Ever done a Wallwork?

Ever done a Wallwork?
I did one today, but rather than rhapsodise on the sheer delight of such an activity, here are clear and precise instructions that will enable any old jo to experience it for themselves. For ultimate success use the best ingredients you can source – as this is a Falmouth based blog I’ve given recommendations for shopping locally.

You will need:

a hearty sourdough loaf – mine was from Olly at Stones Bakery
2-3 large free range eggs – The Natural Store stocks eggs from several local farms
1 large portobello mushroom – from my Riverford veg box (but Stokes are good for veg)
5 cherry tomatoes – veg box again
handful of wild rocket – Lizard Leaves, again from The Natural Store
flaky sea salt (Cornish, obvs) and fresh ground black pepper
drizzle of ev olive oil
butter – it makes everything better*

With me so far? In which case, let’s take a break for a quick storytime. This time last year I found myself in the bosom of all my bestest buddies, living in Brighton. The lead-up to Christmas was a riot of mulled wine, mulled cider, mulled whisky – you name it, it got mulled and we drank it. These were good times.

Christmas was somewhat less fun because a boy made me sad, but this story is not about boys or sadness. It is about a lovely friend who then scooped me up and took me for long Cornish clifftop walks and hot chocolate, and generally made everything all right again.

This is how:

Heat your oven to 185 degrees, drizzle a little oil over the cherry tomatoes in a small oven-proof tray or dish, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, roast for 10-15 mins.
Melt some butter in a small frying pan, chop up the mushroom/s and cook over a medium heat.
Beat the eggs, melt some butter in a frying pan and scramble over a low heat.
Cut two good slices of sourdough with a serrated bread knife and toast.

Most of life’s greatest pleasures are heightened when shared, and when you find yourself alone it can feel like all sorts of doors are suddenly closed to you. Or that’s how I felt, but one of the best things about food is that you can share it with anyone (who eats, that is), and finding someone with a similar passion for it is an even greater treat. The fact that I was living with my foodie soulmate maximised the potential for realising that shared passion…

…and then eating it:

On a plate, spread the toasted sourdough with butter while still hot for melting deliciousness.
Spread the eggs over the bread and season with salt and pepper.
Tip the tomatoes and their rich oily juices over the eggs.
Scatter the buttery mushrooms over the tomatoes.
Top with the rocket, season again with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little oil.

This is the breakfast that I came to associate with great friendship and the start of springtime, so now that it is winter, I am in a different home and often cook for myself, it’s a great one for cheering me right up when I need it. Thanks to Jessica Wallwork for the recipe (and much more).

NB. If you’re a purist, like me, and want to do a Wallwork properly, stick on some Ben Howard and furnish yourself with a Guardian quick crossword before you get stuck in. Tea good; a steaming mug of chai with milk and honey better.

*disclaimer: butter may not make high cholesterol better.

An Original Wallwork

All the best peas in one lovely pod

After something of an employment appetiser at De Wynn’s, my tastebuds knowingly led me a mile or so north-west to Penryn, the home of Miss Peapod’s Kitchen Cafe.

Penryn itself has been a town in transition since the opening of University College Falmouth‘s ever expanding campus at Tremough. Despite the inevitable loss of residential properties to the buy-to-let-to-students-for-exorbitant-fees market, it hasn’t all been bad news. New money means new investment, and several independent ventures have found a happy home here, to the benefit of the community at large. Jubilee Wharf, situated at the lower end of Penryn on the road out to Falmouth, is an exemplary development. Purpose built to provide community space with minimal environmental impact, it includes a nursery, artists studios, space for fitness classes and an unusually sociable cafe all in one place, overlooking the harbour and powered in part by onsite solar and wind energy sources. Miss Peapod’s sits at the front of the development, offering breakfast and lunch (and a spanking roast on Sundays), teas and coffees, alcohol and soft drinks and live music events on Friday and Saturday nights. Tables outside on the decking enjoy views of boats bobbing on blue waters backed by rolling green hills, and tables inside enjoy the same by virtue of huge, super-insulated windows that let the light in and keep the cold out.

This was a winning formula for our visit today, during which we got to watch the rain sheet across the estuary while we drank flat whites from retro mugs amongst the bustle and chatter of as diverse a group of patrons as you’re likely to get anywhere in Cornwall. We arrived for late morning caffeine and to show my (chef) brother my new place of emploi, but the menu was too much to resist once we spied the specials board. As you’d expect from an establishment with such plaudits, produce is thoughtfully sourced, with dairy from Roskilly’s, coffee from Origin, free range local meats and even a range of organic spirits on offer. After a pleasurable period of agonised indecision, the mackerel nicoise won it for bro and I, while sister-in-law took no time in selecting the cauliflower cheese and garlic bread for her delectation. As with every aspect of the Peapod’s experience, service is a friendly and relaxed affair where orders are taken at the counter, cutlery and table numbers dispensed and the food arrives at table in the exact amount of time it takes to prepare good quality, fresh food.

The mackerel dish was a more seasonal version of the classic French tuna and boiled egg affair, and featured instead grilled fresh mackerel fillets, watercress, new potatoes and olives topped with the runniest of poached eggs and a yummy tomatoey piquant dressing. The portion was about right for me, but several potatoes had to be sacrificed to the demands of a 6 foot plus male appetite. A piece of sis’s golden crispy garlic bread suffered the same fate, as did forkfuls of the cauliflower, which got the thumbs up all round for the right level of cheesiness. At the time £9.25 for the mackerel didn’t strike us as unreasonable – though later a friend spluttered his disagreement – but £6.95 for the comforting size of the cauliflower cheese  and large slices of homemade garlic bread was spot on.

Then a friend arrived unexpectedly and came to join us. Then she spotted another friend with her 3 week old baby, which provided half an hour’s distraction, enough to justify sharing a wedge of the homemade lime and coconut cake, of which not a crumb survived. Then we left to make room at the table for more of their friends as they came through the door, otherwise we might still be there now….

Miss Peapod’s Kitchen Cafe, Jubilee Wharf, Commercial Road, Penryn. Tel: 01326 374424    

Trying to put food on the table

I’m less than a week back in the port haven of Falmouth and, along with the entire student population it would seem, trying to find a job. I’ve timed it well, as in just a few weeks the ‘silly season’ will be underway; an annual 3 month orgy of consumption which has Falmouth food outlets of every description simultaneously quaking in their chef’s shoes and praying to the patron saint of pasties and ice-cream (St. Oggy? St. Roskilly?) that the good weather holds and the promised hordes descend. Whatever, they need staff, and good, reliable staff they must be, as once the schools let out every day becomes a battle to keep your head above water in the catering business; you only need look at August reviews on Tripadvisor to realise the impact that just one bad day can have. Take heed, Harbour View…

Luckily I am reliable and good, but more than that I have great contacts, and so began my first trial shift at De Wynn’s Tea Shop on Church Street last Thursday.

This place is olde worlde through and through, from the glass frontage and brass coffee roasters (now for display only) to the dumbwaiter used to transport food from the upstairs kitchen to the cafe. Seating is wooden benches at the larger tables, which could sit six at a squeeze – four is comfortable. Otherwise it’s tables for two, a couple of which have a fabulous view of the harbour through the window if your companion is not so easy on the eye…

The food is simply cooked and presented, but well-sourced and reasonable value, with fresh bread from Baker Tom across the road and an eye on seasonal produce – this week the special is fresh asparagus and poached eggs on granary toast with hollandaise sauce, yum. Breakfast is served until 11.30, then lunch, cream teas and cakes are available until closing at 5. Standout dishes include the rarebit and the devilled crab, as well as the antipasti platter which showcases Cornish produce at its simplest and best, plus all cakes and scones are fresh, homemade and delicious. The rhubarb and almond cake is my current addiction.

Liz, Keith and Ben are your long-term hosts at De Wynn’s – the father and son team run the kitchen while Liz serves up homely hospitality below. There is a wide selection of teas available, all served in pots, including Cornwall’s own Tregothnan blend, served as standard with the cream teas. The Tregothnan estate boasts to be the only English tea in the country – keep an eye out for more info as I feel a visit may be in order soon – and the coffee is treated with no less deference, with a variety of freshly ground coffee available for cafetieres supplied by independent Cornish brand Origin, who source fair-trade and organic beans and roast them just down the road. An insider tip is that the star coffee-maker at De Wynn’s is about to depart, so let’s hope some new talent arrives to replace him…

So will the falmouth foodie be the newest attraction at this Falmouth institution? Either way, next time you’re after a town lunch that won’t break the bank, come wrapped in plastic off the shelf or embarrass you in front of your gran, this is the place to come.

De Wynns, 55 Church Street, Falmouth, TR11 3DS. Tel: 01326 319259