Guess the correct amount of macarons in this tower, and you could win four tickets to the all-star Didcot Food Festival!
Saturday, October 27th serves up the third glorious helping of foodie and community fun, courtesy of Christine Wallace and Jeanette Howse of Well Preserved and the founder of the annual Didcot Food Festival. Christine says: “Of all the good things that have come out of appearing on one of the most successful programmes of all time, Great British Bake Off, becoming so involved with my home town is one of the best. We formed Didcot Events and one of these events is this wonderful festival which is my particular ‘baby’.”
Benoit Blin from Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisonswill open the event, 10am-4pm, which also offers mouth-watering street food, live music, a vintage café, local food and drink producers, lots of fun for the whole family and the chefs’ theatre. Among the stars cooking up a storm will be Nick Bennett and Andrew Scott of the acclaimed Restaurant 56 at Sudbury House Hotel in Faringdon. Andrew says: “I look forward to Didcot Food Festival every autumn for its great food producers and excellent demo kitchen.” Nick adds: “At Didcot last year we had a great time demoing our dishes, and interacting with the audience. Make sure you come this year!”
Christine has created this wondrous tower of sweet treats. Can you guess how many macarons (including spares and breakages) it took Christine to build it (FYI the “macaron” is the whole cake with the filling)? Please email lnicholls@roundandabout.co.uk (subject line “Macaron tower”) before 1st September and the person whose guess is closest will win four tickets to Didcot Food Festival.
Summer is here which means al fresco aplenty and Katie Kingsley has rustled up some delicious ideas to enjoy on the side!
Giant couscous salad with roasted peppers, tomatoes, pesto and feta
If you can’t find Israeli/giant couscous, small pasta shapes or orzo work well. This salad packs a lot of flavour; a more than worthy accomplice to any barbecued protein! Measure 200g giant couscous (I used wholewheat), rinse well and add to a pan of simmering vegetable stock (500ml). Once back to a rolling boil, turn down to a simmer and cook with the lid on for 6-8 minutes then drain, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, stir and leave to cool.
Cut two red and one yellow pepper into chunky slices and place cut-side up on a foil-lined baking tray. Halve a pint of cherry tomatoes and place with them in the tray then slice a whole garlic bulb through the middle and place, cut-side-up, in the tray. Drizzle with olive or rapeseed oil and season before placing in a heated oven for about 40-60 minutes and the edges are nicely charred. Remove the garlic halfway through (it will have turned a light gold) and cloves and pound into a paste with a pestle and mortar with a sprinkle of rock salt and glug of extra virgin olive oil. Stir the paste through the couscous then add the roast veg, dollop on fresh pesto and crumble feta on top.
Griddled cos with anchovy butter
Almost everyone who tries this will want the recipe and it’s a pleasure to disclose in its refreshing modesty. Ideal for barbecues, there is something alluringly unconventional but worthwhile in grilling the salad. Halve three or four cos lettuces then heat a grill pan or barbecue to hot, brush your cos with olive oil and grill cut-side-down for a few minutes before turning and grilling for an extra few minutes. You want nicely charred griddle lines and edges.
Transfer to a serving dish. Use a small pan to melt 80g butter then sauté two garlic cloves until golden before adding three finely chopped anchovy fillets, 2tbsp of finely chopped rosemary, the grated rind of a lemon and juice of half. Season to taste and drizzle over your charred lettuce.
Toasted caramel pineapple with coconut ice cream
Dress this dessert up into an exotic sundae with chocolate, coconut shavings and rum or keep it simple on a platter with scoops of ice cream and generous drizzles of caramel sauce. End your barbecue on a high as pineapple is said to contain significant amounts of the feelgood chemical serotonin. Peel and core a pineapple then cut into about 10-12 wedges. Place wedges on the barbecue and cook for a few minutes on each side until you get griddle lines then transfer to a serving dish.
To make your caramel sauce, measure 100g granulated sugar into a large clean pan, heat to medium and once the sugar has started to melt shake the pan occasionally until all the sugar has melted. Cook and stir with a spatula until the sugar has turned a light brown then add 30g butter and whisk vigorously until the butter has melted with the sugar. Remove the pan from the heat and add 60ml of single cream, whisking rapidly again until combined. If you have any sugar crystals, pass the caramel through a metal sieve, leave to cool then drizzle sparingly over charred pineapple and ice cream scoops.
Easiest ever flatbreads with herb butter
I have made these countless times; a delicious accompaniment to any barbecue. I like to pre-roll these so when people arrive, you aren’t in and out the kitchen all day – just separate them with baking paper or cling film. Place 350g natural yoghurt with 350g self-raising flour into a large bowl then add 1tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt. Use your hand to bring the dough together (it will feel a bit sticky so add more flour until you can).
Once you have the dough in one lump, give it a bit of a knead in the bowl then lightly flour your work surface and divide into 12 pieces. Roll each piece out to about 5mm thick and cook on a hot barbecue or griddle pan for one or two minutes on each side. Melt butter and sauté minced garlic cloves before adding fresh herbs then brush the herb butter over the flatbreads. Enjoy your summer!
Our beautiful part of the world is full of fantastic food & drink producers. We uncork some of our favourites to enjoy this summer…
If summer joy could be encapsulated in a sound, surely it would be the “pop” of a perfectly chilled bottle? And when you’re uncorking the fruits of your own labours, success is sweet indeed…
“This land is a b***** to cultivate,” says Henry Laithwaite as he stands on the undulating Chiltern slopes alongside his wife Kaye. “It’s so flinty that the harrow kept breaking when we started working the soil, which inspired our name. But it is a very special spot.”
Indeed, this beautiful Thames Valley terroir is one of the many magical ingredients (along with lots of hard work) which have helped conjure up the lush velvety blushing fizz we uncork and sample in Harrow & Hope’s adjoining state-of-the-art winery. This non-vintage brut rosé, made exclusively from pinot noir grapes, won a gold medal in the Sommelier Wine Awards. Produced using traditional methods and the precious fruit from these relatively young vines, Harrow & Hope’s sparkling wines are flying the flag for the Great British food and drink revolution. Visit www.harrowandhope.com
Here at Round & About Magazine we are passionate (not to mention greedy and thirsty) supporters of local pubs, restaurants and producers. After all, anyone working in the food & drink industry will know all too well that it takes a lot of hard graft to create the perfect recipe for punters to enjoy.
Chalgrove Gin
Gin has seen a surge in popularity and there are some interesting local producers in this spirited part of the world. Chalgrove Artisan Distillery use juniper berries, coriander seed, angelica root, cardamon and black peppercorns, honed in an alembic copper still, to create their OX44 Gin; visit www.chalgroveartisandistillery.com.
Did you know gin started out as a medicine (it was thought to cure gout and indigestion)? In the 18th century, alcohol was safer to drink than water and gin was cheaper than beer; it was untaxed until the government cottoned on, sparking hooch production. Much of the gin was drunk by women (with historians blaming it for child neglect and citing wet nurses giving gin to babies to quieten them), landing many in debtors’ prisons or the gallows, or driving them to madness, suicide and death (hence the term Mother’s Ruin). However, these days it’s a more joyful summer spirit, and can even be considered a beauty tonic…
Young In Spirit is the world’s first company which combines spirits with pure collagen. Oxford “gintrepreneurs” Camilla Brown and Liz Beswick have earned attention from Vogue and The Daily Mail, among others for their Collagin; www.collagin.co.uk.
The artisans at Toad in Oxford craft gin, absinthe, vodka and rye whiskey worth a shot – and there’s a new cocktail bar at Bicester village; www.spiritoftoad.com. And Mr Hobbs Gin, part of the Hobbs of Henley Experience, has launched two new fruit flavoured gin liqueurs; Rhubarb & Ginger and Raspberry & Elderflower www.mrhobbsgin.co.uk
Is beer your tipple? Hoppy bunnies are spoilt for choice. For tours, tastings and hearty ales, check out Witney’s wondrous Wychwood Brewery (www.wychwood.co.uk). Cirencester’s Corinium Ales (www.coriniumales.co.uk), Chipping Norton’s Hook Norton Brewery www.hooky.co.uk. A passion for good beer and social justice fuel Botley’s Tap Social, where the team offer live music and street food every Friday and Saturday in August as well as the monthly comedy night and reggae night, www.tapsocialmovement.com. Ciderniks near Kintbury has been making natural ciders, pure apple juice and cider vinegar since 2003; www.ciderniks.com
Spice up your life…
Variety is the spice of life and there are so many restaurants to enjoy this summer. Michelin-starred Atul Kochhar (the father of Benares in London and Sindhu in Marlow) hosts Indian nights in August at his divine Hawkyns in Amersham; www.hawkynsrestaurant.co.uk. The Bottle & Glass Inn in Binfield has made a splash, gaining a nod from Harden’s Guide and a Michelin Plate; www.bottleandglassinn.com. For summer dining in style, check out The French Horn in Sonning (www.thefrenchhorn.co.uk), The Crooked Billet in Stoke Row (www.thecrookedbillet.co.uk) and The Nelson in Brightwell Baldwin www.thenelsonbrightwell.co.uk. Feast on fresh Lebanese and Middle Eastern delicacies (many vegan or veggie) including colourful salads and wraps at Comptoir Libanais in Oxford’s Westgate; www.comptoirlibanais.com
We also love the rustic summer vibes of The Highwayman (www.thehighwaymaninn-checkendon.co.uk). Cheers!
So, we’d like to know what’s your favourite pub or restaurant and why? Join in the conversation and comment below.
We chat to Paul Clerehugh, the star chef of The Crooked Billet and London Street Brasserie…
Q. What’s your favourite kitchen gadget?
“ My Vogue Speed Peeler, for planing Reggiano curls from a parmesan wedge. It produces perfect courgette, daikon and carrot ribbons and peels a waxy charlotte in seconds… I could even shave my legs with it.”
Q. What are your favourite al fresco summer dishes?
“Shaved courgette and parmesan dressed with thick green olive oil. Or else rotisserie spitroast chicken, loads of herbs, garlic and lemon. I’m also partial to a Mr Whippy with local raspberries and monkey blood.”
Q. Which are your favourite local suppliers, producers or farm shop?
“Blue Tin Farm Shop at Keepers Cottage in Ipsden. Great produce, a great smoke house, great providence and I fancy the farmer’s wife…”
Q. What’s your favourite summer veg, fruit and drink?
“Runner beans, tomatoes and Barbara Laithwaites’ Stoke Row English sparkling wine. I also love an ice-cold Dandelion & Burdock.”
Us Brits love talking about the weather… and there has certainly been a lot to be talking about this July. Since the weekend, it has turned to our ‘traditional’ overcast summer, but there is more hot sun forecast. So which kind of summer do you enjoy?
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Last week, we asked about rubbish… if you feel that the process of recycling needs to be more transparent. Here is the poll result …
Shalini Bhalla, a well-known Cranleigh resident and director of local Bollywood dance-fitness company Just Jhoom!, has just published a revealingly honest book about her mental health and relationship with late husband Jeremy Lucas.
Shalini dancing Indian classical style
Shalini Bhalla, finds solace in traditional Indian dancing and focusing on mindful practice, as a coping mechanism when life gets tough and her mental health suffers. She says: “I used dance, mindfulness and meditation, nutrition and healing to bring (and keep) my mind, body and spirit into alignment.”
She founded Just Jhoom! based upon the joy principal and engaging others in the fun of Bollywood style dancing. Shalini is also an accredited mindfulness teacher and developed an online four-week introductory course into mindful practice -Mindfulness for Beginners.
She feels that this training in mind, body and spirit helped her cope and deal with the impact of losing her husband Jeremy Lucas in 2016, due to cancer. Dancing and focusing didn’t lessen the grief, just helped her to cope, and Shalini took to writing about her feelings in a self-published book, Always With You.
This book is about Shalini’s personal battles with mental illness, the coping strategies she relied upon to regain a positive mental state after severe depression and the loss of Jeremy to cancer. In this emotive memoir, Shalini writes about her experiences of depression, attempted suicide as well as family estrangement, and struggles with religion and national identity.
Shalini wrote the book so she could share her story with others, offering an inspiring message of recovery and renewal as she looks to face the future with strength, hope and anticipation.
Shalini’s positive message has led her to be chosen as a “Voice of MIND” – campaigning for better mental health provision in the UK. She has spoken in the Houses of Parliament to MPs about wellbeing and mental health resilience.
Shalini has lived in Cranleigh for 18 years and been involved in village life, with Just Jhoom! and Mindfulness classes, over that time. Her late husband had lived in the area all his life and his untimely passing, aged 59, left a gaping hole in the community.
Jeremy and Shalini in Samburu
The pair also had a shared love of Kenya and its people, culture and wildlife, Shalini established an education fund: The Jeremy Lucas Education Fund, initiated in 2017, it has raised just over £42,000 and is sponsoring 12 children to attend secondary and tertiary education in Kenya.
Enjoy an open-air production of Little Women in the lovely setting of Gilbert White’s house and gardens in Selbourne, writes Peter Anderson.
Chapterhouse Theatre Company presents an open-air production of Louisa M Alcott’s classic story, Little Women, about four sisters – Jo, Beth Meg and Amy – set against the backdrop of the American Civil War.
Producer Richard Main says: “The best thing, is each night, is like an opening night for the cast and the audience. At the beginning of the summer the sun is high in the sky and there isn’t a star shining, but as you work through the summer months, the whole atmosphere you are performing in changes. Unlike a theatre performance, outside the audience has a chance to relax and see friends in a garden setting and even during the show there is freedom to watch a show how they decide, which is quite different from being in a theatre.”
But what are the logistics like, I ask Richard? “It’s a business mind that kicks in rather than a strictly theatrical one and I love the creative process of putting the tours together and creating the opportunities for arts to be brought to people up and down the country,” he says, adding.
“I toured Shakespeare as an actor as well, and these were always open-air productions, so the passion for gardens and being out in the open to deliver some of the most beautiful words ever written just became a part of who I was. Chapterhouse Theatre Company was a culmination of years of hard work and learning and I am still amazed to find myself in the very privileged position of performing at some of the most glorious venues in the world.”
Little Women is a story full of love, in which hope will always ultimately win out over heartache and hardship. It’s on at Gilbert Whites House & Garden on Sunday, 26th August, please visit www.chapterhousetheatre.orgfor more details
Journey to Neverland thanks to an open-air musical production of Peter Pan by the Immersion Theatre team, writes Peter Anderson
Once again, the theatre’s artistic director James Tobias combines with composer Robert Gathercole for this latest adaptation of J. M. Barrie’s iconic story about a boy who never grew up.
“I’m incredibly excited to continue expanding Immersion’s portfolio of work,” James tells me. “Peter Pan is shaping up to be another
larger-than-life summer treat for families of all ages, complete with all the ingredients that make an Immersion show such a uniting, and above all fun family experience.”
So, what you need to do is follow young Peter, as he guides Wendy and the Darling boys on an awfully big adventure as they think happy thoughts and fly high to Neverland. Once there, they will meet a collection of well-known characters, from Peter’s friends – the Lost Boys, his close friend the cheeky Tinkerbell, and then of course there is the hilarious Smee and the most feared villain of them all, the evil Captain Hook. Filled with catchy music, heaps of audience interaction (oh yes there is!), and a laugh-a-minute script makes this a hilarious and exciting musical about the boy who never grew up, one where every member of the family will be hooked!
Speaking of Hook, Thomas Cove who plays him says: “It’s such a pleasure to be teaming up again with James Tobias and the great people at Immersion Theatre. It’s not often that chances to play such an iconic character like Captain Hook come along, so as soon as the casting came up, I knew it was something I wanted to be involved with. The team who have been assembled truly bring this timeless story to life. The show is packed with Immersion’s trademark high-energy, fantastic entertainment for all ages, and the beautiful open-air venues we’ll be visiting will be in for a treat.”
The performances are outside, so audience members can take their own picnic, chairs or rugs, and drinks will be served during the interval. After the performance you may also have a chance to meet members of the cast.
Peter Pan will be performed on lawns, in our readers’ areas on the following dates:
Wednesday 8th & Thursday 9th August in Hatchlands Park, East Clandon, Surrey.
Friday, 10th August In Langley Park, Iver, Buckinghamshire.
Monday, 13th August in Shaw House, Newbury, Berkshire
Sunday, 26 & Monday, 27th August in Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire.
Serial brunch addict Jessica Elphinstone shares her insider knowledge on London’s hidden gems when it comes to foraging for more than just cereal
Coffee at Rude Health Cafe
Rude Health Cafe– 212 New King’s Road, SW6 4NZ Founded and run by husband wife Nick and Camilla Barnard, Rude Health is all about natural food packed with goodness and amazing taste. Their café is a mecca to all things wholesome – spelt pancakes with berries and pistachios, wild salmon tartare and all manner of jazzed up porridge. It’s one of my favourite spots for a nourishing weekend brunch. A deli stocks freshly, baked goods and juices, as well as a great selection of Rude Health-branded products, and keep an eye out for their eccentric events, which range from wild swimming to life drawing.
Wright Bros – 26 Circus West Village, Battersea, SW8 4NN
Wright Bros Brunch
Seafood lovers unite for this seriously unique brunch offering at the newest Wright Bros opening in the shiny new Battersea Power Station. Overlooking the river, one sunny Sunday, we ponder over kedgeree, a crab omelette and a heavenly lobster croque madame, washed down with freshly squeezed juices. Non-fishy options are available too, as well as a feisty cocktail menu featuring clamato juice bloody Marys and breakfast Martinis. In keeping with the nautical theme, the Thames Clipper can drop you off literally metres from the front door.
Love Walk Cafe Brunch
Love Walk Café – 12 Jerdan Place, Fulham, SW6 1BH
This unpretentious café in the heart of Fulham Broadway welcomes residents and tourists alike with an easy charm and generous portions. No-nonsense full English breakfasts are highly reasonable and well executed (surprisingly hard to come by in the capital!), while excellent coffee and fresh juices are served with a smile, and more experimental vegan and Mexican themed breakfasts are also well worth a try.
Jessica Elphinstone heads down to Fulham Market Hall to check out what everyone’s talking about…
A disused Edwardian ticket hall jazzily revamped as Fulham Market Hall brings serious sparkle to Fulham Broadway, offering a much-appreciated hub for some of West London’s best food and drinks. With ten different counters serving up everything from Hawaiian poké to fried chicken sandwiches,
Claudes Deli at Fulham Market Hall
Begin with a Fulham Spritz or two, served from the original London Underground ticket office booths. The sparkling elderflower cocktail is a real winner for balmy August evenings.
An array of homemade bread and pastries, cheese boards, charcuterie and colourful salads are prepared to order at Claude’s Deli.
Following the huge success of Thai street food restaurant Farang, chef Sebby Holmes serves fiery South East Asian dishes at Thima. Whole crispy sea bass with fresh Asian herbs and a lime dressing is a particular favourite.
Butchies at Fulham Market Hall
We love the free-range, fried buttermilk chicken sandwiches from Butchies, served with OG sauce and plentiful pickles.
Finish it all off with a weird and wacky ice cream sundae from Asian-inspired dessert bar Soft Serve Society. Topped with everything from candyfloss to bubble waffles to charcoal coconut, they’re certainly a novelty.
Find the Market Halls adjacent to Fulham Broadway Underground Station, SW6 1BW. Visitwww.markethalls.co.uk
This book is about Shalini’s personal battles with mental illness, the coping strategies she relied upon to regain a positive mental state after severe depression and the loss of Jeremy to cancer. In this emotive memoir, Shalini writes about her experiences of depression, attempted suicide as well as family estrangement, and struggles with religion and national identity.
