http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/Why buy junk food or a supermarket ready meal when you can have the fun of making food from fresh ingredients? Using fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and meat does not have to be either expensive or time consuming. It will probably taste better and be healthier than ready-made alternatives.I am a self-taught cook trying hoping to encourage more people to cook for themselves. Eating should be a good social experience with family or friends.As well as cooking for myself I do eat out, so part of this blog is also an appreciation of those pros who can do much better than me!en-EUhttp://backend.userland.com/rss092http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/http://data5.blog.de/design/preview/6f/663b2ebe89cd400c58675066edce99_160x200.jpg <p>The title of this posting makes it sound far more than it really is. On a short visit and without knowing Russian it is hard to really get more than a fleeting impression.</p> <p><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/294/5889294_6cb7814ad8_m.jpeg" alt="Supermarket Sergiev Posad"></p> <p>When we went to <a title="Sergiev Posad" href="http://oddsends.blog.co.uk/2011/09/21/sergiev-posad-11893146/">Sergiev Posad</a> we went into a modern shopping centre on the way back to the station. A supermarket there seemed to be little different from in the West. The only major difference was that the fresh vegetable section was much smaller than here and had a limited choice - cabbages, carrots, water melons, aubergine, peppers, potatoes but not much more. I was surprised at how many foreign goods were for sale though at a premium price - a small pack of Lays (equivalent to Walkers) crisps was about £1 and Crawfords shortbread about £8. There was a good meat counter and a large selection of cold cuts.</p> <p><a title="vodka aisle" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/vodka_aisle/5855996"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/996/5855996_742fe17ab8_m.jpeg" alt="vodka aisle"></a></p> <p>What was most impressive though was the vodka aisle which would be the same size as a wine aisle in a similar sized supermarket here.</p> <p><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/995/5855995_06fdac829c_m.jpeg" alt="Moscow delicatessen"></p> <p>There was a brightly coloured delicatessen shop near our hotel by the Partizanskaya station. It seemed well stocked and featured a bar with a wide range of drinks on tap. We just had a little difficulty making ourselves understood. Despite that they used a English as well as Russian on the signage.</p> <p><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/448/5862448_82c433c6a4_m.jpeg" alt="GUM delicatessen"></p> <p>Doubtless <a title="GUM Moscow" href="http://oddsends.blog.co.uk/2011/09/17/gum-moscow-11864771/">GUM</a> would have been a posh place to shop although we did not check this particular place out.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2011/09/23/food-shopping-in-moscow-area-11905136/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2011/09/23/food-shopping-in-moscow-area-11905136/Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:48:12 +0200 <p>Also in Arbat and opposite My My is Shashlyk Mashlyk a Caucasian restaurant with a terrace. It was recommended in the Lonely Planet and we were expecting to have to pay more than in the cafeteria style across the street. However we were a day away from the end of our trip so were trying to carefully calculate our remaining Roubles.</p> <p><a title="Shashlyk Mashlyk" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/shashlyk_mashlyk/5855936"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/936/5855936_22c395a997_m.jpeg" alt="Shashlyk Mashlyk"></a></p> <p>A shashlik or shashlyk is just another word for a shish kebab; indeed I remember the term from living in Germany where you could get Hungarian shashlik at some 'schnelle Imbiss' stands. This seems to be the speciality of the restaurant and in their extensive menu there are pages of shashlik options.</p> <p><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/329/5845329_aee27a50f6_m.jpeg" alt="Caucasian grill"></p> <p>Inside, not surprisingly, was a large charcoal grill. Our waitress spoke excellent English and gave a good overview of the menu. We decided to share a khachapouri which was a puff pastry stuffed with cheese. We also decided to go for one pork and one lamb shashlik.</p> <p><a title="Shashlik" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/shashlik/5845333"></a></p> <p><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/333/5845333_4816360ba6_m.jpeg" alt="Shashlik"></p> <p>The waitress reminded us that what we had ordered was just meat and asked if we would like vegetables. We ordered grilled pepper and grilled aubergine but ended up getting grilled tomato as well. </p> <p>The khachapouri was tasty. We had often seen pastries for sale at reasonable prices in kiosks but could never understand what was in them. Another time I need to be more adventurous. The kebabs were served with pomegranate and a sauce that seemed to be like passata with either chilli or hungarian paprika and dill. It was hot to the taste though not overly so. The tomato and dill combination was quite different to other hot tasting sauces but worked well.</p> <p><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/196/5854196_d6fbab2956_m.jpeg" alt="Mashlyk bill"></p> <p>The vegetables were very small though they tasted fine. The aubergine was like a baby aubergine and the pepper considerably smaller than you would buy in a shop here. At 110 or 130 Roubles per vegetable (~ £2.44 and £2.88 respectively) they seemed expensive. Having said that we enjoyed the restaurant and the food.</p> <p><a title="shisha" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/shisha/5853856"></a></p> <p><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/856/5853856_eda29385d0_m.jpeg" alt="shisha"></p> <p>Like the Uzbek restaurant, shisha was an optional extra. One thing I did not like about Moscow was the amount of smoking. It seems like 95% of people smoke and I was conscious of being a passive smoker.</p> <p>We ended up paying more than expected in Shashlyk Mashlyk. We had budgeted for the shashliks at 430 Roubles each, but were surprised at the the vegetable cost. My son paid and said he could not find our waitress and when finding the bill was asked to pay a fairly hefty service charge on top so we ended up paying about 2,850 Roubles having budgeted for about 2,000. We do not know if this was correct but he could not make himself understood to query it.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2011/09/10/restaurant-review-shaslyk-mashlyk-11818099/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2011/09/10/restaurant-review-shaslyk-mashlyk-11818099/Sat, 10 Sep 2011 14:16:20 +0200 <p>We had wandered along Arbat one day and had a good lunch at My My (see previous post) but on the way out noticed that there was an Uzbek restaurant next door. We returned to Vostochny Kvartal two evenings later. We have never tried Uzbek food so it seemed like an opportunity not to be missed.</p> <p><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/857/5853857_6d9c5a13ee_m.jpeg" alt="Vostochny Kvartal"></p> <p>The restaurant had a pleasant street terrace where there seemed to be a fair amount of tourists. The menu had reliable English descriptions and our waiter was helpful. Judging by the menu the food seemed to be somewhere between Greek/Turkish and North Indian/Pakistani. There were starters including vine leaves (rather like dolmades) and <em>samsas</em> which looked very much like samosas but with more like a puff pastry than filo pastry.</p> <p>The menu included variations of <em>plov </em>the Uzbek national dish which consists of rice, spices, vegetables and meat. Apparently the word plov is related to pilau and pilaf; apparently these dishes have their roots in Bactria and got spread around when Alexander the Great invaded the area. Many of the dishes were prepared in a <em>tandir </em>which must be a word with a similar root to tandoor.</p> <p><a title="Plov" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/plov/5845334"></a></p> <p><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/334/5845334_e6beae390b_m.jpeg" alt="Plov"></p> <p>We went for a <em>samsa</em> started which was stuffed with vegetables. It was much less spiced than an Indian samosa but was pleasant. The <em>plov</em> was with lamb and whole garlic cloves, carrots, cumin and probably tumeric; the spicing was milder than say a biriyani but was very tasty. The <em>non</em> bread had similarities with naan and Turkish bread in the sense that it was leavened. However it had a crust unlike the softer naan bread. The plov was served with finely sliced onions with paprika.</p> <p>We enjoyed the food very much and the bill (including some beers) came to about 2,000 roubles (£44). I recommend this place although I have no idea of how it compares with other Uzbek restaurants.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2011/09/09/restaurant-review-vostochny-kvartal-11812308/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2011/09/09/restaurant-review-vostochny-kvartal-11812308/Fri, 09 Sep 2011 13:41:12 +0200 <p>Recently I went on my first trip to Russia with my youngest son. I had promised him a trip some years ago and a few months ago he said he wanted to visit Moscow. About 3 months ago I managed to find a job so we went ahead and planned the trip.</p> <p> One of the challenges of getting around Moscow is following Cyrillic signage but thankfully most menus are bilingual with English as the second language. However, some of the translations can be misleading or cofusing. I am not being negative about this - after all which places to eat in Britain offer multi-lingual menus?</p> <p> We stayed at the <img title="Izmailovo Gamma-Delta" src="http://www.izmailovo.ru/en/" alt="Izmailovo Gamma-Delta"> hotel - a large 3 star complex on the North East side of the city. The hotel has many restaurants and cafes some of which were reasonably priced in Moscow terms. One breakfast we saw sandwiches on the menu and while 'ham sandwich' or 'smoked salmon sandwich' were clear we were intrigued at 'cheese sandwich with oil'. My son was put off trying it but I was sure it was a mistranslatioon and the "oil" turned out to be butter.</p> <p><a title="by the gram" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/by_the_gram/5845328"></a></p> <p><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/328/5845328_535a755a49_m.jpeg" alt="by the gram"></p> <p>We had to learn that it is very rare for a main course to come with vegetables. Everything had to be ordered separately and even portions of mustard or ketchup are separate line items on the menu (see above).</p> <p> Another thing to note is that in many cases a menu specified the weight in grams of portions or of key ingredients. In fact the "cheese sandwich with oil" had three figures which seemed to correspond to the weight of the slide of bread, the (4 mm thick) slab of butter and the (20 mm thick) slice of cheese.Generally though you have a good idea of what portion sizes are.</p> <p>Generally speaking we had been warned in guidebooks that eating would be expensive. Restaurants seem to be geared to tourists and Russian "new rich" and you needed to budget similar money to the UK. In our hotel we had a Russian buffet for about 450 Roubles per head (~£10) which comprised finely chopped salads, pickled vegetables, various hot dishes including stuffed peppers, stews and fresh fruit. Eating a la carte in the hotel cost more than that. Eating out in the Arbat area could easily cost 1,000-1,500 Roubles per head.</p> <p><a title="Moo Moo" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/moo_moo/5845331"></a></p> <p><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/331/5845331_8e89e1f268_m.jpeg" alt="Moo Moo"></p> <p>Despite that it is possible to find more reasonably priced food even in a popular area such as Arbat. There was one reasonably priced chain called Ϻу Ϻу in Cyrillic which is pronounced "moo moo". As you might expect there is a cow outside. This chain uses a cafeteria format so you queue up with your tray and can choose from a selection of salads, soups, meats, vegetables and desserts; all portions are carefully weighed. A meat portion cost about 130-150 Roubles whereas nearby restaurants charged more like 350-450 Roubles. My My offered the choice of eating in the basement, groundfloor or in a covered terrace area. Our food there was quite tasty and was much better value for money than elsewhere.</p> <p><a title="Rocket salad" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/rocket_salad/5845332"></a></p> <p><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/332/5845332_24ecd04381_m.jpeg" alt="Rocket salad"></p> <p>On some occasions we were confused looking the the illustrations of food with Cyrillic only descriptions. When I saw the picture above I thought it was strawberries, ice cream with chocolate sauce plus rocket! However I managed to work out decoding the Cyrillic that is was strawberries, marscapone cheese, balsamic vinegar and rocket. Some words are similar to Italian e.g. ruccola for rocket and pomodoro for tomato.</p> <p><a title="Shesh-Besh" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/shesh_besh/5853855"></a></p> <p><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/855/5853855_1215deb4cf_m.jpeg" alt="Shesh-Besh"></p> <p>Something that was interesting was the availability of food from other parts of the former Soviet Union such as the Caucasus or Central Asia. We wanted to try some of these places that you are unlikely to find in Western cities. The picture above is of Shesh-Besh an Azeri restaurant on ul Novy Arbat; we unfortunately did not get round to trying it out.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2011/09/06/eating-out-in-moscow-11790067/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2011/09/06/eating-out-in-moscow-11790067/Tue, 06 Sep 2011 09:48:43 +0200 <p>Another way to keep wild garlic for when it is out of season is to dry it. This is a <a href="http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2007/06/13/314297/masterclass-wild-garlic.htm">technique</a> used by the <a href="http://www.jswrestaurant.com/">JSW restaurant</a> in Petersfield. Of course drying herbs is hardly a new idea but wild garlic dries just as nicely as herbs like oregano and thyme.</p> <p><a title="dried wild garlic" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/dried_wild_garlic/4602588"></a></p> <p><img src="http://data6.blog.de/media/588/4602588_879eb0962d_m.jpeg" alt="dried wild garlic"></p> <p>It is a simple technique which just requires a bit of time.</p> <p><em>Ingredients</em></p> <p>100 g fresh wild garlic leaves<br>1 tsp salt</p> <p><em>Method</em></p> <p>1. Cut and carefully wash the wild garlic leaves (obviously take what ever you want to preserve and scale accordingly).<br>2. Set oven to 50 Celsius<br>3. Dry leaves and spread out on trays with the leaves non-overlapping and place in oven<br>4. Once the leaves are brittle (~ 4 hours later) remove from oven. Make sure that all the leaves are dry and brittle<br>5. Grind using a spice grinder or food processor then add salt<br>6. Store in a jar</p> <p>If you start with 100 g of wild garlic leaves you will end up with 20 g (or less) after drying.</p> <p> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2010/04/30/dried-wild-garlic-8485667/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2010/04/30/dried-wild-garlic-8485667/Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:00:44 +0200 <p>A tart is something that is very easy to make especially with ready-made puff pastry. Around this time of year we have often made a tart using <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2007/03/21/ingredient_wild_garlic~1947041/">wild garlic</a>, chorizo and cheese. The family is split on the choice of cheese with some preferring mozzarella and others feta cheese so we usually compromise by using both.</p> <p><em>Serves 3-4 as main course (or 6-8 as starter)</em></p> <p><em>Ingredients</em></p> <p>One sheet of Just-Ro puff pastry<br>40 g  wild garlic leaves (about 20 leaves of 15 cm)<br>150 g cooking chorizo<br>one red onion<br>150 g cherry tomatoes<br>125 g mozzarella cheese<br>125 g feta cheese<br>salt & pepper</p> <p><a title="tart base" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/tart_base/4523212"></a></p> <p><img src="http://data6.blog.de/media/212/4523212_667f7378c9_m.jpeg" alt="tart base"></p> <p><em>Method</em></p> <p>1. Preheat oven to 180 Celsius (fan) or to 200 C without fan<br>2. Finely chop the chorizo and gently fry in a frying pan<br>3. Wash wild garlic leaves then pat dry<br>4. When the chorizo fat is melting, thinly slice the red onion and add to the pan<br>5. Meanwhile either take the puff pastry sheet "as is" or roll out slightly<br>6. Make a rectangular score mark a good 1 cm or more from the edge of the pastry without cutting through the pastry<br>7. Prick the area inside the rectangle with a fork<br>8. Cut out a sheet of aluminium foil the same size as the scored rectangle and lightly press into the pastry<br>9. Put pastry in the oven until the edge of the tart has puffed up well<br>10. Remove the aluminium foil and the central area will not have risen and will look a little greasy<br>11. Return the pastry to the oven until the centre begins to rise (see right side of photo above) then remove.<br>12. Shred the wild garlic and spread over the centre of the pastry (the quantity is an estimate you simply need enough leaves to cover the area).<br>13. Spoon the chorizo and onion mix over the wild garlic leaves<br>14. Quarter the tomatoes and add to the tart<br>15. Grate the cheese and spread over the tart<br>16. Return the tart to the oven for about 10 minutes or when the cheese is well melted, then cut into portions using a pizza cutter</p> <p><img src="http://data6.blog.de/media/213/4523213_c7b118839a_m.jpeg" alt="chorizo tart"></p> <p> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2010/04/03/chorizo-and-wild-garlic-tart-8301709/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2010/04/03/chorizo-and-wild-garlic-tart-8301709/Sat, 03 Apr 2010 17:25:32 +0200 <p>Well we are being told that Spring is "late", but this winter is the sort of winter I remember as a kid as being normal. Two weekends ago felt fairly warm and since then my garden has really begun to "spring".</p> <p><a title="spring has sprung" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/spring_has_sprung/4499820"> <img src="http://data6.blog.de/media/820/4499820_6a0ec22379_m.jpeg" alt="spring has sprung"></a></p> <p>This picture - taken about a week ago - shows how my square metre of <a title="wild garlic" href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2007/03/21/ingredient_wild_garlic~1947041/">wild garlic</a> has "sprung". Methinks we will have our first wild garlic dish of the season this weekend...</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2010/03/27/spring-has-sprung-wild-garlic-time-is-here-8253716/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2010/03/27/spring-has-sprung-wild-garlic-time-is-here-8253716/Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:17:09 +0100 <p>I have just realised that the warm orange background and my picture of chives have disappeared from my blog. Strange thing is that when I go to design forms and get a preview they all come back again.</p> <p>Has anybody had a similar problem?</p> <p>O.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2010/03/11/what-has-happened-to-my-blog-design-8158714/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2010/03/11/what-has-happened-to-my-blog-design-8158714/Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:05:54 +0100 <p>As you may have seen earlier I think that the pan haggerty idea is a good wintry idea for using roots. With lamb or game stews we have often offered a haggerty and say couscous to provide staple alternatives. I have not often followed the potato tradition but have enjoyed a <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2006/10/20/parsnip_pan~1242824/">parsnip-based variant</a>. It has often crossed my mind that parsnips, sweet potato and beetroot all take similar times to roast in the oven. So why not do a three-root "pan haggerty"? After a few experiments I am satisfied that the combination of parsnip, sweet potato and beetroot works well together - even if this is a step or two away from a traditional pan haggerty.</p> <p><em>Serves 4</em></p> <p>This can either be a main part of a vegetarian meal or can accompany a meat dish</p> <p><em>Ingredients</em></p> <p>250 g parsnip<br>250 g sweet potato<br>250 g beetroot<br>(These are obviously guidelines as the size of roots varies hugely. If as is likely your roots do not match these suggested quantities then tend to underweight the beetroot and overweight the others. This is simply because beetroot has the strongest taste).<br>150 g cheddar cheese<br>100 g echallion shallots or alternatively onion<br>2 tbsp rapeseed oil<br>salt and pepper</p> <p><em>Method</em></p> <p>1. Prehead oven to 150 Celsius<br>2. Take a cast iron frying pan of at least 25 cm diameter (alternatively a similar sized casserole dish) with a good 4 cm depth otherwise scale down the quantities.<br>3. Brush the pan with vegetable oil.<br>4. Grate (or slice) each of the roots into separate bowls. I have on different occasions both sliced and grated using my magimix and been happy either way. <br>5. Slice the shallots (onions) into 1 mm thick slices<br>6. Grate the cheese into a separate bowl<br>7. Take the grated beetroot and spread across the pan. Add salt, pepper then brush a little oil on top. I start with beetroot otherwise the beetroot juice will colour the other roots.</p> <p><img src="http://data6.blog.de/media/766/4447766_49526c9892_m.jpeg" alt="3-root pan after beetroot"></p> <p>8. Spread a thin layer of grated cheese and then a layer of sliced shallots (separate the rings). The above picture shows about half of the shallots added to the pan.<br>9. Take the grated sweet potato and spread across the pan. Add salt, pepper then brush a little oil on top.<br>10. Repeat "8"<br>11. Take the grated parsnip and spread across the pan. Add salt, pepper then brush a little oil on top.<br>12. Add a layer of grated cheese<br>13. Cover with foil and put in the oven for 45 min<br>14. Remove the foil and increase temperature to 180 C for 15 minutes.</p> <p><a title="3-root pan" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/3_root_pan/4447767"><img src="http://data6.blog.de/media/767/4447767_c5364aeffc_m.jpeg" alt="3-root pan"></a></p> <p>15. Use pizza cutter to slice the pan and then serve.</p> <p> <a title="3 root haggerty" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/3_root_haggerty/4449155"><img src="http://data6.blog.de/media/155/4449155_637f0aef21_m.jpeg" alt="3 root haggerty"></a></p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2010/03/10/three-root-pan-haggerty-8148431/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2010/03/10/three-root-pan-haggerty-8148431/Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:48:30 +0100 <p>The <a href="http://www.multimap.com/maps/?qs=SO20+6DE&countryCode=GB#map=51.12812,-1.42333|16|4&bd=useful_information&loc=GB:51.12811:-1.42331:16|SO20%206DE|SO20%206DE">crossroads</a> on the A30 in the middle of fields between Stockbridge and Sutton Scotney seems an odd place for a pub let alone a French restaurant. However, the <a href="http://www.closdumarquis.co.uk">Clos du Marquis</a> is a restaurant specialising in the food of SW France. We were invited there by some friends a little while ago and the following is my report.</p> <p>We arrived and the 18th century building is basicaly divided into a lounge and a dining room. The lounge looked pleasant enough with an open fire but since our friends were hungry we went straight into the dining room. The ceilings were rather low but the white walls helped give a feeling of space.</p> <p>There was a winter a la carte menu which was pretty close to what they have on their website at the time of writing. I love tuna staks but almost every place I have ever eaten them in the UK frys them at too low a temperature and for too long. The result is tough and not particularly tasty. In trips to California I love the way that they <em>blacken </em>tuna steaks searing spiced steaks at a great heat and leaving the middle raw. I thought that the <em>Medaillon de thon rosé, piperade et ventrêche</em> was worth a try as the French generally treat tuna well. The tuna steak lived up to the <em>rosé</em> description nicely; it was more done than I ideally like but obviously fried at a high termperature but taken out when the middle was just cooked pink. It was served with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pip%C3%A9rade"><em>piperade</em></a> a pleasant combination of tomato, pepper and onion and <em>ventrêche </em>a thin slice of grilled ham. The dish was very good indeed and the two small tuna steaks plus the ham were surprisingly filling. My friends and Mrs O went for <em>St Jacques sautées à la citronelle </em>which was four pan-fried scallps with a lemon grass sauce. They all loved the dish but felt that £11+ for four scallops was pricey.</p> <p>For the main course, we all tried different things. I went for <em>Filet de chevreuil au chocolat </em>which was an excellently prepared venison fillet - really seared outside and a good medium pink inside - with a chocolate sauce. I have seen how authentic Mexican restaurants (as opposed to Texmex) have used chocolate in meat sauces when visiting Texas. I was not aware this was done in France but it worked very well indeed. One of our party tried the <em>Joue de porc de Bayonne braisée à l’orange et à la vanille</em> a braised pork cheek. This was very tender and very tasy - I tried a mouthful - and if I go there again I would not hesitate to try it. Another tried the rabbit and was very happy with it. Mrs O tried the sea bass which was another big success. We were a little disappointed with the seasonal vegetables that came with the meal. This was not a question of quality - there were lovely parsnip chips, bits of roast beetroot and french beans - but just that we would have happily eaten much more than we were given.</p> <p>By the dessert course I had hit a wall and could not eat more. Two friends though ordered the <em>crème brulée</em> done three ways. One was vanilla, the second grand marnier and the third coffee. Mrs O went for cheese and was impressed by the variety offered on the cheese trolley.</p> <p>Overall we were happy with the experience. Did not write down the wines we tried so cannot report that.</p> <p> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2010/02/24/restaurant-review-clos-du-marquis-at-leckford-hutt-8067208/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2010/02/24/restaurant-review-clos-du-marquis-at-leckford-hutt-8067208/Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:34:05 +0100 <p>In many neighbouring countries celeriac is widely used as a winter veg. Here not all vegetable outlets stock it and it is a bit "exotic" despite being seasonal. The root is perhaps a bit more ugly than say a beetroot, swede or turnip but is not that different from other roots. Indeed it is edible raw: like beetroot or carrot, but unlike potato or parsnip.</p> <p>When in the Netherlands in winter I often had delightful celeriac salads. They were a great winter alternative to coleslaw and of course had a mild celery tast to them. Here is my version...</p> <p><a title="celeriac salad" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/celeriac_salad/4325859"> <img src="http://data6.blog.de/media/859/4325859_9fa78161a6_m.jpeg" alt="celeriac salad"></a></p> <p><em>Serves 4-6 (Subject to where you use it and the size of the celeriac!)</em></p> <p><em>Ingredients</em></p> <p>1 celeriac<br>100 g mayonnaise (see note below)<br>200 g natural yogurt (see note below)<br>salt and pepper<br>(optional: 1 level tsp paprika)</p> <p><em>Note</em></p> <p>Obviously a celeriac varies in size. They are commonly 800g-1kg. The quantities of mayo and yogurt are approximate. I would not weigh them out, however measuring spoons are not ideal for mayo or yogurt either! Just stick to the rough ratios. This is not "gram perfect" cooking!</p> <p><em>Method</em></p> <p>1. Scrape the skin off the celeriac. The top will be easy while the lower 'ugly' part will be more difficult. I generally slice the celeriac into roughly 2 cm slices horizontally. This will make removing the 'ugly' parts easier.<br>2. Shred the celeriac either using a mandolin shredder or a food processor (if I do not use a mandolin, I use the middle disk on my Maximix).<br>3. This is optional because celeriac can be eaten raw. Some food writers are on about the risk of bitter tastes. If I do not taste the celeriac as bitter I skip this, but it is an easy step! Blanch the shredded celeriac in boiling water for about 2 minutes then quench with cold water. If there is bitterness this should fix it.<br>4. Take roughly 100 g mayonnaise and 200 g natural yogurt; add salt, pepper and (optionally up to 1 tsp paprika). Mix thoroughly in a salad bowl.<br>5. Add shredded celeriac and toss until the celeriac is coated with the dressing.</p> <p> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2010/01/29/celeriac-salad-ideal-for-winter-7900858/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2010/01/29/celeriac-salad-ideal-for-winter-7900858/Fri, 29 Jan 2010 23:04:41 +0100 <p>Some decades ago I was on a business trip to Paris and had <em>crudités</em> - basically raw vegetables with a dressing - for the first time. Crunching through the veg seemed like a healthy way to start the meal. In the UK we tended not to start with anything crunchy. Sometimes I do not understand why more people do not try raw beetroot when in season - I much prefer it to the boiled in the bag or picked stuff.</p> <p>I quite like some things in Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall's book <em>River Cottage Year </em>and he features a beetroot, pear and apple salad that I find a great light way to start a meal in the Autumn and early Winter.</p> <p><a title="beetroot salad" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/beetroot_salad/4286390"> <img src="http://data6.blog.de/media/390/4286390_bb5d7425be_m.jpeg" alt="beetroot salad"></a></p> <p>The following is what we do:</p> <p><em>Serves 4-6</em></p> <p><em>Ingredients</em></p> <p>1 large, hard conference pear (150-200 g)<br>1 hard cox apple<br>1-2 beetroots (depending on size, need about 150 g)<br>half lemon (or whole lime)<br>1 tbsp vegetable oil<br>salt <br>pepper</p> <p><em>Method</em></p> <p>1. Shred pear, apple and beetroots into thin strips (I use a mandoline with shredder attachment)<br>2. Squeeze half lemon (or the lime), then mix juice with vegetable oil<br>3. Sprinkle shredded vegetables with salt and pepper, add lemon and oil dressing and toss<br>4. Serve</p> <p>Unlike Hugh I do not bother peeling the apple or pear if the skin is good. The lemon juice helps to prevent the apple and pear browning (they go pink with the beetroot juice). It is worth serving soon after making if the beetroot, apple and pear are to be crisp.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2010/01/16/beetroot-pear-and-apple-salad-7768371/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2010/01/16/beetroot-pear-and-apple-salad-7768371/Sat, 16 Jan 2010 21:26:35 +0100 <p>In my view smoked fish - especially salmon - and raw fennel tastes are made for each other. The crispness of the fennel complements the subtlety of smoked or cured salmons (e.g. gravad lax).</p> <p>I like to dress the fennel rather than have it raw, but I think that choosing the components of the dressing is crucial. Stronger oils or vinegars work with some food but are overpowering with fish. For example some years ago, when first doing fennel salad with fish I tried olive oil. The problem was the salmon taste was overpowered by the olive oil taste.</p> <p><a title="fennel salad" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/fennel_salad/4231258"><img src="http://data6.blog.de/media/258/4231258_bc813b425a_m.jpeg" alt="fennel salad"></a></p> <p>After a bit of experimentation I have settled on the following:</p> <p><em>Serves 4:</em></p> <p><em>Ingredients:</em></p> <p>1 medium to large fennel bulb<br>30 ml (2 tbsp) rapeseed oil<br>15 ml (1 tbsp) rice wine vinegar<br>salt<br>pepper</p> <p><em>Method:</em></p> <p>1. Slice the fennel vertically through the bulb in thin slices (I set my machine to 1.5 mm). For a large fennel I halve the slices to make them more manageable<br>2. Mix dressing ingredients<br>3. Toss fennel and dressing<br>4. Serve in small container (I do this to stop the dressing getting on the salmon on the plate)</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/12/28/fennel-salad-for-smoked-fish-7651781/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/12/28/fennel-salad-for-smoked-fish-7651781/Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:16:02 +0100 <p>We had six for Christmas and not all of them ate meat, so we continued our practice of not being bound by tradition. Even as a meat-eater I am not that keen on roast turkey anyway.</p> <p>It seems pointless to overeat at Christmas so we try to match lighter starters or desserts with heavier main courses and vice versa. </p> <p>This is what we did:</p> <p>24 December</p> <p><em>Starter: </em>stuffed portobello mushrooms (stuffed with roast red pepper and goat's cheese)</p> <p><em>Main course: </em>scampi, chips and red cabbage coleslaw</p> <p><em>Dessert: </em>fresh fruit</p> <p>25 December</p> <p><a title="Christmas salmon starter" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/christmas_salmon_starter/4230964"><img src="http://data6.blog.de/media/964/4230964_93cf41be3a_m.jpeg" alt="Christmas salmon starter"></a></p> <p><em>Starter: </em>hot smoked salmon, gravad lax with dill/mustard sauce and <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/12/28/fennel-salad-for-smoked-fish-7651781/">fennel salad</a></p> <p><em>Main course: </em>nut loaf, roast potatoes, parsnips and beetroot with red wine and tomato gravy</p> <p><em>Dessert: </em>mincemeat turnovers with vanilla ice cream</p> <p>26 December</p> <p><em>Starter: </em><a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2010/01/16/beetroot-pear-and-apple-salad-7768371/">raw beetroot, apple and pear salad</a></p> <p><em>Main course: </em>baked rainbow trout, with garlic rice and stir fried vegetables (onion, pepper, carrot and cauliflower)</p> <p><em>Dessert: </em>pecan, cranberry and fudge upside down cake</p> <p>27 December</p> <p><em>Main course: </em>either chorizo, rocket and sundried tomato tart or tomato and rocket tart with <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2010/01/29/celeriac-salad-ideal-for-winter-7900858/">celeriac salad</a>.</p> <p> </p> <p>For me one of the best things about this menu was no cold turkey leftovers!</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/12/28/christmas-over-7651719/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/12/28/christmas-over-7651719/Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:00:53 +0100 <p>After a 3-month silence I just wanted to wish fellow bloggers a very happy Christmas. I enjoyed the cold weather and the beauty of the rime in my garden until it thawed around midday yesterday. My oregano plant was covered with snow and was not very photogenic so, my rosemary will have to do instead.<a title="rosemary" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/rosemary/4222468"></p> <p></a></p> <p><img src="http://data6.blog.de/media/468/4222468_9929b44922_m.jpeg" alt="rosemary"></p> <p>We are not planning a traditional Christmas meal. Maybe I can update you in the coming week.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/12/24/christmas-greetings-and-blessings-for-the-new-year-7635096/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/12/24/christmas-greetings-and-blessings-for-the-new-year-7635096/Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:21:17 +0100 <p>I am very conscious that my blog output has withered to almost nothing. I have been through about 5 months of unemployment and then self-employment where I am struggling. Lack of posting is not lack of enthusiasm for any of my blog themes. If I am earning enough to support the family I fully intend to be back.</p> <p>In the meantime...sorry!</p> <p>O.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/09/18/sorry-6986995/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/09/18/sorry-6986995/Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:01:04 +0200 <p>After being disappointed, in my curry quest, by the changes in <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/08/26/journey-down-memory-lane-gibson-street-6829680/">Gibson Street</a>, I headed along University Avenue. Much of it was just the same as when I was there - a few concrete buildings more discoloured, the stone ones looking the same and still uncleaned and a few new ones...</p> <p><a title="Curry Leaf outside" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/curry_leaf_outside/3829242"> <img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/242/3829242_7179907b33_m.jpeg" alt="Curry Leaf outside"></a></p> <p>I recall Byres Road as having shops, banks, pubs but no memorable restaurants. I was therefore surprised to see <a href="http://www.thecurryleafglasgow.com/">The Curry Leaf</a> between University Avenue and Hillhead Subway station. It described itself as offering "tapas" and 'modern Indian cuisine' so I was curious to see what that entailed.</p> <p><a title="Curry Leaf inside" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/curry_leaf_inside/3829243"> </a><a title="Curry Leaf inside" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/curry_leaf_inside/3829243"></a><a title="Curry Leaf inside" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/curry_leaf_inside/3829243"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/243/3829243_3e5b92c5bc_m.jpeg" alt="Curry Leaf inside"></a></p> <p>Inside there is a clean appearance with a reasonably modern decoration of the victorian building. I sat at a table near the window but there is an upstairs level as well. The Anglo-Indian waitress who told me about the menu said that Indian food is often served as a series of smaller portions much like tapas. So the idea of the tapa portion is quite authentic and not copying the Spanish. However as is commonplace in Spain many dishes are offered on the <a href="http://www.thecurryleafglasgow.com/menu">menu</a> in 'tapa' or 'main course' portions.</p> <p>While I wanted to try out the 'tapa' idea I wanted to try their pakoras. Pakoras were always a feature of eating in a Glasgow curry house and are not the same as onion bhajis offered south of the border; and I enjoy making pakoras myself.</p> <p><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/244/3829244_9356355556_m.jpeg" alt="mixed pakoras"></p> <p>Normally I would go for plain old vegetable pakora but on this occasion tried the mixed plate for £3.95. I was served a mixture of finde vegetable pakoras, chicken pakoras and aubergine pakoras. They arrived nice and hot with a crisp batter.</p> <p>Dining alone is often boring on a business trip. I appreciated being offered a newspaper to read - a courtesy often shown to me in Germany but rarely in Britain - I had not read the Glasgow Evening Times for years!</p> <p><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/246/3829246_9b18b67a2e_m.jpeg" alt="Indian tapas"></p> <p>I then ordered two 'tapas' - a bhuna lamb (£4.50) and a fish curry (£4.20)  - with two chappatis (2 x £1.10). The lamb bhuna was tasty and the fish curry was subltly spiced haddock. I find curried with white fish are difficult to prepare as the spices can easily overpower the white fish. The portions were jus the right size to be eaten by hand using pieces of chapati.</p> <p>By this stage I had eaten enough but was overcome with curiosity to try a vegetarian tapa.</p> <p><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/247/3829247_b746010b06_m.jpeg" alt="chana masala"></p> <p>I went for the charna masala (£3.50) as I find chickpeas more challenging to cook right than say lentils or meat. The result was very tasty but by this stage I had over-eaten - to my shame!</p> <p>Overall I found the Curry Leaf a pleasant place to site, with friendly staff and tasty food. However I do not actually recall seeing curry leaves in the dishes!</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/08/27/restaurant-review-the-curry-leaf-192-194-byres-road-glasgow-6830132/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/08/27/restaurant-review-the-curry-leaf-192-194-byres-road-glasgow-6830132/Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:53:37 +0200 <p>I am making a brief return to blogging now that I am visiting a conference/exhibition in Glasgow. I went to uni for 7 years in Glasgow in the late 1970s/early 1980s. There are a lot of food memories from that time as I went to university having little idea of how to cook and being used to typically bland 1970s UK food. I was taken out to an authentic Chinese New Year dinner and realised that the high street chinese was not reconisable to my fellow students from SE Asia. I was introduced to my first curry at the Agra - then an affordable place for students - on Gibson Street just south of the University campus. Later Indian students taught me to make curry and pakora. I expected Gibson Steet be a sort of West Glasgow equivalent of Drummond Street but was left wondering what had happened?</p> <p>After today's conference sessions, I went to Kelvinbridge station on the "clockwork orange" underground and headed for a journey down memory lane. I started with Great Western Road where I recalled a greasy spoon cafe and a wholefood shop called "Grass Roots" opposite the end of Oakfield Avenue. Grass Roots sold things like oat, wheat and barley flakes or dried fruit out of big bins. I made my own muesli from what I bought there. I think that there is a betting shop now roughly where Grass Roots was and the cafe is now considerably upmarket from 28-30 years ago if it is in the same place.</p> <p>Grass Roots created a spin-off called Roots and Fruits which was an eco-friendly fruit and veg shop. It is still there but looks a lot posher than in the past.</p> <p>Gibson Street used to be regarded as the centre of South Asian eating in Glasgow (at least from my student-centric view). I was keen to report an update on the curry houses as I liked the Glasgow food which as a bit different from what you get in England. Most English Indian restaurants are run by Bangladeshis, while Gibson street seemed to be run by Punjabis from Pakistan and India.</p> <p>In the past there were two major and two minor establishments. The Shish Mahal was closest to the University not far from the former church that was used for University exams. That used to be the post popular place with a queue outside at weekends. I liked the food but disliked the service/queue management which meant that your main course was thrust in front of you after you had just started on your pakoras. You did not feel welcome to stay long.</p> <p><a title="Shish Mahal site" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/shish_mahal_site/3828973"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/973/3828973_a542f365b7_m.jpeg" alt="Shish Mahal site"></a></p> <p>If I am not mistaken the whole tenement block which included the Shish Mahal is now gone (above). I then walked down to the bridge over the Kelvin where on the east side of the street the other big establishment - the Koh-i-noor - used to be. I recall that they were also very successful and even got their curries in frozen form into the Bejam freezer food shops around 1980.<a title="Koh-i-Noor" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/koh_i_noor/3828974"></a></p> <p>I think that the restaurant block has also been demolished and replaced by UNITE private sector University accommodation. The only reminder of the past was this little takeaway with the Koh-i-Noor name.</p> <p><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/974/3828974_5f31a43b2d_m.jpeg" alt="Koh-i-Noor"></p> <p>Between the Shish Mahal and the Koh-i-Noor there used to be two smaller establishments - the Shalimar on the South side of the street and the Agra on the North side. The Shalimar seemed to keep going despite its small size whereas the Agra seemed to change owners from time to time.</p> <p><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/975/3828975_536753f8dc_m.jpeg" alt="former Shalimar"></p> <p>Today there is a near eastern offering roughly where the Shalimar used to be. On the left Pars is a Persian Restaurant while on the right Falafel is Lebanese. Despite both of these looking interesting, I was firmly in a curry mood so walked further towards <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/08/26/restaurant-review-the-curry-leaf-192-194-byres-road-glasgow-6830132/">Byres Road</a>.</p> <p>If anyone can fill me in on what happened in the last quarter century of restaurants on Gibson Street please post a comment!</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/08/26/journey-down-memory-lane-gibson-street-6829680/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/08/26/journey-down-memory-lane-gibson-street-6829680/Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:19:57 +0200 <p>My very <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2006/8/">f</a><a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2006/08/17/sushi_al_fresco~1047298/">irst posting</a> was about making sushi on a Cornish campsite. I fancied some home made mackerel sushi and had taken my bamboo mat and some sushi nori with me; I unfortunately forgot to take Japanese rice.</p> <p>Since healthy eating of raw fish depends on real freshness, I went across to Trelawney's at Newlyn to buy freshly landed mackerel.</p> <p><a title="Trelawney" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/trelawney/3772879"> <img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/879/3772879_2c9a9e0d4e_m.jpeg" alt="Trelawney"></a></p> <p>I also bought a piece of salmon - which I suspect was not landed in Newlyn - and some samphire. Plan A was to make some sushi rolls with our supermarket rice, however since that was quite inappropriate and did not stick we had to go to plan B - ceviche.</p> <p>Ceviche is raw fish with a citrus-based marinade. I have never been to South America but like the ideaof ceviche; but absolutely no authenticity is claimed for what I did. Citrus juices can chemically cook raw fish so the taste will depend on how long the fish has been in the marinade. Leaving the marinated for say 10 minutes gives a raw fish texture while leaving it for an hour or more gives more of a cooked texture.</p> <p><a title="Campsite ceviche" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/campsite_ceviche/3772878"> <img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/878/3772878_7472505dba_m.jpeg" alt="Campsite ceviche"></a></p> <p>The following is what we did:</p> <p><em>Serves 3</em></p> <p><em>Ingredients</em></p> <p>4 mackerel fillets<br>1 small salmon steak<br>half red pepper<br>4 spring onions<br>50 g samphire<br>handful of coriander leaves<br>handful of parsley leaves<br>1 lime<br>half lemon<br>1 tbsp olive oil<br>1 tbsp soya saucee<br>1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)<br>1 clove garlic</p> <p><em>Method</em></p> <p>1. Remove scales from mackerel fillets. Take a sharp knife and start to separate the flesh from the scales starting at the tail. After a few centimetres the scales can be pulled off. The transparent scales are not edible while the silvery skin underneath is.<br>2. Remove skin/scales from the salmon<br>3. Finely cut up the fish and put into bowl.<br>4. Finely chop the pepper, spring onions, samphire, coriander and parsley and add to bowl.<br>5. Squeeze lime and lemon and mix juice with olive oil, soya sauce and finely chopped garlic<br>6. Add chilli flakes if wanted. Add liquid to bowl and mix gently. <br>7. Leave for at least 10 minutes and longer if you want a more 'cooked'  texture to the fish. We left it one hour in our camping fridge waiting for my son to return to the beach.<br>8. Serve with a light summery wine like Frascati or vinho verde and tiger rolls with sea salt and black pepper (Tesco's in our case)</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/08/10/campsite-ceviche-6690511/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/08/10/campsite-ceviche-6690511/Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:45:30 +0200 <p>I am currently enduring torrential rain in the West of Cornwall. The tent is soaking but thankfully has only developed minor leaks. This sort of damp weather changes what you want to eat. Today was supposed to start with a healthy bowl of low fat yogurt and fruit but we soon swapped that for a bacon butty.</p> <p>For lunch we also wanted something hot but did not want to have to drive through the rain to overcrowded supermarkets. There were two smoked mackerels in the fridge so I thought they could be tarted up a bit as a hot bap filling. This is what we did.</p> <p><em>Serves 2-3</em></p> <p>2 smoked mackerel filets<br>4 wholemeal baps<br>margarine<br>1 tsp vegetable oil<br>half a medium onion<br>2 tsp whole grained mustard<br>two small dollups tomato ketchup</p> <p><em>Method</em></p> <p>1. Finely chop the half onion<br>2. Heat the oil in a frying pan on the camping stove with a medium heat and add the onion<br>3. Meanwhile finely chop the mackerel and add to the frying pan<br>4. Toast the baps and apply the margarine or butter<br>5. Add the wholegrain mustard and ketchup to the mackerel and onion mix<br>6. Ensure the ingredients are well mixed and heated then serve into the baps</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/07/29/comfort-food-for-a-rainy-campsite-6611666/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/07/29/comfort-food-for-a-rainy-campsite-6611666/Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:14:13 +0200 <p>I have gone quiet for a while...</p> <p>After seven months without work and finding virtually no permanent jobs in my sphere, I have taken the plunge and started a little company. This is completely absorbing me at present and likely to be so for the coming months. Hopefully if I am getting a steady income again I will return to blogging.</p> <p>O.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/06/10/no-posts-but-work-6274764/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/06/10/no-posts-but-work-6274764/Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:04:17 +0200 <p>Angels Thompson has <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2007/03/21/ingredient_wild_garlic~1947041/">asked </a>about whether she has wild garlic in her garden or not; she gave a description of the flowers. I really cannot answer questions like that but suggest that anybody who is not sure gets a good wild flower guide from their local library.</p> <p>Wild garlic can be confused with two poisonous varieties:<br>a) Early in the season when the leaves just come up there is a slight similarity with 'lords and ladies' or wild arum. However once the leaves are developed they are easy to tell apart. Wild arum has irregular shaped leaves with deep veins. While wild garlic leaves have smooth convex shapes with a single vein and a slight striping of the surface. The second photo in an earlier <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2007/03/10/wild_garlic_coming~1879942/">post </a>shows wild arum growing among wild garlic.</p> <p>b) Later in the season there is a similarity with lily of the valley. The leaves of wild garlic are green while lily of the valley leaves grow from a purple stem. The wild garlic flowers generally have a star shape with 6 petals. Lily of the valley has bell shaped flowers. Wild garlic leaves smell garlicky while those of lily of the valley do not.</p> <p> <a title="wild garlic flowers" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/wild_garlic_flowers/3480297"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/297/3480297_d5820b7d95_m.jpg" alt="wild garlic flowers" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>The photo above shows that the wild garlic leaves have parallel stripes on their surface.</p> <p> <a title="wild garlic flowers2" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/wild_garlic_flowers2/3480300"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/300/3480300_24b05a3111_m.jpg" alt="wild garlic flowers2" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>The photo above gives a closer view of some flowers. Note also that the leaves of some younger plants are narrower than more mature ones.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/05/06/wild-garlic-flowers-6068460/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/05/06/wild-garlic-flowers-6068460/Wed, 06 May 2009 13:44:40 +0200 <p>Well, I'm back home after my first trip to Africa. Mrs O asked me what I was missing before I returned and one of the things was pasta. It's not that you cannot buy pasta in Uganda but it is pricey and it was more fun to try other things.</p> <p> <a title="stuffed chicken" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/stuffed_chicken/3480254"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/254/3480254_9c773a6284_m.jpg" alt="stuffed chicken" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>Mrs O duly spoilt me with chicken breast stuffed with chorizo and wild garlic leaves, wrapped in black forest ham and baked. This all served with farfalle and a tomato sauce.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/05/06/home-again-6068353/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/05/06/home-again-6068353/Wed, 06 May 2009 13:20:14 +0200 <p>Kampala used to be described as a city built on seven hills, however with the massive expansion in recent decades I understand that the count is more like thirty hills today. On the south side of Kampala some of the hills overlook an inlet of Lake Victoria. About halfway up one of the hills is a hotel called Cassia Lodge which seems to be frequented by westerners working for NGOs.</p> <p> <a title="Cassia sign" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/cassia_sign/3472805"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/805/3472805_4aadb9389d_m.jpg" alt="Cassia sign" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>There is also a <a href="http://www.cassialodge.com/restaurantbar.html">restaurant and bar</a> boasting "the best view in Kampala".  Part of the restaurant has open windows with the view (below) while next to the bar there is a platform for truly alfresco dining.</p> <p> <a title="Cassia view" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/cassia_view/3472826"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/826/3472826_54d7d11572_m.jpg" alt="Cassia view" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>Having been on my first trip to Kampala I have no idea whether the claim of "best view" has merit; but the view from the Lodge is definitely outstanding.</p> <p>Food seems very much geared to western tastes with a variety of steaks, kebabs and fish dishes on the menu. While there was nothing wrong with the food, there was nothing particularly remarkable about it either. Typical Ugandan fare such as <em>matooke </em>(starchy bananas), goat or <em>posho</em> (maize mash) were not on offer when I visited; the main concession to Uganda was the "East African mixed grill". Dishes were priced from about 15,000 Ugandan shillings for a sandwich (large portion with salad and chips) to about 22,0000 shillings for a steak or fish dish. This means about £5-7 for a main course so hardly burning a hole in the pocked if you have a British salary. The staff were courteous and friendly, the restaurant was pleasantly furnished.</p> <p>While the food was not the most interesting I tried in Kampala - for example I enjoyed the food at the Fasika Ethiopian restaurant on Gaba Road more - the view is worth the trip. The equatorial sun sets very rapidly and so the views to the Kampala suburbs and to Lake Victoria change rapidly.</p> <p> <a title="Cassia view 2" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/cassia_view_2/3472807"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/807/3472807_2aba083f3c_m.jpg" alt="Cassia view 2" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>As the sun sets the shadows and colours change rapidly.</p> <p> <a title="Cassia view 3" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/cassia_view_3/3472808"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/808/3472808_881452f1a5_m.jpg" alt="Cassia view 3" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p> <a title="Cassia view 4" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/cassia_view_4/3473361"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/361/3473361_5a57b6f0d0_m.jpg" alt="Cassia view 4" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>Also it is possible to see a fair amount of wildlife. While sitting on the platform - the same evening as shown above - I saw a harrier hawk, rollers, brown parrots, falcons and some strange insects of roughly dragonfly size.</p> <p>Once it gets dark the view of Kampala by night is good - sorry my camera is not good for night photos - there is not the dull sodium glow that you see in British cities due to streetlights so although you see some lights on the hills you can see the night sky too. Being close to the equator you see both Northern and Southern Hemisphere stars. So after seeing Orion 'sideways' I was able to make out the Southern Cross well to the south. We also saw a lot of lightning very far to the East.</p> <p>So I would not recommend going out of the way to Cassia just for the food, the view is definitely worth the trip. A very enjoyable evening was had seeing the light fade and the night views.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/05/04/restaurant-review-cassia-lodge-uganda-6055743/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/05/04/restaurant-review-cassia-lodge-uganda-6055743/Mon, 04 May 2009 11:40:37 +0200 <p>Kampala is a city of contrasts with the most modern places to go and many which are no different than in Ugandan villages. This applies to fast food as well. The city has grown rapidly and now boasts a population of over 3 million.</p> <p> <a title="Katuuso takeaway" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/katuuso_takeaway/3472806"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/806/3472806_6fc8cf592e_m.jpg" alt="Katuuso takeaway" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>The little wooden kiosks such as those above are quite common in the suburbs. The lady on the right is kneading dough for chapatis. The chapatis are then fried on a hot plate.</p> <p>On the left there is a sign saying "rolex" which is shorthand for "rolled eggs". Basically eggs are beaten with some vegetables and fried a bit like an omelette and then rolled up in a chapati.</p> <p>It is quite noticeable that the big US fast food chains such as Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonalds were not visible in Uganda. The market is still in the hands of local busineses.</p> <p> <a title="chicken tonight" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/chicken_tonight/3466620"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/620/3466620_896e8a2acb_m.jpg" alt="chicken tonight" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>One such business is Chicken Tonight which seemed to have a number of outlets. I never went in but the takeaway packages were reminiscent of KFC. Come to think of it one business in the district of Kasanga advertised itself as "KFC" but it was "Kasanga Fried Chicken".</p> <p>In town I saw a number of places selling burgers, fried chicken and samosas. One outside the Shoprite supermarket was run by Asians. Many places sell samosas with beef and vegetable being the most popular. The beef samosas seemed to be purely of spiced minced beef, the vegetable ones seemed less spicey than those I have bought in the UK.</p> <p> <a title="soya fast food" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/soya_fast_food/3466621"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/621/3466621_488f77bc33_m.jpg" alt="soya fast food" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>However I never worked out what "Soya Fast Food" was. The red was taken from the Coca-Cola ad on the side of the building. However the building was shut when I took the photo.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/05/04/kampala-takeaway-food-6055412/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/05/04/kampala-takeaway-food-6055412/Mon, 04 May 2009 10:43:16 +0200 <p>Being in Uganda has been interesting because there are quite a few very different ingredients. I am aware of extensive use of sorghum and millet but have not tried them so far. There is a lot of use of starches including <em>matooke </em>(a sort of plantain), sweet potatoes (not as sweet as those sold at home), rice, "Irish potatoes" (bog standard potatoes). <em>posho </em>(a maize mash) and cassava. I have often seen sweet potatoes and cassava being cultivated. However I have also been served some new greens.</p> <p>One of the most interesting was <em>buugga </em>(pronounced "boohgah") which I have eaten steamed.</p> <p> <a title="buugga" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/buugga/3464210"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/210/3464210_3cb6aa63a8_m.jpg" alt="buugga" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>When I first tried it I immediately thought that it was like a cross between spinach and beetroot leaves (obviously NOT the case!). The leaves are thinner than those of spinach but they wilt in a similar way. The stems are very much like those on a beetroot and the juice coming from the stems has a similar colour to beetroot.</p> <p>The taste does remind me of both spinach and beetroot.</p> <p>The local vegetable kiosk sells a bunch of buuga for about the same price of one carrot - 100 Uganda shillings.</p> <p>Another vegetable I have come across and which I cannot find out much about online is <em>doodo</em> (pronounced dohdo) which also seemed like a sort of spinach. However I have not yet found it in a shop or kiosk.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/05/01/buugga-6040937/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/05/01/buugga-6040937/Fri, 01 May 2009 16:38:37 +0200 <p>We visited Queen Elizabeth Park in the west of Uganda, then returned for a one day trip to Lake Mburo National Park. We spent quite a bit more on accommodation for the one night we were here by booking <a href="http://www.mihingolodge.com/">Mihingo Lodge</a> which is just outside the park. The lodge is upmarket for Uganda and we took the full board which we did not regret (it came out at about £75/person for one double room and one twin room).</p> <p>We arrived for a late lunch having travelled via Mbarara from the west and were fairly hungry after driving through the park seeing zebras, impalas, etc.</p> <p> <a title="Mihingo restaurant" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/mihingo_restaurant/3429945"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/945/3429945_e40449f499_m.jpg" alt="Mihingo restaurant" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>The lodge is built on a series of grey rock outcrops, the restaurant being a thatched structure on one of them with the bar to the right.  We were offered a cold avacado and garlic soup as the starter. I am a fan of cold soups for refreshment in hot weather generally but this was one of the best soups I have ever eaten!</p> <p>There was a main course cold buffet of quiche, roast pork, roast potatoes and coleslaw. A dressing with finely chopped chillies was offered as an option. I am not normally a fan of quiche but this was a great one. The coleslaw was based on red rather than white cabbage but had a delightfully light dressing which had yogurt but not to much mayo.</p> <p> <a title="view from Mihingo restaurant" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/view_from_mihingo_restaurant/3429920"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/920/3429920_8fee24a633_m.jpg" alt="view from Mihingo restaurant" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>I almost forgot that the restaurant had an amazing view. Below the swimming pool there was a watering hole where we saw both antelopes and warthog pottering around.</p> <p>The lunch was rounded off with a fruit salad - water melon, banana and pineapple - with a little ice cream.</p> <p> <a title="Mihingo buffet" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/mihingo_buffet/3429902"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/902/3429902_4c34e64de7_m.jpg" alt="Mihingo buffet" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>The evening meal was even better. Before we even sat down we were shown bushbabies near the bar - illuminated by a red light. They have a curious ape-like face and looked very sweet. One was the normal sandy colour but two were an unusual melanistic variant.</p> <p>There was a starter of leek and potato soup - not normally one of my favourites - but after the evening safari drive it was most welcome. The buffet consisted of spicy chicken in a peanut sauce, rice and baked aubergine. Thoroughly scrumptious.</p> <p>The breakfast buffet was also excellent with high quality sausage (very meaty and nicely seasoned) and bacon along with fresh fruit and pancakes (if you could find room!). It was so filling, I could hardly eat lunch when we stoped at the Equator on the way back to Kampala.</p> <p> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/04/20/restaurant-review-mihingo-lodge-uganda-5976144/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/04/20/restaurant-review-mihingo-lodge-uganda-5976144/Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:00:02 +0200 <p>I have not posted for a while because firstly I was trying very hard to get part-time work; I've not worked since my redundancy 5 months ago. Secondly I had a long-planned trip to Uganda to visit my son and to do some voluntary work. Hence a posting out of my usual comfort zone.</p> <p>Mrs O and my 3rd son came with me and we joined my 1st son for a trip to the west of Uganda. On the main road from Kampala to Mbarara we stopped for a lunch break at Lukaya. There are numerous roadside stands grilling goat, chicken and gonja (a sort of banana) and each stand has a bunch of sellers who sell food directly to vehicles.</p> <p> <a title="food sellers" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/food_sellers/3443658"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/658/3443658_3fb4be84ca_m.jpg" alt="food sellers" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>As can be seen with the bus above there is no shortage of sellers who press travellers hard to buy their wares. Our minibus was surrounded in a similar way.</p> <p> <a title="gonja sales" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/gonja_sales/3429801"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/801/3429801_ae2520261a_m.jpg" alt="gonja sales" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>One of the first things I learned in Uganda is that the banana varieties are different from those we import at home from the Carribean. <em>Matooke </em>is a savoury banana used as a starch accompaniment to meat dishes. <em>Gonja </em>shown above is a short, slightly sweet variety that is very tasty grilled. Its flesh is more yellow than bananas at home. <em>Kabalaga </em>is a sweet but short variety that looks similar inside to bananas.</p> <p> <a title="chicken kebab" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/chicken_kebab/3429784"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/784/3429784_b1151a90b6_m.jpg" alt="chicken kebab" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>A more pricey snack is a chicken kebab - though it is not expensive in European terms! - which I recall could be haggled for about 2,000/-. Goat however is cheaper at about 500/-</p> <p> <a title="goat kebab" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/goat_kebab/3429785"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/785/3429785_c7be42c828_m.jpg" alt="goat kebab" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>Selling techniques are very hard as is the haggling!</p> <p>I had never eaten goat before but I liked it. It has a slightly greasy taste like lamb but a strong and pleasant taste.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/04/20/ugandan-roadside-fast-food-5975924/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/04/20/ugandan-roadside-fast-food-5975924/Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:16:52 +0200 <p>With my wild garlic patch doing well outside my kitchen door I decided to try an experiment yesterday afternoon. I have often combined wild garlic with pasta but read about how Jake Watkins has been making <a href="http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2007/06/13/314297/masterclass-wild-garlic.html">risotto with wild garlic</a>. So I wondered about adding a wild garlic taste to sushi.</p> <p>I took a good handful of wild garlic leaves and washed and dried them, then put them in a wet and dry spice grinder with 2 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tbsp mirin and 2 tsp sugar. I ground them to a sort of paste that I added to 250 g of sushi rice when the rice was still hot.</p> <p> <a title="green sushi" href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/green_sushi/3359608"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/608/3359608_408869534e_m.jpg" alt="green sushi" hspace="5" vspace="5"></a></p> <p>My family thought it tasted really strongly of wild garlic though I barely tasted it with the wasabi and soya dip. However I certainly have a wild garlic taste in my mouth this morning!</p> <p> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/04/01/green-sushi-5846345/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/04/01/green-sushi-5846345/Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:58:17 +0200 <p>I have written very little so far this year. The key reason is that I have been unemployed for the last 5 months and am looking for work. I think I am getting closer to the end of that. At the end of this week we hope to visit our son in Africa - something planned before my redundancy so I am likely to be quiet for a further month.</p> <p>...just one quick posting to follow</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/03/28/limited-blogging-5846287/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/2009/03/28/limited-blogging-5846287/Sat, 28 Mar 2009 11:43:26 +0100