So so excited that I get to visit my pal Alysia Cotter, she of From London with Love Fame!
We hope to get to visit Paris as well and my dream... a visit to River Cottage! We plan to arrive in early July and spend two weeks there. Cannot wait to see the city again, my last visit was in October of 1983 when I looked more like this
I landed in Heathrow and went in search of the Hair show I had come to attend, I recall the excitement of my first tube ride and my first bite of a real Cadbury's bar.. ah memories....
Stay tuned for more on our stay, cannot wait to show my hubby and kid around the UK.. and have another Cadbury's of course :-)
xo Deb xo
It's no secret that I am a HUGE fan of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
His River Cottage TV show really knocked my real food socks off on PBS. I have his books, I follow him on Twitter and Facebook. The only thing I still need to do is go there. And stay there. For at least a week..... sigh......that is my dream.
This is what I would love to do while there.. take a four day cookery course. Here is a video on what they offer:
Our four-day practical cookery course is the perfect River Cottage experience, each day is based on the River Cottage Cookery Schools; Meat, Bread, Fish and Veg. This is very much a hands-on course approach to cookery.
You will leave this intensive course with the confidence, skills and enthusiasm to cook a range of delicious dishes at home for friends and family. Who knows, it might inspire you to become a chef yourself . . . 'The pace is just right, balancing heads-down cooking with downtime to savour your efforts and the magic of Britain's most filmed farmhouse' says Claire Hargreaves in the BBC Good Food magazine. You can also expect Hugh to drop by at some stage during your four days with us.
Each day is divided across the four disciplines of bread, meat, veg and fish, each beginning with a demonstration by our tutors and chefs, after which you pick up the knife or whisk and have a go yourself. Bread & Pastry
A chance to master the basic loaf, learn about flour varieties, pastry work and cake making, puds and sweets.
Meat
Covering meat preparation and cookery, we’ll look at a wide range of techniques and recipes, including learning about the forgotten cuts, offal, slow cooking and five minute suppers.
Fish and shellfish
Get to grips with basic fish preparation, gutting, scaling and filleting. Gain an insight in to the ethics and sustainability of fish cookery, arriving at some classic River Cottage fish dishes.
From the Garden
Mark Diacono, our Head Gardener and author of Veg Patch will take you on a pick and nibble session in the River Cottage garden, before our chefs show you how to turn your bountiful produce into a range of gratins, pestos, salads, soups and sauces.
The skills you'll leave with include . . .
• Stock making.
• Filleting and gutting fish.
• Meat preparation & essential knife skills.
• Working with shellfish.
• Home smoking, terrines and pates.
• Slow roasting and pan frying.
• Curing and marinating.
• Introducing offal
• Sauces, gravy,dressings and pesto.
• Soups, broths and stews.
• Sour dough and yeasted bread.
• Pastry, sponge and batters.
• Salads and cruditees.
• Gratins and roast vegetables. • Sourcing and provenance of ingredients. ADDITIONAL DETAILS Location: This course is run from River Cottage HQ on the Dorset/Devon borders. Full address details of HQ will be provided once you have booked. Wine/drink: We are a licensed venue. We have a wide selection of the finest organic wines. Accommodation: If you need local accommodation click here. Or call the Lyme Regis Tourist Information Office on 01297 442 138, they will be very happy to help. Age: We would advise that this course is only really suitable for 12yrs of age and upwards. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult. We put these guidelines in place for the safety, comfort and enjoyment of all our guests. Time: 10am - 4.00pm Special offers: You’ll receive a 10% discount at our Local Produce Store in Axminster as well as our Canteens in Axminster & Bath. You’ll be able to pick up the makings of a sumptuous Every Day recipe there, so you can put your new-found know-how to great use. Keep me informed
If you are interested in joining us at River Cottage for a course or event, please let us know. We will send you new dates when they become available, special offers on last minute tickets and let you know about the new courses we are developing. Just hit the button below and let us know what you're interested in.
After a long day cooking and learning I would eat all my meals at the Axminster Canteen, run by River Cottage folks of course!
Or how about renting the 17th Century farmhouse to have a nice sit down dinner?
Fireside....
The River Cottage Team is very concerned with local, organic, sustainable food.
The buzz on this HISTORICAL event was a long time coming. To my chagrin, when I finally got my ass in gear to buy a ticket it was sold out! Due to the magic of Facebook and one Mr. Danny Roddy, I was able to get a spot on the prestigious volunteer squad, run by Gavin Impett. I practically did a jig right there in front of my computer screen I was so thrilled!!!!!
I packed my little grass fed burger with arugula and tomato lunch, added some snacks and headed for UCLA. After a bit of a climb (Mov Nat!) I found a packed room, and I heard a voice that I know oh so well. Mr. Robb Wolf of The Paleo Solution was holding court and it was standing room only. WOW! So cool to finally see him in the flesh, being his smart and funny self! Here is one slide he shared, yes, Virginia, Cows Do Eat Grass!
I did miss some very important speakers in the am, such as Aaron Blaisdell and Boyd Eaton, two of the genius minds that created the AHS. I did have a Loren Cordain sighting, as he was being interviewed...
I also missed Mark Cohen. BUT THEN, I spotted this guy and just had to nab a pic with the king of all Kitavan studiers, Staffan Lindeberg!
I missed a few others, including Don Matesz of Primal Wisdom who recently wrote a post entitled 'Farewell to Paleo'. I have to say that his style of diet is where mine has landed these days and I am loving it. Less meat and less fat, more fruit, seafood, starches and veggies make this momma very happy indeed. :-)
I had a very hard time focusing as the many paleo/real food/bloggers/ researchers/doctors/scientists/hot guys and gals that filled the place were super distracting!!
I ran into a few very cool folks that I know from the podcast/blog world. You may recognize them..
Danny Roddy, Jimmy and Christine Moore xo
Jimmy of course is the voice and the amazingly prolific guy behind Livin' La Vida Low Carb podcast and blog! He and his wife, the lovely and sweet Christine were my twitter pals at the table by the tech guys. Jimmy has the fastest fingers in the world, and his tweets are the stuff of legend, just one after another. Loved meeting them and talking to them! Thanks you two for hanging out with me. It was wonderful.
Look for many of the AHS speakers on Jimmy's Low Carb Cruise in May 20112. You may even see me join in the fun!
As for Danny, he and his pal Bill were able to stand being around me while I geeked out hard each time I had a sighting of someone I admired and wanted to meet. We did attend the Vitamin D talk by Richard Jacobson. Don't mean to dis, the info was STELLAR, the reading off the laptop? not so much :-(
I caught some Vitamin D during my lunch, then rushed in to see Stephan Guyenet, one of my favorite health bloggers and researchers. Here are some clips from his talk on the causes and possible cures for obesity.
Look what happened in Mom's Kitchen around 1960... hmmmm.....
food for thought!
Some more thoughts on Engineered foods and Kids.. who do they recognize? Hint, it's not Robb Wolf!
Scary stuff.
So what is a Human to do?
Here are some ideas Stephan G. laid out...parents take heed... Mom's Kitchen NEEDS to reopen asap!
And now, for the certainly most talked about moment of Day One, Gary Taubes tries to take Stephan to the mat.. watch this and PLEASE< share your thoughts on how this went down... >
Wowee, the gasps went through the crowd. What a graceful response from Dr. G. I have to say I felt that Taubes came off a bit rude. No need for that in this gathering.
We were all there to learn, to share, to understand this crazy place we try to inhabit. I will say that everyone I met was grounded, down to earth, nice and very very smart. So why the seeming attack? Or is it a good thing to point out holes you find (or seem to find) in another speakers theories?
I must break there, leaving you with this little bit of fun that I had with Mr. Roddy. We made this to incite envy in the quite infamous Matt Stone of 180 Degree Health. As he was unable to attend, I created this video tease to send to him. Please enjoy and tune in tomorrow for part two of the Ancestral Health Symposium down low!
I mean who wouldn't be jealous when Staffan and Stephan are having a pow wow and Nora G. is strolling by?
TA TA for now, more fun tomorrow in Part two of the most epic conference I have EVER attended. No lie.
love
deb xoxox
GREETINGs Friends !
It has been sssooooooooooooooooooooooo long since I updated that I need to share this interview so you can figure out what the heck I have been up to!
Many exciting things are happening for me and my quest for the best food on earth to share with you all!
Thanks so much to my bro Anthony Anderson who is an amazing man and a super good friend of mine.
Find out how Anthony is replanting Paradise at his blog The Raw Model
I love you all!!!!!!!!
I know I have not posted here in many moons but TODAY is a very special day!
The amazing team of James, Lisa Marie and Morgan Lindenschmidt, the very same Mead Crafters and Rite Chocolate creators are interveiwing ME!
The Lindenschmidts have a super fun and informative podcast called The SweetPeas Podcast. And I am a huge fan! Amazing people like Daniel Vitalis, Anthony Anderson, Heather Pace, Frank Giglio and his lovely Goji, Arthur Haines and so many more have graced the airwaves at The SweetPeas headqaarters in the beautiful state of Maine.
Please look on itunes and find the SweetPeas. My interview should show up this week sometime.
I am thrilled and honored to talk about my food journey and how I did it with my family etc etc.
This 16-page mead-making guide gives you the concise information you need right now to make your first batch a success, as well as a powerful 6-step method framework that will grow with you for years to come!
This guide also includes a historical look at the lore of mead and a breakdown of the nutrition of fermentation. Advanced MeadCrafting techniques are also introduced every step of the way as signposts for when you take your meadmaking to the next level. Available as a PDF download.
I can't wait to make my first batch! Stay tuned for more info on that project.
We hope to get to visit Paris as well and my dream... a visit to River Cottage! We plan to arrive in early July and spend two weeks there. Cannot wait to see the city again, my last visit was in October of 1983 when I looked more like this
I landed in Heathrow and went in search of the Hair show I had come to attend, I recall the excitement of my first tube ride and my first bite of a real Cadbury's bar.. ah memories....
Stay tuned for more on our stay, cannot wait to show my hubby and kid around the UK.. and have another Cadbury's of course :-)
xo Deb xo
