Thursday 8 June 2017

Organic food?

I switched to organic foods as they use fewer chemicals and so it was out of my concern for the animals, the environment and for me and my family's health.  For several years I had the Riverford Farm box of organic vegetables and would nip in to either the Riverford shop in Totnes or Staverton to top this up. I really liked the recipes that they included each week.  I found this seasonal and used most of the veg from the box.  I only stopped using the service due to money.  I was really pleased with the quality of the goods and their customer service.


Now I pick and choose what I buy as there are plenty of organic foods at supermarkets nationwide.  I highly recommend organic carrots!  I use Tesco online as parking is difficult outside my house, and I find they stock plenty of organic products, e.g. milk, bread, stock cubes which I use all the time, as well as some more obscure ones like chilli crackers and pasta sauce.



 I use organic ingredients for all my baking needs: my organic (and Fairtrade) banana and chocolate cake


For local (some free!) organic breakfast events on 14 June go here:www.wakeuptoorganic.co.uk

Riverford are actually having one, you need to book and pay for it.
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A special organic breakfast at Riverford Field Kitchen:

 What: Riverford Field Kitchen is running a special one off breakfast event - a set two

course organic breakfast. Numbers are limited so pre-booking is essential. Cost is £10pp

 Where: The Riverford Field Kitchen, Wash Farm, Buckfastleigh TQ11 0JU

 For pre-booking: Tel 01803 762074

 When: 14 June 2017 from 9.00AM




Friday 5 May 2017

Taste of the Teign Food and Drink Festival 25 September - 1 October 2017



South Devon’s third year of the most exciting celebrations of local produce is Taste of the Teign Food and Drink Festival. 

This festival puts produce that’s been picked and reared in the surrounding fields, caught in local waters or harvested from the hedges firmly at the heart of this food and drink celebration.

This is held in Teignmouth, Shaldon and Bishopsteignton.  This year it will be held Monday 25 September - Sunday 1 Oct.  Over the course of the festival many  events will take place; each one using locally sourced produce as the centrepiece for culinary creativity - it is usually a combination of demos, workshops and other events like cream teas; sausage tasting; a food quiz and tours of local food producers


For more information on the festival visit: http://facebook.com/tasteoftheteign 

It's such a good festival with lots to see and do and I think this year they have permission to host events on the Den, Teignmouth on the Saturday and Sunday.

See you there!

Plants, tea and cake in South Devon: High Garden Nurseries, Kenton

This lovely little nursery took me by surprise.  It is in Kenton and the prices for plants are lower than the garden centre at nearby. Powderham

The owner is obviously a plantsman and talks about each plant as though they are a beloved pet.  This was our second visit (we have been caught out in the past as they are only open Tuesday - Friday 9-5) and we came away with a few little gems - a really nice clematis and a strange alien-life-form succulent.

A friend, L, recommended it and I can see why.  There are so many reasonably priced plants there.  There are all the old favourites plus some more unusual ones.

We had something to eat and drink in the cabin at the end of the nursery, The Bothy.  There is an honesty box and it is self service - I had a cup of tea and a slice of delicious homemade ginger cake. And because it is self-service you can take the largest slice!   There is a really interesting photo album on each table detailing the journey the nursery has been on.




From here there are also some gardens you can visit if you pay a charge. The admission is by donation to Force, a charity close to my heart. We had a little peek at the gardens and they looked magnificent - butdidn't have the time or energy to look around them properly.  We will visit them next time.


So, we bought some reasonably-priced high quality plants, got a lot of information about them from the man who grew them, a decent cup of tea and a slice of homemade cake!  Brilliant!

This is their link:

High Garden Nurseries, Kenton

Featured post

Taste of the Teign Food and Drink Festival 25 September - 1 October 2017

South Devon’s third year of the most exciting celebrations of local produce is Taste of the Teign Food and Drink Festival.  This f...