Friday night is travel night and for the first time during Lockdown, all four branches of the family took part. First up  were the country folks, and they went Ski-ing and it looks like young Amelia, is a born natural, she should follow in her Dads footsteps. ( Baby Molly did not take part )!

They were quickly followed by the W2, contingent, who relived her 10 Km River Dart Swim in Devon, by installing herself in her shower !

She was followed by the North London Lot, who held an online Poll as to where they should visit next, and it was Japan, that won, again great effort from them.With Ninjas and the Harajuku  Girl. The kids also made Sushi !!

And as for us, we went to Nashville, Tennessee.

So Himself became Johnny Cash and I became June Carter Cash. In researching  Tennessee for food options I came across a bit of a stumbling block, as there is actually nothing on the list that I would relish eating.

Number one on the list is Meat and three, the three refers to three SIDES from a list of daily specials ( the word daily specials fills me with dread). Umm? Next is Fried Pickles, one to be given a miss and so onto number three, Fried Catfish, now here is a maybe, as I like Catfish. The fourth is Biscuits and Gravy, biscuits being a bit like scones, and served with a white gravy, definitely not one for me and of course Fried Chicken, ( notice theme here …. FRIED)!

Next comes Mac n Cheese!!! Oh No ! and don’t forget Grits, watch “My Cousin Vinny” the movie to learn about Grits. Then, other delights are Hushpuppies, no not the Old Man shoes but Food, they are small, savoury, deep-fried round balls made from a cornmeal-based batter usually served with some other deep fried food. Then, of course nachos and hot dogs, the list goes on. So I settled on Fish with sweet potato fries ( oven baked) as my substitute for my southern inspired dinner to be eaten at a diner of course.

No recipes needed.!!

But already planning next Friday !

Not a lot has happened today, apart from preparing ourselves for our virtual travel day. However I did make some soup and some Baba Ganoush. It can also be spelt Baba Ghanoush. It is a Levantine speciality, ( middle eastern) and can be found in all Mediterranean, Middle Eastern cook books, as they all seem to claim it as their own and there are many variations. It is also called Moutabbal and it could be called this in some restaurants. It is nearly always served as a kind of starter, with Flat bread and maybe some Hummus as well.

I decided to make this as there were two Aubergines in my Vegetable delivery and I have lemons and Tahini ( sesame paste) as well. Some recipes also call for yoghurt and I prefer it with Yoghurt, it is a little lighter in texture, and is VERY simple to make.

• 2-3 aubergines
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed with a teaspoon of salt
• 1 juice of a lemon only
• 2 tbsp tahini paste
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley ( optional)

1. Prick the aubergines with a fork. Grill the aubergines until the skin is charred and blackened and the flesh feels soft when you press it , will take approximately 15-20 minutes, turning over so all sides get blackened. I use a ridge grill pan on the stove top, or they can be cooked under a grill.

2.  Crush the garlic  and mix with the lemon juice, tahini and olive oil .

3. When cool-ish, cut the aubergines in half and scoop out the flesh and discard the skin. Mix with the lemon garlic mix.

4. Put in a serving bowl and  drizzle over some olive oil and sprinkle the parsley over the top if using.

   

   

   

The soup I made was based on Carrots, I had a surplus of carrots hence the soup. I used in my soup also an orange ( well 2 clementines, that needed using) some fresh ginger, vegetable stock, some garlic, and wait for it, the remains of the coconut rice and the remains of the couscous ( remember Waste not Want not) and these two served as the thickening agent for my soup. The one other item I used was a carton of double cream, which also needed using and not throwing,

There are no exact quantities here,

• I had maybe 10 carrots, chopped
• 2 inches of ginger, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 clementines cut into 4’s
• 1 1/2 litres of vegetable stock ( cube or powder is fine)
• the left over rice and couscous ( one portion of each)
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 oz butter
• carton double cream.
  

  

Simply , melt the butter , sauté the onion and then add everything else, except the cream. Boil/simmer until the carrots are really soft, and leave to cool a little. Put all into a blender and process until smooth. Return to heat and pour in the double cream and stir. If it is too thick and it could well be, just add either some boing water or some milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

After the extravaganza of Cinco de Mayo it is back to basics, but then again maybe I should concentrate on VE Day , but that is tomorrow, Friday, which is our Travel Day, so maybe I will stick to the gourmet delights that await for our Travel to Where?

I used to annoy my kids no end, when they would ask ” What’s for dessert ” before deciding if they would eat all of their dinner or not. My answer was invariably (dessert was usually something like yoghurt or fruit salad) a UFO or WAS, which was either , YOU’LL FIND OUT, or WAIT AND SEE ! Annoying or what ?

Fruit and vegetables arrived yesterday morning at 6.10 am, I only ordered on Tuesday afternoon, amazing service from Greens ( the Greens family) in Covent Garden, this is only my second delivery from them in 7 weeks, and maybe I went just a tad overboard, but hey ho. Since my first order they have expanded, their online shop to include, such things as butter, flour, and supermarket staples. So as well as ordering a mixed box of fruit and veg, I had add ons, such as baby spinach, red chillies, avocados, rhubarb and lemon grass.

It took me a while to sort this lot out, spray with food safe disinfectant, wipe everything down, sort and pack away. But now it is done, but of course that doesn’t exclude a pop either down the road to the wonderful M and S, which is never busy or just across  the road to Sainsbury’s local.

Holland Barrett on the other hand, in the beginning days of Lockdown not knowing who, what or where was going to be open, I ordered some stuff from them, Stupid , they are also across the road and are OPEN , however, 6 weeks on, the order is arriving in Dribs and Drabs, despite my e mailing to cancel ! It will be returned ! ( across the road.)

Meanwhile, Himself was out of cake, and I had been planning to try this out for a couple of weeks. A variation of the Clementine cake so no flour, but with ground almonds and polenta. Mixed results I am afraid, looks good, tastes only ok, as the polenta gives it a gritty texture.So not really worth bothering with!

Dinner, last night was using food that either needed to be used, or dint really have room for it in the refrigerator. I had a small cauliflower, some spinach, some ham, and so it became,  Cauliflower Cheese with ham and spinach, Himself said it was good, Me? I had grilled Haloumi and green salad.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo,  this is celebrated throughout Mexico, it is not the National day, but to  Celebrate the Mexican victory over French forces at the Battle of Peubla on May 5th 1862. As with all Mexican celebrations ( even the Day of the Dead) they are very colourful. Mexico City has the most wonderful climate, to my mind Goldilocks weather. I used to say that about the UK, Never too hot, never too cold, but Mexico City, for me is more Spring Like year round. Now if you could get rid of the Traffic ( Horrendous) Pollution ( Horrendous) the risk of earthquakes ( Horrendous) and of course the crime ( even more Horrendous) then, it would be the perfect place to live. Good climate, good Food and great people. BUT!

I wanted to ask young Sam ( our Mexican ) about food for Cinco de Mayo, but he didn’t answer his phone ( he doesn’t have one) but then neither did his mother, so I had to go it alone.

The menu I came up with was Fish, Fish and More Fish ( Apologies to Jean T).

First up was  Ceviche Sea Bass and Prawns with Chilli. The recipe comes from Merida, a really lovely town on the Yucatan Peninsula.We spent 5 days there, once courtesy of Arin and Todd, ( friends of #1 daughter).

Second was a prawn cocktail, Mexican style. This is very reminiscent of my favourite seafood cocktail which  The Goode Company  ( Seafood ) serve in their diner, which looks like an old railway carriage.

Lastly, it was  Grilled Sea Bass with two salsas, one red and one green. It actually reminded me of a Mexican Breakfast dish called Huevos Divorciados ( divorced eggs) one side of the dish is covered with the green salsa and the other red.

Fortunately for me, I have fish, ( thanks again to ISH FISH), and I had sea bass and I have prawns ( large ) from the wonderful HOO HING supermarket.

• For two people as a starter, I used one filet of Sea Bass and 6 shrimp.
• 2 limes squeezed
• one spring onion chopped finely
• 1/2 avocado, cut into small pieces
• 1 red chilli chopped
• 1 tomato cut into small pieces
• pinch of salt.
• handful of coriander chopped

Using a very sharp knife, slice the fish and shrimps into fine slivers, mix with the lime juice and salt, and leave to marinate for about 15 minutes. Then mix all together, and serve.

The Prawn cocktail it is the sauce that is important.

• allow 6-8 large prawns per person, tastier if you cook them yourself
• 1/2 avocado per person cut into chunks
• 1/2 tomato per son cut into small chunks
• handful of chopped coriander
• lime wedges to serve

For the Sauce

• Juice of 2 limes
• 2 crushed cloves garlic
• 1 chopped preferably red onion
• 2 tsp chilli sauce ( eg Tabasco)
• splash of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp chipotle sauce ( Waitrose or specialist stores)
• pinch salt
• 4 tbsp oil ( I used Avocado but Olive can be used)

Mix all of the sauce ingredients together and then add the tomatoes, avocado and coriander. Add the prawns and serve in sundae glasses ( I don’t have those but used wine glasses instead.)

And finally the Fish. It comes from one of the best seafood restaurants in Mexico City. Contramar. One of our favourites. A westerner might think it odd, it is only open, from midday until either 6pm or 8pm on a weekend. But they are always full and on a Sunday, a queue forms well before opening time. A great place to people watch  and Mexican Fashionistas, will be out in force.

The twin salsas are the important thing here.

Red Salsa

• a couple of red chillis ( more if you like)
• 1 tomato
• 1/2 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• pinch salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• dash of tabasco

Blend all together and put to one side.

Green sauce

• 2 cloves garlic
• handful of coriander
• 3 green/spring onions
• 100 mls olive oil
• pinch salt
• juice of a lime

Blend all together and put to one side.

Grill or pan fry the fish as you would normally but to serve put skin side down, and on one side of the fish, put the green sauce, and on the other the red. Serving on a white plate, makes it the colour of the Mexican flag !!

 

Not a very exciting day here at the top of the house, at least the wind had died down, for a while, but the pigeons are still around.  Himself finished his decorating, some work on the mammoth jig saw and some bridge ( playing with robots! Guess who won )!!

During my usual glance of all things food, I came across a recipe, which on paper, sounded really good, but as with many things that sound good, they do not always fit the bill, or live up to the hype.

Grilled Coconut Chicken with Coconut Rice. The chicken was mean to be marinated for 12-24 hours ( that is a lot of heads up time), but as I have a Sous Vide machine I could easily skip that bit, they do it all the time on Master Chef. I used the marinade and honestly do not think it would have made any difference if it had been marinated for hours. Secondly, I do not have a BBQ, would that have given the chicken more flavour, yes possibly, that of BBQ chicken, but no more than that.

Then the rice, it also had coconut, but again, even though I added more chillies than asked for , I found the whole thing a bit insipid.

Anyway, if you would like to give it a try, tweek it a bit, then here you go.:-

• Chicken pieces, I used 2 breasts
• 1 chopped onion
• 1/4 cup good vinegar ( I used rice vinegar)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 6 cloves of garlic smushed
• 1/2 a can of coconut milk,
• a couple of chopped red chillies

Blend these together,  ( not the chicken) either with a hand held blender or in a machine. Put the Chicken into a bag along with this mixture and refrigerate for 12-24 hours, but as I said, I used a sous vide machine, 140  for 1 hour.

After this, heat a grill or grill pan ( I use an in-built Teppen Yaki Grill, for which my family gives me no end of stick), and cook as you would normally do on any grill.

Meanwhile cook the rice, but add  another chopped onion and some chopped chillies and the other half of the coconut milk, and water enough to cover, cook as normal and add salt and pepper to taste.( I added some peas for colour).

I think it looked OK and I had my chicken on a bed of salad greens rather than the rice. However I did taste the rice and for me the bottom line, was, “A Waste of Time”, but more importantly for me was the waste of a can of coconut milk.

Never Mind, I guess we win some and we lose some. But next up will be Cinco de Mayo,  celebrated in Mexico for Celebration of the Mexican victory over French forces at the Battle of Peubla on May 5th 1862.

Sounds good enough reason for me to go and grab my books and come up with something special ( or I could just ask young Sam, who has a Mexican Passport, but last summer he told me his favourite food was fish fingers followed by Shabu Shabu, already an eclectic taste !)

Oh and I have left Ignacio ( my Robot, cleaning, I just love the name Ignacio). I hope he doesn’t get stuck !

 

Day one  means it is Sunday which also means Cocktail hour with the neighbours, Pity the sun isn’t shining, get a bit chilly with the wind blowing up on the 6th and 7th floors. But never mind, it is the best we can do under the circumstances.

Tonight is also story night for the three ex Mexicans, our north Londoners. I wonder what Popi has got up his sleeve for tonight. After my various abandoned dinner ideas for last Sunday, I decided it had to be something that will be ready when story time is over.

As I am writing this, my new robot vac is busy doing the vacuuming. With the absence of the lovely Betty I thought I would get a Robot. No idea how good it is, but “HE” sounds busy.

For Sunday night I rummaged in the Number 2 freezer. When I say rummaged, it is not strictly true, I know exactly where everything is, even though it might not all be labelled . Number two freezer is predominately my fish freezer, but the top shelf is for stocks and herbs and chillies whereas the bottom is for vegetables and the rest for fish, white fish, smoked fish, shrimp, oysters and even fish fingers, for when the Mexicans come to stay.

There I found the last of the Mackerel,  ( again if you love fish, Forget Waitrose, go to  ISHFISH.Uk, great service, good prices and delivered the next day to your door, vacuum packed ready for the freezer). The next question, what was I going to do with the mackerel, not the go to standard,  ( already mentioned in this blog), as that is more or less last minute, no, I needed a “DO Ahead project” I came up with Mackerel with Couscous . Couscous, is predominately middle eastern, and is made from Durum wheat, which to you and me is Semolina. As plain couscous, it is very easy these days to prepare, Simply put some into a bowl with a knob of butter and pour over some boiling water and leave to stand, for the wheat to absorb the water, give it a quick stir and there you are.

For Mackerel with Couscous, I sautéed a finely chopped onion, along with some garlic, half a green pepper chopped, a stick pf celery finely chopped and some spices ( I used cumin, paprika, harissa and carraway seed. When the onion was soft I added a cup of couscous, stirred it around, and then poured over about 2 cups of boiling stock ( I used instant stock) another stir, added a knob or two of butter and left it to cool.

When cooled I wrapped some of the couscous in the mackerel filets Placed them in a dish, rubbed with a little oil and put in a medium oven for 10 minutes. Reheated the rest of the couscous, and there was dinner.

Needless to say, this was not my dinner, I had Shrimp Remoulade, with Avocado and Rocket,( more on that later) Perfect for me and Perfect for Him.

And Finally

 

 

Well another week has drifted on by, they have all morphed into one. As luck would have it ( or not, depending on how ones views ) B and Q, the large DIY store is open, so Himself took himself off there the other morning, was third in the “Social Distancing” queue and got what ever it was, he could not live without. That included paint, for the kitchen and TV room, and consequently, having sorted and cleaned all my cookery books a couple of weeks ago, down they came again !

However, Saturday is also my day off, and therefore he could only do the kitchen, as he also had to cook.

He really wanted to make something along the lines of Goulash, Cock au Vin, or Rable de Lievre ( Saddle of Rabbit) all of which were vetoed by me. We settled on Steak Frites with Cream of Mushroom sauce.

I have an assortment of dried mushrooms in the cupboard, Porcini, Trumpete de la Mort, and Chanterelles, as well as various Chinese mushrooms. We took a handful of the dried ones and soaked them in boiling water to soften. Then sliced about 2 oz of fresh mushrooms and mixed together, crushed some garlic and sautéed them all together and put to one side, just to keep warm.

Obviously everybody has a their own special way of cooking steak but given here in Central London the lacking of a BBQ, I would recommend this way. The biggest challenge of cooking anything like this, is the timing. Short Order Cooks have my admiration, as it is not the easiest thing to get everything  done at the right time.

If you do not have a Sous Vide machine to pre cook your steak, or even if you do, then this is the best way forward.

Pat the steaks dry, melt about 2 oz of unsalted butter ( but not ghee) in a heavy frying pan, and let it get really hot, when it is just beginning to smoke, throw on the steaks, it will sizzle and splash, cook for a couple of minutes on each side. remove from pan and keep warm in the oven.

To the very hot pan add another knob of butter and 1/2 a cup ( or thereabouts) of whiskey, stir well to mix up the juices and then add about 150 mls sour cream ( or fresh cream or crème fraiche) and mix well, if too thick, add a drop or two of boing water. Add the mushrooms, and serve  by pouring over the steak. Quick and easy but getting the timing right is not always easy.

Our steaks were Rose Veal from Marks and Spencer. Once upon a time, it was not ethically correct to eat Veal but  the farming industry has turned itself around in that respect. This is an update from the industry.

” British Rosé Veal is, quite literally, a by-product of the UK Dairy Industry. Each Friesian-Holstein cow that produces a calf in order to give us milk, will stand a 50% chance of producing a bull calf which is sadly unwanted, as it is of little or no value to the farmer. Bull calves have historically been destroyed in the first few days of being born. We have been working with farmers since early 2003 to help promote Rosé Veal to our customers as a fabulous, tender and tasty meat and therefore give the calf a chance at life (longer than the average chicken or lamb) and give the farmer a good return to help boost his milk profits. Our calves have often reached in excess of 400kg when processed, looking fully grown, and are over 8 months of age but still class as veal as they are under 12 months. They are reared on straw, which they naturally use to ruminate, and given a cereal ration to supplement their diet, which means that the meat is a pink colour, not the pale, insipid milk-fed veal which may be familiar to those of you who have travelled on the Continent.”

Friday, Day Six, of Week Six. But more importantly, it is Travel Friday, well Virtual Travel and as usual the instigator of this event “Globetotting.com” was up to the task.

She ( the willowy Blond) was born in Belgium and as such returned to her roots. She has actually lived longer in Belgium than in any other country ( including the UK if one discounts school). One of the Belgian heroes is Tintin and his little dog Milou. We as a family pronounce Tintin as the French do more like Dan Dan, but definitely NOT TIN  TIN and Milou ( Snowy in the english version ) is Milu. The books both in French and English have been family favourites for many years. And so it was that the North London branch of the family transformed themselves into characters from the Tintin adventures, including Sammy as Milou. They ate one of the Belgian National dishes, Steak Frites, and no-one makes Frites like the Belgians, followed of course by another anytional dish, Dame Blanche, icecream topped with chocolate sauce and cream !!

The W2 branch of the family appropriately took herself off to the South of France. She actually was born in France though in Normandie and not the south. She decided that Les œufs had to be french, and so that was the limit of her french meal ! But then again maybe it was Omelettes Frites of maybe just œufs brouillé ( scrambled)

And us? We got on our sleigh, pulled by the trusty Rudolph and went to Lapland to get ahead of the game of Toy making !

And Santas favourite dinner, well of course Reindeer sausages with creamy mashed potatoes and onion gravy ! I make onion gravy a lot, ( I don’t eat gravy though) and always make a fair amount as Himself really likes sausages with onion gravy. I don’t really ever eat sausages and consequently not the gravy. Again, my gravy is always a little bit of this and a little bit of that but basically it is

• 2 onions, finely sliced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1-2 oz butter
• 1 cup red port
• 1 cup red wine
• 1cup stock, any will do
• 2 tabs dijon mustard
• 2 tabs Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tabs any dark red jam, bramble, mixed fruit, cherry
• salt and pepper to taste.

Melt the butter, add the onions and garlic and cook gently for maybe 30 minutes or more for them to turn soft and brown. Add the port, wine and stock and then stir in the rest of the ingredients, and let it simmer until it thickened a bit. No flour or corn flour is needed to thick it as it will thicken by itself.  Use what you need, bag the rest and freeze. Defrost , heat , use, bag and freeze. Easy and will always have some gravy on hand.

Again, I seem to have lost count, doesn’t make sense I know, but when they all blur into one!!

We used to go out for breakfast, not when we lived in Germany, not when we lived in Belgium, and not when we lived in France but we did on a weekend, when we lived in Houston, Texas ( I do have to qualify this as Houston and Texas are very different from saying USA), our girls were small and their delight on a Sunday morning was whether to choose the Yummy berry Toast or the Happy Face breakfast. But then again back in Belgium no, we didn’t go out for breakfast, rather sweating in a swimming pool ( not me you understand) as by then the girls and boy were seriously into swimming and swimming competitions. And so back to Texas, and the interest in eating out on a Sunday had faded, the menu had not changed in the intervening years, but we had.

Moving onto the UK, first home, no outside breakfast, second home, yes, and likewise third home, but now on our fourth and Himself hopes the last, it is again a NO. Except when we went to Mexico, which we did for bout 5 years to visit eldest daughter and family and eating breakfast out was one of the joys of our visits.

On does have a false impression of Mexican food, either by visiting Texas ( see it is there again) where Texmex is definitely, not Mexican food, or even by going to Wahaca, the Mexican chain in the UK set up by Master Chef winner Thomasina Miers. There is nothing wrong with Wahaca, it is just not the Mexican food that we grew to love in Mexico City.

The venue of choice for breakfast ( could also be lunch and dinner) was LARDO, in Condesa, a leafy village in the centre of Mexico City. Their Menu for breakfast alone was outstanding and here it is:-

Cereals Seasonal fruit salad Granola, fruit and yogurt Baked oats, red berries and almond milk Black rice, coconut milk, banana and mango Green chilaquiles and burrata cheese Hotcakes, blueberry, ricotta and date syrup Eggs Fried egg, rocket, avocado and bacon Fried egg, chile con carne and avocado Tomato stew, basil, parmesan and fried egg Fried eggs, hoja santa and fresh cheese Fried eggs, spinach, speck and avocado Poached eggs, peppers sauce, epazote and purslane Scrambled eggs, zucchini, goat cheese, lemon and peppermint Fried egg, sprouting broccoli, chili, garlic and almond Croque madame, emmental cheese fried egg Tomatoes and goat cheese quiche Scrambled eggs, bacon and parmesan cheese Omelette, insects mole, echalote and green beans salad Poached egg, smoked salmon, avocado and holandaise sauce Sandwiches Pita bread, proscuitto di parma, burrata and tomatoes Pulque bread, avocado, herbs, and sesame seed toast Cemita, avocado and fresh cheese Sourdough, eggplant, tomatoes and goat cheese Sourdough, chorizo, tomatoes and rocket Sourdough, roast beef and gruyere cheese Croque Monsieur, emmental cheese Croissant, ham and gouda cheese.

SO my take on this breakfast is what I loosely call Mexican eggs, and again, it really is a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but yummy.

I start by taking a tine of chopped tomatoes. In a saucepan I heat a little oil to which I add one or two spring onions chopped and a couple of cloves of garlic also chopped, along with a chopped red or green chilli. When they are softened, I add the tomatoes, and let it simmer for a bit to thicken. Meanwhile I poach a couple of eggs , then peel and slice an avocado, and also chop some fresh coriander. Taste the tomato mixture and season accordingly, I usually add some harissa or a chilli mix as well as salt and pepper. When ready to serve ladle into a bowl, add the poached eggs along with the avocado and coriander. Serve with some sourdough toast.

Obviously can also be as a light lunch or even supper. Next up, have you ever had Croque Monsieur, or Croque Madam? I bet you have , but never so good as in Mexico City.