Page 55 - Phonebox Magazine August 2016

Read, Eat, Talk, Drink
The Bell & Bear Book Club: 21st July
The Book: Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy.
Another mixed response this one. We had some avid Hardy fans who have read the book more than once and love it. Quite a few who didn’t finish it. And a number who found it very heavy going. There is no question that the story of Tess, Alec and Angel is a cracking one. But for many of us, Hardy’s prose got in the way. Possibly a sign that in today’s age we need more instant fixes, have less patience for things that aren’t essential? I’d read the book as a young teenager and remembered thoroughly enjoying it. So was disappointed and surprised to be one of those that found much of the read a drag. But a few days on and it’s not Hardy’s descriptive passages that linger in my memory, but a gripping love story, and a tale of good against evil.
What we ate: This month we were spared turnip top soup and The Bell and Bear treated us instead to their midweek meal, which this week was sea bass fillet on prawn cous cous with butternut squash puree. It was a delightful taste of summer.
Next month: The Go-Between, L P Hartley, Thursday August 18th. Everybody welcome, email helenjbillingham@gmail.com or search for the group on Facebook.
Midweek Meals at The Bell & Bear. Have you tried them yet?
The book club dinner this month was the Bell and Bear’s set midweek meal – a delicious sea bass fillet on prawn cous cous with butternut squash puree for just £9. Each week from Tuesday to Thursday, the pub put on a great value, seasonal dish. It’s probably the best value dinner for miles around. If you’ve not yet taken advantage of the kitchen’s superb cooking for just £9 a time, it’s really time you did! Here is just a small selection.
Seabass with Moroccan cous cous
Braised beef in peppercorn sauce
Roasted chicken leg and mustard mash
Chilli Cheese Cauliflower Soup
From the Edible Ornamentals website
- Large knob of butter
- One onion, diced
- Half cauliflower, cut into florets
- Stock cube
- Crushed pepper
- Three potatoes, cubed
- Half a tub of cream cheese
- Two tablespoons of Pure Heat Chilli Sauce or fresh chillies to taste
- One teaspoon of English mustard
Fry the onion in the butter and add the cubed potatoes. Cook over a medium heat and add more butter if it starts to stick to the bottom of the pan. In the meantime, boil the cauliflower. Once potatoes are cooked, add the cauliflower and cauliflower water to the potatoes. Add the stock cube. Take off from the heat and puree. Add the cream cheese, Pure Heat Chilli Sauce, pepper and the mustard.
Enjoy!
August 2016 | Phonebox Magazine 55