An update on our trial with offering non dairy milk only -  we have reluctantly decided, following some people requesting dairy milk, to have dairy milk available for now, but to provide opportunities for guests to try other milks.  We now have a little fridge in the dining room, which will hold soya, dairy and other milks for use in the bedrooms.

We have some availability before and after the Bank Holiday and into the beginning of September.  Hope to see you soon.

between weds 25th July and August 7th, we do have some availability. The weather is gorgeous just now, hope to see you soon!

In the light of the announcement today that the cull of badgers is to go ahead, we have decided to stop serving all dairy products at Michael House for a trial period.  The hypocrisy of vegans supporting the dairy industry has sat uncomfortably for some time, this seems like an ideal opportunity to move forward.  We will keep copious amounts of soya, rice and possibly almond milks for guests, and will put our little flasks of soya milk in the rooms.  We will seek feedback on this and make it very clear to people so that they know what to expect when booking.

Vegan cupcakes.

8fl oz soya milk

1 tsp vinegar - cider vinegar is best

5oz caster sugar

3fl oz vegetable oil

1 and half tsp vanilla extract

4oz plain flour

1 and half oz cocoa pdr

Three quarters tsp bicarbonate of soda

Half tsp baking pdr

Quarter tsp salt

Preheat oven to 175 C. Line muffin tin with paper liners. Whisk soya milk and vinegar together and set aside to curdle. Then add sugar, oil and vanilla and beat until foamy. In separate bowl, sift and mix flour, cocoa pdr, bicarb, baking pdr and salt. Mix into wet ingredients, I do all the process in a mixer. Pour into liners, three quarters fill. Bake 18 - 20 minutes. Eat hot or allow to cool and spread with 'buttercream', or decorate.

 

Buttercream - I find half this quantity is plenty

3 oz vegan marge

Half tsp vanilla essence

6 oz sieved icing sugar

2 oz sieved cocoa pdr



Whizz together and smother cakes!



Courtesy 'Vegan cupcakes take over the world' by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero



Another nice one is shortbread, I make a hazelnut shortbread with strawberries dessert, but you could adapt it to be more cakey. It is by Delia, form her vegetarian collection. I use the little vanilla desserts or custard for the middle, but the shortcakes alone would be lovely.

Special offer, fabulous weather forecast.  15% discount on bed and breakfast for stays until Friday 1st June, any number of nights.  You must stay between today (21st May) and depart by Friday 1st June.  Please mention that you have seen this here, or on Facebook!

Happy Easter to everyone.

We do have some availability over Easter, if you are thinking of coming to Cornwall.  Hope to see you!

Dog food?  My favourite

Michael House is featured, along with 7 other veggie and vegan places, in the March edition of Vegetarian Living magazine. Have a look if you get a chance.

Loads of artichokes, and no-one to eat them!

We have lots of artichokes from the garden at present, absolutely delicious, and they make lovely soup, with carrot, or roasted or in pies etc.  We just had them with potato in rosti, very nice!

Happy New Year everyone! I shall be very slightly tweaking the tariff for Michael House for this year, but all bookings taken before the new rates appear on the website will be honoured at the old prices, so get booking!

this picture was taken on holiday in Shropshire!

Christmas break, 2011

Fancy being looked after and spoiled over the Christmas period? Get away from it all, relax, walk and have tea by the open fire at Michael House, followed by delicious festive meals! We are offering a four night break over Christmas again this year, as follows:



Arrive on Saturday 24th December, in time for afternoon tea by the fire and a three course evening meal.



On Christmas Day, have a leisurely breakfast, which will precede a four course Christmas dinner in the early/mid afternoon. Supper will be buffet style.



Boxing Day, another leisurely breakfast and a light lunch if you would like it. Afternoon tea will again be served by the fire, and a three course evening meal will follow.



On Tuesday 27th, breakfast, afternoon tea and a three course supper will be on offer. Guests will depart on the Wednesday morning, after breakfast.



Four nights, partly full board, £325 per person for the en-suite rooms, and £275 for the room with private bathroom. A single supplement will apply.



Bookings for earlier or later dates will be at the normal rate.



Comments from previous Christmas guests:



‘A wonderful way to spend Christmas’



‘What a fabulous way to spend Christmas…thanks for all the cosseting and pampering – we really needed it’

We have some availability over the half term week, hope to see you!  Berri does too, but he will keep away if you prefer!

We have some availability this week, so get in touch if you are thinking of a trip to this part of Cornwall.

Availability

We are full until Friday 8th July, when we have one room available for the weekend.  From Monday 11th July, we have plenty of availability until 21st July, so, if you are thinking of a break in this area, give us a ring or email.

Hope to see you soon!

Blackcurrant sorbet

states it serves four - actually I made half, and it will serve six, with Swedish glace, and fruits from the garden!

225ml water

225g sugar

900g blackcurrants, fresh or thawed from frozen

2 tbs orange juice, eg juice of one orange

heat water to boiling, dissolve sugar, keep on heat for 2 mins., remove to cool. Whizz up the currants in a blender/food processor and sieve. Mix with orange juice and sugar syrup. Place in freezer proof container, in freezer, two or more hours, then whizz up again, and re-freeze until needed. Om nom nom.

Home | Vegan Cornwall

Home Vegan Cornwall

Would have loved to be at Vegfest in Bristol, but am very happy here, being busy!  We have availability  from Friday 3rd June onwards, when I think the weather forecast is looking good...

Velvet is happy too, in her empty food bag!

Velvet is growing so fast!

Availability - we are booked up all over Easter and the Wedding weekend. We have availability during the week between the two Bank Holidays, from Monday 25th until Friday 29th April. Have a great Easter.

I am Maru - The stunt cat (the melophonic remix)

We are enjoying excellent weather at present, and have some availability.  Don't forget our three for two offer, which ends on Saturday 16th April, three nights for the price of two, two people, evening meals included, £245 for an en-suite room. What a bargain!

Velvet

A friend of mine is seeking an animal loving person who would like to look after her cat when she occasionally goes away and also feed the birds (which she doesn't chase !). She's nearly 16, very sweet, rather shy, very healthy .


House is in Boscastle, easy and comfortable, centrally heated, modern house at the top of the village.

there would be time to explore the area and have a free mini holiday!

More specifically, she is seeking someone(s) for this coming weekend, Friday 18th - Monday 21st February.

if you are interested for this weekend, or in general for the future, please contact me Vanessa, in the first instance, on info@michael-house.co.uk, and give a contact number/email, and I will pass them to Trish to contact you.  I have met Amber, she is a sweet cat!

Valentine Weekend

We still have some availability over the weekend just prior to Valentine's Day, as well as some over the half term holiday.

We may well have a new member of the family by then.  We have arranged to adopt a sweet collie (pos with a bit of spaniel as well).  Al;though it is very soon after Sky died, and we still miss her enormously, if we did not take on a new dog now we would not have the time to devote to settling her and training until the autumn.  Berri is missing his playmate too, so we have decided to take the plunge now!  I tried to load photos of her from the rescue site, but was not able to.  Doubltless there will be many to follow!

Today the weather was fantastic.  After days of rain, fog, wind, even thunder, the last couple of days have improved dramatically.  Sunny, still, clear, frosty at first.  We took the dogs to the beach.  Berri loved it as always, and even Barney had a run around.  Berri does seem slightly subdued, we think he is missing his playmate.  Although he played with other dogs on the beach, he did not do so as eagerly as I had anticipated.  the beach is his favourite place.  It was fairly empty, but there were some people, and plenty of dogs there!  The photo was not taken today, but everything was similar, although these were probably taken in the summer.

Sky

Yesterday was a very sad day.  We had Sky, our adored blue merle collie, put to sleep.  She had been ill for a few weeks, and the time was right.  But, it was almost unbearable, and the rest of the day, I was just desperate for her to be with us.

Today, I feel a little stronger, and more able to remember the good times and the joy she brought us.

Sky doing what she loved best.  She was 15, a very good age.

We have availability for the New Year period.  Just email or ring if you are interested in coming down. 

I wonder if we will ever have echiums here again?  They all look very sad after the cold weather, well, mainly dead!  I am still hopeful for  a few, and we have some in the polytunnel, which look OK, but will poke right through the roof when they flower!

WEATHER OUTLOOK: Thursday to Saturday


Mostly dry Thursday with some sunshine. but a cold northerly breeze. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, dry with some sunshine and lighter winds, but remaining very cold and frosty.



ferom http://www.destination-cornwall.co.uk/.
 
So, that looks OK for our guests over Christmas.  currently, very beautiful, sunny, cold, still no snow here.  Are we the only place in the UK without snow?  It is to the west of us, as well as loads to the east, just not here!

We still have availability over the New Year period.  I guess people who are considering going away over New Year are waiting to see what the weather looks like, so last mintue bookings will be absolutely fine!  there is only the tiniest amount of snow (well, more like hail if you look closely at it, and I think it has all gone now anyway!) here, so no problem with the roads at present.

no snow here sadly!  I love snow, and know that lots of people who do not have plenty!

Please think of Sky, our lovely blue merle collie, she is not very well at present, hopping around on three legs and it may be something nasty, will know soon.  She is enjoying herself, playing ball a little,  but is clearly in pain without pain relief.  She is 15, so I know she will not be here forever, but it is still very difficult.

We are now fully booked for Christmas, but do have availability over the New Year, from 29th December onwards. No special prices or events, come to escape the New Year frenzy or to celebrate it, or, who knows, to storm watch!

We have some availability during the coming week, half term week.  We have been getting some amazing sunsets recently and beautiful skies.

Three nights for the price of two

Spring and Autumn breaks


From the beginning of October until the week before Easter (excluding Christmas and New Year) we will be offering a three night break with evening meals included for the reduced price of £245 per double/twin en-suite room or £225 for the room with private bathroom. This is the equivalent of three nights' accommodation for the price of two, plus three course evening meals for two people each night.



This break can be taken on any days of the week, must be inclusive of evening meals and cannot be taken with any other offers. Any additional nights will be charged at the normal rate. Two or more of these breaks can be taken in succession. The break must be booked in advance.

We have availability this weekend and into next week

Walking the dogs on the sunny, peaceful clifftops a short while ago, someone who lives locally commented - 'you can tell the summer is over' - 'yes', I replied, 'the weather is gorgeous'.  This seems to happen each year recently, beautiful until the schools break up, then not so good during much ot July and August, then beautiful as soon as September arrives.

We have availability, we have good weather and a good forecast for the next few days!

Hope to see you.

August Bank Holiday now fully booked!

We have a cancellation over the August Bank Holiday.  So, if you are thinking of visiting Cornwall this weekend, but think everywhere will be booked up, give us a ring, or email, the room is available on Saturday and Sunday, and there is availability into September as well.

We look forward to hearing from you.  Merlin looks forward to your visit too, he needs a reminder that he is a cat, not a dog!

We are very busy through most of August, but do have a room available from Tuesday 10th, until Friday 13th and the odd one here and there, eg the following week for a few days and over the Bank Holiday.  Early in September we have plenty of availability.

A few recipes, at last!

I promised several recipes on my MH Facebook page, ages ago!

Spice crusted tofu with maple syrup and lemon glaze, adapted from Rose Elliot's  'Veggie Chic'.

1 pack firm tofu, cut into oblongs (sort of fish finger size!)
i tbsp paprika, mixed with 3 tsps cumin, 3 tsps coriander powder, and a tsp salt

coat the tofu in the spices, place in hot olive oil in pan, turn and cook for a few moments.

Add  three tbsp maple syrup and two tbsps lemon juice mixed.  Allow to evaporate, spooning the sauce over the cooking tofu.  Serve with  toasted pinenuts and raosted potatoes and other seasonal vegetables.

Chocolate sorbet, from 'Vegan cooking' by Nicola Graimes

mix 16fl oz water with 3 tbsps maple syrup, 4 oz sugar and 3 oz cocoa powder.  Bring to a simmer, mix, add 2 oz plain chocolate until melted.

cool.  Freeze for two hours or place in an icecream maker.  if not in icecream maker, place in food processor and mix thoroughly.  freeze fully.  serve with red fruits, Swedish Glace, etc.  Om, nom, nom!

this post is actually added on 15th July!  Blogger does not want to let me do a new post for some reason.

anyway, we have some availability later in July if you are thinking of coming to Cornwall.  We are getting quite booked up for August, but have some gaps, but the best time is later this month.  Hope to see you!

when i first saw people doing this at Trebarwith Strand a few years ago, I thought they were mad.  Then I thought I'd take a photo and then was mentally egging them on to jump!  It is a local right of passage I think and probalby quite safe really!

so relieved to have my computer back and working!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

What is it about Bank Holidays? We have a cancellation for this coming weekend due to illness, so, if you can make it down, you will be very welcome! We will be going to the Bristol Veggie Fayre on the Sunday, so will not be available for evening meals that day, but could give you a lift if you want to go...

We do have some availability this weekend.  The thrift is out, the cliff tops are quiet, except for the birds singing, the weather for the weekend looks OK for Saturday, less good Sunday.  But we have had some poor forecasts recenlty, but then had good weather, so, who knows!

We have a cancellation for this weekend, if you can get down, I will offer the en-suite room at the room with private bathroom rate, for two nights, tonight and Sunday. that would be a total of £108 for the two ngihts, bed and breakfast.

We still have one room available for the 1st May Bank Holiday, and plenty of availability before and after.

The forecast for tomorrow (7th April) and Thursday has those yellow round things pictured and we have availability!

There are now just three weeks left to take advantage of our 'three for two' offer before the autumn. Finishing on April 1st, we are offering three nights bed and breakfast for the price of two, as long as evening meals ar taken, £245 for a couple in an en-suite room, or £225 in the room with private bathroom. This is a saving of £64 or £54. See the website for details www.michael-house.co.uk

How lucky am I?  I spent today and most of yesterday, and I hope quite a lot of tomorrow, making cards and walking the dogs along our beautiful paths and clifftops!

Might anyone be interested in helping us with our garden at Michael House? We are seeking someone/couple, to help, eg a weekend or longer, either the same people regularly, or different people, to help us get the garden up and running properly. Experience valuable but not essential, heavy work might be involved. The deal - around 4 hours of work a day, in return, bed and breakfast and lots of time to walk and enjoy the area!

Vegan meals out

we have had several meals out recently, at local (ish)pubs. We have told them ahead that we are vegan, and the following pubs have really done well:

The Rising Sun at Altarnun, excellent meal there today, this has to be the best meal of all we have had, and no fussing about what we could eat, automatic separate vegetables, even a dessert that was not just a fruit salad!

the Maltsters at Chapel Amble, carefully arranged, good food

the pub at St. Teath, whose name escapes me just now! Excellent pre-Christmas meal with chestnutty and aubergine thingy.

Not so good have been the following two comments from places who shall remain nameless:

Asked if any cakes were suitable for vegans in a cafe we love, a while ago - 'no, they all contain chocolate'. Eh? They didn't, aside from the irrelevancy of that comment!

Asked if the soup was suitable for vegans, the kindly guy in a very busy cafeteria style place we like in central Cornwall (which I shall be contacting with a bit of info) went and checked with the chef and came back and told us - 'no, the only thing suitable for vegans today is the Cajun chicken salad'!

Snow? What snow? No, it is just crisp and cold and sunny here! Still one room available over Christmas if you are intersted!

Roasted Mediterranean vegetables with minted cous-cous.

This is infinitely variable, as long as there is lots of flavour, garlic, lemon and herbs, the rest is totally flexible! I have adapted the recipe from the 'Kitchen Doctor'.

serves four

1 red onion, sliced into wedges
1 red pepper, sliced into strips
1 yellow pepper
10 cloves garlic, can leave in skin or not
10 cherry tomatoes
1 aubergine, in chunks
sprig or two thyme, leaves stripped off
same of rosemary
20 pitted olives
joice of one lemon
1 tsp paprika
olive oil

chop and prepare all veggies, pop it all in a dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast, uncovered, 25 mins ish, in oven at 180 c ish.

Meanwhile, prepare couscous

250g plain couscous, place in shallow, wide bowl, to allow steam to escape, add under one pint of boiling stock, leave for 3 mins., then add juice and zest of one lemon, 2 tbsp olive oil, loads of fresh chopped mint, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar and leave for 10 mins.

serve, can put roasted pine nuts or hazelnuts on top, or other nuts or seeds. Yum.

Special Christmas offer

We still have one room available for our Christmas break, see previous post for details. If you are thinking it would be nice to get away for Christmas, but that everywhere will be booked up by now, give me a ring. We will offer the room, it is the rooom with private bathroom, normally £275 per person for the four nights , for just £225 per person, this is a saving of £100 for a couple. Or, if you wish to come alone, I will waive the single supplement (normally £100), just charge the original amount, ie £275.

Christmas at Michael House

We currently have only one room (the room with private bathroom) still available for our four day Christmas Special:

Christmas break, 2009


Fancy being looked after and spoiled over the Christmas period? Get away from it all, relax, walk and have tea by the open fire at Michael House, followed by delicious festive meals! We are offering a four night break over Christmas again this year, as follows:

Arrive on Wednesday 23rd December, in time for afternoon tea by the fire and a three course evening meal.

On Christmas Eve, have a leisurely breakfast. Enjoy the day as you choose and afternoon tea will again be served by the fire, and a three course evening meal will follow.

On Christmas Day, another leisurely breakfast will precede a four course Christmas dinner in the early afternoon. Supper will be buffet style.

On Boxing Day, there will be a light lunch after another leisurely breakfast, afternoon tea (if you can manage it!) and a three course supper. Guests will depart on the Sunday morning, after breakfast.

Four nights, partly full board, £300 per person for the en-suite rooms, and £275 for the room with private bathroom. A single supplement will apply.

Bookings for earlier or later dates will be at the normal rate.

Comments from previous Christmas guests:

‘A wonderful way to spend Christmas’

‘What a fabulous way to spend Christmas…a brie and cranberry soufflé to die for…thanks for all the cosseting and pampering – we really needed it’

We have availability over the coming weekend, and there will be a free extra hour. We very generously will not be charging for this!

I do love the extra hour, but, oh I so hate the early darkness that results.

Next week, half term, we are very busy but have the odd room available and the following weekend is free so far. I will nto be cooking on the evening of Saturday 31st, as we have our Treknow Festival of Lanterns, which should be fun, do come down and join in. I have pestered for veggie sausages etc., so need people here to eat them up, or I will get told off for making a fuss and then not eating them!

Availability

The sun is shining, the forecast for the next few days is not bad, but the guest house is empty! If you are thinking of a few days in Cornwall, hope to see you! The half term week - 26th onwards, is filling rapidly though, but there is still some availability.

spice crusted tofu with maple glaze

this is from Veggie Chic, by Rose Elliot, adapted by me!

serves four

1 tbs. paprika - Rose says three, but this is a lot of paprika!
3tsp. ground cumin
3tsp. ground coriander
1 and a half tsp. salt
3, 8 oz packs firm tofu, drained
6 tbs olive oil
9 tbs. boiling water - I leave this out altogether, it takes too long to evaporate I find, let me know what you think!
6 tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 and a half tbs. maple syrup
2 oz. toasted pinenuts, to sprinkle over the top, if wished

mix spices in a bowl and spread, with the salt, on a large platter.

cut the tofu into fingers, aprox four or six per packet

coat the tofu in the spices on all sides

heat the olive oil in a large pan, cook the tofu for four- five minutes on each side

mix the water if using and the maple syrup and lemon juice together. Pour over the tofu. it is supposed to disappear very fast, leaving a glaze, but i find it takes a while!

Serve immediately, with the pinuts sprinkled over. Yum. Experiment with this recipe.

Quinoa, almond and caper filled peppers

This recipe has been requested, is quite yummy, and unusual, not the familiar way to stuff a pepper! I have adapted it from a recipe I found on the internet for a stuffed tomato! So, other vegetables can be used.

measurements are very approximate - I just bung it all together, and it varies, but this is part of the delight!

for four people:

approzimately half a cup of quinoa, I like the red one. Cook this in three times the volume of water, for about 20 minutes.

Take the tops off four smallish peppers (preferably not green ones), remove the seeds and keep the 'lids' with the peppers. Make sure the peppers can stand up, slice a little off the base if necessary! Boil for approx five minutes in water, drain and cool.

meanwhile, chop and cook an onion in a little oil - I use sunflower oil.

Chop up a handful of almonds, mix with the onion, and add about a tablespoonful of capers, and a similar amount of currants.

mix all ingredients, pop in the peppers, put the tops on, drizzle with olive oil and place in an ovenproof dish and cook in a medium oven for 20 minutes.

Serve with rich tomato sauce:

one tin tomatoes in tomato juice, chopped

some garlic - 2 or three cloves

approx. one tbs. olive oil

a couple of sundried tomatoes, chopped

a splosh of red wine

herbs if you like

cook this gently for as long as possible - one hour is fine.

whizz in liquidiser briefly.

Serve with fresh vegetables of different colours and roast potatoes. looks good and tastes

yummy! I even found a photo, but it doesn't have the sauce

As we move away from summer, the beaches are looking more like this, just one Sky, waiting to play ball, and few people around.

This coming weekend, 3rd and 4th October and thereafter, we have availability at Michael House, so do get in touch and come for a couple of days or more!

Our three nights for the price of two offer, see the website, also starts now.

Hope to see you soon.

Availability

Until Sunday 6th September, we are fully booked, but, after that, we do begin to have some availability. So, if you are thinking of coming to Cornwall and might be interested in this area, give me a ring or email. the weather forecast is not looking too bad, but don't hold me to that, as it keeps changing!

Availability

We do have one en-suite room available from Sunday 16th August until Saturday 22nd August, if you are thinking of a visit to Cornwall soon! Otherwise, apart from the odd night, we are very busy until the second week in September.

check out page 89 of the September 2009 edition of Cook Vegetarian magazine!

The best ever scone recipe!

This recipe, which I always use for scones, has to be the best ever! The scones are crumbly, yummy and can be frozen, if you make so many you cannot eat them in one go! The recipe comes from the October 2004 edition of Good Housekeeping magazine, and the recipe has been requested, so I thought I would add it here...

8oz s.r. flour
3oz butter
1 and a half oz sugar
1 large egg
approx 2 tbsp. milk or buttermilk

preheat oven to 220c (200 for fan oven)

I use a food mixer, place the flour in and mix in the butter, and sugar, mix egg with milk, mix in, add more milk if doesn't form nice firm ball.

Flour clean work surface and flat baking tray. Roll out dough to 1 in thick. Press floured 2in cutter into mixture and pull out without twisting. Use all mixture. You should have 8 scones, I never seem to have this many!!

Brush each scone with milk and then sprinkle with flour. Bake for 10 - 12 mins. Try not to eat immediately.

Yummy.

We stil have availability later this week, so do give me a ring or email if you are coming this way!

Goats' cheese, pinenut and oven-roasted tomato charlotte

This is a recipe from Cafe Paradiso, by Denis Cotter. He runs a restaurant in Cork, Ireland, and is inspired in his combinations of flavours. I have indicated the things I alter in this recipe, but included the original recipe, as requested by a recent guest to Michael House.

for 6

6 beef tomatoes - or any ripe tomatoes, but more of them!
olive oil
6 cloves of garlic - I use less, this is a lot!
450g goats cheese - I use less, can be soft sort or hard, nice with the hard version
200g cream cheese - I use Philadelphia
2 eggs
3 egg whites
100-150g single cream
50g pinenuts, lightly toasted
basil, fresh
black pepper
100g puy lentils - I often do not do this part
1 red onion
120mls basil oil, don't even know what this is, unless you just mix oil with basil and let it sit around for a while!
wilted greens - again, never use this, but the dish is very rich, so does need simple vegetables with it

roast the tomatoes - cut into thick slices (he says remove the seeds, I never do!). Oil some trays, lightly oil the slices of tomato with olive oil, roast on medium oven for approx 45 - 50 mins. should be a bit dried out when done, but not completely, with some blackened bits, caramelised.

put cheeses, garlic and whole eggs in food processor, whizz to smooth puree, add egg whites one at a times with motor running. transfer to a bowl and add enough cream to give thick pouring consistency. stir in pinenuts and basil.

preheat oven to 190c. lightly oil six ramekins or dariel bowls and place a little piece of greaseproof paper in each, and place in a large ovenproof dish. put a tomato slice in, then some of the custard, then tomato, and finish with custard. half fill the big dish with hot water and place the whole thing in the oven for around 40 minutes. run a knife around the bowls to help with removal.

for the lentils, which do go very well with the dish, soak if you wish then boil them until tender, mix with red onion chopped up and basil oil. serve with the charlottes. yum.

The Old Post Office, Tintagel


During most of August we are very busy at Michael House. However, during the week beginning 2nd August we have availability, so, if you are considering coming to Cornwall for a few days we hope to hear from you!

Over the next few days, including this weekend, we do have some availability, give us a ring or email if you are thinking of coming to this part of Cornwall. If you like fresh berries, gooseberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, strawberries and raspberries, this is the place to be! We have never had such a crop, it is brilliant and goes a small way to compensating for losing all our echiums last winter! The baby ones we have potted up are mostly doing well, we have over 50 in pots and several where they seeded.

Availability

Just to let anyone reading this know, we do have some availability over the coming weeks, and dont forget, until the end of June, we are still offering our 'three for two' special, see the website for details - www.michael-house.co.uk.

Since when has Peru been in Britain?

Our obsession with British, preferably Cornish, asparagus has reached a bit of a low point. On two occasions in supermarkets recently, (one of them we really thought would have higher moral standards), the box said British asparagus, but the bundle itself, on bringing it home on the first occasion, said Peru! When this happened for a second time, no asparagus came home! I wonder if the season here has been very short because of the hard winter and the boxes were not changed in time, but surely this was breaking the Trades Description Act? Hope we have not had the last of the British asparagus already.

Just to let anyone thinking of coming to Cornwall this weekend, 4th/5th/6th June know, we do have some availabilty over the weekend.



We had a great time at the Royal Cornwall show today. The weather, contrary to earlier forecasts, was perfect, warm, sunny and with a gentle breeze. As well as an obsession with echiums, I now have a developing interest in streptocarpus, which, despite its disease like name, is a beautiful group of elegant houseplants. I have three on the mantelpiece in the dining room and just bought another two, all are variants of blue and purple.

This weather is so wonderful!

Here is the recipe I use for making elderflower cordial. We have only just finished last years cordial, I had quite a lot in the freezer.

20 elderflower heads - washed
1 sliced lemon
2 tsp citric acid
3 and a half lb white sugar
2 and a half lbs boiling water

Pour boiling water over the ingredients in large pot. Stir to dissolve sugar. Stir daily for five days, strain and bottle in sterile bottles. Keeps in fridge for quite a while, or freeze in plastic bottles, leavng air gap for expansion. Serve with tap water, sparkling water or lemonade, with lemon or mint, or use in sorbet. One of the essential tastes of summer.

Cornish new potatoes and asparagus

If you love new potatoes and asparagus, the local varieties of both are here at present and we are making good use of them! Delicious.

I will love my website more, I will love my website more, I will love my website more...

This should be my mantra henceforward. It is only once something has gone for a while that you truly appreciate it. I rather took the presence of my website for granted. However, it disappeared about a week ago, and I instantly knew how much I valued it! The site has been moved to a new server, so I hope it will not vanish again.

Thank you Jonathan for getting it sorted and Steven for keeping me up to speed with what was happening, as the site went and came on different computers at different times!

Phew, that was exhausting

the problem with the website continues, I am not happy. Please ring me on 01840 770 592, or email on info@michael-house.co.uk or vang@globalnet.co.uk

Website.

something terrible seems to have happened to the website. Please do not interpret this to mean Michael House no longer exists! We certainly do, and the webiste should be restored to full function as soon as possible. Please give me a ring if you wish to gather information, or to make a booking, or email me. 01840 770 592. info@michael-house.co.uk

We only have one room available, for sunday May 3rd, over this coming Bank Holiday weekend.

Have a good weekend. The weather is looking promising.

Email

Just to let you know that the normal email address for Michael House, info@michael-house.co.uk, is working again.

Just a note to let anyone reading this know that our server for the Michael House email is not currently working. So, if you wish to contact me by email, please use vang@globalnet.co.uk until I update this blog.

sorry for any inconvenience.

The green shoots of recovery.

Now, where have I heard that before?

But these green shoots are real, they are echiums. Four of them and very precious to me!

Anyone who has read my blogs in the past will know I am a bit obsessed with echiums! They are magnificent, they are also known as 'rocket plants' as they reach around 12 - 14 foot high in their second or third year, with lovely purply blue flowers which bees love. This variety is called Pininana, there are others, some with a very different, ground covering, non biennial habit. The herb, borage, is a close relation. They share the flower colour and furry, slightly rough, leaf surface.

This is a goldfinch sitting atop one last year. I know, I know, it could be anything, but you will just have to believe me, it is a goldfinch!

We had so many last year, that it was easy to take them for granted, and this year was set to be our best ever. We wrapped some up against the frost, we had a few younger ones in pots in the polytunnel.

We lost them all to the severe winter.

I was gutted, the sticks of dead echium stood as testament in the ground for a while, they have now all been removed. The garden centres have lost theirs too, so it will be a while before we can get any. So, there will be no echiums this year, and only next year if I can get a few soon which are fairly advanced. The following year, however, should be good, if we do not have any more killer frosts!

So, now you can see why those little seedlings are so precious to me! I am constantly checking other pots and the garden for more!

TV in guest room

I'm not sure this is even worth blogging about, but there is now a working TV and digibox in one of the guest rooms, the one with private bathroom. We have never had TV's in the rooms, and this has suited most people, there is a TV in the sitting room and it feels good to escape the TV in the bedroom. However, I stopped renting my old(ish) TV and they let me just keep it, so there was a spare one, so, as there was the link to the aerial in room 3, we have set it up in there!

Cornwall Today

Allow me a little brag a moment please! We have been featured in Cornwall Today for May 2009, as one of the '10 Best Veggie Eateries'. OK, so there are not 10 vegetarian restaurants in Cornwall, so they chose a couple of guest houses as well, more to the north and east, as there is a paucity of vegetarian places to eat in these areas. But, it is nice to see Michael House in a list of this sort, do have a look. It is great that they have taken up the cause of vegetariansm, they picked May, as it includes Vegetarian Week, 18th-25th May. We offer evening meals to non residents, but obviously offer priority to our resident guests, but it usually works out fine if people wish to book a meal.