Monday, September 18, 2017
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
As part of our wedding anniversary weekend in Wiltshire, I'd booked dinner on the Sunday night at a country pub. I used Trip Advisor to find a few in the vicinity of our hotel and then looked at websites to check menus – some pubs will only do a roast dinner on a Sunday, which would be perfect for me, but not so good for my husband!
I chose the Lamb at Hindon which turned out to be a great choice. Hindon is a small village with the Lamb at one end; we drove straight past it before we realised, continued through the village thinking we would find somewhere to park but all the spaces were full, so turned around and managed to get a space in the Lamb’s own car park as someone was leaving! We realised later the pub actually has two car parks on either side of the road, but my husband didn’t fancy trying to manoeuvre his Aston Martin into the smaller one immediately adjacent to the pub.
What we originally thought was a park across the road from the pub is actually their pub gardens, with wooden tables where you can drink or even eat – we saw staff carrying food from the pub across the road. It was a lovely evening in June and we were tempted to sit outside but there wasn’t much space and we thought we would be more comfortable inside.
Despite the sunny evening I really fancied a roast dinner, so that’s what I had! The Lamb is a Young’s pub so I was expecting the food to be good quality; there was also plenty on the menu for my husband. It was a shame we couldn’t have the ‘cote du boeuf’ menu – you get beef with roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips, greens, cauliflower cheese and gravy, or beef with triple cooked chips, tomatoes, mushrooms and a peppercorn sauce. Along with a sharing board starter (either meat or seafood) and a cheeseboard to finish, the menu has to be pre-ordered for a menu of six people.
So instead I had the roast 21-day aged Aberdeen Angus rump beef with a giant Yorkshire pudding and veg, which was really good; we were too full for dessert.
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Saturday, September 9, 2017
I reviewed the Beckford Arms last year and don't normally review the same place twice but I had a unique experience last time as I stayed there the night before and the night of my wedding. My husband and I went back for our first anniversary and had a much more normal experience so I thought I'd share.
We had booked a two night stay in the same lodge as last year, which is away from the main building - about a 5 minute drive or 15 minute walk. It was great having exactly the same accommodation though of course my husband didn't see much of it last time as he stayed elsewhere before our wedding at the Larmer Tree Gardens and we got back very late on our wedding night and had to leave early the next morning.
The décor in the lodge hadn't changed at all and it was lovely seeing it differently - last time it was full of people and I was remembering the make up lady was there, our dresses were hanging there, and I got ready and came downstairs.... this time it was just the two of us and we made ourselves right at home, sitting outside for a while in the sunshine - it didn't appear as if there was anyone in the other lodge when we arrived, though the next morning their car was parked right across the front of the lodge, totally spoiling the view, and not in the parking area around the side!
You have the option of having breakfast items provided to cook in your lodge or eating in the main hotel; since we were staying two nights we decided to do both. On the first morning, our wedding anniversary, we didn't want to go out right away so I cooked the sausages and bacon (we left the mushrooms, tomato and black pudding), cut up the fresh loaf of bread and poured the orange juice for a lovely home cooked breakfast.
The next morning we had breakfast in the hotel and I ordered Nutella pancakes. The pancakes were light and fluffy but only had a thin coating of Nutella spread between them - I would have liked more chocolate!
We had a lovely stay and it was fun finding our message in the guest book from last year where I'd written we had stayed here for our wedding night and were already thinking of coming back for our first anniversary - and to be able to add a new message saying that we did!
Thursday, September 7, 2017
My parents came to stay over the bank holiday weekend which was perfect timing for my husband and I to share our news in person. We had my husband's parents over for lunch and told them all at the same time; for that reason I didn't want to be cooking anything where I would have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen!
I made enchiladas for lunch which I was able to prepare that morning then just put in the oven, and my mum and I made dessert the night before.
My husband loves all things chocolate, and doesn't particularly like many other kinds of dessert, so I simply googled chocolate desserts, and came across a website of Mid-West American desserts. My mother in law is a frequent visitor to the US and loves the South, so I thought she might enjoy a dessert from the Mid-West - particularly this one!
It's a chocolate cream pie with a chocolate crust, a custardy chocolate filling and cream on top. The recipe is here on MidWestLiving.com.
I would say this was easy to make but really I have to say it looked easy to make, as my mum did most of it! She made the crust, rolled it out and put it in the tin; you part bake it lined with foil, then remove the foil and finish baking.
The filling takes a bit more effort - you have to be careful not to boil the milk, whisk together the other ingredients and mix it with some of the milk then the rest of the milk. You need to have your chocolate and butter ready to pour the hot mixture over the top and then time it while you stir.
I'm sharing this with the We Should Cocoa chocolate baking blog challenge hosted by Choclette at Tin and Thyme and with CookBlogShare hosted by Everyday Healthy Recipes.
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
This blog is all about things I've made - food, drink, cake, crafts - so here is something else I've made that I want to share with you all....
My husband and I are having a baby! He or she is due in March - one reason I haven't been blogging much lately is because I've been exhausted, falling asleep after dinner and even having naps during the day sometimes. Apparently you do get very tired in the first trimester and then get a lot more energy in the next three months, I hope so!
So you can expect to see more blog posts around eating healthily in pregnancy, and cooking food for babies (though that will be some way off!) and possibly even some baby related product reviews - but I'm still going to be blogging about eating out, recipes and cake decorating!
My husband and I are having a baby! He or she is due in March - one reason I haven't been blogging much lately is because I've been exhausted, falling asleep after dinner and even having naps during the day sometimes. Apparently you do get very tired in the first trimester and then get a lot more energy in the next three months, I hope so!
So you can expect to see more blog posts around eating healthily in pregnancy, and cooking food for babies (though that will be some way off!) and possibly even some baby related product reviews - but I'm still going to be blogging about eating out, recipes and cake decorating!
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
My husband and I took part in the London to Brighton rally for the second time this year - the classic car rally is probably more famous but there is also a version for sports cars and kit cars. For the uninitiated a kit car is one where people assemble a vehicle from components - they often resemble other more expensive cars.
We had lovely weather for it, unlike last time, and also managed not to get lost, unlike last time. You don't end up driving in a convoy - occasionally there are a couple of other cars on the rally in front or behind but for most of the journey it was just us enjoying each other's company and the pretty route we drove through.
We stopped at the Rural Life Centre near Farnham in Surrey - they always plan a sightseeing stop on the route of the rally though I think the previous time's visit to Saint Hill Manor, the former home of Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard - which is apparently now owned by Tom Cruise! That was fascinating and much more interesting than seeing some old farm equipment, but never mind.
Finishing the rally in Brighton we met up with a friend but first needed to get something to eat for lunch. We were hungry and didn't want to venture far from where the cars were all parked up on display, and as it was a lovely sunny day, why would we want to go anywhere other than the seafront, and eat anything other than fish and chips?
The Codfather was nearby, not too busy and had an amusing name and lots of appealing dishes on the menu. My husband had burger and chips and while I was tempted by fish (in batter, that is) I really fancied something else on the menu - a salad with prawns and smoked salmon. I wasn't sure how filling it would be so had a plate of sweet potato fries on the side, which turned out to be quite large. It was delicious - surprisingly good actually for what looked like a cheap and cheerful seafront café.
We had lovely weather for it, unlike last time, and also managed not to get lost, unlike last time. You don't end up driving in a convoy - occasionally there are a couple of other cars on the rally in front or behind but for most of the journey it was just us enjoying each other's company and the pretty route we drove through.
We stopped at the Rural Life Centre near Farnham in Surrey - they always plan a sightseeing stop on the route of the rally though I think the previous time's visit to Saint Hill Manor, the former home of Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard - which is apparently now owned by Tom Cruise! That was fascinating and much more interesting than seeing some old farm equipment, but never mind.
Finishing the rally in Brighton we met up with a friend but first needed to get something to eat for lunch. We were hungry and didn't want to venture far from where the cars were all parked up on display, and as it was a lovely sunny day, why would we want to go anywhere other than the seafront, and eat anything other than fish and chips?
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