Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! Happy Birthday Gemma!

For the most part, getting old sucks. Sure, we pretend that we are all getting wiser with age, and that with maturity comes fulfilment and clarity; but the reality is that there's a generation of younger, more technically abled & mercilessly intelligent children, nipping at our heels, ready to pounce & replace us as pack leaders the very second we show any sign of weakness. The weight of our fate at the hands of these usurpers is a terrible burden on the conscience; for this very reason we will do anything to forget our age when it's birthday time, the most common being getting drunk and burying our heads in food. On Wednesday night we did exactly that for Gemma's birthday, and it's a lucky thing all of her friends are brilliant in the kitchen, because it made for one hell of a potluck dinner (It was less of a "pot-luck", and more of a "pot-everything-is-gonna-be-fucking-awesome").

Everything was vegetarian, so naturally a panoply of salads were on offer; including a Mediterranean alphabet pasta salad with sundried tomato, olive, basil & feta. A beetroot, apple, tomato & spinach salad, & a lentil, cherry tomato, red onion, feta, cumin, lemon & coriander salad which I bought along.

Everything was of really high standard, but even so there were a couple of stand out dishes, including a sweet/savoury crumble (I'm not even sure what to call it), with an almost butter-biscuit like crust, caramelised red onion base & cherry tomatoes. Kind of like flammekueche I suppose. DAMN, it was good. The dish that bought be back three times was Ruben's chick-pea stew. I didn't catch the recipe, but I know it had a tomato base, and it was cooked for several hours until two whole aubergines disintegrated into the broth. The end result was a rich, thick, peppery melt in your mouth stew. I am going to chase the recipe for this and post it in the comments when I have it.


If our future lives as humble slaves to indigo-children is a grim prospect, then at least we can all live in moderate ease that we have approximately another decade of these birthday feasts before they take over.

Feta, Lentil & Coriander Salad

Ingredients:

• 200g feta cheese, cut into chunks
  
• 250g green or black lentils (or puy lentils)
  
• 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
  
• 1 red onion, halved and sliced
  
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
  
• 1 lemon, juiced
  
• 1 large handful of coriander leaves

Method:

• Simmer the lentils for 20 minutes until tender.
  
• Drain and dress with 3 tbsp olive oil, the lemon juice and garlic while still warm.
  
• Cool to room temperature then pile into a large serving dish and stir through the rest of the ingredients.

Pin It

Tweet

Super Verdant Sopa de Verduras

This little dish has been a favourite of mine for awhile now, I always make it when I feel poorly or, like my body is screaming for vitamins, it's just so damned fresh. If you're one of those people who doesn't like coriander, I pity you FOOL (sorry mum), because it's a key flavour here. I acquired this recipe from Natalia Escobar, a friend of my flatmate who stayed with us for a week in London. She is from Bogota, and one sunny afternoon I had the pleasure of trying this Columbian soup with her for the first time. It uses two jacket potatoes (or a handful of baby new potatoes), spinach, brocolli (if in season), coriander, lemon or lime, onion, salt, pepper, paprika, cumin & avocado.

Whenever I describe this soup, nearly every person turns their noses up when I mention adding avocado; "Avocado? In a soup? Really!?". Yes, really. Dick. 
In my version, I've started using lime instead of lemon (who in their right mind choses lemon when you can have LIME?) and adding bean sprouts as well, which with the coriander and lime, makes the dish start to feel like it's in Vietnamese territory.


This is the first time I've cooked something in my new kitchen in Kreuzberg, and despite the fact I REALLY fucking miss having a gas hob, the soup eventually turned out perfect as it always does. So thanks Natalia!

Pin It

Tweet

Alles klar in Berlin

All my life in the last week has consisted of wandering, wonderment, loneliness, self assuredness, surprise, intrigue, alienation, miscommunication, my heartbeat.


Becoming familiar with new territory comes faster to some than others, but I've wasted no time trying to the crux of Berlin. On Sunday I went to one the city's largest (if not THE largest) fleamarket in Mauerpark, north Berlin. It was a huge breath of fresh air after experiencing the absolute commodification of anything vaguely antique or second hand in London. Generally, these flea markets have far less mediation & sorting from their stand holders than in many places, which means there are bargains for those who are looking with the right set of eyes!


I spent the day processing all of the visual input, enjoying people watching & searching for my own little trinkets to take home. Of course this post wouldn't be going anywhere without me consuming some form of food, and I have to say I had one of the best burgers of my life (and perhaps this was aided by the fact that it was only €3.50) made by Sun Day burgers.
Their burgers are completely vegan, and packed full of healthy ingredients & mouth watering flavours. It's basically a sunflower seed bun filled with fried tofu marinated in ginger & soy sauce, lettuce, capsicum, tomato, beetroot, fried onions, fresh coriander, alfalfa sprouts & sauced up on chipotle chilli chutney (or there is the option of peanut sauce or mango chutney as well).

I asked the the lovely staff if I could take a photo for my food blog, I sensed a little disappointment when the lady serving asked if I was a vegan and I said no, but she kindly said I could have a job as soon as I become vegetarian. I was flattered, & even though I am not a huge meat eater  (ignore the last post) & do enjoy vegetarian food a lot, I don't think I would ever want to be totally vegetarian, I just believe in meat in moderation.

The bad news is that means I will never be employed by Sun Day Burger, but the good news is that they also have a shop in Kreuzberg at EisenBahn Strasse 42/43, Kreuzberg (at Gorlitzer Bahnhof), so I can eat there till my heart is content.

The Sun Day burger

Sun Day Burger stand with suspicious customer

Happy burger makers, no dead animals here!



Ohh, lots of dead animals here...

Next off was Bonanza Coffee Heroes at Oderberger Strasse 35, Prenzlauer Berg. These guys do seriously good coffee, their latte is so smooth it's like supping on a soft, milky cloud; I doubt breast feeding is even this good....probably... I followed up with a Flat White which had a little more punch, it kind of gave me that "fuck yeah, COFFEE" feeling that I was after. I won't waste words trying to pretend I'm an expert at coffee characteristics, but these guys are roasting their own beans and the mere 3 metres that they have to travel from the roaster must make a shit load of difference, because this is some of the best coffee I've ever had.

Pin It

Tweet

Dylan's "Goodbye London: Farewellathon"

The time had come to leave the capital of capital cities. As I've made clear in earlier blog posts, I have really mixed feelings about London. In hindsight, it's so fantastic, but it's also extremely taxing. As I write this posthumously from my new home in Berlin, I am beginning to see London through rose-tinted spectacles, but equally, I am actually becoming acutely aware of the privileges of London, a lot of which I had mistaken as the uniform fabric of large European capital cities; not so!


I was well aware of the cultural wealth of the city, in institutional terms. The Victoria & Albert Museum, The Natural History Museum, The Science Museum, The British Museum, The BFI, The Tate Modern/Britain, The National (Portrait) Gallery, The Saatchi Gallery, The Wellcome Collection...these are just SOME of the MAJOR players, not to mention any medium or small scale venues. It's actually quite mind boggling how much opportunity is at the fingertips of your average Londoner, and now I'm starting to realise it was the same with ingredients. I really took it for granted that my local off license had any variation of tinned bean, dried lentil, Chinese noodle, or Indian spice, not to mention the number of African vegetables that I don't see anymore (oh plantain, oh puna yam, where are you old friends!?).


Don't get me wrong, of course I knew that London has a unique level of multiculturalism, but perhaps because it's so commonplace & readily available, it ceases to amaze a new migrant eventually. I remember when I first arrived, that first walk through the corner shop was so extremely exciting; so many food products I'd never seen before, some raw, others already packaged & ready for consumption! Subconsciously, I was well aware that I was going to be leaving behind a great deal of convenience, which is why for my leaving party I was determined to put in some fucking effort & try make some dishes that I've never done before.


The star of the show was inspired shortly after going to Pitt Cue Co. in Soho, which is basically providing down home American style cookin' (BBQ pulled pork, hot wings, pickled slaw, burnt ends and things of that nature). I decided to give pulled pork a go because it's so soft & delectable & I could make it in abundance for all of the guests. I did a dry rub with paprika, garlic powder, dry mustard, brown sugar & course salt - then refrigerated the meat overnight. In the morning, BAM, into the oven for 6hrs. Then some orgasmic BBQ sauce made from cider vinegar, yellow mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, cayenne pepper & black pepper. It was like a damned good ketchup on crack; I love vinegary things and this just made my taste buds dance for mercy.


Then we had a couple of salads which really complimented the salty vinegary meat well. There was strawberry & baby spinach salad with white wine vinegar, vege oil, paprika, sesame & poppy seed dressing. For the next salad we had fried plantain & watercress salad with a basic balsamic & oil dressing. Basic snacky tricks were catered for by some home made salsa & salted corn chips, boiled artichokes with a home made mayonnaise, some sweet potato chips, and pita bread pizzas which disappeared incredibly fast. A few of the favourite toppings were asparagus & spinach with blue cheese on a tomato base, and classic italian-esque numbers like baby tomato, brie with olive oil, oregano & fresh basil, guests were like birds of prey eyeing up these pizzas as they arrived.


As per usual, the task of hosting a party got the better of me, and I only managed to get a few rudimentary photos, but it serves as a reminder that it actually happened (even if the event itself lives on as being more legendary in my mind!

Dem porks after 6hrs of roasting in their own juices.

 Pulling that pork to shreds!

Captain Pork Puller & his table of salads

Boiled artichokes, home made mayonnaisse, fried plantains, sweet potato chips, & pita pizzas.

Home made salsa & other salady-goodness.




Vlada, getting a little excited by the tray of pulled pork...

The morning after the morning after spelled the end of my London chapter, some goodbye crepes in the morning, whose weeping faces bid a citrus soaked farewell to both me and themselves simultaneously as they hastily met my digestive tracts.

It's a seriously weird feeling to leave a city by necessity instead of choice, it only adds to the complex panorama of emotions I experience when confronting this ancient, monolithic city. I'm eternally happy for the people I've met through living there, the friendships I've forged & the temporary chances with acquaintances, who will pass into dust & obscurity. I raise a glass for the present & future adventures; I have a feeling there are many more to come :)

Pin It

Tweet

What's a "squiche"?

This wasn't exactly the most successful encounter I've had in the kitchen, but it really was a learning curve. Basically, I was copying a recipe for vegetarian quiche, served in a roasted squash (hence squash + quiche = squiche!) which I'd found on Around Britain With a Paunch This blog is by a mysterious food wizard called Jonathan. I don't know a lot about him other than he seems to travel a lot, mostly to really beautiful parts of the English countryside, and he has a partner or fiance or wife or imaginary friend called Cowie. Also, if this guy is ANYTHING other than a professional chef, then I'm going to just shoot myself in the face & call it a day, as his dishes are AMAZING.
I knew I was out of my depth when the first line of his instructions said "so mix a quiche as you normally would", and I'm thinking "I've never even made a quiche before, let alone a squiche :( 
The ingredients were really great (wild mushrooms, garlic, capsicum, toasted pine nuts) but basically, all of the things that went wrong with my attempt at the dish were.

• My butternut squashes weren't big enough to carry the quantity of quiche liquid as "bowls".
• Pretty sure I lost a lot of the wild mushroom flavour by trying to rehydrate them in water.
• The garlic didn't absorb into the squash enough, it lacked any strong flavour (I would make garlic butter next time, instead of loose garlic cloves.
• I discovered I don't like the taste of tarragon, it's going with fennel onto the "don't like list"
• I took it out of the oven too early, the squashes hadn't gotten to that super soft stage yet & their skin wasn't puckering (maybe par boiling them would've helped?)

In any case, it was still a nice dish, & only really suffered from my execution. The saving grace was a little contrasting salad of cucumber, radish, red onion, mint & feta. I don't know if it was the right kind of accompaniment for this, but I enjoyed it & it was a hit with the guests.

Pin It

Tweet

The Deptford Project

London truly is the city of plurality. Never have I experienced a city so vast yet condensed, complicated & utterly contrary. It gives with one hand, and it takes with the other. It's a place of extremes, where the difference between the haves and the have-nots, is almost unbearable to think of. It has a wildly fascinating history, & it's sheer scale & ability to reinvent itself is enough to keep a mind busy for years. 


I had the fortune and misfortune of living and dying in London for two years, and one of the things that became obvious to me all to late, was that the real London is now in the South East. This is where the level headed people, the young, inspired, hardworking creative people with bright ideas are really making things happen. Away from the self-aggrandizing, "doing little / talking a lot" crowds of Dalston/Shoreditch, is a testimony to this 
generation of doers/thinkers, in the form of Deptford's Carriage Cafe. When I was brought here for lunch by some friends living in Brockley, I realised this was the first time in ages I had been somewhere that had an air of authenticity about it. The staff were friendly, and probably because the success of their cafe is due to its actual merit, and not just because it had been turned into a bandwagon for trenders to jump on.


The Carriage Cafe is a superbly designed space (and this place makes great use of it), a gutted & refurbished train carriage with an outdoor elevated deck attached, seems like a great concept for a cafe, and it is. It offers great protection from the elements, but is also  flooded by sunshine when it's there....you know....kind of like a train would.


The menu offers up hearty portions of vegetarian pies, frittatas, quiche, baked sweet potatoes all with a variety green salads on the side, and all for a good price. Every time I look back at these photos, I have a little sigh & wish I was eating there again.

I went for the baked sweet potato with mozzarella, basil & cherry tomatoes & a side of fresh peas, blanched courgettes & feta salad. I don't know how they managed to make the skin crisp & lift right away from the flesh with that sweet potato, but it was damned good.

Pin It

Tweet

Ye Olde Panny-cakey

Pancakes. You would have to be a complete asshole not to like them. What's not to like?! They are fluffy, friendly, sweet little circles of joy that can be embellished with anything from fruit to chocolate or yoghurt to ice cream. Ok, so if you don't like sweet things, you're kind of forgiven, not so much forgiven, but I'll at least understand your argument, and feign acceptance. 

I like to think of pancakes as being like one of the Latin European languages, and Latin as a metaphor for their ingredients. French, Italian & Spanish all have Latin roots; Pancakes, Crepes & Pikelets share the same base ingredients, and although they're distinctly different, they really are part of the same family.

I had a go at making American style pancakes for the first time, which are much fluffier than the standard. Once complete, I finished them with bananas, strawberries, blueberries, icing sugar, Greek yoghurt & a drizzle of manuka honey for that distinctly wild New Zealand flavour. Perfection.

I also have to give a little thanks to my formerly local Hackney cafe; Mouse & De Lotz, for inspiring me to make my own pancakes, because I was thrilled when they brought  theirs out in this little cast iron skillet, it's just too cute. 

Another Hackney café (or Islington if you want to be über pedantic) that's making some sexxxy pancakes (and naturally, amazing coffee) is Tina We Salute You. I had the pleasure of rediscovering physalis berries via their pancakes, as it's the crown jewel on the cascade of fruit. (I had my own photograph of these pancakes, but my camera got stolen before I could download it, so this photo is borrowed from City Owls)

Upon receiving these pancakes, I rushed to the barista to ask if she knew what this mystery fruit was called, babbling and probably looking slightly maniacal, I explained that I was just excited because I had only ever seen physalis once when I was 8 years old on a summer holiday in Motueka, & it was extremely nostalgic to bump into what I had almost believed to be a figment of my childhood imagination. Strangely enough, she knew exactly what I was going through, as she also hadn't seen them for about 10 years until she started working at TWSY, but fondly remembers eating them a lot as a young girl when visiting her Grandma to South Australia. Stories about Grandmas and physalis. Better than Grandmas with syphilis. Definitely better.

Pin It

Tweet