Porridge of the Week #16

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Porridge of the Week #16

Alyona's Pear, chocolate and Bailey's

Category: Evening

Start by chopping a pear or two into chunks and add just enough water to cover. Tip in a spoonful of sugar and cinammon. Bring to the boil, then simmer. Leave to simmer until the pear breaks down when pressed with a spoon and the sugar water begins to thicken. When ready, cover with oats, and add milk and a drop of vanilla essence. Stir together as it warms through. When it reaches temperature, add some broken chunks of dark chocolate. Not too much, or it will obscure all other flavours- three should suffice. Add them one at a time and you can always add more if necassary. Stir enough for the chocolate to begin the melt and streak into the oats.
Spoon into a bowl and top with some dark chocolate shavings and then drizzle with a shot of Bailey's liquer.

I made this porridge the other day for Alyona- I dedicate it to her. I knew she follows my P.O.T.W feature and so I wanted to make sure it was something special. In the process I accidently created something very special indeed... As you can tell, this is much more of an evening porridge than a day one- but it's really impressive to roll out if you have guests. It's a great indulgent pudding if you want a warm, rich winter equivalent to icecream, if you're sat in with a film.
For a more dinner party version, try chilling the porridge mix so it begins to set slightly. Using an icecream scoop, scoop out one ball per person, arrange on a plate, and like before, top with a few chocolate shavings and a drizzle of Bailey's. It's weird. But it's kinda cool.

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Chez Nu- Food with Friends

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LouLovesFood now has a sister blog!

The other night, my dinner party companion and I cooked our first regular dinner club for friends. We hope to do this on a regular basis, cooking different styles of dinner (from set courses to shared plates) following different themes (themes based on the seasons, such as Bonfire night and summer salads, to cuisines such as Thai, or Indian.)

Friday's supper was a small dinner party of shared salads and a pudding, accompanied by frosted grapes and lime, cucumber and elderflower granita. The desert was an Ottolenghi caramelised macadamia cheesecake and was the highlight of the evening.
There was an idividual start for each guest; figs with honey, parma ham, gorgonzola and walnuts.

Chez-Nu; Food with Friends is a photo blog documenting these occasions, to indulge my obsessive food photography. Please drop by from time to time to see what's going on in our kitchen and dining room...

www.chez-nu.blogspot.com

Thankyou!

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Hibiscus and Elderflower 'Organ' Jellies

I've been wanting to play with jelly for a while, and I've really wanted to involve the beautiful Hibiscus flower... So I had a go making elderflower and hibiscus jellies.

Reaching for words, 'success' isn't the first I would go for. After the freestanding jellies slid onto the plate looking like human hearts I tried them in champagne flutes, which was a lot prettier, but still somehow ended up looking like something off an operating table.

I created the blood trail through the jelly by dropping in a small amount of syrup just as it was beginning to fully set. The thickness of the jelly caused it to sink through and puddle like a red blood cell swimming in platelets. The red base layer is made with hibiscus syrup, left to set before topping with elderflower jelly.

My kitchen looks like Frankenstien's workshop right now.

If you get a perverse pleasure from creating edibl organs and biological matter, you can buy Hibiscus flowers in syrup from Lakeland.

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Cox, Cookies and Cake

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Cupcakes are grimly clinging to the top of the food trend league. Despite whoopie pies briefly threatening to topple them, they have resolutely held tight to the title and are still popping up all over the shop.

The name on everyone's sticky, crumb-specked lips right now is that of Cox, Cookies and Cake- the latest addition to London's ample cupcake scene.

When I think of cake shops, I instinctively envisage silver cupcake trees and tiny fondant roses with lavender icing, served on gold trimmed plates.
Expect no such thing from Cox, Cookies and Cake.


In a sudden move away from fashion and into food, 'Cox..' is the venture of shoe designer Patrick Cox and baker Eric Lanlard. Nestled between sex shops and strip clubs, Cox is situated right in the heart of Soho's gay district- and it doesn't look at all out of place.
At first glance, it could easily be mistaken for a Prowler; all black sequined walls and neon lights.
The cakes in the window are black, sparkly and bedecked with oozing red-eyed skulls, winking shamelessly from glowing toxic green constructions. Music thumps from inside, which resembles a cocktail bar more than a cake shop. (One of those cocktail bars that are a bit too dark, a bit too loud and a bit too sleazy... But a lot more fun.)

The cupcakes themselves are monstrous- tit cakes, beef cakes and cupcakes decorated with Dali-esque lips. Flavours include vanilla with blueberry compote and double chocolate stuffed with raspberry compote.
There is no ambiguity over the creative intention of Cox- the whole enterprise oozes sex and glamour. It is a perfect homage to the vibrant and unique neighbourhood. (this seems like the moment for a simile to drive home how well it fits in, but in this instance, I couldn't think of a single analogy that wasn't R rated...)

I have a suspicion that these cakes may be more style than substance- But it's worth trotting along just for an oggle. The staff are generally friendly, and usually happy to pose for a photo!

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Dinner- 08.09.2010

Healthy Vegetable Quesidillas

This is a very simple and light dinner. It's the kind of thing I like if I ate heavily during the day and just need something home-y and vegetable based. Essentially, it's a very basic take on Quesidillas.

Chop some courgette, red onion, red and yellow pepper and tomato into chunks. Grill or fry lightly so it remains slightly al dente, stirring in a bit of chopped and dried chilli, cumin seeds and cajun seasoning.. Or whatever works for you. You can keep it simple, stick to the Mexican spices, or even go a bit Indian. Rub a tortilla with extra spices then tip the veg onto the wrap, pile on a thin layer of spinach and then a small amount of grated cheddar- you don't need much of this or it gets a bit greasy and overpowers the vegetables. Layer with a second tortilla.

You can grill it in three ways-
1. Fry for a minute or so till it starts to brown, then flip. This is obviously the least healthy option... But it makes it very crispy.
2. Put under the grill for about a minute. This is my preferred option- it's quick, needs no oil and gets those lovable grill marks that you wouldn't with frying.
3. I have on occasion used my diddy single-girl sized George Forman. They just make me laugh really.

Et voila. The spinach wilts, the cheese melts, and dinner is served.

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Make Us a Brew!

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This Monday I trawled the Speciality and Fine Foods Fair in London looking for interesting, exciting, or just plain yummy new food stuffs. Imagine my confusion when I stumbled across Make Us A Brew...

Being a recent ex-student, it was hardly suprising that I was already familiar with the cartoons and DJ-ing of Mr Scruff (a fairly quintessential part of student life) and it didn't take me long to lock eyes on his ever so distinctive comic strips, emblazoned, peculiarly, across boxes of tea.

How, what, why, where, when..?!

Enter, Make Us a Brew. Sipping on the very lovely mint and chilli (Like tea, but warmer!) I heard the story of how the little company came about. It is a simple story, and condensced down, it goes like this-
Mr Scruff really likes tea.

Having always sold tea and tea paraphenalia at his gigs, it was only a matter of time before the idea of setting up his own tea making company was brewed. Make Us A Brew were keen to point out that their tea -which ranges from a rather classic English Breakfast to Look Lively! with lemongrass, yerba mate and mint- are all Fair Trade, All Organic and encased in chlorine-free, compostable tea bags. ("There was no other option...")

God, this sounds like a press release... This is not! But people who have a tea fetish will understand the excitement of discovering a new flavour, and those who have a tea and a chilli fetish will understand that my excitement was ten-fold.
I think it's already been established I'm a bit of a cheapskate, so I think anything that has me hurrying to the Health Food Store (Health Food Store= crazy mark ups) to stock up on their products can't be a bad thing.

Know a student? Know a student that likes music? Know a music loving student with a penchant for silly drawings? Yeah? Of course you do, we all do. That's Christmas sorted. Bam.

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'London's Best Pizza' - Santa Maria Pizzeria

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When Time Out named the humble Santa Maria 'Best Pizza Restaurant in London', I felt somewhat obliged to get down there, by any means possible, and try it for myself.

It's the kind of place where, on the kind of sunny day on which I visited, I sat in the small light filled room by the big french windows (in my red lipstick and Vivienne Westwood sweater) and it just felt like summer - and it just felt lovely. If there is even a scrap of sun before this summer breathes it's final feeble breath then you should really jump in your cars, tubes and buses and descend upon this place like a plague of pizza hungry locusts.



Santa Maria is a beautiful little place, a small labour of love created by Angelo and Pasquale who wanted to bring a taste of genuine Naples street food to Ealing. With no advance booking and a total of 16 indoor tables, this is not a place for a night out with a group of friends and is more suited for impromptu lunches and casual yet intimate dinners.



The decor is simple but perfect- white walls, wooden crate shelves and a quite enchanting photos, and all emblazoned with their Santa Maria logo designed by Italian graphic designer Salvatore Lillini. It is light, airy and well presented, somehow retaining the air of a local, 'best kept secret' - despite its recent acclaim.

The menu is small and classic, featuring a small selection of classic Neapolitan combinations (seven pizzas and a calzone to be precise) that would have Pizza Expresses mammoth menu blushing in shame. The ingredients are all flown in from Italy and the sources of their mozzarella, olive oil and Parmesan can all be found on their websites.

I've never been to Naples, but I have had Italian pizza, and this is it. The bases are super thin, the toppings are light but taste fresh, as if ten minutes ago, they were raw produce. Our pizza was a little heavy in mozzarella juice and tended to splash all over the plate, but to be honest though it may have made the base a little soggier, nothing was impaired and it made it a lot more fun to try and eat...
I haven't eaten at enough pizza restaurants in London to say if this is the best, but I can say it's good. I can also say my motivation to eat at many others has depleted somewhat.
LLF recommends splitting a pizza (Santa' Anna, with artichoke and black olives) and making room for their grilled mixed vegetables and a scoop of their gelato- I would go with the hazelnut gelato, with whole roasted hazelnuts stirred in.



Santa Maria Pizzeria, 15 St Mary's Road, W5 5RA
020 8579 1462
www.santamariapizzeria.com

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Food Fact of the Day.

A scotch egg is not actually Scottish.

Fortnum and Mason claim to have invented the Scotch Egg in 1738. The earliest printed version of the recipe appears in Mrs Rundall in 1809.

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Porridge of the Week #15

Porridge of the Week #15

Sticky Toffee (Date and banana)

Category: Flavour

Start by making the sticky toffee mix. Chop up some dates and tip into a pan, with a tablespoon of sugar and enough water to cover. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer, then stir till the dates break down and it reduces down into a sticky sauce.
Tip into a bowl. Pour the oats into the pan and loosen with milk and a bit of vanilla yoghurt. Warm through and tip in the sticky toffee and a banana, mashed. Stir in, with some cinnamon. Add a few extra pieces of chopped dates, stir again, then tip into a bowl.
Top with some vanilla yoghurt (it's so good!) and a few slices of banana set aside from before. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

This is a yummy porridge, "my best yet" according to my own personal porridge tester . Now that's quite a compliment. Don't be put off by the name if you are into your healthy breakfasts. It's my first porridge to contain added sugar, but it's not enough to worry about. And to be honest... It's worth it once in a while.

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International Contributer: Thai Chicken Pastry

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The last night of winter is a time for inspiration! In cold times warm food and the heat of chilli pamper the soul, but with the advent of spring food must gain momentum start to hint of the wonderful season to come. A poke around Perth’s local markets gave me all I need to do just that – Thai chicken pastry (I refuse to say sausage roll!). I love Thai ingredients, and HATE freezer pack finger foods that rear their ugliness weekly at parties. This recipe is so easy and entices with the warmth of chilli, and excites with a kaleidoscope of fresh flavour, which to me is the hallmark of Thai food.


Needed for pastry:
• Minced chicken
• An apple
• Nob of ginger
• Chilli (I used a fried dry chilli)
• Kaffir lime leaf (an absolute MUST)
• A bunch of coriander
• Cracked pepper
• An egg (or two for binding mixture, keep some for glazing pastry)
• Puff pastry (buy it pre-made unless you’ve got a spare day)
• Sesame seeds (for garnishing pastry)



Dipping sauce:
• Sweet Chilli
• White vinegar
• Palm sugar (cane is okay if you don’t have palm)
• Roasted peanuts, crushed or chopped finely


Finely chop ingredients to make filling. Add egg and mix!

Roll filling in puff pastry, glaze with egg and decorate. Bake at 200°C in oven until brown and puffed.


Big thanks to today's guest contributor, my Australian friend John. As we always meet in London and he resides in Perth I've never had the honour of trying his food, and it greives me. But listening to him talk and seeing some of the things he creates, I know he's bloody good.
I hope he graces us with his wisdom and adventures from the other side of the world soon. Thankyou!

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Food Fact of the Day.

... A cobnut plantation is called a 'plat'.

It's Kentish cobnut season! You can buy them from the Whole Foods Market in Kensington High Street. Best get them whilst they're in season- and whilst they're available. Cobnut plats have reduced in number from 7,000 in their hay-day to 250 plats today.

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