Green Onions

Humpty Dumpty

2011-05-19T16:22:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty skint at the moment, having decided to finally jack the day job in and concentrate on the cooking malarkey full time (hence the quietness on here for a while). I was meant to go to the Isle of Wight this weekend for my amazing friend's birthday celebrations, but have had to pull out at the last minute due to lack of funds. To cheer myself up over the fact I could no longer go to the Isle of Wight, I went on a bit of a food splurge, thanks to Marky Market and a lull in concentration at work. I ordered some Barnsley chops and a live crab (which is currently resting in my freezer), but it was the mention of Gull eggs which had lured me in.

Gull eggs are only in season for a few weeks, from the beginning of April through to mid May. The eggs are a speckled green colour, gamey in taste and are bloody expensive !! The high price of gull eggs is down to both the short season and the fact that there are only about 25 Defra licensed Gull Egg collectors in the whole of the UK.

So when I got my delivery dropped off with the news that one of the two eggs had been broken in transit, I was both deflated at the fact that one had been broken, whilst been slightly pleased that I now had to only pay for one egg ! I was kindly given the broken Gull's egg in a ramekin - a bit of a double win for me there been a from Yorkshire and all that - and was told to make a omelette with it.

I knew that it would be a sacrilege to add some of the mild cheddar which had been languishing in the fridge for a week or two to the omelette.The previous day I had been at a little of what you fancy for a great lunch of Asparagus, Parmesan and Fried Duck Egg, with the Old Man. After thoroughly enjoying the lunch the day before, I picked up some English Asparagus and some Berkswell Cheese on the way home

Gulls Egg, Asparagus and Berkswell Omlette

Ingredients

1 x Gulls Egg lightly beaten and seasoned
2 x Stems of Asparagus sliced
Grated Berkswell Cheese
Knob of butter

1. Melt butter in a frying pan and add asparagus, cook for a minute.
2. Add the egg and make an omelet, sorry I can't explain step by step how to make an omelette - sorry its just making an omelette, my grandad taught me how to by showing me rather than telling me how to do it. If your stuck check out Delia here .
3. Just before folding the omelette, grate some Berkswell over the top, fold and then eat straight away.

So there you have it, probably the smallest most expensive omelette I have ever cooked and ever will cook.

2nd Birthday celebrations with a Secret Easter Sunday Lunch

2011-04-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

I will have been doing secret suppers and hidden dining for two years now. Starting from humble beginnings with a crazy idea over a pint of Guinness with the Boy Wonder to now serving 200 people in two nights at Shacklewell Nights, it seems that the crazy idea has paid off with fun and lots of laughter along the way.
Fingers crossed the next two years will prove to be even more exciting and full of more amazing adventures in the culinary world.

To celebrate the 2nd Birthday of Green Onions, we will be a Secret Easter Sunday Lunch on the 24th April 2011 in a zone 1 location.

The menu will be prepared by an ex Gordon Ramsey Holdings chef and who currently works in one of East London's cutting edge restaurants

Menu

Sloe Bellini

Grilled Radicchio, Pecorino, Black Olive & Lemon Oil

Seven Hour Lamb or Caramelised Chicory & Roquefort Gratin (v), Roast Potato's, Carrots, Kale and Purple Sprouting Broccoli

Lemon Curd Trifle & Pistachio Shortbread

Please expect Easter egg fun as well !!

Price for an afternoon of great food and company will be £35

Please note Menu may change due to availability of Ingredients

Book your places please email greenonionguerillacooking@gmail.com

If you or anyone in your party wants the vegetarian option, please let us know.

For further information please email greenonionguerillacoooking@gmail.com

Would also like to thank everyone who has partaken, eaten and supported Green Onions over the past two years, but most of all I would like to personally thank everyone who has worked along side me at both Green Onions and Shacklewell Night s as none of this would have been possible without them.

More adventures into Hidden Dining with Shacklewell Nights

2011-03-11T04:26:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to announce new dates for Shacklewell Nights and our adventures in to Hidden Dining.

After a small break we return with a great seasonal menu in a brand new location in the depths of Hackney.

We will be holding two nights of great food, drink and company on Friday 25th March and Saturday 26th March 2011 in relaxed, informal and unusual surroundings .

Menu will be

Aperitif

Smoked Trout, Pickled Beetroot & Horseradish
–or– Perroche, Pickled Beetroot & Watercress (v)

Snails, Bacon, Borlotti Beans & Wild Garlic
–or– Wild mushrooms, Leeks & Borlotti Beans (v)

Orange & Cardamom Cream, Yorkshire Rhubarb & Hazelnuts

Neal’s Yard Cheese Plate, Oat Cakes & Hackney Chutney

Digestive

Please note Menu may change due to availability of ingredients

Book your places with breadandbutterdining.eventbrite.com — if you or anyone in your party wants the vegetarian option, you can set this after entering payment details on the Eventbrite booking page.

Hopefully see you at the end of March

How to get what you want....

2011-02-25T03:40:00.000-08:00

I once received a pearl of wisdom about life and love from a elderly lady who lived over the road from my parents when I was a kid. I would go and help the said lady with her weekly baking every Saturday afternoon.
Every Saturday afternoon, when I was a child I would alternate between my Grandad's Kitchen and an amazing lady called Dina's, who lived over the road from my parents. In was in these two kitchens on a Saturday afternoon I learnt how to bake.
I spent Saturday afternoons creaming sugar and butter for cake batters and learning how to make all different kinds of pastry. It was during one of these afternoons of baking pies, tarts and cakes that a valuable pearl of wisdom about love and life was uttered by an aunt. I must admit it somewhat went over my ten year old head, having not at all been aware of boys at that age and far more interested in ponies and Cindy dolls at that point. The pearl of wisdom was uttered whilst rubbing butter into flour as I was learning to make rough puff pastry for the first time "if you ever want anything from a man then the best way to do it is to feed them first with the best home cooked food you can. Then once they finished and have sat down and got comfortable, then you ask them for whatever it is that you want, mind you don't be unreasonable or greedy with your asking and no doubtably the answer will always be - Yes."
So in the latest bid to find a venue for the Green Onions Supperclub I employed the very same tactic that Auntie Dina had passed on to me. I used the bribery of good old honest food to wheedle my way into a venue that I had an eye on for sometime - a very nice workshop that a couple of my lovely furniture maker friends have. Mind you it take a couple of weeks of going around with dishes of food to try and get my way, but in the end it was the Rhubarb and Blood Orange Crumble that worked the magic with the guys and we were given the green light to go head with the supperclub

Rhubarb and Blood Orange Crumble
Ingredients
Filling
8 Stalks of Forced Rhubarb
2 Blood Oranges
100g of Golden Caster Sugar
1 Vanilla Pod
Topping
200g Plain Flour with a pinch of salt
150g Chilled, Unsalted Butter, cut into cubes
50g Dark Brown Demerara Sugar
40g Golden Caster Sugar
Couple of handfuls of rolled oats

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Cut the rhubarb into 5cm long sticks and place on an oven tray, zest the blood oranges over the rhubarb, pour juice of blood oranges over rhubarb, add split vanilla pod and caster sugar and roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
3. Fill an ovenproof dish about 4cm/1½in deep with the rhubarb.
4. Rub the butter into the flour and sugar to make the crumble topping or blitz the flour, sugar and butter in a food processor. Once resembling bread-crumb like mix add the rolled oats.
5. Cover rhubarb with topping mix and add some dark brown sugar on the top and bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the crumble topping is crisp and golden-brown and the rhubarb filling has softened and is bubbling.
6. Serve with Clotted Cream or Ice Cream

The Simple Life

2011-01-28T09:49:00.001-08:00

Its been a tough few months since I was last spouting off on here. To be honest I've not had time to post or to be fair actually felt that I have anything interesting to write. Thanks to now having to start leading a more frugal life than last year, the clatter of pots and pans can be heard night and day round our way and I'm slowly getting back into writing down my witterings on all things food related.

The flat has now turned into Piccadilly Circus on a weekend with friends and family dropping round to share a pot of tea and on the off chance of some late breakfast. My new favorite weekend breakfast dish at the moment is the humble leeks on toast. Totally inspired from a lunch last year at the Railroad Cafe and a small plate from St John Bread and Wine (which was possibly one of the best things I ate last year). A some what light dish, which surprisingly ticks every breakfast box especially with a poached egg on top of the buttery leeks. It even clears the aftermath fugs of hard and busy weeks on a Saturday morning with a pot of tea and the weekend papers. Oh and its a really really easy dish to make - you see I'm easing my way back into all this very slowly !

Leeks on Toast

Slice of Sourdough

1 - 2 leeks depending on size
1 Egg
Fresh thyme
Butter
Dijon Mustard
Maldon & White Pepper

1. Toast slice of Sourdough
2. Slice the leeks as thinly as possible
3. Melt a knob of butter, don't scrimp with the butter the more the better as the leeks taste better with the more butter you add in my opinion
4. Let leeks sweat down in the butter for a couple of minutes and then add the fresh thyme.
5. Sweat for a few minutes more, so that leeks are fully sweated down
6. Add a small spoon of Dijon if your feeling in that kind of mood and cook for a few moments more
7. Place leeks on top of Sourdough, and place a poached egg on top if wanting something more substantial. (I would let you know how to poach an egg but to be honest my method is unorthodox and I have been repeatedly told off on many occasion for it not been the correct way - so I'm not going to share my method !)
8. Enjoy with a pot of tea and the weekend papers

New Green Onion Dates for a weekend of Retoxing Secret Dining

2011-01-28T08:03:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to announce that we will be holding a weekend of retoxing secret meals to chase the January blues away in a secret and unusual location in Hackney .

We will be providing a Secret Supper on Saturday 5th February starting at 8pm and then a Secret Sunday Lunch On Sunday 6th February starting at 1.30pm

The menu for each meal will be :

Rhubarb Prosecco,

Smoked Mackerel, Apple & Beetroot Slaw,

Tamworth cooked in Hay, White Beans and Confit Garlic,

Blood Orange Jelly, Caramel Cream & Shortbread

Vegetarians options will be available

The menu will be prepared by Jon Rotherham and Therese Gustafsson, two of London's most up and coming chefs
We will be operating a BYO policy all weekend without any corkage fees

Price will be £35 per person

For further information or to book places please contact greenonionguerillacooking@gmail.com

Drink more Gin

2010-11-11T10:23:00.000-08:00

Its no secret, I love drinking Gin in every form. From the simple and classic Gin and Tonic with ice and a slice to high grade martini's in some of the best cocktail bars in the capital, my current favorite bar been 69 Colebrooke Row in Islington. I love the stuff, the refreshing botanical flavors that hit you in a thirst quenching moment, the decadence of a Gin cocktail in a great bar that transports you back to the roaring twenties or understated fifties and of course the ceremony of making a great G n T.

A month ago or so I became kind of obsessed by making Sloe Gin and sent out a plea on the best way to make your own Sloe Gin to the Twitter Ether. The flurry and amount of tweets I got in return was astounding. Sagely advice on the topic ranged from don't do anything yet as its to early in the year to start making Sloe Gin as there hasn't been any frosts yet , don't bother pricking them all with a pin just bash them with a rolling pin. Thankfully, the best tweet of the day was from a dear friend in Dorset.

"Don't worry there are shedloads down here, I will pick them and send them up to you"

True to his word, within three days a courier dropped off a small box with a kilo and half of the beautiful deep dark berries carefully wrapped up in bubble wrap for me. I must admit when I opened the box, I squealed with delight like a small child discovering a new toy.

Apparently the key to a good Sloe Gin is to put the Sloe berries in the freezer, as this simulates the berries been left out until the first frost, something that is apparently key to making Sloe gin according to English folklore. So as soon as they arrived I popped them in the freezer for a day or two, until I was ready to make the Gin

Sloe Gin
Makes 2 1/2 litres roughly

Ingredients & Equipment

3 sterilized bottles or jars
2 litres of Gin - there is no point buying really expensive gin for this recipe as it s a waste of money
1 Kg of Sloe Berries
600g of Caster Sugar

Method

First of all I took the Sloe berries out of the freezer and let them slightly defrost for a hour and a bit

Normal advice is when making Sloe Gin is that every berry should be pricked with a pin or needle, and after reading about the process some folklore says that the berries should be pricked with a thorn off the very same bush the berries were picked from. Now those that know me will know, I neither have the patience or the time for any of this malarkey. So on the advice of @lickedspoon , I bashed the hell out of them with a rolling pin.

Fill the jars a third full of the berries and then add about 200g of Caster Sugar to each of the bottles. The sugar draws out the juice from the berries and thus in turn color the gin.

Then fill the bottles/Jars up with Gin, don't make the fatal mistake that I did and not buy enough Gin - i had to do a mad dash to the local off license for another litre bottle of Gin (the shopkeeper, bless him asked me if i was alright after buying my second litre bottle of the evening from him an hour after buying the first one).

Once filled with gin, the hard part comes. Place the bottles in a dark cupboard somewhere and then remember to shake or turn the bottles once a day for a week and then shake once a week there after for at least two months. Two months seems like a long time, bit the key is to wait for even longer so that the gin takes on more of the flavor of the berries. I know some one who has had theirs proving for four years !!!
So I'll let you know how it tastes in a couple of months time, thats if I can last that long !

Black Pudding Delight

2010-11-05T05:54:00.000-07:00

Cooking for large number's of people sometimes has it's benefits. It normally mean's that there are plenty of leftovers after cooking at events, whether it be actual leftovers or surplus ingredients, there is always something left over. The struggle is sometimes what to do with the leftovers. So after a hectic week of secret suppers at The Nursery Festival and with a lovely group of women containing a soon to be bride, I was left with a load of Black Pudding and Salsa Verde. Rather than adding to the ever growing food waste mountain, it only seemed right to try and conjure up a magnificent meal from the leftovers of others.

Now I love a bit of black pudding every now and again, but find that I mainly use it for weekend lazy breakfasts, especially my favourite, Breakfast of champions. After rediscovering Andrew Pern's book Black Pudding and Foie Gras in a recent clean up, I thought it was time to be a bit more adventurous with the black pudding and use it in a Monday night Supper for me and the flatmate.

Black Pudding and Chilli Pasta

Serves 2

Brown onion finely diced

3 cloves of garlic finely diced

1 red chilli

Half a ring of Black pudding thickly sliced

About 5 good tablespoons of Salsa Verde

200-250g of Spaghetti (depends how hungry you are feeling, and to be honest I never weigh pasta out I just do it by judgement)

Maldon Sea Salt

Freshly Ground Pepper

Olive oil

1. First start by heating up some olive oil in a heavy based saucepan, once hot add onions and then garlic and let them soften slowly

2. Put another pan on full of salted water and bring to the boil for the pasta

3. Add finely diced Chilli to the onions and garlic and sweat for a few moments.

4. Place spaghetti into the pan of boiling salted water and cook as directed on the packet, preferably until al dente

5. Once Spaghetti is pan of simmering water, crumble the black pudding in to the onion, garlic and chilli mix and gently fry, until the pasta is cooked .

6. Drain the cooked pasta and return to the pan.

7. Add the pasta to the black pudding and onion mix and then combine together.

8. Then spoon in the salsa verde into the pasta, mix thoroughly once again and serve

It was a joy to discover that the dish contain the right balance of heat from the chilli, herby goodness from the Salsa Verde and earthiness from the Black Pudding. We enjoyed the pasta with a bottle of young Portuguese Vino Verde which proved to be the perfect accompaniment for this unusual offally pasta dish

Illicit luxury lone dining

2010-11-03T15:08:00.000-07:00

So apparently we are in a double dip recession, to be honest I have no idea what this means. I just know that most people are pretty skint and graphs showing the country's descent into an even deeper economic downturn looks like a reversed sign for a humped back bridge. Dining out and eating fancy foods have been somewhat curbed recently due to moving into a new ex council flat near Broadway Market in Hackney. My life's been a bit hectic in the past months what with the move, deposits, flaky landlords and of course the first weekend of Hidden Dining at Shacklewell Nights, so a treat of the culinary nature was defiantly order of the day.

Once moved into the new flat the first thing I unpacked was my collection of cookbooks (I have already filled up one bookcase with them all in), while I was unpacking them I found a copy of Trina Hahnemann 's Scandinavian Cookbook that had been sent to me by the lovely people at Quadrille Publishing before the move out of the old flat. Since the boy wonder disappeared to Sweden six months ago, I have become somewhat intrigued about Scandinavian cooking. Tales of the best tasting fish and kelp's that taste of the sea and tins of exploding fermented herrings in the dry store, have fuelled me to learn more about the Scandinavian cuisine.

Finding my copy of the Hahnemann's Scandinavian Cookbook, got me thinking about and craving one of my most favourite foods - Gravalax. Gravalax is Salmon cured in a mixture of sugar, salt and dill, and is left for a few days (if you can bear the wait) for the fish to take on the cure. The Swedish use to and probably still do, bury the salmon in the ground for the curing process, as the word gravalax in Swedish means buried salmon.
The recipe is adapted from a number of sources, mainly my lovely Swedish work mate who first turned me on to the wonders of gravalax and of curing your own salmon at home and Hugh Fernly Whittingstall through a programme of his that I had seen a few years ago.

Beetroot Gravalax
Ingredients

a whole salmon halved, with skin
2 bunches of fresh dill
6 raw beetroot's grated
200g sea salt
200g caster sugar, sometimes I use a half and half mixture of caster sugar and soft dark brown sugar for a more stronger tasting cure
tsp peppercorns, crushed
4 tbsp vodka

Pick out any small bones left in the salmon with tweezers. Wash, dry and roughly chop the dill. Peel and grate the raw beetroot

Mix the dill, beetroot, sea salt, sugar, pepper and vodka in a bowl thoroughly.

Place a length of cling film on a chopping board and place on side of the salmon skin down on the length of cling film
Place the curing mixture one one top of the salmon, then place the other side of the salmon on top of the cure mixture with the skin side facing upwards.

Wrap the whole of the salmon with clingfilm (you will probably need more clingfilm to wrap the salmon and refrigerate for 24 hours, turn the salmon over and refrigerate for a further 12 to 24 hours.

Remove the fish, rinse most of the excess cure and pat dry. Finely slice and serve.

The best accompaniment for the Gravalax is a mustard dressing made from mustard, sugar, salt, white wine vinegar and dill and a good rye crisp bread. I can thoroughly recommend Peters Yard's Swedish crispbreads, which come in big disc's perfect for sharing or if like me perfect for indulging in some indulgent illicit luxury lone dining.

Autumn Days at Shacklewell Nights

2010-10-18T13:03:00.000-07:00

With a definite change in the season's Shacklewell Nights presented an autumnal menu of

Roast Parsnip Soup with Colton Basset and Roasted Walnuts

Confit of Rabbit Leg with Butterbeans, Rocket and Red Onion

Discovery Apple Jelly with Spiced Mascapone Cream

Neal Yards Cheese Plate, Biscuits and Hackney Chutney

The next weekend of Shacklewell Nights will be on the 19th and 20th November 2010. For further details and booking

info@shacklewellnights.com

www.shacklewellnights.com

@Shacklewel1

Many thanks to all who were involved, attended and supported us A special thanks to Miguel from Casa Leal, Nick from The Drapers Arms, Henry from Leon, Auchentoshan, and Paddy from Neal Yard’s Dairy.

Images used by permission from www.snapshotlondon.co.uk

The House Made of Tin

2010-10-18T02:22:00.000-07:00

I feel slightly guilty, its been an age since I updated the blog with my adventures of cooking and eating. I know that its no excuse but it seems that my summer of fun came slightly later than everyone else's this year. After the success of the first Shacklewell Nights at the end of July, its been a whirlwind of cooking for other people in weird and wonderful locations for the past couple of months. I have also moved into a new flat, which unfortunately doesn't have enough room to hold a supper club and if truth been known, I have been slightly put off cooking due to the acrid color of the walls in the kitchen. The mustardy yellow color is not the most beneficial color to be productive, whether your feeling slightly fuzzy headed or not.

There have been a number if highlights since I fully got into the swing of summer in mid August, but the main highlight was running a pop up bed and breakfast of sorts for friends who were staying in a converted tin tabernacle in the Isle of Wight in the run up to Bestival at the beginning of September.

Our stay in the converted former 19th Century Mission Hall was a delight from start to finish. It was easy to forget that I was in fact there to provide a service for people who were staying at the converted chapel. The beautiful tin structure held even more surprises inside, Vintage Vacations had decorated and styled the interior as a homage to all things vintage and kitsch. The kitchen itself was kitted out in a fully restored 1950's 'English Rose' kitchen. I was in my element, it felt as if you had just been transported straight in to a scene of Mad Men, just without Don Draper being there unfortunately.

Staying at the Mission really was a week full of communal breakfasts of Granola, yogurt and Stewed apples from the apple tree in the garden of the Mission or slow roasted tomato's on sourdough, perfect preparation for a hard day's work at the festival site. Once guests returned from the site, there were big pans of chilli, stews and plenty of home baked cakes, waiting for them to recharge their batteries. It was a hectic week of people wandering round with phones glued to their ears. The kitchen table turned into a hub of communication, at one point sitting 10 people their laptops and shouting down their phones, but thankfully once they left to go onto site I had the chance to soak up the atmosphere of the tin house on my own, reading books,listening to Radio 4,drinking tea, baking cakes and day dreaming of Don Draper to my hearts content.

Images used from www.vintagevacations.co.uk

Feastival

2010-08-25T02:18:00.000-07:00

For all those that are off to one of the last festivals of the year - Bestival on the Isle of Wight.

Keep your ears open and your radio's tuned at 87.7 FM, as Green Onions will be currating Feastival, two radio shows on Bestival Radio on Saturday and Sunday afternoon at 1pm.

Hidden Dining

2010-08-17T15:09:00.000-07:00

So we did it, our first evening of Hidden Dining at Shacklewell Nights. We couldn't of wished for anything better. Many thanks to all who were involved, attended and supported us in our new endeavours.

info@shacklewellnights.com

www.shacklewellnights.com

@Shacklewel1

Images used by permission from Betty Bhandari

Hobo Supper III

2010-08-16T11:05:00.000-07:00

After the recent rounds of friends sofa's and spare rooms for the past week, I have thankfully got a whole house to my self for a week. I was lucky enough to have a house lent to me for a week whilst some friends took their kids on holiday. Their house is one of those houses which I would love to own when I grow up (even though I think I am actually grown up, but more than likely will never own a house, never mind one as amazing as my friends), a beautiful family home in the midst of Hackney full of gorgeous handcrafted objects and decorated internally in a homely yet modern fashion. The main delight of the house though is the large expansive garden out the back, which my friends have turned into a large veggie plot, providing them with all the fresh veg, fruit and herbs that anyone could dream of.

When I moved in there was a note on the table telling me where the freshly washed sheets were and to make myself at home, but to make sure that I watered the garden every day. In return for watering the garden I could eat any of their produce which was ready to eat - I literally skipped out in to the garden and went to see what was ready and what I could cook and eat for supper that evening. After an initial look around there seemed to be nothing available, but after a closer inspection I spotted a lone courgette peaking out from underneath some leaves. One courgette was enough to produce a plate of supper of some kind surely, having doubts I then remembered a dish that me and a dinner companion ate a few weeks earlier at St John Bread and Wine , I quickley sprang into action. Well not so much sprang into action, but a slow amble to the local shop to get some more ingredients to go with the courgette.

Courgette, White Bean and Goats Curd

1 x Courgette sliced

1 x Brown Onion finely diced

1 x Clove of garlic

1 x tin of Cannelloni Beans (can use any white beans for this dish including butter beans and haricot beans)

Goats Curd or Soft Goats Cheese

Veg stock

Fresh Thyme

Fresh Parsley

Maldon and Black Pepper

1. Sweat brown onion and garlic in a pan with a knob of butter and olive oil.

2. Add chopped leaves off a few stalks of Thyme

3. Add sliced courgette and sweat off for a few more moments

4. Add the rinsed Cannelloni beans, stir and season

5. Add a drop of veg stock to braise the veg and the beans for a few more minutes

6. Once courgettes and beans have braised for about five minutes add some chopped parsley

7. Place the bean and courgette mix onto a plate and then top with Goats Curd or Soft Goats cheese (which more readily available).

Hobo Suppers II

2010-07-28T16:06:00.000-07:00

I had a pretty full on week last week. The stress of moving, sofa surfing around the leafy streets of Hackney and of the day job, had pretty much left me an emotional wreck by the time 6pm came round on Friday afternoon. Normally I'm bouncing out of the door, eager for the weekend to properly start. This week was a different story, I just wanted a quiet night in watching a movie and eating good home cooked food. Thankfully a quick phone call to the Brummie, whose house I have been staying at recently, I discovered he was feeling pretty much the same about spending the evening eating, drinking beer and watching a rubbish film to forget the arduous week. I must admit that I had been itching to get back into a kitchen and actually cook a full meal from scratch. Its all well and good eating out or having dinner at friends houses, but I do miss the cathartic and soothing process of the preparation of ingredients and cooking the dishes.

On the train back to the leafy salubrious surroundings of Cannonbury (far grander than the dizzy heights of Upper Clapton, that's for sure, no burnt out cars for a start !), in a bid to cheer both me and Brummie up I decided that Mexican food and beer would be the only thing that would save the last remnants of what had been somewhat of a 'carcrash' week for both of us.

Most Mexican food I find when you go out to eat are full of melted cheese and covered in tomato salsa and sour cream. I have found that the only place that serves good fresh flavoured food is Thomasina Miers's Wahaca

it serves the best quesadilla's filled with Broad Beans and Feta. I was desperate to try and recreate these, but my copy of Miers book Mexican Food Made Simple is packed away in a box which is stored some where in Hackney. So I free styled the evening, but I have a nagging feeling that I may have spied this on someone else's blog and can't really remember where.

Cucumber, Mango and Mint Salsa

Serves 2 - 3

Ingredients

1 x Cucumber. seeded and finely diced

1 x Mango, finely diced

1/2 x Red Onion, finely diced

8 x Mint Leaves, chopped

Freshly ground black pepper

Olive Oil

1. Mix cucumber, mango and red onion in a dish

2, Mix well and season with mint, black pepper and olive oil

3. Leave for around 15 minutes at room temperature and then serve

I found it best to leave the salsa to sit for a few minutes so that the flavours started to combine, but could be served straight away. I also felt that using salt wouldn't really benefit the dish as it would draw water out of the cucumber and not compliment the mango, where as the pepper did.
This salsa was a refreshing alternative to the normal tomato variety. With the abundance of cucumbers and mint at the moment, it was great to combine them to make this side accompaniment which cooled the heat of the fresh chillis in the quesadilla's.

Hobo Suppers

2010-07-20T15:51:00.000-07:00

So I moved out of the first flat I have ever lived in on my own, after 15 months. Its been a pretty eventful 15 months full of adventure, discovery and learning in every way imaginable. When I moved in to the flat last year, I didn't expect that I would have been cooking for over a thousand people eating in my front room. I also didn't expect to rediscover a passion for cooking, eating and providing great environments for people to partake in these joyous activities. So moving out Saturday I did feel slightly down hearted, but armed with lessons learnt, a new confidence and a belief in the future and for all the new opportunities that the future will bring, I strided off to a Toots and the Maytels gig with a smile on my face once the moving was over.

I now find myself, some what semi homeless at the moment and seem to be doing the sofa surfing rounds in 'Ackney. Sofa surfing isn't as bad as what it was when I was in my twenties. Most of my friends now have all the mod cons - great kitchens, spare bedrooms and most of all, eat good food. Thankfully no takeaways, no sleeping amongst beer cans and fag butts and of course no sleeping on air mattresses in corners of friends bedrooms.

The up shot of all this sofa surfing is that I have had my first commute in nearly five years ( I may live and work in London , but haven't had to take public transport to work as have lived with in a twenty minute walk to walk). The commute home was made a whole lot enjoyable, as I was able to stop off at my favourite fruit and veg shop and a new Italian trattoria and deli in Newington Green where I picked up some provisions.

After a hard weekend and tiring Monday at work, I found myself alone at a friends flat and preparing dinner for myself and looking forward to reading the new Observer Food Monthly.

Insalata Newington Green
Serves 1 - 2

Ingredients
Mixture of ripe tomato's
1 Ball of Buffala Mozzarella
3 slices of Parma Ham
15 Basil leaves
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Black Pepper

1. Slice tomato's thinly
2. Slice Mozzarella
3. Tear Parma ham over the tomato's and Mozzarella
4. Arrange on plate
5. Season with black pepper, torn Basil leaves and olive oil.

Obviously I felt a bit weird making this and then sitting down to find Nigel Slater's recipe for Insalata Caprese in the Food Monthly. Its true what God like Mr Slater said in his article, this dish is truly at it best when the ingredients are at their best and most ripest. The whole dish is about the fresh tasting tomato's and cheese and the olive oil shouldn't hamper the fresh taste of tomato's and cheese, whilst the flavour of the pepper and basil do the offsetting instead of the oil. The inclusion of the Parma Ham gives a nice salty undertone which complements the salad as well. All in all a refreshing, comforting summer dish which somewhat revived a very tired and emotional homeless lady on a Monday night.

An Ode.....

2010-07-20T07:36:00.000-07:00

I never thought you had it in you

You'd seen the best years of your life before i met you

Your spark had left and dial numbers had vanished

But you stood firm and took one final beating

Like a faithful compainion, you kept the fires burning
It is you, I owe all the success and kind words to
You never faltered once, in feeding 1000 mouths
But now the time has come to say goodbye and part
I have not a tear in my eye
But whole hearted admiration in my heart for you
You were the oven that never failed
Thank you

Super Smashing Summer Greatness

2010-07-03T07:31:00.001-07:00

After a week of trials, tribulations and teeth, the last thing I want to do today was anything hectic. All I wanted was to stay at home, relax and potter around on my own .

After a quick detour to Stoke Newington Farmer's Market and the Newington Green Fruit and Veg shop after a visit to work, I managed to come home with a bag of fresh food goodies and the paper. It quickly became apparent that nothing on my very long to do list was actually going to get done. The sofa in my garden was calling loudly, along with the paper and new Jane Grigson book I had bought the day before. There was just the small matter of lunch to be sorted out and that would be done and dusted for today.

I quickly decided on using the Broad Beans and Pea's, which I had picked up from the Farmers Markets, along with the Sourdough Bread that I had also picked up from Syd's stall.

Smashed Peas and Beans on Sourdough Toast

Serves 1

Ingredients

Good handful of podded pea's

Good handful of podded Broad Beans

2 stalks of mint, leaves removed

Extra Virgin Oil

Maldon and Black Pepper

Parmesan Cheese

2 slices of Sourdough Bread

1. Place pea's in a bowl and season with some Maldon salt.

2. Bash the hell out of peas with a full jar of homemade marmalade (or a pestle and mortar if you have one - I don't, since I smashed mine the other week).

3. Add beans, a few at a time and the mint and keep on smashing the hell out of them, until you have broken them down to a pulp consistency. (or like me when you have had enough of smashing them, I like them to have a bit of a bite to them anyway ).

4. Add a splash of olive oil, so mixture combines together well.

5. Season with black pepper.

6. Grate Parmesan cheese into mixture and mix together well.

7. Toast slices of sourdough.

8. Once toasted, serve pea and bean mix on top of the sourdough and grated some Parmesan cheese over the top of each slice.

Perfect accompaniment for afters to a summer afternoon spent on the sofa in the garden, reading, enjoying your own company. Also enjoyed some great cherries and flat peaches from the Newington Green Fruit and Veg shop for afters

Breakfast of Champions

2010-06-30T14:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit that I stupidly decided that I wasn't going to go to Glastonbury this year. Deciding that I wouldn't peruse an opportunity to work or even to buy a ticket to go to the festival, was quite a big step. Deciding I was finally to old to be kicking around and causing mischief at festivals. I was happy, in fact proud, that my summers didn't consist of traveling the summer months in a trannie van with a group of boys selling goods to festival goers. The reality is, I am absolutely gutted that I didn't pull my finger out and get a ticket of some kind to the greatest festival on the earth.

We use to leave London half way through June and wouldn't return until mid September, apart from a couple of days here and there. To say that we ate well whilst gallivanting around the countryside, is a massive lie. On a good day, our diets consisted of service station sandwiches, crisps, bacon butties, cups of strong builders tea and not much else. Breakfasts were unheard of in those days, and if by some strange incident we were awake at that hour the breakfast of choice was usually a warm can of larger and a rollie. Later to be named by the motley crew as a 'Breakfast of Champions'.

To combat the misery of not going to Glastonbury I went out on Friday night and drank a copious amount of gin and woke up on Saturday morning feeling a little worse for wear. There was only one thing for it and that was to make a breakfast fit for a proper champion.

The other week I was lucky enough to be given a free ticket for Taste of London in Regents Park . I got there quite late after a busy day at work and by the time I got there I was Hank Marvin. I met up with some fellow foodie friends to have a wander around and taste some wonderful food cooked by some of the country's finest chef's and meet some suppliers. After consuming too much gin at Sipsmith 's stall, I was steered in the direction of clonakilty blackpudding exhibition and forceably had a pack containing both their fabulous white and black puddings handed to me. I completely forgot that had this pack left in my fridge and couldn't contain my excitement, once the gin haze had disappeared on Saturday morning when I remembered. For that mornings 'Breakfast of Champions' wasn't going exist of warm larger and a rollie,oh no - only the best Irish Black pudding would do that morning.

Breakfast of Champions

Serves one

Ingredients

6 thick slices of Black Pudding

1/2 White Onion peeled and diced

1 Potato peeled and diced

1 Egg

Oil

Maldon and black pepper

1. Place diced potato in to a pan with water and par boil for 8 minutes.

2.Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the potato gently fry off to reach a golden colour.

3. After a few minutes add the onion and black pudding and fry gently for a further 4 minutes.

4. Season with Maldon and black pepper

5. Transfer the onion,potato and black pudding to a plate and keep warm under the grill.

6. Fry the egg in oil, once done place on top of the onion, potato and black pudding mix and eat straight away.

Defiantly a 'Breakfast of Champions', so much so it 'll put hairs on your chest !

clonakilty blackpudding was some of the best black pudding I've ever tasted. It reminded me a lot of the black pudding I tasted in San Sebastian in the Basque region of Spain. Mainly because of the texture, I think this is because Clonakilty use pin head oats in their puddings - a good choice in my opinion. Needless to say though, I will be attending the next Glastonbury Festival. I have decided that your never to old to enjoy a bit of what you fancy every now and again.

Photo of Glastonbury festival used courtesy from the offical Glastonbury festival website.

Soup Society - Part III

2010-06-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I arranged to go to Hix on Brewer Street to meet a friend to finally taste some of Mark Hix's food. Obviously been pretty broke most of the time, we arranged to meet early and go eat off the pre theatre menu as it's 3 courses for £19.95 each.

As I sneaked out of work early to get into town, a torrential downpour started in Hackney and there was no sign of it stopping as I walked out of the tube station at Oxford Circus. By the time I'd walked to Brewer Street I was drenched from head to foot, even my shoes were soaked right through. As I pushed the heavy door open and poked my head around it, the receptionists gasped with horror at the extent of my drenching, and quickly surrounded me helping me get my coat off and offering me a towel to dry my hair.

I sat down, looking like a cross between a drowned rat and a fish out of water. I asked for a glass of house red and started to look around the restaurant taking in the amazing Damien Hirst mobiles hanging above the bar. I must of been staring into space for a while as the waitress coughed after standing with a glass of wine for me for a couple of moments to long. As I turned to answer her, I saw over her shoulder Mr Hix was sat at the next table looking and smirking at me and my prolonged wonder of the dining room. This all proved to be a bit much for me I must admit and I suddenly reverted to a old childhood mannerism of mine, which I use to adopt when I use to get shy as a child (which was quite often)- sitting on my hands and looking down at my shoes.

Thankfully my lovely friend, turned up looking as glamorous and well turned out as always and thankfully diverted all attention away from me. We quickly ordered to meet the 6.30pm curfew on the pre theatre menu. This proved quite easy as there were only two choices for each course so we obviously we ordered the opposite of each other so that we could taste everything that was available. After ordering we became lost in the usual conversations of life, love and future endeavors, and were interrupted with the arrival of our starters.

I had ordered deviled chicken livers on Sourdough and minted pea soup for my friend. To be honest, even though there were only two choices on the menu, I chose the livers as my friend has decided to stop eating meat again and it meant that I could eat all of the dish and still try hers at the same time! The chicken livers were moist and velvety like they should be, with a good kick from the cayenne pepper, but the revelation of the evening was my friends minted pea soup. The soup not only hot, bringing warmth back to our bodies wrapped in soggy clothes but fresh, delicate and smooth. My eyes lit up with enjoyment as I drank for the stolen spoon full, and went to steal another spoonful. A spoon fight quickly developed as my friend tried to guard her soup with no holds barred "Back off, this is mine its too good to share. Gutted, I retreated straight away in fear of been wrapped on the knuckles with the back of her spoon.

I can't really remember much of the rest of the meal to be honest, not because of copious amounts to drink, in fact I only had glass of wine to drink. Its because the minted pea soup was a dish to be hold and played on my mind for days on end. I know that minted pea soup isn't hard to make in fact its quite easy I guess, but the consistency and texture of what I tasted in Hix was something else. So much so I was determined to recreate the very same soup not only for my self but for the last run of Secret suppers.

Minted Pea Soup

Serves roughly 4 - 6 people

Ingredients

2 leek, roughly chopped and washed
2 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
50g butter

about a litre and a half of Veg stock
500g frozen peas - easier than podding loads of pods. (I did include some fresh peas as I want the pods for the stock )
5 stalks of mint - half finely chopped rest left on stems

Creme Fraiche
Maldon and freshly ground black pepper

For Veg stock

1 Leek

1 onion

1 Carrot

2 stalks of celery

A load of empty pea pods

Parsley stems

About 3 litres of water

1. Wash leek, cut length ways and place in pan of water with peeled onion chopped in half, carrot chopped in half length ways, parsley stalks and pea pods. Place on heat and let it work its magic on a gently roll for a couple of hours.

2. Once its worked its magic over a couple of hours, remove from heat and pass through a sieve, to remove veggies.

3. In a separate pan, cook the onions and leeks in the butter until soft.

4. Add the stock and season with Maldon and pepper and simmer for around 20 minutes.

5. Add peas and the stalks of mint with the leaves on and simmer for a further 6 to 7 minutes.

6. Remove from heat and then liquidize in a blender.

7. Sieve through a fine mesh sieve into another pan or bowl.

8. Add a tablespoon of Creme Fraiche and the rest of the mint and stir through.Add more seasoning if needed.

This soup can be served either cold or hot, normally served if hot with a small spoon full of Creme fraiche.

There are some things that you can rely on all the time

2010-06-17T09:28:00.000-07:00

The phone call from an old dear friend came on Thursday night telling me that he would be arriving the next day, staying in London for a couple of days and then disappearing once again to yet another country for the next six months. I was gutted, as the realization of not been able to see him, due a weekend of Supperclubs quickly sunk in, but as I explained that I was going to be busy all weekend cooking for over sixty people. He explained that this was one of the reason's why he came back for a few days - to come and eat at the Green Onion Supperclub before we closed the doors at our present location and relocate to a new space in East London and would it be possible to squeeze him in on the Sunday. I was delighted to say the least.

Normally when he's back in London, we go to posh fancy restaurants for dinner as a treat, well a treat for me to be more precise . Each time we go out I try to bully him out of his eating comfort zone. The sight of him slightly freaking out over a massive bowl of langoustines and mayo at St John's, with the realization that if he wanted one, he would have to peel it himself, left me with a small smirk on my face for days after.

I was looking forward to seeing my friend on Sunday and the thought of been able to give him a proper home cooked meal was both unbearable and satisfying at the same time. The poor sod survives mainly on Room Service, meals in restaurants or takeaways when he's away traveling with work, which I would find absolutely soul destroying. The thought of not even been able to prepare a simple cheese sandwich fills me full of horror and dread. In fact it would actually keep me up with nightmares each night, if I thought about it a bit too long.

Late on Saturday evening I received a phone call from him saying that plans for Sunday were scuppered due to a trapped nerve in his neck after bounding out of bed that morning in a bid to seize the day. I was quickly told not to fear as the trapped nerve meant that he had to stay in London for a few more days before he would be ready for traveling again and that dinner on Monday would be a great time to catch up and hopefully catch up with some other friends as well.

By the time Monday came I really couldn't muster the energy to go in to town and eat in a restaurant and invited everyone for dinner to mine instead. So with a quick trip to the Italian deli, Parioli on Lower Clapton Road and the Turkish Supermarket I head off home with a few bags of groceries to prepare some easy eating, sharing food for everyone to enjoy. Which would go well with the 10 litres of Italian red wine that a lovely guest had left the day before, as he had enjoyed his meal at the Supper Club so much.

Laying out the cold meats, cheese and anti pasta for everyone to share, I decided to quickly throw together some Patatas Bravos and Garbanzos con espinacas (Spanish Spinach and Chickpeas) to go with the cold food to add a bit of substance to the meal and to remind us all of a holiday that we had shared in Spain last year (which finally allowed me to go back to visit my adoptive Spanish family who I use to live with in Barcelona in my early twenties, but thats a whole other blogpost). Garbanzos con espinacas is a quick easy dish that can be out together in minutes perfect for last minute entertaining.

Garbanzos con espinacas (Spanish Spinach and Chickpeas)

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Large tin of Chickpeas - rinsed and drained

1 Large bag of baby spinach

1 brown Onion - chopped

2 cloves of Garlic - finely chopped

Vegetable stock or a splash of white wine if feeling decadent

250g of bread crumbs made from day oldish bread

Large teaspoon of Ground Cumin

Large teaspoon of Pimentón - Spanish Paprika

Maldon and Black Pepper.

Olive Oil

1.In a heavy based pan, fry off the bread crumbs in a little oil, once slightly browned remove from pan in to a bowl.

2. Add a drop more oil and add onion first and sweat them for a few minutes.

3. Once onions have sweated for a few moments add the garlic and sweat for a further 10 minutes.

4. Add the rinsed chickpeas to the pan and add the Cumin and Pimenton to the chickpeas and onions.

5. Once chickpeas and onions are coated in the spice mix, add enough veg stock to slightly cover the mix and reduce the stock down for a few moments.

6. Add spinach to pan and then place lid over the pan and wait for spinach to wilt down.

7. Once the spinach has wilted down, season with the Maldon and black pepper and add the breadcrumbs back to the pan.

Serve immediately with other small sharing plates or can be eaten on its own with some bread or salad if you feel the need. The dish went down well - really well in fact as there was none left when we had finished eating, must have been the home cooking that did it I guess !

I love this dish, it reminds me of days spent traveling around Spain with friends, teaching small children in Barcelona how to speak Yorkshire Spanglish for a living and throughly enjoying myself in the sunshine without a care in the world. Most of all though it reminds me of sharing food, wine and laughter with friends over a dinner table, whether it be in Spain or in Hackney, that's a good memory to keep hold of.

Soup Society Part II

2010-06-08T21:11:00.000-07:00

After lugging home 10kg of veggies to make the stock with and 5kg of Puy lentils ready for this weekends Secret Supper extravaganza, I was gutted to find that I didn't really have anything in the flat for myself to eat. All that was in the fridge was a bit of butter, some feta cheese and a lettuce which had been in the fridge untouched for a few days and was starting feel a bit sorry for it self.
So in a tempt to delude myself that I was been healthy and if I'm been honest, to try and cancel out the two Orange Club Biscuits and a piece of birthday cake that I'd snarfed earlier in the day. I made some Lettuce and Pea soup. Its green soup, its got to healthy, right ?

Lettuce and Pea Soup

Ingredients

1 x Lettuce (English Flat or a couple of Little Gem's), Outer layers removed, washed and sliced
1 x Brown Onion, roughly chopped
3 handfuls of Pea's
Butter
Veg or Chicken Stock
Maldon and Black Pepper
Feta Cheese

1. Melt butter in the pan, add onion and sweat gently for 10 mins.

2. Add peas, stir and then add enough stock to cover the peas.

3. Add the sliced lettuce and season.

4. Cover and let lettuce wilt down for a few minutes.

5. Once lettuce has wilted down and braised in the stock, remove from heat and place in a bender and blitz until smooth.

6. Check and season to taste.

7. Serve with Feta cheese crumbled on top if you wish.

By the time I'd finished a bowl of it I was almost feeling virtuous for a change. I have seen a number of Lettuce Soup recipe's in some of the books I ve got, and I ve always wondered what it tasted like. I was pleasantly surprised how good it tasted to be honest. Taste of summer in a bowl really and perfect for a rainy June evening sat on the sofa in your pj's watching a rubbish film waiting for pans of stock to finish doing their magic.

A Weekend Off ....

2010-06-07T15:47:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had one of the first weekends off from cooking I've had in a long time. It was a perfect weekend of drinking, eating, seeing friends who I haven't seen for a long time, going to birthday afternoon tea's, walks in the sunshine along the canal, visiting my new flat, and going to lectures at Stoke Newington Literary Festival. In fact generally having an amazing great relaxing weekend with no cooking for a change.

Asparagus, Pea and Mint Salad

2010-06-06T22:03:00.000-07:00

At the day job we are part of the Riverford fruit box for work scheme, each week we are delivered a big box of fruit that is supposedly meant to last a week inevitably it never does. In each box which is delivered there is always a recipe card included in the box as well. I always tend to be late each morning for the day job, even though I only live a fifteen minute walk fro work. Nevertheless I always make sure that I'm there early or at the best on time when the box of fruit gets delivered on a Monday morning.The sole reason to get there on time is to nab the recipe card which is in the box, I've even nicked a ring binder out of the stationary cupboard at work to start putting them in.
Jane Baxter and Guy Watson's approach to their products and how to cook and use them is second to none. A philosophy of producing food themselves from start to finish - from the field to the table, following the seasons and the produce which appears with the weather changes of the year.This is the same philosophy which I grew up with, both my dad and paternal grandad were Market Gardener's growing Vegetables and Salad products on a small holding with a fruit and veg shop attached to the side of our home. Well until the invention of the big out of town superstores, which appeared in the nineties and more or less single handily wiped out all independent shops in the area which we grew up.

As a family we always ate seasonal food, well before it became the "in" and ethical thing to do. It was second nature to follow the seasons and whatever glut of amazing produce appeared.During winter we ate root veggies, brassica's, wholesome vegetable soups with pulses, endless casseroles, stews and roast joints of meat, whilst the summer months meals would consist of amazing fresh salads (which me and my sister always went to pick from the fields and greenhouses for tea), quiches and cold meats.
So to celebrate the fantastic weather which we have been having recently, the wonder of light nights once again and the influence once again of the Riverford Recipe Cards, I decided to prepare a starter salad of Asparagus, Pea and Mint Salad for guests at the last secret supper we had last week. A light salad combining the last of the seasons, British Asparagus, new season peas, combined with mint and a lemon dressing, topped with crumbled feta cheese bought from the deli counter at the local Turkish supermarket.

Asparagus, Pea and Mint Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients
1-2 bunches of asparagus, woody ends trimmed
4-5 handfuls of peas
1 handful of roughly chopped mint
150g of crumbled feta, could use Goats curd or Goats cheese
Dressing
2 tbsp good olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
Maldon Salt and black pepper

1. Take off the asparagus tips with about an inch of the stem and put to one side.
2. Finely slice the rest of the Asparagus stems and then steam until just tender, then refresh in cold water and drain.
3. Cook and refresh the asparagus tips in the same way.
4. Cook the peas in a lidded pan with only a few tablespoons of water for a couple of minutes. The peas should be tender and bright green. Refresh the same as the asparagus tips and stems.
5. Mix together all the dressing ingredients and taste - it should taste lemony and well seasoned.
6. Mix peas, asparagus stalks and the mint with most of the dressing and then place in the bowl.
7. Dress the tips of asparagus separately and scatter over the salad.
8. Crumble the feta cheese over the top of the salad.
Great light salad for the summer, tastes light and fresh and some what restorative at the same time, as it helped to get rid of a lingering hangover

Bank Holiday Supperclub Fun

2010-06-02T04:59:00.000-07:00

The supperclub's that we held this past weekend, were some of my most favourite to date. The sense of panic that desended over me after the boy wonder moved to Sweden earlier this year, seems to have finally disappeared somewhat. No longer am I sending emails to Sweden, asking for advice and reassurance in the run up to each Supperclub. Through the patience, reassure and constently been told to "get a bloody grip and get on with it ". I feel as if I have finally found my cooking legs once again. So much so, we tried a two night run for the first time since the Boy Wonder left.

We had already planned a secret Lunch for the Sunday, but decided to hold a secret supper on the Saturday night for 12 people (half the ammount that we places we normally do ) at the last moment. I must admit during the first 30 minutes I had serious doubts about 12 strangers sat around one large table striking up conversation with other strangers. Even though we do seat strangers on tables with other strangers, the table sizes are either between 4 and 8 and most people come with other friends, ther was still a serious nagging doubt in the back of my mind that maybe this would be somewhat of a so called social experiment that could go disasterly horribly wrong at any moment. I needn't have worried, I popped my head out of the kitchen door to hear the conversation flowing easily between each of the strangers and the conversation carried on until the small hours.

Sunday's Secret Lunch was a similar affair a room full of strangers with happy faces, enjoying food, drink, conversation and laughter with each other for a fair few hours. So much so that nearly every plate that came back into the kitchen was clean and only the smallest amount of the vegetarian pie came back into the kitchen. This was given to Olu the newest helper at the Supper Club. The poor boy had missed out on the veggie pie the night before and had to suffice with oven chips and beans for his staff meal, as there was only leftover meat pie for helpers dinner on Saturday night !

Bless them they even applauded me and Lucy for providing lunch, with both of us having very slow burning excessive hangovers from the previous evening's shenanigans. Guests even stayed after lunch, where the conversation soon turned fits of laughter thanks to the hilariously funny Mysti Vine , a returning guest at our supperclub. I actually think I laughed so much and laughed so hard at her banter and quips that the remnants of my hangover thankfully disappeared before the guests left and I disappeared for Supper at a friends house (a true luxury after cooking for over 30 people all weekend, mind you I did eat supper and then promptly fell asleep on their sofa for a couple of hours! )

For me this past Bank Holiday, confirmed to me why I do this. I don't do it because I want lots of recognition or create a media persona for myself. I do this because I enjoy cooking and feeding people, hearing the clatter of cutlery and the scrapping of knives on empty plates. I find nothing more satisfying hearing people communicating and laughing with each other over a table of food and drink. This weekend's events and the guests who came, has given me more faith and more confidence in what I'm doing and why I'm doing the Supperclubs.

It may have been a typical Bank Holiday in terms of the poor weather but was a great Bank Holiday in terms of food, drink, company and laughs.

(Photos. D Medrano)

National Tomato week - Roast Tomato and Baked Eggs

2010-05-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

So suprisingly it is National Tomato week, this week. I have no clue why Defra has chosen this week to be National Tomato Week. Once again Defra have randomly stuck a pin in a calendar and declared that this week is National Tomato Week. Surely they would have been better waiting until July or August when the fruits are fully ripened glory rather when they are puny green seedling, but hey who am I to argue with Defra's timing.

Anyway after another trying week, mainly chasing non paying clients at work and been given 2 months notice on my lovely little flat, I was feeling pretty glum. Thankfully the wonderful Patrick came round to cheer me up and have supper. I'm not one of cooking complex recipes during the week, I just don't have the time or inclination after getting in from work late. So the evening called for another quick and really tasty dish that required hardly any effort, so that I could have a good old moan to Patrick.

So to celebrate National Tomato Week (ok, so that's a bit of a fib) and to provide a tasty and comforting supper for both of us, I decided on one of my favorite dishes for supper - it has also been known for me to serve this on a Sunday morning when the hangover is a little to much to bear.

Roast Tomatoes and Baked Eggs

To Serve 2

5 - 7 Large on the vine tomatoes

4 Eggs

Goats Cheese

2 Cloves of Garlic Finely chopped

Small Chili Finely chopped

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Maldon Sea Salt

Olive Oil

1. Cut tomatoes horizontally and put into a large ovenproof dish.

2. Pour a good glug of Olive Oil over the Tomatoes,

3. Scatter the Garlic and Chili over the tomatoes

4. Add a good pinch or two of Maldon and pepper over the Tomatoes

5. Place in a preheated oven at around Gas Mark 7 for around 45 minutes

6. After 45 mins the Tomatoes should be roasted enough to be slightly squished with the back of a spoon.

7. Once tomatoes are squished, make a little well amongst the tomatoes, then break on egg into the well - repeat this for each egg

8. Break up Goats cheese and sprinkle on top of the tomatoes and eggs, you can also add a few Basil leaves at this point as well if you like.

9. Put back into the oven for a further 5 minutes, you can adjust this time depending on how you like your eggs. I prefer runny eggs, so only put the dish back in the least amount of time I can get away with.

10. Take out and serve immediately with chunks of bread to mop up the tomato juice and runny egg yolks.

Dish went down so well with Patrick, that after me moaning about getting kicked out of my lovely little flat and having to look for somewhere else to live, it was decided that we should become flat mates and try and find a place for both of us - what a winner !

Plenty of Inspiration

2010-05-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

The first day back to work after the week long holiday in Northern Cyprus, was not as horrific as it could have been thanks to a copy of Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi, which had been delivered to work whilst I was away.

A brief flick through whilst I booted my mac up at work not only instantly filled me with inspiration but literally made the prospect of my work inbox telling me that I had over 200 emails waiting to be read actually bearable surprisingly. The serenity of the holiday lasted all of about another 5 minutes, the next time I managed to look at Plenty again was the next day after work. Thankfully Lucy and Nina were coming round the next evening to discuss future Supperclubs, or rather using the guise of discussing future supperclubs but in fact having a gossip and a giggle once again.

Still pining for the warmer climes of Northern Cyprus and the wondrous fresh mediteriarian cuisine which we ate every day whilst been there. I decided that the quinoa and bread salad was the best choice for the evening, due to two major contributing factors time and cost.

What I cooked below is based on the recipe in Ottolenghi's book crossed with a Panzanella recipe with somewhat of a Turkish twist, variations were dependent on what was picked up on the way home from work and what was already in the cupboards.

Quinoa and Bread Salad

For 4 people

Ingredients.

Quinoa (about a cup and half)

1 x Red Onion

2 x Mini Cucumbers

4 x Large on the vine tomato's from the local Turkish supermarket

Feta Cheese

Turkish Flat Bread

Pomegranate molasses

1 tbsp of white wine vinegar

4 tbsp of chopped fresh mint

4 tbsp of chopped flat leaf parsley

4 tbsp of chopped coriander

Maldon Sea Salt

Cracked Black Pepper

1. First rinse the Quinoa, then toast off the Quinoa until it changes colour, and then add one and a half times stock to the grain, season and simmer over a medium heat on the hob for around 15 minutes.

2. Whilst the Quinoa is bubbling away, finely slice the Red Onion, cut the cucumbers into large dices along with the tomato's.

3. Brush the Turkish Flat Bread with good Virgin Olive Oil and place in a warm oven until it's warm and slightly toasted.

4. Once the Quinoa has cooked, rinse with cold water and drain

5. Add the chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and sliced Red Onion to the Quinoa and tear up and add as much of the bread as you think necessary.

6. Add the chopped herbs to the mix with the pomegranate molasses and white wine vinegar, and mix thoroughly.

7. Serve up with either crumbled Feta cheese or Greek yogurt on top of the Salad.

Really enjoyed this with Nina and Lucy, really light but surprisingly filling. Also tasted really fresh and texture of the different ingredients was a joy to eat, and was really easy and quick to make. I have a feeling that I will eating a lot more of this during the next few months.

The Last Supper

2010-05-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

In one of the kitchens that I use to work in many moons ago, we use to play a game during service every now and again. Now it wasn’t one of the many horrific games that cooks and chefs play upon each other, which many people hear of. In fact it was a rather gentle game called – Last Supper.

The game consisted of each member of staff listing what they would chose to eat if they only had one meal left in the world to eat, what they would drink , where and with whom would they like as company.

The game usually consisted of everyone trying to outdo everyone else, with meals ranging from foie Gras, Grouse, Oysters and caviar to name a few. Obviously washed down with finest vintage champagne or an amazing bottle of Pinot Noir, surrounded by people such as John Lennon, Elizabeth David, Ghandi and surprisingly Margaret Thatcher (needless to say the person who said Margaret Thatcher was locked in the walk fridge for a very long time).

After spending the past seven days with my parents in their small place in Northern Cyprus, and as my dad brutally told me, having reached my middle aged years, I realise that all my previous answers when playing “Last Supper” are totally irrelevant. I have at the grand old ripe age of 34 realised what my Last Supper would consist of and with whom.

Each morning whilst been away I have had the perfect meal cooked for me which would constitute my Last Supper. Something so simple yet evokes memories spanning back to my childhood and formative adult life. Poached Eggs on Toast, cooked by my mum with a bit of HP Sauce and a cup of Yorkshire Tea, sat at a table with my family. Believe me nothing tastes as good as my mum’s poached eggs. The whites are always firm with no straggly bits and the yolks are always perfectly runny. They are always placed on top of good farmhouse toasted white bread with a generous amount of salted butter spread on the toast. Come hell or high water, my mum has cooked them every time I have asked. Through years of her despairing at me for been the teenager from hell, through break ups, deaths and of course the very rebellious years (which were very despairing for her, though she has never said so and for that I am eternally grateful) , she has cooked them for me.

So there you have it, that’s my perfect “Last Supper”, Poached eggs on Toast cooked by my old dear. Believe me, I have had a fair few food epiphanies in my time, Blood Orange Jelly at St John’s, Iberian Ham in the depths of Andalusia and proper Thai Massaman Curry topped with a fried egg on an island in the midst of the Adaman Ocean. I guess what I’m trying to say is I like the small pleasures in life and that’s what makes me happy. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t begrudge paying quite a bit of money and eating great amazing food, cooked by some of the world’s greatest cooks and chefs, in fact I love doing it. But it’s the small pleasures of life that make me the happiest.

The North South Divide all comes down to Fish and Chips.

2010-04-27T06:35:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to be invited to Canteen to a Fish and Chip master class by Cass Titcombe the Baker Street branch of Canteen. After a brief introduction we were introduced to Cass Titcombe, who gave a quick run through of what makes good fish and chips.

Now been from Yorkshire, I truly believe that I know good fish and chips from a good 50 yards. Fish and Chips are somewhat of an institution back up in the Shire and were always the takeaway of choice in our house when I was growing up. Mind you that was probably due to the fact that there wasn’t really that much takeaway choice in a village which was miles away from civilisation, and the local Chip shop was the closest at some 3 miles away. Anyway I’m digressing, back to the evening at Canteen.

Mr Titcombe gave us a brief lowdown on how they make fish and chips at Canteen explaining that instead of a batter they use breadcrumbs, as it produces a less greasy finished product and also is far less messy in a busy kitchen. I must admit, I did slightly recoil in horror when the word ‘breadcrumbs’ was spoken. Breaded fish, what kind of Fish and Chip master class is the first thing that sprang to mind. Whilst I was recoiling in horror about been served a piece of breaded fish, we were told about how they cook their chips twice at two different temperatures to get the perfect chip – soft and fluffy in the inside and crispy on the outside. Thankfully Cass added that we would be also served a piece of battered fish as well - I was pacified. Not only this but also there would be mushy peas to accompany the fish and chips. Now I love mushy peas, always have done. For me there is no other accompiment for Fish and Chips apart from Mushy Peas, Sorry but Curry Sauce and Gravy just don’t cut it as an accompaniment for Fish and chips at all for me, it’s a whole level of wrongness.

So the verdict, okay it wasn’t a good piece of plaice or haddock cooked in batter in beef dripping like it is at the Magpie Cafe on Whitby or even Eastholme Drive Chippie in Rawcliffe where my dad use to get ours on a Friday evening when we were kids. But then I’ve been spoilt when it comes to fish and chips. Instead I was pleasantly surprised to taste a good piece of fish, that had been cooked well and the breadcrumbs gave it a finish that didn’t leave you feeling that had just ingested half a gallon of oil and your arteries hadn’t hardened up in seconds have consuming. Oh and no heartburn or indigestion, a sure sign of good Fish and chips according to my old dear. Extra points are given of course for the big bowls of Mushy Peas which were placed on the table as well. I could even go as far as saying that they were probably the best fish and chips I have tasted in the barren wasteland of good fish and chips otherwise known as the South. (Sorry as much as I hate been regionalist about things, I’m afraid that you just can’t get great fish and chips south of Sheffield in my humble onion).

Many Thanks to Cass Titcombe and Canteen for the master class, dinner and a copy of the Canteen recipe book which they have just released. (A great book full of good Seasonal British recipes, all of which are easy to follow)

Mushy Peas - food of the gods .....

Ingredients

Dried Marrowfat Peas

Big pinch of Bicarbonate of Soda

Malt Vinegar to taste (optional)

Salt and White Pepper

1.Place the dried peas in a pan and cover with twice their volume of cold water. Add Bicarbonate of Soda and leave to soak over night.

2.The next day, place the pan on the heat and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 45 minutes or until the peas are soft stirrirng regularly. During cooking add more water if the pan looks too dry.

3.Season to taste with salt and pepper and a splash of malt vinegar to taste if you like.

Recipe from Canteen – Great British Food by Cass Titcombe, Dominic Lake and Patrick Clayton-Malone.

A bit more tart vicar - Lemon Tart

2010-04-26T06:16:00.000-07:00

Finally it feels that the spring is in full effect at long last. The cherry tree in my very small gardens is heavily ladened down with its beautiful pink blossom, and it’s even warm enough to sit out and enjoy the sun and the delights of the housing estate.

New season means new produce in season and this makes me very happy indeed.

So at the Supper club on Sunday I jumped at the chance of using the first of the new seasons produce. The starter was the Nettle and Wild Garlic soup which I wrote about a few weeks ago, slightly improved by adding a touch more potato and nutmeg to the recipe. Jersey Royal potato’s (obviously slathered in lots of butter), British Asparagus, Chard and Spring Welsh Lamb with Green Sauce followed for main course. Surprisingly the highlight for me for the first time in a long time was the desert of Lemon Tart. I say surprisingly, as the deserts which we have served recently have all been of the rib sticking variety due to the long cold winter. Let’s face it when it’s cold and dark pretty much all of the time, you can’t beat the comfort and warmth of a good crumble and homemade custard can you.

The lemon tart was the perfect way to end the meal, light, refreshing and of course filling. The recipe used was one of Marco Pierre Whites, which he used at Harvey’s and was passed on to me by the Boy Wonder.

Marco Pierre Whites Lemon Tart

Pastry

500 g plain flour

175 g icing sugar

250 g unsalted butter, at room temperature

grated zest of 1 lemon

1 vanilla pod, split open

11/2 eggs, beaten

Lemon Filling

9 eggs

400 g caster sugar

grated zest of 2 lemons

juice of 5 lemons

250 ml double cream

Decoration

50 g icing sugar

sprigs of mint

1.Sift the flour and icing sugar on to a work surface and work in the butter. Make a well in the centre and add the lemon zest and seeds scraped from the vanilla pod. Add the eggs. Knead the mixture with your fingers, working as quickly as you can, until everything is combined to a smooth dough. Wrap in plastic film and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

2.Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.

3.Grease a flan tin with a removable base that is 20 cm in diameter and 3.75 cm deep. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a disc large enough to line the tin and allowing an overhang of not less than 1 cm. Lay the pastry gently into the tin.

4.Line the pastry case with greaseproof paper and fill with enough dry baking beans or lentils (or indeed any dry pulses) to insure the sides as well as the bottom are weighted. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the beans and greaseproof paper and trim off the overhanging pastry, then return the flan case to the oven to bake for a further 10 minutes.

5.Meanwhile, make the lemon filling. Whisk the eggs with the caster sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in the lemon juice, then add the cream. Continue to whisk until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Skim any froth from the top.

6.Reduce the oven temperature 120°C. Pour the cold filling into the hot pastry case (this will insure that the case is sealed). Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool and set for about an hour.

7.When ready to serve, preheat the grill to very hot. Sift the icing sugar over the top of the tart and place it under the grill to caramelize the sugar to a light golden brown. Alternatively, you can just sprinkle the tart with icing sugar without caramelizing it. Cut the tart into slices and decorate each with a sprig of mint.

The secret of a really good lemon tart is that the filling should be firm and clear and the pastry light and crisp. It should never be cut immediately after it is cooked as it needs time to cool and set for at least an hour, or the filling will be too runny.

What can be said apart from the fact that all plates which were brought back to be washed up where clean and all that was left to photo were two small slivers left from cutting the four large tarts which were baked. Mind you, these didn’t last long once the washing up and cleaning up was done. They were devoured in seconds by me, Lucy and Denise.

Supper Club Suppliers #1 - Syd the Baker

2010-04-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

We always use to use St John Sourdough at our Secret Supper Club. well we use to, up until the Boy Wonder went on his adventures to Sweden. Mr Henderson's and Mr Piers Gellatly's Sourdough bread is the best bread I have tasted. I not going to write a load of adjectives describing how great it is. Its the best bread I have ever tasted, that's all there is to be said on the matter.

These days I just don't have enough time to get to either Clerkenwell or Spitalfields on the run up to a Secret Supper to go get the Sourdough from St John. I voiced my concerns about not been able to get really good Sourdough Bread in Hackney, to a good friend and another supplier of the Supperclub and thankfully he pointed me in the direction of Syd the Welsh Baker.

Syd use to bake bread in London for many years, but moved back to the valleys a few years ago. Unfortunately for Syd , but great for me, Syd and his family have to move back to London and thankfully have started baking bread again in Crinklewood. He is now selling his bread at Stoke Newington Farmers Market, run by Growing Communities , each Saturday between 10 - 2.30pm.at William Patten Primary School on Church Street.

Going to see Syd brightens up each Saturday, a cheerful man who is willing to stop and talk to you even if there's a long queue forming behind you (which there always is).Syd will happily pass on advice of what bread is suited to certain dishes and to recommend something that you have not thought of, as well as explaining the different types of bread that he bakes. Fingers crossed he's going to let me go and help out soon at the bakery for a day to pick up new skills and knowledge.

So I urge people to go buy a loaf of bread off him soon. Why settle for a loaf of bagged processed yeast and flour with some many additives and sugar thrown in to keep it fresh, when you can go buy a loaf of bread off Syd that will taste amazing and keep for nearly a whole week.

Bless him, he even threw in a couple of free croissants in with my bread order this morning, to which I replied I thought that he was amazing. Humble as ever he reply was " why, no one has ever said that about me before", mind you it was said with a grin on his face.

Tatties and Tarts

2010-04-21T06:31:00.000-07:00

So after the horrific realization that I had managed to get sun burnt down one side of my body on a sunny Sunday afternoon in April, personally I blame the volcano, I cancelled my plans for this evening and invited Lucy (the lovely Green Onion Waitress) round to assess the damage I had done to myself and basically have a good old laugh at my expense.

Monday evenings really is the night where I really can't be bothered to cook some elaborate meal, so I didn't.

Thankfully I had made a Gruyere Cheese and Purple Sprouting Broccoli Quiche last night, half cut on the good old Lady Petrol. So the only to do was to make something to go with it, and a quick potato salad was the winner, dare I say it something easy and a bit of cheating involved - Delia would be proud ...

New Potato and Garlic Chive Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients

Enough New Potatoes for two

Cornichon Gherkins

Good Quality Mayonnaise

Dijon Mustard

Garlic Chives

Black Pepper

Maldon

1. Put potatoes on to boil

2. Mix a large teaspoon of Dijon Mustard with 2 tablespoons of Mayonnaise. As much as I wish I could say that I made my own Mayonnaise - I didn't as it was Monday evening and couldn't be doing with the faff, I used the emergency jar of good quality mayonnaise that I have in the fridge.

3. Chop up about 5 Cornichon Gherkins and add to the mayonnaise.

4. Drain potatoes and rinse with cold water to remove excess starch

5. Mix together potatoes and mayonnaise, grind fresh black pepper, add a touch of Maldon and snip garlic chives into the bowl with the potatoes and mayonnaise.

6. Mix everything together well and serve.

Was enjoyed with left over Gruyere and Purple Sprouting Broccoli Quiche, using the Garlic Chives in the Potato Salad made it taste quite refreshing in a good way. Also served with a can of Red Strip and the obligatory chat about life and boys.

A year old but none the wiser

2010-04-18T15:31:00.000-07:00

It's a year to the day since we started the Green Onion Supper Club. In some respects time has flown by and things have changed (for the better I may add). But with any story there have also been some troughs along the way, mainly the departure of one half of the original Green Onion duo to new adventures in Sweden (just don't tell him, I said that).

The celebrations were a low key affair, a quick swoop on Columbia Road, followed by a couple of pints of ale on Broadway Market and a glass of lady petrol and some fresh oysters at the Towpath on Regents Canal in the sun.

A good day all round .......

Apart from the fact that I now resemble a bar of nougat - one half white and the other side a salmon pink, all because I forgot to put sun cream on.

Would just to say thanks for everyone who has helped out over the past year. Whether its coming and eating our food, lending chairs and tables, painting walls and ceilings, friends who came first of all and told their friends, waitressing, the borrowing of oven space, taking the piss out of me and not let me take things so seriously or even just making me smile and laugh. THANK YOU.

Leftover Delight

2010-04-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

After the Secret Supper Club on Saturday night, I found that there was quite a bit of uncooked Purple Sprouting Broccoli left. I must admit after a recent trip to Vinoteca the other week, I have been craving PSB and Anchovy dressing constantly after been served it at Vinoteca with braised shoulder of veal. I even served it at Saturday nights Secret Super with the Mutton Pie.

So returning from work this evening I had a quick scout around in the fridge to see what else was knocking about and found half a pack of fresh lasagna sheets from the local Italian deli and a jar containing four fat Italian anchovies.

Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Anchovy Pasta

Ingredients

2 good handfuls of Purple Sprouting Broccoli, with the outer leaves and tough stalks removed

4 fresh lasagna sheets

4 Anchovies

1 clove of Garlic, finely chopped

1 red Chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped

Grated Parmasan

Maldon

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1.Put two pans of salted water on to boil

2.In a frying pan on a low heat,pour about a tablespoon or so of extra virgin olive oil. Add the garlic and chilli

3. Slice the lasagna sheets into slices and place in one of the pans of salted water

4. Add the prepped Purple Sprouting Broccoli to the other pan

5.Once the pasta and PSB have cooked for a few minutes drain.

6. Add the grated parmasan to the oil, garlic and chilli dressing and keep on the heat foe a few moments until melted in to the dressing

7.Add the PSB and dressing to the pasta, mix together and eat straight away

I must admit, eating this tonight was amazing. Just what I needed on a Monday night after work. It may even become the new Monday night easy comfort food, sadly knocking mushrooms and poached eggs on toast off the top spot. Oh well ........

Sunday Soup Society

2010-04-11T10:45:00.000-07:00

Last night's Supper Club was a joy, we had a full house of lovely people, good food, merriment and conversation flowing between everyone. After nearly a year of doing secret suppers, I still find it funny how a room full of strangers soon become friends with the aid of food and wine. The evenings merriment was aided somewhat by a small wine tasting for those attending, given by the lovely Guerilla Wine Tasting Team.

Needless to say I was feeling slightly fuzzy headed this morning. After a few cups of the Yorkshire Amber Nectar, I had what some people call 'a moment of clarity'.I quickly got my act together and headed out on to Hackney Marshes in search of some nettles.

I've waited curiously for a whole year, wondering what nettle soup tasted like and the best way to cook them. After going Elderflower picking last year with a Swedish work colleague, they were delighted to find masses of unpolluted young nettles in the middle of the Marshes. They quickly picked a few bags full and more or less ran off home straight away to make some soup. Apparently their Grandma use to make it for them when they were children holidaying in Northern Sweden, and always use to top the soup with grated hard boiled egg.

With the sun shining and an amble through Springfield Park,I managed to find a huge patch of stinging nettles (Urtica dioica)pretty close to the canal. With a sharp intake of breath, a pair of washing up gloves and some strange looks off a few people. I quickly filled up two carrier bags with minor stinging damage, thankfully.

Once home I filled the sink up with cold water and donned the rubber gloves once again to give them a rinse. Turned the radio on and started cooking to the dulcet tones of Jarvis Cocker, with the sun beaming in through the kitchen window.

Nettle and Wild Garlic Soup

One large stock pot - this makes about 5 liters (I got carried away picking nettles)

Ingredients

2 x white onion

1 clove of garlic finely chopped

3 medium floury potato's King Edward or Maris Piper is fine

2 carrier bags of stinging nettles

Veg stock

Medium bag of Wild Garlic - another spring delight

Butter

Creme Fraiche

Nutmeg

Maldon

Black Pepper

1. Finely chop the onion and garlic and sweat in a pan with a knob of butter.

2. Peel and chop the potatoes into small pieces and add to the onions and garlic, and cook for a further 15/20 minutes.

3.Pour some veg stock into the pan and add the nettles to the pan.If needed add more stock, making sure that the stock covers the nettles (Covering the nettles and then cooking them takes away the sting).

4. Bring to a gentle simmer and simmer for a few moments until the nettles are wilted down, at the last moment I also added a bag of wild garlic that I had bought at the local Farmers Market the day before.

5. Turn the heat off and add Maldon,Black pepper,nutmeg and a dollop of Creme Fraiche.

6. Blitz in a blender or with a hand held.

7.Once blitzed, season to taste and heat through gently.

Then serve with a small amount of Creme Fraiche and Freshly ground pepper or grated hard boiled egg.

Losing an hour, but gaining the taste of Spring

2010-03-29T04:00:00.001-07:00

The past winter has felt as if its last forever. Not that I'm complaining I love all comfort food that winter brings, pies, stews and not to mention root vegetables, kale and Jerusalem artichokes. But in recent weeks the thought of more trouser expanding food has left me feeling somewhat in despair. I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of purple sprouting broccoli, wild garlic, leeks and of course new season lamb.

The latest secret Sunday Roast was planned for the day after the clocks went forward for British summertime, the perfect opportunity for cooking the start of the new season's produce. A menu of Celeriac and leek soup with chilli confit (Slightly adapted from a Mr Fearnly Whittingstall recipe) , Roast shoulder of lamb and braised lentils along with Bakewell tart for desert was put together for a gentle transition into spring for the secret supper diners. After a quick trip to the local Farmers Market and the veg shop , it was obvious that most of the ingredients that i want to use in the Braised lentils weren't available due to the heavy frosts and the amount of snow we've had over recent weeks in Britain. So no wild garlic and no purple sprouting broccoli to serve on the side this time, I guess we'll all have to wait another week or two.

When all else fails, there is always cake.....

2010-03-21T06:42:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last week not cooking, having become some what dispirited and the enthusiasm which has me thinking about what to cook every minute of the day has disappeared in to thin air. Obviously this poses some what of a major problem when you have twenty random people coming for dinner in your flat every two weeks.

The dispirited mood was also not helped by cooking a mediocre Ox Tail ragu on Saturday night, after which I had to take myself off to bed for a long sleep in a fit of self inflicted rage.

I woke up on Sunday morning bright and early, with the spring Sun streaming in through my bedroom window. Inspired, I made a cup of Yorkshire Tea, switched on Radio 4 and started to make a cake. The combination of Spring Sunshine and a easy Sunday morning had brought back the cooking motivation. After a quick scout around in the cupboards and pantry there was only one cake option and was perfect for a sunny Spring day, everyone's favorite - Lemon Drizzle Cake.

So with Desert Island Disc's and a massive cup of tea for company I got started.

Lemon Drizzle Cake

175g Softened unsalted butter

175g Golden Caster Sugar

Zest of 3 lemons finely grated

3 eggs

175g self raising flour

pinch of Maldon Sea Salt

Drop of milk if needed

200g Icing sugar

Juice of 3 lemons

Grease a large loaf tin and line with greaseproof paper, and pre heat the oven to gas mark 3 or 170 c. Put 175g of softened unsalted butter and 175g of caster sugar in a bowl and then beat you can do it with a wooden spoon but cheat and use a hand held whisk like me. Beat together for five minutes and a bit more. My Grandad always use to say that even when you thought you had beaten butter and sugar together to start the cake mixture you should always cream it for a few more minutes as it always makes your cakes lighter.

Then add the zest of 3 lemons and then beat in 3 eggs. Always add 1 beaten egg at a time with a spoonful of flour so that it doesn't curdle. One you have done this sift the rest if the flour and pinch of salt and then fold it in with a metal spoon. If the cake mixture doesn't drop off the spoon easily just add a drop of milk to get it to the "falling off the spoon " consistency.

Spoon the cake mixture in to the loaf tin and smooth out and bake in the pre heated oven for around 45- 50 minutes, until a skewer inserted in to the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Put 200g of icing sugar and the lemon juice and stir/whisk together until smooth. with a skewer makes loads of holes all over the top of the cake, making sure that you don't poke through to the bottom of the cake. Then spoon the the lemon icing over the cake making sure that it soaks through the cake. Leave in the tin until cool and then turn out.

Make a cup of tea, sit down and have a slice of lemon drizzle cake, does what it says in the tin, Cheers you up, makes a mediocre day into a good day and restores the enthusiasm for cooking once again.

Pesto Gnocchi

2010-03-07T06:12:00.000-08:00

Having had a tough week at the day job - I actually managed to leave work on Thursday evening on time and discovered to my delight that it was still actually daylight. Quickening the pace to get home in good time I passed one of the many many Turkish supermarkets on the way home and spied some really fresh Basil. I quickly picked up two bunches of the green stuff up, paid and carried on power walking home in anticipation of closing the door behind me and spending some quality time in my kitchen - alone !

In my opinion there is only one thing that you can do with the freshest basil and that is to make Pesto. It might be basic, simple and really quick to make but it in my opinion its one of the best tastes in the world. Having decided that pesto was the only option the next conundrum was what to have with it. After looking in the pantry and cupboards to see what was in, I very quickly decided against pasta and went for making the fluffy clouds of potato joy - Gnocchi.

Pesto Gnocchi

Couple of floury potatoes

1 large egg, beaten

250g flour, plus extra for dusting

100g butter

Couple of bunches of Basil

Handful of pine nuts

Couple of cloves of garlic

Juice of half a lemon

Extra Virgin Oil

Finely grated Parmesan

Maldon Salt and cracked black pepper

Sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

Rocket

Buffalo mozzarella, if feeling decedent after payday

Making Pesto always surprises me, purely because it takes no time at all to make and is so easy to make. Fist pick all the leaves of the bunches of the Basil into a food processor. then gently dry fry your pine nuts in a frying pan for a few moments until they change to a golden brown color. Once the pine nuts have changed color drop them in to the food processor as well. Add the couple of crushed cloves of garlic, Salt, pepper and the juice of half a lemon and start blitzing, once the food processor is blitzing, slowly pour in the olive oil so that it gently mixes together with the other ingredients. After a few minutes the ingredients will have combined - season to taste if it needs it.

Boil the unpeeled potatoes in a large pan of water until tender. Drain and, when cool enough to handle, remove the potato skins.Put through a potato Ricer or Mash if you haven't got one

Add the beaten egg, plenty of salt and pepper and the flour and mix to form a dough. Then turn out on to a floured surface and knead for a few minutes.

Put a pan of salted water on to boil. Cut the dough into smaller bits and roll out each piece to 2cm 'sausages'. Cut the rolled 'sausages' at inch and a half or 2cm intervals and cook the gnocchi in the boiling water, its best done in batches, for 3-4 minutes, until the potato dumplings have risen to the surface. Then remove with a slotted spoon Refresh in cold water and drain well - I place mine on kitchen towel to drain fully.

Chop a few sun dried tomatoes and throw them in to the pan with the gnocchi, I also add a handful of rocket leaves in for good measure. If I'm feeling decedent after pay day I tear some Buffalo mozzarella in too. Then stir in a couple of spoons of the pesto making sure that all the gnocchi is covered and serve with plenty of grated Parmesan, and cracked black pepper.

Some what easy and simple but a plate of great flavors and comfort for a Thursday evening supper for one.

Biting the bullet ......

2010-03-03T13:09:00.000-08:00

and starting a blog about the trials and tribulations of cooking and eating in my council flat kitchen. Just now got to think of things to post here in the near future that's all