When is a Crumble, not a Crumble? When it is de-constructed!!

I read recently that the grandmother of a Sunday Times columnist, sent her deconstructed crumble, back to the kitchen, for it to be reconstructed! I have a feeling that Gandalf the Grey, ( one of my sources in Mexico City,) could well do the same. He along, with Himself are great connoisseurs of Crumble and our truly Scrumptious is being well schooled in the art of the perfect crumble. Crumble is a bit like marmite, you either love it or you hate it, and if you love it, then do not mess with it!

Our little 5 year old Truly Scrumptious makes the perfect crumble in lieu of birthday cakes, but visits to various restaurants recently have left us in despair, well not me personally, but Gandalf the Grey and Himself.

We have eaten in several up market restaurants in Mexico, mostly Mexico city, we make it a point on each visit to try somewhere new. Our sylph-like blond and Gandalf the Grey are the prime testers. So this time out we tried Quintonil, located in Mexico City’s upmarket Polanco foodie district. Since opening in 2012, it has quickly established itself as one of the stars of the dining scene in the city. Head chef and co-owner Jorge Vallejo studied at the Culinary Center of Mexico and spent time at Noma in Copenhagen, and then three-years at the acclaimed Mexican restaurant Pujol ( see previous blog).

The restaurant actually does not seem to advertise itself from the outside, it is very low key. Inside there is a garden area, which would be the seating of choice, but it is small and understandably is in high demand. The interior is also on the small side, but appears larger with the whole of one wall being a large mirror. It gives diners ( male ones) the chance to check out all of the fashionistas at leisure and without being too obvious!
The restaurant serves modern Mexican but innovative cuisine, not suprising given the chef’s Noma background, and will include such items as Huazotles, really a weed, but akin to the broccoli family as well as Cuitaloche /Huitaloche. Cuitaloche, is a fungus that grows in ears of sweetcorn, Mexican farmers also call it ” El oro negro”, black gold. When cooked it becomes a gooey tar like mush, which maybe the rest of the world would throw away, but mexicans love it. ( my blond will not give it a sniff) !

Quiintonil, has two set menus from which to choose as well as a la carte. there is a 7 course menu as well as a nine course one. Needless to say the portions are small, but exquisitely cooked and served. Until we came to the crumble that is.

As pretty as this might be, it is certainly in no stretch of the imagination, a crumble , but as I have said, the young lady called Truly Scrumptious, does make a dessert that is truly a crumble.

She makes it the traditional way, by rubbing butter into flour and stirring in the sugar ( usually 1/2 butter to flour ie 4 oz flour, to 2 oz butter and the same again of sugar), and then sprinkling it on top of apples and blackberries, or rhubarb, those being the crumbles of choice. Gandalf the grey and Himself, like the slightly guey mixture that results from the flour mixture combining with the fruit, during the cooking process.

Raymond Blanc however, ( and I ) prefer the cook ahead method, where the crumble mixture is spread on a baking tray and pre-cooked, ( stirring a couple of times during the cooking process, to ensure even cooking). This can then be used immediately, or frozen until required. If using this method of making crumble, then it is also preferable to have precooked the fruit, to avoid over cooking of the crumble. By this method it is possible to make a summer fruit crumble year round by using frozen summer fruit.

In Hell’s Kitchen

We went to Hell’s Ktichen and not the Gordon Ramsey type either, but the real McCoy in New York City, which basically lies between 35 th/ 9 th and 57 streets. It is an area inManhattan called Midtown west, there are various reasons for it having been called Hell’s Kitchen and it would seem that there is no definitative answer. Wikipedia has many of the theories on its website.

We went for supper before hitting Theaterland at the upper end of Broadway. The whole of the neighbourhood seemed to be on the street, and this was explained by being the International Food Festival.of course we knew nothing of this in advance and happened upon it by chance . Unfortunately most were on the way to packing away their wares and we were headed to a restaurant called the 5 th Napkin ! An unusual name for a restaurant , but nonetheless it was enroute to the theatre.

We were not unduly disappointed, the place was buzzing and we only had a 20 min wait ( they do take reservations though) . The willowy brunette was sorely tempted by the hamburger that was being served alongside us, but in the end settled for a grilled shrimp Caesar salad with a side of fries, preceded by shared the fried calamari. This at least was declared as being the best Calamari ever ( wish we had chosen one each).

The salad on the other hand was marginally disappointing . America does BIG and so when choosing something, which one thinks is a good choice and then for it to be on the small side is disappointing ! However it was good. The willowy brunette declared she could have done with more shrimp, and so could I but it was not to be. On the plus side, it was a great salad, the shrimp delicious and the fries excellent.

Our neighbours on one side who had the hamburgers, were also not disappointed, whilst to our minds, the neighbours on the other side had a weird dinner. An assortment of dim sum, chicken wings ( smothered in ketchup?) and matzo ball in gravy! The look of it did not leave us feeling green eyed with envy!

I think the moral of this little venture, is, stick to what they do best and go for the hamburger!

The following day we had a similar experience in Harold’s, all day American Bistro, the ( again) shrimp salad was underwhelming and the home fries, turned out to be tasty but a bit soggy sautéed potatoes. Looking around, the breakfast brunch options of omelettes or ham and cheese croissants also seemed a safer bet.

Another interesting area of Manhattan is the Highline route, this is built on an old elevated railroad and is an urban garden supported by Friends of the Highline. It runs fromWest 34 th ( between 10 and 12 Avenues) to Gansvoort Street in the Meat Packing district. Early on a Sunday morning it is busy, with the urban Joggers, power walkers and tourists, along with blushing brides to be in vertiginous heels, for their engagement photo shoot! What we found however was the ultimate in Multi Story car parking ! See for yourself!

Ah well, you win some and you lose some, but we won on our hotel, where we were given a penthouse room, with a terrace, overlooking the Empire State Building, and where we could sit and drink our wine in peace along with the noise of Madison Avenue. What more could you want? Well an upgrade on the return flight? Well sometimes, you do get what you wish for! Should wish more often!!

Blue berry pancakes and all that.

Here in New York City, the willowy Brunette decided that today was the day for Blueberry Pancakes. This American delicacy is usually saved for a Post Marathon extravaganza, but for today, no excuse was needed, (Apart from energy required to go shopping) except that it had to be.

So off we trudged to the Clinton Street Bakery, which is down in the Bowery area of the city, but enroute ( well sort of) to Ground Zero, or the New World Trade Center . The Brunette had done her research, and so we were forewarned that there could be a wait. Sure enough there was. The Clinton Street bakery is a small restaurant which seats only about 30 people, we were told, about 30 mins, but we were in after only 20, but by the time we left, the line was around the block!

Oh what to chose, no light eating here. The Brunette ( the willowy one) chose, of course, the Blueberry pancakes and as for myself, the French toast with caramel bananas and pecans. Both came with Maple Butter, and we shared a side of bacon and a side of sausage.

The Brunette is a connoisseur of Blueberry Pancakes and declared that these were some of the best, light and fluffy , liked the maple butter and did not feel stuffed nor the feeling of a sugar overload! My french toast was excellent, though far too much, and think I would have preferred straight up Maple syrup ( not Aunt Jeminas fake maple syrup). And we loved the sausage and bacon!

Our neighbour chose, eggs and sausage on an English Muffin, did not look as exciting as ours, and the neighbour on the other side, chose NOTHING, her boyfriend however did eat, I guess that is the only way to go to this diner and come out without a Heart attacking alert!

Considering the small kitchen the short order cooks, who were cooking up a storm, seemed remarkably in a happy mood.

So next time in New York City put the Clinton Street Bakery on the top of your list!

On the Road Again!

On the road again and this week sees us in Tepoztlan which is in the state of Morales about an hour or so drive southeast-ish from Mexico City. I say and hour or so, as my sources tell me that Never do the drive at night but more importantly Never on a holiday weekend as it could take you three hours or more just to get out of the city. Once through the toll booths and past the shanty towns of the city’s suburbs one hits the federal highway and the countryside is amazingly green and beautiful. The road itself is a bit scary, very winding, and fast traffic with no lane discipline, so just sit back and admire the view!

Tepoztlan is a smallish agricultural/touristic town of about 15,000 inhabitants and is surrounded by the Tepotztcedo mountains which resemble mountains from ancient chinese paintings. At the time of our visit, the jacaranda and bougainvillea were in full bloom.

We rented a house with beautiful gardens and pool a short walk from the town centre. Having no intention of cooking ( equipment was limited anyway ) we had to explore the local restaurants.

Our first forays into town were less than successful. as it was mid week, most of the local restaurants were closed, they tend to open , outside of vacation periods, only at weekends, to cater for the influx of visitors from D.F ( D.F is what the locals call Mexico City).

We checked out Trip Advisor, which to my mind is not the best guide to eating out, after all it is very subjective. However there, ( after our disasters) were two of interest. the first of which was a Garden Literary Cafe, El Sombra del Sabino. It is a lovely little shop selling quality ethnic trinkets, panama hats and books, both in English and Spanish. The venture was esrablished by a group of friends, one at least is Canadian. Outside is a very pretty garden, with tables set under the trees, or under umbrellas, under the trees are also swings and hammocks. At weekends there is also a market, but again, not the usual Mexican Market, there were producers of organic vegetables and fruit, homemade jams and jellies, along with aromotherapy items, soaps and bees wax candles.

The menu at the cafe was limited, but wondeful fresh juices and sandwiches and salads and modernised mexican breakfasts/brunch type items. We enjoyed it so much ( it was so relaxed) that we went there twice!)

Our other find was Villa del Tepoz Fuego, and their restaurant Jardin. It is a small boutique hotel, set slightly out of Tepotzlan, surrounded by mountains. the setting is stunning, and is owned and run by Bruce and Marcie a retired couple from Baltimore. They love it in Tepotzlan and initally they were the chief cook, sous chef, chef, chamber maid, and uncle tom cobbley and all. Now though they are established and employ staff, though Marcie still gives cooking classes. They also do most of the shopping for their restaurant, which includes daily trips to Cuernavca, which is the largest town in Moreles state. Fresh fish is deliverd daily but the town today has a bit of a drug problem with the drug barons moving in.

We went there for lunch and it was exceptional, the garden was beautiful, the service impeccable as was lunch.

I have more to say on Tepotzlan, so watch this space for the second edition!!

The world is one big melting pot

And it is never more apparent than in Cuba? Cubans are a very mixed bunch , black, white, honey coloured, and Asian , this is explained by their heritage, there have been the Spanish and Moors, the British, Africans from the whole of the western coast of Africa ( slave trade ) French and Chinese , consequently it is easy to say that Cubans are one big melting pot. The early 20 th Century saw rich Americans ( and the Mafia bosses) arrive in their droves leading in part to the 1959 revolution of Castro and Che Guevara followed by the Bay of Pigs( 1961) the Cuban Missile crisis and the American Embargo of 1963 . Hence life for the last 50 years has not been easy. Reminding me in fact of East Berlin or Russia of the ’70’s and ’80’s.

So it is in fact a time warp, the crumbling cement, the faded paintwork ,the Art Deco hotels ,beautiful buildings but still functioning as they did 50 years ago.

My second impression was and why should I be surprised, it is really clean, the streets are swept and little signs of trash along the highways, few propaganda posters and the absolutely amazing cemetery covering 140 acres and named after Christopher Columbus. And the third impression Music Music and more music everywhere you turAnd finally the cars! Large old American Gaz Guzzlers, the one we had for our tour had a mere 600,000 on the clock! But as one driver told us, you have to be able to Fix It yourself!

But what of Cuban Cuisine. I was told that there was only one actual Cuban dish and that was a kind of vegetable stew, otherwise it was a mish-mash of various cultures. Most Cubans eat rice every day ( it is grown on the island) along with fried pork and black bean stew, and whatever vegetables are in season or are available on the market. Currently it is pumpkin and Yucca , people are free to grow what they like in their gardens, but otherwise they are told what to grow on the farm land. Street food is very limited, Churros ( fresh hot doughnut type snack) , fried Pastries and sweet corn, some peanuts maybe and of course Ice Cream but that is it.
We had been recommended a few restaurants to try, but had been forwarned not to expect too much, traditionally Cuban food is not very spicy.

Below is one good bistro type Paladar in a small street, where about 7 homes have been made over to small dining rooms.

After a couple of not very inspiring meals we happened upon a Paladar restaurant, in the centre of Old Havana. This was a complete revelation. On Les Mercaderes, is the Paladar Los Mercaderes . It is a beautiful old house, with a young Cuban outside hustling for business. We succumbed and not for one moment did we regret it.

To understand modern Cuban cuisine, one has to understand the supply and quality problems that exist on the island. Everything is government controlled, the farms and produce they grow, the seas and the fish that are caught. Fish and especially Lobster are for export, Cubans eat very little fish for an island nation . All the hotels are controlled by the government ( Habaguenex is the arm that controls all of this). There are no supermarkets, as we know them and the fruit and vegetables on sale on market stalls leave much to be desired, bruised and mouldy is the order of the day. below is a picture of a grocery store window, and followed by the liquor store, at least rum was in good supply!

The story itself is worth repeating,( and it would seem typical of many paladares throughout the island) a young couple lived in the house and worked on it, making it beautiful and then planned their restaurant . Recently under Raol Castro the government have been allowing a little more free entreprise. A Paladar is a small family run restaurant , often in their own homes, until recently they were only allowed 30 diners but now they can house up to 50, but of course they can do this a couple of times a night and at lunch as well.

So Los Mercadres, is a small restaurant of extremely good quality, both in food as well as in service. We had an excellent dinner, we started with fish Cerviche, which was indeed excellent. Himself chose as his main course the Cuban equivalent of Bouillabaise , a spicy fish stew, which was one of the best he had tasted and for myself it was a smoked pork loin again in a delicious sauce. The owner himself came round to all of the tables, to introduce himself and to enquire if we were satisfied. I asked him, how he managed his supply and his quality control and it would seem that they have contracted with individuals in the countryside, to grow them organic vegetables and other framers to supply them with meat. So far so good, but what about the fish, well the answer is basically, he and his mates go fishing more or less every day. Certainly that takes dedication, which has to be admired.

smoked lion of pork in Cuban spiced sauce

There is a lot to see in Cuba, a country with a long and varied history, get there before Mac Donald’s does, it is worth a visit, but a word of warning, since the Russians left, the Cuban economy has relied greatly upon Tourism. There are two currencies in operation, one for the locals, CUP and the other for Tourists the CUD. All prices in restaurants, Hotels etc, are priced in CUD and it about 1 CUD to €1. It’s a cash society , we found one ATM, and nor credit cards, American cards are not accepted and there is a very large commission charge for changing US$ .Sometimes the lines at the exchange offices are hours long, and do not expect a bargain, cheap for the tourists it is not but worth every penny!

To Eat or not to Eat , Street Food that is!

We have all been warned about the dangers of eating street food in third world countries, warned about Gibby Tummy, Delhi Belly, Montezumas revenge and other such delightful phrases! How not to eat anything that has not been freshly cooked, to avoid raw fruit and vegetables and God forbid having a Gin and Tonic with Ice, the ice could be contaminated!

There are exceptions to the rule, eating on the streets of Bangkok and other Thai towns never produced any of those symptoms, there are street stalls and centres selling food all day long and the same could be said of Singapore. In Singapore, the term “hawker” no longer describes the person selling street food, as in the early days, nowadays, hawkers are located in ‘hawker centres or food courts. All the food I have eaten in such places have never produced any undesired effects.

The same can not be said of India, notorious for unsanitary conditions , where in a land of 1.28 billion people over two thirds do not have a toilet, the streets are filthy and trash is everywhere. Hence, it is not surprising that street food is not safe. But when backpacking in China, the rule of thumb was, if it is being cooked in front of you and not located next to a dog pound, then it was safe to eat.

I always was very wary however in Mexico, I avoided street food. I stayed in reasonable accommodation ate good food and got sick, copious amounts of Imodium were always in my suitcase. This was the case until I went on a street food tour of Mexico City.

We went on the Eat Mexico Culinary Tours. We, #1 daughter, himself and myself, met our guide in the fairly smart centre of Mexico City and spent the morning going from stand to stand and eating our way through them all.

We started at Tamales ( corner of Rio Lerma & Rio Panuco), tamales are traditional Mesoamerican dish made from masa (corn) which is steamed or boiled , grilled or fried in a leaf wrapper. The wrapper is discarded before eating. They can also have grasshoppers (especially delicious ), small anchovy type fish and served with salsa, red, green or Jalapeño . Usually eaten early in the morning or late evening. 1 Tamale and drink cost $10 peso (5 pence). I chose the green Salsa, Yummy!

Next was a side trip into the Mercado Cuauhtémoc, outside was a wonderful array of flowers and fruit, inside fruit and vegetables and food stalls. A delicacy which is sold every where, is Chicharron it is pork skin after it has been seasoned and deep fried. In Mexico, they are eaten alone as a snack, drier and much nicer than pork scracthings . They are also used in soups Tacos and stews. We were also served, Atol, which is a hot drink made from corn, can be as thick as porridge or very runny more like gruel, can be flavoured with cinnamon or can have chocolate added. Always served on the Day of the Dead, however I have to say, it did not really ‘tickle my fancy’.

Next stop was a Tortilla factory , corn tortillas that is. The small Hole in the Wall factory makes fresh corn tortillas daily, standard size is 6″ and they sell for $12 peso a kilo. The average family eats about 9 kilos a day, and this little factory produces an unbelievable 800 kilos a day. Tortillas are to Mexican families, what a baguette is to French families. Nothing goes to waste, stale tortillas are made into breakfast dishes such as Chilaquiles .

We then continued our tour by stopping at a fresh juice stand ( fresh juice of all kinds is a delight in Mexico) and then moved on to Tlacoyos and Quesadillas. In Mexico City the preferred filling for these delights, ( quesadillas are flour tortillas which are sandwich together with a filling and grilled or baked in an oven) is cheese. In other parts of the country they choose such things as Salsa Verde, Huitalacoche, courgette flowers, cheese and meat. Once upon a time I made on a weekend what I called Breakfast Quesadillas, which I filled with scrambled egg, chopped ham and cheese. What is Hutalacoche? Well it is also called Corn Smut, does that give you a clue? It is indeed a fungus that grows on ears of sweet corn, but Mexicans use it in soups and for fillings for quesadillas ! As yet I have not tried it, and # 1 daughter has a thing about fungus of any kind, and that includes mushrooms!

We then proceeded to Tacos de Canasta, these Tacos were filled with pulled pork, but pulled pork, like you have never tasted before. The wife of the stall bolder arises at 3.0 am everyday to make the fillings for 800 tortillas. He sets the stand up at 6.0 am to catch the early morning trade. The Tacos cost €8 pesos, and they have been doing this for an amazing 18 years!

We ate Fresh fruit dusted with chile powder, and odd combination you might think, but no, really interesting. We went to a Burrito stand, Burritos are not really Mexican ( more Tex Mex) but in the City they have become a hit and have been in business for 6 years. They are flour Tortillas filled with sautéed peppers, cooked pork or chicken and different salsas.

Our last stop was Carnitas, it is fried pork and every part of the pig is used ( except the testicles known as Prairie Oysters in Texas), again it is a corn tortilla, filled pork of choice, chopped onions, salsa and cilantro.

This tour certainly changed my mind with regard to Mexican Street food. The rule of thumb given to us by our guide was

Choose a stand that has children, the vendors will not be wanting to hurt their own children.
Choose a stand that is popular.
Choose a stand that looks clean
Choose a stand where the vendor wears disposable plastic gloves
Choose a stand wear the plates used are not washed up in dirty water but covered with a disposable plastic.much cleaner.
Follow these rules and you too will be able to avoid the dreaded Montezumas Revenge!

Five Fields

Pearl S Buck , the Pulitzer Prize winner, wrote many many books, but the one which won this prestigious prize was called, The Good Earth.

Recently dear friends invited us to join them at a restaurant in Chelsea , London called the Five Fields. For some unexplained reason, I associated the name with the book, The Good Earth, and consequently imagined it to be an upmarket Chinese restaurant. Having “done” Michelin starred Indian and gourmet Spanish in recent weeks, I thought this could be fun!

Fun, it was but Chinese, it was not!

Five Fields is an up market British restaurant a short walk from Sloane Square underground station, and is named because once upon a time this area was called Five Fields or Ebury. However in 1666, it belonged to an heiress Mary Davies, who at the age of 12 married Sir Thomas Grosvenor. Other areas of London which were fields ( well most of it in fact) were Tyburn ( now Marble Arch) where public hangings took place and Buckingham Palace was a country estate surrounded by fields, and there were only 2 bridges over the Thames. All of this can be seen in map created by John Roque in 1746. Fascinating stuff, but I digress.

So back to the restaurant Five Fields. A small elegant restaurant down a side street, the decor is smart and only seats about 35/40 people, the staff are very attentive and friendly, but not the ‘ in your face’ sort of way. A couple of years ago, it was the home to a Spanish restaurant, but after an extensive makeover became Five Fields.

The tables are nicely arranged in tows and fours but presumably they can be re arranged to accommodate 6.

Let us start with the wine list, a very nice wine list indeed but with a mark up of about 3 times retail . I understand that restaurants have to make money somewhere, but given that retail prices include a profit, a 3 times mark up is a bit excessive. However it was still very nice.

The menu for such a nice restaurant is £55 for three courses and is innovative. Although as you can see from below, it needs a little translation or understanding!

So for starters, we chose the Fois Gras with the beetroot and the Sweet breads. The fois Gras was amazing actually with what looked like a small beetroot, which was in fact the fois Gras, which I presume was wrapped in a coating of beetroot, , absolutely delicious . The sweet breads were equally good, looked beautiful, decorated with small flowers.

For the main course, tow of us chose the Roe Deer, one the Cod and one the Herdwick Mutton. Once upon a time, the word Mutton conjured up, something old and tough and almost inedible, a really cheap cut of meat, that would be stewed for hours along with some root vegetables, and usually not very tasty at all, but would feed a large family relatively cheaply. For the most part today, sheep meat is lamb, young and tender,mount with modern farming methods and the trend to re-introduce rare breeds and old fashioned cuts of meat, Mutton has once again hit the menus, but rest assured it is nothing like it was before.

The roe deer, was melt in the mouth and served rare. And the cod, which apparently was wonderful even though the portion was very much on the small side .

The dessert menu, really did need some deciphering, and so we more or less took pot luck, how difficult is that? .

I seriously can not remember which one is which, however they all looked beautiful, I do know that I ate the chocolate one, Which was divine, and given that a) I do not have a sweet tooth and b) that I do not normally eat desserts, that is praise indeed . Would I go again, yes ( with reservations ie the price of wine) and would I recommend it and that is certainly a Yes.

Five Fields

8-9 Blacklands Terrace, London, SW3 2SP, United Kingdom

020 7838 1082

Another Continent, Another country, Another Dinner, but same restaurant!

Yes another dinner, from a different continent and different country but in the same restaurant. Hard to beleive, but true. The private restaurant on Londons Pall Mall, hosted the dining experience from Benares and then last week, hosted a dining experience from La residencia’s El Olivio, which is normally found in the town of Deia, Majorca. The setting there is beautiful as is the restaurant itself. Dinner is served on the most wonderful assortment of colourful glass plates. My best friend from Houston Texas was visiting, she too fell in love with the dinnerware, so off we went to buy some for ourselves. I have to say we did not buy any. Firstly it was fairly expensive, but cost aside, it weighs a ton and so to export it either as hand luggage or to ship, would not be a reall viable option, Ah well dream on.

Our visit to La residencia in London, actually did not happen. Having discussed with the restaurant before hand that two of our party were pescatorians, we were assured that there would be suitabel options for them. Alas it did not happen. The set menu which sounded wonderful, was available for the tabel as a whole, but when we enquired about the non-meat option, we were told PASTA!!!, I have to say, I was really not pleased, firstly not an option on an already fairly expensive menu and secondly, hardly Spanish.

Consequently we all were required to take the a la carte option. Having eaten in this restaurant several times, we were not disappointed in the food, far from it and the waiter went to great lengths to ensure were happy and were in fact served a course from the El Olivio menu, ( the tartare of Wild Sea Bass ) which was delicious., we also had a smapling of the dessert from the menu, which was crispy cannelloni stuffed with white chocolate mousse and served with passion fruit sorbet. Our guests, had sampled once before, whilst in Spain, crispy cannelloni, and were interested to try it, as they had not been overwhelmed previoulsy. However this time round it was a hit.

So despite our disappointment at not being able to try El Olivio’s food once again, our dinner was very good and you can see below. Our extra course was the the Tartare of Wild Sea bass, followed by fillet of sole, Turbot, Hereford Beef or Veal Cutlets. I personally chose the Veal cutlet, which was really tasty.

Todays veal industry has changed and is no longer the pariah that it once was. “Rosé veal is 100 per cent welfare friendly in the way the animals are reared,” The world is short of food and it’s a waste for bull calves not to come into the food chain, previoulsy they were just slaughtered, as there is only one Bull per herd, otherwise they would all be fighting pover the cows!

Rosé veal is similar to beef but with a smoother texture, a richer taste and is lower in fat and cholesterol. While it is available in the same cuts as beef – steak, roasting joints, escalopes, mince and casserole meat – there are additional specialities such as liver and shin (Osso Bucco).

Unlike white veal where the calf is reared to 16 to 20 weeks old entirely on milk, the rosé veal is fed milk replacer to a maximum of seven litres a day until they are eight weeks old by which time they have been weaned onto a calf pellet. They are straw bedded until they are eight months old.

Accentuate the positive

Eating our way around Mexico ( again) or Accentuate the positive!

In London towers, we had another significant event, well not actually London Towers, and not even close by. But wherever it was, it was a good reason to try yet another nice restaurant.

Biko is in Polanço, Mexico City, is listed as one of the best restaurants in the world and stands at # 30! A couple of years ago we tried another in Polanço, Pujol, with which I was not duly impressed. Having eaten now widely in Mexico, attended a couple of cooking classes, been on street food tours, I feel I have a good understanding of Mexican cuisine, and Tex Mex it is not.

So to Biko, a Wednesday evening in November , the temperature warmish, the traffic as usual in this part of town, dreadful. Biko is located just off President Mazaryke , which is the main road in this part of town, and where one can find most of the smarter shops and cafes., that is when it is not being dug up, which seems to be most of the time.
So let us start with the positives, we were warmly welcomed, our chief waiter introduced himself and explained how their menu worked. Nickinlaw ( family joke) duly explained, the girls had Kir Royal ( more Kir than royal, which had to be diluted with more champagne, of course) whilst the boys had a deconstructed Bloody Mary, in this case, Tequila with spicy tomato juice on the side. Interesting!

We chose the tasting Menu, which consisted of 7 courses, albeit they were small. And here comes the negatives, Grey seems to have been the colour theme of the evening, ( in Pujol it was beige), almost everything was various shades of Grey ( and not, I add 50 Shades of Grey, might have been more exciting if it had been!) The fois gras was grey, the tuna, grey/pink and the pork grey / white. And the restaurant it self was Grey, or beige or Dull. Food tasted OK service was Ok, atmosphere, not Ok. Reading various comments on Trip Advisor ( not always the best source of information, I must admit) others too were underwhelmed.Pricey? Yes, worth a second visit, No, there are too many very good restaurants, to go to one that we think mediocre. I wonder sometimes, who actually ranks the restaurants, and the criteria used for the rankings.

Meanwhile back at London Towers, we had a first! A First was a take-away! We have had in the past, I must admit had en Famille a Pizza Movie Night, especially confined in the Snowy Mountains of France, where we drive down 7 hair-raising hairpin bends, slip-sliding to the original Pizza Hut……. La Cabane, a little wooden hut, which night after night just makes Pizza, to go, and whilst you wait serves either a Vin Chaud or a soupçon of vin rouge.all over the French Alps it is possible to find these small, Take Aways, usually Pizza, but sometimes Pasta.
But this was a real, live delivered to your front door, take away. And I have to confess, that after being out all day, it was a great meal. Might just do it again! Watch this space!!

Mulligatawny soup recipes!

Ron’s Mum Mully Soup

2 Onions chopped finely

6 cloves of garlic crushed

2 tsp both of Turmeric and of ginger

1 litre of water or stock ( you may used bought)

1/3 of a cooked chicken ( no bones or skin please, you can use those to make your stock)

1 tin condensed cream of chicken soup

2oz creamed coconut 1 lemon cut into wedges

Fry the onion in a little butter or ghee until translucent , add the spices, add the stock along with the chicken. Bring to the boil and add the can of soup, mix well. Add the creamed coconut and stir well to mix. Test for taste and adjust seasoning ( salt and pepper) serve with a wedge of lemon.

Alternative Mulligatawny Soup.

2 onions chopped , 4 cloves of garlic chopped, 3 carrots, chopped, 3 sticks celery chopped, one medium size potato or sweet potato peeled and chopped.

1/3 cooked chicken cut into pieces

1-2 tablespoons curry Powder

1 cup of long grain rice

1 1/2 litres of chicken stock

1 tablespoon tomato purée, 2 oz ground almonds, 4 oz plain yoghurt
Some sour cream and fresh coriander to garnish.

Melt some butter or ghee and add the vegetables and stir fry for a few moments. Add the curry powder, mix well and cook for 3 mins. Add the stock , the tomato purée , and the rice. Cook for 15 mins or so until the rice is really soft, add the chicken, and warm through, add the yoghurt and using preferably a stick blender, purée the soup, it does not have to be super smooth. Adjust the seasoning to taste and if too thick, add some boiling water to obtain the required consistency . Serve garnished with a small scoop of sour cream and fresh coriander. Enjoy!

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