Ideas and Breakfast

So, after some deliberating it looks like I have a project! I juggled for a while the idea of a 'Julie & Julia' type of affair where I cook my way through a certain book but while this would satisfy my yearning for learning, it wouldn't necessarily allow me to be creative.

My inspiration came from a book I have called 'My Favourite Ingredients' by Skye Gyngell, which is a beautiful book filled with stunning photos by Jason Lowe. I am going to get together a list of ingredients and push myself to find new ways to use them. This could be by trying to come up with a recipe myself, or taking the framework of a classic and making it my own. I am also going to start making more effort with the photography (this is a general thing as well, I have been neglecting it recently!)

The next step then is the list. I shall have a think about this over the weekend and post again, after this I plan to do a recipe a week, maybe two. I have just started (another) new job so I have to see how my hours pan out.

But what is this about breakfast? This is simply the fact that I could eat breakfast any time of the day, (I'm all about brinner) and I made a pretty epic one for my boyfriend's 30th last weekend. I was particularly chuffed as I made croissants and so wanted to stick up a couple of pics - homemade, it turns out, is a winner :-) Yay.

PS. As I write this I am listening to Agnes Obel, she's lovely, check her out.

Lazy Bones

I recently read this post http://foodloveswriting.com/2012/06/08/kale-and-eggs-or-why-you-should-start-a-food-blog/ and it got me thinking. What the hell have I been doing with myself? 


I haven't blogged for a while, I have been out of work and you would think that with all the free time I would have been cooking instead of feeling sorry for myself and watching Dr Who on iPlayer (I have been doing job applications as well, promise). But something has been holding me back - I have hardly been cooking, and definitely haven't been blogging.


There are a lot of food bloggers out there, and a lot of amazing amateur cooks and currently I am feeling less than confident and more than a little uninspired, especially as money is tight. AND I am trying to lose weight so the 'I fancy baking' whims are being ignored otherwise Ricky and I end up eating 3/4 of cheesecake by ourselves. Something is definitely off, the blog currently just feels too random, like it is missing the point - why did I start it and who is it for?


Well, it was meant to be a release as I said in my first post. Secretly however, I wanted it to be popular - I am incredibly impatient and want anything I try to be pretty much immediately successful, or I think I have failed. My neurotic side tells me I'm not good enough, that there are too many people better than me. My logical side knows these things take time and that I am still learning.


So when I read the above post, I felt better. It made me realise that writing this blog for me, as I set out to do, is how it should be and that I needn't feel intimidated. This is easier said than done, granted, but this post is me starting again, looking at it from a different angle. I can't afford cookery classes, or to drop everything and live in Paris learning how to make the perfect croissant, it just isn't realistic. But I do have great inspiration in my parents, a host of food loving friends (also known as willing taste testers), and access to some of the best food in the world on my doorstep. I love food, I love cooking. I think I'm good at it. I would like to write about it, because I would like to expand my repertoire and learn. And like this post, make some space in my head by getting rid of some thoughts :-) That will be enough.


So, the plan is to turn this into more of a project - I find a bit of focus helps me get on with things and it will push me to learn as well. What the project is, well I'm not sure yet but I shall make a decision soon. If it gets read and people like it, bonus.

Health Kick

I am trying (and not massively succeeding, yet) to lose some weight. The trouble is, you may guess, that I like food. It is a bit of a dilemma but I am trying to persevere as I have a couple of weddings and that in the summer.

Doing it under my own steam wasn't working so I had to bite the bullet - I joined Weight Watchers. I'm not going to advertise it, different things work for different people, but it has brought home that perhaps the spoonfuls of peanut butter do add up and that I needed to really look at what I was eating.

So this brings me to what I am calling my Epic Potato Salad. I am trying to think up new healthy dinners, mostly veggie (as this keeps my points down) but that don't make me feel sad that I'm not eating bacon sandwiches with a chocolate chaser. And, I suppose, this is my first recipe! So here goes:

Serves 2
330g new potatoes (roughly, judge it on how hungry you are!)
3 carrots
2 sundried tomatoes
2 spring onions
1 clove garlic, raw (or more depending how you like it)
1 tablespoon light cream cheese
1 tablespoon parmesan
Juice of half a lemon
Big handful of fresh herbs (I used basil, parsley and mint)
Salt and pepper to taste

Put the taters on to boil. In the mean time, chop up the spring onions, garlic and sundried tomatoes and put in a big bowl. Top and tail and peel the carrots, then grate into the bowl with the other ingredients. Roughly chop your herbs altogether and chuck them in too, along with a tablespoon of grated parmesan. Squeeze over the lemon juice, season a little and mix it all up.

Drain the potatoes, leave to air dry for a minute. Put them back in the saucepan, season, and mix in the cream cheese. Add the potatoes to the rest of the salad, mix it all up and Bob's your uncle! Or your Grandad, in my case. Healthy, tasty, herby, lemony yumminess. I am struggling not to eat the half left for my lunch tomorrow!

So we'll see how this goes, but I have to admit, just a couple of weeks of making the extra effort and I do feel better so I'll try and keep it up, at least until the summer's over :-)

Trial and Error

I'm back! I feel bad that I haven't done anything for a bit but had a crazy couple of weeks, moving house and job hunting, and we finally have the internet up and running, yay!


I decided we needed a night out with a bit of a boogie and a little too much booze, so got a couple of people over beforehand to eat and have a glass o' vino. There are a some things I have fancied cooking for a while (I keep a list on Evernote, oh how I love a list), and 2 of these were pulled pork with coleslaw, and lemon tart, yum yum.


So the pork and coleslaw recipe I found here http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/pulledporkwithsausag_88807


But I added a little honey to it as well, and used Dijon mustard instead of wholegrain (just because I didn't have any). I think the beauty of this is that there are loads of different marinades/rubs to try - I'd like to try something sweet and sour, with lime, black treacle and soy maybe, AND pork shoulder is cheap cheap so it's great for feeding a group of friends (I got a huge bit at Brixton Market for £5.99). The coleslaw was as per the recipe, very tasty, and I made a BBQ sauce with ketchup, soy, mustard, brown sugar, and a little lemon juice. All this was piled on a soft white bun, which is ideal for this - it's a little bit filthy :-) but it works. 


So it seemed to go down well, just the right amount of food for getting something on the belly without making you bloated. It is a classic combination, the juicy pork, some subtle spice, coleslaw crunch and sweet BBQ. I urge you to try it and you can afford to mess around with it which I like. The only thing I found was that the 4 hours suggested was a little long and some of it was a touch dry, but my fault really for not checking enough.


I blame the lemon tart for this though! I was following a Heston recipe which was quite involved, I think I created a bit too much work for myself. So, I took a risk...hmmm...not always the best idea with desserts I realise, but luckily it worked. I made the pastry as per the recipe, but I skipped the stage where you gently heat the filling over a pan of water to 60 degrees, I just didn't have time. So, after I blind baked the pastry, I just filled it and chucked it in the oven hoping for the best. I baked it for about half an hour to 40 mins, and it was scrummy (thank goodness), not perfect but not a bad first go!


I like experimenting in the kitchen and I often think I play it a bit safe, but really trial and error is the best way to learn. I will do the pork again, but next time I will make up my own marinade and trust my instincts. As for the tart, I was probably lucky! But I know what mistakes I made with timing so I can be more careful next time.  

Bistrot Birthday

Oh my GOD. I am still coming out of the food coma induced by my birthday dinner at Bistrot Bruno Loubet last night. Damn. 

It was just so very very good. Right from the off, the staff were attentive and knowledgeable, and seemed passionate about the food they were serving. We each started with a delightful aperitif, mine a Lillet Blanc, Ricky's a Rouge as recommended - super tasty, sweet and fruity served over ice with a slice of lemon (or orange if having the rouge). I'd never had it before but it was refreshing and delicious, a good start.

We each went for specials for starters - duck charcuterie, and padron peppers with ricotta and a basket of warm crusty bread came with it. The charcuterie was heavenly, a rustic wooden board with a sweet spiced chutney, smoked breast, terrine, foie gras, a jelly, and what I think was a coarse pate. Not sure, but it was all flipping amazing anyway and I had to try really hard not to eat Ricky's half. So rich and naughty! The peppers by comparison were fresh and light, and the bitterness of them with the ricotta and tiny weeny toasts was a perfect balance.

It took us a long time to choose our mains, the choice available was just ridiculous. In the end I went with my gut first choice, salmon and scallop quenelles and Ricky went with a beef bourguignon from the specials. There was a lovely bit of theatre when two waiters revealed the dishes at the same time, as both came in black pots, like wee mini le creuset casserole dishes. 

And bloody hell was it good. My quenelles were beautiful; smooth and melt in the mouth, delightfully fishy and served in a langoustine bisque - both elements with such fine depth of flavour and masterfully brought together. I won't deny it was rich, but hey, it was my birthday, so screw it. I am actually salivating thinking about it. I only had a mouthful of Ricky's beef, but it was literally good enough to make his eyes water. The beef fell apart at the touch it was so tender, the mash velvety soft and creamy all brought together by the sticky, dark and rich sauce. Just one mouthful I could feel it sticking gleefully to the ribs! Slow cooked incredibleness....

I wasn't still hungry but of course I had dessert. An apple tart to die for. My comment at the time was that it had to be a crack dusted apple tart it was that good, and I stick by that. I can't remember the flavour of the ice cream on top, but it is some of the best I have ever had. Ricky's lemon and olive oil panna cotta had a strangely medicinal taste, but was lovely and light and creamy. 

I realise I have somewhat waxed lyrical about this place, but considering that we had 3 courses each, plenty of good wine (expertly recommended) and an aperitif each, it was just about £120 inc service for both of us, which I don't think is bad for a special occasion. And, above all, it really was that tasty. If I had one complaint it was that the new potatoes with my main were a bit unimaginative, but the rest of it was so stand out, I don't care. 

Anyway, I got a bit excited about it all and as it had been a while since we went out for a fancy dinner, I thought I would write it up! They do set lunches too, very reasonable. 

Omnomnomnomnom!!! Perfect birthday pressie, thanks Richard!!

This is the website, go see: http://www.bistrobrunoloubet.com/

Photo not mine, BTW. I didn't have my camera!

Good Food Day!

Yesterday was a good day for food! 

It has been a pretty hectic and strange couple of weeks - I've been made redundant for a start so have been beefing up the ol' CV and applying for jobs again. It's not all bad though, I don't think this was the right job for me and so moving on is actually a positive thing.

So, after being really busy last week I wanted to EAT. Yesterday (Sunday) I was lucky enough to eat twice at Brixton market, breakfast with Mum and Dad at the Brick Box Cafe in the village, where I had a buckwheat galette generously filled with good cheese, herbs and crispy bacon, with a fried egg on top. Well tasty. (Top pic is Brixton Village)

My friend Cat was in the area for lunch, so to kill time I went to the farmers market on Brixton Station Road and bought some quality streaky bacon, and a beautiful creamy Wye of Bath cheese from a lovely and helpful chap at the Bath Soft Cheese Company. Most of this cheese has already been nibbled away, it's bloomin delicious. 10am - 2pm every Sunday, and although there aren't that many stalls, all of them have great produce - I will be back!

Lunch was Japanese 'Tapas' at Curry Ono just off Market Row (pics with prawns!). This was really good, and the staff very friendly, made even better by the complimentary miso soup, yum. My favourite dish was the marinated prawns, sharp and spicy and cooked perfectly. Entertainment came in the form of a drunk guy outside, displaying his clearly shoplifted prizes on one of their tables...Brixton has a fascinating dynamic and mix of people, most good, some worrying, but I love it all the same. Our final treat was tea and triple choc cookies at the Relay Tea Rooms, a really cute and tiny place with china cups and saucers, and homemade treats.

The bottom picture is my creation - after watching 2 episodes of masterchef I was feeling creative...well hungry somehow...and so using the bacon and savoy cabbage from the market, along with some ageing kale and potatoes and eggs from the 'rents chickens, I rustled us up some dinner. Kale and savoy cabbage with bacon, onions and garlic, lemon roasted potatoes crushed with parmesan and a fried egg to finish.  

It was a gluttonous day but a final treat before unemployment, this week is all about leftovers and thrift :-)

Simple Pleasures

Bread! I bloody love bread. It's actually magic. 4 basic ingredients and you end with one of our most loved and oldest foodstuffs. The smell sells houses, or so they say, and it comes in more tasty manifestations than you can shake a stick at.

My Dad recently showed me how to make my own bread and for Christmas I got an electric food mixer which is my new favourite toy and I use to knead the dough. In the pics above is soda bread, which is quicker to make than your usual yeast baked bread, and is so very delicious served warm with a dippy egg - nothing fancy, but it made 2 hungry boys and 1 hungry me quite happy this morning. 

There is something supremely satisfying about making your own bread, and of course you benefit from knowing exactly what is in it and that it contains no chemicals and preservatives. I won't lie, making a traditional yeast based loaf is quite time consuming (whereas soda bread you can be eating within the hour) and you have to nail the technique, but honestly it's worth it. I'd like to have all the fancy equipment like baking stones and proving baskets but it seems to be working without - you don't even really need the mixer - and I'm finding it works out reasonably cheap.

Because of the technique involved, I won't post a recipe for a basic yeast risen loaf. I have a great book that I would recommend, the River Cottage Handbook 3, which explains it all but there are plenty of books out there showing you how or you'll probably find a recipe online. I just like to have books :-) they are nice.

Anyway, I have to see to my marmalade (which I think I may have messed up..) It would be great to hear from anyone else who has discovered the joy of home made bread - oooh it's dead good.