I’m going to start by saying that the Eastside Inn Bistro had a lot to live up to. It’s been reviewed very favourably by London Eater and Catty, and I had heard great things about chef Bjorn van der Horst when he was at Noisette.
Taking all the above into account I went along expecting something special. But was worried that it would be merely good. Or worse. Special though, is exactly what we got. Continue reading
What I want from a mid-week meal after work is something tasty, simple and, as it’s winter, a bit hearty. Sausages meet all those requirements, particularly the plump meaty pork and leek ones I picked up from De Beauvoir deli on the walk home. Bursting with juicy, fatty, tasty pork they looked they would provide a feast in themselves without me having to do too much. There’s something about well-made sausages that sends me off to some sort of gustatory nirvana. They’re just so juicy and tasty and meaty and…and…and you get the picture.
I didn’t fancy mash, and didn’t have any potatoes anyway, but there was a big jar of nutty Puy lentils sitting on the counter top. Continue reading
Sometimes you start off with the kernal of an idea that just grows until it’s way beyond your control, taking on a life of it’s own, just like Jack’s magic beans. This started off when I glanced at What’s for Lunch Honey’s Channa Palak recipe a few days ago . I mentally filed it away as something I wanted to try out. That mind running along a South Asian spice track, and then, heading back to the same blog I found a Spicy bream recipe and thought I could adapt that to some wild salmon. I figured the strong almost gamey flavour of the fish would stand up to spices well.
And everything just sprouted uncontrollably from there. I needed rice to go with it, but rather than soothe and mollify, I wanted it to complement and almost compete with the salmon. So I matched the paprika-laced oily fish flavours with sweet and scented saffron and raisins. They made a glorious juxtaposition and both were backed up by the simpler, more rustic chickpea and spinach. Continue reading
Having dined on Thai for lunch I had a hankering for more fresh and spicy SE Asian flavours. Also, as part of an ongoing January clear out, I wanted to use up some of the bits and pieces sitting unnoticed at the back of the cupboard. You know, those things that looked like a great idea in the shop, but then somehow just never got used.
Delving into the fridge netted me a pack of raw prawns, some poached chicken and a couple of slightly tired stalks of lemongrass (left over from Wednesday’s cleansing chicken soup), basil, mint, half a cabbage and a lime. The store cupboard meanwhile served up a pack of dried rice spring-roll wrappers. Add to that some Indonesian chilli and ginger sauce I got for Xmas, peanut paste, sweet chilli and crusty old bottle of fish sauce and I had the beginnings of a mini-feast. Continue reading
I have a whole repertoire of dishes that I create pretty much from instinct. Cooking most days means that I have developed a whole lot of simple concoctions that are easily adapted to whatever ingredients I have hanging around. This one’s a favourite. It pretty much looks after itself and is straightforward to throw together and leave to bubble away while I get on with other things. In this case singing along to some sixties soul classics at the top of my formidably tuneless voice. Continue reading
Essentially, this is a chicken poached gently in water with added bits and bobs. The chicken and its meaty juices are the base upon which you can build all sorts of exciting concoctions. If you want a real savoury hit then add an onion, celery, parsley, carrot, tomato, peppercorns and a bay lef or two, just like a stock. You’ll end up with a lovely meaty clear soup.
But tonight, I wanted something different, more cleansing than heavily flavoured. I’ve been working hard these last couple of days and i needed something as a pick-me-up. A soup with a bit of zing, a bit of excitement, but one that also left me with the same relaxed feeling you get after a particularly long walk in the crisp air. Continue reading
As a child I never really enjoyed tea, but then again I never really enjoyed beer, wine or parsnips either, and these days I’m a confirmed fan of all three. Now I can do without almost anything else, but not tea. Taking an inventory of all the different teas in my kitchen was a testament to my addiction. Regular teabags, earl grey teabags, loose leaf jasmine green, Genmeicha rice & green tea, Pura, Buddha Balls, Oolong, Gunpowder Green, Clipper English breakfast, Sri Lankan Ceylon – all different and all suited to different occasions. Continue reading
My mum is US born and bred, although she’s lived in the UK for over 40 years now. Accordingly cookies were a big (although not frequent) part of growing up for me. They’re also my first memories of cooking. helping mum cream the butter and sugar, stealthily dipping my finger into the sweet, buttery mixture when I thought she wasn’t looking. Carefully pouring in oats and raisins and stirring with all the concentration of a child that knows they’re doing something very important indeed.
It’s been a while since I baked cookies, not least because I try to be healthy most of the time, and anything biscuit-like in the house tends to be gobbled up in one or two sittings as I turn into a slightly bug-eyed cookie monster. Continue reading
Baked potatoes are real cold weather food – properly tasty fuel for a winter’s night when your radiator isn’t quite heating up the room enough. There’s a slight chill in the air and there’s need for comforting lap food, because you’re knackered, it’s Friday night and all you want to do is to sit and stare at a film before heading off to bed for a long sleep. This sort of situation calls for particular food – easy to eat on your lap, good strong flavours, but soothing and nourishing at the same time. A decent baked spud, all fluffy flesh and crispy skin is perfect here. Continue reading
There was no dinner as such last night, just a snack in the pub during the break between a conference and a gallery event run by Bizarre magazine. Instead, I’m going post about the curative lemon, honey and ginger drink I made before heading off to bed.
I love these sorts of drinks when I am feeling physically down and am not really in the mood for tea (green, white, black or oolong), my fall-back cure-all. There’s not much that doesn’t look/feel better after a cup of well made tea, it’s just sometimes not the right drink. I can’t explain it better than that. Continue reading