Jigsaw Bakery - Linton, Cambridgeshire

Real bread has come to Cambridge! Since my first visit to the Jigsaw Bakery in Linton a month or so ago I've been going along pretty much every weekend for my fix of Matthew's wonderful bread. The kind of brilliant bread that makes you want to run home as fast as you can and tell your husband about it because it is so good (yes I do always have a nibble of it as I am leaving the shop, naturally). I visited the bakery first during CamShopLocal so here is my promised post, dedicated to it!

Matthew Whitby opened the bakery back in November, and I spotted the bakery Facebook page go up just before and watched the progress of the shop being fitted out. He's part of the Real Bread Campaign - campaigning to bring back proper bread to the UK - handmade without additives or improvers. I've heard lots of people compare our bread to the continent and we are lagging behind, has the popularity of the soft white slice made us forget what proper bread is?

Matthew sells a huge variety of bread from his tiny bakery - sourdough, flavoured sourdough, fruit breads, pain de campagne, ryes, wholemeal, breadsticks and even more - plus cakes, puddings and meringues. He also stocks and makes coffee, olive oil, bread flours, chutney and aprons from the lovely Cooking Gorgeous.

We've so far tasted the sourdough, pain de campagne, tomato and cheese focaccia, currant malthouse and wild garlic focaccia. The focaccias are mega, and don't last more than 24 hours in our house. The currant bread and the sourdough keep so well in an airtight container and see us through breakfasts and alongside meals during the week. We've yet to try the sweets but I'm sure we will do soon.

Linton is about 10 -15 minutes drive from Central Cambridge, a lovely little village which has some exciting things going on. The Linton Kitchen has recently opened - a beautiful cafe which also sells local produce, and there is a butchers opening soon too. The Crown Inn is a great pub (good pies!) and they even have a little zoo!

If you're hoping to get some of Matthew's bread do arrive around opening time (11am) because he does sell out quick. Also, if you drop him a note on Facebook he is happy to reserve a loaf for you, great service!

Jigsaw Bakery
113 High Street
Linton
CB21 4JT
Open Tuesday 11-6, Thursday - Friday 11-6 and Saturday 11 - 4

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Tiffins Tea Emporium, Long Melford

I do love a day in Suffolk, it is a very picturesque area of the country and not too far from us but feels like such a change from normality. We were booked for a morning 'Owl Encounter' at Lavenham Falconry, and this fortuitous turn of events meant we could visit nearby Tiffins, who I'd been following/admiring on Twitter for a while.

Long Melford itself is beautiful and the tea room definitely lives up to its surroundings. A pretty little building with a tower of scones in the window, an array of cakes on stands, tea pots and lovely vintage style furniture.

Tiffins is run by the very cheery Kirstie who made us feel really welcome. We started with savoury - a goats cheese and pepper ciabatta for Mr and the intriguingly named Suffolk Ploughmans for me, cheese scones instead of bread - but toasted so the cheese is all melty and lovely - served with 'cheeky chutney' which was a lovely fresh salsa like chutney made with tomatoes. I had some of the Tiffins Blend loose tea and Mr some Suffolk apple juice.

Of course we had to have some cake too - and it was a tough decision - there is such a great choice of sweets - chocolate, coffee, lemon drizzle, victoria sponges, flapjacks, brownes, tiffin (of course) and fruit scones. Mr had a slice of pleasingly orangey Chocolate Marmalade cake with little white chocolate stars, and I had a coffee cake which was tooth achingly sweet - perfect for me. I had a bit of a sugar high upon leaving and then a crash later on in the afternooon...

We really enjoyed our lunch at Tiffins, it is a beautiful place and very relaxed surroundings. You can find them on Twitter and they have a website too. Do visit if you are in the area - Long Melford has some pretty shops and neighbouring Lavenham is a must see.

Oh and here is a picture of one of the owls we met!

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Spiced Chickpeas with Peppers

This is a dish based on a lovely chickpea salad I had for lunch, and inspired by it and the desire to make it better it became a very nice weeknight dinner. I used dry chickpeas, soaked overnight and whilst I was at work, soft fried peppers, lots of homegrown chilli, garlic and spices. I siimmered for a while and then topped with feta cheese and piled onto warm flatbreads.

I used dry chickpeas here because they do taste nicer, I find they are less floury, but you can substitute canned. I didn't make the flatbreads, but instead use the new Warburtons square wraps, they are based on the idea of tortilla wraps but are thicker and less like chewing on plastic than the normal 'mexican' style ones you find in supermarkets. I'm going to use these for square tacos soon!

Spiced Chickpeas with Peppers

100g of dry chickpeas, soaked overnight and boiled for 10-20 minutes til tender
Or 1 can of chickpeas.

2 bell peppers sliced into thin strips
1 teaspoon of honey
1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar

1 large clove of garlic
1 large green chilli (red chilli if you like it hot!)
1 heaped teaspoon of ground cumin
1 heaped teaspoon of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
Squirt of tomato ketchup
Salt and pepper

Boil your chickpeas whilst you do the peppers, if you are using dried chickpeas.
Cut your peppers into thin strips and fry on a high heat for a few minutes with some seasoning. Add in a little honey and the red wine vinegar and then pop the lid on and reduce the heat. This will soften the peppers. Simmer gently for 10-15minutes.

Fry the garlic and chilli in olive oil for a minute or so, then drain your chickpeas (either after boiling or from your can) and throw them in. Add in the spices, tomato ketchup (yes it seems a bit strange but it gives the dish a sauce and tomato-ey flavour) and season. Stir in your softened peppers. Simmer for 5 minutes to let everything flavour the chickpeas and peppers, add a splash of water in it if looks a bit dry.

Pile into bowls and serve with some oven warmed flatbreads and feta cheese on top.
A sprinkle of chopped coriander wouldn't hurt either.

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The Hinds Head, Bray

All I really need to tell you is, go to The Hinds Head. Go go go. Especially if, like me, you can't afford The Fat Duck. We dined from the A La Carte but the Set Menu is good value at £27.50 for 3 courses.
Now here are some pictures that will make you hungry.

'Hash of Snails' - garlic pan fried snails on sourdough with pistachio puree and shaved fennel.

Snails are surprisingly like mushrooms, except a bit more meaty. I was not freaked out about eating them, which was good.

Shaved lemon salad with goats curd and salad leaves and walnuts. Mr Giraffe's starter, the really thinly sliced lemons were excellent and the goats curd so good -  I need to find out where to buy goats curd.

My main course; Shepherds Pie with Sweetbreads

totally amazing, so meaty and the mash with the crispy top was beautiful.

Bubble and squeak cake with mushroom parfait, crispy quails egg and leek & potato sauce. Despite there being a lot of meaty dishes vegetarians are well catered for, this was lovely and featured the same kind of crisp crust as the shepherds pie.

Triple cooked chips , obviously we had to order these.

My lemon tart, I love lemon tarts that come with crispy creme brulee like tops, it came with a syrupy hazelnut syrup, nuts go well with lemon surprisingly.

Quaking Pudding (c 1700.) with shaved apple. This may sound odd but it tasted really traditional flavours and quite rustic. It came with a little bit of paper explaining what the history of the pudding was too.

We really enjoyed our meal at the Hinds Head. Definitely a place that will always impress you. I'd love to go back. Any place that can serve snails like that wins with me. The menu felt quite similar to Dinner, which we are yet to try. I think the famous meat fruit features at the Hinds Head sometimes too.

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my favourite shops - christmas gift guide

I spend a lot of time on Etsy, and I have to say probably a lot of money too. It is hard being a seller because you find yourself amongst all this loveliness all the time! I have lots of handmade things so I thought I would share with you some of my favourite sellers, just in time for Christmas!

Moo Cow Hand Knits

not only is moo awesome but she also knits the best! I have one of her oatmeal drop stitch scarves, a beautiful purple swing top , rose corsages and a cuddly cowl neck jumper. She also handknitted a beaded purple wrap for my wedding, and I have just ordered some pumpkin coloured armwarmers too! I have more moo things than I thought I did!

ffflowers
Fabulous fabric flowers!

A cute little orange spice flower adorns my windowsill in the living room and some ffflowers nearly always find their way amongst my christmas shopping. I have a tendency to kill every plant that I own, I have so far only kept one alive for about 3 years, with about a dozen being killed in that time, so I much prefer these because they always look fresh and nice. Helen also makes little brooches, ooh and hairpins.

Sweet Treats Bakery

Yummmmyyyy!
The yummiest foodie shop on Etsy. I have some smoked salted caramels winging their way to me right now, they aren't for a gift, I'm keeping them! I have bought their marshmallows before and they are to die for, the lemon meringue in particular. Go stock up on sweet things, I want to dunk my head in their caramel sauce.

Ink Me Up

Beautiful hand drawings turned into prints, lavendar bags and totes. I have a litle chicky drawing, a wren print and an avocet print, all beautiful! These are really well received gifts for bird lovers and the new kitties, chickens and foxes are cute!

Asking for Trouble

Pure cute! I have bought notebooks as gifts before and the little book marks, and cards. I love the Jammy Dodger mug!

Quercus Silver

I couldn't not include Su, she made my wedding ring! I really ought to buy some more of her jewellery, I love the juicy colours and also the simple silver work. I have my eye on some of her gold work too.

I hope you've found something lovely here and will shop handmade this Christmas, I am! :)

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UK Silly Sale!

Today Etsy sellers in the UK are running lots of special offers in our shops in the name of silliness and bargains!

I will have FREE SHIPPING in my Etsy shop along with a $10 sale section too!

Everything in my shop has free shipping and here is a peek of the $10 sale:

A very good time to stock up on Christmas gifts or to treat yourself before Christmas present buying begin.

All prices are amended and free shipping applied.

You can also search 'UK Silly Sale' on Etsy to find other bargains from my lovely UK friends.

Happy Shopping!

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Back from holiday!

I have neglected the blog somewhat, I've been back from my hols for 4 days now!

We had a fantastic time in Somerset with gorgeous weather.

Lots more pictures on my Flickr account which you can find here

I'll be catching up on some blogging this week too, two new recipes and some lovely handmade finds might find their way in!

Hope you are having a lovely summer :)

xx

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Folksy!

Recently I have been introduced to a new site, Folksy, a UK website for handmade goods which is in its infancy. Whilst I love Etsy it is great to have a UK online presence which allows my customers to pay in UK pounds.

I have spent a bit of time on Folksy this evening and I have listed a few items, more to be added during the week.

My Folksy Shop

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Catching up.

I love popcorn, proper homemade rather than the bags you put in the microwave (which always end up in you burning your hand on a jet of steam when you take it out).

We often used to make it with my Mum when we were small . I've not had it for a while so I looked in the cupboard and found a bottle of maple syrup - perfect combo! Its lovely this way as the syrup easily coats most of the popcorn and of course it tastes unbelievable.

There are many other ways of making it requiring melting chocolate and baking in the oven with nuts, it is something I am researching heavily!

In other news (I shouldn't dedicate a whole blog post to popcorn really) I've recently opened a shop on Folksy - a new UK site for handmade goods, which is in its early stages but is looking great already. For my UK customers, you can pay in GBP here rather than USD over on Etsy. Please take a look at my shop here

I also have a great new website, and a banner to match, I hope you like it!

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A week to go..

Well actually less..

Its a week until the We Make craft fair in London, which I will be exhibiting at!
Its my first craft fair so I am hoping it will be a success, mostly I am looking forward to meeting my customers, as so far I mostly sell my jewellery online.
I've been busily crafting away all weekend, and I have even turned my hand to some paper craft by making my own earring cards, which are a bit arduous but the results are lovely.

I am so happy with the amount of materials I have at the moment, I love having lots of beads and findings to work with it, although sometimes my best creations come out of trying to make something out of a few things that I have left over.

I am also keeping my shop alive too, even though I'm gearing up for the fair, I have recently added new items including almost edible strawberry and creamy butterscotch coloured necklace and earrings - delish!

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Catch up blog!

I've been busy filling up my shop this week and playing around with snazzy cameras.. so this is a pictorial catch up!

Some new items:

Aqua - sterling silver earrings made with gorgeous sea blue trumpet beads

Spring Snow - milky white briolettes hung from sterling silver.

I had a go on an SLR camera the other day, sadly not mine to keep though, and i was so impressed with the pictures I might have to start saving up.

If you scroll down to a couple of entries ago there is a picture of some blossom in my garden, using my usual camera. Now look how it turned out using this SLR...

Amazing, the colours are so lovely, I might frame this.

I also got a Treasury this week and filled it with delicate and airy things to match the spring weather we've been having (at last!).


Hopefully i will be back soon with more new items! :)

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