It’s time to share some Tom’s food – all in the name of National Picnic Month! With the 2023 theme being ‘rediscovering nature’s bounty’ how could we resist dusting off a blanket to tell a few tales?
We’re going to start with the menu before moving on to idyllic spots, just because the basket contents are a big deal in Tom’s Country. Fab food combined with stunning settings are a winning combo and good times will naturally follow…
Homemade delicacies
There’s nothing like freshly home-baked produce to tantalise the taste-buds, particularly when eaten in the fresh air. But we totally get-it that baking’s a faff and not everybody’s bag, so a little further on we’ve listed our favourite pick-me-up picnic components.
Savoury
- Ploughman’s Pie (recipe below*) – an old family favourite discovered in a 1960s woman’s magazine! Layers of cheese, onion and tomato sandwiched in cheesy pastry. So delicious.
- Coronation chicken, veggie rice and green salad – another crowd pleaser and easy to carry in containers.
- Roasted chicken legs, grilled sausages, cheese and tomatoes with fresh bakers’ bread and butter. How about making a few sausage rolls instead of the sausages?
- Sandwiches – with various fillings: egg & cress, cheese & tomato (or red onion), ham & mustard, peanut-butter, cucumber… with or without marmite! Fresh bakers’ bread from the farmshop and salted butter raise these staples into delicacy-mode. Top tip: in hot weather we sprinkle a piece of kitchen paper with water and lay over sandwiches in the container to keep fresh
- Grazing mix of blocks of cheese, crackers, celery, tomatoes, pickled onions, apple and grapes (don’t forget a knife to cut the cheese)
Tea treats
- Mary Berry’s ‘very best shortbread’ – simple to make, bought can’t compete with this. The addition of semolina (or rice flour) and cooling raw mix in the fridge while the oven heats makes all the difference.
- Good old fashioned jam sandwiches: with fresh bakers’ bread and butter of course.
Drinks
- Lemon presse: squeeze a bunch of lemons, dilute with water and add castor sugar to taste. The most refreshing drink on a hot day, although little people may prefer it somewhat sweeter than adults so 2 batches may be in order.
- Tea – ah! Don’t forget the picnic beakers (so says one that knows!) Top tip: take teabags, milk etc in separate containers with plain hot water in the flask to make fresh by the cup (avoids ‘thermos taint’). If partially used, the remaining hot water will gradually cool over a few hours due to the air gap between the water surface and flask lid.
- Water, in any bottle saved from something else (plastic is lighter to carry and has less chance of cracking, we hate to say)
Ready to eat dishes (& where to buy)
So many delicious choices - all with Cornwall running through them like a vein of saffron…
Savoury
- Pasties have to be top of the list, freshly baked that morning. Steak & swede, cheese & onion or vegan; all tend to contain potato & onion. A balanced meal wrapped up in delicious pastry, mmm. Available from: local farmshops, Cornish Maids (Camelford) & Barnecutts’ bakery (Wadebridge, Rock & elsewhere).
- Crab sandwiches from Fresh From The Sea at the top of Port Isaac – a real must, surely?
- Quiche of the day from Fee’s Food (Rock, Port Isaac or delivered to Tom’s Cottage) with an accompanying selection of salads
- Pick n Mix individual salad boxes from Barnecutts the bakers (on The Platt, Wadebridge, Bodmin Ind Est & Rock)
- Paninis/toasted sandwiches from Chrurchtown Café, St Teath – best eaten within 20 minutes of collection
- Fish and chips from Smugglers Chippy, Delabole: a great picnic supper in the garden
Puds
- Seasonal fruit leads the way here, at this time of year we favour nectarines and homegrown strawberries from Trevathan Farm Shop (St Endellion).
- The chocolate eclairs from Churchtown Café (St Teath) are exceptional and generous in size!
- Florentines from Barnecutts the baker are very good and travel pretty well
- Saffron buns/cake need sampling and carry well, we favour Rowe’s (locally available in Tesco’s, Wadebridge) but most bakers/farmshops will stock saffron buns
Drinks
- Elderflower cordial is always a winner, available from local farmshops/delis
Packing the picnic
We usually forget something: out of necessity is borne invention, like sticky noses from drinking yoghurt (no teaspoons); here’s our checklist for a smooth picnic: -
- Tote bags or rucksack? Hamper basket or traditional wicker baskets? All depends on what containers the food fits in and how far the walk is. Saddle bags on a bicycle are great carriers too. Don’t forget: heavy items/tupperwares at the bottom, squashables on top.
- Remember the eating essentials: lightweight mugs/plates/crockery, wet wipes/kitchen paper and something to lounge on. It’s a careful balance between reasonable comfort and who’s carrying what. Don’t forget to bring any rubbish home.
- Binoculars on the belt, swimmers in with the sunscreen and a frisbee slipped in the bag are the finishing touches that’ll lift a picnic into a whole day’s delight. Book optional! Top tip: we’ve been known to swim in undies & use a hankie to dry ourselves – sunny days don’t need to be about excessive baggage.
Location
Hankering for a clifftop or the beach? A moorland valley or woodland? All are within easy striking distance of Tom’s Cottage, check out our Tom’s Country pages (or the maps/walk books in our den) for inspiration.
We’re so spoilt for choice it’s difficult for us to recommend our top picks of local picnic spots, but here’s a few to be going on with…
- The Main at Port Gaverne. This is the headland that runs parallel to the beach and is criss-crossed by footpaths. Steps from the beach lead up to it (apart from at high tide) and nearly out at the end some steep steps lead down to Tags Pit – a natural mini-haven of rocks surrounding sand at low tide. A real gem. Don’t forget an ice cream on the way home!
- ‘Freshwater’ next to Barretts Zawn. Unmarked on the map but been known as Freshwater by the locals for generations, this is where a small stream trickles over rocks to the sea. Roll out a blanket on the grass and watch the Atlantic swell – the odd seal may pop up to see what’s going on. An occasional walker may pause to say hello as they stomp the coastpath, but otherwise extremely tranquil. Swimming unadvisable here.
- Delphi Bridge (between St Breward and Blisland). An ancient clapper bridge over a moorland stream, this is the ultimate in picturesque. Bonus: as little walking as you want – just park on the verge and you’re there! Can get busy at weekends in summer.
- Roughtor (or Roughtor Ford, by the car park). Open moorland and roaming livestock, clouds puffing across huge skies and birds calling on the wing… move over Poldark.
Remember
Wherever you go, whatever you eat and however many (or few) of you there are: pick up some cream and jam on the way home for tea on the lawn at Tom’s Cottage…
“The picnic is a simple thing yet the memories and traditions that come from it are priceless” (unknown)
Tom’s Cottage Ploughman’s Pie Recipe
- Prep time: 25 mins
- Cooking time: 30-35 mins
- Enough for 6 (or 4 Roll out adults)
- 8oz plain flour
- salt & pepper
- 4oz butter
- 12oz cheddar cheese
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 large onion
- 4+ large tomatoes
- Preheat oven to 220ºC
- Sift flour into food processor, add a pinch of salt & add butter; mix until the texture of fine breadcrumbs. Transfer into a bowl.
- Grate ½ the cheese & mix half of this into the flour mixture.
- Add the beaten egg & a similar amount of cold water, stir in to combine into a stiff dough. Divide dough in half & put aside in a cool place.
- Thinly slice remaining cheese, skin & thinly slice the onion and thinly slice the tomatoes.
- Roll out ½ the dough (on a floured surface) into a circle to fit a 9” enamel (or Pyrex) plate. Press pastry base onto plate.
- Place sliced onion, cheese & tomatoes in layers on plate, season each layer with salt & pepper (we skip seasoning the cheddar)
- Roll out remaining pastry to a circle big enough to cover the built pie.
- Moisten edge of pastry on plate & place the pastry lid on. Press edges together & trim edges.
- Sprinkle remaining grated cheese over the top & bake in the centre of the oven for 30-35 mins until golden brown.
- Allow to cool somewhat before eating
