I love food.

I love cooking it, baking it, eating it, thinking about it…before I’ve finished breakfast I’m planning what to have for dinner.  It’s a hobbie turned obsession turned day-job and there’s one lady I can at least partly blame for it.  This prominent figure from my childhood who shaped my imagination and provided so many food-shaped dreams is Enid Blyton.

I’ve read pretty much every offering, from The Secret Seven to The Famous Five, The Faraway Tree to the perhaps lesser read Malory Towers series.  While the premise and the storylines differed, one thing remained constant – the gorgeous food that so many of the stories were built around.

The Famous Five guys had many an impressive adventure what with all the smugglers and all, but lets face it – the lasting memories from that series are of lashings of ginger beer, tinned sardines and tins of pineapple chunks.  Hard-boiled eggs, tongue sandwiches and ‘a couple of squares of chocolate’ were just the icing on the cake!

The Secret Seven feasted on homemade lemonade at their meetings in the shed, accompanied by freshly baked ginger biscuits and rock buns, while Darrell and her friends at Malory Towers sucked lemons between lacrosse games and celebrated with ‘wizard jammy buns’ afterwards.  Every description made me salivate and there began my interest in food and in baking.

My favourite of all favourites however has got to be ‘The Faraway Tree’ series.  While The Famous Five and co. provided real life picnic snapshots, The Faraway Tree added a little bit of fairy dust…

The wonders found in the pages of these books will never cease to make me smile and make me hungry.  Firstly we have toffee shocks – toffees that got bigger and bigger in your mouth before exploding into nothing …then the amazing pop biscuits that start out as regular biscuits but explode into honey in your mouth!  I know, that delicious pack of choc-chip cookies in your drawer just dont seem good enough anymore do they?  The tree itself grew loads of treats, from lemons, to cherries to practically anything else you can imagine!

I love that to get back down the tree you had to pay Moonface (yes, his face was shaped like the moon) in toffees and only toffees.  I love that you could visit a land at the top of the tree where everything, even the door knockers, is made of sweets and treats.  I love that you could pop a Google Bun in your mouth and have raisins filled with sherbet explode and fizz up in your mouth!

Even now, in my (very) late 20’s, I am getting that warm and fuzzy feeling and I’m smiling, just from remembering.  It’s the same feeling I get from baking a new banana and chocolate cake and cutting a warm slice for someone you love.

Inspiration for baking and getting yourself in that kitchen doesn’t always have to come from recipe books or the Good Food channel.  Sometimes its great to revisit your childhood and regress just a little bit.  A little bit of magical fiction is never a bad thing…

Nic X

Put simply, Wales is beautiful. Or at least the tiny part I just visited is. The area around Southerndown comprises stunning, untouched landscapes that go on for miles and miles. Vast beaches flanked by towering rugged cliffs are almost deserted bar the odd person looking for shells or for crabs in rock pools. There are no cigarette butts on the floor, no McDonalds rubbish floating about. You can buy a coffee from a surfer guy in a little shack. Don’t look for Costa, they aren’t here. (I almost put ‘yet’, but I don’t think even giants Costa could ruin this.)

Here, I felt like a lead character from a Jenny Colgan book. I am the heroine that leaves all the hustle and bustle behind, packs her bags and relocates. I open a little tea room and make friends with the locals, charming them with my gooey brownies oozing with salted caramel. The brownies and my Chatham accent of course.

When reading ‘The Loveliest Chocolate Shop In Paris’ or ‘Rosie Hopkins Sweetshop of Dreams’ I am transported to a magically different world, and visiting Southerndown gave me that same excited ‘anything is possible’ feeling.

Of course, I came home. Those brownies and granola bars weren’t going to make themselves, no matter how nicely I spoke to them. But that doesn’t mean the dreaming stops. Today, pop up goody tent in Kent, tomorrow a bubbling tea room in South Wales…

And until then, I’ll keep revisiting those Jenny Colgan books

Nic X

It’s that awkward moment. That crucial time. We’ve met, we’ve gotten to know each other, I’ve had a bit of a moan (I do love a good moan) and now here we are. The third date. So what to chat about?

Let’s not get too deep and meaningful, we’ll keep it light :p

This Sunday sees us bring our pop up munch station to Tonbridge Farmers Market, located in Sovereign Way car park. We will be there trading alongside some of Kent’s finest from 930 til 130.

Grab a coffee from Jo’s Cakes and feast on any number of treats while you browse locally grown fruit and veg, artisan breads and mental clever craftspeople like simplyTrue Jewellery.

You’ll also find local handmade chocolates, GIGANTIC sausage rolls, live demos on stage and of course me ;)

Can’t wait to see you there!

Nic X

Celebrating the end of a very busy and long weekend with a glass of Kentish Cider and a homemade samosa from Cinnamon Girl… Bliss! Supporting other local independent businesses is one of the best parts of doing this kind of ‘job’. Since beginning to trade 3 years ago I have met so many fantabulous people with great ideas, great products and great businesses and I’ve made some brilliant friends.

Sometimes though I guess there has to be a darker side and while I wouldn’t name any names I have to mention that I think it’s a giant shame when that farmers market spirit is apparently forgotten and what should be a fun and friendly atmosphere becomes the stage for some kind of dog-eat-dog competition. You only have to peek at Twitter or Facebook to see every day producers supporting each other and joking around – this is what it’s all about and long may it continue!

Mini soapbox style rant over – now back to that glass of cider and my samosa… ;)

Find us next week at Hildenborough Farmers Market on Tuesday between 9 and 11, and then Tonbridge Farmers Market on Sunday, 930-130.

Nic