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.