Bread, cheese and thermal waters
As I type this this I am picking at two large hunks of warmed sun dried tomato bread, filled with squishy ripened baby plum tomatoes roasted with rosemary, balsamic and sea salt, some roasted red onion from my father in law's garden, generous chunks of Godminster Organic Cheddar (just on the point of melting) and a slug of extra virgin olive oil. It is essentially a cheese and tomato sandwich, but oh what a cheese and tomato sandwich...
I would like to boast that this sort of simple rustic snack is the norm in the Ms E household, but I would be lying. My current craze for locally sourced and ultra delicious peasant-inspired grub is a knee-jerk reaction to my afternoon at the Taste of Bath Festival on Friday.
The mother and I had spent the morning floating around the Thermae Bath Spa (which my friend S, who is into Latin and all that, informs me literally means "Bath Bath Spa"). The rain had kindly stopped for long enough for us to take to the rooftop pool and enjoy the views across the city, while we tried to resist the urge to swim so as not to undo the pervasive sense of relaxation. An hour and a half of bobbing around and half an hour of sweating in the magnificent steam rooms later, we wandered over to the Royal Victoria Park looking up towards the even more magnificent Royal Crescent, where a large area had been fenced off for the food festival.
Having spent £12 each to get in, we were determined to quaff as many freebies as possible. We were not disappointed. We knocked back a vast array of thimbles of wines and spirits, including a rather nice capirina and a surprisingly enjoyable toffee vodka. Add to the equation freshly baked bread, handmade chocolates, strawberries in balsamic, cheese with beetroot and apple chutney amd we were ready for a nap. We watched the excellent Richard Bertinet demonstrating how to make Fougasse, unfortunately missed Michael Caines' demonstration, but made up for it by spotting a rather svelte-looking Wozza scrutinising a set of Japanese knives.
The sun shone, Brazilian musicians played Bossa Nova. The only thing lacking was meat. As a vegetarian this didn't ruin my day, but I was under instructions from Mr E to bring him back something I thought he "might like". This is Mr E-speak for meat, and unfortunately there was very little to be had at the festival. In the end the mother and I popped into Chandos Deli on George Street to pick up some Pastrami for the poor fella.
So, I now have a cupboard full of cheese, chutney (spiced gooseberry and corriander - delicious), jam, breads and pastries. I have just worked out that my cheese and tomato sandwhich cost £15 to make. Still, it is nice to get out in the sunshine and share good food once in a while. The only problem is that the cheese is very more-ish. I may need another trip to the spa.
I would like to boast that this sort of simple rustic snack is the norm in the Ms E household, but I would be lying. My current craze for locally sourced and ultra delicious peasant-inspired grub is a knee-jerk reaction to my afternoon at the Taste of Bath Festival on Friday.
The mother and I had spent the morning floating around the Thermae Bath Spa (which my friend S, who is into Latin and all that, informs me literally means "Bath Bath Spa"). The rain had kindly stopped for long enough for us to take to the rooftop pool and enjoy the views across the city, while we tried to resist the urge to swim so as not to undo the pervasive sense of relaxation. An hour and a half of bobbing around and half an hour of sweating in the magnificent steam rooms later, we wandered over to the Royal Victoria Park looking up towards the even more magnificent Royal Crescent, where a large area had been fenced off for the food festival.
Having spent £12 each to get in, we were determined to quaff as many freebies as possible. We were not disappointed. We knocked back a vast array of thimbles of wines and spirits, including a rather nice capirina and a surprisingly enjoyable toffee vodka. Add to the equation freshly baked bread, handmade chocolates, strawberries in balsamic, cheese with beetroot and apple chutney amd we were ready for a nap. We watched the excellent Richard Bertinet demonstrating how to make Fougasse, unfortunately missed Michael Caines' demonstration, but made up for it by spotting a rather svelte-looking Wozza scrutinising a set of Japanese knives.
The sun shone, Brazilian musicians played Bossa Nova. The only thing lacking was meat. As a vegetarian this didn't ruin my day, but I was under instructions from Mr E to bring him back something I thought he "might like". This is Mr E-speak for meat, and unfortunately there was very little to be had at the festival. In the end the mother and I popped into Chandos Deli on George Street to pick up some Pastrami for the poor fella.
So, I now have a cupboard full of cheese, chutney (spiced gooseberry and corriander - delicious), jam, breads and pastries. I have just worked out that my cheese and tomato sandwhich cost £15 to make. Still, it is nice to get out in the sunshine and share good food once in a while. The only problem is that the cheese is very more-ish. I may need another trip to the spa.
posted by insearchoftheperfect at
1:29 PM
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