FOOD NEWS: Rumpus!

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Hey Kids!
On friday June 10th, Rumpus will be holding their first birthday party! To celebrate this occasion, there will be a big old party at Electrowerkz, Angel Tube.

The Rumpus Folk say;

"We’re going all out on this one. We’ve called in Alejandro Toledo and the Magic Tombolinos, which is about as high octane as any live band can get without setting themselves on fire. We’ve got the Cut A Shine guys for a proper Old Skool Ceilidh with dosie dos and stripping the willow and all that kinda jazz. We’ve got a Hoe Down, with a whole night of bluegrass that’ll keep you stomping. The London Digital Circus, them guys what did that thing with the Rabbits, are back.

On top of all that we’ve got the Supatronix guys coming down to give you a whole night’s worth of sublime breaks and beats. These guys have been winning awards for years for their breakbeat night, and they’re coming out to play with us this time.

And of course, we’ve got 6 rooms filled to the brim. DJs playing the best in Ska, BalaknBeats, Electroswing, DnB, Dubstep. Live acts and secret performances waiting for you to find them. Art exhibitions and the Rumpus Cinema.

And, most importantly of all, CAKE!!!

Put yer glad rags on and come join us for the Birthday Party to end all Birthday Parties. Expect Clowns, Fairy Princesses, Cowboys, Pirates, Monsters, Wild Creatures and Cuddly Creatures.

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There will indeed be cake! My sister project, Cake-Tease will be exhibiting and providing cake for the occasion (because what is a birthday party without cake..?) including chilli chocolate and popping candy cupcakes!

Please please, feel free to come by, have fun and show your support.

LouLovesFood/Cake-Tease

xxx

Tickets are available on the door, or at : http://rumpusbirthday.eventbrite.com/
Elektrowerkz, Torrenz Street, Angel Tube
10pm-6am

Dinner: 27/05

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Whilst lolling about in a friends kitchen recently, I sauntered past an open cookbook. It was one of Jamie Oliver's, open on the page below; and on the page were scallops, asparagus and lentils- displayed together with a glossy full page photo.

I adore lentils. I love how comforting they are, and so rich in flavour, even when just boiled with pepper. I could only imagine how this would be intensified by the pancetta and asparagus.
I also love scallops, but couldn't imagine such a delicate meat combined with an otherwise heavy and robust combination of ingredients.

I waited for two long weeks before the opportunity to try it presented itself, and when it did, it entirely lived up to my expectations- warming and hearty. The bay and sage leaves really make this recipe, so if you try it (and I suggest you do) please don't leave them out!



Ingredients:

■10 1/2 Puy lentils
■1 bay leaf (dried ok)
■2 cloves of garlic
■1 potato, peeled
■1 tomato
■a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped
■herb or red wine vinegar
■good-quality extra virgin olive oil
■sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
■5 heaped tbsp creme fraiche or thick, natural plain yogurt (full fat yogurt worked great)
■juice of 1 lemon
■2 handfuls of asparagus
■12 slices of pancetta or bacon (I vote for pancetta!)
■olive oil
■12 large or 16 small scallops, shelled and trimmed (large worked better for me)
■24 sage leaves

Instructions:

In a saucepan, cover the lentils with water and, to give them great flavor, add the bay leaf, garlic cloves, potato and tomato. Bring to the boil and simmer for around 20-25 minutes (topping up with water if necessary) until the lentils are tender but holding their shape (i.e. not mushy). Drain off 90% of the water, discard the bay leaf, tomato skin and garlic skin and mash the potato, tomato and garlic into the lentils with a fork. Add the parsley and around 2 tbsp of vinegar and 4 tbsp of olive oil. Mix into the lentils and season carefully to taste.

Season the creme fraiche or yogurt with salt, pepper and just enough lemon juice to give it a twang – the juice of 1 lemon will probably be enough.

Trim the asparagus to remove fibrous ends. Drizzle a little olive oil into a pan, and fry the pancetta or bacon until crisp and golden brown. Remove and place into a separate platter. Add asparagus into the ‘pancetta pan’ along with seasoned scallops and cook over a high heat until the scallops are golden on both sides. Remove these to the platter too. Finally drizzle int a little more olive oil and lay in your sage leaves. Fry on both sides for 40 seconds or so until crisp and remove to the platter.

Plate with lentils at the bottom, topped with scallops, pancetta, asparagus, sage and a dollop of yogurt.

Try it and enjoy!

xxx

Recipe: White Chocolate and Rosewater Cake

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Pistachio and Rosewater: This is my absolute favourite cake! I always forget till I'm shelling them and sneaking them into my mouth just how good pistachios are... Rosewater, pistachio and white chocolate are a perfect combination- unlike many cakes, it isn't too sweet- instead it is musky, with a Middle Eastern flavour, and with the green and purple of the pistachio against the white buttercream, it's absolutely stunning to serve up. Perfect for a summer afternoon tea party!

So here we go...

Ingredients

75g / 3 oz whole shelled pistachios, finely chopped
225g / 8 oz caster sugar
225g / 8 oz unsalted butter
4 large eggs
225g / 8 oz self raising flour, sieved
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 level tbsp rose water

For decorating the cake

125g / 4 oz unsalted butter
225g / 8 oz icing sugar
1 tsp rose water
200g / 7 oz Belgian white chocolate, broken into pieces
25g / 1 oz pistachios, slightly crushed

Start by beating the sugar and butter til light and fluffy and white in colour. Then beat some more. The more effort you put in here, the lighter the resulting cake will be. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs and then add spoonful at a time into the mix, beating well between each addition.

Next, with a metal spoon, fold in the flour, baking powder, rose water and pistachios until just combined. It's kind of as simple as that. Spoon the mixture into a prepared cake tin and bake for an hour at 140C. You can also do these as cupcakes- I do regularly and they're fantastic. For this, simply spoon the mix into cupcake cases using an ice cream scoop and bake at 180C for 18 minutes.

When the cake is cooked, leave to cool completely. Whilst you are doing this, prepare the buttercream simply by creaming together the butter and icing sugar. Add 1 tbsp boiling water and 1 tsp rose water. I would test it at this point and check it. You may want it a little stronger if you prefer, but be careful as it can be a little overpowering!

Spoon the buttercream onto the cake and roughly smooth over to completely cover. Blitz the pistachios and white chocolate until rough then sprinkle over the top of the cake. The cake is now ready to serve!


Enjoy :)

xxx

Dinner: 09/05/2011

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So tonight I was meant to be doing a chicken satay salad, but it wasn't til after the chicken was grilling away and the salad was prepared that we realised we not only didn't have lime, but we didn't have red Thai paste after.

We decided the only solution was to abandon ship and attempt to try and create a sauce ourselves. I based it on typical cold noodle salads, using Asian ingredients to complement the peanut. As it turns out, I'm glad we didn't have the paste- this dressing was lovely, and a really nice introduction to summer cooking!



In a bowl, toss bean sprouts, thinly sliced lengthways spring onion, red onion, thinly sliced, 1/2 cucumber sliced lengthways with two tablespoons of olive oil.
Grill some chicken breasts and slice diagonally.

Spoon 5 tablespoons of peanut butter (crunchy please, ladies and gentlemen!) into a jug and mix with the juice of a lime (If you actually have one...) then add a tablespoon of cider vinegar, a good shake of soy sauce and a tablespoon of honey with some garlic and chili. In a recipe like this, I use Very Lazy.
These quantities are just rough guides- I would recommend testing them, and adjusting accordingly. To get a more dressing like consistency, stir hot water into the mixture until it is like a lumpy, crunchy double cream.

Finally, top the salad with the chicken and drizzle over the sauce. Stir through. I saved a little aside so I could drizzle over if needed.

Strangely, the cider vinegar did a lot of leg work in this recipe and despite being a salad, it was substantial enough to keep the men folk satisfied. A very happy accident.

xxx