Porridge of the Week #29

Porridge of the Week #29
Cherry and Acai Berry

Category: Healthy

In a pan, mix your oats (I use the Waitrose oats with wheatbran) with a large spoonful of milled flaxseed. Pour in two tablespoons of blended Acai Berry. Taking a handful of fresh cherries, remove the stone and chop into large chunks. Tip into the pan with a some berry smoothie or a red fruit juice and top up to the consistency you prefer with water. Warm the pan, stirring throughout.

I love this porridge! With the wheatbran, flax and Acai berry, it's a great healthy start as well as being really warm and fruity. Not hard work at all!
Acai is one of the top Super Foods, high in antioxidents, packed with vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C and E. As well as this, it is good for the heart, immune system, energy levels, whilst encouraging healthy hair and skin. You cannot get enough of this berry!

xxx

FOOD NEWS: Rumpus!

.

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.

--------------------------------

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

.

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

.

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

.

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

Porridge of the Week #28 ARGENTINA SPECIAL!

Porridge of the Week #28
Dulce de Leche and Banana

Category: Flavour

Start by soaking the oats in milk. Chop up a banana (saving three slices) and mash- you could put it in a dribble of milk and quickly heat if that helps to break it down. Stir this into the porridge and then, in a ramekin or bowl, heat 3 tablespoons of Dulce de Leche- although this can be varied to taste.
Spoon the dulce de leche into the porridge whilst heating through, leaving half aside.
Finally, serve up, Top with the banana and a drizzle of leftover Dulce de Leche.

Dulce de leche (dulce- sweet, leche- milk) is a caramelised milk dessert 'sauce' that I have become addicted to whilst in Argentina. It appears the Argentinians share this passion, as they put it in most of their confectionary and puddings. I knew instantly that it would make an incredible porridge. Combined with banana, it is one of my all time favourites. (Yeah, I know...)

The amount I use is only a guide, add it to taste. You may find you too become addicted and need a lot more! I tried this porridge on a non porridge eating Argentinian local and it got the thumbs up! If you like this recipe (I cannot recommend it enough) check back for other dulce de leche themed porridge of the week ideas that I have been concocting...

xxx

Argentinian Curanto

.

If you aren't following my steady stream of excited food chatter on Twitter , then you may not realise I am currently doing some extensive food research in the land of wine, coffee, red meat, chocolate and all things toxic- I am eating in Argentina, and I thoroughly approve.

A few days ago I took a 20 hour bus from the capital of Buenos Aires to Bariloche, in the Patagonian Andes where today, I tried Caranto.

Caranto is made by cooking meat and vegetables under ground (The name Calanto comes from the type of rock on which the meat is cooked.) Pits are dug into the soil and wood is placed in them, onto which a fire is built. The fire is layered over with rocks, which are heated by the flames. It takes a few hours for the fire to heat the rocks through, after which leaves are piled onto the hot rocks to trap in the smoke and absorb the fat whilst the meat, which is placed on top, is cooked through from the heat.

My only previous experience of Caranto has been on survival documentaries, and it is something I've been keen to try, so we found ourselves a restaurant where caranto meat was being carried on trays from table to table, distributed by waitresses onto waiting plates. We arrive, and a man pulls back a heavy blanket which covers the pit of leaves, revealing a deep pit filled with whole chickens, piles of apples and lumps of blackened steaks, smoke billowing out from the piles of leaves covering the pit.

A scruffy little caranto pit.
Not a great photo! I will replace it when I get the opportunity so you can get a better idea...

Typically, you are served 5 portions of vegetables and meat- sausage, beef, chicken, lamb and my favourite (unusually) pork; with a soft, wrinkled whole baked apple. Each meat came with a variety of squash mashes and baked sweet potato, brought to the table one at a time. The meat and vegetables (and the very air of the restaurant) smells and tastes distinctly smokey, yet different -more earthy- than typical barbeque'd meat.

I'm not especially a fan of red meat or BBQ food (you may wonder what I'm doing in Argentina... Did I mention the chocolate and the wine..?) but it was nonetheless a good meal, and well worth the very traditionally South American experience.

Please check back for more Argentina posts, including recipes, experimentations with South American cuisine and illustrated gourmet guides!

xxx

Food fact of the Day- Argentina special

Argentina eats the most beef per person in the world, all though the number is in decline, and recently Uruguay has claimed to be number one.

Latest figures say 55 kilos are consumed per person each year- that's 243 8oz steaks per year...

xx

Food News! Bompas and Parr Chocolate Waterfall

.

This April is the 40th Anniversary of the original film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Bompas & Parr honours Roald Dahl’s creativity by constructing a real Chocolate Waterfall that flows at a rate of 12,000 liters an hour.

The Chocolate Waterfall pulls together Bompas & Parr’s favorite beans from around the world (Ghana, India, Indonesia and the Caribbean) to create its first house blend. Dr Rachel Edwards-Stuart, food technologist and flavour expert helped develop the recipe. The five tonne mixture is chocolatey with hints of plum, red wine and earth. After visiting the Chocolate Waterfall people will be given the chance to bottle and take away their own chocolate elixir – a concentrated chocolate cordial.

Visitors customize the chocolate elixir blending in flavours including lavender, jasmine or pine by hand. The temporary installation will include the world’s first cloud of breathable chocolate.

Details:

Chocolate Waterfall is open from Friday 22nd to Monday 25th April
· The venue is Whiteleys Shopping Centre, Bayswater, London, W24 YN
· Nearest tube is Bayswater
· Opening hours are from noon to 6pm
· There are no age restrictions though all children must be accompanied by a ticket holding adult.
· Timed tickets must be purchased in advance through http://www.jellymongers.co.uk/

xxx

Porridge of the Week # 27

Porridge of the Week #27
Cherry and marzipan

Category: Evening/ Flavour

Soak the oats in milk with a drop of almond essence. Heat through. Add a handful of golden marzipan chopped into small cubes. Add to this a small handful of halved glace cherries. You can also add a teaspoon of cherry jam if you feel like making it a bit fruity. Stir and heat through, letting the marzipan melt slightly.
Spoon into a bowl and top with a cherry and a few extra chunks of marzipan!

My favourite cake is Marzipan and Almond, so it seemed natural that I should turn it into a porridge. This works both as an indulgent breakfast porridge or a slightly less guilt inducing dessert for porridge fanatics.

xx

Dinner 15.03.2010

.

This is one of my absolute favourite recipes of all time. I love it! Words can't describe how much pleasure it brings me.
Monkfish is a very special fish... Really thick and meaty. It's not strong flavoured like tuna or trout- so it goes really well with stronger flavours, such as parma ham.

This is a very simple recipe- Monkfish with sundried tomato and basil, wrapped in parma ham. The tomato is made simply by cooking a tin of sundried tomatoes and basil together... It's almost indecently simple considering how good it is...

I think it's a Jamie Oliver recipe. I'll check that out for you!

xx