food for thought

I am a MASSIVE fan of cooking shows but not one of them has given me the biggest sense of joy than Hairy Bikers Meals on Wheels tonight on BBC 2. Of course there was some cooking on show but at the heart of tonight's programme was importance of a dying institution - delivery hot meals to the elderly and vulnerable. Nothing has made me want to smile or cry more than the heart-warming sight of the happiness on the faces of those who received the meals and enjoyed the company of the volunteers that delivered it. 


There are loads of different ways to get involved and you can find the full details here - http://www.do-it.org.uk/campaigns/hairybikers/. You can also catch the first episode (and believe me, you should) on BBC iPlayer now - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b014sqyx/Hairy_Bikers_Meals_on_Wheels_Episode_1/

Nx

Not so sweet (and sour)

Most people's eating habits change as they get older; taste buds develop and you're probably a little more aware of what you're eating. That said, I sometimes like travelling back down memory lane to sample the 'delights' of my childhood, tucking into the comfort food that reminds me of the 'good old days', and when having a healthy diet was not on the top of my agenda. However, my recent 'trip' did not whip up that sense of nostalgia I was hoping for when I decided that it would be a great idea to have Uncle Ben's Sweet & Sour chicken. I was immensely looking forward to tucking into the sticky orange sauce and tender chicken (with a side of plain rice, of course) but my excitement soon turned into 'what the hell was I thinking' as attempted to eat it. The sauce was of course unnaturally sweet and rather sickly, and the limp peppers floaty around confirmed to me that vegetables are most definitely not at their best when they've been stuck in a jar for a considerable amount of time.


As you can see by the picture below, I should have known it was not going to go down well. 


Nx

Travelling along the rocky road

It feels like a bit of a cheat to say this is my speciality as it only involves melting mounds of chocolate, stirring in an array of goodies and waiting for it to set, but Rocky Road is what I get the most requests for out of my (relatively limited) culinary repertoire. Its a fail-safe if you fancy knocking up something sweet and home-made but can't be bothered to bake and its rather quick to boot. I tend to go for Cadbury's but you go for any brand you prefer and I usually pick up a whole nut bar too so that I don't have to buy nuts. You need about four family-size bars to make a decent amount, a few handfuls of mini marshmallows, as many or as little glacier cherries as you like and one or two crushed-up crunchies. You can obviously add whatever you like but I always find that the classics tend to be crowd-pleasers! However, in my most recent batch I decided to mix things up a bit and added some peanut butter to the mix! I melted it along with some white chocolate and drizzled it over the rest of the mix! It was a definite winner and I'd definitely recommend! 

Nx

the kings of falafel

I usually look upon kebab shops with disgust, and if I do find myself inevitably loitering in one after a night on the tiles, I almost always settle upon what I see as the only safe option - chips. However, this changed when I moved up the road to Stoke Newington and happened to be conveniently situated by The Best Turkish Kebab (http://www.bestturkishkebab.com/index3.html) a Stokey institution situated on the main high street. I knew it was a winner as soon as I moved in and saw a bundle of people spilling out of the doorway and onto the pavement at all hours of the day and night! I can't say I ever try the donor meat as its never appealed (and don't honestly know why anyone would order it, but each to their own and all) but falafel in a wrap is my fail-safe choice. Full of chickpea goodness, oozing houmous, tonnes of salad and a generous smattering of chilli sauce - truly amazing! You can even buy vine leaves and rice pudding, which to me is a sign of a superior kebab house. Their chicken shish looks good too - cooked fresh when you order! I could watch the men behind the counter for ages, seamlessly moving around preparing the orders without forgetting a thing and not a dot of grease anywhere on their brilliant white t-shirts. I love them, as does my sister who had a falafel wrap two days in a row and they now wave at her when she walks past. God knows what I will do if I move as I don't feel any kebab house can compare. 


Nx

From TV cook to reality

Despite watching countless cooking shows, even repeats, I very rarely cook the recipes I "ooh" and "ahh" over and say "I'll definitely try that soon!". However, I recently broke my habit and tried not one but TWO TV recipes. For main, I was inspired by my new favourite TV chef Simon Hopkinson's Tandoori Chicken. Not only was the recipe delightfully simple and summery, I loved the vibrant orange of the marinade and it satisfied my boyfriend meat cravings! The only challenge was attempting to chop off the ends of the chicken legs that he demonstrated with ease for two reasons: 1. I do not own super sharp meat knives 2. I felt slightly queasy at the sound of crunching bones. That said, I was ecstatic with the end result and it tasted exactly as it should! I even made the cooling mint and chilli dip and sambles for the side. If you fancy trying it, check out the recipe here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/homemade_tandoori_63396

For desert, I turned to Nigella, the Domestic Goddess herself and her EGG-FREE chocolate mousse! Egg-free you say? Why yes, because you use marshmallows instead! I loved this as it appealed to my child-like nature for soft and squidy pastel sweets and it sets almost immediately! Plus, its good for pregnant ladies (not that I know any) and those with an egg intolerance (I do know one of those). It was lovely, rich and velvety and I topped it off with some raspberry's to cut through the sweetness! 

All in all it was scrumptious! 


Nx

Paella Monday

It's one of my aims to try every independent restaurant that line the village-like Church Street in Stoke Newington - all quaint and sweet with an air of character that chains will never be able to recreate. One of my recent visits was to the very cute Blue Legume (http://www.thebluelegume.co.uk/), which is always bustling with people munching their way through mountains of mourish looking food. Having been delighted with a substantial Tricolore salad (and very reasonable too) and my mum's mountainess salad nicoise, I was ecstatic to find out they did a classic (and vegetarian) paella for 2 people for the bargain price of £12.95. So this week me and the boy tucked into a delectably juicy paella served in the traditional pan. I could not fault it - super chunks of chorizo and chicken, tender squid and calamari and saffron coated rice. I'd even say it was better than a paella I had in Barcelona and a definite step up from my recent homemade attempt when I had to substitute rice for broken up spaghetti - nuff said!


p.s. Their breakfast menu looks amazing too! 

Blue Legume's Paella

My (spaghetti) Paella

When only the basic will do

Don't get me wrong, I do love spending quality time cooking up a feast for dinner but on a drizzly Tuesday, after a long day at work, sometimes only the most basic and comforting meal will do. This Tuesday was exactly one of those occasions and the only thing my grumbling stomach desired was a good old spag bol! This was a basic and quick spag bol in all senses; I couldn't be bothered to buy or chop any other veg other than onions; I didn't have the patience to wait for red wine to reduce and I didn't have time for it to simmer properly as the first episode of The Hour was starting in 20 minutes on BBC 2. Despite the lack of time and care my speedy spag bol was just right (helped along with a good few splashes of Lea & Perrins and a generous sprinkling of parmesan) and made for the perfect evening sat in front of the TV. Truly delightful! 
Nx

Even my picture's lazy!

Breakfast of champions...or so I thought

Breakfast for me is not only the most important meal of the day but one of my favourites! I actually go to bed excited about the prospect of eating berries and apples swimming in a pool of honey flavoured porridge! Sad I know! I was even more excited than usual last night as my colleagues and I decided to treat ourselves to a delectable breakfast at the tucked away J+A Cafe in Clerkenwell. I decided upon the mouth-watering inducing mountain of sweet pancakes as the perfect start to a Wednesday. Unfortunately, I was rather disappointed when my mountain turned out to be a diminutive mound of minuscule pancakes. There was however a mountain of cream that didn't appeal as cream isn't the first thing I wish to eat in the morning, or almost never in fact! That said, I have to say the pancakes were rather tasty and delightfully fluffy, and the accompanying syrup was delicately sweet.

Don't let this put you off though, J+A is a lovely cafe that serves beautiful cakes, seasonal dishes and amazing cheese sandwiches with perfectly tart apple chutney.

Please note that these were not my pancakes! These are the type of pancakes I was hoping for!

Nicole x


p.s. Breakfast Tip - If you love peanut butter and you love porridge try adding a teaspoon of peanut butter to the mix plus a squeeze of honey and a scattering of diced apple. A pinch of cinnamon would be nice too! 

The odd one out

Maybe its a sign of my age, or maybe its a sign that I really should get out more but I have developed a slight obsession for the local fruit and veg store. So imagine my excitement when a friend invited me to peruse her new local grocers in Newington Green. My eyes widened with delight when I spotted trays upon trays of fresh fruit and veg, little gleaming gems of all colours, shapes and sizes. Buying fruit and veg in a local green grocers always trumps the supermarket. There's something homely and rustic about it. Not only is it a one-stop shop for local and seasonal produce, they're a treasure chest brimming with rare and wonderful goodies that your bog standard supermarket is unlikely to stock. Avoiding all the things I haven't the foggiest how to cook, and deciding that I couldn't be bothered to faff around with salsify, I decided upon a beautifully plump round courgette. This isn't the only thing I bought but I don't think onions would excite you much. I resisted the lazy urge to simply chop it up and bung it in pasta and made novel use of its roundness, see:

If you fancy trying it, here's what you do:Cut in half and scoop out as much of the flesh as you can without breaking the shell and set asideBash a garlic clove or 2, keeping the skin on and pop it in the shell along with a glug of olive oil and a generous sprinkling of sea salt and pepper. Place on a baking tray and put into a preheated oven (around 200) for about 20mins.While that's cooking make the basis of a basic tomato pasta sauce - red onions, crushed garlic and add the fluffy flesh of the courgette. You can stir in a tin of chopped tomatoes but why not add a spoonful of pesto or my personal favourite - Sacla Tomato & Olive stir through sauce. I also chucked in a few jarred artichokes - another grocery find and much cheaper than the ones you can buy in the supermarket.

Leave your sauce to gently simmer and cook up some orzo (rather small, rice-like pasta). You could of course  use any pasta but there's something novel about Orzo that makes this dish kinda special.

When the Orzo is cooked, drain and stir it through the tomato sauce and pour the filling into the courgette shells. Top with a sprinkling of cheese and pop under the grill until slightly golden. Alternatively, treat this like a soup and serve with cheese toast squares.

Nicole x

Blogging, Food and Me

So, I thought it was about time that hopped onto the blogging bandwagon to share my thoughts on something I love. There is of course a lot of things I love; films, fashion; books; travelling (the usual) but the one thing I talk about most (that is when I'm not stuffing my face) is food. For me food is not only essential (obviously) but it is what I associate with good memories and happy occassions, like a comfort blanket on a cold day.


I don't claim to be a fantastic cook and I don't even eat seasonally (despite my best efforts) but I am foodie and proud, from delving through all the food supplements whilst ignoring the 'important' news to avidly watching all the cooking shows with as much interest as I watch 90210 (which is really saying something!). This blog will delve into my mini obsession, sharing with you the meals I cook and the cakes I bake to the restaurants I visit and the markets I peruse.


Just to get started here are a few things I love (and may feature quite extensively in the future):


Peanut butter - on toast, in sandwiches, with cherry jam, on crackers, in porridge, on celery. I LOVE IT!

Cheese - any cheese, all cheese. Calorie counting and weight watching flies outta the window when cheese is concerned. Halloumi is a firm fave but you can't go wrong with a chunk of strong cheddar, preferably with a good bit ploughman's pickle.

Chips - chips, chips and more chips!


Falafel - check out Best Turkish Kebab in Stoke Newington or Yalla Yalla in Soho for some chickpea goodness.


Here's what I made tonight by the way:

A sort of Spanish stew, tagine hybrid. Veggie friendly and cheap, just bang in the veg you have available, lots of spices e.g. Paprika, cumin seeds, cinnamon (just a pinch), chilli powder. Root vegetables would be good too, as would a sprinkling of fresh parsley. Serve with cous cous or pittas, and crumbling of feta works a treat.


So join me on my culinary expedition through London and beyond...


Nicole x