I’m back in the saddle after a week in Cornwall. Reflecting on my time away, food, not surprisingly comes to mind.

I have decided there ought to be a warning on ‘A’ roads as there are on motorways sometimes about service stations. Signs along the A303 should read “There is no healthy food for 130 miles”.

Yes, I know, I could take food but for me, but it’s part of the my holiday to stop and eat somewhere. I’m not sure when I became so fussy; the red and white ‘fast food’ outlets did not appeal. So we kept on driving and looking. And looking and driving, and driving and looking…………..

By the time we had whizzed past the M&S and Waitrose outlets in the small service stations, I realized they had been my last chance for anything tasty and edible. So note to anyone heading West; treat the journey like an expedition and be prepared. I think, in the end I settled on a bar of Cadburys and some water. Funny how when you have become too hungry, the mind justifies something familiar but unhealthy over something very healthy like fruit, which I did have with me………

We stayed in a different house this year in a familiar and frequently revisited area. It had the most beautiful kitchen with an amazing view over the river. The open plan provided us a panoramic view of the ebb and flow of the tide. The birds seem to come in huge numbers once the water had left the creek, feeding (I guess) on all the delectable creatures hiding in the mud.

For my own ‘delectables’ I had to go to Falmouth for locally caught and home grown produce.

I guess it’s rather sad but I love going to the health food shop there. I reckon it is the best I have ever been too. It is always my first port of call when food shopping. Apart from finding out what’s new, I also get to discover the local stuff. This year I found the most incredible blackcurrant jam. It was very obviously homemade, stuffed full of blackcurrants and not sickly sweet. The colour was deep, deep purple; almost black and as I took the lid off the aroma of summer drew me down into the jar.

The shop usually provides very local organic veg grown within smelling distance of the sea. The range is small as it should be this time of year but very fresh. This means we usually have lots of one type rather than a variety of different vegetables.

I always take some staples from my own cupboards; really good olive oil, coconut butter, Marigold bouillon, fresh black pepper, Himalayan pink salt, Tamari and chilli sauce. I picked up fresh prawns and hake to use over the first few days. In the supermarket I found some harrisa spice (not sauce) that looked interesting.

In the evenings, when the sun had gone and the view of the creek was no longer visible, I would gather what I had collected on the counter to decide what to cook. For me putting food together and cooking creates curiosity, anticipation and I find it exciting. Every time I look at what I have to work with, I smell the food, think about its special qualities, what it would work with and how to cook it. I guess I’m like a food dating agency; what will go with what and bring out the best in each other!

For me, food is a passion; I love it all. Being on holiday allows me the time to play; it isn’t arduous in the least. I do however appreciate that this isn’t the same for most people. We all get the message, healthy eating is essential, yada, yada, yada but for most folk it is just another thing to worry about.

This is why I do what I do with HEO; I want to make eating real food really easy for everyone. Hopefully by talking about food, making simple meals, introducing new things you may not have tried before, I can inspire you to head into the kitchen.

If not, well, I would have had a great time trying……………