Simple Hor d'oeuvres

I like entertaining - or rather, after 3 glasses of wine and half the meal, I feel that blissful feeling when I know I've done a good job and EVERYTHING has set. 

However, sometimes things don't run to plan.  Indeed, very occasionally the food isn't ready when it really should be and the 'natives' get restless (or rather start whining like little girls).  So what is the solution?   

Well, you could be on time - but lets not be totally ridiculous!   Feed them some quick and easy Hor d'oeuvres which you prepared ahead of time so you don't go utterly mental.  Some of my favorite are:

• Little round biscuits (kips in the UK) with mussels on
• Peppadews stuffed with feta dusted with paprika (or peri peri spice)
• Brushetta with tomato and mozzarella - toasted
• Sweet Corn Fritters

Now I realise that home made is obviously best but for 'ethnic' food, I tend to visit a relevant supermarket pick up a few .......

• Mini samoosas - glorious little triangles which can be oven baked
• Baby Boreks - tiny filo pastry parcels stuffed with cream cheese
• Cheese 'sausage' rolls - no sausage but full of cheese

Of course you can supplement this with chips and dips but people tend to stop whining if they think you have made an effort.

L xx

Tayyabs - East End Secret

If you live in London, then the chances are you have a favourite Indian.  It might be the one around the corner from your house or the pride of Brick Lane which is the heart of the Bangladeshi community but everyone - especially those who consider themselves true Londoners - know the 'best Indian'.

One of my favourites is Tayyabs which is 89 Fieldgate Street (around the corner from White Chapel Tube Station) and it has been serving Punjab cuisine since 1972.   In addition (and in London this truely unusual) it is 'bring your own' alcohol as it is a dry restaurant - and they don't charge corkage.

The restaurant buzzes and is full of people.  Indeed, you need to book or you will have to queue despite the fact that it is over two levels and in 'tasteful' Indian bangla bling.

I started with their lamb chops in a spicy rub which is utterly glorious as well as their poppadoms and dips.     Main course was a selection of vegetarian dishes including okra and Sag Aloo - accompanied by a garlic naan.  The naan arrived late but to be honest, considering how busy they were, I'm surprised at how fresh and fast everything was.

The other think I like about this restaurant is that they have daily specials which include Batera (quail), Karahi King Prawn and Haleem (lentils and lamb cooked in a thick and spicy sauce) so before you go, you need to check the website to see what is on.

I don't particularly like Indian deserts (sorry) so I skipped these but a perusal of the menu suggests that Kulfi and other favourites are available.

Brilliant restaurant.

L xx

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Healthy Eating

Whenever you read any magazine, it is stuffed with tips on how to eat healthily.  Anti-oxidants, water, minerals, nutrients and vitamins - all things that we need incorporate in our diets.  But most people get sick - nothing serious, just a sniffle but enough to make you feel vile.

So, what can you eat as you are getting better?  Now I'm not a nutritionist but I have found few things that do make me feel much better.

Firstly, don't worry about calories or picking the healthy choice, find something you want to eat.  You have got plenty of time to make up for any bad eating you may do - concentrate on what tastes good.  If all you want is a piece of KFC then get it and eat it.   Obviously, try to avoid anything too rich if you've had a stomach upset and don't stuff yourself silly but a little of what you want is unlikely to hurt you.

Then, concentrate on what your mom used to feed you when you were ill?   Yes, I know that sounds trite but Marmite toast makes me feel better no matter what.  After three-days of throwing up, this was the only think I could eat and it made me feel human.  Comfort food has calories so remember that and enjoy it as a stepping stone to health.

Now for me, it needs to be something hot.  I love chicken noodle soup - Jewish penicillin as it is called - not only is it warm and easy to eat but somehow it warms my very core.  I know my American friends say that tomato soup is just as good but I do beg to differ.

I also like something spicy.  I'm sure that I should go for something milder but a Thai chicken curry with coconut milk and plenty of garlic, ginger and chili.  Or, chili con carne with plenty of kick. Just makes me feel alive.

Finally, a bit of flat coke full of sugar and quite soothing is perfect.

What is your best recovery food?

Lx

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Mindful Eating

I have a hoard of recipes which I peak at occasionally and then select on ‘lucky recipe’ to be tried, dissected and – if all goes well – eaten.   But I’ve often wondered how I choose these recipes?  Honestly, that is not as silly as you think.

What first attracts to you to a recipe in a book?   Obviously, you discount things you don’t like and which brings you up in nasty little lumps (or in the case of peanuts for some people, stops breathing).  You also think about the occasion – a quick dinner or an ‘impress the socks of the man so he sees you as wife material’ meal but then what?

Are you like me and consider what you have to buy to make something?    Aaah, tea grown on the upper reaches of a Tibetan mountain – nope, not making that one.   Or, do you look for one that ‘you simply can’t balls up’?      Perhaps it looks just like ‘mama used to make’ or even that meal you had when he ‘finally bl**dy proposed’?    

Photos obviously play a big part but I still find that for me it is ingredients.  Not only do I have them but am I likely to have them in the future.   Brilliant, Bean Gratin – generally have those in my cupboard so should learn to make it.

And why does it matter how you (or I) choose a recipe?   Well, I’ve decided to try to be mindful about my choices in my life.    This is essential to dieting according to the experts and I can see their point of view.  

Why do you have that coffee in the morning?  Eeer, well I have always has a Grande Latte ….  Does it need to be full fat milk?  Can you taste the difference?  Nope, several thousand calories saved over a couple of weeks.  Why do you eat dinner when you get home?   Well, I live on my own so it isn’t because the family needs it, I suppose it is habit. 

So let’s see how being mindful works on the waist line – hopefully I will be reporting massive loss or at least a little shift.

L xx

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Red N' Hot

I love spicy food.  No, not the food that British men seem to order in a curry house after 10 pints as a challenge.  Just really good spicy 'mouth tingling' food.  Thus, Szechuan cuisine is one of my favourites. 

Szechuan food is from the Sichuan province which is in South West China and it is well known for its use of garlic, chilli and of course Sichuan peppercorns.  My favourite choice for Szechuan food in London is Red n Hot which is just around the corner from Leicester Square Tube station on the Charing Cross Road.

It has all the indications of an amazing Chinese restaurant - hideously rude staff and most customers being Chinese - so I knew that it was going to be good when I walked into its red and black interior for the first time.  Tables are black with a hot plate in the centre which you can use if have hot pot - a Chinese delicacy which involves cooking your own meat in a lovely spicy broth.

I tend to go towards the menu and some of my favorite things are

• Deep Fried Chicken on the bone in Dry Chilli - This is like KFC with kick (and I say that as high praise).  It arrives in a pile of red chillis and you get to dig through to find the pieces of chicken which are hot, cruncy and soo spicy.   
• Mouth Watering Chicken with Lip Tingling Sauce - This starter is disconsertingly cold but once you've gotten over that, the chicken is juicy and the sauce soy based with garlic and bamboo shoots.
• Dry fried green beans with pork mince - So very good,  hot and spicy with lovely crispyness to the beans.  

The restaurant is a haven for those who like tripe and more alternative meats.  Pig ears, intestines and duck tongue are all on the menu and worth a try.  Be prepared to leave the restaurant full, slightly sweaty and satisfied.

Lxx

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Albufera - Foodie Style

Everyone has occasionally worked with an HR Dictator - the friendly person who makes you fill in those forms you just don't need to, gets you training on random topics and - well at least in my company - makes sure you take all of your holiday (even if you don't have time to take it when you want it)!

So, I find that I end up taking random weekends away and I'm just back from Albufeira which is about 45 minutes from Faro in Portugal.  During the season, it is vile as it is full of British tourists on package holidays who get drunk and eat a Full-English Breakfast as often as possible.  However, in early March it is thankfully tourist free, warm and filled to the rafters with restaurants.

Obviously, as a tourist-destination some of the restaurants (and indeed the obligatory Irish Bars) are a little - well  trashy but I stayed in the old town and managed to find a few gems.  The old town square is full of restaurants as well as quite a few nice bars which serve amazing cocktails.   On Saturday nights, several also have live bands - including a wicked metal tribute band - which are pretty good and they stay open nice and late.

We ate at the restaurants by the water/front beach and particularly liked Dom Carlos (at the top of the stairs by the statues).  You do pay a little more but the view is really really love and if you would prefer to avoid eating here, they do brilliant coffee as well as nice Portuguese Sagres.

Food wise, some of the dishes I enjoyed included

• Paella - Yes, I know, it is Spanish but you are on the Spanish border so it was pretty good.  Fresh seafood and lovely rice.  They didn't quite manage to get the slightly crispy crust on the bottom but such is life I suppose.
• Bacalhou - Cod cream with potatoes which is a Portuguese delicacy and is utterly glorious.  Yes, I know a strong fish and potatoes in the sun but somehow sitting under the umbrella with crispy rose it just seemed to work.
• T-bone steak - Very British but the meat in Portugal is really good so it tastes fantastic.  Meat was previously the preserve of the ruling classes so Portuguese food tends to use cheaper cuts so you do find tripe on the menu but T-bone is so hard to find in the UK (thanks mad cow disease) that I had to have it.
• Seafood - Apparently, Portugal is one of the highest seafood eating nations in the world (4th to be precise) and visiting this seaside village, you know why.  Lots of fresh seafood including clams and mussels as well as calamari and squid.
• Gazpacho - cold tomato soup which is slightly different from the Spanish version in that it uses more tomato essence than puree.  Much lighter but so very tasty.

Lovely town, lovely break, good food and not to pricey.

Definitely recommend it

Lxx

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Efes - not just a beer

When I am not involved with someone, I date!  Hell, sometimes even when I’m involved with someone I go on a therapeutic date or two.  Not only do you generally get interesting conversation but also get to see some new restaurants.

This is how I found Efes on Great Tichfield Street (about 5 minutes walk away from Oxford Circus).  I’ve been going to this restaurant for over 10 years (a relationship far longer than the one I had with the man) and it is truly special.

Efes was founded in 1974 and the décor reflects this in a wonderful old-worldly way.  The walls are covered with photographs of celebrities, you are sure you remember from when you were a child and the carpet is monogrammed – such decadence.

The maitre d' (they still have one of those) appears to have been with the restaurant since it opened and is a lovely slightly creaky gentleman who makes you feel very special.   He insists on guiding you to the table and it you go several times will greet you with real warmth.

Opening the menu is a joy to a ‘Turko-phile’ such as myself.    It boasts Imam Bayldi (the Imam would really have fainted), deep fried liver, borek (phylo stuffed with cheese) as well as a selection of glorious dips and Hot (yes hot) pide bread.    So reasonably price, I can be a bit of a pig.

The mains (while there are some token western dishes) are firmly of the kebab variety and the Turkish mixed kebab is enough to silence any meat eater (by protein induced coma but a happy coma).   Don’t forget to order the chilli sauce as this is truly glorious and has the required kick to lift the very fresh and tasty meat.

I don’t normally eat desert (too much meat) but they do the best Turkish coffee I have ever had.   The food, atmosphere and price all mean that a night at Efes is not to be missed.

L xx

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Meat Delivery - Now that seems sensible

Home deliver is a normal part of western society.  My shopping arrives on a Saturday morning (with normally a few odd substitutions), Xmas presents arrive through out Nov/Dec and various items of clothing appear on my desk at work.

However, I've always felt a little odd about ordering food online but I recently found Donald Russell and I'm a bit of a convert.  Not only are they 'appointed by HRH the Queen' but their meat is generally naturally reared so you know you are getting 'happy meat' as I like to call it.

Based in Aberdeenshire, they don't only do meat but seafood as well as ready-meals - which are the antithesis of those nasty chemical laden things you find in most high-street supermarkets.  Glorious - in fact envy worthy - lasagna, chilli and fish pie.

Deserts are also available - in fact, you can buy your whole meal from Donald Russell and have a far more relaxing Sunday than you normally do.  Orders over £80 are free on the UK mainland and order on a Tuesday for delivery on Friday.

What is the downside?  Well, I suppose it isn't cheap.  Almost £90 for - an admittedly huge - 2.5 Kg joint of beef fillet is not something that most of us can afford on a regular basis but for a special occasion like Easter?   Well, lets just say it does serve 14 and it is rather good so why the hell not?

Try it

L x

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Yummy Simple Nuts

I love nuts!  I'm fairly certain that they are not the healthiest snack but they just worry me less than anything that is deep fried and they are natural so if I have to have a savoury snack, I do tend to eat these.

 

However, at the moment, I need sugar.  I rarely eat sugar unless well, lets just say that I am going to get emotional at Dulux adverts for the next week and if you are a boy, no matter what you say, you are wrong very very wrong!  Grovel - you bastard! 

 

So today, I through I would try for something different and I came up with chilli toffee cashews.  First, grab about 100 - 150g of demerera sugar.  Add a little oil to a pan then pop the sugar in and heat.   After about a minute, add about half a cup of water.

 

This should - if the temperature is right - turn the sugar into caramel!   Then add the nuts and - wait for it - two teaspoons of Chinese chopped chillis in oil.  I like it hot but if you don't you may wish to reduce the amount of chilli.

 

Let it cook for about a minute and stir with a wooden spoon.  Ensuring that all the nuts are covered.   Grease a tin with a little oil and then pour the mixture into this and pop in the fridge (ideally on a bowl) so you don't crack your fridge shelf.

 

Cool for 15 to 20 minutes then break up into a bowl and enjoy!

 

L xx

 

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