Summer supper at The fox

Beyond the woods at the end of the garden sits the road to old boars hill. If you stand by that road, in a break in the trees you can look down on a patchwork quilt of fields and hedges that roll down to the birthday cake dreaming spires. H suggested supper at the fox inn on boars hill on her birthday evening. 

It was a warm summer night and we sat outside on the garden terrace of that lovely old inn with it's ingle nook fire places and watched the air balloons sail by. Then ate a delicious supper of pan fried duck with sweet chilli noodles, the best ever mediterranean vegetable ravioli (really the thinnest and tastiest fresh pasta ever) or rump steak and pulled pork burger; followed by  scrumptious brambly apple pie with shortcrust (yey just like mother used to make and not, puff pastry) served with warm custard sauce....and no washing up...heavenly...The perfect way to spend a Tuesday evening.

...have you had any nice suppers out recently?

debx

...going away...fridge foraging and spelt pineapple cake.

Sorry I've not been around for a bit...I miss reading everyone's blogs. I've been madly busy and not very well. We're going away for a bit so I've been checking weather forecasts to decide what to pack. Half-heartedly because 'A' says if I don't take the right things with me, I can always buy them in Paris. ( A great incentive to travel light...!!)

I want to visit this tea-cum-yarn shop and  this book shop, and buy a French magazine even though I'll only be able to read about a quarter of it. And eat continental breakfast and not worry about how fattening butter and french bread are, and drink lots of coffee. Preferably in somewhere like the balcony in the magazine.

And I just wanted to post these few photo's of a walk by river that we took before everything got much too busy. We've been having 'fridge forage' days because we don't have time to shop and we have to empty the fridge before we go away...So I've used  up fresh vegetables and smoky fish and made a retro pineapple upside down cake but with spelt flour, before the pineapple shrivelled up to the size of a pinecone... 

Sometimes make-do meals are the best kind of food ever...

...don't you think?

Bye for now...see you soon...

debx

Ps. Here's my cake recipe:

Spelt pineapple upside down cake

Ingredients:

• One small to medium sized pineapple
• 100g/ 4oz soft butter or dairy alternative
• 100g/4oz soft brown sugar or Muscovado would be nice
• 100g/40z spelt flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs

Method:

1. Preheat the oven 180c/gas mark 4
2. Peel slice and core the pineapple
3. Prepare an oven proof dish by greasing with a little butter
4. Place the pineapple slices in the bottom
5. Cream the butter and sugar together.
6. Add the eggs and beat into the mixture.
7. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold in with a metal spoon.
8. Spoon the mixture over the pineapples in the oven proof dish.
9. Place in the centre of the oven and bake for about 30 minutes until the cake is golden brown and set. Test by inserting a skewer into the cake. If it comes out clean the cake should be ready.

This is a very more-ish cake, delicious served warm as a pudding with  yoghurt or custard or just as nice cold...

dx

The count down is on and 'I licked all your biscuits'

It's the 1st of December so we can reasonably get the tree now...we're going to leave it until the weekend, so there's no rush and we can take time to choose a nice one. But I couldn't wait to go to The Covered Market at lunch time to have a look at the trees. I love it at this time of year.  When 'H' was little she wouldn't come in with me because of the venison and pheasants hanging up...good on her...

On the hunt for stocking fillers I popped into the Antique/Craft and Farmer's Market in Gloucester Green too, in an attempt to find  something a little bit different.   I did, but can't share them here... 


But I did treat myself to something from The Old Fire Station Gallery/Theatre/Cafe shop which has just re-opened, and bumped into one of the guys who was on the same Fine Art Course with me at uni...which was lovely...he's got an exhibition coming up(I will post more about the OFS here or here when I have time)

...Obsessed as I am with insects (should have studied entomology)I couldn't resist this locally made ceramic coaster by Alison Shields, that I intend to frame...I just love it...


"i licked all your biscuits"...



So I can tick off a few of the Christmas 'to-do' boxes...it's all about being a green one for us this year...trying to keep it simple, hand-made, vintage or local if possible...


A good start so far

• Hand made foraged wreath for front door
• Hand-knitted,vintage or locally made stocking fillers...(there might be a few that aren't but I am trying...)

two down...lots more to go...

Oxford Carnival

Oxford Carnival - not on the scale of Notting Hill but usually has a cool cosmopolitan vibe...this year it was in South Park not Cowley Road...awesome setting but a shame it didn't have quite the same buzz as usual...

The Turf Tavern Oxford

We'd lived in Oxford a long time before we discovered The Turf Tavern hidden away down a little passage, under the Bridge of Sighs. It's great in the summer when you can sit outside and eat lunch, but the best time of all is on a frosty autumn or winter Sunday when all the braziers are lit and you can toast marshmallows and drink mulled wine or hot chocolate...