Inside the barn and farmhouse at River Cottage HQ

I was possibly a little bit too excited by my trip to River Cottage HQ, but I probably wasn't the only one. When I received the invite earlier in the year I knew I'd be going, and I just needed to work out the small matter of logistics. I'm in London, River Cottage HQ is in Devon, that's do-able in a day, right?

Well it turned out it was. A very long day, but do-able. I timed my arrival pretty well arriving just before the parking spaces started to run out and went to wait for my tractor ride down to the farm. I hadn't appreciated beforehand that River Cottage HQ was in a valley, but soon did as our tractor made the slow and steep (and bumpy) descent. 

At the bottom the first stop was the barn and a welcome drink, and a chance to take a look round. I snuck out for a look around while the light was, well not as dark as it could be at this time of year. And because I really couldn't wait any longer. 

I quickly realised I knew very little about what goes on a River Cottage HQ, I mean I knew the bits from the telly-box, and the garden but there's a whole lot more to it than that. 

For example, did you know that you could book a dining experience there? Or that it's the base for their Cookery and Chef's School? Or that they hold cookery courses there which have an emphasis on local, seasonal produce with a nose-to-tail approach. No me neither, but obviously I do now!

I also learnt that Hugh and his team have a pretty space, practice what they preach - and when I say preach, I mean in a non-preachy way, and that they can grow weirder shaped squash and gourds than me. But as you know I'm up for a challenge so maybe next year I'll try and top them in the knobbliest squash league of growing, who knows.

Yes that's the knobbliest squash I was referring to. And look, sweet peas. It was a week into November and there were still sweet peas growing happily. That's what having a farm in a Devon valley does for you.

And having a barn to dry flowers in makes for the prettiest of decorations. 

Over in the farmhouse, which sssshh! don't tell anyone, isn't actually called River Cottage, but Park Farm, there was a lovely homely feel. There were more flowers drying, this time on the windowsill, lots of kitchen paraphernalia which while artfully placed looked like it would actually be used, a lovely warming fire and a rather charming picture of a cockerel. 

Plus The Kitchen. The fireplace is huge, and so is the table. But actually the room didn't feel as big as I imagined it would. Although I imagine with a film crew in, it feels even smaller. 

No sign of Hugh though, which for his sake was probably a good thing.

For me the kitchen was the iconic room and so grinning like a goon I stood behind the table and posed for pictures Hugh-style, but without the carcass of meat that no doubt Hugh would have in his picture.  From the table there was a view out to the garden - more from there another day - and the rain. But to be honest, the rain wasn't going to stop me enjoying myself today.

It was great to get to have a look around the farmhouse, it's a working farm not a tourist attraction and as such you need to book to be welcome. The food we ate back in the barn - that's most likely another post in itself - was delicious, and as I was there with a lot of food bloggers I had lots of reminders to take pictures before digging into my plate.

And yes London to Devon and back to London is just about do-able in a day. It's a long day, but worth it. The weather on the drive home was awful and not even the unfolding American election results on the radio could hold my attention, but to be honest they were competing with mastering a new sport of aqua-planing on the motorway, just as well I had it mostly to myself. 

And if like me you don't manage the four hour drive without a break, then on the way back there's quite a nice well used, but dark layby near Farnham which served me well for a 20 minute nana-nap before I set off on the final leg of my trek home, arriving back just before 3.30am. A long day but one I wouldn't have missed, thanks to River Cottage HQ, Foodies100 and HIBS100 for inviting me.

* This is a collaborative post, but all views and opinions are my own

The roof garden, the Big Easy and a virtuous dinner

We've been out and about a lot this weekend, with a trip to Taste of London at Tobacco Dock more of which soon, followed by a stop off in Canary Wharf, for dinner on the way home. Sometimes you just have days when you're out, and it makes sense to stay out, and this was one of those. Not an out-out day, just out. I'm too old for out-out without any preparation, sadly.

Our initial thoughts were to do some Christmas shopping in Canary Wharf on the way home, and while this was good it was slightly flawed. Mainly because I hadn't thought about what to buy people and mostly because my feet hurt. I'm not sure what I've done to them, well the right one precisely but it's sore and shoes that are comfortable and I can walk in weren't really doing the job. 

A hasty change of plan saw us heading to The Big Easy instead. And I quickly realised that we could walk outside in the rain, along the covered quayside or through the roof garden. You'll already know which route we took, won't you?

It's somewhere I've been meaning to go for a while and not quite made it there. And now that I have I want to go back in daylight. The garden sits above the new Crossrail station in Canary Wharf and is a 300 metre enclosed garden which is open daily until 9pm (or sunset in summer). It draws on the area's heritage as a trading hub and uses plants native to the countries visited by the ships of the West India Dock company who were based here 200 years ago.

And within its space there's a performance space that is used in the summer for a programme of theatre and music. Must remember to check that out when it warms up again.  It was starting to rain as we visited, but as we walked through the space it was impossible not to stop and admire how the lights were shining through the trees. And the wooden and concrete benches, which also caught my eye.

Even from these photos you can see it's a great space and definitely something to explore further in daylight. And so we arrived at the Big Easy, we'd seen it from the DLR earlier and had previously eaten in the Covent Garden restaurant. We were shown to the Captain's Room and somehow neither of us were expecting quite so much wood, or the blue and white china stacked opposite our positions at the large - and I mean large table, which could easily seat thirty or so people.

We ordered our food, pork ribs for me and lobster mac and cheese for MOH and it wasn't long before the most ginormous trays of food arrived. On my plate, or skillet, there were four gigantic pork ribs, barbeque beans and coleslaw. We knew when it arrived that we'd been wise to forgo any kind of starter. 

And I had no idea how I'd make it through this meal. As usual I forgot to take pictures, this time because of the shock, I think. So with two ribs done (and some of those given to MOH) I was done, MOH had done well on his equally gigantic portion of lobster mac and cheese, but felt he could help out on the ribs. Partway through he realised his mistake and admitted defeat. Both mains were tasty and good value, but huge. So large that I asked to bring the meat home.

And that's where the virtuous meal comes in. 

We finished the ribs tonight as part of our dinner. Yes that's how large the portion was, I used them in a broad bean and sweetcorn pilaf for the two of us. So leftovers at their best. And even more virtuousness for us as the broad beans, sweetcorn, onions and garlic all came from our allotment (the first two courtesy of the freezer!).

A TASTY WAY TO USE UP LEFTOVER MEAT

Our Big Easy rib, broad bean and sweetcorn pilaf recipe

2 left over ribs from a Big Easy meal (or any leftover meat)
3 handfuls of broad beans, double podded
3 handfuls of frozen sweetcorn
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp of turmeric, ground cumin and ground coriander
4 cardamom pods, split with a knife
1 clove
1/2 a cinnamon stick
120g basmati rice, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes
250ml chicken or vegetable stock

To make the pilaf

1. Fry the onion and garlic in a tablespoon of vegetable oil until they are soft.

2. Add the turmeric, cumin, coriander, cardamom pods, clove and cinnamon stick and cook for another couple of minutes.

3. Drain the rice and add to the pan with the stock, leftover meat, broad beans and sweetcorn. Cover with a lid and cook for 15-20 minutes until the rice is cooked.

4. Serve with a dollop of greek yogurt, some lemon juice, coriander leaves and black pepper.

It really was as easy as that. It tasted great and was a good way to make use of both our allotment produce and the leftover meat. What's your favourite way to use leftovers?
 

Popping into the Tusting pop-up in Brick Lane

One of the evenings I had in my busy blog week recently was a trip into London's East End to visit the Tusting pop-up shop in Brick Lane. Tusting, if you don't know, are a luxury leather goods family firm based in between Bedford and Northampton, in the heart of leather country.

And they have a wide range of bags and briefcases with many of them on display during my visit. There were classic briefcases to modern totes, clutches and satchels and some gorgeous luggage which I was very tempted by. I'd craftily arranged MOH to meet me there, so we could ostensibly go out for dinner. But, as I'd hoped, I was also able to point out some potential items that would make a good Christmas gift for me. I've learnt over the years that subtle doesn't work with MOH.

Statements like "this would make a nice Christmas present for me, wouldn't it?" work much better. And usually a week or so later, he'll remember and say did you really want that, and sometimes he surprises me without mentioning the item at all and then when I unwrap it I'm surprised. Often surprised he was listening, but it seems he hears more than he lets on...

So what would be on my Christmas list?

Well first up, it'd have to be their signature tote, the Kimbolton, in either the caramel or orange. And in case you're wondering the orange was much more vibrant than in my photo below. Very orange. And I did like that. 

KIMBOLTON LEATHER TOTE IN CARAMEL SADDLE

OR MAYBE IN HONEYDON ORANGE?

But when I saw this shades of pink tote, I was drawn to it. The colours are officially aubergine, blossom and rose, and it is gorgeously soft.  Plus what I quickly learnt was the Tusting approach to detail, just look at the interior.

ASHTON LEATHER TOTE SMALL IN AUBERGINE BLOSSOM AND ROSE

DETAILS IN THE INTERIOR

It was the pink though that held me back. I know, what is happening?  But I saw the tan, navy and cream colourway and realised these are much more my colours this autumn. I did well to put this one back on the display shelf. In fact the only thing stopping me was it's open top, I prefer to be able to protect the contents of my bag with either a zip or fold over flap (yes, that's a technical term!)

ASHTON LEATHER TOTE SMALL IN TAN, NAVY AND CREAM

But then I saw the Donna, and confusion reigned. It's a classic isn't it?

DONNA LEATHER HANDBAG IN CRIMSON RED

Or there was the luggage. Another classic both in design and colourways. The canvas and leather explorer holdalls would make travelling anywhere seem a luxury. We did have a discussion about size on these, I wasn't sure the medium one would be big enough and unsure if the large one would go in hand luggage, because there was no way I'd be putting these beauties in the hold. 

EXPLORER HOLDALL IN OLIVE CANVAS WITH TAN LEATHER

AND DETAILS

So with MOH suitably briefed, and tempted almost as much as me by the luggage, it was time to move on and time to ponder what might actually make it onto the purchase list for presents this Christmas. I'm curious though, do you have tactics for sharing what your other half might buy you?

* With thanks to Tusting for the invite to view their range.