Category Archives: Food

Food, November 2016, Recipe

Sunday Song

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Masala roast chicken and potatoes, Indian Salad, mango and mint dressing.

It’s quite rare that we sit down to a Sunday roast, just the two of us. I guess with Rocket being away so much, when we are together there is an overwhelming desire to lie in bed on Sunday mornings and this naturally provides a barrier to peeling, parboiling and gravy making. On occasion, when friends or family are coming over for lunch and we have made it out of bed, tidied and primped the house and our good selves, the atmosphere is quite different, more like Sunday. Continue reading Sunday Song →

Food, Holiday, November 2016, Seafood

There’s a ship lies rigged and ready in the harbour…

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Mack Roll, radish pickle, apple and fennel slaw.

I love Mackerel, I mean to say, I think it’s a very beautiful fish with it’s inky blue and sliver markings, I adore the flavour and it is for me reminiscent of something that I was never involved in at all… Continue reading There’s a ship lies rigged and ready in the harbour… →

Food, May 2016, Restaurant, Travel

A Pintxos of Catalonia

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IMG_6562 “Is it beer o’clock?” enquires one of the group sprawled on sunbeds…

Some murmurs of agreement and then “who has the kitty?”…I struggle to my feet, The DJ is upright and blinking against the Catalonian sun. We shuffle off…10 feet to the little beach bar, placing our order in Spanglais before we ferry mojito’s, beers and café con leche back to the prone bodies with outstretched arms. It’s hard going this holiday lark. Continue reading A Pintxos of Catalonia →

April 2016, Food, Restaurant, Travel

A Midsummer House Dream, with celeriac

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I recently went for dinner to Daniel Clifford’s Midsummer House restaurant in Cambridge.

Myself and the Marmoset had planned the trip for her birthday – we’d long held a desire to try the food at this 2 Michelin star establishment. Continue reading A Midsummer House Dream, with celeriac →

April 2016, Food, France

C’est Cheese

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I know it’s a cliché that France has an abundance of cheese and I also feel strongly that UK cheeses are exceptional too, but having spent the last week at our home in France the quality and selection on offer really smacks you in the face. Continue reading C’est Cheese →

April 2016, Food

A Starter for Spring…with brother and butter

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I love my brother, not 100% of the time you understand, well I suppose I always love him but then there are those times when I am exasperated by him (as he is frequently with me and not without cause) but all in all, we do ok as siblings and as compardres.

We are very different cooks, but I am a bit in awe of him, because he is one of those natural cooks and inventive as well. Anyway, in amongst all the other things that tie us together, he is very foodie. Continue reading A Starter for Spring…with brother and butter →

February 2016, Food, France, Seafood, Shopping

Conceived in La Boqueria, Born in Borough…

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It is fair to say that we enjoy poking around in French markets when we are down in the Pyrenees and that our menu, when for the two of us, is dictated by what we find in those spectacular places filled with local seasonal produce. I make the distinction of the ‘two of us’ as often we are catering for masses of friends and family staying with us and that is a different kind of planning process! Continue reading Conceived in La Boqueria, Born in Borough… →

Family, February 2016, Food

I think Dad would have approved……….

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IMG_5108Introducing a guest blog by my lovely Valentine, Rocket….He writes:

The bonfire of all things food that burns within me was undoubtedly sparked by my Dad. For as long as I can remember Dad spent time in the kitchen – and to be fair, more time than was spent by the average bloke in those days. Dad was no average bloke! A hard upbringing as a child, tales of pulling a milk cart around Ipswich to deliver in the early hours. Buying a Mars bars with his wages then handing the rest of his hard earned salary to his Mum. Merchant Navy then Royal Navy, diving under vessels to check for limpet mines – wished I’d paid more attention when we did manage to eek those stories out of him!

Continue reading I think Dad would have approved………. →

Food, January 2016, Recipe, Seafood, Uncategorized

I read the news today…oh boy

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IMG_4924I’m angry about the news. What news? Well all of it really. Many years ago I stopped buying a newspaper because the press were and are so unscrupulous. I find myself more and more fed up with how things are reported in the media, and also by the content – and so I eschewed the news this Saturday in favour of no news at all… Continue reading I read the news today…oh boy →

Food, January 2016, Lifestyle, Recipe, Seafood, Uncategorized

Yuk it’s raining – let’s have brunch?

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“We are eating too much bread” I said, and then contemplated my new regime for January in which few treats would surface…

A lengthy discussion about the rights and wrongs of our current regime ensued. We resolved, to eat less bread – much less bread. When we do have it, it should be ‘good’ bread – by which I mean it should be really tasty and have a good measure of nutritional value.

So it came to pass that yesterday afternoon having been foiled in my attempts to secure rye flour in our wretched local supermarket, that I did find my heart’s desire in a  local health food store and was able to get cracking with a rye and walnut loaf by Nigel Slater that I have been keen to try. The great thing is it works with a rye and spelt mix with just a little white flour, meaning a reduced level of gluten. Continue reading Yuk it’s raining – let’s have brunch? →

Comfort Food, Food, January 2016, Lifestyle

For Auld Lang Syne

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It’s fair to say that November and December 2015 were a bit of a struggle following Rocket’s recent accident in India, but a new year beckons and we are not down hearted, it could have been an awful lot worse and he is at least on the mend now.

The food season has changed, the tide has already turned from richly abundant to the austerity of January but just before that happens…we have been reliving some of the best bits via the medium of left overs. Continue reading For Auld Lang Syne →

Comfort Food, Food, Recipe

Snack and Saturday Story

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I’m torn between rushing around to straighten up the detritus of my life that has accumulated throughout the house while I’ve been ill, or cuddling up on the sofa in my pyjamas while the wind and rain lash against the window panes. Continue reading Snack and Saturday Story →

Comfort Food, Family, Food, October 2015, Recipe

3rd day stew – family, friends and food

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IMG_4594When I was a child, the Christmas holiday period was the gift that kept on giving. The overwhelming excitement of Christmas eve with it’s rituals such as new pyjamas (or indeed a highly flammable pink nylon nightie) and ham and eggs for tea from the gammon mum would be cooking in readiness for boxing day. Morecambe and Wise would be on the telly and just the distant jangling of sleigh bells in the distance? Continue reading 3rd day stew – family, friends and food →

Food, October 2015, Recipe, Seafood

North Atlantic Treat

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Green Masala Cod

North Atlantic Cod stocks have recently shown recovery and that is great news for those of us who love these meaty white fish. Although I am pleased about the recovery, I did feel concerned about the media hype around the issue, as over the last few years much good work has been done to promote really good alternatives. It seems to me that returning to a position where Cod becomes the first choice IMG_1944again is dangerous. I think of the news that stocks are up and perhaps quotas may go down as good but that the better habits of eating a wider variety of seafood should be maintained. So I shall proceed with caution and continue to enjoy cod on rare occasions, always from sustainable sources – of course. Continue reading North Atlantic Treat →

Food, Pub, Restaurant, September 2015

The Canton Arms, London SW9

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IMG_4436Lying in bed on a Sunday morning a few weeks ago, appreciating the fact that my partner Rocket was home from Scotland after an extended trip away and even more so because he was to return to the beautiful highlands again the following week….I was flicking through the blogs I follow when I very much enjoyed a post by The Londonist, to be found here. In the article they describe where a good Sunday lunch can be found in London – and whilst I have my own views on those I’ve tried so far, Rocket and I are always keen to hear of others. Continue reading The Canton Arms, London SW9 →

Food, Holiday, October 2015, Recipe, Seafood, Travel

Indian Summer, Moroccan Autumn

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IMG_4485 Spiced seafood and lentil salad.

Hanging in our kitchen is a calendar which was a gift from our friend DJ Ozz. It has become something of an annual tradition for The DJ to commit one of our group trips to calendar form for posterity and by way of a Christmas present to each of us.

For the past month, our friend Mata’s beaming face has been looking out over us with the deep blue Marrakech sky behind her. I turned the calendar over to OctDSC_0044ober this morning, a little late I know, to see an image of Mata standing in the Souk and it jolted me straight back to the sounds and smells (also mainly being horribly lost) in the old Medina. Continue reading Indian Summer, Moroccan Autumn →

Comfort Food, Food, Recipe, September 2015, Shopping, Travel

Mountain Food

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IMG_4299Pan Roast Gnocchi, Cavolo Nero, Chanterelle and Walnut Cream Sauce, with aged Emmental.

(Otherwise known as Italian dumplings,London Cabbage, Scottish Mushrooms, French Walnuts and and Swiss Cheese!)

There are a collection of ingredients that evoke ‘the mountains’ for me. Despite huge cultural and gastronomical differences between the various cuisines of say the Pyrenees and thIMG_4226e French Alps, the north of Italy and the majestic peaks of Switzerland, in my mind and experience there are some common themes and these are best characterised by cheese, cream and butter, mushrooms, and some sort of cabbage, at times sausage…but not this time. Continue reading Mountain Food →

Family, Food, Lifestyle, Recipe, September 2015, Shopping

Moody Fruits

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IMG_4245The thing I like, in particular, about shopping at markets is that you are confronted by seasonality. I don’t mean just British produce, but rather the time of year in the UK when the offer changes and the ManIMG_4119goes arrive from far away or at Christmas time when it used to be traditional for the citrus fruits and pineapples to be ‘shipped’ in.

In supermarkets, it seems to me, very little respect is paid and the proposition remains more or less the same throughout the year. Continue reading Moody Fruits →

Food, Recipe, September 2015, Shopping

Autumn sunshine in a dish

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IMG_4265 I’ve been thinking a lot about Morocco this week, mainly because it’s coming up to a year since we were in Marrakech and when I woke today and peeped out…. There was a beautiful blue sky. It made me happy on a number of levels but in particular it made think of Morocco and those beautiful skies… Continue reading Autumn sunshine in a dish →

Food, Lifestyle, Recipe, Seafood, September 2015

Kippers from the Isle of Man

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IMG_4097Kippers are a great tradition in the UK, as far as I am concerned there is no tastier breakfast!

I think that many people are put off by the smell created by cooking or by the fact that being Herrings, there are bones. Continue reading Kippers from the Isle of Man →