Home-cooked & Local

“My best ever memory of true baking success was when I was about 3 or 4 years old & I made fairy cakes with my long suffering Mum. My Dad came home from work & I was so excited … Dad took a bite & rolled on his back with his arms & legs in the air to play dead – I just KNEW he loved them.”

As do so many of the customers who have found the Baking Bird, Lizzie Crow on her bun run.  Homemade pies, savouries, quiches, tempting tarts, drizzled cakes and puff pastries.

The kitchen in her Dorset cottage is always busy. The walls lined with pots and pans, with herbs and ingredients in every nook and cranny and  the wholesome heady aroma of freshly baked bread, cakes and pastry.

A regular at the Dorset Farmers Markets she can also be found  at the Royal Standard  in  Upwey.

Waterhouse Fayre homemade preserves, jams, pickles and chutney can found throughout the West Country; in farm shops, delicatessens, specialist cheese shops as well as tea rooms, restaurants and hotels.

A journey which started as a way to use those surplus home grown raspberries by turning them into jam in Ann Stallard’s kitchen.

A business which started on Saturday mornings at the South Molton Pannier Market which has grown over the years.

But it is still a family affair which runs from home. Still only producing small batches in their preserving pans.

Producing the award winning traditional handmade jams, preserves, pickles and chutneys for which they have built an enviable reputation.

 

As usual, I started ordering my Rock Shandy by explaining painstakingly how it all goes together.

Only to have the barkeep suggest that the next time I simply try ordering a Rock Shandy. This as he gave it a final swirl with the swizzle stick.

The building dates back to the 12th Century and was first licenced in the early 1400’s which might or might not make it one of the oldest pubs in the UK. A claim made by many a public house. But it matters not. This is where I go for a pub lunch whenever I am in Southampton.

A simple menu that includes traditional home cooked pub meals.

Well prepared, decent portions and reasonably priced.

And a dessert menu to round off a good meal

The Foxcombe Bakehouse started with the family farm shop. Baking cakes and pasties in Lewdown, a small village off  the old A30 in Devon. Later the family moved to  Foxcombe Farm

Not far from where it all started. As the business started to build a reputation for home cooked food, demand grew and the need for a purpose built bakery to keep up.

To fully appreciate the nuances and flavours found in Thai food you need to get out of the city and into the country. Home cooked Thai food is about families, the community and special events where people come together to eat , celebrate and share.

Although most of the dishes are still bought in from the local street kitchens it is the accompanying condiments, side dishes, fresh wild vegetables and fruit that makes country food so different. Thai food is not as sleek, sophisticated and mysterious as is commonly portrayed. Rather it is loud, proud and earthy. Flavours that are robust, complimenting and contradicting each other all at the same time. A fine balance of a host of local herbs and ingredients that give the food the delicate sweet and sour tones, so distinct from other East Asian cuisines.

Outside of Thailand I have yet to find a restaurant that serves what, I consider, is a fundamental necessity when eating Thai food, that is nam phrik. More specifically nam phrik kapi, a dipping sauce which is served with crisp fresh vegetables. Alternatively the vegetables can soft boiled or pickled and there are as many versions of the same, as there are different regions.

But this is where it all starts.

Add the fresh flavours that come from the generous splash of lemongrass, kaffir lime, galangal and basil. Which go hand in hand with the red and green chillies to add the sharpness. Coconut milk lending the creaminess, tamarind paste a touch of sour while palm sugar adds the sweet tones and this is where restaurants only get it half right.

 

 

Cider is the traditional drink in Wales and a new generation of artisan craft producers are reviving the old traditional methods of production.

Producers like Toloja Orchards additive-free range of traditional Welsh craft cider produced from handpicked and pressed apples from their orchards and small farm overlooking Cardigan Bay in West Wales.

They also produce a cider brandy, mead, apple and pear wine as well as cider vinegar which goes into the wide range of gourmet mustards.

One party request  that led to another, the start of what has become Fee’s Food. Being asked to do something that makes people happy.

A simple beginning that has grown into a coffee shop, a catering service and online oven ready meals.

Situated in Rock everything is done by hand in small batches and by people who are passionate about what they do.  Where the ready made meals are prepared with the same ingredients and care as one expects from a home run kitchen.

There are no shortcuts or compromises, just delicious, wholesome, homemade and unfussy food.

Such as Alfie’s home baked doughnuts. Handmade from scratch with a choice of vanilla custard, chocolate and raspberry jam or the Smoked Haddock Rarebit that is a firm favourite in the shop. Perfect quick lunch, light mid week supper or if spread on small pieces of toast, an incredibly moreish canapé.

 

One of the few outdoor markets I have been to, with a bit of character, is the Hampshire Farmers Market in Emsworth.

Held in the Village Square the stalls are interesting and imaginative.

Offering the best scotch eggs on the South Coast

Hand cut homemade pork pies

And artisan bread. Just some of the stalls to be browsed on a lazy Saturday morning.

I had an hour to kill in Midhurst. So I settled myself into a tearoom run by Neil and Theresa Cannings.

Tilly’s of Midhurst fronts onto Rumbolds Hill so you can’t miss it. But it is far enough away from everything else to make it a little different. They serve breakfast, light lunches and traditional afternoon teas.

I was tempted by the home cooked Gammon Platter but settled for a bowl of soup with a thick slice of bread as it was still a bit early for lunch.