Lasagne with Garlic Bread

Look! She made me Lasagne with Garlic Bread! Actually I buy the garlic bread and she makes a vegetable heavy lasagne, which I wolf down. The garlic bread is the Healthier Choices version from Co-op with 50% less fat and it smells... disgusting actually! It tastes okay but the smell leaves something to be desired; note to self: buy the full fat stuff next time.

Lasagne with garlic bread

Kedgeree

It's been a while since I cooked myself anything spicy so I ease myself back in with something that is more of a breakfast dish - Kedgeree.
Lovely curried spring onion rice with smoked mackerel, sections of boiled egg and a squeeze of lemon juice. I love that I can eat it easily from the bowl, sitting on the sofa in front of the TV.

Kedgeree

Creamy, Spicy Beans on Toast and Apricot Tart

Having been fed by others over the past couple of days, a peek in my fridge and cupboard reveals that I have a range of food starting to go bad and in need of eating... now.
The outer pods of the broad beans are starting to go black and soften, so I open them up and double pod the beans that are still edible. The bright green inner beans, I add to chopped chorizo once I have fried it to the crispy stage and stir with some leftover thyme. After picking the mould off the bread (yum!) I cut it into thick slices before toasting and while it does this, I open and sniff at the double cream (it's okay) and stir it into the chorizo and beans. After letting it bubble for a few minutes I pile it onto the bruschetta for Creamy, Spicy Beans on Toast.

Creamy, spicy beans on toast

Hmmm... these apricots are getting pretty soft and the puff pastry in the fridge is drying at the edges. No problem, as I cut the pastry into a circle discarding the dry extremities and poach the halved apricots, before drying and placing on the pastry and baking in a hot oven until the edges become crisp. An Apricot Tart: Juicy and sweet with a crispy base. No cream or ice cream required.
 

Apricot tart

Chicken Curry and Roti

With the visit to family yesterday it is rare to get away without some food being pushed onto me. Not that I'm complaining, a free meal is always appreciated especially as my aunt from Trinidad is visiting at the moment and thrust upon me Chicken Curry and Roti.

Chicken curry

 Actually it was chicken curry with 2 types of Trinidad-style roti, plain roti and dhalpuri roti. I also cook some plain white rice to have it with, but the beauty of this dish is the tactile pleasures of soaking up the curry sauce with torn pieces of roti - beautiful!

Plain roti and dhalpuri roti

A Family Dinner

The Family. A Family Dinner. Always charming, but as with everything, everything in moderation, but I may have overdone it here. Not only the folks, but one aunt from my Mum's side and one aunt from my Dad's side, I thought would turn out to be a bit much! However with one aunt doing a chicken curry, a chicken sweet and sour dish, bought minced lamb kebabs, salad and rice and the other bringing a dhal dish the only thing that was too much was the amount of food! Coupled to a couple of desserts and cheese and biscuits to finish this definitely was a prime feast.

A family dinner

A quick pre-poker supper

I'm hosting poker tonight and knowing that my friends and I will be eating (foods of dubious nutritional value) during the game. I choose to eat lightly with a student classic: Cheese and Beans on Toast. Yeah!

Chicken with Lemony Courgettes, Potatoes & Olives

A clean and simple baked dish for today's dinner but loaded with taste is Chicken with Lemony Courgettes, Potatoes and Olives, a recipe I get from the August edition of Waitrose Kitchen magazine.
Firstly I chop the courgettes and new potatoes to similar sizes, in this case about the size of the smallest new potato, then toss them with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and thyme. Next I transfer them to a roasting tray, making a single layer of vegetables and nestle between them a couple of chicken breasts before putting it in the oven at 180 degrees celsius for 30 mins, turning the veg halfway through. I then stir in a handful of large, pitted green olives and cook for 5 more minutes before transferring everything to a serving dish; thickly slicing the chicken and placing them at the crown. Very tasty.

Chicken with lemony courgettes, potatoes and olives

Broccoli & Poached Eggs

I was planning on doing something a little more substantial, but after falling asleep upon coming home from work (like an old man) I only have half an hour to spare before heading off the to Beer Festival at The Cock in Hemingford. I quite liked the steamed Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Poached Eggs I had as part of my dinner yesterday, so I repeat the dish again today with Ciabatta toast. I finish just as my lift pulls up - timing!

Broccoli & poached eggs

Mini Sausages & Purple Sprouting Broccoli

In the supermarket earlier I spied these Mini Sausages, three on each skewer, each of a different variety. One spicy, one plain and one herby. Very nice. Supposed to be for a BBQ I reckon but instead I stick these in the oven and serve with steamed Purple Sprouting Broccoli. For interest, I poach a couple of eggs and sit them atop the broccoli spears before piercing the yolk and watch it glide between the broccoli before forming a small puddle on the plate.

Mini sausages & purple sprouting broccoli

Cheese & Onion Tart followed by Poached Apricots

Carnivores have a certain amount of scepticism when people claim that you don't need meat to form a good meal. I'm close to being one of them but I don't quite agree as I hope to prove with today's Cheese & Onion Tart.

Cheese & onion tart

Onto a ready rolled puff pastry sheet, I pour thick wedges of onion that I have softened and caramelised for half an hour in a frying pan, together with chunks of blue cheese and a small handful of thyme before giving it 20 minutes of oven time before serving with a salad and a glass of Bergerac Rose. As in the place in France, which had a TV series you know...

To finish I have Poached Apricots, for which I simply simmer halved apricots in a basic sugar and water syrup flavoured with half a vanilla pod for 15 minutes, before removing the fruit and boiling down the syrup to the required consistency. Yummy!

Poached apricots

 

Cod with Tomato & Chorizo sauce

Another dish to add to the quick dinners piles today - Cod with Tomato & Chorizo Sauce. Firstly chop about 50g of chorizo sausage into small pieces, I cut a length of the sausage in 4 lengthways then chop each section up relatively thinly, before frying these in a saucepan with a dash of oil and a sliced garlic clove.

Cod with tomato & chorizo sauce

After a few minutes cooking when the chorizo has given up it's fat and the garlic has browned a little, I add a can of chopped tomatoes and bring the mixture to the boil before simmering for 15 minutes. Next I sit the cod fillets in the sauce to poach for around 10-15 minutes and at the same time I place cut runner beans in a sieve above the saucepan to steam. Some efficient one pan action there and a tasty meal in about half an hour. Other may want to have bread or rice to soak up the spicy sauce, but I don't bother. The sauce goes surprisingly well with the fish and the distinctly sweet runner beans. As a treat I have ripe cherries for afters taking pleasure in spitting the stones into a ceramic bowl enjoying the pinging sound as they land.

Cherries

Pea and Prawn Risotto

Risotto. Usually it's something that I associate with the cooler parts of the year, perhaps a mushroom risotto in autumn, but the sweetness of vegetable and sweetness of shellfish in Pea and Prawn Risotto does seem to suit a balmy summer evening with a glass of Rosé. Lovely.

Pea and prawn risotto

BBQ'ed Burgers and Kebabs

I wasn't going to let the fact that I live in a flat prevent me from having a BBQ this fine evening, which had no chill to it even when that lit the clouds dips out of sight...

Sunlit clouds

 ...so I purchase a throwaway BBQ and head to my local park for BBQ'ed Burgers and Kebabs, which was a half disaster (or success depending on your point of view). It turns out that the 'cooking within 15 minutes' claim on the packet was entirely inaccurate as the starter paper combusted and disappeared within 5 minutes without warming the coals. Oh. I then spend the next 30 to 40 minutes blowing on what little embers there were to get some kind of spread to the embers to allow some cooking and to be fair I got a couple of tasty juicy burgers cooked, but only got an outer charring of the chicken, sweet peppers and onion kebabs that needed finishing in the oven. I'm thinking of getting a proper portable BBQ, which is undoubtedly an invitation for the weather to turn...

Burgers and kebabs on the 'barbie'

French Bean and Mozzarella again

Whoa! An absolute swelterer of a day, pretty close to 30 degrees Celsius I would imagine which I spend with Her at Colchester Zoo, which is actually very well kept and worth it despite what might seem an initially expensive entrance fee (£17.99 per adult); a marvellous array of animals in well kept enclosures. Also despite the nice day attracting alot of people to it, there was enough room around to circulate and still find numerous quiet(ish) spots. Surprisingly my favourites on the day were these guys:

It was still scorching after to sun has gone down and not a day for a hot dinner, so I have another crack at French Bean and Mozzarella. It's better than the last time I made it; cooling and refreshing, I think putting it together in the serving dish makes the difference in letting the juices combine.

Half eaten french beans & mozzarella

Prawn and Chilli Couscous

One thing about the heat of summer, rare it has been thus far this year but not today, is that it often saps the appetite and makes one crave for cooling dishes, which I made today, or at least thought I did with Prawn and Chilli Couscous.
After cooking the couscous and seasoning it, I add ready cooked prawns and cubed cucumber (my favourite way of cutting cucumber at the moment) and stir it all together. For a bit of interest I take one small red chilli pepper from plant I have growing on my windowsill and chop it finely. I then stir that into the couscous mixture with a squeeze of lime and volia a perfect summer supper! The sweetness of the prawns nicely combining with the slight chilli kick, as you can see from the sparse flecks of it in the picture below, and cooling cucumber... is the intention, but it turns out that one little chilli packs a mighty punch to the point where my eyes are nearly streaming as I finish the dish! I definitely do this again, but with half a chilli (or less) next time...

Prawn and chilli couscous

Curry Seared Salmon & Cubed Salad

A dish of many flavours today with the heat and spice of the salmon dredged in curry powder and fried, the sweetness of the cubed beetroot and the cooling nature of the cubed cucumber. I wasn't sure how the beet' would match the heat and while the combination tastes fine for a late night supper, I still feel it needs something a little extra.

Curry seared salmon & cubed salad

St. John Bread & Wine, London

The menu

Often when I'm in London on a weekday for work I like to meet up with my sister or another capital based friend and take on one of the Big Smoke's restaurants. My sister, never a slouch when it comes to fashion, as per her blog, or choosing a restaurant takes me to St. John Bread & Wine, a restaurant serving British dishes opposite trendy Spitalfields Market.
We arrive at 6.45pm into a dining room that is as sparsely decorated as it is sparsely populated at this time, with the kitchen and bakery behind a tall bar at the rear of the room. The menu is not in the traditional style of starters, mains and desserts, but rather the single A4 sheet has a list of dishes that are rather like British tapas, which my Sis and I share.
The first dish to arrive was Globe Artichoke, Hen's Egg & Cress. The egg is hard boiled with just a smidge of liquid yolk at it's centre and the artichoke came as a cold, stiff cream which actually worked really well the cress, egg and crispy breadcrumbs.

Globe artichoke, hen's egg & cress

Next came Sweetbreads, Peas and Bacon. The sweetbreads being not as crispy as I usually like it and the peas were a tad al dente for my taste, but the resulting sauce on the plate was superb, excellent for soaking up with our bread.

Sweetbreads, peas & bacon

Next was Potted Hare followed in quick succession by one of the specials: Rabbit, Carrot and Pig's Trotter. The hare came cold and was in effect a rough pate and was well complemented by a surprisingly tangy pickled chicory. I expected, as special that the rabbit would be better than it was, although it was tender, it was also underseasoned.

Rabbit, carrot & trotter

Potted hare

After these 4 simply presented dishes, some olives (adequate), some bread (decent) and a glass of wine each, we are both quite full so decide to share a dessert of Honey Mousse and Prunes. The mousse was surprisingly light and was a delicate counterpoint to the heavier, juicy prunes.

Honey mousse & prunes

By the time we finish, the restaurant was packed and the lack of soft furnishings in the place are very much apparent as the room is now quite loud. Overall, we spent £30 each and though the food was decent it was not as good as the hype I had heard about the place. Good, very good even, worth a visit, but not worth the hype.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Earlier today my eye was drawn to an article on The Guardian's website about fast food, as in cooking (and probably eating) it quickly rather than buying it from your favourite corporate or otherwise takeaway outlet. It ended with the words:

"What are your favourite quick dishes?"

Which inspires me to share one that I'm really liking at the moment, Spaghetti alla Carbonara. Shamefully, this is a dish I have only recently learnt to cook (I blame my non-European heritage) but this does not stop it being one of my favourite genuinely quick dinners which I cook today for two.
The first thing I did was heat a saucepan with some butter before adding around 100g of bacon lardons to brown and at the same time I boil a kettleful of water. Once boiled I pour it into a large saucepan with a sprinkle of salt, before bringing it again to the boil and adding 200g of pasta; I use spaghetti today. Next I beat together 3 egg yolks from my work colleague's home hens (I traded a handful of home grown chillis for half a dozen fresh eggs - a fair trade I'd like to think) and combine them in a bowl with a tablespoon or two of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
By the time the lardons have browned, the pasta should be cooked as well and I check that this is the case before proceeding... taste pasta - check, nibble lardon - check. I then take both pans off the heat and drain the pasta before quickly adding the browned, lardons, egg mixture and seasoning followed by a good stirring. I serve up around 20 minutes after starting. Quick and tasty!

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

 

Pork Steaks, Couscous & Salad

This dinner is as straightforward as it sounds. Pan fried Pork Steaks, Couscous and Salad. However, I make a couple of little additions to make it more interesting. To the couscous I add softened onion and seasoning. To the salad's torn lettuce leaves, I add cubes of cucumber and cooked beetroot, which gives the salad an analogue appearance as if in an early computer game. The additions to both the salad and the couscous give a pleasant contrasting sweetness.

Pork steaks, couscous and salad

Mushroom Omelette

A quick supper tonight in front of the Olympic closing ceremony, which didn't quite hit the heights of the opening ceremony, but entertained for a few hours. Similarly, I've done better omelettes than today's Mushroom Omelette. It's only after I've poured the beaten egg into the frying pan after sautéing the mushrooms that I realise that I need a new pan; the non-stick has been rendered ineffective by years of using it at too high a heat and now the egg and pan are attempting to become one. It takes plenty of careful scraping to lift out this edible but ugly omelette in one piece.

Mushroom omelette

Even quicker Chicken Fajitas

If last night's curry was quick then today's Chicken Fajitas were necessarily just as quick and made from fresh. After some trail biking in Thetford Forest, I arrive home at 5 minutes to 7 to get picked up at 7.30pm to go to the cinema. Within this time frame I need to shower, change, cook and eat - Argh!
After a 5 minute shower, I use one of those useful Fajita Kits that you can buy and follow the instructions by slicing finely onion and sweet pepper, and chicken into strips, before stir-frying the lot with the provided spice and at the same time warming the flatbreads, it's on the table by 25 past, followed by some serious food wolfing. Luckily Mo Farah's exciting run in the Olympic 5000 metre race gives my stomach a little time to settle before moving off. Phew!

A Hurried Curry

The remains of last night's Curry is lurking in the fridge and with knowledge that curries and stews, etc get better when left overnight and a time restriction before going out in the evening, I take on the second coming. The curry is slightly better with age, somehow less sweet, but still without much spice and seemingly more palatable than yesterday. Still I'm glad that it's finished.

Curry

A Terrible Curry

The old adage of you get out, what you put in is relevant when it comes to food. Whether that be effort in the kitchen or cash in the restaurant, it generally seems to hold, which I should have told myself today before my Terrible Curry.
It's a curry from a jar, Meena's Spicy Jalfrezi Sauce, that is poured over some browned, diced chicken (and I add some softened diced onion and sweet peppers too) which is my only cooking action while the mixture simmers. A horrible over-sweet smell comes from the pan and that is confirmed with my first bite. Sweet. Horribly sweet. And no sign of the spicy. Terrible, just terrible. My minuscule effort has been rewarded by an underwhelming meal of my own making.

A terrible curry

Mushroom Spaghetti

A regression to a little basic Mushroom Spaghetti today, started by olive oil and bubbling butter in a pan. Soften chopped onion and garlic with it, add quartered mushrooms and soften and then after 10 minutes start to cook the pasta. Once the pasta has cooked, turn off the veg pan and add the drained pasta to it, stirring in with a generous helping of grated Parmesan cheese.

Mushroom spaghetti

Cod Loins with Chorizo

Beef loin

 

It would appear that I have been eating alot of fish in recent days with whitebait, seabass, mussels and salmon featuring in the last few days and I do little to change that today as I pan fry Cod Loins with Chorizo. A Cod Loin is something that has always confused me as to it's location, it's not a beef loin...

Nor is it a pork loin...

Pork loin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AoM_loincloth_01.jpg

and I'm hoping it's not like this loin(cloth)!


 
Basically, I think it's some meat from the centre of the fish but I haven't seen a definition for it. Whatever it is, it is a lovely 'meaty' cut that stands up well to the spicy chorizo and softened onions with a salad and new potatoes.

Cod loins with chorizo

Oven Baked Salmon

An interesting evening meal today, as She cooks. Actually it's not the meal itself which is Oven Baked Salmon Fillets with salad that is that interesting, but the other guests for dinner. Her folks are here who I meet for the first time, which is not really that nerve wracking, they are just people after all! I give her Mum a small chocolate selection from Chocolat Chocolat in Cambridge which seems to go down very well, indeed the chocolates are beautifully smooth, which she seems to like, which I'm hoping can only bode well? We shall see...

Rosemary Bread, Chorizo & Sun-dried Tomatoes

A small dinner today after a Thai all-you-can-eat buffet lunch in Leeds. A friend had previously taken me to Chaophraya near to the railway station a couple of years ago and the food had impressed me then, so I wanted to see if anything had changed. I'm pleased to say that it hadn't, the food is still excellent. My highlights are the hot and sour chicken soup, the sliced marinated pork, the sliced beef and sweet pepper and a curry containing huge mussels still in their shells. The buffet is great value at £10 excluding drinks, so for me it is a must visit if you find yourself in this magnificent Yorkshire city. You're best off booking beforehand to ensure getting a table.
By time I get home, I'm only very slightly peckish even well after the sun goes down, so before bedtime I have toasted Rosemary Bread (leftover from Friday lunchtime), slices of Chorizo and Sun-dried Tomatoes to see me through until the working week.

Rosemary bread, chorizo & sun-dried tomatoes

Nando's, Leeds

What a superb, superb day of sport! Firstly after a slow start, we were at Headingley as the 3rd day of the 2nd Test of England v South Africa burst into life with Kevin Pietersen's exhilarating 21st Test century, followed in the evening by watching on TV, Team GB attaining 3 Olympic gold medals in an amazing hour of athletics.
We were starving after that and as it was 10pm, our options were limited to those places that were still serving and we make a quick decision to opt for Nando's a short walk through the Saturday night revellers from our hotel.
It's my second ever visit to the chain and I have to say as such chain restaurants go it's not bad, in fact better than some other options we could have had, the chicken is actual recognisable as chicken and the sauces are relatively interesting with various levels of heat. I had a medium heat half chicken with coleslaw, chips and a beer which costs £13.30, is served quickly and is a decent dinner before moving onto some bars ending with the excellent and very busy Sandinista bar. Cool music here too.

Livebait, Leeds

Unlike the rest of the country which is currently London fixated (just for a change(!)) on you-know-what, I'm in Leeds this evening in preparation to watch the cricket tomorrow, the 3rd day of the 2nd Test match of England versus South Africa at Headingley.
So after checking into our hotel and having a couple of ales in Whitelock's (the Copper Dragon IPA is especially tasty) we head out for dinner at Livebait, a fish restaurant near to the Corn Exchange in Leeds.
The restaurant is situated in a basement with the bar area immediately at the bottom of the stairs and the open plan dining area off to the left. A table wasn't immediately available so the genuinely friendly staff served us a drink in the bar while we perused the menu. The simple, single A4 sized sheet has starters and main courses on it with many British fish options with limited others, such as a single meat and vegetarian option in each course. The wine list was mostly white as befits a fish restaurant and my friends and I shared a reasonable bottle of French wine.
I started with crispy, fried whitebait which was done well enough and followed that with Seabass fillets that were nicely cooked. Very good, if not quite outstanding. We forgo desserts in favour of a couple of drinks elsewhere (at The Brewery Tap) and our bill between the three of us comes to just under £100, which is decent for the quality of the food and compared to Cambridge prices. It can't have been that bad as we share the restaurant with cricket commentator Henry Blofeld a few tables from us...

Chicken wrapped in Basil and Parma Ham

Some of the best meals are those that are cooked for you, like today's and as She is off at the moment, she cooks me dinner tonight of Chicken wrapped in Basil and Parma Ham. She tells me she hasn't done this before and halfway through cooking when her kitchen and living room is filled with smoke I wonder what I'm going to get. However, I shouldn't have worried; with the pan fried chicken is a soothing mushroom sauce to counteract the saltiness of the ham together with new potatoes and asparagus. It's lovely.

Jamie's Italian, Cambridge

I've been to here before, but on this occasion it's for a friend's birthday as 13 of us (yes, I know!) cram into Jamie's Kitchen in Cambridge.
For me the main selling point is it's magnificent dining room, unseen from the outside, a large, high ceilinged square room with a circle of dark green columns at it's centre supporting a windowed dome, as splendid a dining venue as there is in the city. The room is bustling with people tonight and has a relaxed feel with the staff shuttling dishes from the open kitchen that runs along one side of the room. The food here is decent if not special, I share a bruschetta for 2 to start and follow it with Turkey Milanese with brocolli, but it is the venue itself which is worth coming for.