Hurrah, today is payday!!! Rather than go out and booze till there is no tomorrow (I'm still shaking from Sunday's exploits) or purchase yet more kitchen utensils, I decided to treat myself to the best hummous in the world, or at least that I can buy in a shop. Try as I may I cannot make hummous as good as the San Amvrosia lot can, so I went a little mad and bought avocado hummous too. You see, I am wild after all. I also purchased some oven-roasted cherry tomatoes and oh my god these were so good!! I purchased all three from Whole Foods but I need to find out if there is a deli that stocks them near Streatham Hill as I'm all for supporting the local community in my ripe old age. My sister is coming over this week and what with her being as much of a glutton as I, I have a list as long as my arm of all the local shops and delis I want to check out. Liv if you are reading this, do not fear, I'm not expecting to view all of these this week, but whatever goods I do come across I will most surely pass your way after my little wander.

Anyway, the resulting dinner had me quaking in my boots with glee. It was one of those moments where I thought 'to hell with this, why should I stop? Why can't I just get fat?! Is that so very very wrong!!!'. I always ruin those moments of excitement by saying out loud over and over how exciting it is and how excited I am and how perfect what I'm eating is. I should just absorb myself in the moment and bloody eat it. Anyway, I did and it was the best. Everyone may be skint and jobless, but we all need a little treat every now and then.

Resulting meal:

San Amvrosia avocado hummous

San Amvrosia plain hummous

Rocket and spinach salad

Radish from Clapham market

Cheese (Yep, I have no idea what cheese I bought, but it tastes damn good and is also from Clapham market)

'The Tomato Stall' roasted cherry tomatoes

Crusty amazing bread from Wholefoods

So at first I felt disapointment. Disappointment in myself, in Delia, in my pitiful looking loaf in the oven.... but then greed took over, my Easter optimism prevailed and I cut into the fresh bread. Do you know what, it's true when they say do not judge a book by its cover because it was bloody tasty. Really soft in the middle and perfectly crispy on the outside. I have convinced myself that the bread was actually supposed to only be an inch and a half high and that this is exactly what Delia would see when she opened her own oven. I'm not saying that if the bread had risen like a sun on a glorious summers day that my heart would not have welled up with pride, but I will settle with my greedy satisfaction for today.

Then the following day, my lovely friend Sarah came to visit for a nice cup of tea.I didn't really have much to offer in the way of food, so I put the second batch of dough in the oven and we feasted on fresh warm bread, cheese and pickle. A simple but much appreciated lunch and I promised Sarah I would put the recipe up. So, this is for you Sarah:

Delia's No-Knead Bread

570g flour (I used country grain but you can use whatever you want) at room temperature

2 tsp salt

1 tsp light brown sugar

2 tsp easy blend yeast

400ml water (half boiling, half cold)

Grease a 450g loaf tin (you can use a 900g tin and cook for an extra ten minutes, but I make up the dough so I can bake one loaf and keep the other half of the mix for the following day) 

If the flour is cold warm it in the oven for 5-10 minutes. Put the flour in a large mixing bowl and add the salt, sugar, yeast and mix well. Make a well in the centre of the dry mix and pour in about two thirds of the water. Mix well with a wooden spoon and then add the rest of the water when the mix starts to dry up. You can just add all the water at once, but I do it this way to make sure the mix is not too wet at the end.

Form the dough into a big ball and transfer to a floured surface. Divide the mix in two and reserve one for the next day. Stretch the remaining dough into an oblong and fold one edge into the centre and the other edge over that. Fit this into the loaf tin and press down the edge of the dough slightly where the dough meets the tin. Sprinkle the top with flour and cover with a warm, damp and clean teacloth. Leave the dough to rise for at least a couple of hours.

Heat the oven to gas mark 6/400°F/200°C/180fan. Bake the bread for 30 minutes. When the bread is cooked, turn it out on to a cloth – if it is cooked it will sound hollow when rapped underneath with your knuckles. Then return the bread, out of its tin, upside down to the oven for a further 5-10 minutes to crisp the base and sides.

Anyway, no roast lamb dish to speak of yet, but there are definite Spring time happenings going on in my flat this weekend. Ok so this may have so far involved the announcement of a 'spring clean', where by I instantly stood by my word and emptied two laundry baskets full of washing into the spare room, sorted them into about eight large mounds and that is where they still lay. But all good intentions need to start somehwere and I anticipate a busy day.

Foodwise, I thought it worth a mention that I decided to bake some bread which requires no kneading. I scoured some recipes online and I decided to go with old reliable Delia, who assured me that as long as I leave the dough to rise for long enough then I will end up with perfect bread. I duly made up the dough last night and left it overnight and it is now waiting for me to pop it in the oven. I have included a 'before' picture and will report back later with a Blue Peter style 'after'. At the moment I'm not sure whether to trust Delia as it does not seem to have risen as much as she predicted, but I won't dismiss her until after. Like most things I have imagined this will change my life and envisgae every Saturday from now on for the rest of my life waking up earlier than I should and starting the day off with a freshly baked loaf and a mop of my floury domestic brow. Alas like most of my visions this in unlikely to happen, but in the spirit of Easter (happy spring lambs, green fields....um....chocolate eggs that make you smile) I will retain my optimism.

Anyway, I was going to re-create my minced beef dream but I knew I would need a lot longer than a couple of hours in the evening to perfect a bolognese (it really is a Saturday/Sunday event if you want the real deal and I knew I would faff about and ignore my dinner guests), so instead I went for a similarly French themed ham and leek crepe. I say pancake above as it did end up being more of a pancake, so I didn't want to be attacked by any French people who happened to try this out!

I must say, it was a tatse sensation and anyone who is stuck on sweet pancakes should really have a go with this simple recipe. Would also be really nice with pancetta instead of ham, fried for a few minutes with the leeks.

Ham and Leek Pancakes

Serves 4

Vegetable oil

250g plain flour (can substitute half for buckwheat flour)

3 eggs

250ml milk

250 ml water

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

200g ham

4 large leeks, sliced

150g cheddar or other hard cheese of your choice

5 tbsp creme fraiche

Put the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the eggs, milk and water and whisk together until smooth. Leave to stand for an hour and a half.

To make the filling, heat a glug of olive oil or butter in a pan and when warm add the chopped garlic and leeks. Cook for around ten minutes, stirring throughout. Season with salt and pepper and add the ham. Remove from the heat and stir in the creme fraiche and cheese.

Wipe a frying pan lighting with oil and set over a medium heat. When the pan is hot, ladle in enough batter to fill the pan, tipping the pan so that the surface is completely covered. Allow to set and then flip when the bottom of the pancake is turning golden. Cook for a further minute or until the other side is also brown.

Spoon the mixture into the pancakes, roll and serve with salad.

On Saturday morning I had arranged to meet my friend Sarah at Borough market. We had originally hoped this would be an early morning venture so we could feel smug about being up and about whilst most of our friends were in bed with wine-heads and also to beat the crowds that steadily creep in all morning. But alas we decided on meeting at 10:30, which became 11 after I slept in (sorry about that Sarah) and Sarah was slightly late herself (thanks, because then I didn’t feel so bad). It was pretty heaving, so we made a bee-line line for the sausage rolls, then the veg stall, followed swiftly by the cheesecake stall and then after hasty zipping in and out of the crowds we managed to find some sausages for Sarah’s bangers and mash. Our cheese hunt was abandoned when we realised we could not be bothered to worm our way back in to the dense crowds at the market and also were not too enthusiastic about joining a half hour queue in Neil’s Yard.
 
So yes we were slightly pathetic, but we got most of what we intended and a bit more (sausage roll, carrot cake….) and decided to wander down along the river to South Bank, where I had heard a rumour there was another food market on, which was where Sarah managed to pick up some cheese. So quite the foodie day, and it did not end there…..
 
I must thank the fish man and lady (see last post) as they were true to their words and the mackerel was amazing. In the end I just had it with salad and sautéed diced potatoes (par-boiled for a few minutes to make things easier for myself, and then cooked on a high heat with some olive oil, sea salt and black pepper). The mussels were frozen, which I thought I should mention just in case you had a mental image of me writhing around hallucinating after ignorantly eating week-old mussels, but this did not hamper the taste. I decided to cook them in the traditional way with white wine, shallots, cream and garlic seeing as I had no plans to leave the house, so I may as well stink. I thought it useful to include the recipe as I know lots of people are fearful of cooking mussels, with no good reason as they are really very easy to cook (especially so with frozen ones!) and as long as you throw away the ones that are still closed when you have cooked you will be ok. This seems silly to me, as who would try to eat a mussel that is closed? Still, there are many things that amaze me every day and perhaps this is just one of those things.
 
Mussels in White Wine
 
Serves 2
 
500g mussels (if fresh, scrub well and discard any that do not close when tapped)
Glug of olive oil

1 banana shallot or two small shallots, finely diced
1 large clove of garlic
1 glass of wine
300ml (or nearest pot size, I think it may be 284ml) double cream
 

Throw the mussels in a large pot and cover. Cook on a high heat for approx five minutes and until the mussels have opened up (remember there may be a couple which will not open, discard these).

In a seperate pot*, heat the olive oil over a medium flame and then add the shallots. Stir. After a couple of minutes add the garlic, stir, and after another couple of minutes add the wine. At this point I would probabably raise the heat slighlty so that the wine reduces.

When the mussels are cooked, drain** and add to the pot with the garlic, shallots and wine. Add the cream and stir in. Sprinkle over some fresh parsely, black pepper and serve with crusty bread.

*I used a seperate pot because the mussels were frozen and I wanted to drain the gritty water at the end before adding to the sauce, if fresh I would cook the shallots and garlic, then add the mussels.

**If the mussels were fresh and not frozen I would not drain and would use the juices in the sauce, but the frozen water from the mussels was a bit gritty so in this instance I drained. It's completely up to you.

                                                    

Breathe a big sigh of relief for I have returned! My my what fun I have had, packing up an entire house, unpacking an entire house, berating (well, as best I can because I am quite pathetic like that) useless estate agents, surviving without the internet and generally being poor as a result of having to furnish a completely empty new flat. But now I can relax on my new sofas (thank you Ikea) and delight in my spanking new kitchen (thank you Swiss Bank landlords who completely screwed us around). Of course we are still having fun having our internet transferred, but we have been assured this will be very simple – probably at a charge of £500. But despite all the ups and downs I will remain optimistic and say how amazing it is to have a lovely new flat, with cupboards and a fridge that are all mine to fill!!! Ah the excitement is too much for me, too much indeed.

So, food-wise I am very excited about what creations this kitchen will bring. I have been using recipes from food magazines as inspiration lately as there are loads of good articles and recipes for healthy food (much needed I tell you) and meals on a  budget (also so). I get very sad when I look through my cookbooks and magazines and see all of the things I planned to make but never did, so this is my belated resolution. I am also going to try my best to get all meat, fish and vegetables from the market and local shops, which I hope will benefit me (perhaps more cost effective and hopefully more fresh and tasty) and also the owners of said shops and stalls. What with everything going on in the world at the moment it’s important to keep as many little businesses afloat as possible. It may be more convenient to get everything in the one shop, but I love walking out to the market and getting a few bits of whatever fruit and veg looks good, then going and getting some meat or fish elsewhere and then picking up a nice loaf of bread from a bakers. Ok, I know this does seem laughably idyllic, but it really is so much nicer than stressing out and bashing trolleys in Sainsbury’s! But anyway, that’s my idea of a perfect afternoon and I must understand not everyone is as big a granny as I am…..

Anyway, this is how I spent my first free Saturday in my new area, Streatham Hill. I wandered down to Brixton and explored my new stomping ground. Ok, I know Brixton hardly fits into the idyllic picture painted above, but really there is a lot more to Brixton than you would first think and for people who are into food it is really a great place. It has everything you would want, apart from any of the pretentious impressions you might get from a more ‘upmarket’ area. From my brief little Saturday trip the best find was the fishmongers on Brixton Station Road (I think, don’t quote me, I can confirm) where I met two delightful fishmongers, who provided me with some fresh smoked mackerel and a bag of mussels. I say met with, this implies we are now firm friends when in fact the conversation went a bit like this:

Rhona: Hello, do you have any mussels?

Fish lady (an unfortunate name, but it suits all the same): Yes we do

Rhona. Thanks, can I also have some mackerel?

Fish lady: Certainly.

So no great excitement, but all was done with a loving (not just on my part I doubt) smile and some handy advice on how to cook my mussels. I appreciated the fish man’s efforts, which is why I purchased the mackerel. So, it really does pay to be helpful, it does not got unnoticed by all!

If I had managed to attack the millions of sacks/boxes of crap in the spare room and found my camera charger, I would have provided a lovely picture of my mussels, but sadly this did not happen and you will have to get by with a random picture instead. I have not yet made the mussels, so a picture of the final result is much better than a picture of a bag of uncooked mussels anyway. I believe so.

Only other news to tell you of is that I am rather bloody excited about the prospect of a new cake stall coming onto the scene at Northcote Road market. Lucy and Nat are finally going to put their amazing cake-baking skills to good use (I can certainly vouch for Lucy and I do not doubt Nat either as she does produce the best stack of Tex Mex glory you have ever seen) and start selling their goods. I am going to a tasting session next Saturday, it would only be right to do so, and will give you an update after that. Watch this space as this will be the best cake stall you have ever been to in London!!! Actually, as my main picture today I have included a picture of a chocolate and beetroot cake that Lucy and I made for our lovely Emily. It looks so pretty and it should warm you up nicely for what will be in store on the cake stall of dreams.....

Ooooooh cakes.

A noteworthy recipe I tried was a white and dark chocolate cheesecake from Joanne Harris’ cookbook ‘The French Kitchen’, which I made for a friend’s dinner and then adapted slightly for a friend’s birthday. On both occasions I didn’t take a picture, so I will have to do this again in my new kitchen (hurrah!) so you can see what it looks like.

I have also had a request from my friend Emily to put up some soup recipes, so expect that shortly. It’s the perfect time of year to be cooking soups as you want to make the most of the winter veg, but you also need a hearty warming meal that won’t result in adding another stone to the Christmas belly. My soups are never planned and are always the product of excess vegetables that need to be used, but perhaps I should be more creative and put a bit more effort into their production.

Hope everyone is having a more productive January than I. February is the start of the year in my opinion!

For various reasons, in the last week stodge has played a big part in my life and like most things (bad moods, spots, being late for work) I can blame the weather. It seems to have reached that strange time in the year when the thought of a salad keeping away the hunger pains is completely laughable, an easy pasta meal just does not suffice and the slow cooking stew you plan on making never quite happens. This is mainly due to said stew cooking time being wasted drinking far too much wine one night, and thus killing your enthusiasm for stew-making the following day.

So at this time of year, eating out or at friend’s houses is a great option. You can drink as much as want and not feel guilt. After all, sitting at the restaurant table primly drinking your orange juice and looking down on the others just won’t do and is not in the spirit of Christmas. Similarly, if you have been invited for dinner by one of your friends it would be extremely rude not to bring a bottle or two and even ruder to not join in the celebrations and toast good health, family, the food, the table…..So you see, many excuses to drink and be merry and you can also understand a little more why stodge (ok, hangover food) has been playing a large part.

On Tuesday of this week I went to ‘Roast’ in London Bridge, just overlooking Borough market. It was a win-win situation I thought, for if the food was awful I could always neck the wine and then bolt downstairs to the market, grab a sausage roll/wheel of cheese from a nearby stall and polish it off on the way home. Luckily for the general public, I actually really enjoyed the food so they were spared this spectacle.

As you can imagine by the name, the menu focus’ on lots of roast dishes, primarily being meat. My choice was pot roast mutton with gentleman’s relish, glazed turnips and my extra portions of roast potatoes and brussell sprouts, in sticking with the festive feel. Looking around the table I would not have been disappointed with anyone’s main meal and I think it was mutually agreed by everyone at the table that the meal was very good. The only exception in my opinion was my choice of a butternut squash pudding to start, which seemed to be lacking in texture and flavour.

The cheese board, served with fig chutney along with the traditional grapes and apple, made up for any lack in flavour in my first course and a piece of Tunworth has been added to my list of cheeses to buy when I go back to Borough on Monday. Described by Roast as a ‘soft and mellow cow’s milk cheese’ was soft and deep in flavour and favoured most highly on our table.

I already have two trips to Borough planned for next week, round one being cheese and round two being flowers, veg and fruit (because on this day Zac will be accompanying me and the good gent he is, he will help me carry my bags). No doubt I will have some lovely pictures of my purchases, for those who care!! I have also been asked by Olive magazine to partake in the ‘Challenge Gordon’ feature by following two roast chicken recipes (one being Gordon’s and I think the other being a reader of Olive magazine) and rating the recipes out of five. So it appears my week of roasts has indeed truly begun, what a happy week indeed…..

So, at the ripe old age of 25, I can now tick off one thing I hoped to achieve in my life. Mid-way down the list, a few above purchasing an ice cream maker (see previous posts) there lay the words ‘make chutney’, which will be forever erased. Forget world peace my friends, chutney making is way up there on the list of great achievers such as myself. So what now for me, now I have reached this point in my life? Where else can I venture? Whatever next? Jam is an obvious one and pickling a must! But where can I find the smallest onions in the world in order to produce the most spectacular pickling sensation?! The trials and tribulations of life I must face daily. Onwards and upwards, one must not dwell…..

I jest here, but I do think my life has changed for the better as a result of making chutney. Now I can forever wait for that moment in a bar when chutneys are the subject of fierce debate and take a sip of my drink, sit back and announce that I in fact make my own. True, this moment has not arisen so far, but I can wait…

But yes, if you do enjoy chutney, why not make your own? Honestly it’s so easy and you will feel like mother earth herself going to fetch your home made jar from the shed/fridge when someone arrives with a nice bit of cheese to share. Think of the respect from your grandparents!! So off you go now, stop reading my waffle and make some chutney.

PS: I suggest a lazy Sunday to embark on this one. Chop everything and chuck it in the pan and then sit and read the paper and smoke your pipe (optional) as you wait.

Caramelised Onion Chutney

A tsp of butter

6 large onions (red/white or mix of both)

3 cups of sugar (half dark brown, half golden)

3 cups of vinegar (2 sherry vinegar, 1 balsamic)

15-20 crushed black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

Melt the butter in a large pan over a moderate heat. Slice or chop the onions to your preferred thickness (I sliced mine quite thinly) and add to the pan. Cook the onions for a few minutes until they soften, but do not allow them to brown or crisp.

Add the vinegar, sugar, bay and peppercorns and leave the mix to bubble gently for approximately and hour and a half or until the mixture has reached your desired consistency.

                                                  

 I have got myself into a bit of a pickle recently by purchasing several new books at once, despite being in the middle of two already. The thing is, I decided to re-read Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy in the belief that this time round I would understand and appreciate the chapters devoted to politics and the meaning of life, but just before I believe this was about to happen, I ran off to France for the weekend. You may think the hours spent on the train would be a perfect opportunity to devote myself to Anna, but I was not so convinced and foresaw myself bitterly resenting have to re-read a book I already knew the outcome of. So, I opted for yet another Joanne Harris book, ‘Five Quarters of the Orange’, which was completely perfect! The ultimate light read for someone like me who is obsessed with food and a romantic dreamer. Harris’ books are always devoted in some way to food and her passion really comes through in the way she describes not only the dishes and the food itself, but the emotions connected to them. The best thing is that the setting for the book was also in the French countryside, so what a perfect companion for my trip!

I really am digressing, but to pull my rambling a little bit back to what I was meaning to write about, I purchased another two books which (despite the timing) are amazing. The first I found in Copperfields book shop in Wimbledon* and is called ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking' by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck. Julia Child was an American writer, cook and TV presenter and quite the culinary legend, so when I saw this cookbook sat in the midst of all the rubble, I was very excited indeed. Similarly so when I saw ‘South Wind Through the Kitchen: The Best of Elizabeth David’ by Julian Barnes, Elizabeth David, and Jill Norman in Foyles (although with not so much of the surprise element as it was the cookery section of a well known bookshop).

For a time I flitted scattily between the two, but for the moment I have settled down with Elizabeth David's collections. The book itself contains many of her best recollections and recipes, chosen by her close friends and admirers which makes it an enjoyable and quite personal read. It's a step up from your usual cook book, glossy pictures are replaced with drawings and the majority of the recipes are told in relation to a specific time and setting in Elizabeth's life. One of the first recipe's I attempted was her spinach and ricotta gnocchi, which I served with a fresh tomato sauce. The gnocchi were really light and easy to make, with the only problem being the assembling of the wet mix before dropping into the water. 

Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi

450g spinach

250g ricotta

Butter, 1 tbsp

Nutmeg, fresh, 1/2 tsp

2 eggs

3 tbsp plain flour

50g parmesan, grated

Steam the spinach according to the instructions on the packet, then completely drain in a tea towel (you may have to do this in two or three batches). Chop the spinach finely, then mix in a bowl with the ricotta, butter, nutmeg and salt/pepper. Heat the mix in a saucepan over a low heat for five minutes, stirring continuously. Remove the mix from the heat and mix in the eggs, flour and parmesan. Leave this mix in the fridge overnight.

Prepare a large pan of boiling water. Cover your work surface with a thin sprinkling of flour (using a sieve for a more even coating) and form little balls of gnocchi mix of similar size. Roll each ball in the flour and set aside. You will probably have to keep adding flour to your surface, so have the flour and sieve nearby.

Drop the gnocchi balls into the pan of water and leave to cook until they pop to the surface (this should take approx 3-8 minutes, completely depending on the size). It's easier to do this in 3-4 batches as the gnocchi needs quite a lot of room to cook. It's also handy this way as you can see the gnocchi pop up a lot easier. When the gnocchi pops up, scoop them up and set aside in a colander until you have the whole batch finished.

You can then serve the gnocchi either simply with olive oil and parmesan or any fresh sauce. I prepared a tomato sauce with chopped tomatoes, garlic and olive oil, which I then put on top of the gnocchi in an oven dish and finished off with parmesan and olive oil. I heated this in the oven for about 15 minutes, on 180c/350f.

* Copperfields is a great second hand book shop which seems to be forever open and rammed with every book you could ever want. The owner is really helpful and you can request books that they do not have available in the shop.
 
http://www.thebestof.co.uk/wimbledon%20and%20merton/42910/1/1/the_best_of.aspx

 Ok, I really am getting ahead of myself I know, but I am almost excited about Christmas. Actually, thinking about it now, it's really not that far off at all so.....perhaps I can get excited. Yes, I think I will. I don't think it's time to start baking mince pies yet, but I can at least start to piece together my Christmas meal plan in my head, make a mental shopping list of things I can buy in advance, and yeah maybe I will trawl through food magazines and cut out possible recipe ideas and perhaps make a little scrap book. Is that really that wrong?! Perhaps yes.

 If you love food though, Christmas time is just the best. I am already enjoying the winter mentality of eating to keep yourself warm (despite having that mentality pretty much the whole way through the pathetic summer) and have been relishing in dishes that take about five minutes to prepare and three hours to cook, whilst I sit back and read the paper and smile to myself as the wafts from the oven come through to the living room. So far I have already been embraced by the winter spirit, most lovingly, by two of the best and most classic puddings; sticky toffee and apple crumble. How well I have done so far, and I did not have to make these myself! This was round two of my sampling Lucy's sticky toffee pudding, with the inclusion of stem ginger (a really tasty alternative for those with 'cooked-fruit phobias'-they do exist), and it was even better than the last. The sponge was soft on the inside and slightly crumbly on the outside and the sweet, buttery sauce was perfectly balanced by the slight kick of the ginger. So good!!

Then for fireworks night Emily treated us to a dinner of chicken wrapped in bacon, roasted in the oven on cannellini beans (or similar) and new potaoes, with steamed spinach and brocolli. By the end of this I was pretty stuffed, but it was so good and the dish was sat so very near, so I kept stuffing myself even more and nearly had no room for crumble. But after a jaunt down the road to Brockwell Park to watch the fireworks (carrying our Starbucks cups of mulled wine!), we were ready for action again. It would be rude not to and the smell of crumble coming from the oven was far too tempting for us to resist. It was one of the best crumbles, with quite tart apples and sultanas on the bottom, walnuts and crumble mixture on top and lashings of custard - the best way to be served! So ladies, thank you very much for contributing to my extra layer for the cold months ahead, may there be many more puddings to celebrate!

I'm off now to study some chutney recipes and buy some preserve jars on the internet. I have decied to be adventurous this year and use the festive period as an excuse to make some chutneys and jams to give as presents. That way, even if they do taste disgusting and are hated, I will still come out looking like a thoughtful young lady. Clever me! If anyone knows any tried and tested recipes, let me know...... 

P.S: In case you have not guessed I did not make that turkey! I wish I had.

My life changed dramatically for the better this week when I purchased a Magimix ice cream maker. It came to me suddenly at work, and before I knew it I was sat in Argos awaiting my purchase, risking the scorn of my colleagues when I arrived back with another spur of the moment purchase. Although at the time there was a slight possibility I was bored and wanting to brighten up my day simply by wasting money I did not have, I have no regrets. Well, perhaps one little one that I didn't buy it at the start of the summer rather than winter, but we didn't have much of a summer anyway and I am already amazingly prepared for next year's wash-out.

Already, I have made a nutella ice cream and a sorbet and I can't believe how easy it is to have the creamiest, amazing ice cream in under half an hour. Seriously, it's worth it. If you think a tub of ice cream costs the best part of a fiver, why not make your own for a lot cheaper and with any ingredients you want? I think I have a lot of happy ice-creaming eating days ahead of me, so to start it off I have gone for something really simple. This did not really make a whole load, so if you intend on making this to keep in the freezer I would double the amounts. I think next time I would also try adding a bit of fresh mint and/or zest, but I played it safe this time, purely to test my maker.

 Lemon and Lime Sorbet:

London is good for rambling around but it can be a bit overwhelming as it is just so big and there are so many places to go. As I lay in bed on a Saturday morning drinking my tea and eating my toast and considering my options, the obvious way to go is to plan my day around where I want to eat. I know not everyone is as gluttonous as I, but I think we all need nourishment, so why settle for a shop bought sandwich made by unloving hands?

On this occasion I actually had a few things to do in Oxford Street (Primark mooching), Soho (bamboo steamer purchasing) and Covent Garden (I forget, but something equally pressing), so I decided to get something at the vegetarian café ‘Food For Thought’ in Covent Garden. I had heard good things about the place and reviews seemed to summarize a wholesome, tasty, cheap and ever-changing menu, which sounded good to me.

The café itself, you could almost miss. Cosy is an understatement, but it serves its purpose and the smells from the front door stopped us from turning our backs on the bustle within. Our timing was all wrong and next time I would definitely avoid peak lunch time, as the place was really busy and chances of getting a seat were quickly dashed when we peeked downstairs. Luckily you can take out anything on the normal menu and the good thing about Food For Thought is you can see over the counter into the kitchen and ogle at the dishes, which really helped me make my choice!

I ended up getting a roasted vegetable and cheese quiche and salad, which seems like a boring choice but if you saw it you would understand. The waitress put a gooey slab of this into a container for me and I felt obliged to have a selection of salad as it looked so fresh and my quiche so cheesy. I can’t really sum up the food from my one little meal, but what I had was really good. For some people there may have been a bit too much cheese in the quiche, but that has never been a problem for me and you can’t please everyone! I think the emphasis here is freshness and flavour and cooking food that tastes really home made and filling, which is quite hard to come by when you are ambling around between shops.

 After much turmoil and stress I was finally safely on the eurostar to Paris. Having nearly missed my train at St Pancras at 5:00 in the morning, I was obviously eagerly awaiting my dash across Paris to get my connecting train to Grenoble, which conveniently left me with 25 minutes in which to do so with a metro journey (of approx 15 minutes) in between. To many this may seem like a thrilling challenge, yet for me it was merely a pain in the ar** (excuse my French, ha). I knew many minutes would be wasted with me fumbling for my change at the metro ticket office, whilst breaking out in a sweat at the sight of a new un-known machine and not knowing what buttons to press. I had planned to jump on the nearest Parisian with a pathetic “Ou est??” whilst jabbing my finger at my metro map. Anyway, all worked out well due to the fact that the eurostar arrived in Paris late anyway, so I ended up having to wait for the next train. With an hour and a half to kill, what would I do? Eat a Bolognese crepe I say!!!
 
Indeed after purchasing my metro ticket, with no bumbling antics I may add, I only had about 3 euros left so I knew my lunch was more than likely going to end up being a croissant (it was technically breakfast time after all). I attempted to change money in a bank, but that did prove to be a bit too much of a task in a foreign country and stuck to my pocketful of centimes and my creative mind. I found a little hole in the wall with a welcoming sign which read 'Creperie', super, and decided to go for the best I could afford - the ominously named 'crepe mixte'. Sadly for me no ham was available and the only other meat option was bolognese. Now, I know in England I would never EVER trust bolognese from a tiny slot in the wall (in what I can only guess was the French alternative to a dirty kebab shop), but time was not on my side by this point and the daring side of me was revelling in the risk element.....

Well guess what? I won! This was truly an amazing treat. I like to wait for the perfect moment to indulge, so I packed the warm parcel into my bag and marched off to the station to find the perfect spot to eat my little beauty of a snack. After stopping and starting in various spots on the platform, avoiding a gang of cruel pigeons and all the militant commuters, I found a little corner where I could feast in peace. Perhaps it was my hungry state, the comfort of a mound of warm, tomatoey meat sauce, nutty parmesan and the hot crispy crepe itself, but it truly was a blissful moment. In my awe I completely forgot to take a picture, but I have vowed to make it at home and I will make it even better!

Zac was dribbling with excitement as he munched through bread crumbed calamari (served on a little pan!!) which was really soft in the centre and had great crunchy crumb. When the steak arrived I thought he may shed a small tear of joy at that moment and it was also pretty amazing I must say; moist and perfectly seasoned. My seafood linguine was also really good and left me pretty stuffed. I know people say you shouldn't be stuffed at the end of your meal but I would rather stuffed than minorly peckish any day. At Cote the portions were really decent and I only saw that as a good thing. There is nothing worse than leaving a restaurant which has cost you the best part of £100 and the food was really average. I think you can rely on Cote to really deliver great tasting food at a reasonable cost. To be honest, Wimbledon does not have too many hot spots when it comes to eating out so I would head here if you are considering a meal in Wimbledon.

Anyway, I should not go on. I have to pack as I am off to Grenoble in the morning to see my sister and I must say I am quite excited. I have already requested some 'moules frites' on arrival and I intend to eat some quality bread, cheese and sip some fine wine. I want a loaf so crusty it will pop my eardrums and a cheese so smelly I gag. Actually, that may not be the best start to my meal, I will be in France and I must adopt some good manners.

 Oh yes and just in case you are wondering, the only quality English produce I am packing with me is Bovril. What else does a girl need??  

Alas these past few days I have been rather worse for wear. Alas for me because I have felt like complete crap and alas for you because you have been sadly lacking in Rhona-updates. Fear not, I am on the mend and so is my appetite….

But there have been a couple of blog-worthy days to tell of as I feel I have experienced, at least for a short while, what it feels like to have no joy for food. What a bleak, bleak life that would be. Even now when my taste buds are beginning to re-emerge, god damn it is a struggle to enjoy my food as I did all those many days ago (nearly five now). I tell you my friends I tried hard, oh so very hard to ignore my lack lustre approach to dinner time. But I persevered like a good woman can and forced some home made shepherds pie (thank you Zac) down me, scoffed (a meagre portion alas due to my pathetic state) Lydia’s Thai green chicken curry and battled on to eat a French lemon tart made by my good self on Saturday. But the days pre-ceding the last more care-free days of my illness, hereby referred to as ’the plague’, the very thought of eating repulsed me! These are the days I shall never forget. Black, black days.

I will tell you one thing, the only thing I need reveal to you to prove to you the darkness of those days: on Friday 3^rd October I ate instant mashed potato. It wasn’t even smash! I don’t even know what it was. I didn’t even care!!! I’m off now to wash myself in bleach after such filthy behaviour, but don’t stray too far as I have some good things to write about this week, including a really good meal in Wimbledon, a bit of a crap one in Old Street (bet you can’t wait for that one) and some general banter.

Oooh but I did get a lovely new cookbook that I highly recommend! It’s ‘The French Kitchen’ and it’s by Joanne Harris and Fran Warde. God bless Fran as I have no idea who she is (not that that means much) but Joanne Harris is the lady who brought us ‘Chocolat’ which I love. I am reading her sequel to Chocolat now called ‘The Lollipop Shoes’ and loving that too, but I am quite a whimsical fart and like all that sort of stuff. But she is a good woman regardless of your taste in fiction and if you love pretty cook books with loads of good pictures and tasty recipes then this is for you. I think the emphasis of the book is on simplicity and good produce, which does not sound all the original now that I type this damn you, but seriously it is still worth the ten English pounds I paid for it. So far I have only made the lemon tart, but that turned out to be pretty good. Next I shall be trying the cabbage galette recipe, once I have convinced Zac what he will be eating is not just a ‘cabbage pie’ as he has decided.

Till then my loves…………..

Forget the potato cakes you can buy in packets in the shop, in fact, forget any potato cakes you have ever had because these are by far the most superior. Every mother has at least a couple of recipes that have been perfected over the years, and this is my mum's gem.

The fact is they are actually really easy to make, but you can go wrong very easily by using the wrong type of potatoes, going too easy on the flour or not having the patience to let them cook slowly. My personal preference is a thick potato cake of about two thirds of an inch, but some people prefer thinner. I like to slice the finished wedge through the gooey middle and seperate the two triangles, then cover each side in as much butter as you dare, a sprinkling of salt and a bit of ground pepper. All you need to add is a soft fried egg and some bacon if you have it. For the extra stodge factor (which I must say I often do veer towards for meals like this) get the baked beans out.

Oh my god it is amazing!!! Honestly, this is the sort of delight I would happily become 20 stone for and sit like a beast stuffing my face thinking "ah well, I have come this far!". I love fresh and light meals, but there are some days you have to come home and fool yourself into thinking you have not sat at a desk all day drinking tea and avoiding the dirty glare of the custard creams. On a day like this, make these potato cakes.

Mum's Amazing Potato Cakes

Makes two batches of approx 8 cakes

1 bag (weight to follow) of rooster potatoes (or another variety of floury potato), peeled and cut into equal chunks

1 and a half mugs of plain flour (excuse the measurements, when I next make them I will weigh the flour)

Salt

Boil the potatoes for approx 20-25 minutes until cooked through. Drain and leave the for a few minutes to allow the excess water to evaporate and then mash until smooth. Allow to cool.

In a large bowl or the pot the potatoes were cooked in, mix the potatoes with a mug of flour and a good sprinkling of salt. My mum recommends doing this by hand as you need to feel when the mixture holds together properly. Add the remaining flour and continue to mix well. Turn the mix out onto a floured surface and pat into a big ball. (At this point I would halve the mixture and either keep one half to cook for the next day or keep to the side until the first batch has been cooked).

With a floured rolling pin, roll out one half of the mix to your desired thickness. Form the mix into a circular shape and divide into triangles. Meanwhile, heat a heavy based frying pan to a medium/high heat with a little olive oil. When hot, add the triangles.

Heat for approx 5 minutes and turn when the underside has turned golden brown. Reduce the heat to low and cook for approximately 30-40 minutes. This will all be dependent on the thickness you have chosen and the pan you use. 

 

Ok, so we all know we never really had a summer at all this year so all those summer dishes we were planning on producing never really happened. Or at least not as much as we would have liked! Never the less, do not disregard this recipe as it really is so good. Throw caution to the wind and try to get hold of some nice blackberries and raspberries whilst you still can or else adapt the recipe and just see what looks nice at the fruit counter. You could even try chopping up some fresh apricots and nuts and sprinkling these on instead for a bit more texture.

I can’t claim this as my own recipe, I spotted it in Olive magazine, but I have made a couple of slight adjustments so feel free to do this yourself too.

Don’t be put off about making your own pastry, it’s so easy and people are always so impressed if you have actually bothered to!

Summer Berry Shortcake Tart 

Serves 8-10

Pastry:

125g plain flour
4 tbs caster sugar
100g semolina
125g unsalted butter, cold and diced
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling:

284ml pot double cream
250g mascarpone
1 vanilla pod
75g caster sugar
3 tbs lemon curd
1 pack of strawberries
1 pack of blueberries
Icing sugar to dust over

Preheat oven to 180c/gas mark 4

For the pastry, whizz in a food processor the flour, sugar, semolina, butter and a pinch of salt. Add egg yolks and vanilla extract and whizz again for about 15 seconds. Transfer the mix to a large bowl or surface and knead lightly to combine the mixture. Roll out and line a 23cm fluted (preferably with a loose base) tart tin. If you have any cracks smooth these out with the back of your thumb. Bake for approx 20 minutes until golden (time it for 15 and check, it all depends on your oven). Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

For the filling, whisk together the cream, mascarpone and the inner scrapings of the vanilla pod. Mix in the lemon curd and caster sugar (you may want to add it little by little and taste to see how sweet you want it).

Transfer the pastry case to a serving dish and spoon over the cream mixture then arrange the berries on top. Dust with icing sugar.

So today I went to Asda (the mother's choice if you choose to believe Sharon Osbourne) in search of bargains and goodness. I won't bore you by reeling off the contents of my basket, as my own mum loves to do when she calls me up (yes really*), but instead I will let you know of my extremely simple, and probably boring to you, lunch. It was actually the tastiest lunch I have had in ages, so you should try it! I'm not posting this as a recipe as I did not really cook anything, but basically it consisted of: cooked mackerel, a simple salad with white wine vinegar and some home made potato salad. To the cooked potatoes, I added chives from the garden, salt and pepper and mayo, but if I had some creme fraiche in the fridge I would have subbed half of the mayo for this instead.

 So simple!! 

*On one especially black day in my life I did the very same thing when I called my boyfriend. I took it one step further by holding the receipt in front of me and listing every purchase. I realised I was turning into my mother and have since avoided this.