Chocolate and walnut brownie - Kastner and Ovens

I seem to have unwittingly found myself on a quest for the best brownie. It feels like a challenge I can't refuse.

While my friend Nicole assures me that Leon do the best brownie in London (I'll try that another day), today I already had my sights set on an offering by Kastner and Ovens in Floral Street, Covent Garden.

It's a very pleasant little deli, which does hot food and soups at lunchtime, a few sandwiches and chilled food and has an amazing array of cakes, tarts, biscuits and all things sweet. And you can choose your own delicacy from the arrangement of plates - I always like that.

And the brownie? Well, it's a nutty type - it contains chunks of walnuts, the perfect amount in fact, if you are to have nuts at all in your brownie (I'm not always convinced they're necessary). It looks home-made, like it was turned out of the tray this morning. It's slightly crumbly and flaky on the outside, but it is the inside that kills the competition. It's cloyingly sweet, so moist and chewy it glistens in the light and is sticky on your fingers like a perfectly-made meringue.

Wow, this is very, very nice. The only downside I can see to this brownie is that at £1.80 it's pretty pricey, and it is verging being too sweet for me. Sadly I haven't got my camera today, so it seems I'll have to go back to obtain photographic evidence. Shame. I give it a rating of 4.5/5 - it loses its 0.5 as it is on the cusp of being too sweet, and I'm not sure about the walnuts - I would prefer it without. The best so far.

Cookies

I disappointed myself today. I had to pick up some eggs and bread on the way home so I popped in to my local Sainsbury's Local - and I thought I'd buy some chocolate as I fancied baking some double chocolate cookies. But when I picked up the chocolate, looked at the price for one bar (fairtrade dark chocolate - £1.05)and realised I also had to buy a bar of white chocolate it all went wrong, as my eyes fell on a packet of Sainsbury's Taste the Difference 'slowbaked all butter cookies - chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate, milk, plan and white'. Yes, that is really what they're called. They were also priced £1.05. Maybe it's because I'd had a long day, or because the clocks had gone back this weekend and it felt much later than it was as it had been dark for hours, but I felt baking-fatigue, and persuaded myself it was much more economical to buy the cookies rather than the ingredients. I hate that - I can't believe I did that - home baking is always worth it. When I got them home and tried them they were quite nice, but not outstanding. Home-made are much better - I'll give you the recipe when I've got the energy to dig it out. Anyway, here's a photo - they've got a layer of milk chocolate underneath each cookie, the occasional chocolate chunk and... that's about it.

Tomato ketchup question

Tomato ketchup is a fantastic condiment. I’m yet to taste a ketchup brand superior to Heinz. One day I intend to try making my own for comparison purposes. In the weekend fog of my brain yesterday I think I read a Heston Blumenthal recipe for tomato ketchup in the Sunday Times… perhaps that would be the one to try.

However, I would like to pose a question:

Should ketchup be squeezed over one’s food or served on the side?

As you will see in my mushrooms on toast image below, I prefer to squeeze a small amount of ketchup on the side of my plate and dip or use my knife to accessorize my mouthful with exactly the right amount of ketchup – too much destroys the flavour of the other food, and too little is pointless. Ketchup enhances, but it shouldn’t take over. So, with a bowl of chips I believe it is necessary to have a receptacle available to pour ketchup into as I abhor it smeared all over the chips – some have too much, some too little. If I have to pour it in the side of the bowl there will almost certainly be a few chips too ketchup-soaked to enjoy. On the side of a plate, or in a dish, it is entirely under my control how much ketchup I would like for each bite.

However, on a burger I would make a spiral of ketchup on the inside of the bun, as dipping often causes the extra toppings to fall out, and with a hot dog I would squeeze a line of ketchup down the hotdog, preferably so it doesn’t squidge out everywhere. If squeezy bottles are not available, I will find something to dip it into.

Ketchup is, of course, a condiment rather than an integral part of the meal. Does everyone agree? Or am I unusual in my ketchup tastes?

Nachos at The Lyceum, 354, Strand, London, WC2R 0HS

After work on Friday 3 intrepid Our Food Blog bloggers shared these horrible-looking nachos with a few cheap drinks. Looking at them again, they're really not very pretty, but as pub nachos go they were basic but good - there was a satisfying amount of melted cheese and reasonably large spoonfuls of salsa and sour cream. And a few black olives. No guacamole though - but usually that's a good thing.

October Saturday food

Mushrooms on toast for a late breakfast. I know they don't look particularly appetising, but they tasted great. I gently fried a small onion, halved and sliced, in a pan with a clove of garlic, then added sliced chestnut mushrooms, a tiny sprinkling of mixed herbs, a couple of dashes of worcestershire sauce, lots of freshly ground black pepper and, to give some creaminess, a spoonful of natural yoghurt. Served on wholemeal toast, with heinz tomato ketchup - perfect.

I ate a stack of sesame ryvitas with Sainsbury's fresh tomato salsa in front of the telly, which I suppose counted as lunch, then in the evening I fancied doing some proper cooking, so made salmon, semi-poached in a foil parcel, potato dauphinoise, roasted veg and green beans. And, for those who might be interested, here is the recipe: for the potatoes, peel some big ones and slice as thinly as possible (no thicker than a coin). Wipe a halved garlic clove around an oven-proofed dish, then finely chop or crush the rest. Finely slice a white onion (optional) . Layer the potatoes, garlic and onion, and some seasoning, starting and ending with potatoes. Pour milk into the dish until it is level with the top of the potatoes. If you have cream (sadly I didn't - and this was another 'make what you can with what you've got in the fridge/freezer/cupboard meal) use half cream, half milk, mixed in a jug. Cover and shove in an oven at about 200 degrees centigrade, for at least an hour and a half and preferably longer, or until the potato is cooked through when tested with a knife. Take the lid off for the last 20 mins or half an hour of cooking so the top browns.

As I'd decided to cook dauphinoise, I thought I may as well use the oven as it was on, so I prepared chunks of veg to roast (organic carrots, a yellow pepper, a couple of small onions) and added them in a pan with a couple of whole garlic cloves, unpeeled, drizzled with oil and seasoned with black pepper. They went in for about 45 mins to an hour - about half an hour before serving I added cherry tomatoes, scored at the stalk end so they wouldn't burst.

And the salmon - I shoved two fillets in a foil parcel with a bit of milk, to give moisture, and some seasoning - cooked in the oven for about half an hour. Perfect.

Oh and I simmered some green beans too, for just a few minutes so they still had some bite.

And for pudding, would you believe it, but I still had a couple of plums left over from my fruit basket which, inexplicably, weren't mouldy yet. They had such tough skins I peeled them, then stoned and chopped them quite small. I put these in a pan with a couple of apples, also peeled and chopped into small pieces, a load of sugar (probably a bit too much) and splashed some water in, then simmered on a low heat as we ate the main course. The added a dash of bramble whiskey and served over Wall's softscoop ice-cream (cheap, but oh so nice).

The White Hart, 191 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5QD

Just look at those chips! The White Hart is the Oldest Licensed Premises in London, according to the plaque above the door, not that you'd think that from the interior, especially the raised, tea-room like area with a piano at the back. The bar was heaving with people as I met my friend for a quick lunch.

We knew the double-fried chips were some of the best in London so naturally we were going to share a bowl of those - at nearly 3 quid they seem expensive but they don't stint on the portions. I was feeling the effects of a Thursday night out so, again, wanted something filling and meaty and at only £6.50 the home-made spaghetti bolognese seemed like the right option and good value for central London too. My friend chose a roast beef open sandwich with caramalised red onions on granary bread (I think) with salad and a few crisps (which had the crunch and look of Salty Dog).

When they eventually turned up, both looked great - mine was steaming gently and her beef was wonderfully rare and thickly cut. I'm always wary of ordering roast beef sarnies as the beef is so often overcooked and disappointing, but I regretted my decision when I saw her plate arrive. My bolognese was too salty and didn't have enough richness for my liking - I would have added a load of red wine to improve it somewhat, but it had plenty of veg (mushrooms and carrots), which I like in a spag bol, and tasted believably home-made. Both our plates, and the bowl of chips were as clean as could be in record time.

The White Hart is definitely worth a visit, even if it's just for the chips. Or the marinated olives - you'll get a substantial portion in a delicious dressing. The food is tasty and good value, even if it takes some time to arrive, but make sure you have condiments on your table (we didn't at first) as everything needed a load of seasoning. Just thinking about those chips is making me hungry.

Honeyrose organic fudge brownie

Now, this is a real brownie. It puts EAT's concoction to shame. Rich, chocolately, just the right balance of goo/crumble, it tastes freshly made and indulgent. It looks fairly plain but makes up for that in flavour. Just like a real homemade brownie, the inside is darker and gooier that the dryer, lighter coloured outside. And the organic ingredients list is short but sweet - cane sugar, chocolate (21%), wheat flour, butter, free-range eggs and wheat syrup. (But why the wheat syrup?)

The Honeyrose Organic Handbaking's Organic fudge brownie is quite simply delicious and I'd say with confidence it is the best shop-bought, packaged brownie I've ever tasted. Heavenly - 4/5

Wagamama...

Is a great, big con. I can't understand why so many people are taken in... To be fair, I've only been there twice, but that was enough for me to dislike the chain. They pride themselves on their noodle soups so the first time I visited Wagamama (Covent Garden branch) I chose the kare lomen, which they describe as 'a spicy soup made from lemongrass, coconut milk, shrimp paste, chillies, fresh ginger and galangal, served with ramen noodles and garnished with grilled prawns, beansprouts, cucumber, lime and fresh coriander'.

Sounds lovely, don't you think? It looked ok (the similar chicken kare lomen can be seen to the left) and was garnished with a few sprigs of fresh coriander and a wedge of lime. I delved in with my chopsticks but was soon disappointed. There were three butterflied prawns, decidedly overcooked, in a muddy coloured bowl of thin soup which contained a large handful of beansprouts, shredded cucumber and noodles. The soup tasted nice, I could pick out the lemongrass and chilli flavours, but that was about it. Beansprouts and cucumber (and noodles) have to be the most boring, tasteless and cheap fillers for any meal, and at £8.50 a bowl, with 3 prawns and not much else - the sum of the ingredients must have been just a few pence - it's horribly overpriced. And then I must account for the appalling, rude service, the way they rush you to order, the very expensive drinks and how they allow for their erratic service by stating they won't bring your table's meals together (or even within the same half an hour, as we found) as they 'want to ensure the freshness of your food'.

My second visit was just as bad. As I was aware that the prawn dishes arrived with very few of their main ingredient, I chose chicken, and was disappointed again. I pointedly chose a different noodle soup - the chicken itame - noodle soups are their 'signiture dishes'. Yet again, the bowl was stuffed full of beansprouts and not much else. However, a friend did choose some deep-fried duck dumplings (duck gyoza) which were tasty and contained a good amount of duck, particularly for the price... but I can get nicer duck in my local vietnamese.

Wagamama is inexplicably popular - it is not good value, the food is shoddy and it has rude service, yet people still continue to rave about it. All I can think of is that it must have a great marketing team behind it and someone, somewhere must be rubbing their hands in glee over how much they are conning their customers.

Some days you just need cheese

And today is one of those days. I had a knackering day yesterday and I am feeling it today. I knew that what I need for lunch is something, anything, with melted cheese. Too weary to leave the office before getting some calories down me, I went to the cafeteria, which has chicken and roasted peppers paninis on special at £2.25. Tempting. But I needed cheese, so, lacking inspiration, I got one of those with extra mozzarella. Yes! Cheesy! I held the warm plate in a bag in my hands as I came back up to my desk, the earthy smell of cheese and chicken wafting up on the steam.

On Thursdays they do a special - with a deli sandwich you get a free piece of fruit or packet of crisps. Normally I go for salt and vinegar hula hoops, but today the fruit looked quite nice, so I took a banana. Healthy. Well, kind of.

And... the panini is ok. It's certainly filling - I like the roasted peppers a lot, but I swear I get more if the sandwich is made in front of me (the specials are prepared and waiting to be cooked) and I love melted cheese in virtually any form, but while some of the chicken pieces are fine, most of it is pappy. Why is that? Why can't all places serve quality chicken? Is all chicken so intensively farmed and shoved full of drugs that it loses its texture and flavour? Perhaps I just want too much of the office cafeteria - they can't be expected to provide organic, free-range chicken all the time on the sort of budgets I assume they have. But I wish they did.

[photo to come]

EAT chocolate brownie

Bought from Paddington Station branch of EAT and consumed on a train to Reading at about 12 o'clock lunchtime. It had a fairly crumbly texture and the chocolate chunks on the top were slightly stale-tasting and had bloom. It's a shame the chunks weren't inside the brownie - they may have been more protected from the heat/cold exposure that I'm told causes blooming. Overall it had a nice, rich flavour and, although crumbly on the outside corners, the inside had an element of goo - necessary for all brownies in my opinion. The verdict? A pretty good product if you need something to keep you going when you're on the run, but do not expect a fresh-tasting brownie - 3/5

M&S food

A comment by observant commuter has got me thinking about M&S food...

What foods produced by M&S do I rate highly? Well, I quite like their little pots of deli items - I occasionally like buying dips and nibbly bits and bread and having a kind of indoor picnic on days when I can't invisage doing anything when I get in other than flopping on the sofa. But they're not actually that good - I was disappointed with some deli, mini lamb koftas - they were ok, but I expect M&S food to be tasty. Here is where I think I'm going wrong... homemade food is just consistantly better. And, as I increasingly buy fewer ready-made products, I forget how bad mass-produced food can be.

Is it that I've been taken in by M&S's genius food-porn adverts? Any chocolate lover who wasn't taken in hook, line and sinker by the spoon going into the chocolate pudding, releasing the dark, glisteningly rich sauce, can't truly like chocolate.

I think my assumptions about M&S food also go back to childhood - not living near a local Marks and Spencer, or places to bulk buy children's clothes before the start of a new term, we'd all pile in the car and take a trip shopping to the nearest big shopping centre. The highlight for me was when just before we went home when Mum said 'oh, lets just drop in to M&S and grab something for lunch'. Ready-made food was so rare in our house it was a treat - for us, who liked something different and special for lunch (and we got to choose it) and for Mum, who didn't have to cook or prepare lunch after dragging three kids around the shops. I remember we regularly had to have chicken goujons (one brother's favourite) or one of those whole-Chinese-takeaways in one (the other brother's favourite), or sometimes in later years, crispy aromatic duck, which we all loved, or my favourite - prawn provencale. You could cook it in the oven or the microwave - it was just large prawns with mushrooms in a hearty tomato sauce, but it was so tasty... Perfect convenience food with a chunky french stick, and, as far as I remember, it had no rubbish in it.

About a year ago I tried to find it in M&S and I was distraught to find they don't stock it anymore - my favourite convenience food has been discontinued. Of course, I can make it myself, but it's not quite the same as those early M&S special meals.

And so, what do I think M&S do well? I always thought it was ready meals and convenience food - and I do think they're much better than the offerings at most supermarkets - but I'm not convinced it consistently matches my expectations. It disturbs me that they're pushing their 'cook' range which, at the same price as a take-away, is far above the budget of anyone like me. I prefer to think that a quality supermarket would not need to distinguish between the quality of products as Tesco and Sainsbury's do, with their 'value'/'basics' and 'finest'/'taste the difference' ranges - it all should be good. I've tried a couple of M&S's 'Cook' meals when there were on offer - I remember a steak being very tasty, but a burger smeared with a cheesy sauce could certainly have benefited from some improvement. Their confectionary's good but sometimes lacking in flavour. They do plenty of quality novelty items when it comes up to Christmas or Easter, which I suppose make good stocking fillers or egg-hunt items, and their wine and gifty selection is fine.

But, yesterday, stuck at Waterloo station at 7pm, about to go straight on to a birthday celebration, I needed something to eat - fast. I grabbed an M&S chicken caesar wrap, aware a friend had recommended them to me in the past, and, I'm afraid it was pretty disgusting. Far too much mayo, not enough meaty filling, and a flavour lacking in any sort of caesar. It left a nasty taste in my mouth. It was a shame, as I have enjoyed their wraps in the past - particularly the hoisin duck one, until the day I realised my flabby wrap was filled with a selection of duck fat and bone - I should have taken it back, but I couldn't face making the effort.

I think that's my problem with M&S - they have a reputation for selling good-quality, highly priced food, but I find my experiences with their products has varied immensely. But if I see another of their 'it's not food, it's M&S food' adverts, I'm sure I'll change my tune. Again. They're very persuasive, you see.

Fish pie decadence

decadent > adjective
- characterized by or reflecting a state of moral or cultural decline.
- luxuriously self-indulgent
[The New Oxford Dictionary of English]

We've just been to our friends S&R for a home-made, fish pie supper, and my god, we are stuffed. You can see the meal to the left - succulent, creamy, filling and perfect on a stormy Sunday night like tonight. The broccoli was a crisp, strong green and delicious and the sweetcorn, as you would expect, was sweet. Both not only looked colourful, as you can see, but were a good match for the meal. It was so moreish we each had seconds, and had there been any left, I reckon everyone could have eaten a third portion, but more was to follow, courtesy of M&S puddings...

This was not just chocolate pudding. It was overpoweringly rich Marks & Spencers' chocolate pudding. It needed cream, and we had it with ice-cream too, as a decadent addition. Even in quarters, and it wasn't that big, it just tipped us over the edge into that slightly sick yet satisfied with the amount of full-on food feeling. I needed to lie on the sofa with my stomach in the air afterwards - in a good way. As shop-bought puddings go, I give it fairly high marks, although it wasn't particularly exciting - hence the need for cream and ice-cream.

It's 3 hours later and my stomach still feels nicely rounded from the inside. I have a pre-hibernation, autumnal Sunday evening feel. We shouldn't have to go to work tomorrow. Great meal guys - thanks!

And... this is what you need on a Sunday morning...

A bacon butty. Best with brown or wholemeal toast, crispy back bacon and heinz tomato ketchup. People who like their butty with sliced white bread, floppy bacon and brown sauce are just wrong.

This is what you need before a Saturday night out...

Something to line the stomach. Wholewheat penne - keeping you full for longer - a rustic-style tomato sauce with a bit of chilli, herbs and garlic, lots of veg to make it interesting (peppers, onions, courgette etc) and cubed mozzarella, added at the last minute so it's melting gently. What do you get? A delicious mass of filling, flavourful, warming food, served a little messily in a bowl for easy eating. That's home-cooking. And I didn't even crave pizza/kebabs/curry on my way home. Ideal.

Seafood salad

So, so tasty. A seafood selection (baby octopus, squid, prawns, cuttlefish, mussels) marinated in lemon juice, garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, a pinch of sugar, crushed chillies, Provencal herbs and seasoning, with half a red onion, lots of tomatoes, a few olives and a yellow pepper, all diced finely... just lovely, especially with some garlic bread - a great Saturday lunch. Shame about the breath though.

Feeling the burn again...

20/10/06

It's not been a good week for burns. I was creating a tuna nicoise salad last night (see left) ... I put the organic Charlotte potatoes in to boil, then later on added green beans to the pan. I finely chopped a red onion and sliced a few olives (I only had green rather than black), some cherry tomatoes, added it all to the bowl with some lettuce and a drained tin of tuna in springwater. I made the dressing (crushed garlic, grainy mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil, a pinch of sugar and seasoning) then I thought I'd better give the spuds and beans a quick stir as the beans as usual had floated off to the sides of the pan. But as I stuck the spoon in to stir, in an unfortuanate mix of circumstances somehow the potatoes bundled on top of each other, splashing boiling/simmering water straight out of the pan and on to my stomach. Owww... Bloody painful. I cried out with an animalistic, shrill yelp. Which even at the time sounded weird. I drained the potatoes and beans, boiled then shelled the eggs and mixed the salad together, all with a great big block of ice held to my belly. I've got the leftovers for lunch today and they'd better be good. I just hope burns don't come in threes...

Slimfast chocolate caramel bars...

18/10/06

are surprisingly nice. Yes, really. Sweet and chewy, admittedly they are covered in about as much chocolate as the crumbs that fall on my desk while I eat a Yorkie, but they actually hit the spot. I suppose only a small-medium spot. And they're only 99 calories. And just 45p from Superdrug. Not bad.

I can feel the burn

17/10/06

I've been trying to save money by bringing my lunches into work for the past few months, but I'm getting increasingly bored of them. At first I varied the food - from salads made in the morning, to leftovers from the night before, or more usually a selection of toppings for ryvitas - smoked salmon and cream cheese (a pricier option), tuna with a twist (by John West, I recommend ovendried tomato and herb or lime and black pepper) with tomato, or cheddar cheese and cucumber, or cold meats and a veg, but I am now tired of home-arranged lunches. I want to be able to make spontaneous decisions about my choice of tucker. It's especially hard to stick to the homemade when there's a 'restaurant' (canteen) downstairs with a sandwich bar, a pretty good salad bar, jacket potatoes, soup and a couple of hot meals - it's not even as if I have to leave the building to change my mind and buy my lunch. Today my willpower was flaking and I decided to ditch my tuna with a twist, tomatoes and ryvita lunch option, knowing they would last until tomorrow, in favour of the 'restaurant'. I stood in the centre, looking around at all the options, but none appealed. Eventually I chose tomato and herb soup (quite thin but fairly tasty) with a chunk of bread (I wanted brown but the white bread chunks were twice the size so I chose one of those) and as I passed by the fridges on my way to pay, I snatched a tub of grated cheddar. Which really made the difference. But as I sampled a spoonful of soup with melting cheddar, I realised it was too hot. I had made the foolish mistake of taking a spoonful from the middle, rather than nibbling my way around the outside as it cooled down enough to eat. And, in public at least, there's not much you can do about a burning cheesy tomato mess in your mouth apart from swallow. So I did. And now I've burnt my tongue and my throat. They are sore. And I wish I'd just stuck with my boring lunch from home.

Basilico takeaway pizza

15/10/06

I had heard these were the best takeaway pizzas available. Naturally, I felt we had to sample some. We chose an Americana (italian spicy pepperoni, green and red bell peppers, spring onion chopped tomatoes, jalapeno peppers and mozzarella) with pineapple substituted for the jalapeno peppers - I love pineapple on pizza - and a Roma (tomato, buffalo mozzarella, grilled aubergine, rocket, parmesan, pesto and prosciutto crudo). I really didn't like the Roma - I can never understand the popularity of ham varieties on pizza, and the prosciutto crudo just wasn't very nice. And the aubergine was hard and fairly unpleasant - had it been cut along its width rather than length, the rather thick skin might not have overpowered the flesh so much. The rest of that pizza was ok. The Americana was pretty good. But both were very sloppy and messy to eat. They had thin, floury bases, black from the pizza oven, and crusts that were so tough they weren't worth the effort to eat. But the tomato sauce was obviously made from real tomatoes and appeared fresh - it had chunks, which was a nice surprise. The rest of the ingredients seemed to be of good quality. But, like all takeaway pizzas, at around £11.50 a pizza the Basilico seem rather expensive for what you get. Disappointing.

Honestly, this blog is not all about crisps...

14/10/06

but it struck me last night that these are surprisingly similar to Salty Dog crisps... in fact, if I didn't know the packet was different, I would say they are exactly the same. Interesting.

Hula hoops

13/10/06

Oohhh, they're fantastic, aren't they? Especially the salt & vinegar variety. They're just so much more satisfying than your average crisp. And, as a child, I occasionally used to have 'philadelphia and little rings' - an absolutely scrumptious high-fat snack. We'd be given a third of a tub of philly and a packet of hula hoops each and stuff the golden hoops with the famous cream cheese. The days of high-fat snacks were great.

The Corner Store, 33 Wellington Street, WC2E 7BN

13/10/06

Today, to celebrate two birthdays, four of us bloggers went to The Corner Store for a sandwich and chips. Well, one steak sandwich, one pastrami sandwich, one spinach and bean burger and a beefburger - skinny fries with the burgers. It's a shame the place stinks of frying. I can still smell chip fat on my hair - not a great scent to wear for a Friday night out. It's possibly because there's a semi-open kitchen, next to the bar. The place has a gastropub feel; it's spacious, with sofas that we were very happy to sink into and it became pretty full by about 1 o'clock. The food took some time to arrive but the service was friendly and casual, in a good way. And, as you'll see from the photo [to come], the cuisine looked fine and they certainly didn't stint on the skinny fries. My burger was billed 'served with chips and salad' so I was expecting a little more green on my plate - but apparently it's just in the bun. It had lots of raw red onion, juicy tomato and boring green leaves. The meat was tasty and seemed good quality; it was an attractive pinky colour in the middle and cooked on the outside (a little burnt in one corner though). Feel fat-filled now though. And a bit like a sack of potatoes... but I shouldn't complain. Happy birthday you two!

Salty Dog crisps

12/10/06

They've got a good crunch, those crisps.

The Barnsbury, 209-11 Liverpool Road, N1 1LX

12/10/06

I have eaten here a few times before from the lighter bites section of the menu and it has been consistently fantastic. Twice I've had a stack of moist aubergine, mozzarella, beef tomato and portobello mushroom drizzled with pesto and garnished with a few sprigs of basil (it was so tasty the first time I couldn't wait to have it again) and I've also shared a crayfish pasta in a creamy sauce and some crunchy, perfect chips - all can be thoroughly recommended. As can the good value bar snack of 'chorizo al inferno' (two skewers of chorizo lapped with flames from booze in a dish underneath, accompanied by a couple of chunks of bread), although it would be helped if the liquor was more palatable than the paint-stripping, toxic variety which looks much nicer swirled with the chorizo juices than it tastes. Anyway, I went back again last night on a bit of a whim. Aware that I salivate regularly as I remember the aubergine stack, when I saw the 'turkish-style aubergine' starter on the menu I couldn't resist. And I'm glad I didn't. It was just lovely - a substantial slice of aubergine cooked to a squidgy texture, topped with a portobello mushroom and a mix of spices, tomato and unidentifiable veg, set on a plate prettily decorated with dabs of creamy sauce and chutney. We shared it and it didn't last long. While my boyfriend chose the scallop starter as a main course with chips (well presented and perfectly cooked), I decided on the herb-encrusted, English (local - woo-hoo!!) rump of lamb with fine green beans and sweet potato mash. I asked for it as rare as they would let me have it, and that's how it came. Wow. Beautifully tender, sliced halfway through to show the pink meat contrasting with the crispy exterior - just how I like it - on a pile of beans surrounded with a dark and rich balsamic sauce, it looked great and tasted even better. The sweet potato mash was a little too thin and smooth for my liking, but the flavour melded with the lamb, sauce and beans very nicely. All in all, it was delicious. I was seriously full and couldn't even finish my boyfriend's chips... unusually for me. And we had a fresh and fruity bottle of Sauvignon Blanc which went down well, particularly with the scallops, and wasn't too budget-busting at around £14. The only annoying thing was that our section of the restaurant was too dark to really see the food (or photograph it successfully - we only had a 2 megapixal camera phone with us). But I won't let that stop me going back. The Barnsbury is not cheap, but it serves top gastro-pub food with charming and friendly service. Mmmmm. Yum, yum.

Mutter on butter

11/10/06

When you hold a buttercup under my chin it glows so yellow it appears radioactive. But only if the buttercup is branded with a great big Lurpak sign. Or is from the south of France - their butter is delicious too. Other butter just pale in comparison. Or not, I suppose, as it's the paler butters I like - not the brash, nasty, vivid-yellow assult on my tastebuds I get from Anchor butter, or any of the butters they serve in pubs with a ploughmans. Or any cheap butters sandwich shops use. Revolting. Their cows may eat 'green, green grass' but give the poor things the Lurpak cows' diet and I'm sure they'd be better off. Lurpak tastes creamy; it tastes delicate; it tastes high quality. It tastes like it was produced by pretty cows who have happy lives. I hope they do. It's half-past twelve and I'm trying desperately to wait until 1 o'clock to eat my lunch. It's difficult. I've already had a big satsuma which didn't seem to do much to stave of the hunger pangs. But if I don't wait till 1 the afternoon seems so long and I just want to nibble my way through it. But what is really upsetting me is that I threw away some food this morning. I hate doing that. Sometime last week I needed to get a few things for the fridge so I stopped off at a Sainsbury's Local on my way home. Annoyed they didn't have Lurpak slightly salted butter, I realised that as we were out of spread I should probably buy a pot (surely not a pat as it's in a funny-shaped carton) of Lurpak Spreadable Light - thinking I should stick with the brand I know and love. It might have fewer calories, but sadly it has zero flavour, but usually it will do. However, although I know other butters are inferior, I had been recommended Yeo Valley Organic butter - the ingredients looked fine, I'm happy with most Yeo Valley products; I like it that they're organic, so I thought I'd try it. But I had one bite of my marmite sandwich (made with Yeo Valley butter) this morning and I gagged. It took me straight back to when I was six and spread a nice thick layer of butter on my jacket potato in a pub garden, naively believing all butter tasted like Lurpak, only to find it didn't and my potato was ruined. Having a 'waste not want not' attitude to food, I persevered and ate another five bites of my marmite sandwich. But no, there was no way I could stomach it and I had to throw it away. On a plus note - to fill the gap in my stomach and ease my disappointment I went down to the office canteen and bought two toasted crumpets with chocolate spread. Oh, wow. Velvety smooth, cloyingly sweet - delicious. And all for 39p. I'm still hungry now though. Only twenty minutes to go...

Sweet and Spicy Sunday

10/10/06

On Sunday I realised the fridge was almost bare. I had to go shopping but I simply couldn't face it. I also knew we had some big cooked prawns that needed eating and some fruit left over from my fruit basket. It was like Ready Steady Cook - what can I make with what I've got? We were starving so I decided to concoct something simple, sweet and spicy - and fast. I sliced a yellow pepper and stir-fried it with slightly old and floppy pak choi and fresh ginger in some chilli-infused olive oil. Meanwhile I chopped up a few rounds of the big pineapple and the end of a pack of cherry tomatoes (I didn't have a lot to work with!). I squeezed the juice of a lime and poured it in to the wok, adding the prawns, pineapple and cherry tomatoes to warm through and a pinch of crushed chillis at the same time. It smelt and looked surprisingly nice, but it needed something else, and I suddenly knew where I was headed - a South Asian-inspired soup. I sloshed in half a can of coconut milk, grated some nutmeg on the top and some black pepper, left it simmering for a couple of minutes and voila! It was ready. It may have been hastily shoved together from a mishmash of fridge and cupboard ingredients, but it was delicious. I knew I should get my camera to record its colourful prettiness, but I'm afraid I couldn't wait to eat it. Yes - my greed won. I am ashamed. Next time, maybe I'll have the willpower to wait...

Last night I dreamt of meat...

09/10/06

To be more specific, it was this morning. As the cruel torture of my alarm woke me at 6.35am, in my parallel dream world I was reaching for a plate of freshly carved roasted loin of pork. I have no memory of the context of the fantasy meal, but I have never been more desperate to sink back to sleep. I can still see it and savour the rich smell of the sizzling fat; the balsamic-dressed, roasted root veg in steaming bowls on the table and a warm and comforting mound of jacket potatoes. I could even taste it as I woke. I was surprised - I don't believe dreaming of food is usual for me, but why a full wintery roast? It may be approaching the middle of October, but summer is still clinging on and it was a warm night. It's not as if I expect to be dreaming of salad in more clement climates, but a full on meat and fat prepare-for-hibernation feast certainly came out of the blue. And why pork? I crave sausages, I love a bacon butty on a hungover morning, but as a roast I've always seen pork as the more pikey brother of lamb or beef - it's definitely cheaper. Red meat is where it's at, as far as I'm concerned. You want it bloody. You want to know it has run around. You want to be able to savour the muscley full flavour. And I've been ravenous all day.

Salad or double chocolate chip?

04/10/06

It's a difficult choice - can't I have both? It all went wrong last night... Yesterday was a healthy day - admittedly I ate rather a lot, but it was mostly healthy stuff, and when I was desperate for a chocolate fix after lunch I thought I'd try a slimfast chocolate caramel bar (only 99 calories) which was surprisingly nice. It didn't give quite the same hit as a mars bar - it was more a gentle tap - but along with the sweetness of a bottle of smooth tropicana, it lessened my screaming cravings for something sweet and sticky. So, I'd decided to have a nicoise salad for dinner and I needed to grab some green beans on my way home. £25 and two heavy bags of shopping later, I was slumped on my sofa, an enormous Taste the Difference double-chocolate-chip cookie half-demolished in my hand. I was about to grab the tv remote before I remembered I was supposed to be playing netball 40 minutes later. Oh dear. Of course, being a tidy sort of person, I needed to finish the cookie (as half eaten biscuits look so messy lying around), but then I promptly felt sick and, although I was buzzing with energy, I had to drag myself out in the dark to rush to the game. For the record, I did have a nicoise salad. I feel smug as I managed not to eat the whole lot so I've got the leftovers for lunch today. Not so smugly, I also ate the second cookie after my salad...well, my boyfriend had had two and I had done some excercise, it was only fair...

The First Post of Many...

02/10/06

This was the first post on Our Food Blog.

Today has been a good food day already. Having been to the gym I had to eat my breakfast on the run, and scoffed a marmite sandwich when I got to work. It was surprisingly delicious and is a regular 'breakfast on the run' standby. Opening my emails at work I became ridiculously excited for a Monday morning when I saw an email with the subject heading 'fruit basket'. Yes! It was true! I had won an enormous fruit basket in a raffle on Friday. Sadly I wish I had known about it then so I could have had a fruit feast at the weekend, but hey, raffle winners can't be choosers. I have no idea how I'll get it home. It would certainly defeat the object of winning so much fruit if I spent a tenner on a taxi. I thought I'd check out the canteen lunch with colleagues and was persuaded by a cheeky looking fennel and red onion salad to grab a cartoon. Knowing I had food waiting for me upstairs, I was pretty abstemious - just some of the fennel and red onion, a bit of grated carrot and some tuna in readiness for my main course - creamy mozzarella, a pile of sliced tomatoes and a couple of ryvitas (multigrain, naturally, they're so much nicer than all the others). Wow. What a start to the food week. [Sadly I was too greedy to wait and photograph my food so far, but I plan on recording the existence of the enormous fruit basket before it gets demolished or I drop it on the way home...] I'm delighted to be able to report the photo is now above - isn't it big!!

Ramsay Rant

29/09/06

How can Gordon Ramsay put his name to such a shoddy, commercially produced, sickeningly flavoured chocolates as his Just Desserts range? I was persuaded to indulge in an Ocado delivery recently as they promised me £10 off my shopping, free delivery and a box of Gordon Ramsay's 'luxury' chocolates. Luxury?! I've never tasted such heinous confectionary or, as it happens, desserts. From the disgustingly sweet strawberry and white chocolate concoction to the cloyingly synthetic flavours of the honeycomb dark chocolate thing, and to the appallingly chosen combination chocolates - if you're using ginger, use dark chocolate, not bad quality, greasy white - the whole collection was revolting. And, why did they all look as though someone had stuck their dirty thumb in each chocolate - from the bottom. How did that happen? The packaging was intact. So, here's the question: did Ocado, the usually reliable purveyors of luxury items and quality food, send us 'seconds' which they knew were damaged, and were a particularly bad batch, or is the whole range of chocolates as unaccountably rubbish as we experienced? Shame on you, Ramsay.

I just love writing about food...

21/10/06

But, I have to confess, the original idea of blogging about food was entirely a team effort. A colleague and I were discussing the merits of tomatoes - whether tinned, fresh, plum, cherry, sundried, sunblushed or in a paste form - when we realised that approximately 80% of our work-time conversations are about food. Whether it's food we want, food we hate, food we cooked, bought, craved or threw in the bin, it seems to be an obsession. And an obsession usually needs an outlet. So we decided to set up a food blog. It can be found on http://www.foodwelike.blogspot.com/.

So, why have I set up this blog? Well, I've been loving writing almost daily for Our Food Blog, and although I love the anonymous, team atmosphere it has at the moment, I wanted to put the entries I'd written in one space - for me, really, as a personal collection of food memories. So that's why the next 12 or so contributions on Extolling the Virtues of Food all have the same date - it wasn't that I'm having a prolific burst of creativity and the munchies on one Saturday morning. I intend to keep blogging on both, and sharing some or all of my stuff between the two and as my colleagues seem happy with that, here it is, my blogspot to extol the virtues of food.

PS. It may be 9.54 on a Saturday morning and as I was out till the early hours last night I'm feeling pretty ropey - but doesn't this slice of chocolate cake look incredible? Moist and rich, it just might need a bit of clotted cream or mascarpone and it would be perfect.