Food and Drink

Pubs, restaurants, supermarket, shops, coffee shops and basically anything to do with food and drink.

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The festival of harvesting - tomatoes and tomato sauce

Posted on 4 September 2010 in Food and Drink (0 comments)

For a bit of a break in the Coast to Coast posts (mainly as I've got a huge photo backlog and haven't finished typing up and editing the remaining posts), it's time to talk home grown fruit and veg!

As I've mentioned before we don't really have a garden but have used our balcony to grow our own food before now to varying degrees of success.

This year I decided to be a bit overly adventurous and tried to grow mange tout (which went alright), radishes (a disaster), lettuce (mixed results), spring onions (went okay) and courgettes (where the plant grew massively but didn't actually seem to grow any courgette plants at all), but the major success stories were the dwarf beans and the tomatoes.

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Cooking without a cooker

Posted on 1 May 2010 in Food and Drink, House (2 comments)

You never quite realise how you rely on something until it's gone.

That was the lesson I've been having recently at the loss of our dodgy, ancient cooker. Well I say loss - it's currently sat outside on the lawn awaiting disposal. The reason for that is that after nearly six years, we're finally getting the kitchen redone. The building work started on Thursday and it's currently an empty shell with no power, no units and no cooker. However it must be said, the new plastered walls look fantastic!

However the gain comes with some pain. The living room and spare bedroom currently contain pots, pans, a washing machine, a new oven, extractor fan and a reasonable amount of dust.

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Bods’s Cookbook Collection Reviewed - Cranks Fast Food

Posted on 13 March 2010 in Food and Drink. (0 comments)

The concept of Cranks Fast Food is a simple one - brilliant, tasty vegetarian food in under 30 minutes - many can be easily done in 15-20 minutes.. Living in a country where sizeable proportions of the population live off ready meals because ‘cooking takes too long’, it’s a book you often want to wave in front of people going ‘LOOK! IT’S EASY!’

Bods’s Cookbook Collection Reviewed - Hansa’s Indian Vegetarian Cuisine

Posted on 12 March 2010 in Food and Drink. (0 comments)

31% of people in India are vegetarian, and it’s the country of the world with the most vegetarians. Some regions are more vegetarian than others, and in the Gujarit region, the population and food are primarily vegetarian. So no surprise then that Gujurati cuisine has come up with some excellent dishes over the years.

Bods’s Cookbook Collection Reviewed - Grub on a Grant

Posted on 11 March 2010 in Food and Drink. (0 comments)

Over the years, author Clas Clarke became almost the Delia of student cooking and Grub on a Grant became known by many as the student cookbook bible, thanks to its extremely easy to follow recipes which were simple, and wholesome and tasty.

Bods’s Cookbook Collection Reviewed - Delia’s Complete Cookery Course

Posted on 10 March 2010 in Food and Drink. (0 comments)

The book covers everything, and starts with the basics. Rather than presenting you with just the recipes, the book explores the equipment you need, general techniques and information about key ingredients.

Bods’s Cookbook Collection Reviewed - Cranks Recipe Book

Posted on 9 March 2010 in Food and Drink. (1 comment)

Cast your mind back to 1961. It’s the swinging sixties and you’re on Carnaby Street. Far out man. There’s fashion everywhere. And a restaurant.. And oh look it’s vegetarian. That’s good healthy food man!

Bods’s Cookbook Collection

Posted on 8 March 2010 in Food and Drink. (2 comments)

Over the years we’ve now amounted a sizeable cookbook collection, so I’ve decided to review them. I’m going to share what I have and review them for you, sharing what’s good and what’s bad in the veggie cook book arena.

Sprout Pasta, and other vegetable box scheme ponderings

Posted on 8 January 2010 in Food and Drink. (0 comments)

As I’ve probably mentioned on this blog before, Catherine and myself purchase our regular dosage of fruit and veg from an organic box scheme.

The perfect public service website - which sadly doesn’t exist

Posted on 14 September 2009 in Food and Drink, TV Programmes. (0 comments)

One cookery programme firmly with the recession in mind however the recent Economy Gastronomy. Every week, the presenters would pop over to someone’s house, try to get them to plan their meals and eat more sensibly.

Local Blackberries = Local cheese

Posted on 3 August 2009 in Food and Drink. (0 comments)

I’m not sure what food you could find in Merton though. There’s some elderflowers nearby but not many. You can buy Wimbledon honey at the Wimbledon Common windmill or at the National Trust shop at Morden Hall Park. Mind you there’s the blackberries. Loads of them.

The Balcony Food Zone

Posted on 10 August 2008 in Food and Drink. (0 comments)

Regular readers will know that I like my food, and I’m keen on quality. I’ve baked my own bread for around two years now (and indeed, as I type, there’s a malthouse loaf proving in the kitchen), and I like to eat good quality food.

The cheese on TV that really grates

Posted on 11 March 2008 in Food and Drink, TV Programmes. (0 comments)

Being a bit of a keen cook, and someone who likes to do things reasonably properly if possible, I know Delia wasn’t really aimed at me. I mean, there’s just no way on earth you’ll find frozen mashed potato in my freezer.

Jellied Eels

Posted on 4 January 2008 in Food and Drink. (0 comments)

Just had them for the first time after a work lunchtime visit to A Cooke’s pie and mash shop on the Goldhawk Road. Makes you wonder how something which looks so disgusting, can actually be so wonderfully tasty…

Foie Gras? In the BBC canteen? You’ll be lucky!

Posted on 5 November 2007 in BBC, Food and Drink. (0 comments)

There’s an interesting article about complaints in the BBC staff canteens, in the Sunday Telegraph.

Bonjourrrrr, yah cheese-eatin’ surrender monkeys!

Posted on 23 September 2007 in Food and Drink, Travel and Holidays. (1 comment)

In France, Catherine ate on average 3.2 different cheeses per day. That’s a lot of cheese.

Jumbucks. Just say NO

Posted on 15 December 2005 in Food and Drink. (4 comments)

Quite frankly, the Jumbuck’s pie I ate this evening, was by far the blandest, most tasteless food I have ever, EVER eaten in my life. This wasn’t bad tasting. This was just non-existant tasting. It apparently had meat in it. I know cos I put some in my mouth. But it just tasted of, well nothing. It was is my tastebuds had gone on a hundred mile hike, and wouldn’t be back for another fortnight.

Vegetarian Iceland

Posted on 22 November 2005 in Food and Drink, Travel and Holidays. (7 comments)

In August 2005 myself and Catherine went on holiday to Iceland. However there’s one thing that makes any travelling vegetarian nervous, it’s the issue of food. In a special guest post (cos she doesn’t have her own blog), I’ve allowed Catherine to fill up the server with a post about it.

Lunch and Stroll in Hampstead

Posted on 31 July 2005 in Food and Drink. (0 comments)

Every now and then, you want to go out for a good Sunday lunch. There’s something so good about going out for Sunday lunch - having a nice meal, reading the paper and so on, with perhaps a nice stroll afterwards. Today on a whim we decided to head for somewhere where a good Sunday lunch would be almost guarenteed. Today we headed for the poshness of Hampstead.