WHITSTABLE // WINDY CORNER STORES

My second visit to Whitstable and there was a couple of places I was desperate to visit. One of which was  Windy Corner Stores. Based a little bit away from the town centre it's well worth the short walk.

As a community cafe it is both kid and dog friendly. Which was perfect considering on this visit we were their with our friends Holly and Elliot and their new born, Rosalie. At only six weeks old she was absolutely adorable and remarkably 'chilled' out. 

As it was a Bank Holiday Weekend, Whitstable was fit to burst! So we decided it best to head over Sunday morning just as Windy Stores had opened to make sure we could get a table and settle down for a relaxing breakfast.

They opened at 8am and we managed to get over there for 8.40am. There was the odd person bobbing in for a paper and takeaway coffee but other than that, we seemed to be the first to arrive. I noticed a couple of tables had been booked for breakfast, which in retrospect was something we could've done rather than just getting there really early. However by the sounds of Rosalie's routine early mornings it didn't seem to matter.

We ordered a large pot of tea and a couple of coffees, grabbed a couple of papers and set up camp (They have Newspapers on sale and to be read if sitting in). Breakfast was served from 9am which gave me plenty of time to decide on what to have. After originally planning to have a small light breakfast, I ended up succumbing to a full veggie brekkie!

As you can see from the photos the serve up an impressive start to the day! Elliot and Ben both went for the Classic Full Monty which included 3 sausages, rasher of bacon, creamed mushrooms, beans, grilled tomatoes, wilted spinach, fried egg and toast. The veggie had also the creamed mushrooms, beans, grilled tomatoes, wilted spinach, fried egg and toast with also broccoli frittata.

Holly went for more 'Windy Eggs' with poached eggs on toast. These eggs were poached to perfection!

Great food, great coffee and a wonderful atmosphere! Highly recommend it but try and get there before rush hour as it does get very hectic when it's packed. The menus do change depending on the season, here's what was on the board that morning...

Windy stores also make fabulous wholesome food for lunch platters & I believe they can do picnic hampers too! They include things like a meze of salads and dips and a main meat or veg dish. Delicious cakes, the best brownies.... was so tempted but was just to early to get one! Such a shame....

WIFI is available if food and drinks bought.  They also do private evening dinner parties, which you can see photos on their facebook page. But best of all they do "Bring a dish for us to fill - windy lazy meals" Where you can take your own large caserole dish and leave it with them and pick it up for of tasty food that you can bake that evening. Such a superb idea. I just wish they were based in South East London!!

OLD SWAN AT MILL MINSTER

This August was my mum's birthday, her 60th to be precise. It was decided that for a change the immediate family would stay at a country pub in Mill Minster which is a village based in the Oxfordshire countryside near to Charlbury.

We stayed at the Old Swan & Minster Mill. This is actually two buildings opposite each other. The Old Swan Inn has 16 historic bedrooms and across the road the Minster Mill which has been done up with more of a contemporary twist, has 44 bedrooms. The people at The Old Swan, couldn't do enough for us and even helped us to do a secret afternoon tea for mum serving up a stunning fruit cake that my sister had made and iced!

It is the first weekend away with the whole family including my wonderful nephew Josh. My mum was a little concerned that there wouldn't be much for him to do. However at nearly two years old he was loving having the full attention of the family and dragging us in turn over to the kids playroom (full of bean bags, retro train tracks and painting equipment) Not to mention the Kitchen Gardens, Chickens, Coquet, Giant chess and general running around.

Ben and I even managed to go for an early walk one morning to catch the sun rise. The Cotswold countryside is beautiful, especially at 4.50 in the morning!

As well having their own kitchen gardens, which they incorporate as much as possible in the menu, they have also just set up their very own bee hives for honey. It's only been going for a couple of months but they hope to be harvesting honey comb soon!

With all these activities it even managed to wear little Josh out too!

BOROUGH MARKET SECRETS FROM THE BOROUGH BELLES

Many of you may know that I am indeed part of the WI. The Borough Belles Women's Institute to precise and in recent months was made joint president. Not only does the Borough Belles give me so much fun and also contact with other like minded women, but it also makes me privy to inside information...

Each year the WI votes on a resolution, this year it is the "High Street SOS"  which you may have already seen in the press with faces such Mary Portus heading the campaign. Our very own President, Lara Clements, also became a face for this campaign by being interviewed on Channel 5 News. Read more about the campaign HERE. We were so proud of her and she'd only been given a few hours notice from WI HQ! Following the interview she headed straight to our August meeting with a talk from David Matchett, the market development manager at the famous Borough Market!

One point that was brought up during Lara's interview and also when discussing the local high street shops and markets, is the fact that it is more expensive than shopping in the big supermarkets! We put this point to David, during the Q&A, after his talk.

David agreed that Borough Market stall holders do not sell the cheapest of produce, but that it is of high quality and each stall holder could tell you where it came from and what day it was picked. Also making the point that it is only in recent years that you can buy chicken everyday due mass production and that when buying meat it would be savoured and only bought one day a week. Society has changed and people now expect & are looking for quantity rather than quality, which is what Borough Market stall holders are selling.

That said, David did inform us of how once a week a few stalls do 'food bargins' & '£1 bowls'. He has very kindly sent the Borough Belles insider info that the girls have allowed me to share with you here on Never Eat Wobbly Jelly!

For ease of location please use this link to locate the traders named below

http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/market-map

Elsey and Bent have 1kg bowls of heritage tomatoes for £1! 
Get the chutney pan on. Gary will see you right here!!

Teds Veg also has a self serve £1 selection with other fruit and veg.

Sillfield Farm Shop  has wedges (up to 250gm)  of creamy lancanshire for £2 each and also big wild boar steaks at 2 for £6 each. Ask for Peter for any porcine advise.

Une Normande a Londres, will have their 5 fromage for £10 deals back  next week, these are selections of cow,  goat, and sheep,  hard, soft, washed rind and blue, and one of the best deals on the market. Uli  will guide you on his selection of cheese and charcuterie

Also if you need to stock up the spice cupboard Mags at Spice Mountain has got a 6pack of basics for £10; Mags also gives discounts for refilling if you bring your own storage jar.

Other £1 Fruit and Veg bowls are on offer from Jock Stark Thursday to Saturday; usually an interesting selection and good quality; and from Paul Crane on Friday and Saturday. Paul Crane is great for buying in bulk, ignore the prices on the flash and buy by the case; he wont refuse any interesting offer.

Game will be coming into full swing and as the harvest approaches the time of plenty should be easier on the pockets.

Do you have any ideas for how we can support our local high streets?

Is there any local business that you think we could feature on the blog and why? 

If you do post me a comment on the NEWJ blog or feel feel to drop the Borough Belles WI a line either via their FACEBOOK PAGE or by email: boroughbelleswi@gmail.com

GLUTEN FREE ROSIE

Dom & Rosie at Mike & Ollie's Superclub

On the evening of Thursday 22nd August, my friend and I went to Rosie and Domenica's new pop-up 'Gluten-Free' supper club. I'd met these two a couple of weeks previously at Mike & Ollie's supper club and this was their second ever event! Rosie is a coeliac training to be a dietitian and runs her blog Gluten-free Rosie whilst Domenica is an artist with interests in healthy eating, up-cycling and self-sufficient living. 

The supper club takes place in Domenica’s beautiful, artistic inspired home/studio in Sydenham, SE London. On arrival Rosie greeted us at the end of a small track that leads down to double doors opening into Dom's studio. Escorting us down to wards the cocktails she explain how usually we'd be sitting outside on the terrace but due to the sporadic rain it was decided a safer bet to be indoors.

Dominica stands behind a table of cocktails at the far end of the converted garage. The room has a strong smell of clay and ceramics, which transported me back to days of ceramic lessons back in Stoke on Trent.

To the side is large chalk board lot by a large studio light, listing the menu for the evening. The menu had a fresh, seasonal Italian inspiration whilst keeping to being nutritious and gluten-free. 

MENU

My companion to this Supperclub was my friend Aitch, who has recently returned back to a carnevoire diet after being a vegetarian for nearly .... years. She was excited about trying Rosie's  gluten-free cooking after herself living on GF diet sometime ago. Aitch mentioned benifits including better sleep, clear skin and more energy.

The rhubarb Belini is sweet, fresh and goes down far too easily! On the table is a selection of cherry tomatoes, oil and balsamic vinegar and the Gluten free coriander, chilli & cumin seed soda bread, which is slightly sweet with a bit of kick and very more-ish.

Kitty Norman, Rose's younger sister, entertained us whilst guest chatted and a second round of cocktails were drunk. We were then shown upstairs above the studio and into the kitchen, dining area, where you walked into a cloud of delicious scents billowing from the cooking taking place.

The guests sat themselves between two large farmhouse style tables with mis-matched crockery and plates and the room was lit mainly by candle light.

Homemade ravioli filled with cashew nut pesto 

Braised Pigs Cheek with Crispy Herbed Polenta, Roasted Beetroot & Fresh Peas

This was the first time I've had pig's cheek and I have to say it was absolutely delicious and melted in my mouth. I'd expect a dish like this to heavy but buy serving it with the crispy polenta instead it was light and the beetroot flavours mixed with the pig cheek so well (my mouth is watering just thinking about it again..)

Pudding wasn't far away, which India kindly posed with for me! 

We'd just been chatting how I'm part of the WI ;)

Basil Panna Cotta served with Blackberry Coulis and Salted Almonds

I love panna cotta and found this variation of flavours light and refreshing and loved the addition of the salted almonds and picked blackberries. Rosie and Dom then came round the room with a large bottle of their home-fused rosemary limoncillo which I have to say was a perfect finishing to the evening.

A superb supperclub with delicious food that so happens to be healthy glutet-free and served by two incredibly friendly and fantastic people I've met for some time. I can see gluten-free Rosie supperclub going from strength to strength. I look forward to seeing what happens next!

For more information about future dates, check the supper club tab on this blog or e-mail glutenfreerosie@outlook.com.