What a glorious weekend we’ve just had! I thought after the August bank holiday, we wouldn’t have such gorgeous weather, but I was quite happy to be proved wrong. Although it feels a bit chilly today, so perhaps time to light the wood burner?
I woke up bright and early on Saturday morning, so I quietly hopped out of bed to let the handsome one have a lie-in and took Bella out for a walk.
I popped into Stow-on-the-Wold to meet a friend for a coffee, a cake from Le Patissier Anglais (the best patisseries around – no joke) and a natter, then went home to rescue the handsome one from painting the panelling in the spare room. I know, I know, he really got the short end of the stick, but I did bring him back a lemon meringue cake so there is that!
Whilst I’d be out and about the handsome one had found a hidden gem for us to visit, so with no more information that that we jumped in the car, headed south and turned up in the pretty little Cotswold village of Ascott Under Wychwood, where we arrived at a fantastic pub, called The Swan.
Sometimes you walk into a place and get a good vibe, and this is definitely one of those places. Friendly staff, beautifully decorated, gorgeous gardens and great beers on tap – what more could you want? Also, imagine this place in the winter with this fire roaring – if I disappear, you’ll know where to find me!
As I’d stuffed myself silly eating patisseries earlier, I unfortunately wasn’t in the mood for lunch, but the food that they were bringing out looked absolutely divine, so we’ll definitely head back there for food another time. The outdoor area was comfortable and relaxed, even though there was lots of different groups of people around, and as mentioned, the staff could not have been nicer.
After a relaxing couple of hours in the sun and taking inspiration from their gardens for ours, we headed home. Our route home was through Kingham, so how could we possibly pass The Wild Rabbit without popping in? Even though the sun was still shining, I said how amazing it would be if we walked in and the fire was on… And it was!
Afterwards we nipped into Daylesford to pick up some goodies as I wanted to make gorgonzola and fig pizzas – I never fail to get excited walking inTo Daylesford with all of the fresh produce on show.
Using my recipe for making pizza dough (so easy), we made fig, proscuttio and gorgonzola pizzas. The pizza was a little light on the gorgonzola because I could. not. stop. eating. it. The quality of the food from Daylesford is always incredible, but the cheese is on a different level. The cheese and the meats we bought were such good value – yes, Daylesford can be expensive, but I found the cheese and charcuterie to be extremely reasonable and they have some great offers on.
Not a great picture of the pizza but I was just too excited to eat it! I used some chopped tomatoes from a tin, mashed them together with salt, pepper, garlic and a pinch of sugar for the base. I then added some, caramelised onions (fry the onions in a bit of oil until soft and then add some balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. I use three spoons of vinegar to one of sugar, but try as you go to find out what you like), salami and the cheese. Bellissimo!
Sunday was a more relaxed affair that began with a pot of tea and the paper, followed by a trip to B&Q in Evesham because that’s how we roll. We used to live just outside of Evesham in a stunning village called Bretforton, so as we were in that neck of the woods, we thought it rude not to visit our old watering hole, The Fleece Inn.
We lived there for less than two years, but it’s an experience we’ll never forget. Having grown up in a rural village in Shropshire, I know how ‘clicky’ villages can be, but Bretforton is the friendliest place you could ever hope for. We were immediately welcomed into the village by all of our neighbours and everyone we met – I’ve never lived in such a welcoming place.
As you can probably guess, we frequented the pub on a regular basis and what a pub it is. The Fleece Inn is owned by the National Trust and dates back to the 16th century. It’s full of charm, history and working fires, which is the makings of a fabulous pub. We walked in yesterday to be greeted like we’d never left the village! Full of locals, all asking how we were and whether we’d moved back yet! It really is home from home, and when I saw they had Lawless on tap, an amazing Purity lager, I almost did cartwheels through the pub.
After a lovely pint, we popped into Dormy House, another one of the places we used to visit a lot when we lived in Bretforton before we headed home.
With the weather being so nice, I wanted roast chicken but not quite a full Sunday roast, so I knocked together a harrisa roasted chicken, with olives and potatoes, with a side of Abi-style tabbouleh!
All I did was stuff the chicken with half a lemon, thyme and chilli, popped the chicken on top of some chopped potatoes and half a jar of olives and then rubbed the chicken all over with harissa and seasoned liberally with salt and pepper.
I only ever use free-range meat because of ethical reasons, but also because of the taste. I then made tabbouleh by cooking some bulgar wheat and tossing this with lemon juice, olive oil, chives, mint and salt & pepper. I had a load of peppers so I halved them and chucked with into a pan with no oil and let them catch and go soft, then sliced them up and put them on top of the tabbouleh. Then it was time to enjoy some lovely Shiraz and catch-up on Gogglebox.
As weekends go, this was a pretty fab one!
A x
Abi in the Garden 