Back to reality – a birthday lunch

We're back home and to reality too. It's our friend's birthday and we're hosting a Sunday Lunch to celebrate.

The lunch is salad – boring, I hear you say – absolutely not is my reply.

I love to serve a combination of both hot and cold dishes. The hot dishes are such that they can be made ahead, at least in part and then pulled together easily on the day.

I love potatoes with salad and I don't mean potato salad, I mean hot potatoes. There are two potato dishes I have in mind – Dauphinoise or Tartiflette – both, as you may have guessed, are French and both delicious. Oodles of flavour – tick! Not had Tartiflette for ages – the downside is it contains bacon, so not suitable for the veggie, the upside – smoked bacon bits in a bowl on the side so no-one is short changed. Another tick!

I also love cheese, in any form, and even though I say so myself, make a cracking (meaning excellent!) Three Cheese Tart – my own recipe.

The attraction of both these hot dishes is I can prep and part cook ahead.

There are the usual “salad” suspects – have a look at my menu :

Sunday Lunch for Shirl

Cubed Halloumi Fries

Tartiflette

with smoked bacon pieces on the side

Sweet baby peppers and asparagus

Three Cheese Tart

Beetroot – relish or honey roasted or baby beets

Sliced Ciabatta with Balsamic Vinegar and Extra Virgin

Olive Oil to dip with black olives on the side

Smashed Avocado

Tomatoes

Green Stuff

Large salad bowl with lettuce, cucumber and whole

spring onions – easy for the onion avoider!

Mixed meat antipasti

For the fish lovers

Smoked salmon

Scallops and king prawns stir fried in

black bean sauce

The cracking Three Cheese Tart recipe up next.

Hive Beach Café … and finally

We didn't go for lunch but went twice for breakfast. Our gang chose the Chesil Smokeries kippers, the Hive Beach (English) Breakfast and the Vegan Field Mushrooms with melted vegan cheese on toasted sourdough – verdict – yum!

Honestly a week wasn't long enough. There are so many coastal paths to walk – we could have stayed in Hive Beach alone for a week.

A word to the wise … the beaches vary and get mixed reviews. Alot have large pebbles which are difficult to negotiate both for humans and dogs alike.

There are other “branches” :

The Club House

West Bexington

Watch House Café,

West Bay, Bridport

Check out their website – www.hivebeachcafe.co.uk

for comprehensive information

Just before I finish I should mention another gem – Felicity's Farm Shop – the perfect stop off on the way back from Hive Beach to Lyme Regis on the A35 at Morcombelake, DT6 6DJ. An Aladdin's Cave of fantastic local produce – the fruit and vegetables are as fresh as you can get, the bread too and the icing on the cake – this is a rare thing – the best flat white I've ever had in a paper cup! I'm sure you won't be surprised to know that we called in more than once and this is the view you can enjoy sat outside drinking your coffee!

not too shabby!

Www.felicitysfarmshop.co.uk

Hive Beach Café

If you like a relaxed, chill-out kinda thing, this is the place for you.

A small amount of planning is required, they don't take bookings so if you're not an early bird be prepared to queue.

Opening hours are – Sunday and Monday 9.30 – 5pm, Tuesday to Saturday 9.30 – 8pm.

They open for breakfast – 9.30 – 11am. They re-open for lunch – 12 – 3pm, Late lunch/dinner – 4 – 7pm.

They do exactly what they say, everything is sourced – or caught – locally. I realise you have to like fish, but if you're not that keen you can have poached eggs on toast for breakfast!

I have to say the best poached eggs I've had in years. No moulds or fancy kit, they'd been poached au naturel – the colour of the yolk was stunning and the flavour positively wonderful. I'd go back for the eggs alone. If however you're partial to smoked salmon, try the Smoked Salmon Benedict – outstanding and generous in every way.

I didn't want to let the side down and so couldn't leave without popping in to the shop. I had to buy Rose their home-made dog biscuits (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it). H's treat was a mixed carrier of the Hive Beach lager, beer and cider. My treat – no prizes – a copy of the Hive Beach Cookery Book.

you'd have been

disappointed had I not treated myself

It's been a while since I've been enthusiastic about trying out recipes – there are a few so hang on to your hats!

The Holiday Snaps – Part II

A view of Hive Beach Café from the

beach

Inside the Café

The morning catch, complete with samphire

There's a shop!

The Menu

Rose watching breakfast!

Best of all, your view from the Café

It's going to be difficult to top this!

The Holiday Snaps – Part I

… from the beginning with a contribution from Rose too :

The view from the back of the house -

stunning don't you think?

The honey bees loved the lavender on the

terrace

and from Rose :

It's really hard trying to relax but I

found myself a favourite chair

My first visit to Hive Beach and the sea x 2

the cliffs on the left and the sky, sea and sand

More to follow!

Bits and bats and time for a recce!

I'd never been to Dorset and was excited. A smidge of background, just in case you should be tempted to visit. Lyme Regis is actually on the Dorset-Devon border – very convenient for hopping backwards and forwards! It's famous for heaps of stuff. If you fancy yourself as an amateur paleontologist there are fossils on the cliffs and beaches and the coastline, the Jurassic Coast, is stunning. Not for nothing though are there warnings “Do not walk under the cliffs they are dangerous and could cause injury or death”! It does get your attention.

Most famous for me is the harbour wall – “The Cobb” with which I became acquainted from the John Fowles' 1969 novel previously mentioned. Part of the film of the book, made in 1981, is shot in the town.

More recently the television crime drama Broadchurch was filmed mainly at West Bay – not surprising when you see the spectacular cliffs – the Jurassic Coast at its most magnificent.

It's Sunday morning and the weather is set fair – time for our first adventure. Travelling east from Lyme Regis on the A35 towards Bridport we take the B3157 – past West Bay, carry on to Burton Bradstock and we've reached our destination – Hive Beach and the Café!

I hope I've helped you get your bearings.

Apart from the recommendation for the Café its other attraction and in fact a double whammy, is that the beach allows dogs and the Café does too! We were not disappointed. There's an ample car park next to the beach and the Café.

I think the best I can do is show you the photos from the beginning and you can make up your own mind!

Holiday time again!

Last year I reported on the Island of Anglesey. This year our travels have taken us to Dorset – it's as easy as sticking a pin in a map and see what you come up with.

Our mission in recent times has been to choose beach holidays in the UK so we can take Rose and not have to wrestle with hanging around at airports and having to leave our dog behind.

Our choice was governed therefore, by two criteria, it had to be near a beach and the sea and it had to be a place in the UK that neither of us knew – new adventures!

We chose Lyme Regis in Dorset and that choice came from John Fowles' novel, The French Lieutenant's Woman – a classic that I read in the early 70s – I shall pass over the film …

I digress. We rented a large house with parking and off we jolly well went. Rose packed her bucket, spade and a selection of balls for the beach!

As one does when going on hols you make sure your hairdressing appointment is before you go – am I glad I did. My hairdresser Steve hails from this neck of the woods and before I left the salon he reminded me he'd recommended a great place to eat, on the beach, near to Lyme and was kind enough to give me the name.

Top of my wish list is a dog friendly place to eat – a great location is a bonus oh and of course the food has to be good – not hi falutin' or posh, just good! Steve assured me that The Hive Beach Café in Burton Bradstock was a yes, yes and a yes!

Thank you Steve … what an absolute gem! There's a shed load of Rocky Road heading your way.