Sometimes it is just time for a winter picnic. Now I beleive a winter picnic is a perfect way to banish those cold dark days and dream of spring! So with this in mind we packed the car, wrapped ourselves in hats, scarves and mittens and set out to one of those secluded little coves beyond Perranuthnoe. The sky was clear, the air was delicious clear and there was definitely more than a promise of a gorgeous sunset that evening.
We arrived for our winter picnic as the sun was beginning to set
The umber cliffs were stained red by the setting sun as we arrived with a rivulet of clear water draining from the old Wheal Charlotte adit.
There was the salty tang of the sea in the air as we settled ourselves into the sandy pebbles and the tempting smell of Cornish pasties wafting from the rucksack.
Our simple winter picnic recipe
A pasty is the perfect, traditional simple food, for a winter picnic on a Cornish cove with maybe just a splash of everyday red wine to mark the occasion!
For a while we just sat and watched the sea birds on the cove and absorbed the perfect peace of the evening before hunger took over and reached for those tempting pasties!
And what a feast the sunset had to offer that night with the crimson glow of the sun slowly spreading to encompassed St Michael’s Mount and shimmer across the sea to us.
What is a Cornish Pasty?
A pastry that contains potatoe, swede, onion (maybe) and a little skirt of beef seasoned with salt and pepper and that is it. Make sure that all of the ingredients are diced to exactly the same size, before crimping and oven baking for about an hour. And Shh I did once hear a great tip – add a table spoon full of Cornish cream!
Here’s a full recipe from an expert!
Locals here all have their favourite Pasty shops though: – Ann’s pasties, Philps, Lavender’s, and The Cornish Oven. So don’t despair if you are in west Cornwall on holiday
A little pasty history
The Cornish pasty has been would have been taken to work in the farm and the mines for centuries. It was often joked that it should be able to be dropped down a mine shaft and stay in one piece. Again traditionally asmall peice of crust crust would not have been eaten but left for teh *knockers.
*Knockers were the spirits of miners killed underground who would knock loudly to warn of impending disaster.
And home from our winter picnic
Finally as the sunset on our little secret Cornish cove we headed back up the slipway and made our way home to Ednovean. Happy with that lovely warm feeling from beating the season with our winter picnic and with the memory of watching a beautiful sunset over St Michael’s Mount.
