#PYOandPie AT PETERLEY MANOR FARM

Last Sunday Hannah and I collected the 'Londoners' and headed to Peterley Manor Farm in search of pick-your-own fruit for our next adventure: #PYOandPie

I soon found myself in fields I spent many years of my childhood exploring whilst collecting fresh produce through the approved 'pick one, eat one' method, a method each and every child adopts when picking fruit straight from the source. This of course ends in sticky fingers and red smears masking smiling faces. A fond memory, not forgotten.

Thankfully, these days I can appreciate the hard work that goes into growing fresh produce and the 'pick one, eat one' method didn't seem quite so appealing. I felt the need to recognise all this hard work spread before me, in the form of delicious raspberries & strawberries patiently waiting to be picked. Of course I enjoyed a few as we went, that is part of the fun after all!

We slowly filled our punnets, discussing the finer points of collecting berries and recipes we could whip up in the afternoon. I really love the sweet achievement of finding a large batch of strawberries hidden below the leaves, just waiting to be found.

Ultimately, I think Hannah summed it up best in one word: 'therapeutic'.

If you've never picked your own food, please do. It comes so naturally and instantly that its almost shocking, like a long lost skill we all know and simple need to tap into when the chance comes. It makes me think of simpler times and of hunting and gathering we've sadly lost to modern times.
Thanks to a few hours picking we'd filled enough punnets to pursue our baking plans that afternoon. Those plans? Giulia's Strawberry & Raspberry Tart seemed like the perfect fit and we all pitched in to bring the recipe together. A team effort for sure!



P.S - If you're smart you'll notice some of these photos are from a visit Hannah and I took together before #PYOandPie. A scouting trip if you will!

A BIRTHDAY WEEKEND PART II - #FRENCHIEPICNIC

And now for Part II - #frenchiepicnic.            Find Part I Here

After getting home & crashing on Friday we were up and ready for another day. And what a day it promised to be - blue skies and 25°C! We hopped on the train into London and I caught my first Instagram video of Eggs waiting for his tube:


We soon found ourselves enjoying the ambiance of Hampstead Heath and relaxed for hours chatting with friends, drinking summer white wine thanks to our new found knowledge after the Seasons wine evening and eating far too many corn chips & salsa. Giulia even bought along a gluten free cake as a Birthday surprise for Hannah. A summer day to remember! We finished the afternoon with frispee and took in views of the city from Parliament Hill.

AN EVENING WITH MONDOMULIA - #FRD2013

Hannah and I were lucky enough to attend Giulia's first cooking masterclass in honor of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Day, and with the promise of freshly made Italian pizza using only the best ingredients we did the typical English thing and arrived early! Thankfully, we were greeted by Sandy as he prepared the recipe cards for the evening.

After Wendy had arrived and the first bottle of red was open, Giulia began describing the importance of ingredients in food and made sure we understood why she had selected each ingredient for the evening, including where she had found such wonders in London. I loved hearing about real honest food and especially enjoyed learned about Olive Branch Olive Oil and how acidity determines the grade of oil. Once we had been through each ingredient Giulia began preparing the dough showing us each stage before kneeding it and leaving it to prove.

As we waited, the best Bruschetta I've ever had was prepared and eaten whilst we chatted about all things photography & blogs, the fact that Hannah and I should move to London and our future plans including #frenchiepicnic and a Canadian Thanks Giving. Bring on summer!

Unfortunately our dough was not to be trusted and hadn't risen as Giulia had hoped, but we all had a great laugh forming our pizza bases including hitting the roof and dropping the dough more than once! After we handed our base attempts over to Giulia she expertly topped them and baked them into some of the best tasting pizza I've ever had.

I had another wonderful evening and hope we get the chance to cook with friends more often.

TERRONE

My highlight of the London Coffee Festival was by far the True Artisan Cafe pop-up. The premise is simple, three bars, each one held by a different Artisan for each session over the course of the festival - 3 bars, 3 Artisans, 3 hours, with a live DJ to keep everybody jumping (if the free coffee wasn't enough).

Terrone had the afternoon slot at bar one on Sunday and after a few months of following them on Twitter thanks to a recommendation by Giulia during our very first brunch, I knew Hannah and I had to be there.

As the slot began we were greeted by a display of Terrone's branding thanks to the talented team behind Apple&Pear who were also on hand to help with the preparations (thanks to Giulia for another introduction). As you can see from the photographs they've produced a wonderful aesthetic & brand around an equally wonderful & driven company in the form of Terrone's team.

Its very refreshing to see small, independent companies working closely together to create a lasting impact, and I'm hoping this blog post will inspire others to check out these burgeoning companies before they blow up.

PS. Seriously, thanks to Giulia for all these introductions. I'm very happy to call her friend and even more happy she made me carrot cake! Thanks Giulia!

BRIGHTON ROAD TRIP

Hannah, Dan, Emily and I got up on Saturday morning and headed for sunny Brighton with grand plans of showing Eggs the sea, consuming good coffee, enjoying adult beverages on the beach and finding some good eats.

We managed all of them except the coffee.. I guess another road trip is in order to catch up on the delights of Taylor St Baristas, Marwood and Ground (Thanks to Mulia for the suggestions).

We started our day with a stop at Seasons to get our morning caffeine hit and got on the motorway for our 2hr drive to the seaside! Once we'd parked we headed to the beach, found the dog friendly section and enjoyed the sunshine and ambiance for a few hours until our stomachs began to grumble.

We settled on Burgers for dinner and Yelp told me the best stop around was Grubbs Burgers unfortunately it seemed to have disappeared to be replaced by Neighbourhood. But what a find! Cheap AMAZING burgers, fries and Pimms soon sated our needs and we finished the evening off with some Strawberry and Lime cider enjoying the last of the sunshine on the beach.

We'll be going again without a doubt!