Wednesday was the new Thursday this week. Why not totally spank my health regime with a trip to a Kennington Institution – Ghandi’s.
Rocket is away to Scotland tomorrow so we are out on a Wednesday – this will cause a great deal of confusion for me at 6am tomorrow when the alarm goes off and I get up and stagger around with one leg in my knickers and one eye stuck shut. Back to the tale… Continue reading M’hat M’Curry
I’m in the midst of a theme of wanting to eat more veg, as a bit of carb junky I need this and the early summer is a great opportunity to do that.
As part of a lunch on Sunday, we were really keen to spend time chatting to our friends and not slaving in the kitchen so we did a few different platters. This makes a change and takes away a bit of an issue in terms of making exact portions – it allows me to cater to a range of dietary requirements, as people can just help themselves. It also means we used some creativity and prep but also a few cheats for speed. Continue reading Simple feast for 10 – it’s not ‘Rocket’ Science…
This week has all sorts of resonance. It’s the anniversary of the D Day landings, not that I’m connected to that piece of history any more than most others but seeing a lot of the war history to mark the anniversary makes me feel sad. Continue reading Heart and Sole
See part one first…. Pottering around in our new home, assessing jobs to do we lost track of time but suddenly thought we had best go round to the village restaurant to make our dinner reservation. We reasoned that it probably wasn’t necessary but we hadn’t got any real cooking implements so we wanted to secure our supper and we hoped, find that the place was a little gem. Continue reading Part 2 – The Fastest talking chef in the sud ouest
Friends for lunch today!
Seemed like an opportunity to diversify from the roast dinner. High hopes of a warm day and the desire not to spend time in the kitchen instead of chatting to everyone led to a few ‘prepare in advance dishes’: Continue reading Broad beans and friends for lunch…the beans were nice but the friends were a bit chewy.
Yeah!
Franco Manca
I love Brixton, my family have come from there for generations and it’s a great place (always has been, in spite of popular belief) so we opted for the Brixton Market Row branch of this small chain for our Thursday supper. The market place is lively and a bit of a foodie heaven allowing us to make mental notes of future venues for our Thursday suppers. Continue reading Zippin’ up my boots, goin’ back to my roots…
I look to the deck chair where my friend snoozes…no sign of life. The gentle hum of a distant tractor and Mata Hari struggles upright, blinking, we stare at each other in the bright sunlight, no need for words, we know what comes next. Continue reading The church bell tolls thrice, a breeze catches the long meadow grass in a whisper…
Rain seems to turn a bank holiday into a ‘normal’ Monday without the usual warm and fuzzy feeling…it often becomes a day for doing chores, clearing out cupboards, getting rid of old paperwork…the dreaded bank account, washing, ironing, you get the picture. Occasionally it’s for pyjamas, freshly laundered with thick socks, the addition of a comfy sofa, a cuppa and a film (or in my case a box set of something I’ve seen 100 times like The West Wing or The Soprano’s). Continue reading Rainy days and Mondays…don’t always get me down
I like to exercise my democratic right – I’m not saying that doesn’t occasionally blow up in my face though.
I’ve always felt conscious, prickly even about the late stage in history that provided the female vote in this country, less than 100 years of female emancipation in the UK. Just one good long lifetime ago, I’d have been denied that right. Those brave women did me a huge service and I will never forget it nor will I ever fail to exercise the right they gifted me. Equality may be a way off yet but at least I don’t have to throw myself in front of horse – someone did that for me and I am deeply grateful. Continue reading London has voted
Last Thursday we had supper in Soho. We had elected to go for a ‘small plate’ experience once again. Continue reading Supper in Soho…
I love my kindle and I use it well. Always reading before I sleep, a habit developed throughout stressful jobs in the past. I am also trying to become a little more minimalist about the house these days, but…I could not do without cookery books. It is one of a few things that borders on a bit of a sickness within me, some of the others being table cloths, shoes, little dishes, Chelsea FC, second hand china crockery, and so on. Continue reading Bedtime Reading
Part One
The eve of the Rugby world cup final in 2003, Rocket and I have flown into Toulouse on the late evening flight, we are embarking on an emotional journey that is to last for over ten years and which continues to this day….
We have collected the keys to our French home, our first real home together and we are as nervous as a pair of kittens. Continue reading The fastest talking chef in le Sud Ouest…
Rocket and I are just about to start planning our summer trip to France– May begins and we see the summer slipping away, this year between weddings and special birthdays… Continue reading The DJ and The Tart…
Sometimes I just want to eat snack food. It’s a theme in our family, Karl-Heinz being the snack food king with his ‘folded over’ cheese sandwich…Rocket with his hot spicy nuts (tee-hee) my lovely dad used to choose a cheese sarnie for his supper, he and Maman adhering to the dinner at 5.30 in the afternoon rule, you can hardly blame him for being peckish by 9 o’clock?. Continue reading I left my heart…in San Francisco…da di da di daaaa
I’ve been working as a temp in a managerial role for nearly a year now. This has been an interesting experience on any number of levels – none of which have anything to do with the work I do personally but at least there is some interest. All in all I’d like to apologise to any temp I’ve ever managed, for not recognising how under valued they are generally. I have, though, voluntarily entered this pathway and for now, it suits me just fine.
Now I can tell you about my teams – collectively called ‘the crew’. Continue reading The Crew
I’m not a snob about food, but I can be a purist at times. With a Risotto I’ve gone through something of an evolution and have listened carefully to the advice of a whole range of exponent’s from renowned chefs to your ‘genuine Italians’. So I’ve tried the whole bake it in oven method and the “there is no need to stir it”, and “you can use a stock cube” and they are all true I suppose. However, for me there is now a tried and tested route to the more delicious outcome and it does involve making some stock up (even if you partially cheat) and it does involve stirring so this is usually a Saturday evening ‘non time’ pressured activity for me. Continue reading Saturday night risotto
My brother Karl-Heinz is an epic cook and is probably responsible for having fired my interest in cookery when, as the older teen, he began his culinary journey worshiping at the feet of the legendary Keith Floyd. A really happy memory for me from years back is Karl-Heinz’s rendition of Floyd’s chicken cooked in beer served with tagliatelle….happy days…. Continue reading Karl-Heinz and The Minx
The anticipation of the meal out, knowledge of a convivial time to come, the escapism, the little surprises on the menu, or the first sips of your arrival drinks.
I love the whole experience. Continue reading It’s the little things…..
I try to cram all my hours into 4 days so as to have the luxury of Friday off ( it doesn’t always work) which also means that I can give a little time to the Petit Cherie our little dog and to Maman (my mum) both of whom get a bit lonely throughout the week. What this means in reality is a) I’m exhausted by Thursday night b) Thursday is the new Friday and in spite of the fatigue, I always want to go out on a Thursday… Continue reading About Thursdays
…with delusions of opening my own food business – a deli to be precise. I’ve bored everyone rigid with the finer details of my imagined emporium – still haven’t got it going though. On this long journey of not really doing much but cooking, eating and travelling when I can, I thought I’d share my gastronomic ramblings, and particularly my passion for British seafood and the industry. I might share a restaurant tip or a recipe along the way… Continue reading I’m a mad foodie
In Search of the Catfish Café... 