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