All posts filed under: Ramblings

The Big Food Fight

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Of the 481 accounts I follow on Twitter, aproximately: 200 are chefs 150are  restaurants 81 are food writers 50 are food fanatics and a fair few MasterChef contestants are thrown in there too. I am bombarded with tweets about new places to eat and new things to try. From the short-lived ‘Cronut’ hype of 2013 to the recent gravy-dipped burger trend that I keep bloody hearing about, its safe to say nobody’s stuck for choice when deciding what’s for dins. Take the beloved beefburger: Cool person 1: ‘Have you been to (restaurant title including one or more of the following words: dirty, bun, burger, cow, liquor, meat, patty). It’s the best burger in London!’ Cool person 2: ‘I beg to differ.. you’ve gotta try (another restaurant title including one or more of the following words: dirty, bun, burger, cow, liquor, meat, patty). Cool person 3: ‘What about (yet another restaurant title including one or more of the following words: dirty, bun, burger, cow, liquor, meat, patty)? It’s the bomb!’ Well, which is it then people?! Are these new places ‘WE’VE GOT TO TRY’ actually that special? Are …

Food styling: my charity shop treasures

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I’ve recently started to poke my head into every charity shop I pass looking for new plates and tableware to style out my recipes. So if I am ever late for work or miss my bus, I blame the British Heart Foundation! Buying weird and wonderful plates is an amazing way of kitting out your dining table without spending a fortune and I find new dishes give me inspiration for new recipes to try. My bargain hunting tips: Gumtree is filled with people trying to get rid of their old kitchen junk that they might think is worthless or outdated. Often, these sellers don’t realise how much money they could be getting from their old stuff! Ebay is a great way of checking if you are getting a bargain or not. Check how many people are bidding for certain items and how much they are selling for, so that you always get a good prices. Be aware of chips and cracks in tableware that you buy online. If you are taking photographs this is not …

Cooking with matcha

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I have recently rekindled my love of green tea after discovering matcha – a powdered green tea made from specially selected green tea plants, which are shade grown for a few weeks before being ground up. The result is a clean, smooth-tasting tea that doesn’t have that horribly bitter after taste that first put me off regular green. It’s really easy to drink and has helped me through many a starvation lull on one of my fast days, as i’m currently trialing out the intermittent fasting (or the fast diet) in an attempt to (pun-alert) have my cake and eat it too (sorry.) But I’m more interested in matcha being used as an ingredient in cooking. The first time I tasted matcha was in a life changing dessert at So Japanese, Soho. This place was recommended to me by an ex colleague for its unbeatable sushi (and at a reasonable price for sushi) but I would also highly recommend the Japanese desserts. The Matcha & White Chocolate Cake with Black Sesame Ice Cream & Fruit Mousse   This was ordered …

My weekend in pictures

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Thursday: Half price Itsu, Paddington central, Post work   Homemade Top Corn – coconut oil, brown sugar and cinnamon   Friday: Bodeans BBQ, Soho – ribs, pulled pork, brisket, cornbread muffins and wet fries  Saturday (fast day) – post run soup. Looked DISGUSTING, tasted quite pleasant. Sauteed red onion, garlic and courgette in olive oil. Add fresh spinach, nutmeg, salt and pepper, fennel seeds, stock cubes and water. Simmer for 10 minutes, blitz and finish with Greek yoghurt.   Fast day dinner: 500 calories a day is absolutely killer for someone who is obsessed with food. I decided to go against all my food instincts and wolfed down boiled eggs on frozen veg. After a day of starving, was bloody delicious.  Sunday BBQ: I have no idea what the rules are.

My store cupboard essential: what’s yours?

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Oh boy, do I love a good chutney tray in an Indian restaurant (yes I do).  At home, I have spent many years buying pre-made Sharwoods poppadoms (around £2 for 8 poppadoms). I now realize that i’ve been CONNED. If you’re like me and didn’t know that popping your own poppadoms was so easy then take my hand and let’s float away into the future of fast, healthy, cheap snacking. MY STORE CUPBOARD ESSENTIAL: RAW POPPADOMS These babies are an absolute gem: 1 pack of 15 costs £1! (more than half the price of ready made) each poppadom has under 30 calories (that’s less than a small bag of popcorn) heat for 15 seconds in the microwave (and their ready to eat straight away) you can rub each side in butter, coconut oil or ghee (for a richer taste) you deep fry in hot oil for a couple of seconds (Indian restaurant-style) Save a couple of quid on a takeaway and make your own If you’re craving a packet of crisps, whip up a couple with a jar of …