Dinner Time

Since moving out again and no longer having my wonderful mother to cook for me when I get home from work, it's been down to us to feed ourselves (poor souls!) I actually love to cook in the evening to wind down and I guess I see it as another form of creativity, and the ultimate benefit is you get to eat it at the end! The dishes I choose to make don't take an age to cook, cause I'm often starving by the time I get home. Give them a go! So, from top (click for recipe source):

Salmon with quinoa 

I exchanged the courgette, chili and broad beans for mange tout and cabbage that we already had

Sausage meatballs with pasta

a Nigella recipe I have done before and will undoubtedly do again

Stuffed peppers

for 'Meat Free Monday' last week I stuffed two peppers each with quinoa, aubergine, peppers, peas and feta

Suckling pig on the most delicious sauce, not cooked by me but enjoyed by myself and my brother at Brixton Cornercopia, my favourite place of the moment!

Cactus, Fries & Fruit

D and I often try out different places to go out for dinner in London and so I've decided to do little reviews for each. Over the summer we visited the following:

Wahaca Southbank Experiment

We went after work on a balmy summers evening, and having popped our name on the list we were given a bleeper and went up to the bar for a drink. The restaurant itself is made from brightly painted shipping containers and has a cool temporary feel. Once at our seats the Mexican street-style food arrived sharpish; it was a tapas-like menu - D had a barbacoa special and I had a cactus taco and chorizo and potato quesadilla. If you're into tequila they have a detailed menu and the waitress was very knowledgeable on that front! 

For a quick evening meal and to eat in a quirky location it's definitely, worth a try!

MEATliquor

My brother recommended MEATliquor, having been along a number of times himself, but like Burger & Lobster there's a bit of a queue to endure before you eat! Unlike B&L (they take your mobile number and you pop off to the pub to wait on their call), you have to queue outside for what turned out to be an hour. In the rain. We did get treated to an onion ring though Once we were in we were promptly seated in the dark, almost club-like restaurant, and I feel older-than-my-years by saying it was really loud! Nevertheless the food was simple but delicious, we both had burgers and shared fries and the fantastic, chunky onion rings. My drink came in a jam jar - big thumbs up! 

There seem to be so many burger restaurants at the moment, and the food here was great, but I don't know if I'd go again because of the queue.

Dinner by Heston Blumental

For D's birthday surprise, I booked us a table at Dinner. Heston has impressed and awed diners on his television programmes with weird and wonderful dishes, so I was excited to try this gourmet food. We deliberated over the menu for a while, sipping on our G&Ts, and went for: the famous Meat Fruit  and Rice & Flesh for starters; Spiced Pigeon and Black Foot Pork Chop for mains; and Taffety Tart and Chocolate Bar for mains. All were absolutely delicious! The sommelier helped me select my wine choice and we were given a complimentary after dinner sweet with our coffees and teas. I was a bit nervous before we went (1. because D didn't know where he was going and 2. as I wondered if it was going to be really posh), but I needn't have worried.

The whole experience was incredible, so if you save up your pennies (or go for the set lunch menu) definitely go! The ice cream machine that was wheeled out for some American diners sitting near us was a liquid nitrogen spectacle in itself!

Images (clockwise from top left): 1 The Telegraph 2 The Telegraph 3 Wahaca

In Pictures

Quinoa, chicken and veg . Sandbar workspace . Card collage . Monoprinting . Double chocolate cupcakes . Family lunch . Flowers in a book . Sunday morning in London . My workspace

Glorious Grub

I've really enjoyed getting back into cooking since moving into the flat. I baked honey cake and Emma made us a delicious vegetable and noodle soup. Don't worry mothers, we're eating well!

Al Fresco

Sitting outside in Lauren's garden last night, it made me think how much I love summer dining in the open air. Here in Strasbourg everyone sits out at cafés sipping on an expresso or a glass of wine, nibbling on cheese... okay okay, that stereotype went too far! I want to do a breakfast, as I mentioned here, but also an al fresco dinner party before I head up to Manchester in September. Kinfolk has some brilliant ideas and beautiful images too - fairy lights and candles, under the stars, drinking out of jam jars, with a group of great friends.

Images from Kinfolk

Edible Seeds

Quinoa (which apparently you pronounced keen-wa not qui-oh-ah) seems to have popped into the mainstream and it's pretty versatile - you have it sweet or savoury. I tried it as a rice pudding like breakfast once, but it didn't go so well. Maybe if I am a little less impatient and leave it for 15-20mins to boil, like this sweet video says, I'll have more luck!

I always love flicking through recipes books, grabbing ideas. I want to think of some tasty afternoon tea style nibbles for my Royal Wedding party.

And now even Brother D is getting into cooking. Tonight he made us bangers and mash - and it was very good too!

Video from My New Roots via City Sage

TLV: Mmm Food

Puaa was our first stop when we arrived in Israel. Sitting in the Flea Market in Jaffa, this was the point when I realised Tel Aviv was one trendy place! The interior is shabby chic and you can purchase whatever's around you. We were greeted by mini kegs of hot cider and I chose aubergine with bread to start which was delicious.

One evening we went for drinks at HaMaoz. It's supposed to be like the inside of an apartment, and we sat and enjoyed drinks on the front porch. The staff were really friendly - and helped me figure out the currency when I tried to pay with the equivalent of 3p!

 The search for hummus was one of our main aim's for the trip. The Wallpaper City Guide recommended Aba Gil's for organic hummus (as well as Puaa). We were not disappointed, and felt happily stuffed after. But that didn't stop us from finding...

Max Brenner's chocolate emporium! Like stepping into Willy Wonka's factory, were just expecting a chocolate shop, however we were invited to sit down and choose from a seriously chocolatey menu. I had chocolate milk whilst Ben ate a jar full of chocolate goodies with hot sauce to pour over it. So good!

After a long day in Jerusalem, we went wandering into Tel Aviv and came across Rustico on Rothschilds. It was full to the brim. We sat at the bar over looking the kitchen and saw our dishes being made fresh -  I had cream, lemon and spinach pappardelle. Delicious!

On our final night we ate a Suzanna in Never Tzedek. They serve great traditional Israeli food and I had a baked filo pastry wrap with aubergine and goat's cheese.

All in all, Israel does good grub!

Images 1: Ice cream in Jaffa 2: Hot cider in Puaa 3: Ha Maoz commercial 4: Max Brenner chocolate 5: Aba Gil's organic hummus

Pudding Rice

I seem to be posting alot about food, but I love cooking and trying new recipes. Rice pudding isn't so new however, but Ma and I (who are having a girly week whilst the boys are away) just put some on in the slow cooker. It's so easy: 1 pint of milk, an ounce of sugar, two ounces of pudding rice - we used flaked - and some nutmeg. We're leaving it to cook for four hours and have it for pudding after this chicken dish which I'm going to cook for dinner!

Image from 101cookbooks

In a Field

A long time ago I'm sure I cut out a picture of people sitting at a long, long table in a field, and it just sprung back into my mind. So as you do I Googled 'long table field dinner party' and found it! The joys of search engines. They're called Outstanding in a Field and they travel all over the States doing dinners on farms, in parks and gardens. It looks just idyllic. One day I'd like to have a party like this myself. Summer 2011. Birthday? Decided!

Disappearing Dining

Last night I was invited to a Disappearing Dining Club by my friend Lauren. She had helped organise this first pop up restaurant event and it was held in a quirky little pub, the Queen's Head near King's Cross. I didn't know anyone else there but we were sat at a great table with some really fun people and had hilarious conversation all night long.

The night was long indeed, as the food came out quite slowly - it was their first night so understandable - but it was delicious once it reached us. We had battered crab, cauliflower veloute, monkfish cheeks, pigeon breast (delicious!), watermelon granita and chocolate mousse to finish!

If you ever see one of these pop-up restaurants around, I'd recommend going along. They serve great food and sitting on tables with new people, who knows who you might meet!