A sailor's return

I can get away with this title (just), because I have actually been sailing twice in the last two weeks. Who cares if I don't know the difference between a tack and a jibe?

Anyway, sadly no piccies of food, as I didn't quite manage to coordinate camera with grub, but A LOT of good local food made it's way to my belly (along with a considerable amount of pints of ale). It's fairly safe to say my belly has grown to pasty proportions!

Highlights included a daily pint of Cornish Knocker from the Chainlocker, right on the water's edge. It's one of the nicest places to have a pint in Falmouth - a proper old Cornish pub, selling lots of good local ales from the likes of Skinners and Sharp's Breweries, Weston's Cider and all the right seaside trimmings (framed knot pictures, a ship's anchor outside, that kind of thing). At around 5pm you can sit outside on the benches and watch seals follow the fishing boats in for any leftovers.

Roskilly's ice cream; I've said it before and I'll say it again, the best ice cream I've ever eaten. Top flavours are Hokey Pokey and Blackcurrant Yoghurt.

Pasties from The Natural Store on High Street in Falmouth. Ok, they're organic and from a health food shop, so maybe not the most traditional, but still the pastry isn't over-cooked, there's a good meat/veg ratio, no deviation from the recipe with fancy veg and for £2.50 what more could you ask for?

The farmer's market; just about 4 stalls every Tuesday morning on The Moor in Falmouth. All very local farmers and producers - the antithesis of the London Farmer's Market I guess. Lots of good cheese such as Cornish Blue and Tresco; a softly smoked hard goat's cheese, local veggies and meat, Honey from the Lizard, and finally bread, flour and pasties from The Cornish Mill and Bakehouse. This one was a real winner for me as I've recently been reading bits from Elizabeth David's English Bread and Yeast Cookery (well worth the read if you're into bread like I am) and so was pleased to see that not only do they grow and mill their own wheat (stoneground not roller) they then use it to produce a loaf called 'Homegrown'. It's delicious, quite different from the usual fare, as more flavoursome, and slightly cakier due to the lack of Canadian 'Hard' wheat found in all commercial English bread. Definitely worth seeking out if you're in the area though - it makes the most fantastic toast.

Sadly, due to my lack of a) a driving license and b) a car my edible odyssey was confined to the area of Falmouth. I am planning to remedy this, so there'll be further explorations to come!

Borough vs Broadway

I went to Borough Market on Saturday. In terms of London markets it's not my first choice. It's a shame - there's no denying the fact that food-wise you won't really see such a good (if somewhat over-priced) selection anywhere else in London. But It does fill me with the feeling that I've been tricked into going to the Madame Tussauds of the food world...

On the other side of the coin I have happily been going to Broadway Market in Hackney for the past couple of years or so. It certainly does have it's fair share of yummy mummy regulars, but this little market has helped me give up supermarkets without costing a penny more, or sacrificing the food I eat. In fact, if anything I would say it costs less. As a shopper you're not sucked into buying all the extras that seduce you as you wander around the traditional supermarket. Not only that but I can buy fresh local organic meat, good cheeses and lots of other things too. In fact one of the highlights is that it is the only place I have found in London selling raw whole milk (which incidentally, has had no dodgy side-affects whatsoever, and is absolutely delicious!)

ps - not proud of my link there to an article by the Daily Mail, but sadly it was the only relevant one I could find!

pps - photo credit to Mr Royston Beddard