Going Underground

I had the great pleasure of being treated to an afternoon of tea, absinthe and burlesque on Saturday, at the very lovely venue that is known as Cellar Door.

As previously reported in an earlier blogpost, we Hospitality Girls love a bit of risqué humour and nudity to accompany our cucumber sandwiches, and the afternoon did not disappoint.

We got all 'Fluffed Up' by Vicious Delicious, Fan Danced by Bouncy Hunter, and serenaded on the ivories by former Dexys Midnight Runners keyboard player Pete Saunders. Blackjack and cocktails were served up in equal measure, along with the quintessential High Tea that regular readers will know we love. I now even have my very own jar of sandwich spread!

On the way home, we popped into The Criterion Bar and Restaurant for 'just one more cocktail', before (eventually) making our way home in the glittery bubble that can only be gained from the secret world that lies beneath the pavement at Zero, Aldwych.

We enjoyed Finger Sandwiches, Earl Grey Tea and Cupcakes at Cellar Door, interspersed with Champagne and Courtesan Cocktails (Absinthe and other secret ingredients)  followed by Citrus Cocktails (Russian standard vodka, passoa, cranberry juice, grapefruit, watermelon liqueur, served long over ice) at The Criterion. Happy Daze...

Rabbit Pie – easy, seasonal, sustainable, delicious!

Went into the Butchers (the incomparable Dove's) on the way back from running club on Monday morning – and as well as my usual mince and smoked bacon January stalwarts, I saw them preparing some rabbits for Linda's rabbit pie - and asked if I could buy one.

I was thinking of making a Spanish rabbit stew with paprika, but the thought of a pie seems a far better idea – and I had some ready made shortcrust pastry left in the freezer from Christmas.

It was as easy as this to make:

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 rabbit, skinned and boned, chopped into chunks
• 2 onions, peeled and sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tsp mixed herbs
• 300ml white wine
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 cube chicken stock
• 300ml water
• 1.5 oz butter and 1.5 oz plain flour
• 1 pack ready rolled shortcrust pastry

1. Heat oil, brown rabbit, season with salt and pepper, remove, then brown vegetables.

2. Add bay leaves, herbs, wine, vinegar, stock and water.

3. Simmer for 45 mins, adding more water if needed.

4. Tip into a casserole dish, leaving sauce in the pan and heat oven to 220.

It will look like the picture above.

5. Mash butter and flour together, then add to sauce and stir lumps out.

6. Pour over rabbit mix, then top with pastry, brushed with a little milk.

7. Cook for 30-40 mins until golden brown.

Eat and enjoy!

Holiday highlights from a foodie perspective

What a foodie summer it's been. Whether at home or abroad, we've both been lucky enough to experience many new culinary joys this month. Good food to me is synonymous with so much - time spent in an unhurried fashion with family and friends, passing on my passion and sharing new experienced with my daughters, meeting chefs and food producers who are passionate about their craft and constantly strive to create sustainable quality. Here are four of my personal favourite foodie moments of the past month:

Ancient Egyptian feast for 16 in Ibiza

Researching and creating ancient Egyptian cakes with my 7-year-old, Jasmine, who chose the theme for our annual Ibiza villa's fancy dress party this year. She's crazy about Egypt and learned so much as we poured through text books seeing what they would have eaten. We finally settled on a dried fruit, honey and nut concoction, only to remember that one of our villa party had a severe nut allergy. Luckily, we improvised, and the resulting cakes really made the feast (have to hold my hand up here and confess that the other dishes had a certain amount of poetic licence - well, when you're asked to create fresh fish from the Nile, what would you do…?)

€30 10-course gourmet feast in SW France

Ah, our time in Miradoux, home to some of my dearest friends and most-loved foods! On our last night, we took our lovely hosts to the restaurant in Gramont, home to an exceptional cookery school and an exceptional chef. For €30 a head and €10 for the children, we feasted on excellent food in unimaginably huge quantities, including a raspberry Champagne cocktail, plenty of foie gras, and all wines and coffees. http://www.gastronomie-petit-feuillant.com/

First ever family sushi experience

A great new restaurant, Toyko Joe http://www.just-eat.co.uk/restaurants-tokyo-jo-cafe has just opened round the corner, and we tried our first sushi takeaway once back from our holidays to keep that vacation spirit alive. Watching my four-year old try her first bite of ebi sushi, nod vigorously and say "That's really nice" filled my heart with joy. Next stop - sushi making at home, we've got the mat and all the ingredients.

Wild sea bass and samphire

It had been a frantic week and we were on our last legs. The obvious choice would have been to go out for a meal. Instead, I thought we'd try and relax over a bit of husband-and-wife cooking. We headed to the excellent fishmongers in Chelsea Green and that night feasted on a wild sea bass (caught that morning) and buttered samphire, which we served with a few Jersey Royals. Travelling the world and eating the delights of each area is fantastic, but nothing can beat a best-quality, locally-sourced, simply cooked supper - the memory of that dinner eaten in our back garden will linger long after my tan fades.

Breakfast of Champions

I seem to be surrounded with friends who are running marathons, half marathons or enduring other craziness such as coasteering...

As a pre- adrenaline or endurance breakfast, try these little drop scones which are as light as a feather and take moments to make. Using wholemeal flour instead of refined white flour, they are also a  healthier and more sustaining version of the traditional drop scone, or scotch pancake, and are equally good with sweet or savoury accompaniments. (Replace Golden Syrup with Agave Nectar... far better for you and even more delicious... even the kids think so!)

 For less active people try them with smoked salmon and scrambled eggs for a special and STILL not too naughty, nutritious weekend brunch treat.

Easter Eggs Benedict

There is nothing more lovely than sitting in the garden on a warm day, with great friends, kids playing, a couple of bottles of Fizz on the go, and a plate full of Eggs Benedict. This dish has to be my all time favourite breakfast, I don't have it often, but boy do I enjoy it when I do. This morning was no exception. A fantastic opening gambit for Easter, which will be spent between friends' houses, in a whirl of good food and good company.
Our blog this year has been punctuated,sadly, by a few, what I can only term, 'Big' Life events, yet every time I sit at my computer (still the useless, dodgy battery, no memory laptop...although this is all set to change VERY soon) to write, I feel so fulfilled, as I am recollecting special times.
There are a few close friends at the moment who are in recovery (from illness, they are not alcoholics!) and so we will both be looking into more wholesome ways to enjoy food and drink, as well, of course, as the occasional indulgence. I haven't quite gone to the extreme of buying my kids carrots for Easter rather than chocolate, but there is a first time for everything! Happy Easter everyone.

St Patricks Day Fadge (potato scones) - gluten free

My husband's half Irish, so our daughters are quarter Irish, and although we don't celebrate St Patrick's Day at home, I've offered to go into Jasmine's Year Two class and do a cookery demonstration. One of her friends cannot tolerate gluten, hence this recipe being gluten free.

If you ever need to do a cookery demo to 30 kids, with minimal equipment, in a state primary school with no kitchen (yes really), but one small oven in the staffroom, here is it! Happy St Patrick's Day.

Ingredients for fadge cakes

• 1/2 pound mashed potatoes

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 oz gluten free flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 medium egg, beaten

• 1/2 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder

• 2 tablespoons chopped chives (optional)

• Extra gluten-free flour blend for rolling dough

• Extra olive oil to brush tops before baking

Instructions

1. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper cut to the size of the try

In a mixing bowl blend mashed potatoes, olive oil and egg.

3. Measure and blend the flour and baking powder in a bowl.

4. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Turn fadge dough out onto a lightly gluten-free floured cutting board. Roll or press the fadge dough with hands to 1/2-inch thickness.

Use a round biscuit cutter to shape the fadge cakes or cut them with a knife in any shape you like. Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Brush with olive oil OR melted butter and bake in preheated oven at 200/400 for 20 minutes. Turn and bake for a further 5 mins.

Serve warm spread with Irish butter and a pot of strong tea.

Norberto de Freitas Stubbs' Day Goes Pie

Since I joined Facebook a couple of years ago, I have been back in touch with old friends whose paths probably would not have crossed again with mine, and for that reason, Mark Zuckerberg, I thank you.

In my twenties, I was lucky enough to be involved in the exciting Hardcore punk music scene... it was a great time, full of youthful optimism and self expression..... I had a vintage clothes shop selling all sorts of eccentric attire, eat your heart out Lily Allen we was there first!!

Anyway, when I hit my mid twenties,I had to grow up, get a job, pay off debts, and look after my daughter....

Fast forward more years than I care to count, and here I am swapping pie recipes with the very wonderful Mr Frankie Stubbs, of Leatherface infamy. It tickles me, as one of their songs was (and still is!) entitled 'Not a Day Goes By' to which I always used to sing 'Not a Day Goes Pie...' (different spelling of Day Goes, which at the time I found funny, but not at all PC so we're not going to go there...)

So here we are, Mr. Stubbs' Day Goes Pie recipe, ENJOY!

Onwards and Upwards

Our blogposts have been a little sporadic this year; a culmination of a brand new business venture (Kath), an impending divorce (me), and other time and energy sapping things such as working very hard (both of us), and making ourselves make time for our friends and family (both of us.) Something had to give.....So the blogging became the casualty, for a little while at least.

To top this off, the final straw for me was my ex taking the pc; no hard feelings, he needed it; but I was left with a clonky old laptop which had been forgotten in some dusty box in the loft until very recently....

We'd been invited to guest blog for another site, and I'm afraid we (I ) may have (definitely) over stretched our committments....

Sorry Ape to Gentleman, we hope you will be Gents and forgive us... (Didn't really feel the love on Valentines' Day this year, hope you understand? x)

Anyway, Spring is here, and it's National Pie Week this week. I have my trusty (crappy) HP laptop, there's gorgeous produce coming into season, time to get back in the saddle.... in more ways then one I hope....

And if the worst comes to the worst, I can always make kebabs and cook them à la Microsoft!

New Year Superfood Salad - warm and delicious

Even though my head's saying 'carry on with the wine and chocolates at every opportunity', it has to be said that my body's crying out for entirely different substances after the excesses of Christmas. And this warm, zingy, springy winter salad has proved a really satisfying January stalwart.

I'd never tried curly kale in a salad before, but after cutting it into small pieces and lightly steaming it, I tossed it in a little sesame oil and white balsamic vinegar. I then added:

chopped beetroot (again slightly warm, as I'd just finished boiling up and keeping a batch to keep in the fridge)

chopped feta

chopped plum tomatoes

I've continued with these base ingredients and have also added any of these that happen to be around in the storecupboard or fridge:

capers or caperberries

olives

fresh anchovies

croutons

chopped hard boiled egg

flaked hot smoked salmon

My aim this month is not to deprive myself or starve my body, but to get maximum nutrition from every meal by eating unprocessed, quality ingredients. Followed, of course, by some decent quality chocolate - a storecupboard essential as far as I'm concerned!

Glad It's All Over

I have a confession to make. Christmas for me has not always been the joyous fa la la la la affair as portrayed in the Coca Cola adverts. Life happens, and sometimes this can deeply affect our feelings towards such calendar dates as Christmas, Anniversaries,Valentine's Day, etc. Christmas has been a bit of a grin and bear it event in the past, followed by loud broadcasting of Captain Sensible's 'Glad it's all over', while preparing to really celebrate on New Year's Eve.
This year, and I know this to be the case for a number of our friends, the certainty of Christmas being different, and possibly difficult, has been a little daunting to say the least. Newly divorced, separated, bereaved... all highly emotional places to be at Christmas time.
My attitude was to break with the past, and create new family traditions. The midnight walk will certainly be one to uphold, as well as Christmas Morning Hide and Seek, and the exchanging of joke presents. This year, a rubber, beautifully wrapped, causing much hilarity.  It's been a great Christmas. And I'm pleasantly surprised.
We have had 2 lovely Japanese girls staying with us, and Boxing Day Sushi will also be something we'll continue. Regular readers will know we are big fans of Japanese food, but to have it made for you in your own home was quite something.
As 2011 fast approaches, we are currently deciding what to eat and drink with our friends at New Year. It has been good to revisit our blog posts from the previous 12 months, and reflect on how many opportunities we have had to spend time with the people who really matter in our lives.
Here's to a very Happy New Year.  L&K x

Wholesome and Hearty

I don't know if it is the current weather situation, or because we are fast approaching the end of the year, early December is always a period that makes me want to eat really simply and healthily. Perhaps it is the onslaught of hedonism and parties in between these periods of health that spur me on.... I don't know...

Anyway, just as Kath reflected in our previous post, there is always a place on the menu for good quality, tasty veggie food.

So today we are mainly eating my new favourite thing, White Chili. You can use Chicken or Turkey instead of Quorn, but there is really no need. The smokiness of the Paprika gives the dish a lovely bonfirey flavour, perfect for these long Winter evenings, and the lack of tomato does not detract from the kick of the chili. Now there's tasty.

From meat feast to meat free

When your days starts with the best full breakfast in town, it's only appropriate that it ends with something a little more veggie-tastic. And having feasted on the Full Borough at Roast yesterday (details below, I went for poached eggs)

… I wanted to create something meat free for dinner. And I had a tin of pomodori d'oro sunshine yellow plum tomatoes that had caught my eye at the back of the store cupboard the night before.

Cooking veggie main courses is all very well but to my mind, they only qualify as a main meal (and not just a side dish with delusions of grandeur) if they contain a form of protein. I'm really keen on serving protein with every meal, whether it's nuts and seeds in the breakfast muesli, cashew butter, ham or hummus if we're having a mid-morning snack of oatcakes, or simply adding some pulses or legumes to a vegetable soup of stew.

Last night, I opted for soya beans, and concocted this simple, hearty, one-pot dish. Served with crusty bread and a strong Cheddar, and followed by stewed plums and custard, I don't think anyone at the table missed the meat.

Sunshine Soya Bean Stew

1 tbsp oil

1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

1 tin pomodori d'oro plum tomatoes

1 tin or carton cooked soya beans (or substitute any cooked beans or pulses)

1/2 vegetable stock cube

2 springs fresh marjoram, finely chopped

Dash white wine (I freeze leftover wine in ice cube trays and keep in freezer bags)

Dash white wine vinegar

Seasoning to taste, plus a pinch of sugar to balance the tomato's acidity if needed

1. Heat the oil over a medium heat, add the onions and fry for five minutes, then add the garlic and chilli.

2. Add the beans, the tomatoes, and the rest of the ingredients.

3. Simmer for 40 minutes, adding a little water if necessary.

Speedy Shortbread

Picture the scene, we're in our pyjamas, just about to head up to bed, when my youngest announces...

 'Mum..... I 've got to make something for the class, for everybody to try.....' 

'OK cool,'  I reply, 'we'll do something on Wednesday when I pick you up early...' 

Dead silence..... then.... 'Mum, it's got to be for tomorrow, Miss forgot to do the letter on Friday...'

I take a few deep breaths, then smile reassuringly and suggest we look in the cupboard to see if we have anything....

Plain flour. sugar... Hey presto, Shortbread... (Thank the Lord!)

20 minutes later, 30 round biscuits are baking merrily in the oven, homework done and all we need to do is wipe the surface down where we rolled out the dough.

Alright a couple of them might have been a little sunkissed, but crisis averted nevertheless;  for today at least!

Here is the recipe that saved the day... 

INGREDIENTS

125g butter

55g caster sugar

180g  plain flour

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5

Beat the butter and the sugar together until smooth

Stir in the flour to get a smooth paste. Turn on to a work surface and gently roll out until the paste is 1cm/½in thick

Cut into rounds or fingers and place onto a baking tray. Sprinkle with icing sugar and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until pale golden-brown. Set aside to cool on a wire rack

Posh Mash

Just a quick one! Adding saffron to pureed or mashed potato transforms the ordinary into the sublime. You only need a few strands, and it not only creates a lovely aromatic flavour, but also adds a colourful buttercup tinge to the mash!

We ate it with pork chops, but it would also work beautifully on the top of fish pie.

Salacious Tales from Soho

Went out in Soho at the weekend to a gorgeous Tapas place called The Salt Yard on Goodge Street. We were lucky enough to get a table right next to the the pass, and we got a real sense of not only how passionately the food is prepared, but also how quickly. With 5 girls on the table, the kitchen staff may have been a bit taken aback by the raucousness of our chat, with the birthday girl regaling us with tales of Eastern European Spa treatments involving sexy male cleaners doubling up as masseurs, a cellulite treatment (Not that she has any!) involving being blasted by a water cannon, and a Thai treatement involving some very bizarrely worn paper knickers....

Anyway, we ate....

Saffron Arancini with Mussels, Crab, Squid and a Chilli Alioli

Roasted Scallops with Caramelised Cauliflower Puree, Hazlenuts and New Season Garlic

Line Caught Tuna Carpaccio with Baby Broad Beans and Salsa Verde

Courgette Flowers stuffed with Goats Cheese and drizzled with honey

Classic Tortilla

Salad Of Cherry Tomato, New Season Plums, Red Chard and a Lemon and Rosemary Vinaigrette

Manzanilla and Arbequina Olives

Selection of three Manchegos with Quince Membrillo

Chargrilled Country Style Bread with Alioli or Olive Oil

We drank....

Ca'di Ponti (Catarrato, Sicily 2009) (3 bottles)

The food was absolutely delicious, and so reasonably priced, came in at under £25 per head and that was with coffee and a generous tip. 

The evening was finished off with a couple of rounds of late cocktails at one of our favourite haunts, Milk and Honey (By God the staff are so polite there!)

and after a hilarious series of attempts to hail a cab, we were all home drinking CityLifeAcupuncture Destress Tea and asleep by 3...... ish!

Good Times x

Garden glut supper

It's a constant source of amusement to my (country-dwelling) parents that I (city dweller with a postage stamp-sized garden that's decimated by two children and two cats. And unbelievably, as I write this post, I have had to pause to shoo away a large fox making his way through the garden…) spend so much money on my weekly Abel and Cole veg box delivery. And an even greater source of amusement when they get to see contents of said box. "More courgettes! Beetroot! And a tiny bunch of runner beans," they exclaim. "We've had gardens GROANING with these things for weeks, and you're paying HOW MUCH for them?"

Hard as it can be to hear this sometimes, it's such a great source of pleasure to be able to eat with the seasons, support local growers and avoid the supermarket, that I'm willing to pay whatever it takes to get my box scheme.

But having said that, the weeks when I get to see my parents and receive their version of the veg box are always good weeks on the culinary front.

Last visit's offering of plum tomatoes, a dear little pale yellow squash and an abundance of flat leaf parsley resulted in this vibrant, dry curry, perfect served with pearl barley and some fiery red chillies.

Summer Squash Curry

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp each mustard seeds and coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin powder

1 red onion, peeled and chopped

1 medium yellow squash, peeled and chopped

6 plum tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp turmeric

Juice of 1 fresh lime

Salt and pepper

Chopped flat leaf parsley to garnish

1. Heat the two oils to medium heat in a large, heavy-based pan and add the mustard and coriander seeds. Stir until they start popping. Add the onion and squash and stir in the cumin powder. Keep stirring for 3-4 minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes.

2. Stir occasionally for a further 5-6 minutes, adding a touch of water if the mixture becomes too dry.

3. Stir in the turmeric and the lime juice. Season to taste.

4. Continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes until the squash is tender enough to eat.

5. Stir in the parsley, and chopped fresh chilli to taste if desired.

6. Great with pearl barley, or you could try flat breads, quinoa or rice.

Back on Line

We've have had a great Summer; loads of meals with friends, at home, in lovely restaurants including Blue Marlin and KM5 in Ibiza, as well as fab nights gatecrashing other people's holidays, and invites to spectacular parties! Our PC broke way back in August, and annoyingly Kath was burgled and her laptop was stolen. So it's been weird not blogging for a while, but we are back with a vengeance now. Already have a few good nights lined up, starting next weekend when we'll be cooking dinner for friends in The Cotswolds, which is kind of apt as that is where our Blog started, nearly 2 years ago now. Roll on Autumn, with its bountiful produce and many more opportunities to eat, drink and be merry. Happy days.......

A North African Vibe

There's a definite North African vibe going on in our place at the moment. The eldest is off to Tunisia in a few days with a friend to enjoy some 5 star luxury. Close friends of ours have just got back from an Activity Holiday in Morocco (It was so hot though that  it was more of an Inactivity holiday..) And our lodger has just moved in.... not the Italian girl that we had been expecting,  but a lovely girl from Algeria.... which is great as the kids are both learning French and also great as Sabrina loves cooking! Last night we spent a geeky evening with our mobiles looking at photos of dishes we had prepared, comparing notes on favourite foods, and swapping recipes. Saturday has already been reserved as Baking Day!

The main difference I guess between Sabrina and myself is that while we both like good honest local produce, and ethically reared meat, Sabrina is of course a Muslim, and will only eat Halal meat. I researched Halal on the internet, and came across many different and conflicting perspectives.... It's cruel, the meat is intensively farmed, it's not organic.... it isn't cruel, it is ethical... I became increasingly confused until I came across an article in The Times Online  which summed up all my  mixed feelings. I want us all to eat as a family, I don't want to go down the route of separate shelves in the fridge and separate meals,  I don't want to eat meat that has not been ethically raised or slaughtered.
I followed the link to Abraham Natural Produce and found the answer to all my culinary prayers. While not cheap, I know that there will be no conflict of interest from any of us when eating any of the meat originating from Muhammad-Ridha and Nicola Payne. The meat they produce on their farm is pure, natural, organic, slaughtered correctly and above all from animals that have been treated with compassion.

The company ethos is very simple.

They are against: cheap tasteless meat, inorganic feeds, the use of steroids and hormones, battery farming, unnatural farming methods, intensive farming, profit driven exploitation of animals and questionable "halal" meat.
They are for: quality British meat, organic and naturally reared animals, free-range farming, compassionate suppliers, small scale/local produce, a personalised service and real halal meat.

I will let you know how we get on! Cooking North African Spiced Shoulder of lamb for 10 this Friday!

Easy Fresh Mint Choc Chip Ice Cream

We seem to have a lot of eggs at the moment, despite using them at a rate of knotts (American Potato Salad, Meringue for Eton Mess, Breakfast...) those little darlings keep on popping them out! So finally today, despite the heat, I got myself together enough to make Fresh Mint Choc Chip Ice Cream to eat whilst watching the football.
It is so easy to do even if you don't have an Ice Cream Maker, so there is no excuse! And I love the fact that sometimes, even when you know you cooked it yourself, you still get as much pleasure as everyone else from eating it.

Secret Recipes

I bumped into my next door neighbour a couple of days ago, who was walking up the road carrying a large plastic bag, looking very pleased with himself! We got chatting, and as I am an inquisitive sort, I boldly asked him what was in the bag. He showed me the contents, several large heads of freshly picked elderflower, and then shared with me a closely guarded secret, that he had access to the sacred tome, Home Made Wines, Syrups and Cordials, from none other than The National Federation of  Women's Institutes. In exchange for a few eggs, John did later provide me with a quick look at said publication, and gave  me a hastily copied recipe for the Elderflower Champagne, which I had to commit quickly to memory as it was written in disappearing ink, and would self destruct in a matter of moments. So there we have it, the previously undiscovered truth that up and down the country, there is an underground movement where normally law abiding folk will stop at nothing to procure the culinary secrets of the WI.  Now John, about that jam.....











PS if you don't live near a hedge, Abel and Cole were supplying Elderflower in their veg boxes on a first come first served basis. Read their blog here.