Unbought Delicacies: River Cottage Canteen Axminster

Saturday 22 February 2014

River Cottage Canteen Axminster

I went down to Axminster this afternoon for tea and cake at the River Cottage Canteen; can thoroughly recommend it. Lovely place, pleasant and helpful, friendly staff, excellent food. We had a big pot of tea (4 generous cups) and two slices of parsnip, apricot and walnut cake ( will be trying this at home, nice change from the usual carrot cake) for under £!0, which is pretty good value these days. I don't mind paying a bit more for good food and drink, it's when it's crap that I get annoyed! I then fell foul of the deli counter, conveniently situated by the door lol Came out with some smoked goat's cheddar, some Beenleigh Blue and a decent sized lump of my all-time favourite Sharpham Rustic ewe's milk cheese, plus four bottle of beer from the Town Mill Brewery n Lyme Regis - Ven and Revenge, both excellent.

Earlier in the day I had breakfast out ( had a lovely break from cooking today :) ) at the Engine Room at Poundbury - cheese on toast and a large cappuccino. Bargain of the day here - a beautiful gold-laced polyanthus for only £2 in the garden centre, was so pleased with that. :)

After that we found a really good antiques/vintage place, where I picked up some useful bargains - the two herbal books were only £1 each, knitting needles 30p a pair, the wee pastry cutter £4. I couldn't resist the little purple heart necklace at only £4 too. So much beauty and loveliness for not many pennies at all. I added in a very useful vintage knitting pattern for gloves at 20 p. I am now hoping to be able to save up for the antique French cupboard I fell inn love with, for my new home. I know I'll go back there again when I have some more spare cash

http://www.thegardeneronline.co.uk/poundbury-gardens.asp

http://www.rivercottage.net/canteens/axminster/

Had
intended to go to the Hive Café at Burton Bradstock, but it was stowed out, so had half an hour of very fresh sea air to replenish me before heading off to Axminster.

http://www.hivebeachcafe.co.uk/?doing_wp_cron=1393098044.8443670272827148437500

3 comments:

Ian and Luis said...: That sounds like a perfect day out. Bargains along the way. I wholeheartedly agree with you about paying for good quality food.; 23 February 2014 at 14:54
Unknown said...: Hi there! Just got done checking your blog and had a quick question. I was hoping you could email me whenever you get the chance, thanks!

Emily : ); 25 February 2014 at 21:10
MrsL said...: Can't find how to e-mail you? What's your question Emily?; 25 February 2014 at 22:37

I have found such joy

I have found such joy in simple things;
A plain, clean room, a nut-brown loaf of bread,
A cup of milk, a kettle as it sings,
The shelter of a roof above my head,
And in a leaf-laced square along the floor,
Where yellow sunlight glimmers through the door.
I have found such joy in things that fill
My quiet days: a curtain's blowing grace,
A potted plant upon my window sill,
A rose, fresh-cut and placed within a vase;
A table cleared, a lamp beside a chair,
And books I long have loved beside me there.
Oh, I have found such joys I wish I might
Tell every woman who goes seeking far
For some elusive, feverish delight,
That very close to home the great joys are:
The elemental things- old as the race,
Yet never, through the ages, commonplace.

~ Grace Noll Crowell

Ideas for handmade gifts

Small knitteds - gloves, scarves, hot water bottle covers, hats, tea cosies, phone covers, little toys,,cushion covers, bags. Some of these can be felted/fulled for extra interest.
Edibles - chutneys and jams, pickles, nice teas in a vintage/retro tin, sweeties, toffees, mustard, home made wine and liqueurs, home dried fruits, ketchups.
For the home - trimmed tea towels, handknitted dishcloths, quilted wallhangings, small samplers, restored picture frames, pot pourri, lavender bags, covered coathangers, little scented bags for hanging on handles, framed photos of family,etc you've taken yourself, pincushion,needle book, scissor keeper, book of promises (eg babysitting, 1 hour's housework, the ironing, etc)
Bathtime - homemade soap, bath oils, bath salts, knitted washcloths, herbal bags for the bath, hand sewn toilet bags, trimmed hand towels, homemade lotions and potions packed in pretty jars and bottles.
For the garden - home saved seed in handmade decorated packets; homemade handcream, exfoliating soap, wheat bag for those digger's aches and pains!

Handmade books, personalised printed notepaper and envelopes.
Hamper of bits and bobs from the above lists, packed in a pretty lined basket.

I'll add some more as and when I think of them; These can be used all year round and easily tailored to the recipient - everyone loves a homemade gift. :)

Inspiring thoughts.............

I saw a man, an old Cilician, who occupied an acre or two of land that no one wanted.
A patch not worth the ploughing, unrewarding for flocks, unfit for vineyards;
he, however, by planting here and there among the scrub cabbages or white lilies and verbena and flimsy poppies, fancied himself a king in wealth, and coming home late in the evening, loaded his board with unbought delicacies.
Virgil

I had no theories to prove. I merely wanted to try living by my own hands, independently as far as possible from a system of division of labour in which the participant loses most of the pleasure of making and growing things for himself. I wanted to bring in my own fuel and smell its sweet smell as it burned in the hearth I had made. I wanted to grow my own food, or forage after it. In short I wanted to do as much as I could for myself, because I had already realised from partial experience the inexpressible joy of doing so.

Harlan Hubbard, Shantyboat: A River Way of Life

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Saturday 22 February 2014

River Cottage Canteen Axminster

3 comments: