The usual Sunday morning routine of exercise, dog walking, dog hairdressing and washing is all done, and I am outside on the trusty old rocking bench enjoying the sunshine and Earl Grey (that'll be the tea not the local squire)
We got planning permission for the greenhouse/conservatory and I have found one that works perfectly for the shape that it needs to fit.
Since the cottage is so tiny, we do not have any entertaining space, last Summer ended up being a bit of a scorcher, we bar b qued and entertained up to 12 people fairly easily, but I'm feeling a little guilty about the number of dinners that we 'owe' through the colder months as we haven't been able to entertain at home.
Keeping the temperature even is always difficult with t his much glass. The idea for a 'dining conservatory' came from one of my favourite restaurants in Oxford, it started as a fruitier and has seen many incarnations, some good (Raymond Blanc was patron for a while before opening Le Manoir) and some awful, last time we went, we had one cold dish, one 'off' dish and one 'raw' dish, among a table of only 6 diners. Probably the worst food I have ever eaten, but still one of the best locations. We may have to go back just to see how the heating/circulation works, I am loathe to eat anything since the last meal was so terrible, I wonder if I can get away with just going for coffee...
I'll look for inspiration for dishes to serve from a new eatery just outside of Oxford called 'The Milk Shed', perhaps the least auspicious of locations, it is in a pre fab unit on a working farm, the food is incredible. Think Ottelenghi meets good British cooking with farm fresh local produce and you have some idea, for any one visiting Bicester Village, seek it out, it is only minutes away and the difference between what they offer and the mass-produced 'chain' food offered at the shopping mecca is marked. Plus main courses are £7 at their most costly!
All this food is making me hungry, I am gaining pounds fast, no more lazy week days, it is up at 6am and to the gym before work, I have a surge of energy now that the sun is shining.
What are your favourite foodie haunts, do you go for haute cuisine or lowly burgers? I'm done with 'the middle', and erring more and more to simple, basic and fresh.
What is this "diet cake" you keep going on about please?? ha ha!! Glad the weather was lovely for you . Apparently we are going to have the hottest summer on record this year according to some scientist types who watch the weather cycles for these things. Now that would be nice wouldn't it? Droughts aside of course.
ReplyDeletein the end, i cooked it today as tea with out cake or biscuits is an abomination, and it worked, details tomorrow!
DeleteLooking forward to it.....Im going to join you with the gym thing.....I have one in the garden fully equipped but I havnt been using it and as summer is fast approaching (in fact it could come next week knowing this country) Im going to start tomorrow. Would love to drop a size or two by June, wish me luck.
DeleteLoved the Earl Grey line! Oh your heat should reach us by tomorrow, I plan on painting the outdoor buildings, fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteWe had a dining conservatory for 13 years then I made it into a sitting room, oh boy, sitting there on a cold day with the sun shining is my happy place, we have no social life up here so it was wasted as a dining room.
this is why i love oxford, so many mates have left London and moved to places where they rely on 'importing' their old life, but oxford just does its own thing. The conversations at the gym can be like being in a literary salon, there is always someone very clever, who is a world expert in whichever topic on-hand to give the actual low-down on the issue. Yesterday the chat over coffee was how online porn effects teenage boys (from a leading psychologist, not someone who had just read an article in the Daily Mail). I might even suggest that Oxford could be your type of town if you ever consider living South of the Borders...
DeleteLove a greenhouse and UK is the perfect country for it! Conservatories in Australia never worked! Today was such a glorious day that I am sure you must have come up with great ideas. Just be warned that the special blinds for conservatories are outrageously expensive so do try and keep a simple design otherwise they will cost as much as building the structure!!
ReplyDeletegood tip, i hadn't thought about it, you are right, I quite like the haphazard look of the sheets above, but i am sure they are just photoshoot friendly, not so good in real life
DeleteThe food looks fabulous and I love the idea of a conservatory. I have a little garden house out back and it's my absolute favourite space.
ReplyDeletepost some pics! I would love to see it, as getting inspiration from as many places as possible!
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