Hello All,

How have you been? I hope you’ve had a great weekend. What has the Derby foodie been up to? First of all, what a week it’s been, what with the country turning blue (and with it, a wave of blue melancholy sweeps over my soul, but that’s another story for another rainy day).

20150510_165823Moving onward and upward (it’s good to focus on the positive), I had the pleasure of spending Sunday afternoon in Matlock Bath with The Dude. We held hands and skipped around Matlock Bath (the skipping bit was mainly me) and because the weather was clement, we had great fun.

I just had to tell you about this awesome art and foodie indoor market we spied in this gorgeous space not far from the train station. I think it was an ex-council building, you know the stone set-ups with a hint of Victoriana about it.

Anyway, there were about 40 different stalls and we made a few purchases. I’ve been after edible lavender for a while and managed to pick up this generous pouch for a bargainous £1.50. I’ll be baking some lavender shortbread soon and will let you know how I fare (expect a standalone blog post coming up on that soon).

Amongst the stalls was Dad’s Bees  (who do really tasty salad dressings, sauces, condiments and honey). I bought their Honey & Mustard with Garlic and Brandy Salad Dressing, Luxury Strawberry, Pimms & Honey Jam, and their Hot Chilli Sauce with Honey.

20150510_20030720150510_200421Not only were the people who served us wonderful, but also very knowledgeable too. They proffered recipes, for example scoring a chicken breast and using the chilli sauce as a marinade, then topping it with cheese, say Philadelphia. I also picked up a few truckles of David William’s  cheese (Cheddar with Caramelised Onion & Red Wine, and Cheddar with Chilli). When I cook with these products, I’ll be sure to blog about it as well.

There were also these giant cookies from Cookie Stop (don’t worry, they’re totally freezable, so I won’t gorge on all of them in one hit). These cookies were soft, chewy and I loved their Butterscotch offerings.

I wouldn’t have pegged Matlock Bath as foodie heaven – but it actually is. Plus the setting is pretty AMAZING. We walked near Abraham’s Heights, passed Gulliver’s Kingdom and scaled some very steep steps (great cardio, might I add). Check out Matlock Bath for a lovely weekend treat, especially in the summer when you can really enjoy the lush greenery.

See you soon,

RAxx