsite wasn't the best site we've ever been to. It had all the facilities you could need; swimming pool, laundrette, shop and bar but the bar in particular was grotty to say the least. There was some building work going on, so that may be behind them.

We also visited the picturesque Heritage Centre on the way to Swansea which is packed full of things to do. Adults and kids alike enjoyed it here (don't be put off by it's frontage from the road, it is huge, on a long site backing away from the road). We shall most certainly be returning to this stunning area too!

The allotment is trying to beat us...

 It's been a while since the family have managed to get to the allotment, largely because of the rain but also because we have been busy.

 Any how those weeds are back! We wore suitably sheepish looks on our faces, together with determination.

 We packed the kids up (having been swimming to wear them out and it worked!). On arrival, Chris cooked some sausages on the camping stove in the shed whilst I got stuck into the weeds (again) and the kids ran around screaming "We're hungry!!". The sausage cobs did their job beautifully and Chris & I got properly stuck into the weeds, largely looked on by Chairman Dave (don't ask).

 What we don't have in time, we have bucket loads of, in enthusiasm and did a pretty good job of clearing a large part of the site once more of the weeds and dug up a healthy amount of onions. Unfortunately because of the weather some had perished, as too had a large amount of potatoes. Chris did manage to pull enough potatoes up for our dinner. And then our helpful neighbour strimmered them. Humph. Didn't do too much damage fortunately and they still did us well for dinner.

 Having had a late night on Saturday celebrating a friend's birthday, then the swimming in the morning and a lot of hard work at the allotment, I was shattered by dinner time! It was a happy, peaceful shattered so I made the decision to have an early night. When I arrived at work the following day my chipper demeanour was commented on. I have to say that exercise such as this is the best tonic for everything!! I felt fantastic, rejuvenated and raring to go. Now that 'summer' is here and me and my daughter have got a bit of spare time, I hope to be able to put a good few more hours in at the allotment and reap the rewards!

Carrot and coriander salad

Another salad to help your barbecue go with a bang!

2-4 carrots, grated
500 ml olive oil
coriander seeds

Grate the carrot. Heat a frying pan and add the seeds. When they start popping, add them to the carrot with the olive oil. Stir and serve.

Tomato and garlic salad: a firm favourite

Some more salads whilst I think about it! This one is a real crowd pleaser (stolen from our friend Robin). Goes beautifully with barbecued meats.

Version 1
200g tomatoes (sweet and juicy preferably)
2-4 cloves of garlic
salt
100ml olive oil
black pepper

Chop the tomatoes up and place in a bowl. Add the chopped garlic, oil, pinch of salt and pepper, mix and leave to chill for an hour. Serve.

Version 2
200g tomatoes
2-4 cloves of garlic
100ml olive oil
30-40ml balsamic vinegar / lemon juice
black pepper
salt

Chop the tomatoes up and place in a bowl. Add the chopped garlic, vinegar, oil, pinch of salt and pepper, mix and leave to chill for an hour. Serve.

Summer salads & salad dressing

I look forward to summer particularly for all the lovely fresh salads we can throw together... unfortunately with this year's British summer, salads are much lower down on our food desires list than I would like.

Yesterday we enjoyed a simple roast chicken with boiled potatoes fresh from the allotment and a very tasty salad of freshly picked leaves from the garden, tomatoes, cucumber, pak choi, red and green peppers, salad onions, home grown radishes and a vinaigrette.

Today being Monday or as it is known in this house, Leftovers Day (or The Day After A Roast), we finished off the chicken (roasted once more in the oven for half hour on a good high heat, to heat it through and make the skin beautifully crisp).

I served it with a lemon and garlic cous cous and a salad of radishes, raw cauliflower, green beans and salad leaves. This was finished off with an olive oil and lemon juice dressing - beautiful! It tasted very light and fresh and if we shut our eyes we could even pretend it was summer!

Lemon juice and olive oil dressing
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
pinch salt
black pepper

Combine the olive oil and lemon juice and season. Drizzle over salad. This works particularly well with radishes, raw cauliflower and green beans for a light and zesty flavour.

You could also add grated parmesan for another element.

Delicious croissant bread and butter pudding

This is actually made with croissants, so there's no bread and no butter. It's not very often that we have stale croissants in this house but I have to say, it's worth it. I think it's wonderful!!

4 stale crosssaints
Raisins, fruit peel, chocolate chips, nuts (combination or a choose one that takes your fancy)
300 ml milk
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 dessert spoons of sugar
good pinch of cinnamon
1 tsp of vanilla extract (optional)

Break the croissants into large chunks and place in an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with your choice of raisins, peel, choc chips and / or nuts. We had raisins on one half and choc chips on the other half to please everyone.

Beat the eggs together and add the milk, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Pour over the croissants and leave to stand for at least 30 minutes.

Bake in the oven (gas mark 4, 180C / 350F) for 45 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Serve with custard, ice cream or cream.

You could soak the fruit in an alcohol, whisky, rum or brandy perhaps and maybe add an irish cream to the milk for that little extra something!

Gnocchi with gorgonzola and walnuts

We're relative newcomers to gnocchi but so glad we've discovered it finally! This is certainly a favourite supper dish. And once again, lovely and simple!

Gnocchi
200ml single cream
50 ml white wine
125g gorgonzola (or other blue cheese - stilton, shropshire blue etc)
Black pepper
Grated nutmeg
50g walnuts
Rocket leaves to serve

In one pan boil water. Once it is boiling add gnocchi. When it floats, it's ready.

Meanwhile place the cream in another pan over a low heat. Once it has warmed though, add the wine and stir. Add the crumbled cheese and stir until melted. Season with black pepper and nutmeg. Just before serving add the walnuts. Stir through the gnocchi and serve with some rocket leaves.

Sunday lunch at Mr Grundy's

We were meeting friends for lunch and needed to eat somewhere tasty that accommodated children and didn't serve carvery. Mr Grundy's has a reputation for good Sunday lunches and their beer garden is good enough for the kids to run around.

The website recommends that you book a table because their lunches are so popular. The power of words eh? There was only one other table in the restaurant section that was occupied, although I think another table filled up as we were leaving. To be fair there were a few other people dotted about who were tucking into their meals. The decor was also shabby; fittings in the bathroom were missing and outdated.


The menu was very basic which makes a pleasant change. The Sunday menu is a choice of beef, pork, chicken and for the adults, lamb shank. There was also a vegetarian lasagne option (& something else which escapes me at the moment). It arrived fairly promptly. Three of us ordered the lamb shank, two had the beef and the two youngest had chicken. The gravy was an inspid affair which seemed to serve all meats. The meat was served with roast potatoes, boiled potatoes, yorkshire puddings (good where they weren't burnt), carrots, frozen peas and sweetorn, boiled cabbage (think school dinners). I like my veg but this wasn't appealing. The roast potatoes were ok but as my husband said, so crispy that they were chewy. And one of his boiled potatoes was rotten all the way through. The beef wasn't up to much and the kids roast chicken turned out to be half a chicken breast that was so well done it was rubbery and difficult to chew. Portions were big and we didn't even opt for the Big Plate. The only good thing I think I can say was that the lamb shank was lovely and prices weren't too bad at £7.95 for adults and £3.95 for kids.


We did decide to have a pudding which were good traditional offerings; apple pie, spotted dick, chocolate fudge cake, jam roly poly, treacle sponge served with either cream, custard or ice cream . The puds went down well!


They did ask if everything was ok once we'd eaten but as it was pointed out, what could they do about it if we'd already paid upfront?


On the plus side, they now operate a micro brewery and they have 4 or 5 of their own beers on tap. These were good and went down well! So if you're looking for a decent pint in the sun you wouldn't do too badly there.


Disappointing and we won't be going there again. The search goes on.

Eating out

We enjoy our food and we enjoy cooking but it doesn't mean that we don't like to eat out. Indeed when we eat something good or see an inspiring menu, all the better! Unfortunately, not every meal you pay for is of a reasonable standard. By reasonable standard I mean quality of ingredients and the little quirks / touches that turn a good meal into something memorable and outstanding. Simplicity is often the key.


We live in Derby (UK). It's a small city but has plenty of cafes, restaurants, pubs and so on. Unfortunately, few really hit the spot with us. We can categorise them into value for money, easy dining (everyone likes it, generally chains), global cuisine (Indian, Thai, Chinese, Mexican...), which got us thinking... Why not rate our meals and find out what others think.


We have a group agreement that one of the best Sunday lunches we ever had was a little pub on the A39 on the Cornish/Devon border, The Old Wainhouse Inn. It has become our benchmark for a good quality, well priced, Sunday lunch. The meat was served as it should be; the beef was medium rare, the root veg was roasted and the yorkshire puddings were spot on. The only downside was that we had discovered it the day before our holiday ended. Good reason to go back though!


So where do we go in Derby?


The Mundy Arms on the Ashbourne Road can be a little hit and miss / overpriced but I enjoyed my last meal there; a kind of falafel burger but my husband was disappointed with his meal and sent it back... So maybe that's not a recommendation!


We actually had a fantastic steak meal at the local Beefeater, The Mallard, which surprised us; it would have been a little on the expensive side had it not been for the Father's Day offer though. They did serve Campo Viejo as the rioja, so that adds a point or two!


Our local, Ye Olde Spa Inn has been known to do a decent carvery (I know, a contradiction in terms, some might say!) but management has changed on a fairly regular basis, so jury's out on that one. As you can tell from the places I have mentioned, children have to be accommodated and 'good food plus children' seems to be a little difficult. It's quite possible to serve good food and accommodate children. After all, if they're enjoying their food, and lets face it they can be as discerning as any adult, it's a winning combination.

We tend to go to chain restaurants when eating with the kids because they will cater for them in every way and provide good value for money. To that end, we shall be road-testing the relatively new-to-Derby Ask. Their online menu looks good but of course, the proof is in the pudding!


The Greyhound is a fairly recent newcomer to the good food guide of Derby and we're hoping to visit there in the near future so I will report back! And on the theme of looks good but yet to try, there is The Exeter Arms. Looking forward to trying them out!


Top quality independent local restaurants are: Zest, Le Bistrot Pierre's (Pierre's) and of course Darleys. My favourite cafe is Jack Rabbits which serve wonderfully large portions of homemade cake. Last time I had a slice there I had to miss lunch - it kept me going all day, even with 2 kids to run round after!


I would be interested to hear what other people think of Derby restaurants and keep us up to date on new and up-and-coming places to eat.

Recent review: Mr Grundy's

Beetroot, walnut, black pudding and goats cheese salad

 Fresh beetroot from the allotment provided inspiration for todays salad.


 This is definately a GU favourite salad of ours - ideal as a starter or light lunch. If it's a lunch (or supper) add some lovely fresh bread. I like walnut bread but whatever takes your fancy! As usual this is in large part whatever is available so it's rarely the same when I put it together.


Quantities are down to how hungry you are...
Salad leaves - rocket or lollo rosso maybe
beetroot, boiled and sliced thinly
Goats cheese
Black pudding
Red onion thinly sliced
Walnuts
Balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
Black pepper


Prepare the ingredients by chopping into bite-sized chunks or thin slices. Lay the leaves, onion, beetroot and cheese on a plate. Fry the black pudding until turning crispy on the edges. Add the walnuts to the pan a minute before serving to lightly toast. Add to the salad leaves, toss. Drizzle with the vinegar or lemon juice and add the pepper. Serve.


Alternative ideas could be;
Adding chopped apple or pear (fry this with the black pudding)
Swap the walnuts for hazlenuts
Try stilton (particularly white stilton) or feta