Am I stalking Giles Coren, or is he stalking me?

Last week, as I mentioned, I read Giles Coren’s review in the Times on La Blanchette in Soho, dashed off there for lunch and was suitably impressed. However this week, he is writing from the Algarve.

Funny , he was staying at the Conrad , which is a short hop from Faro airport. I was there with a bunch of lady golfers. At my club, we are truly spoilt, the ladies have a “tour” just like the men, and this is duly organised by the noble soul who is Lady captain at the time. So far we have been to Northern France, Brazil, Rome, Switzerland, Normandy, Florence, Germany, Turkey, Morocco, Spain, Austria and this year to Portugal.

We too stayed at the Conrad, which was perfect for us, placed as it is amidst a bunch of top golf courses. I agree with him, insomuch as, it is a modern hotel, beautifully landscaped, with lots of pools,I could not fault the rooms, beautiful and functional. He went there with children, which I am not sure I would do, true they have kids clubs etc, and apparently great kids food, but for me this is an adult type of place. It is a couple of miles from the beach , which is beautiful, but the only way to get there ( if you do not have a car) is on the hotel shuttle bus, which runs hourly from 10 am until 4 pm. To my mind Kids need beaches.

Breakfast was the highlight of the day at the Conrad. We sat outside, we could have the buffet ( hotel buffets usually fill me with horror, ) this was amazing and something for everyone, and Nothing there you fancy, well then a la carte was also available. Attentive service, great staff. We too ate in the GUSTO restaurant, “cheffed” by Heinz Beck. Fo us it was a superb meal, and we were the only diners there. However, for me the only complaint about the hotel were the stairs, or rather the lack of them. Our room was at the end of the first floor, but the only way to get up or own was via the elevator. My room-mate and I tried every which way Not to use the elevator, all to no avail, we found routes to the rear of the bar, to an office and outside but to the lobby, No! there were stairs leading from the lobby down, but not up and where there should have been stairs, there was a weird art installation. check out the picture and judge for yourself.

art installation, where the staircase should be

View of the beach from t a Golf course — View of the beach from a Golf course

However we were there for golf. The highlight of our golf experience was a day at Monte rei, about an hours drive from the resort. This was Millionaires golf, the service was impeccable,as was the course. Clubs were cleaned for us, loaded onto carts for us, course Marshall duly kept the four grumpy men following 28 ladies, at bay and the sun shone. After golf we had a drink on the terrace, and had our daily prize giving. This was done in style as Matt Pinsent and Steve Redgrave did the honours for us. Grumpy men beware, when following 28 ladies, is all I can say!

What Giles Coren, also said on Saturday, was “Don’t go to the Algarve for Tapas, go to Wapping”. Well he was correct in the Don’t go to the Algarve bit for Tapas, as Tapas, are as we all know ( but not Giles Coren, or so it would seem), are Spanish and not Portuguese. Petiscos are the Portuguese equivalent of Tapas .There are Tapas bars in Portugal, but they’re an adaptation of the Spanish fare and not interchangeable with Petiscos. Petiscos, like Tapas, aren’t easy to define. A good example would be bifanas (thin pork sandwiches) or snail soup, the difference between a Tapa and Petisco is also in the seasoning of the dishes. Spain colonised mainly in the West, Central and South America whereas Portugal went east to Goa, to China and to Africa.However the one spice that really distinguishes Portuguese food from its Spain is their use of Piri-Piri, made from African Bird’s Eye Chili Peppers. So Chicken Piri Piri, is a real Portuguese dish and not just something that Nando’s or Marks and Spencers ready meals have decided to call their own.

The BIG dining out experience that Mr. Coren missed out was a trip to Sr. Frango. Cheap and Cheerful with the best chicken in town. Kid friendly and lady golfer friendly to boot. ( his kids would have loved it,So eat your heart out Mr. Coren, you had better get over to Wapping to eat your Tapas, whilst enjoyed Portuguese chicken. Oh I forgot, he gets paid to write his reviews, Ah well never mind!

Still in London

Well. I have not forgotten Mexico, but there is such a lot in London. This week saw us try a new restaurant in Soho, well new to me, it has been opened for 6 months only. Giles Coran reviewed it in the Times last week and declared it like the Apple genius Bar, but with food. ( for those of you are not Apple…. computer fans, might not understand this reference… All Apple shops have a what they call a genius bar, where super geeks, greet you with a smile, solve any of your computer/phone/tablet problems with a blink of an eyelid and are happy to have been of help…. all not very English really)

The restaurant in question is La Blanchette

(9 D’Arblay Street, London W1 (020 7439 8100; blanchettesoho.co.uk)

So long time London mate and I decided to check it out, and what a find it was. Funky and fun and cheap. The menu is very simple, there is Charcuterie ( it looked ample for a Lady who lunches) and cheese as well as the menu. There were 5 choices in each section, Fish, Meat and Vegetables, all priced around the £7-8 mark. We were told that the portions were small so we ordered something extra. We had and shared the Moules, which were delicious and being an Ex Belgian, Moules have to have Frites with them, and they were excellent, hand cut, double fried and crispy( not like the frozen ones being delivered daily to Nando’s or McD’s a stones throw from my house . They were accompanied by a béarnaise sauce, and not the normal Belgian way of mayonnaise.

This was followed by, friend choosing the smoked duck salad and myself the warm confit of Salmon with puy Lentils. Both dishes were excellent and I would have been happy with anything from the menu, all looked really good. A large Perrier and 2 cafe lattes completed our lunch and cost £20 each, which included a generous tip. Will go back, the staff were cheerful, friendly and funky. Oh what fun.

I LOVE markets, Flower Markets, fruit and Veg. markets, fish markets, bird markets, In Hong Kong, Singapore, Majorca, Barcelona,South Africa, Belgium, Flea Markets, Mexico, ( more on those later) Oh how I love markets.

So, my love of markets led us to an early morning trip to Billingsgate fish Market, which lies in the shadow of Canary Wharf, London’s new financial district, it of Sky scrapers to rival the best.Billingsgate is the United Kingdom’s largest inland fish market. An average of 25,000 tonnes of fish and fish products are sold through its merchants each year. The Market covers an area of 13 acres and is entirely self-contained. The ground floor of the building comprises a large trading hall with 98 stands and 30 shops, including two cafes; a number of individual cold rooms; an 800 tonne freezer store. The market is policed daily by an inspector who ensures that all the produce on sale, whether it be fresh or frozen, meets the required standards of freshness, quality and if frozen, the temperature it is kept at.

Billingsgate Market

Trafalgar Way
Poplar
London
E14 5ST

Tel: 020 7987 1118
Fax: 020 7987 0258

Email: billingsgatemarket@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Opening hours are from 4.0am until 9.am, Tuesday to Saturday. Parking is on site, or Docklands light rail road will take you there. Black Plastic bags are supplied, so you can carry your fish home. Shopping trolleys can be left at the door. I saw some today were secured by Bicycle locks, don’t want to have that nicked, when you have just purchased tons of fish! Also on site, but upstairs is

Billingsgate Seafood Training School

A cooking school, by any other name, and when I attended a class there it was given by by C.J. Jackson who is the Director of the Billingsgate Seafood Training School and she is a hugely experienced teacher who has worked at the Cordon Bleu School, Leiths School of Food and Wine, where she was Vice Principal and now at the Training School. She has written two books about fish, Leiths Fish Bible and The Billingsgate Market Cookbook.

Tel: 020 7517 3548/9
Fax: 020 7517 3544

Email: info@seafoodtraining.org

www.seafoodtraining.org

The other thing we did in the wee small hours this morning, was to visit, Smithfield Market, or London central Market

Smithfield Market is located in the City of London and is close to landmarks such as the Barbican, St Paul’s Cathedral and St Bartholomew’s Hospital.
The markets at Smithfield are open MONDAY to FRIDAY from 3am but are closed on Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays, but buyers should arrive no later than 7am. Smithfield Market is over 140 years old but has been on the site for almost one thousand years, is a fully EU approved wholesale market. As with Billingsgate, this is where the retailers buy their produce and so as you might expect the prices are CHEAP, the downside of course buying is in bulk, 30 Sea Bass=£30 orAustralian/Scottish/Argentinan Ribeye +/- £15 a kilo!

London Calling

I am delaying the continuation of all things Mexican. There is so much to tell, but meanwhile back in London, there has also been a lot going on. This week, has seen us eating at the iconic restaurant that is known as the IVY as well as Côte in Islington, Quantus in Chiswick and Memories of China in Kensington.

So for starters, we had a house guest who had never been to the IVY, so we went. It belongs to Caprice holdings, which owns/runs many London restaurants, including La Caprice, Daphne’s, J. Sheekey, Annabels, Harrys Bar, as well as Côte, Grillshack and Balthazar, and until recently Wentworth. All I can say is that the service in all of these establishments is impeccable, but not at all stuffy, friendly and professional.

The Ivy is the ultimate people watching venue, and we were lucky enough to be facing into the room ( himself faced the window/wall, poor thing). As far as I could see, there were no rich and famous to focus on, but some American business men with their escorts ( Indonesian and female) and some English, boy next door types, with their English escorts ( Dusty Springfield look alikes, have not seen backcombed Beehives in years).

I and house guest ate the fois gras, which was divine,whilst himself had the steak tartare( raw meat to you and me), his disappointment was that he could not mix it himself. for mains they chose the calf’s liver and bacon whilst I had the dressed Dorset crab , with a side portion of chips. The crab salad was lovely but I have to say that I had to send the chips back, if I am going to have chips ( which I shouldn’t) then they have to be perfect, and the first ones were on the soggy side and only luke warm. I have to say that 2nd time around, they were perfect, crisp and hot.

For dessert,Herself, chose the sticky toffee pudding, which she declared half way through, “I should not have, I can not finish it”, and himself had the frozen berries with hot white chocolate sauce. this is such a splendid pud and sooo easy to make. The Food at the Ivy would not be called fine dining, BUT the menu is very eclectic, that it is very hard to decide what to have, so much to choose from and then every two weeks they change some of the dishes out, so even if you are dreaming of the fish cakes, or fish pie, or the best hamburger, it might not just be on the menu when you get there. That just means you have to go again, and why not!

Côte I have written about previously, a good place to go for lunch with girlfriends, or breakfast with hubby, pre theatre, post theatre, the standard is consistent, the quality good, the service excellent and the price is right.There are now 47 Côte locations with 24 of them being in the London area, so if there is one near you, do check it out.

Onto, last night, I went to a wine tasting event held by Naked Wines.

Naked Wines is an online wine retailer which launched in the UK on 1 December 2008 and founded by Rowan Gormley.

They fund independent winemakers from around the world, in return for exclusive wines at wholesale prices – and they currently ship wine throughout the UK, the USA and Australia.To get the best price from this company, you have to become an Angel. This costs only £20 a month and it remains you money, as every time you buy, the £20 is deducted from your bill. Some of the discounts are up 40-50% so well worth the investment. Anyway, I went with friends, tasted some excellent wines and then had dinner in a great Chinese restaurant called “Memories of China” This is Ken Lo’s restaurant which opened 30 years ago, and although the food was good, I think it is probably a little jaded. With so many other restaurants in London, it will have to up it’s appeal as on a Saturday night it was fairly empty. Our waitress who was from Nepal, was charming.

So if you like fine wine, from small independent producers, check out NAKED WINES> you will not be disappointed! Back to Mexico, next time!

Eating our way through Mexico Part Two

On leaving the Yucatan we headed to San Miguel de Allende a city far eastern part of the state of Guanajuato in central Mexico. It is 274 km from Mexico City or a three-hour drive ( or if #1 daughter is driving make that just 2 hours)! Historically, the town is important as being the birthplace of Ignacio Allende, whose name was added 1826. However, the prosperity of the town waned during and after the war of independence, and at the beginning of the 20th century was in danger of becoming a ghost town. However its colonial structures were “discovered” by foreign artists who moved in and began art and cultural institutes.

2014-04-16 14.21.04 — View of San Miguel from the Terrace

This attracted foreign art students, and a very large number of foreign retirees,North Americans, especially those wishing to escape the freezing temperatures of the North America, artists, writers and tourists, which is shifting the area’s economy commerce catering to outside visitors and residents.

2014-04-16 13.09.29 — View of the Cathedral

The main attraction of the town is its well-preserved historic center, filled with buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries. The town was declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 2008.

We rented a house overlooking the town and the main cathedral, with Bougainvillea all around. It was Semana Santa, or Holy Week, or Easter, and as such there were parades almost all day. Deeply religious and almost shocking in their intensity we witnessed enormous parades, with children dressed in white carrying various forms of crucifix or statues of bloodied martyrs.

breakfast pastries — Pastries at Cumpanio

The restaurant scene here is very much alive and kicking and I have to admit that we ate out every day. For breakfast, we ran down the hill ( we always took a cab back up, I hasten to add) and went to a restaurant by the name of Cumpanio. It is famous for the pastries as well as the wonderful breakfasts.

Huevos Poche, are poached eggs in a small casserole, with either a red sauce or green sauce, and cheese, but meanwhile the crepas de chicarron, is pork scratchings in a crepe with again a red sauce over it. Himself said, OK BUT! Meanwhile, I tried the stuffed cactus, convinced that if I tried it enough times I would eventually say, “YEAH!” but so far I have not.

Breakfast cactus stuffed with string cheese

Moving swiftly on, #1 daughter and I enrolled in a cooking class. This class has been featured in several publications, including Texas Monthly, Austin Home & Living, Travel Lady Magazine, the Miami Herald and The Washington Post.

The school is called La Cocina, and the classes are conducted in English and Spanish with the chef, being Mexican. The school is in the centre of San Miguel in a beautiful old building, lovingly restored with a central courtyard. There were about 12 of us in the class, predominately Americans some of whom were expats making the most of cheaper living in San Miguel. Also in our group were some tourists like us, a honeymoon couple and a couple from Canada. We started out with a trip to the local market to buy our supplies, including a ready roasted chicken, interestingly the spit roasted chicken which we purchased had no skin on (not sure how they do it). So, a skinny bird!

In the class — Hard at work in the kitchen

Between us we cooked a number of different dishes, including a smoked salsa, stewed cactus, Guacamole (wonderful to get an abundance of ready to eat avocados) the best we can do here in the UK either a local ethnic market, where some of the produce can be a bit iffy, or a supermarket, where likewise it can be a hit and miss experience. Sometimes when it says “ready to eat”, it really means “ready to eat next year, not today”!

some of the dishes that were cooked — Some of our work

We spent a long morning at the cooking school and was a good experience, we learnt a lot and it was mostly a “hands on experience”. This really depended on how pushy one could be, one American woman always seemed to be the first to put her hand up or grab the apron or smush the avocados. For me that was fine, but # 1 daughter only managed to chop the cactus! Maybe this did not appeal greatly to pushy woman.

Finally everything was ready and we ate lunch, ample quantities of everything including margaritas and strawberry daiquiris. Now that is what I call a cooking school!

We finally caught up with husbands and small ones, who it seemed had spent the day touring the toy museum and eating pastries and ice cream! More on that next time…

We have been eating our way through Mexico for the last five weeks, and my goodness, have we eaten. We started off in the Yucatan, for the uninitiated , it is the part of Mexico, that juts out into the Gulf of Mexico and the Bay of Campeche. The most well known town is Cancun, and this points across to Cuba and onto Miami. In the 70’s Cancun was little known but now it is a bustling beachside resort, Mexico’s answer to Blackpool or Coney island (with better weather).

Cozumel, a great dive site, is around the corner, as is Tulum, one of the many Mayan sites which are to be seen in the Yucatan.There are no rivers in the Yucatan, but apparently many underground caves, for underground exploration and swimming (not for me, I hasten to add). The vegetation is rather scrubby and the 300+ Km drive across the peninsular, from a scenic standpoint leaves much to be desired.

A word of warning if you ever decide to follow in our tracks. Hit the Highway and the next gas station is 180 Km away, with no exit before then! One girlfriend got stuck when driving this route with her daughters, and flagged down a passing cop who was persuaded with some $$$$ to syphon off some for her!!

We gave the classic Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza a miss this time around, but went instead to Uxmal, which is only 80 Km south of Merida. BUT beware, it is easy to get a little lost. We followed the signs but then the signs were no more, so we ended up driving cross-country. An experience in itself. Mexico LOVES speed bumps, even when there is not a hope of speeding because of POTHOLES. SO on the cross-country route, there are speed bumps, which are huge and potholes which are so huge that they spread right across the road. However, the end result was worth it as UXMAL is such a pleasant experience, compared to Chichen Itza, there were almost no people there and the restoration work was fabulous.

We stayed in an old Meridian house, beautifully restored in the centre of Merida, (loaned to us by a friend of #1 daughter’s). From the outside it was nothing special but inside, it was lovely, built around a courtyard, complete with plunge pool and surrounded by Bougainvillea.

So onto food. I have to say were a little disappointed with Yucatecan food. We tried La Chaya Maya, which came recommended but the speciality we chose was not the best. The women sitting in the window making the tortillas, were interesting though and most people we met were friendly and helpful

There is a strong Mayan culture in the region ( maybe a resurgence?) and people do actually speak Mayan. The oldest Cathedral in North America, is to be found in Merida, built-in about 1543, by the Spanish after they destroyed the Mayan Temples, (much of the stone used in the building of the church, came from the destroyed temples.)

However for Breakfast we found a typical Mexican hangout ( just as well we do not eat like this everyday) and Himself had the Huevos Motulenos and I had the Chilaquilles. Mexicans buy fresh tortillas, everyday, just like the French buy baquettes. But of course they go stale overnight and so in the morning the stale ones are used to make Chilaquiles. Tortillas are cut into chips and fried, layered with cheese ( Oaxacan string cheese), topped with either shredded chicken or scrambled eggs, along with red or green salsa and maybe some sour cream.

Huevos motuleños comes from the town of Motul (Yucatán).It is made with eggs on tortillas ( or bread) with black beans and cheese, often with ham, peas, plantains, and salsa picante.

Moving right along, Frida Kahlo, the artist, wife of Diego Rivera and lover of Leon Trotski, had nothing, as far as I know,to do with Merida, Except there is a restaurant called La Casa de Frida. Small hole in the wall type place, dedicated to Frida, pictures of her everywhere and bright bold colours. We were the only diners, well it was rather early for Mexico, about 8.30pm, the time between lunch (which in some cases does not end until 5pm) and dinner.

I had ( well actually we shared) the Chile en Nogada. A wonderful dish consisting of a green chile,( stuffed with minced turkey) white walnut sauce and red pomegranate the colours of the Mexican flag. This dish is a Mexican Independence day favourite.

Himself ordered the duck breast in Mole. Mole IS Mexico, it takes hours to make, along with constant stirring and ooodles of ingredients, up to 15 of them just for this sauce. Basically it is stock, chilies and chocolate. Many restaurants have their own “secret” recipe, never to be divulged. But all streetmarkets have vendors of Mole, but I have yet to buy any, although in a class in Oaxaca we did actually make it.

As I have been told, these are too long, this is Mexico Part one, More to follow! Happy eating everyone!

our chicken in mole sauce — Our chicken in mole saunce

Continue reading “Eating our way through Mexico ( part one)” →

Sushi, Sashimi and Other Food Facts

Sushi class and other food facts! A little while ago, I went to Maze, Gordon Ramseys, restaurant on Grosvenor Square in London for a sushi class. It was great fun, but have to admit I have not tried my hand at making sushi since the class, though I will!

Sashimi ( which is raw fish) and Sushi using raw fish, can cause foodborne illness because of bacteria and parasites. A study in Seattle, Washington, showed that all wild salmon had roundworm larvae capable of infecting people, while farm-raised salmon did not have any roundworm larvae. Freezing is often used to kill parasites. The European Union brought in regulations (EC 853/2004) requiring that all fish that was going to be eaten raw must be frozen first (−20°C ) for 24 hours to kill parasites. However the Scottish salmon producers were confident that their farmed salmon wouldn’t have parasites because the feed given was controlled and sea pens where salmon are raised were maintained in such a way that the parasite risk was extremely low and as of 2011, farmed fish is now exempt from being frozen..

The intake of large amounts of certain kinds of fish may affect consumer health due to mercury content, and these include Tile Fish, Orange Roughy, Shark, Swordfish , Atlantic Blue Fin Tuna. Other fish that should be avoided are, trawler caught Chilean Sea Bass ( over fished), Mahi Mahi (histamine poisoning) Atlantic cod ( overfished) White Tuna… Escolar ( can cause diarrhoea ), Red Snapper ( over fished) and Caviar (overfished).

On another note, also of concern, particularly in American processed foods are food additives.

BHA and BHT are substances which are banned in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and the EU, however are still used in the USA particularly in snack foods such as crisps.

Azodicarbonamide, is used for the texture in cheap white bread, is used in the USA by MacDonalds and Burger king in their Burger Buns., it is banned in the countries above, AND if a company uses it in Singapore, they can get a large fine and 15 years in gaol! Bovine growth hormone, banned in the EU, but not in the USA.

Potassium Bromate, used in the USA in flour, but again banned in the EU.

Food colourings , especially Blue dye #1, Yellow dye numbers 5 and 6, the yellow dyes are used in ready meals, colourings for some cereals and the bright yellow of American Cheese.

However my favourite realy bad one isis OLESTRA . I remember this being hailed, when we lived in the USA as the big new thing for the food industry. What could be better there be than zero calories, zero grams of cholesterol and zero grams of fat? In January 1996, the FDA approved OLESTRA as a food additive. Cut out the unhealthy cooking oil.Dump the shortening.Trash the butter. Frito-Lay was among the first companies to jump on board, introducing its WOW! division of potato chips in 1998 to claim fat-free stomach satisfaction.However olestra was of course too good to be true. It removed the fat from food but also stopped the body from absorbing vital vitamins . Side effects included cramps, gas and loose bowels.! OLESTRA is still legal food additive in the USA despite the obvious side effects. I think the bottom line is, avoid processed food, as far as possible and read the food labels. Happy Eating!

Love your Spices??

There has to be some things in every kitchen that you love, be it the dishwasher ( I loved my first one, but now it is an essential, as long as it is quiet) the refrigerator, ( I really really loved my two “Sub Zeros”, but that was in a former life), the induction hob, that is so easy to keep clean, the Teppan Yaki grill, that himself gives me grief about all the time. No, none of these. I love my SPICE RACK. What? a Spice Rack. Yes indeed. Mine is wall mounted and magnetic. easy to see, easy to use and takes up no space at all in my new relatively small kitchen.

roses egypt — Rose petals in Egyptian Market

grasshoppers — Grass hoppers in Oaxaca Mexico

chilis delhi — Chilis in the central Market, Old Delhi

Scientific American, recently published a report on the “Filth in the Spice Rack” ( Scientific American, March 2014.)(www.scientificamerican.com/mar2014/graphic-science) the reading of which is actually enough to make one vomit on the spot. It ranges from including anything from mundane as Mold to Mammalian Excreta!!, a Staggering 20% of Mammalian Excreta found in Fennel Seed (fragments per 100 grams), to a mind-boggling 2,000 fragments per 100 grams of Insect fragments in ground sage..Is it any better buying up market brands, most unlikely, as they all source their products from the same supply chain. A small two ounce jar of Paprika, for example has about 170 insect fragments, or 25 rodent hairs, to be considered adulterated. However, the FDA says they pose no inherent danger to health, and most are just microscopic. But it is certainly food for thought!

herbs and spices france — Herbs and Spices in a French country market

I was intrigued the other day to come across a Vegan recipe for Falafel, which contained no chick peas. Falafel , made with chick peas, I thought , surely must be a staple of the Vegan diet. Consequently, I made these, for supper,not once but twice. The original recipe called for a mixture of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, garlic, parsley, dried tomatoes,chopped walnuts, salt and pepper, olive oil and lemon juice. These were basically ground together and made into a thick mixture with the oil and lemon juice, rolled into balls and eh voila! Ready to eat and not fried. Well, did not quite rock my boat, so on the second attempt I used a mixture of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, linseed, chia seeds, sun-dried tomatoes in oil, confit of garlic, Curley leaf parsley , walnuts, lemon juice and olive oil. Were they any better? Were they any more exciting? Did they titillate my taste buds? Well, the answer has to be NO, not at all, so that is one recipe for the bin!!

I had an American girlfriend once, who was a marathon runner and a vegan, I always think difficult to combine the two, easy enough to get the calories maybe, but much more difficult to get enough protein. One day, she was munching on some rice cakes ( vegan of course) when someone asked ” What do they taste like”? The answer was ” Cement”!

What are chia seeds, I hear you ask. Well, Chia is an edible seed that comes from the desert plant Salvia hispanica, grown in Mexico dating back to Mayan and Aztec times. Chia seeds contain omega-3 fatty acids, carbohydrates, protein, fiber, antioxidants, and calcium. they are unprocessed and can be easily absorbed by the body, they have a mild nutty flavour and are very often just sprinkled onto cereal or over salads. As with many new food fads, the claim is that eating Chia seeds will help with weight loss, as they will swell in the stomach, therefore making the dieter feel full, however the jury is still out on this one.

Following on , with my vegan, vegetarian theme, Yotem Ottolenghi in his food stores, restaurant and books has many delicious foods that would be good for the vegetarian and he also sells mixtures of seeds to sprinkle over your salads and cereals.

Going on from his idea of rice and quinoa salad I have made my own version.

Ingredients, there is no definitive list but include as many of the following as you like
chopped nuts ( pistachios or almonds)
1 cup quinoa ( cooked in 2 cups water)
1 bunch green onions, finely sliced
100 mls good olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
juice of 2 lemons
cup of dried chopped apricots
packet washed and dried rocket ( arugula)
a pink grapefruit, peeled and cut into chunks ( great flavour and colour)
handful of dried cranberries ( good colour)
bunch chopped parsley ( curly leaf chops better)
can drained chick peas
1/4 cucumber dice
some sun-dried tomatoes chopped
salt and pepper to taste.

The above mixture, is good in flavour and colour but can be varied to suit your taste.To cook the quinoa, put one cup quinoa into 2 cups of water, bring to the boil and simmer for about 15 mins, drain and cool.Then in a large mixing bowl, place all the other ingredients, along with the cooled quinoa and mix well. Serve at room temperature, either on its own for lunch or as an accompaniment for fish for dinner. Will keep for several days, covered in the refrigerator.

Some people will not really know about Quinoa ( pronounced quin-wah). According to Wikipedia It is a grain crop grown for its edible seeds. It is not a real grass though and is a member of the same family as beetroot and spinach. ( hard to believe) It is high in protein and lacks gluten. Quinoa was important to the diet of ancient peoples of the Andes. It has been called a Superfood as the protein content is very high yet not as high as most beans and legumes. In their natural state, quinoa seeds have a bitter tasting coating but in today in the west ,most quinoa sold commercially has had this coating removed. So the bottom line is there are many “new ” Superfoods out there. Try and then experiment and see for yourself.

Ladies who Lunch

Last week, the Ladies who Lunch, well Lunched! We usually meet about 6 times a year and try out the hottest and newest restaurants in town. Last week was the turn of a “pop up” owned and run by the same people who own “Pied a Terre” , a Michelin starred restaurant in Bloomsbury, London and its Sister restaurant “L’autre Pied”, in Marylebone , also in London. The pop up, was also a play on the name as it was called, “Pieds Nus”, and was also in Marylebone.

I arrived to find my friend perched on a very high bar stool at a very, very high bar/table, without my saying a word, she said “We can’t sit here, I have already told them!” The waitress arrived, and I repeated this, only to be told that they were full and that no other table was available . Umm! The manager arrived and we repeated ourselves again, he also said, they were full! At this point we decided we would go elsewhere. And then a miracle happened, a normal table was available! And just two men were seated at the Bar and I have to say, they were not full.

The meal itself was unremarkable, and the portions minuscule , there was not a lunch time menu, which is normally a very good deal at good restaurants, when small portions are acceptable. It was only a la carte. Several of us chose the starter with Jerusalem Artichokes, all with the comment” we do not see Jerusalem Artichokes on the menu that often. Well, these artichokes had never been near Jerusalem and were in fact just small normal artichokes. This was pointed out to the waitress, she just said” oh it must be a misprint”!!

The menu and a photo are here. Just as well it was a Pop Up and has already Popped Down, as we would not be in a hurry to return.

( Having said that, we have eaten well, and been well served at the sister restaurants).

Shrove Tuesday ( Pancake day in the UK) has been and gone. Apparently in Russia and the Ukraine, it is almost a week-long celebration, and of course around the world is Carnival, and Mardi Gras in New Orleans, in the USA.

I actually did make pancakes this year, it is something I almost never do, ( except when making them for breakfast for my grandchildren). However, I made Crepe Salé. Savoury crepe, which are usually made out of Buckwheat flour.Despite the name, buckwheat is not related to wheat. It is not a grass but belongs to the same family as Sorrel and Rhubarb.Tibetans have long eaten Buckwheat noodles and in France it is known as either Sarrasin, or Blè Noir.

In any case, it makes very good savoury Crêpe.

Ingredients

250 grms/9oz/2 cups of Buckwheat flour ( plain flour can also be used)
6 eggs
900mls/1 1/2 pints milk
150 mls/5 fl oz cream
butter for cooking
pinch of salt

Method

I believe in the “all in one” method of mixing, it easy beyond belief, especially if you have a food processor.

Put the flour into the food processor. pour together the milk, cream and eggs into a container. Switch on the food processor and with the engine running pour in the liquid mixture. Switch off and scrap down the sides of the machine, switch back on and process again until you have a smooth mixture. Check for thickness, it should be like thick pouring cream, too thick, will make a real stodgy pancake, too thin it will be very difficult to handle. Many recipes call for resting after making, I never do this, it is not going to rise, as you are using plain flour.

Lightly grease with butter a flat pan ( 10″), preferably a crêpe pan, I only use my crêpe, for making crepe. I have a cast iron one, which I never wash, just wipe clean. Set over a medium heat and ladle in enough batter to cover the base of the pan, when you tilt it make sure you cover all the pan. Cook without turning for about a minute, or until the top side is just set. Turn over either with a palette knife or by tossing. cook this side for about 30 seconds. Be ready to lose your first crêpe, the pan needs to season a little. If the first crêpe seems a little thick, dilute your mixture with some milk. Repeat this until you have used all of your mixture. Alternatively, make what you need and store the rest in the refrigerator for a few days.. Then you can fill them how you like. This year for my Crêpe I filled them with a mixture of Ricotta cheese, soft goats cheese and cooked drained spinach ( frozen spinach comes in very handy here, but you must drain it well.)

Spread onto a crêpe some of the fillings, and top with another crêpe, repeat the filling process. Repeat this until you have a small stack of 6-8 crêpes. Grates fresh parmesan cheese over the top and bake for 15 mins in a medium hot oven, until hot all the way through.

Serves 3-4, serve with a mixed salad.

Last week, we went to Chamonix for the day, ostensibly to show our house guests the views from the top of the Aiguille du Midi Cable car. This is the same cable car that one takes when wanting to “DO” La Vallée Blanche or the leaping off point for climbing Mont Blanc, I am not sure about Mont Blanc, but for La Vallée Blanche it is strongly recommended ( read Obligatoire) to take a guide. Firstly one has to shimmy down a ridge ( all roped together, just in case one of you falls….. you can all go together!! ) carrying your skis, before setting off to ski down the Glacier towards Chamonix. Why the guide? To get you down the ridge and then to get you down the glacier without you disappearing into a crevasse!

Our trip up the Aiguille du Midi Cable car was not this exciting though, first we were warned that we would not be able to take the last lift to get the best views, closed because of bad weather. Never mind, BUT the higher we went, the faster we travelled into the Pea Soup. The view non-existent but nonetheless the ride was worth it, just for the scary factor, high winds, ice and jagged mountains. On our ride, were few hardy types, on the first half were a team of would be “let us do the glacier Skiers” complete with guide, crampons, ropes, icepicks, backpacks and helmets ! Well, they went back down at half way, better for another day, maybe? On the second half, were two interesting guys, one wearing the latest “onesie” in lime green ( himself declared that would be the next suit for him.) The other was someone who looked, like he had stepped straight out of the set of the Hobbit, or maybe had been doing double duty as one of Santa’s elves.

When we finally . arrived back in Chamonix, it was raining hard, so it was declared Lunch time, just as well, as the rest of Chamonix ( like most of France) was shut down for their relaxed lunch break of 3 hours. We found a friendly Crêperie. We have been sampling lunch time crêpe over the mountains for the last 4 weeks, they are fairly consistent, but here they were more adventurous than most, Savoury Crêpe, are usually made from Sarrasin ( Buckwheat) and filled with ham, cheese, or complète, with Ham, Cheese and an egg. Here we could choose from Crêpe Tartiflette , Crêpe Compagne, Crêpe Montagnard .
I chose the Crêpe Tartiflette , our friend Crêpe Montagnard, himself the usual, Crêpe complete whilst the blonde chose the Crôute Savoyard, having not asked us, what it was, she assumed it was a glorified cheese on toast. How wrong could she be! This was the crème de la crème of Crôute Savoyard .

Croûte Savoyard

Ingredients

2 Cloves of garlic, pressed or smushed
4 thick slices of country type bread
a cup of dry white wine ( to be authentic it shod be Savoie Wine
4 slices of smoked ham
200 grm of either Beaufort, Comté or Emmental cheese, which has been grated.

Method

Put the garlic into an oven proof dish and spread it around. Soak the bread in the white wine, and layer the slices with the ham and the grated cheese, finishing with lots of grated cheese. Put into a hot oven ( 250 C ) for about 20 Mins, until bubbling hot and golden brown. Variations on this , include some sautéed mushrooms in the “sandwich” or top the sandwich with a lightly friend egg.

Savoury crêpe, are also known in France as Galettes de Blé noir, and are made from Buckwheat flour,which normally are only cooked on one side. Today, savoury crêpe are filled with anything savoury, but originally they were served with just salted butter.

Ingredients

Yields: 18-2 crêpe.

2 eggs
90 grms buckwheat flour
125 Grms plain flour

1/2 cup water
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil ( olive)
3 tablespoons salted butter
250 grms Emmental, Beaufort or Comte cheese grated

other ingredients, such as potatoes, sautéed mushrooms, chopped ham, tomatoes etc

Method

In a blender or food processor, put the flours and the salt . Crack the eggs into the water and with the engine running , pour the eggs and water into the flour.Add the oil and process until the mixture is smooth and lump free. It should be of a pouring consistency, like thick cream . Leave to rest for 30 mins. However, it will keep in the refrigerator for days, so can be used when needed , do remember to keep it in a sealed container, and mix well, again, before use. If it is too thick, then thin it with more water.

Place your crêpe pan over medium heat. Grease it with a little butter , I find using some kitchen paper towel with a smidgen of butter smeared on it the best. Pour about ½ cup of the batter in the center of the pan. Lift the pan and then tilt and rotate it until the batter is evenly spread forms a nice thin disk and covers the pan. Put it back on the stove. It should start bubbling after a few seconds. Lower the heat to low. Put on the grated cheese and any other filling that you want. If you want to have an egg, the easiest way is to lightly fry the egg first, before placing it on the crêpe. Fold the crêpe ( either fold in the corners leaving the filling exposed or fold it into a triangle) and let the cheese melt for 1-2 minutes.

Serve with some green salad.

On our way back from France, we stopped at Reims ( pronounced Rans), which as you know is the Champagne capital of the world, and as such has a fine collection of Michelin starred restaurants. Some, looked as if their last diners had in fact died and gone to gastronomic heaven, I am sure that their food would have been wonderful, but we did not want to join the previous diners, just yet, so opted for something a little more modern, and we were not disappointed. We ate at the Millenaire.

Assortment of dessert of chocolate and vanilla

post dessert, more nibbles, café and calvados.

When it is raining, the cook gets cooking !

Last week was Halloween and here in the mountains, it was celebrated by the local children as well as the imports who were here for half term. Even the children in the market were suitably dressed. The neighbourhood children came and carved pumpkins and with the insides, I made curried pumpkin soup. It started out as roast pumpkin, but Umm, not much flavour, so it became soup. I also made toffee apples, as prizes for the pumpkin carvers. I have not made toffee apples in years, but was very pleased with the result.

Toffee Apples

Ingredients

8 small apples, ( I like to use, crispy apples which are not too big, the fun size ones are ideal)
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon teaspoon vinegar, white is best.
1/2 cup water
6 wooden chop sticks, cheap ones are available from oriental grocery stores, wooden skewers are not strong enough

Method
1. Put some greaseproof paper on a baking tray or chopping board.
2. Wash and dry the apples and insert the chopsticks into each apple.
3.Put the water, sugar and vinegar in a small heavy based pan.
4. Bring the mixture to the boil and heat to boiling and simmer for about 20 mins. Ilf you have a sugar thermometer, heat the mixture to 150 C, but at this point DO NOT GO and chat on the telephone, the mixture can burn easily, it needs constant watching and shaking. You can test the readiness by dropping a teaspoonful of the mixture into a cup of cold water, it should be hard and crack when tapped.
5.Remove from the heat and let the mixture to stop bubbling before dipping the apples,one by one, tilt the pan if need be.
6. Rotate the apple, letting it drain a little then place on the greaseproof paper. At this point do not Lick the spoon, it will be very HOT, so be warned!

It’s Thursday, so it must be Egg and Chips! No never!

Here is quick and easy mid week dinner, well we had it mid week, but maybe more suitable for special friends and for Sunday evening ( we do not “do” Sunday Lunch, except on very rare occasions).

Sautéed Venison fillet,with whiskey and cream sauce, and mushrooms.

Ingredients

2 x 6oz Filets of Venison, but could use filet steak

1/2 cup whiskey

1/4 cup cream

4 oz button mushrooms,( sliced) but any mushrooms, especially during game season, Chanterelles, Trompette de la Mort .

Chopped handful parsley

2 cloves garlic crushed

Butter and oil

Pinch salt

Heat some olive oil in pan, add the mushrooms, garlic and parsley and simmer gently, the mushrooms will absorb much of the oil, add more if need be, let them brown slightly. Heat a knob of butter in a frying pan, along with an equal amount of olive oil. When hot, add the fillets, and sauté for 4 mins on each side, this will give you a medium steak. With the steak still in the pan, pour over the whiskey and if you dare set fire to it and flambé the steak, quickly remove the steaks from the pan, add the cream, a quick stir, a pinch of salt, put onto plate top with the mushroom mixture. Serve with sautéed potatoes and a salad. Perfect!

During our self imposed exile, the weather has been Dire, Rain, Rain and more Rain and at times it has even turned to snow. I have been re-organising the freezer, getting ready for Christmas. I have made lots of soups, ranging from Pea, to French Onion, to Chunky Vegetable, to Mussel and finally Curried Pumpkin. All packed and frozen ready for hungry skiers at Christmas. I have also made two types of Tartiflette , the local cheese, ham and potato speciality, one with Reblochon, the traditional cheese, and the other with Chêvre, my cheese of choice.

I also made fish crumble, individual meat pies, stuffed some quail ready for cooking, made several types of jam, Apricot, Orange with whiskey, Bramble Jelly, Onion relish and confit of Garlic, Phew! ( we now have enough for years to come) and fruit pies. Last, but not least I found I had several bags of partially cooked ( frozen) potatoes, parsnips and turnips, umm what to do with them, not more soup. I had inspiration, Aligot. What is Aligot? I hear you ask , well is another potato, cheese and cream dish, which can be served on its own with salad, or along with grilled meat and fish, but I thought could it not be made using the combination of vegetables on hand? Result? Delicious!

Curried Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

2 Large pumpkins, peeled and roughly chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons mild curry powder
1 Liter chicken stock
1/2 liter cream
Olive oil for frying
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Put the chopped pumpkin on a baking tray and pour over some olive oil, just enough to the glaze the pumpkin. Roast in a medium hot oven for about half hour to soften the pumpkin.
Saute onion, garlic and curry powder in some olive oil until the onion has softened. Add the pumpkin and stock, bring to boil. When pumpkin is really soft, blend using a stick blender, but if using a food processor, then be careful, let the mixture cool somewhat, otherwise, it will surge up, and could cover you with very hot soup! Stir through cream and add some salt and pepper, taste well.

Fish Crumble, I found in my pantry a packet of French Chestnuts, they make a wonderful soup, but felt that I had made enough soup, so decided to make these Fish Crumbles, being a change from Fish Pie.

I also used the chestnuts to make a stuffing for some quail that I had just bought, disconcertingly, they came with their heads on, though thankfully not their innards. I crumbled 200 grams of chestnuts, and mixed them with a cup of Panko breadcrumbs ( Japanese breadcrumbs but dry white bread , crumbed will suffice) and cup of chopped prunes. Stuffed each bird with this mixture, wrapped them in thin slices of bacon and popped them in the freezer for later use.

Fish Crumble

Ingredients

Serves: 4
60g Fish eg, haddock, cod, whiting, salmon or a combination of any or all
100 ml milk
100 ml white wine
75 g+ 100g unsalted butter
75 g cornflour flour
200 grams Panko Breadcrumbs
200 grams cooked chestnuts
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp each chopped parsley and dill
salt and pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F, gas mark 5)
Put the fish in a single layer in a large pan and add milk and wine.Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring just to the boil, then simmer gently for 5 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and leave to stand for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a bowl mix the softened butter into the breadcrumbs, along with the crumbled chestnuts,the cheese, the seasoning and the herbs.
Remove the fish from the pan and flake it discarding any bones.
Mix the cornflour to a smooth paste with a little water, add to the milk in the pan and bring to the boil, stirring until the sauce has thickened. Gently stir in the flaked fish and chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Pour the fish mixture into a shallow gratin dish or individual dishes. Spoon the crumble mixture evenly over the top. Bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden. Serve with some sautéed potatoes and a salad.

Aligot, as I have already said it is really cheese and potatoes.

Ingredients
2.5 kilos of potatoes
6 cloves garlic,
250 ml cream
100 grams unsalted butter
500 grams grated cheese. I use usually what ever is in my refrigerator, and I usually have in the freezers grated Emmental. Salt and pepper to taste.

This time I also added, equal amounts of parsnips and white turnips .

Method
1. Wash and peel the vegetables Put into enough water just to cover them along with the peeled garlic and boil gently until very soft but not disintegrating.

2. Strain and roughly mash together.
3. Put the cream and butter into a pan, bring to the boil and added the potatoes and then the cheese, stir so it does not burn until the cheese is melted.
4. Season.
5. Put into gratin dish(es) sprinkle over the top a little more cheese and put under the grill to brown if serving immediately otherwise leave to cool, freezes well.

oystersandchampagne

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When it is raining, the cook gets cooking !