tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35950672138873925272024-02-20T05:55:36.948+00:00Miriam NiceMiriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-85514757685459683352012-04-24T21:53:00.000+01:002012-04-24T21:53:24.362+01:00.comHello food friends, my new website is <a href="http://www.miriamnice.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">www.miriamnice.com</span></a> (trying to say this quietly so I don't make blogger sad...but I've gone to wordpress...sshhh) xxMiriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-16247974720805720662012-04-24T21:46:00.000+01:002012-04-24T21:46:29.029+01:00Blogtastic!So excited that my sister-in-law's article has just featured on major wedding blog site <a href="http://www.rockmywedding.co.uk/" target="_blank">Rock My Wedding!</a> It was a completely brilliant day and a total honor to be asked to make their cakes.<br />
The design process (for the cakes alone) I think took about a year, but I'm not complaining; I got to taste them too and what better excuse for churning out cake after cake than in the name of research!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_PDFUjExEDwdoInJNxzyHL65va8IWDzpfYZTxva5JTPD0QEP_sdc9oM59IfLYOg8J-WYydr46KAu8mJtMpmO8I6HyXKGdMeeV4hvNzNjjNViqDoEAuawoKaLUaW2IJPbgkP7g3vUT6E/s1600/100_0749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_PDFUjExEDwdoInJNxzyHL65va8IWDzpfYZTxva5JTPD0QEP_sdc9oM59IfLYOg8J-WYydr46KAu8mJtMpmO8I6HyXKGdMeeV4hvNzNjjNViqDoEAuawoKaLUaW2IJPbgkP7g3vUT6E/s640/100_0749.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
This Summer they will have been married a year and even now I cannot believe how much detail and creativity went into everything from the flowers to the cufflinks to the giant Japanese fish windsocks.<br />
Do go and see the full account from my fantastic sister-in-law here: <a href="http://www.rockmywedding.co.uk/full-disclosure/">http://www.rockmywedding.co.uk/full-disclosure/</a><br />
<br />
xx<br />
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</div>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-30218331580880448872012-03-22T13:35:00.000+00:002012-03-22T13:35:21.272+00:00Ooh c'est nouveau!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6QsCJjwBhFCeEWUNPxXVnnuksfq7xfNfyw5IVv4DQpbwmPdOhfU9iv_EF_Tp82G47pJiM9862S6EYMleOXzr4zgTCN7OV5CNnSwvC7jkTQuddTShXf9WwfwvDpwLAV_bOuqGMHhdy4zM/s1600/mim_in_the_kitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6QsCJjwBhFCeEWUNPxXVnnuksfq7xfNfyw5IVv4DQpbwmPdOhfU9iv_EF_Tp82G47pJiM9862S6EYMleOXzr4zgTCN7OV5CNnSwvC7jkTQuddTShXf9WwfwvDpwLAV_bOuqGMHhdy4zM/s320/mim_in_the_kitchen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I often get asked "so what kind of food do you do then?" and I am usually pretty stumped for a decent answer. Mostly I just panic and say "whatever you like" or "everything!" and fling my arms about enthusiastically so that they think I'm quirky and they move away.</span><br />
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</span></div><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The truth is I eat almost everything (although there are a couple of flavours for which the jury is still out on whether I like them or not; things like aniseed and liquorish). Most of the time I am perfectly happy in the kitchen hurling something together from whatever the hell I can find, a style of cooking which doesn't often fit with one particular type of cuisine. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The list of the dishes I have not yet attempted however, has sparked my imagination recently and I announced to Richard that I would be making chips for dinner for no other reason other than that I had never made them before.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">As a kid we never deep fried anything, ever. We weren't raised on a diet of quinoa and sea kelp or anything, in fact we had fish and chips many times, but they were always from the local chippy. I think it was probably the fire risk involved and perhaps the tricky business of having to dispose of large quantities of waste oil afterwards that meant the first time I successfully deep fried anything I was 25 and was tasked with making falafel for someone else's Lebanese dinner party (mild panic ensued). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So, last week on a whim I fired up a large pan of vegetable oil, looked up a recipe and dug out a thermometer. I found this <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/thebestchipsyouhavee_93121" target="_blank">hairy bikers recipe</a> and it worked a treat! The only change I made was to leave the skins on, after all I wouldn't want to miss out on those minerals! </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB5NbTaXOQ6xyrD7OPbzISfBrq4rMhSAPHWdhGH3zWbgu_Hkesi854611vCx4UaJSC_DbO7-wOQBN8lpvn-rTfLQqTQgJBGi1g59Tyf6MmpDu9-jq0SvvIWRVZmYPu23LHPeyt9bWoaog/s1600/photo+1+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB5NbTaXOQ6xyrD7OPbzISfBrq4rMhSAPHWdhGH3zWbgu_Hkesi854611vCx4UaJSC_DbO7-wOQBN8lpvn-rTfLQqTQgJBGi1g59Tyf6MmpDu9-jq0SvvIWRVZmYPu23LHPeyt9bWoaog/s400/photo+1+(3).jpg" width="355" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Other things on my culinary bucket list are doughnuts, puff pastry, pork pies, tempura, fresh noodles, onion bahjis, oh and I've never boiled a crab or a lobster. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">What's on your list, I'd love to know. What foods have you eaten loads but never actually made from scratch?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">x</span><br />
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</span>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-89766331224093660262012-03-21T21:21:00.000+00:002012-03-21T21:21:35.034+00:00Bonjour Brighton!<pre style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"When we get back to our house can we lay out a load of ingredients we need to use up and then you cook something out of them? Would that be fun for you?" </i></span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">Of course it would! I didn't spend my teenage years watching ready steady cook everyday after school for nothing! I'm always up for a creative culinary challenge (and particularly any excuse to show off).
Naomi and Martin are two splendid newly weds who live seconds away from Brighton beach.</pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"></pre><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsnYJu9z5pxFHgqtvCwlePbCwM0GzJdcdEMl1L9Mo1rjGBKWOhY09ZBhALkjH8LSMsmyw0YmbnG0E9WsDWm-nLgNi8YpK7xKzo0jF9Hx9NJruxs0yPkW7QA1uqW092BmNFqkqq2ruqkjA/s1600/e95c3b386dff11e181bd12313817987b_7.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsnYJu9z5pxFHgqtvCwlePbCwM0GzJdcdEMl1L9Mo1rjGBKWOhY09ZBhALkjH8LSMsmyw0YmbnG0E9WsDWm-nLgNi8YpK7xKzo0jF9Hx9NJruxs0yPkW7QA1uqW092BmNFqkqq2ruqkjA/s400/e95c3b386dff11e181bd12313817987b_7.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><pre style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">They were married on the same day that Richard and I met. The only significance in this fact was that the first time I saw Richard he was looking particularly dashing in a suit. In fact come to think of it, I also happened to be wearing a suit then, and a top hat, as we met after the wedding at a Halloween party where I had decided to dress as an undertaker. </pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">Anyway, back to the kitchen! Richard and I arrived back at Naomi and Martin's to find a whole host of vegetables, jars and tins laid out on the dining table. I requested a piece of paper and a pen and after a moment of deliberation I somehow managed to scribble down a very vague 2 course menu for 4. </pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"></pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">Everyone chipped in and we made corn cakes with refried beans followed by mushroom chilli with rice (which was more of a ratatouille in the end).
Whilst I was frying the corn cakes Naomi and the boys devised a little song and dance consisting of lots of shouting the letters M.I.M and "Go FOOD" with cheerleader type actions and intonations. This (not surprisingly) fast descended into tremendous fits of giggles to the point where I'm surprised we served anything at all.
We had a lovely evening, their home is a wonderful, welcoming space, full of homemade furniture, pictures painted by family & friends and a very particular collection of pebbles from Brighton beach - selected only if they clearly resemble
a letter of the alphabet. With the letters obtained thus far Martin is able to write the phrase "gone swimming x" completely in pebbles for Naomi to discover.</pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"></pre>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-45631087354524830652012-02-14T18:00:00.001+00:002012-02-14T18:00:31.406+00:00Miriam Nice's photostream<div style="padding: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 0; width: 500px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/miriam_nice/6735167153/in/photostream/" title="Tarragon Panna Cotta" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6735167153_9aa3db6ee2_s.jpg" alt="Tarragon Panna Cotta" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/miriam_nice/6735136249/in/photostream/" title="Canapés with Raspberry Gin" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7016/6735136249_9ba81b0bb0_s.jpg" alt="Canapés with Raspberry Gin" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/miriam_nice/6733534325/in/photostream/" title="Steak, Polenta & Red Wine Canapés" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6733534325_85e617dbbe_s.jpg" alt="Steak, Polenta & Red Wine Canapés" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/miriam_nice/6716174429/in/photostream/" title="Dinner!" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6716174429_db67295514_s.jpg" alt="Dinner!" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/miriam_nice/6715754529/in/photostream/" title="Flat Bread Pizza" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6715754529_8f27806f46_s.jpg" alt="Flat Bread Pizza" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><div style="padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://l.yimg.com/g/images/gallery-empty-icon.gif" style="margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"></div><br clear="all"/></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px"><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/miriam_nice/">Miriam Nice's photostream</a> on Flickr.</p></div><p>See what's cooking on Flickr</p>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-40281711225087220722012-02-13T23:13:00.002+00:002012-03-21T20:41:09.417+00:00Pain au Thé<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 22px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">Oh dear... how long has that been there?...</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #505050; height: 100% !important; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; width: 100% !important;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><strong style="font-size: 14px;">"Look what I found at the back of the cupboard" </strong><span style="font-size: 14px;">I've just found a Christmas Pudding (please do not ask me to look at the use by date). Sadly not only had it almost completely dried out but Richard doesn't even like Christmas Pudding. Problem is I don't want to throw it away; I might get called Scrooge or the bin man might shout "You've killed Christmas" when he finds it in the wheelie bin. So I took a risk and made this cake. Risks are good, and this risk tastes particularly super spread with butter.</span><br />
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<u><b>Store Cupboard Tea Bread</b></u><br />
300g of Christmas Pudding (roughly crumbled into small chunks)<br />
100g of other mixed dried fruits and nuts (use whatever you have - sultanas, almonds, apricots, goji berries from an abandoned graze box)<br />
200ml of strong black tea<br />
125g of sugar<br />
1 egg<br />
125g of plain flour<br />
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder<br />
1 teaspoon of cinnamon<br />
1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg<br />
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">Leave the mashed up Christmas pudding and mixed fruit to soak in the tea for a few hours or overnight.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14px;">When you're ready to bake the tea bread preheat the oven to 160°</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">C. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14px;">Grease a 25cm x 11cm loaf tin and line the base with a piece of greaseproof paper.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14px;">In a small bowl whisk the sugar and egg together until well combined and then fold through the soaked fruit. Sift in the flour, baking powder and spices into the mixture and fold everything together and then pour it all into the loaf tin and bake for about an hour and a half. After the first 30 minutes cover it with tin foil and continue baking. </span><span style="font-size: 14px;">Serve cold, sliced spread with butter. </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRU5l1S3eqDUTnh9B4l_2de3EA6RJAQEhhcgQp6OoHlBpWEJ-GiDnQ9aSHOrUCy8o2-yrqYzgF39zhrGW9dBMregrm77tvaoCm6qvR6HjUKSpuwBjjsGFoXcqy3VJv6y1mkWCEZRlK4Ew/s1600/GyJiNxwd88.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRU5l1S3eqDUTnh9B4l_2de3EA6RJAQEhhcgQp6OoHlBpWEJ-GiDnQ9aSHOrUCy8o2-yrqYzgF39zhrGW9dBMregrm77tvaoCm6qvR6HjUKSpuwBjjsGFoXcqy3VJv6y1mkWCEZRlK4Ew/s320/GyJiNxwd88.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #505050; height: 100% !important; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; width: 100% !important;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi67aM4A5oLz6pT6kU2jaAQC8eMUn6YFvto6sbFV-b6ye1PJ5S-Mw7qy7FE2D6ez5AQ88132_cjg_3vpzHEKXMe7TyXQqsDyt7o0XaXkuiUPeQW7JL_0Z-4kyAD8UY7r4fOOXVD8ElY2cw/s1600/GuGGlFQd-C.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">For a surprisingly scrummy lunch take 1 tortilla/wrap/</span><strong style="font-size: 14px;">flat bread</strong><span style="font-size: 14px;"> thingy, spread with </span><strong style="font-size: 14px;">Greek Yoghurt</strong><span style="font-size: 14px;"> (or white sauce) and then top with whatever sliced </span><strong style="font-size: 14px;">veggies</strong><span style="font-size: 14px;"> you like. Mushrooms, leeks, onions, spinach, peas all work well. Add some </span><strong style="font-size: 14px;">fresh herbs</strong><span style="font-size: 14px;">, </span><strong style="font-size: 14px;">salt & pepper</strong><span style="font-size: 14px;">, grated </span><strong style="font-size: 14px;">cheese</strong><span style="font-size: 14px;"> and a little ground </span><strong style="font-size: 14px;">nutmeg</strong><span style="font-size: 14px;">. <i>If you've got any cooked or cured meat dice that up and sprinkle that over too.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14px;">Pop in the oven until the cheese has melted and the 'pizza' starts to get a little singed at the edges. </span><br />
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I made the one in the picture with a leek which was going a bit bendy, mushrooms which were getting rather wrinkly and a stub of old cheese which wasn't much use for anything else and honestly it was bloody good. The nutmeg brings the white sauce-onion-cheese combo together and really reminds me of Flammkuchen which is served at festivals and street parties in Germany.</span></div>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-8708464466421513582012-02-13T23:12:00.000+00:002012-02-13T23:12:21.987+00:00Après le travail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlPX5apLyObSLFBFSVzdrzGftIk30wNXC46pIT0c4ipTTdXFJ4i-9g5Qk7iDNjIQcKKV07wu73ChqMMhvjras4kz_feaGt67Ohozdy_7_uuEmWWaT6_Q4EsBxBFz5MEES4LBtJliBDawo/s1600/6a592c2c567811e1a87612313804ec91_7.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlPX5apLyObSLFBFSVzdrzGftIk30wNXC46pIT0c4ipTTdXFJ4i-9g5Qk7iDNjIQcKKV07wu73ChqMMhvjras4kz_feaGt67Ohozdy_7_uuEmWWaT6_Q4EsBxBFz5MEES4LBtJliBDawo/s320/6a592c2c567811e1a87612313804ec91_7.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is a tasty, wholesome <span style="font-size: large;">one pot meal</span> for after work <u>and</u> it's ready in minutes! This will be a great dish to make when the Jersey Royals appear in the Spring.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Serves 2</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">250-300g of <b>new potatoes</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mixture of green <b>vegetables </b><i>(I used: leeks, spring greens, broccoli, peas and cabbage)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2 pieces of fresh <b>fish </b><i>(pick something you haven't tried before, I used Dabs for this recipe but if you want some more ideas ask your fish monger and check out the info on <a href="http://www.fishfight.net/sustainable-tips/" target="_blank">Hugh's fish fight</a> website before you shop). </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bunch of fresh <b>dill </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Greek Yoghurt</b> <i>(I love this stuff and Total have just relaunched their <a href="https://www.totalgreekyoghurt.com/total-eating" target="_blank">website </a>with some ace recipes, sorry I digress) </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1/2 <b>fennel</b> bulb finely sliced and tossed in lemon juice</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Olive oil, salt and pepper</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u>Method</u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Clean the potatoes and place at the bottom of a large saucepan and cover with water and bring to the boil. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After 10 minutes start adding the vegetables, layer any leafy greens on the top to form a bed for the fish. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Check the potatoes are nearly soft and then lay the fish over the vegetables and continue to simmer for another 2 minutes with the lid on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Then take the pan off the heat and leave to stand (still with the lid on) until the fish is cooked through (roughly another 2-5 mintutes). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Remove the fish with a slotted spoon and put onto the plates.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Drain the rest of the vegetables, drizzle with olive oil and season. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Put the vegetables on the plate with the fish, top with the fennel salad and a spoonful of greek yoghurt. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Strew fronds of dill all over the plates and serve immediately. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>It's a good idea to pop a bottle of good olive oil, salt and pepper and wedges of lemon, more fresh dill and any leftover fennel salad on the table so everyone can season everything to their liking. </i></span>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-3690508726844708222012-02-13T23:11:00.000+00:002012-02-13T23:11:34.284+00:00Gâteau d'anniversaire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-HUk9lvz7CQa4jtSGCfCcEoyoCsu7pARRkSdSk6Gt3bHBzM2WDgKhMGZzhw1GxGdy3di69Ec5r-W9kSrvrCQ2TJYE-R9n9qaRUtzi6IbtbNvXUmKfTEpLTHuAGsM1owljZ5fZNXAAomg/s1600/photo+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-HUk9lvz7CQa4jtSGCfCcEoyoCsu7pARRkSdSk6Gt3bHBzM2WDgKhMGZzhw1GxGdy3di69Ec5r-W9kSrvrCQ2TJYE-R9n9qaRUtzi6IbtbNvXUmKfTEpLTHuAGsM1owljZ5fZNXAAomg/s320/photo+5.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Another super question has arrived from a reader "<i>What is the quickest and easiest way to make a yummy birthday cake?"</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ok, so I think this coconut cake is really very easy as you don't need to cream together the butter and sugar and the desiccated coconut icing is very forgiving if you're icing in a hurry. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u>Coconut Birthday Cake</u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">250g of caster sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4 free range eggs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">150ml of sunflower oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">250g of self raising flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">50g of desiccated coconut</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 teaspoon of baking powder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4 tablespoons of strawberry jam</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u>Icing</u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">300g of icing sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">50g of coconut</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Grease and line a 20cm round spring form cake tin. Preheat the oven to 170*C</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Method: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1) Whisk the sugar and the eggs together until fluffy and pale. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2) Carry on whisking and slowly add the sunflower oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3) Sift the flour and baking powder over the mixture then sprinkle over the coconut</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4) Using a large metal spoon fold the dry ingredients into the wet until completely combined. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">5) Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for around 30-45 minutes. You'll know it's done when a skewer inserted comes out clean</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">6) When baked leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out to a wire rack and leave until it cools to room temperature. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">7) Using a serrated knife cut the cake horizontally in half</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">8) Spread the bottom half with Strawberry jam and sandwich back together</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">9) To make the icing stir together the sugar and coconut and gradually add water (a spoonful at a time) until it is the consistency of thick porridge (add more sugar or coconut if the mixture is too wet).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">10) Spread the icing all over the cake (think artex!) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">11) Decorate with plastic toys, lolly pops, rose hips or candles. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPrFjdS7UjCXOOtJ2VtTKL3YchlME6Glyp7S6qlv6_2ZnEwECeuX5ktnkNxYGrgvfGuW3Go66YW1pM5CpWnwvcI2MebU4Spek4dOxcyORyFRUkp9jMQthYKYqM3J65mCepkkAT2A4oV2M/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPrFjdS7UjCXOOtJ2VtTKL3YchlME6Glyp7S6qlv6_2ZnEwECeuX5ktnkNxYGrgvfGuW3Go66YW1pM5CpWnwvcI2MebU4Spek4dOxcyORyFRUkp9jMQthYKYqM3J65mCepkkAT2A4oV2M/s320/photo+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rosehips </td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNRszLPl1sdLDTNyCHXvDcrLYNkr_uyCZgpyP2dRR4yyZLi3orPG3UxROMYIH9t4A33Sxs7gt-bE_2Wpe4x8Ni36WOe8Xuz_19-WcVrCjT3C-ziYMe3N15k-ir7A20l2FlJR8tqkJ03U/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNRszLPl1sdLDTNyCHXvDcrLYNkr_uyCZgpyP2dRR4yyZLi3orPG3UxROMYIH9t4A33Sxs7gt-bE_2Wpe4x8Ni36WOe8Xuz_19-WcVrCjT3C-ziYMe3N15k-ir7A20l2FlJR8tqkJ03U/s320/photo+2.JPG" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lolly Pops</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSQbQ8Iao9Ba_6XIIqmDVz509zRbXKSQfiiZ8PmJ-o-ofh67yUoUcUZ5YKGRZ3T6YCUhN4_Gf_JCZunposTpKKekHG6rd8vqXqRkvID6vJhXVm8NshyTup7A3Oq0Wve8-OfkggKCJn5I/s1600/photo+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSQbQ8Iao9Ba_6XIIqmDVz509zRbXKSQfiiZ8PmJ-o-ofh67yUoUcUZ5YKGRZ3T6YCUhN4_Gf_JCZunposTpKKekHG6rd8vqXqRkvID6vJhXVm8NshyTup7A3Oq0Wve8-OfkggKCJn5I/s320/photo+7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plastic Lobster</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7XAGaLVf1grorw_0wyLSkBURzgIdgg51QiqtGWg0hM7OmthbxNsjIwYEqDk3Yndk5TVyFSuGccTH36Z-Fd88sP4tR82AcJGzywGDrELwGidOmQKUms8HqA6vyTBGY_kd7JOZp_Xa4Lc/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br />
</a>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-68136366773375810532012-02-13T22:50:00.000+00:002012-02-13T22:50:59.224+00:00Je t'aime<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_TQrQzvBxMY5xDJlCxlviotpuGLm72Z_v-HttACSimCdXTAdMfys07GN2TxQEToX-4dEz_cU-VvR5NVxE29zoCNxm7i237tK7_9aIXVk7Ck_M3v_7isDddKheRM0Op0B_4wnV5NZohI/s1600/chocolate+truffles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_TQrQzvBxMY5xDJlCxlviotpuGLm72Z_v-HttACSimCdXTAdMfys07GN2TxQEToX-4dEz_cU-VvR5NVxE29zoCNxm7i237tK7_9aIXVk7Ck_M3v_7isDddKheRM0Op0B_4wnV5NZohI/s200/chocolate+truffles.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chocolate 'Kettle' Truffles</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">It's </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">that time of year again; we're already being bombarded by big glossy campaigns for ready-made meals, microwave chocolate fondants and the obligatory bottle of pink wine for a neat 20 quid. Of if you prefer, many chefs and food writers are busy planning delicious menus for you to slave over instead which is wonderful if you have the patience of a saint, love cooking and know for sure your other half is going to arrive precisely on time (otherwise an argument about fallen soufflés or burnt steaks is clearly inevitable). I'm not going to write you a menu because I think you should eat something which is either super easy (like toast) or something, which is special to you. Also, I figured if I linger too long on this soppy subject my single friends might stab me with pencils.<br />
I'm not completely shirking my food writing responsibilities for the 14th; instead I want to share with you these recipes for some ridiculously easy and speedy chocolates and sweets. Share them with a friend, give them as a romantic gift or scoff them on your own watching Vin Diesel films.<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
Chocolate 'Kettle' Truffles </span>(They're made in the kettle, that's right, kettle)</span></span></span><br />
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</style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 115%;">200g bar of ordinary dark chocolate (do not use the really fancy 85%+ stuff for this, the best I have found for these is actually Cooperative own brand, Fair-trade dark chocolate) or 200g of dark chocolate chips</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 115%;">a slice of butter (about the size of a credit card and about half a centimetre thick)</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 115%;">2 dessert spoons of extra thick double cream</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 115%;">2 dessert spoons of cocoa powder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<u>Method</u><br />
</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 115%;">Chop up the chocolate and the butter into approx 1cm squared pieces (unless using the chocolate chips) and put into a small microwave-safe food bag and seal with a knot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 115%;">Fill the kettle and boil. As soon as it has boiled put the bag of chocolate and butter into the kettle with the water, leaving the knotted end of the bag hanging out of the kettle and making sure the bottom of the bag doesn't touch the bottom/element in the kettle. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 115%;">Close the lid and leave to sit there in the hot water for about 5 minutes. Take the bag out - the chocolate & butter should be completely melted. Dry the outside of the bag a little on a towel then slit the bag open with scissors over a bowl and squeeze out the contents. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 115%;">Quickly add the cream and stir vigorously so that it is completely combined. You need to do this <b>quickly</b> and really mix it with loads of gusto because it will start to set as soon as the cold cream is added and you need it to come together as a smooth, thick paste.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 115%;">Put the cocoa powder onto a plate and then drop teaspoonfuls of the chocolate & cream mixture onto the cocoa covered plate. Using a spoon turn the truffles over in the powder so that they are coated fully and then transfer to a serving plate. Repeat this process until all the mixture has been used up. <i>Try not to breathe too heavily or cough around this plate of cocoa or you will end up with a very messy room indeed</i>. In a cold room these will set on their own quite quickly, otherwise stick them in the fridge for a short while. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiX8MaiUKBFG16qMH0e8txLOF4geb-nueLGdP31iUgps41YZhJlv4xzMIZqad_eYbZ9Ei90ieD-xf7Ir4Hv0QeC6w0yTPAjgHxg6x3j7AXsr3nZ2SysV3LzJAYvR2pTqaQQMKjP6v6wUE/s1600/G9SZvdQd2r.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiX8MaiUKBFG16qMH0e8txLOF4geb-nueLGdP31iUgps41YZhJlv4xzMIZqad_eYbZ9Ei90ieD-xf7Ir4Hv0QeC6w0yTPAjgHxg6x3j7AXsr3nZ2SysV3LzJAYvR2pTqaQQMKjP6v6wUE/s200/G9SZvdQd2r.jpeg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rose & Coconut Hearts</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;">Rose & Coconut Fudge</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;">2 tablespoons of condensed milk</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;">200g of icing sugar</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;">few drops of rosewater</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;">1 drop of red food colouring</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;">2 tablespoons of desiccated coconut</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;">40g of melted butter</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;">Stir all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and then knead until the dough is a nice even pink colour. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">Dust the work surface with a little more icing sugar and roll out then cut into shapes with a small heart shaped cutter. Lay on a plate and leave to firm up slightly in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIxI50WOxmifprNplMNN2fLrOxipXqID_dcUC_dF8FIoqhmugaFSaGB5gS5PLO3uFBHGuw92bVR0jf4fC0keg9EM1N-RdP6k8FNF3RjtNNDEVnXWGi5Bet9azUTSjrSrWgdsVb6MFt9Iw/s1600/G9SHV3wd2m.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; clear: left; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIxI50WOxmifprNplMNN2fLrOxipXqID_dcUC_dF8FIoqhmugaFSaGB5gS5PLO3uFBHGuw92bVR0jf4fC0keg9EM1N-RdP6k8FNF3RjtNNDEVnXWGi5Bet9azUTSjrSrWgdsVb6MFt9Iw/s200/G9SHV3wd2m.jpeg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pistachio & Cardamom Burfi</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">Pistachio or Chocolate & Cardamom Burfi</span></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;">2 tablespoons of condensed milk</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;">200g of icing sugar</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;">1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom seeds</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;"><i>Either</i> 12g of cocoa powder <b>or</b> 30g of crushed pistachios</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;">40g of melted butter</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;">As with the fudge recipe above; mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl, then knead until all the ingredients are full combined. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;">I left the pistachio ones to set in a baking tray in the fridge for half an hour before slicing into squares and sprinkling with a little more crushed pistachio</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 21px;">For the chocolate ones I rolled them into small balls as soon as the dough had been mixed and was still slightly warm. Once completely cold I topped them with small pieces of edible gold leaf. </span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1lEKIL5nxU7yMmDvgIAYlQNkZwWK1Ar_I8v4GTxr_zVKypswi7aiJdaeBk-2SiBDamdAmnCbkAktjma0nAg8pM-0cR86-fSgQbocT4Je7GOVxBblfyCA54Dff9pR7-hnnCReW7VX4Xi0/s1600/68fe8a2e567911e1b9f1123138140926_7.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1lEKIL5nxU7yMmDvgIAYlQNkZwWK1Ar_I8v4GTxr_zVKypswi7aiJdaeBk-2SiBDamdAmnCbkAktjma0nAg8pM-0cR86-fSgQbocT4Je7GOVxBblfyCA54Dff9pR7-hnnCReW7VX4Xi0/s320/68fe8a2e567911e1b9f1123138140926_7.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chocolate & Cardamom Burfi</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-19757039797561151022011-12-09T19:42:00.001+00:002011-12-09T19:43:26.655+00:00le critique restaurant!My first foray into the restaurant review world with a visit to Hawksmoor Guildhall for their beef tasting menu. Vegetarians look away now x<br />
<div><br />
</div><div><a href="http://blog.foodnetwork.co.uk/2011/12/08/hawksmoor-guildhalls-seven-course-beef-tasting-menu/">http://blog.foodnetwork.co.uk/2011/12/08/hawksmoor-guildhalls-seven-course-beef-tasting-menu/</a></div>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-22023008260683965792011-11-27T11:51:00.001+00:002011-11-27T23:19:13.771+00:00Shakespeare à Noël<pre style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When Suba called me in for a consultation meeting I was still stuffed
full of cold and feeling less than inspiring. However, I came away
with some scribbled notes and the sinking feeling that I would not be
able to take any annual leave this December.</span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">
<a href="http://www.custompractice.co.uk/suba-das/">Suba Das </a>is an absolute firecracker. My limited experience of theatre
directors pictures them swathed in black pyjama-like outfits and
enveloped by a large black shawl which is hurled expressively over
his/her shoulder whilst booming out things like "fabulous darling" or
clapping wildly exclaiming "No no no no no, I can't work like this!"
Suba Das certainly isn't anything like the dodgy caricature from my
brain tank. Firstly he always looks immaculate and terrifyingly good
looking. When he's working he carries an expression which clearly
indicates he has about 459 things on his mind at once and despite his
slight figure is possibly one of the toughest people I know.
Basically, in a fight, he'd win. Any fight. It comes as no surprise
that he is currently one of the hottest most sort after directors in
theatre right now.
</span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When Suba asks you to do something; you say yes. Luckily, all I've had
to say yes to is coming up with a new mulled wine recipe (and a non-
alcoholic version) for his production of Shakespeare's The Winter's
Tale. Sounds easy enough. Oh, what's that Suba? You need me to source
the ingredients for 45 audience members each night for 18
performances? Oh and it's open air, and there's not really a kitchen,
or a hob? Right. I'm on it!</span></pre><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://oldvictunnels.com/event/the-winters-tale/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih2xX0ltQlizja9h7-2itma9tSaXRMZHZhtwy5Z-1zzuy42OJNX3jDCLKFqz1eldHzOc9Aybnz8dgfY9kbYvuTgWIalT5XNKQkWx9Sqqj7dB1iViTNPEmOuBWv_YVcYoFnuudQ4Y0G0rs/s320/TWT2.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">T<span class="Apple-style-span">o find out more check out the <a href="http://www.cakesandcanapes.co.uk/page2.htm">Cakes and Canap<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">é</span>s</a> website</span></span></div><pre style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"></pre>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-58079415730900512622011-10-11T20:41:00.000+01:002011-10-11T20:41:19.487+01:00Lumières, Caméra, Action!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/rVu0mHrLiQ4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-5814887196640167282011-07-31T19:52:00.001+01:002011-08-26T20:37:49.123+01:00Temps de concurrence<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So for those of you who have deftly avoided my constant barrage of announcements earlier this month (on almost all forms of social media) <a href="http://victorias-alphabet-soup.blogspot.com/">Victoria Glass</a> and I made the final of the Master Chef style cook-off for bloggers on Sunday 17<sup>th</sup> of July</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_456245476">"</a></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_456245476"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Nom Nom Nom 2011</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.nomnomnom.co.uk/">.</a></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Seven other cookery pairs were jammed in with us into the small yet efficiently designed upstairs kitchen of the <a href="http://www.cookeryschool.co.uk/">Cookery School</a> on Little Portland Street. We were all prompt and raring to go; freshly prepared breakfast treats in hand eagerly awaiting the announcement of the rules for the day. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">2 hours 15 minutes to cook a three-course office lunch for four. Not too bad we thought, we've planned for this, we've practised! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">I went an administration step too far and threw spreadsheet timetables at the problem so we knew exactly which carrot to chop when - this fell slightly flat when I put my chopping board over said paperwork followed by the realisation that the allocated cooking time was now 15 minutes shorter than we had originally thought. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Prior to the starting pistol we had one hour allocated for shopping and headed out as fast as we could (which wasn't very fast as Victoria had sprained her knee at a </span><span style="color: black;">Ceilidh) to the local farmers market, ginger pig butchers and ever faithful Waitrose.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0tXkPTQv6YrFSeFqbzOZHAnktIp5o_XDfLyC9q7gm54-Z4EzZjpmlh2NsAZNKzRM0uFN73OPPGCvvPFzTWTetkPayKnmtccqixUAOM5Hf-UtJguGJpau_oSebb22SlpZNaMzYfDud6bQ/s1600/photo+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0tXkPTQv6YrFSeFqbzOZHAnktIp5o_XDfLyC9q7gm54-Z4EzZjpmlh2NsAZNKzRM0uFN73OPPGCvvPFzTWTetkPayKnmtccqixUAOM5Hf-UtJguGJpau_oSebb22SlpZNaMzYfDud6bQ/s320/photo+5.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">With oh so much more food than we were ever going to need and empty wallets we piled our purchases and adrenaline into the taxi.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWjBOFFLh1C80JqTYRCscj-2l65pvOhtGIX-eGjSONtEB51ScnVV0_DvSLmuutDsNlEmCdQEeZelMCPsceqWRrGxJ6MM40yaM8h_y2cKrb9KXuKLATVLQWIFCrF_GOlqZpMDrO4O524Jk/s1600/photo+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWjBOFFLh1C80JqTYRCscj-2l65pvOhtGIX-eGjSONtEB51ScnVV0_DvSLmuutDsNlEmCdQEeZelMCPsceqWRrGxJ6MM40yaM8h_y2cKrb9KXuKLATVLQWIFCrF_GOlqZpMDrO4O524Jk/s320/photo+4.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Back at HQ we set to work chopping, chopping and more chopping. Deeply focussing on not slicing off chunks of my fingers whilst attempting to blag passable examples of julienne.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">The requirement was to make a soup, a main course, 2 salads and a treat. A selection of the most highly favoured dishes are to go on sale at <a href="http://www.rosalindskitchen.co.uk/">Rosalind’s kitchen</a> (purveyors of fine handmade office lunches) by appointment of Rosalind herself.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">When I cook or pull an event together I am a total stickler for a holistic idea. I don’t mean that in an aromatherapy and tie dye way (just to clarify) but more of a clear theme which runs coherently throughout. So we decided that to make our menu a little different and to give it a fusion edge we would sneak a few Japanese influences into each course to excite the palate of the busy suited customer. Even though it would be likely that even if we won any of the rounds the food would not be served together, we wanted our menu to work harmoniously as a complete meal.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">“So what the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> hell </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">did you make?” I hear you cry.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Well I’m getting to that…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">We started with Wild Mushroom Broth.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">This involved frying a few finely chopped fresh wild mushrooms and garlic, then adding the liquid from rehydrating some dried wild mushrooms, handfuls of innoki and brown beech mushrooms to simmer in the earthy broth and seasoned with white miso paste. Thankfully the judges gave our soup some serious thumbs up which was a relief; as I had completely left out the integral garnish of a few finely chopped spring onions. This garnish was the one thing my brother (who has recently returned from 3 years living and working in Japan) had advised I include for authenticity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The main course was a seared steak </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sashimi </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">served on a bed of watercress and raw courgette ribbons dressed with lime and black pepper.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">This dish was perfect for the competition as all you do is marinade the best piece of beef you can find in lovely things like soy sauce, ginger and chilli then sear it in a pan for 1 minute till it is starting to caramelise on the outside but deliciously raw in the middle. The beauty of this is not just in the flavour and quality of the meat but also in the presentation. The slices of beef are to be baking parchment thin and arranged on the plate in a neat ornamental row tempting the judges to take a second to let out a little admiring sigh at the delicacy placed before them. Only after such a pause would they then be compelled to pick up a fork and devour with lashings of the sticky salty dipping sauce. Unfortunately due to the rushed panic plating-up session at the end of the competition I was forced to hack violently at the huge (and very expensive fillet) with a tiny knife, producing what looked like a meat-flavoured failed attempt at a dry-stone walling NVQ.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">For the salads we plumped for a Rainbow ‘slaw which we made from fushcia pink radishes, vivid red cabbage, yellow and red peppers, spring onions and cucumber. Fine matchsticks of each of these luminous veggies were tossed together with more Japanese flavours including mirin and sesame oil. This technicolor accompaniment was contrasted with the deceptively subdued looking partner of yoghurt and wasabi dressed Jersey Royals with Pea shoots. Getting the mixture of Greek yoghurt, brown sugar, lime juice and wasabi powder just right is tricky but the result is a clean taste explosion (which I must stay work pretty snappily with those chunks of beef).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY_lhyUGhIwaOeITOBb3C7NaPUCze07hwJP93r3CyYuQzvDETtR5h_Esnfic5MEZ0In_LHkxVgCFEtUF50A8Sko_AZTe6qRnpGGf-kAZwKMgz27Ex8OBc-uPeC2TYOVhBvdU9C3K8TgFc/s1600/photo+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY_lhyUGhIwaOeITOBb3C7NaPUCze07hwJP93r3CyYuQzvDETtR5h_Esnfic5MEZ0In_LHkxVgCFEtUF50A8Sko_AZTe6qRnpGGf-kAZwKMgz27Ex8OBc-uPeC2TYOVhBvdU9C3K8TgFc/s320/photo+3.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">For desert we made Blackcurrant </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Meringue Pies </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">with Matcha (green tea). These looked like cupcakes but where much more sophisticated darling! I love these; I could eat them all day if they were not so heartstoppingly sugary. Victoria certainly knows what she is doing with pastry and meringue. When I whisk egg whites they seem to take pride in maliciously collapsing just as the last spoonful of sugar is added. For Victoria, egg whites not only stand to stiff- peaked and obedient attention but I think they do her filing, ironing and tax returns for her too – she’s got skills that woman.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF260K-KHwyZVKjvsOFtTWjt7Ve2p2G-GxsUEwOY1tu3Bi3tLcFTyYHz_DUFZ5VNXsZh7MILgZJC-0ZltVH5hN1Bx6vyATqhhAsVm856eXZFrihLPnvxBasHcIqkNw5T7oRd5LkS9OCeM/s1600/photo+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF260K-KHwyZVKjvsOFtTWjt7Ve2p2G-GxsUEwOY1tu3Bi3tLcFTyYHz_DUFZ5VNXsZh7MILgZJC-0ZltVH5hN1Bx6vyATqhhAsVm856eXZFrihLPnvxBasHcIqkNw5T7oRd5LkS9OCeM/s320/photo+2.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">When all the chopping, stirring and general blur of freaking out was over the fun really started. We were sent downstairs to feast on the leftovers from every competing team. Quickly all the anxiety and judgement day nerves fell away in place of foodie debates, recipe swapping and belly laughs encouraged by some great wine from <a href="http://www.top100igpfrance.com/en/">Top 100.</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">A tipsy quiz and raffle followed and just when we least expected it the serious and sober judges entered. They are a clever bunch and had “deliberated, cogitated and digested” our efforts in true Lloyd Grossman style.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Huge congratulations must go to well deserving winners <a href="http://www.nomnomnom.co.uk/2011/07/meet-finalists-tete-tea.html">Tete a Tea</a> who whipped up some lovely meatballs, taboule and a cheeky raspberry and amaretto chocolate tart.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnjAXFbM2Ay0YxIJ7gV31_Hx43TlfdXRZJHIEOVuoMPBKcZPCdA6yIJYNz5_rnyNKXtp6Pkz_7m3ChdYEW108TbiMvuqh0nNjyhQTxLcSnFf-rDMu621Yf05SvXZwp3f6pwKBSIyt-fU/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnjAXFbM2Ay0YxIJ7gV31_Hx43TlfdXRZJHIEOVuoMPBKcZPCdA6yIJYNz5_rnyNKXtp6Pkz_7m3ChdYEW108TbiMvuqh0nNjyhQTxLcSnFf-rDMu621Yf05SvXZwp3f6pwKBSIyt-fU/s320/photo.jpg" width="320" /></a> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Victoria and I were disappointed not to win the judges hearts completely but there were enough shouts of “who made this beef it’s delicious” popping up around the table to satisfy even my inflated ego.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Several tonnes of goodies in hand we made one last push to the pub. I have never been to a piss up with foodies before and for those of you who have not I can highly recommend. At first we were merrily discussing our food disasters and then culinary triumphs. As the adrenaline in my system from the nerves of the competition was quickly replaced by cocktails I pulled out my iPhone and shared my own photographic history of epic baking projects and mass catering. I continued the showing off by pulling out 2 copies of issue 1 of <a href="http://www.cakesandcanapes.co.uk/">Cakes and Canapés</a> (both of which I sold in under 3 minutes to <a href="http://www.nomnomnom.co.uk/2011/07/meet-finalists-hirsute-hashtag-slingers.html">the Hirsute Hashtag Slingers</a>). Several cocktails later I was asked about my pin badge. I had decided to plug a good friend’s work during the competition (Emma Bosanko runs <a href="http://www.threadordead.com/">Thread or Dead</a> who make wonderful things, mostly using the powers of cross stitch). I was wearing one of her creations, a moustache badge and when quizzed on this accessory I eagerly plunged my hand into my rucksack to proudly present the special edition strawberry brooch designed for issue 2 of our magazine. In doing so, I sent a new, shiny and cellophane wrapped non-applicator tampon flying onto the bench narrowly missing James Whatley’s lap. I jetted out a hand to retrieve the item and swiftly dispatch it back to my bag (trying not to react but keep up the conversation). In my tipsy and over confident state I would have sworn no one saw a thing but in the cold sober light of day I cannot be sure if the sanitary product really went completely unnoticed in its journey through the air.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLEx3vgk3NcOSHLqmAigyJZhJBLXLQg1jnu_R17SKEyLo_D-jNA1QSPPelpW72rLWXAdkLQu-sGpot4i6oGo8DwKmXacLCaIthuglJa6JmxO01LiowyOxhiOVkpHEC5-ERWliOAMWkiVM/s1600/photo+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLEx3vgk3NcOSHLqmAigyJZhJBLXLQg1jnu_R17SKEyLo_D-jNA1QSPPelpW72rLWXAdkLQu-sGpot4i6oGo8DwKmXacLCaIthuglJa6JmxO01LiowyOxhiOVkpHEC5-ERWliOAMWkiVM/s320/photo+4.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">I think food bloggers make excellent drinking companions as the conversation flowed well into the night, cementing in my mind that the Nom Nom Nom 2011 was brilliant fun and the staff at the cookery school worked thanklessly on our behalf. Money made from the raffle when to the charity Action Against Hunger – please check out their fantastic work <a href="http://www.actionagainsthunger.org.uk/">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQw9d1TIfMX0HqKsSLPeNNOEnwKEYw9G96fbYh7zYj-z6vkdj4GUwIirT5aRbJzHLnyJVsaA4OORqDekCVTetJdKRIENhrGf3mUp_o27XwZ02l5beMrYMKGmKoGmH8_k1VJL2xEccZ0o/s1600/photo+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQw9d1TIfMX0HqKsSLPeNNOEnwKEYw9G96fbYh7zYj-z6vkdj4GUwIirT5aRbJzHLnyJVsaA4OORqDekCVTetJdKRIENhrGf3mUp_o27XwZ02l5beMrYMKGmKoGmH8_k1VJL2xEccZ0o/s320/photo+2.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ok, so I botched the beef, missed the first group photo call (because I went for a wee) missed the third photo call (because I went to get my cardigan) and committed a minor indiscretion in the pub… but all in all I think team </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.nomnomnom.co.uk/2011/07/meet-finalists-nice-glass.html">Nice Glass</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> did bloody well. I love our menu, it was radical, tasty and vibrant - and good laughs were had by all, bring on 2012! xxx</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ-H6LdeQbx5B-t3Z4fPArfhCVeZifRsrUM205Dyg4LBX9bhIHIp_Fuwf5pVQGl-rGnLEMAioLMzy85hMYxX93eEHs-moOSNeS12JBUXJI6x6qUNBPH_tpFLgjwo-8INyYPLuwiGPW5lM/s1600/photo+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ-H6LdeQbx5B-t3Z4fPArfhCVeZifRsrUM205Dyg4LBX9bhIHIp_Fuwf5pVQGl-rGnLEMAioLMzy85hMYxX93eEHs-moOSNeS12JBUXJI6x6qUNBPH_tpFLgjwo-8INyYPLuwiGPW5lM/s320/photo+5.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></div>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-54190836861936892292011-06-02T17:15:00.001+01:002011-06-02T17:48:17.058+01:00Que faites-vous?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One of my favourite people goes by the name of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Zed Penrose</span>. She recently put together an anti-feminist feminist-zine or is that post-feminist? Well, whatever, it is called the <a href="http://thechapess.blogspot.com/">Chapess</a> and I do hope we hear more from Zed very soon. It pooled together artists, illustrators, writers and thinkers in a lovely homemade mag.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The zines of Zed, <a href="http://www.gemmacorrell.com/">Gemma Correll</a> and <a href="http://www.anthonyzinonos.com/">Anthony Zinono</a>s inspired me further to take the very gentle leap into <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">zine</span> making. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Last month I launched my own food zine called Cakes and Canap<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">é</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">s</span> and set up <a href="http://www.cakesandcanapes.co.uk/">www.cakesandcanapes.co.uk</a> to give it a home.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">At the moment I am far too timid to start approaching companies to try and sell advertising space so I got a few copies printed at my own, yet minimal expense. It was a great feeling to produce the first issue. After having the idea, I put out loads of facebook pleas to find people to submit illustrations, recipes, rants and poems and then I just had to fill in the gaps with my own ramblings and doodles. Just like the exhausted relief and satisfaction felt after serving the last espresso at the end of an epic dinner party it was great to finally hold the 37 page A5 zine in my hand. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz1wQIH78lzWWw3kLq58hXI1eqwcSBRgXYWQoTROxNVV0BFBus_pfIRedTn2NpHqBdTXmBo2r9gJiFuyugYQ8b2Bsla89JLssaHVW-xQITQ8k44XrXD5j7blZl4jFYOlbTWzfcNcQr89Y/s1600/cover+for+site.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz1wQIH78lzWWw3kLq58hXI1eqwcSBRgXYWQoTROxNVV0BFBus_pfIRedTn2NpHqBdTXmBo2r9gJiFuyugYQ8b2Bsla89JLssaHVW-xQITQ8k44XrXD5j7blZl4jFYOlbTWzfcNcQr89Y/s400/cover+for+site.jpg" width="291" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Unfortunately the similarities to the dinner party don't end there. That sudden sinking feeling you get when you've relaxed over the coffee, maybe a cheeky brandy and then you remember the washing up is still left; so too did the realisation creep in that there was going to be a hell of a lot of work ahead if I wanted to sell a copy. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Currently I am grabbing at the rearing horns of the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">internet</span> and trying to steer various tiny corners of it towards our foodie scribbles. It's not that difficult to get started; talk to yourself on twitter, purchase a domain name, build a simple website and chuck everything else on a blog and on facebook and you're halfway - but it's full-time. I already have another job so I'm often playing catch-up on emails and blog posts for half the week. But it is without doubt, the most rewarding and all encompassing hobby I have ever indulged in. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In our first issue, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Bread</span>, I had a great excuse to try out a local deli, had a wonderful afternoon tasting Bagels and via the magic of twitter managed to get a Q&A with none other than BBC and Guardian bakery expert Dan Lepard. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you would like to take part I would love to hear from you - you can contact us <a href="http://www.cakesandcanapes.co.uk/page2.htm">here</a>. Reviews or recommendations of your favourite deli, coffee shop or chef would be a gratefully received, but if you are simply at a loose end this weekend then I highly recommend doing a taste comparison with one of your favourite food stuffs. It sounds silly by it's really eye opening. We tested Bagels but you can test anything you want - Jam, Coffee, Tea, Elderflower Cordial, Sausages, anything you like. Here's what we did:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1) Searched on the internet for the "best bagels" in our area</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2) Purchased one plain Bagel from each shop, getting lots of funny looks when we refused any fillings. As we did, try and get to a mixture of different establishments. <i>Make sure you have a good balance of places which are:</i></span><br />
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<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>nearby</i></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>recommended</i></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>places you would normally go anyway</i></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>places you've never been to</i></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>independent</i></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>inexpensive</i></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>specialists</i></span></li>
</ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3) Hurried home with purchases. <i>Don't forget to write the name of the shop on the packaging if it isn't already printed - you don't want to get them mixed up at this stage</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4) Dish up. We toasted one half of each bagel and covered it with cream cheese, the other half we left plain. <i>We thought it would be good to have a piece unadulterated and one served as we might normally - or else whats the point. So if you're testing say Salad Dressing, for example, try a bit on it's own and then a bit on some lettuce - you want to know which is best for what you would most typically use it for. </i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Write the name of the shops on the back of the paper plates before you dish up and cut or portion out each item so that there is a bit for each member of the panel. </i>We had 4 tasters at ours.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">5) We then marked each plate on the front side with a number. <i>You need to reference the item you are tasting so you can score it but you don't want to be able to see where it came from (which is why we wrote the shop name on the back) until the very end - incase it clouds your judgement.</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">6) <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Taste test</span>. Because I'm a lover of all things administration related I produced taste testing forms, <i>but really all you need is a piece of paper. Each person rates each sample and comments. </i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">7) The big reveal! Plates are turned over and the sample number matched up with the supplier, the results were quite surprising! Click <a href="http://cakesandcanapeszine.blogspot.com/2011/05/bread-issue-1-spring-2011-taste-test.html">here</a> to see what we found. </span></div><br />
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</span>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-9890023755792359182011-05-21T16:16:00.015+01:002011-05-22T13:16:24.418+01:00Je m'appelle Miriam<span class="Apple-style-span">Having run away to the big smoke it is no surprise that I am meeting loads of new people. In addition to the inevitable do-we-shake-hands-hug-or-kiss-on-cheek-panic-attack I am also finding the "what do you do?" question increasingly complicated. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">So, just </span><span class="Apple-style-span">this once, here is the long answer:</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">At the moment I am working part-time for a faci</span><span class="Apple-style-span">lities management company. I help with </span><span class="Apple-style-span">administr</span><span class="Apple-style-span">ative</span><span class="Apple-style-span"> processes and training material a</span><span class="Apple-style-span">nd go to meetings and surprisingly for some, I do really enjoy it. The rest of the time I am (for want of a better word) a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" >foodie</span><span class="Apple-style-span">. The hope (aka</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; "> "The Master Plan") is to tie my food related strings </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; ">together in a big bow of a restaurant w</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; ">ithin the next 10 years (give or take). These strings currently include but are not limited to; writing</span><span class="Apple-style-span"> this blog,</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">being the self-proclaimed Editor of a teeny tiny foodzine also called Cakes and Canap<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; ">és, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; ">o</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; ">ccasionally dabbling in private catering and having a reputation for making wacky cake creations - including a 4 dimensional </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; ">cake, a giant Oreo cookie </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; ">and bir</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; ">thday cake made of meat</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; ">.</span></span></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDzv7ymEOOg1eiZMoPWgVECf3X-VvnAoSOIA2XYTDZmCiIeBvZniHTLSsePup6qcsoCR3CFTk8vAa4OYL_72twSYHtFSIZb17rnY-sNjs6bXcR9RqPG0GjPvyUiyszElz-U4IyzHjris/s320/catering.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609215870950877970" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Since th</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; ">e </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; ">invention of twitter </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; ">up sprung helpful websites which shrink long URLs to give you a much more tweet friendly sized link. Can some</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">one invent a website wh</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">ere I can type in my 2 job descriptions and it can then spew out a more</span></span></span></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMChkiPeS-FF8t_SMkm9oLfbYFdtVB27alaIb-X9U6Wqig0tCxoRkkaRZ8A5_n-bvEYv180zRAjzmGxiRLG7vLTazbKTCDEgNmcT1HdR0xlfKT3LG8Yt5GbqJKGaPXRgrS2QESyu47gtA/s320/canapes.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609215875296331986" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"></span><span class="Apple-style-span">manageable</span><span class="Apple-style-span"> soundbite please?</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Tonight I'm going to a dinner party where the guests will all be intelligent writers, professional chefs and serious foodies, no doubt, (not really sure how I managed to get an invite). I'm feeling a little</span><span class="Apple-style-span"> o</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; ">ut of my depth </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; ">and knowing that I am a lightweight when it comes to wine the dreaded employment question is likely to go one of two ways. I'll either tell each person something different (causing confusion between subsequent cross-conversations) or I will explain both my professions at length and only when their eyes start to glaze will I know I've covered everything in full. Perhaps I should just lie?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; line-height: 17px; font-size: medium; "><br /></span></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4Bvw_8agqeU-GdIjkhCLVMiuoFNHNrhXCeA2Szp11c_kF-HX6ZojsxasGnH-yc6Tdn-NyMxHDKyFJszLYUh2kafNllWS7kjovkdlcSAjUZFYyGNGLkIQFPVZysQeC0-fk8P5I5fTE-M/s320/cake+4d.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 310px; height: 274px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609215543875358354" /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgobywkN4Bqf0ztKYWcTF7Y4cIKen_UU3naY3zG522q0deEhCCFLUylz-FvXTH6YO_KaKAlvR6sFGpGChAd6X9n4ntu8upKTCFTcV47_FCdvtGmIOE9kAb1riAlRDne1AQWnWfo2AQuKmY/s200/cake+2.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 200px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609213006971966530" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZr4pXWQPN9nHW5QxacVpc9GzMLvQ2ESCoZlat-gM0xEyIkfYu3s23zEK3KKax93sGCLhYWW1vz5e6zwamqE1d8LJluJ1xtdlNovmkHuuTc26v-pRIo2ZWQwM0tOdRlmJrLehEFnVVKn8/s200/cake+3.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609212996621264994" /></span></span></div>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-68299007587922866522011-04-22T20:00:00.003+01:002011-05-22T13:14:29.219+01:00Il n'y a pas d'affaires comme le show-business<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsIlLk-w-UqZPsRfS42-avCc66ppr0nAroIzmraYOQR91Gz8SbzNx7MdqMUCOSZe87wjxBvQ_RuRDAQJbl8SN9RuX3LOPsvCNTyIYAWl-jEZ6dyEX0ttR3BhuY_cLGzFFAXBTsTXdB-LE/s1600/SAT42141.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsIlLk-w-UqZPsRfS42-avCc66ppr0nAroIzmraYOQR91Gz8SbzNx7MdqMUCOSZe87wjxBvQ_RuRDAQJbl8SN9RuX3LOPsvCNTyIYAWl-jEZ6dyEX0ttR3BhuY_cLGzFFAXBTsTXdB-LE/s400/SAT42141.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608407009642223218" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhM-AJ8t_S_F_bAorzvwqCOJDs5kWLElxjvy5DgVVR9TnN_zu8qEz6RZSylH4rFQYOniRS0S_U4pW2IuYwAbrMTY9qpjBOhv_fcqhe0J-mV0EovbRHRqd9q30KgQHf_3H-B9MoHirwYqI/s1600/SAT41780.jpg" style="font-size: medium; " onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhM-AJ8t_S_F_bAorzvwqCOJDs5kWLElxjvy5DgVVR9TnN_zu8qEz6RZSylH4rFQYOniRS0S_U4pW2IuYwAbrMTY9qpjBOhv_fcqhe0J-mV0EovbRHRqd9q30KgQHf_3H-B9MoHirwYqI/s320/SAT41780.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608406128794686386" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; ">If I'm being completely honest; occasionally I have been drunk, and about 6 months ago I was </span><span >drunk on twitter</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; ">. Thankfully I only signed up to a food and drink PR database before I nodded off and nothing worse.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; ">I completely forgot about it until I received a lovely email inviting me to a </span><a href="http://www.totalgreekyoghurt.com/home/default.aspx" style="font-size: medium; ">Total Greek Yoghurt</a><a href="http://www.atelierdeschefs.co.uk/" style="font-size: medium; "> </a></span><a href="http://www.atelierdeschefs.co.uk/" style="font-size: medium; "><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "> </span></a><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; ">cookery masterclass at </span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><a href="http://www.atelierdeschefs.co.uk/">L'atelier du Chefs</a>. The phrase "Only in London" springs to mind.<br /><br />I emailed straight back trying to find out what the catch was. Seemingly they were offering a free cookery class, with guest speakers <a href="http://www.nutrition-rocks.co.uk/nutrition/welcome-to-nutrition-rocks/">Hala El Shafie</a> and <a href="http://skinnylattestrikesback.blogspot.com/">Phil Moore </a>with the opportunity to meet and chat to loads of other foodies and food bloggers and eat free food.<br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; ">Turns out there was no catch. All I had to do was show up.</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><br />I rocked up in a shirt and tie, and had a laugh. I am always a little overwhelmed when in a room full of food enthusiasts, but everyone was in high spirits and keen to see how we were going to make 6 different dishes out of Total Greek Yoghurt.</span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQa_eKoKKj8V4TNv-gWFKoxUM7gmx9QRT9C_IDX3uInnLt6byfJqTtLFphDKJ6Yz_R1q82tIFDiEZXFj9rYyOnyz9pFD3sXTyMF8MD19-az3oyYb3_a2McBEyIKkcVjWl3TwV1IUfDBQo/s1600/SAT41920.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQa_eKoKKj8V4TNv-gWFKoxUM7gmx9QRT9C_IDX3uInnLt6byfJqTtLFphDKJ6Yz_R1q82tIFDiEZXFj9rYyOnyz9pFD3sXTyMF8MD19-az3oyYb3_a2McBEyIKkcVjWl3TwV1IUfDBQo/s320/SAT41920.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608403932150024850" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><br />The team who put the event together were really generous and my cookery skills got a well needed confidence boost when I </span><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" >got the thumbs up from Chef for my</span><span class="Apple-style-span" > </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span>quenelles</span>!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "> The chef was hilarious and none other than</span></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; " lang="EN"> former Chez Bruce and Claridges Chef, <span>Andre Dupin</span>.<br />The whole event was being filmed for a live stream on the Internet and Chef Andre was centre stage. When the camera man requested that Andre repeat something for the close up or stir something facing the camera he would</span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; " lang="EN"> just shoot him a look. This look (which I must endeavour to learn) in a split second seemed to encapsulate a rolling of the eyes, a shaking of a fist and a sigh all wrapped up into a deft flash of the whites of his eyeballs.</span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGAXBPhHUgFTfSi_JC59vs9QGYdagNBrN9GQLhRgateDaWqn443dxhUxCgEFgJHEiIF-NLnoQP0P5jy34f6ZFaKGKEF99x-awSVzhtrXzwAhlBM3ShahjlfkF8BJPOYRcuenNKd_9qo2o/s1600/SAT41955.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGAXBPhHUgFTfSi_JC59vs9QGYdagNBrN9GQLhRgateDaWqn443dxhUxCgEFgJHEiIF-NLnoQP0P5jy34f6ZFaKGKEF99x-awSVzhtrXzwAhlBM3ShahjlfkF8BJPOYRcuenNKd_9qo2o/s320/SAT41955.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608404468818499314" border="0" /></a></span><br /></div><div><br /><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; " lang="EN"><br />Andre and his team had come up with some great dishes for us to make and devour. Some used Greek Yoghurt as the key ingredient such as </span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; ">Tartare of Mackerel with Minted Cucumber Soup but other dishes it just seemed to sneak in there for <span>fun </span>like the Chestnut Tiramisu Rapide. Yoghurty or not, the recipes were really good and I still cannot believe how many great people there are writing and blogging about food.<br />I jumped on the tube as if waking up from a brilliant dream clutching my free Total Greek </span><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; " >Yoghurt</span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "> goodie bag.<br /><br /><br />Everything we eat now is quenelle shaped.</span></div>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-2065153907678558472011-04-01T19:00:00.004+01:002011-05-19T12:28:02.168+01:00Dauphinoise vert pour les acteurs s'il vous plaît!<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The story of how Richard and I met is quite <span style="font-size:180%;">romantic</span>. He trod on my foot at a party where neither of us should have been... and that was that.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I have never met anyone quite like Richard, so full of life, silly, talented and funny - oh and he can talk to the animals too!</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">And now we've just moved in together (ahhh) correction; I have just moved in with Richard, Laura and Jayne, 3 brilliant actors, shoehorning hundreds of cookery books and a full Welsh dresser into a 3 bedroom flat in Finsbury Park.<br />It is cramped, but it is undoubtedly the best decision I've ever made.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Laura and Jayne are really easy to live with and so far they seem pretty happy to come home to a surprise cake or a plate of leftover falafel.</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />We all keep quite different hours in the fl</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">at but occasionally we do get to sit down together and share a bottle of wine or even a bite to eat. Even rarer are the occasions when we can all cook together, but one day after busy days and emotional auditions we decided that a big communal meal was needed. </span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">We stormed Waitrose and decided to make Lambs liver with <span style="font-size:180%;">salsa verde</span>, peas and dauphinoise. Each of us had elements of the dish of which we were in charge. I was on salsa verde duty, Richard made the dauphinoise and the liver, Jayne did the peas and started the dessert of grasshopper squares.<br />Suddenly we realised that the meal was going to be very green indeed and through beer induced giggling it was decided that we should go with this green theme as much as possible. The green food colouring was out for the grasshopper squares and so my new thespian friends sheepishly asked if we could add some of the food colouring to the dauphinoise too. "Oh why the hell not" I replied. Moving to </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPkUyRx7Loi-1tqet2IfDwEC2z88KZ407nZcTTpCtxqqsZyS5vC2pUBBqmpVuiVbSDkzY44m7ja10KurO7z_PPycm686phqDs6jPQEbMuH2BXuFJSyHjjuMObUX6rUt7Rienoj3c9gK-o/s1600/greens.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPkUyRx7Loi-1tqet2IfDwEC2z88KZ407nZcTTpCtxqqsZyS5vC2pUBBqmpVuiVbSDkzY44m7ja10KurO7z_PPycm686phqDs6jPQEbMuH2BXuFJSyHjjuMObUX6rUt7Rienoj3c9gK-o/s320/greens.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608385342261610690" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">London was the best idea, definitely, but adding green food colouring to potatoes and cream; bad idea. It was funny, we did laugh but when eating it I couldn't get the <span style="font-size:180%;">gunge tank</span> from Noel's House Party out of my head. </span>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-8265486434997758102011-03-12T14:19:00.006+00:002011-03-12T15:19:50.903+00:00Adieu petite maison<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" >I've been a bit quiet lately, sorry about that. The battery on my laptop started bulging out and I decided that probably wasn't a good thing, so I shipped it off to my brother's house for some much needed TLC.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" ><br />So the exciting news is that I am finally moving to the big smoke! I'm off to seek fame and fortune in good ol' <span style="font-size:180%;">London</span> town. My pal Frank has made the move already this week - we packed up a small sack of the essentials; Old Spice deodorant, french fancies and a jar of fish paste and he slung it over his shoulder, clicked his heals and took off toward those glittering golden streets.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4o97AhfXn5BxRhNkMYg_iRjcsenQLw0I-PUwoDES3Jk7rr66BITUr3Qds36ZtSo3IFdmuP-4RIGxVKDatJR2X30WBrSZEjO3INS3zkZX7eJsIeltSAXDNrMZ62mqcRCjBuPUh1Gz2RU/s1600/photo.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4o97AhfXn5BxRhNkMYg_iRjcsenQLw0I-PUwoDES3Jk7rr66BITUr3Qds36ZtSo3IFdmuP-4RIGxVKDatJR2X30WBrSZEjO3INS3zkZX7eJsIeltSAXDNrMZ62mqcRCjBuPUh1Gz2RU/s200/photo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583211467842711506" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" >The process of moving is really starting to drag. I'm due out of my little house in 12 days and although the painful packing up of 152 cookery books has been done, there's still mountains of clothes and too many champagne flutes left to deal with. I think I'm finding it particularly difficult because I've grown so attached to my little cottage. It's drafty, cold, bits of it leak and there's no washing machine - but it's home. It's the first place I've lived totally on my own and despite getting off to a shaky start I now feel comforted by the clanks of the heating, the rattling of the windows and the noise of my next door neighbour chaining up his wheelie bin.<br /><br />This will come as no surprise to you but I will miss the <span style="font-size:180%;">kitchen</span> the most. Deep butler's sink, proper gas hob & cooker, no noisy extraction and miles of shelf space. It's simple, rustic and completely wonderful. Unfortunately there really isn't time to host a full on dinner party to say goodbye, especially as the dining table is trapped in the corner, hemmed in by half packed boxes. No, it will have to be an altogether quieter affair. Tonight we shall toast the rickety green staircase, drippy tap, Victorian sash windows and huge airing cupboard with a bottle of red, homemade cannelloni and chocolate brownies. Hopefully fueled with enough calories to finish the packing and get those creative thoughts bubbling over to be unleashed on the capital. So, <span style="font-size:180%;">goodbye</span> little house, thank you for getting me this far. xxx</span>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-64468282185640793102011-01-21T21:26:00.011+00:002011-01-23T14:01:39.411+00:00Oh là là<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';color:#2A2A2A;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family:Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0c0uEk5cZ4s0EZljHd9Fqj9vqB3qtSkxsdh6cO75nVxuPySRaC_DVo5Ez6PgZx_eOZn7yQVNmElYdUf8CGVkT8A-hzQ4WUGf4SKc1QdYoNfOTk7vNgIGF-poU7860UAYPzx3TOuyj9k/s320/STA60509.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565364376001201218" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">When in London my default locations are the V&A and Harrods food court. You will no doubt, find me either pottering aimlessl</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">y under towering sculptures (towards collections of intricate embroidery) or skipping down the opulent food court aisles, wittering on about the </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">decorative layer of ash in Morbier cheese.</span></span></pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I can "bang on" about food whilst the fat lady sings and continue long after the cows have come home and gone to bed (much like the next food blogger). I do understand that this is an acquired taste (pun after pun after pun after....) but I can't help it. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I'm excited and inspired by food.</span></span></pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">With London being so very vast and diverse I always see it as holding a lifetime of culinary adventures. Turn a corner to discover an opulent selection of cakes in a hidden bakery, exotic fruits and vegetables at the most unassuming local independent grocer and incredible taste explosions at secret supper clubs. Each time I visit I get even more ideas and coming home again gets harder and harder. London is calling. This latest visit was no exception. My head is buzzing with recipes, voice is horse from food gossiping and belly is full of greedy treats (aka "Research").</span></span></pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I think my dream job at the moment would be to t</span></span></pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ake a group of eager foodies on a weekend</span></span></pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "> whistle-stop tour of London Town! We'd start at </span><a href="http://www.hackneycityfarm.co.uk/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Hackney City Farm</span></a></span></pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">for their cooked breakfast,</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: medium; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijqbNjZaPoB60ryfh5N8huBOUMw7y7BKxOZyNlx7Io3IwXYXvyZj2BrKgv4B3tqEiy82Qy-_HoRG7PsVzDEdaudcbu62fbjVfXCS8a5J7QqNsVP2asBdVYrttgTPEiZg_9LbM7fmgbtSY/s400/photo+3-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565380306351378722" style="cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px; " /></span></pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> trot off to Harrods Food Court just to look the outrageously opulent design and spot the odd celebrity! Then buy a big box of salads and selection of cakes from </span><a href="http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; ">Ottolenghi's</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">,</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: normal; font-size: 16px; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJfbydSPiEx4kHThKrkBmNRXSa_N4k7bZCrSGpbGIQ8yAj_2Zr2qnDES4paECeV-tLozcKmKkHKroWxJ1lZBQekoN-UMZ_m4gFBokukM9Vrz3QNjngeBHc0WuN_yK35nNJMGsesB5_1I/s1600/photo+3.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJfbydSPiEx4kHThKrkBmNRXSa_N4k7bZCrSGpbGIQ8yAj_2Zr2qnDES4paECeV-tLozcKmKkHKroWxJ1lZBQekoN-UMZ_m4gFBokukM9Vrz3QNjngeBHc0WuN_yK35nNJMGsesB5_1I/s400/photo+3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565380300718659650" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></a></span></pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> oh and black pudding scotch eggs from Selfridge's, all to be scoffed at a picnic on benches along the Southbank. We wash these down with lashings of pressed apple juice from Broadway Market. The evening would, of course, be spent at the latest Supper Club du jour</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. Last week I was invited to </span><a href="http://victorias-alphabet-soup.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Alphabet Soup</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> where we all devoured the letter K! I have never been so full and ate the most delicious menu feasting on Kohlrabi, Kidney beans, Kimchi, Kangaroo, Kumquats and Kulfi. Hats off to </span><a href="http://www.victorias-cake-boutique.co.uk/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Chef Victoria</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">!</span></span></pre><pre style="text-align: left;line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So, who's game for a Cakes and Canapes foodie trail? Who can lend me a big umbrella?</span></span></pre><pre style="text-align: left;line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: normal; font-size: 16px; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0X8DNF5cKcsgqj7_PgEo__S1nG7XxFDJ2HZtAwUYkMMaBSLd4-MjEsHv4M8F2dlnO1C9rWpc1JFRamop2ctjFiE1wtOqDj-H6iURUxO_zF4aQzU7HL5Z_Kd8QBbpA0hqR7VFxYMQ3Oa4/s1600/photo-2.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0X8DNF5cKcsgqj7_PgEo__S1nG7XxFDJ2HZtAwUYkMMaBSLd4-MjEsHv4M8F2dlnO1C9rWpc1JFRamop2ctjFiE1wtOqDj-H6iURUxO_zF4aQzU7HL5Z_Kd8QBbpA0hqR7VFxYMQ3Oa4/s400/photo-2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565380313046971554" style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a></span></pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">You'll return home belly full, recipe note book brimming and oyster card balance: £0.00</span></span></pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: normal; font-size: 16px; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDyZYJZ6yLPI4l_KEKAQWa8_aaX7htFz6u-Ejom9rCU4KcgUPl7vfWPzyxeDzbhKitHWfyPWrCfMr4sNGzQpqt190F6PrMQcgB1CG4DY-4ixxnbF7G1ymwUDG7WghUi_lo7pTP2thIKvY/s1600/photo+2-1.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDyZYJZ6yLPI4l_KEKAQWa8_aaX7htFz6u-Ejom9rCU4KcgUPl7vfWPzyxeDzbhKitHWfyPWrCfMr4sNGzQpqt190F6PrMQcgB1CG4DY-4ixxnbF7G1ymwUDG7WghUi_lo7pTP2thIKvY/s320/photo+2-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565379762151927922" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></a></span></span></span></pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; "><br /></pre></span>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-20739048671834049792011-01-09T15:16:00.006+00:002011-01-21T21:26:13.460+00:00Jusqu'ici tout va bien<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDzKvTytaD1qGnXC-2_sM0YgYOd3cfEOtFOsyWjclUxyzYY9YMiH-fC6xpnHsEPQz3rn5PJMyYVtivLETNHZsuX2ojGy-fOwPMAOEfWXPL1V1BFSFswK0FgxAXudmzngWnNM-AU4oQLP4/s1600/photo-1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDzKvTytaD1qGnXC-2_sM0YgYOd3cfEOtFOsyWjclUxyzYY9YMiH-fC6xpnHsEPQz3rn5PJMyYVtivLETNHZsuX2ojGy-fOwPMAOEfWXPL1V1BFSFswK0FgxAXudmzngWnNM-AU4oQLP4/s320/photo-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564752470542447138" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I don't think I have started a New Year with so much<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;"> New</span> on the horizon. New Relationship, New Friends, New Projects, looking for a New Home and a stack of fresh New Year's Resolutions.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">We took a risk with the New Year's Day dinner and cooked something I had never made or even tasted before - <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;">Haggis</span>. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Seeing as my favourite food is liver, I was not worried about the offal ingredients but in a haze of New Year's Day hangover, I was fretting a little over the texture. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Traditionally Haggis is served with mashed potatoes and mashed suede or turnips. I confess the idea of a plate of components with such similar consistencies did not fill me with any initial excitement. I have always been a fan of contrasts. The simplest plate of rich, creamy, homemade macaroni cheese is transformed into a dinner party smash hit with a crisp green salad gilded with a sharp vinaigrette. With Haggis, Neeps & Tatties; where was the crunch or sharp contrast? I was convinced it would be a bland mushy disappointment. How wrong I was. The whole plate was a rich, soft, tasty and delicious surprise. It even prompted me to blurt out in an oh-so-not-casual nor delicate fashion, to my boyfriend (of just 3 weeks) "we should definitely eat this <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;">every year!</span>". Luckily he did not bolt out of the door at such a bold statement of culinary and personal commitment but simply polished off the left overs with boyish enthusiasm.</span></div>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-31720423979200943382010-12-29T17:00:00.003+00:002011-01-09T15:15:52.943+00:00Joyeux Noël?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJF9kC3Cncl2tC7CcUaq2hxq-qyDAbA0uNh0mglSr31nSjptoaM4a-rCc0vFsbAY3SnTxPLpPDLQeLe3h1pOl46blzxsqF0odbIJoD14NHoEbNIytNrL3UP84H5OEtRfefgKVlFa-BhXA/s1600/smoked+mackerel+pate.jpg"></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">In October <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;">Christmas</span> started to loom and I was dreading it. Fellow twitterer's were tossing sixpences into their mixing bowls on stir-up Sunday and air drying orange slices for their beautiful front door wreaths. I plotted to close the curtains, hide inside my house til the whole tinsel covered, marzipan coated annual song and dance was over. Sounds very dramatic, it wasn't meant to be. My idea was simply to get through this year. 2011 has a nice ring to it, things are very much looking up and as last Christmas had totally swept past me I wanted this one brushed under the carpet as quickly as possible. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I found this difficult to explain to my friends who looked at me with real concern. I can understand the confusion, as in previous years I would have made my own mincemeat, Christmas Pudding and Christmas cake before the 1st of November. By the 1st of December there wasn't even the idea of a raisin in my house let alone a mound of festive goodies drowning in their own weight in brandy. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The first spanner in the works was a phone call. Just as I was starting to think of all the empty London flats or Bristol mansions I could be <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;">escaping</span> to alone over the festivities (whilst their owners pulled crackers at family functions elsewhere) the WI called, asking me to judge a cake competition. "Brilliant, I'd love to" I said "when is it?" "23rd of December" well bang goes the run away plans then. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I didn't shout out my plans for <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;">ignoring</span> Christmas but I didn't make them secret either. </span><a href="http://helenanimate.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Helen</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> and </span><a href="http://finecitycraftiness.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Zara</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> sounded worried. I tried to dispel their concern, that I hadn't become a depressive recluse but I needed to prove it. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJF9kC3Cncl2tC7CcUaq2hxq-qyDAbA0uNh0mglSr31nSjptoaM4a-rCc0vFsbAY3SnTxPLpPDLQeLe3h1pOl46blzxsqF0odbIJoD14NHoEbNIytNrL3UP84H5OEtRfefgKVlFa-BhXA/s400/smoked+mackerel+pate.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560203563125904082" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Zara visited the week before Christmas and we had a wonderful time. We ran around the kitchen churning out snappy recipe ideas for my new book! </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The cake judging followed and I couldn't help but be drawn into the festive spirit. The next day I headed off to my parents and actually enjoyed a relaxing few days eating and watching TV.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Just after Boxing Day I came home and was welcomed by Helen coming to visit me. We ran around the kitchen churning out mince pies. We then attacked each others calendars and new years resolutions with bossy gusto so that both of us now have a busy (and hopefully a very successful) <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;">2011</span> ahead. </span></div><div><br /></div>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-61485353527099837202010-11-10T19:00:00.000+00:002010-11-12T10:58:57.145+00:00La patience est une vertu<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Instant.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Immediate.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Ready-made.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Live.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">My generation does remember life before mobile phones and the Internet, but only just. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">As a result of all this electronic assistance and world shrinking technology my <span style="font-size:180%;">attention span</span> has shrunk and my expectations have ballooned. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It's not just me. Cries of "she should be texting me like, all the time if it's right between us" and "why hasn't he called me?... how hard can it be to pick up the phone?" flow in a steady stream from my phone to my sympathetic ear. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">We are trapped in a world where if it doesn't happen now it doesn't happen at all. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Is the generation below us less stressed because they've only ever known it this way and are our older counterparts quietly giggling at the absurdity of it all with their mobile switched off reading the paper?</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Paranoid and impatient. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This week my impatience has peaked but with the <span style="font-size:180%;">oven</span>. I have tested my immunity as I served myself could-have-probably-done-with-another-10minutes-shortbread <em>and </em>well-it's-meant-to-be-a-little-pink-so-I-think-it's-alright-pigeon. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">In a vague attempt to reclaim my sanity last night I switched off my phone for a whole 3 hours and <span style="font-size:180%;">read a book</span>, an activity I highly recommend.</span>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-29948503065066273882010-11-01T21:00:00.000+00:002010-11-12T11:00:21.974+00:00mangez-vous?<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I got the idea for this latest entry from a copy of Grazia Magazine and several members of the WI (make of that what you will!) </span><br /><div><div><div><div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Our not-yet-1-year-old WI had its first fete last month and it will be no surprise to you all that I was down to run the <span style="font-size:180%;">cake stall</span>. Very soon after setting up shop the comments started flying around. I am not self conscious about my weight generally, except perhaps at certain times of the month when I become self conscious about everything (too much information): </span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbsGsyR5C4J5CUVMCDSB3K_GXZt0yCwwoP90N4buxGXOJU0XS0GhYQaOuj5GnmwCx4LkPVBju5ADxYsXTK4CVI491sEVvCeVuSArbEYeZ5vcgHxXDJz_whpyq2sloUOBh4V935dkebB0/s1600/photo.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538608704887713394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbsGsyR5C4J5CUVMCDSB3K_GXZt0yCwwoP90N4buxGXOJU0XS0GhYQaOuj5GnmwCx4LkPVBju5ADxYsXTK4CVI491sEVvCeVuSArbEYeZ5vcgHxXDJz_whpyq2sloUOBh4V935dkebB0/s200/photo.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">"You can't eat any of the cakes you make if you look like that"..."yes isn't she skinny". Well I do cook <strong>and</strong> eat and I don't go to the gym either. The only exercise I get is walking into town, shopping and throwing out some inebriated fresh moves on dance floors from here to Bristol.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Confined to a hotel room for a few days I decided I wanted a copy of the Guardian, Vogue or even Harper's Bazaar but the Total Garage at <span style="font-size:180%;">Llandudno Junction</span> only had Grazia so I gave it a whirl. Apparently "Cheryl and Ex get nasty", jumpers with squirrels on the front are "in" and they can ..."exclusively reveal what Jennifer Anniston really eats".</span><br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So to dispel the rumors from the <span style="font-size:180%;">Women's Institute</span> that I don't eat anything and to elevate my self importance t<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7U83bcHIvwmwXeUYDlJtU8wUUTr9G-nxg5N6y_MSH-BfI_UndkRe5WrcC1lkJyuhjuDf_7HqVRb_HR7A4uUWFZ3cz-UXICFyfqo-HOohmO-pfubXlxQj7U7krM-McW-yIIfAmj03pAm8/s1600/photo+3.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538608714892696978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7U83bcHIvwmwXeUYDlJtU8wUUTr9G-nxg5N6y_MSH-BfI_UndkRe5WrcC1lkJyuhjuDf_7HqVRb_HR7A4uUWFZ3cz-UXICFyfqo-HOohmO-pfubXlxQj7U7krM-McW-yIIfAmj03pAm8/s200/photo+3.jpg" /></a>o<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqCy8-vxAGvs8Pzj_EnQQrEiZmDm00jb2nBCiIwQp3EtGxSkQ57swB0x_61xV5wddU0TGFzVij9JscKyIQitnO8Mu8NxiKEvgi24X0RAJ66S85gJPGhftCXwl2Vr5XusEnD_80aUKzrlk/s1600/photo+5.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538608736059299986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqCy8-vxAGvs8Pzj_EnQQrEiZmDm00jb2nBCiIwQp3EtGxSkQ57swB0x_61xV5wddU0TGFzVij9JscKyIQitnO8Mu8NxiKEvgi24X0RAJ66S85gJPGhftCXwl2Vr5XusEnD_80aUKzrlk/s200/photo+5.jpg" /></a> the level of Hollywood Super Star here are some of the things I ate over <span style="font-size:180%;">5 days</span>....</span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKBS8vOaIZCeusxvH0lliMgH2-3XvZ6OKfctwOCvQ4-dDnPunRDZFX218AxK8b6KVRdricsmMCJWJKSDiKxbrO9mm3T6x68dzW_Ben-41IzLavL-u8d8PPxi3My1XkNH8nyqVs2s6x4Bw/s1600/photo+2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538608714039977122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKBS8vOaIZCeusxvH0lliMgH2-3XvZ6OKfctwOCvQ4-dDnPunRDZFX218AxK8b6KVRdricsmMCJWJKSDiKxbrO9mm3T6x68dzW_Ben-41IzLavL-u8d8PPxi3My1XkNH8nyqVs2s6x4Bw/s200/photo+2.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnp5vupXH-XLcfWSktR90-M97z_jZlqlae3XoxR3trNwtZX3g1n0tLTXpUZ0ybk-CDxukYuB5OH1OkN_bBYC5p9rheeGLKG_V6EJy3eYERlGr5PUBXyKDLlqkuwODxwoU6QGkdU8m1sxQ/s1600/photo+3.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538610833772375010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnp5vupXH-XLcfWSktR90-M97z_jZlqlae3XoxR3trNwtZX3g1n0tLTXpUZ0ybk-CDxukYuB5OH1OkN_bBYC5p9rheeGLKG_V6EJy3eYERlGr5PUBXyKDLlqkuwODxwoU6QGkdU8m1sxQ/s200/photo+3.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWtHo5cI8VDMdWmWoSFvBxoMbCVFkGpeU5-nfSxbQGLba8cTSxsmjPRU9r8kA95nKWAUnWx3Coa1K-Gbx1KzmgrXPIbXkfPzwo4P5s1qtLnmoxvdsSXoeJDv4ZzkW1rgV7jjoifZWjJxo/s1600/photo+4.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538610843368972914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWtHo5cI8VDMdWmWoSFvBxoMbCVFkGpeU5-nfSxbQGLba8cTSxsmjPRU9r8kA95nKWAUnWx3Coa1K-Gbx1KzmgrXPIbXkfPzwo4P5s1qtLnmoxvdsSXoeJDv4ZzkW1rgV7jjoifZWjJxo/s200/photo+4.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCvQCaLSukV3zLweR6BR05WnDg-pue8yORZ0SwdB_6qTMXXUZGZOpuez1nsgLaS2yFhhoEeJNv82FpwqHVI2q-uO8GNSnh6_96-OBe0TG01dV96KdJMf6uIVSLE2GxQqdtPu_Gec_A5AE/s1600/photo+2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538610823944021490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCvQCaLSukV3zLweR6BR05WnDg-pue8yORZ0SwdB_6qTMXXUZGZOpuez1nsgLaS2yFhhoEeJNv82FpwqHVI2q-uO8GNSnh6_96-OBe0TG01dV96KdJMf6uIVSLE2GxQqdtPu_Gec_A5AE/s200/photo+2.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBXbGZuKgpYLNwmD4eOjEz50ifp63zrZ16zI3V-7YmdvJrYnu4S7Hie-TFppgKJl2Q_mSbHxM-gVdt7F5hLR9IigjEW9-WTsuGHXgCx38t3zA_sioltQLgqYbA0C096HWjFcni0Azzj8/s1600/photo+3.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538609522402330130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBXbGZuKgpYLNwmD4eOjEz50ifp63zrZ16zI3V-7YmdvJrYnu4S7Hie-TFppgKJl2Q_mSbHxM-gVdt7F5hLR9IigjEW9-WTsuGHXgCx38t3zA_sioltQLgqYbA0C096HWjFcni0Azzj8/s320/photo+3.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjArHOdJoXsMZSZmGOb5A73Fdnfiy9UDAJLHhvnmfX5lJMOiCoHh8VehiCI1lWlOMhToe7pVTHNr7gBXI2HpEgWjVrgKE7wgsKHwL_nPrOxVxGNvwF8e6Wht5fas9R3SyKRA37uo8hVACo/s1600/photo.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538609509591045122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjArHOdJoXsMZSZmGOb5A73Fdnfiy9UDAJLHhvnmfX5lJMOiCoHh8VehiCI1lWlOMhToe7pVTHNr7gBXI2HpEgWjVrgKE7wgsKHwL_nPrOxVxGNvwF8e6Wht5fas9R3SyKRA37uo8hVACo/s320/photo.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjM59JDSk3y-Oz5GwTS3h7ZxhPP3lFRTpI8HjUnB-2iAZK6t-1_Fwt46_m6Pw8pLNACyrZ7hFB3q0v91zyl-uifikLyPUo6GarOR4MfCxKDaehwH5BHbIXFgyPNQuH4vhJjoxW6blzl5g/s1600/photo+4.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538608731366266482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjM59JDSk3y-Oz5GwTS3h7ZxhPP3lFRTpI8HjUnB-2iAZK6t-1_Fwt46_m6Pw8pLNACyrZ7hFB3q0v91zyl-uifikLyPUo6GarOR4MfCxKDaehwH5BHbIXFgyPNQuH4vhJjoxW6blzl5g/s200/photo+4.jpg" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4xQJi2x32YVj6qmaDfTz5dK5Sy5wuWQhP3l0VtBQu0V0azueIVwG4GrkOo8o1dy0asfGeYJO71Pfz31X-gIQBj7d_t1Xp_Z-5uuCw40kzj7lHYTskF_cMtpHTmMIQqMEK_42NMxwx2U/s1600/photo+4.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 240px; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538609532258720434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4xQJi2x32YVj6qmaDfTz5dK5Sy5wuWQhP3l0VtBQu0V0azueIVwG4GrkOo8o1dy0asfGeYJO71Pfz31X-gIQBj7d_t1Xp_Z-5uuCw40kzj7lHYTskF_cMtpHTmMIQqMEK_42NMxwx2U/s320/photo+4.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRmXPLA94WW4RW0QImdzpSUOCKGP5T-UsqM71w_JZH7aL5oKcoffuvus8E2UZDffvKiwjf6b3K7m0FxtKSGnx_a3WOqXwb3KjR6qHD64ixhOEMkqhNkrue7sY2CE_yVu-MKaaq-gAJ6I/s1600/photo.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538610828134292850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRmXPLA94WW4RW0QImdzpSUOCKGP5T-UsqM71w_JZH7aL5oKcoffuvus8E2UZDffvKiwjf6b3K7m0FxtKSGnx_a3WOqXwb3KjR6qHD64ixhOEMkqhNkrue7sY2CE_yVu-MKaaq-gAJ6I/s200/photo.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXXNUpNas-sjXnafux7nEYgp5b8vgOe1tPDK9lQMUbfgpOROBBmyeOZVy7QlWePnKVR2o_Odn3OvIR7nYuvm0g3PfuAXSTSrUMNEa02mjm0PnEm1U0GaQdtFl6g3cv3paQ_qz7yFBA0gQ/s1600/photo+5.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 240px; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538609533857754770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXXNUpNas-sjXnafux7nEYgp5b8vgOe1tPDK9lQMUbfgpOROBBmyeOZVy7QlWePnKVR2o_Odn3OvIR7nYuvm0g3PfuAXSTSrUMNEa02mjm0PnEm1U0GaQdtFl6g3cv3paQ_qz7yFBA0gQ/s320/photo+5.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gqcZPsQMRikdV99G7o2c3KepynNRHuBghM6SjAxBog1gO3g_QH8IIP0_Lt2j0VByyGrq6uNWVT-QeO5OHIzbGY5riKMHjgrLqcIswIFC199-4PAgj-X3wUZjsR7pi0xdKECJaC59n4o/s1600/photo+2.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538609518098375634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gqcZPsQMRikdV99G7o2c3KepynNRHuBghM6SjAxBog1gO3g_QH8IIP0_Lt2j0VByyGrq6uNWVT-QeO5OHIzbGY5riKMHjgrLqcIswIFC199-4PAgj-X3wUZjsR7pi0xdKECJaC59n4o/s320/photo+2.jpg" /></a><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595067213887392527.post-31095309131286987622010-10-27T14:50:00.000+01:002010-10-27T14:50:11.170+01:00La Citrouille dans la Salle<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbYBXubKkT5FKE8Lh_mI3DuHOh0n7s4c4tkvR3YDfR0AZQA1ZT4NMHoQOxmd9nENntkge4ucUsAEmpA9l3RCZJoPH6vqSL_XgKo0PXYdSV0CQoHWXXvWiaEwGy9K1kHjHsuJ7Sh154u0/s1600/n594785290_1593493_6577.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbYBXubKkT5FKE8Lh_mI3DuHOh0n7s4c4tkvR3YDfR0AZQA1ZT4NMHoQOxmd9nENntkge4ucUsAEmpA9l3RCZJoPH6vqSL_XgKo0PXYdSV0CQoHWXXvWiaEwGy9K1kHjHsuJ7Sh154u0/s320/n594785290_1593493_6577.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530574532818449762" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2r_pVFH7A2IFCLN4Omd4NRv8X65tWxFTFM-4ItJZbJoa85gcgtnsmc6Yk94y1kHvBrDfl7sTPw1dD4WTBEVxfws1u22vNabZ5W7N9osbXwxGjMiEkveH2qvLKsgZtdtWX4PMytd7QXQ/s1600/n594785290_1593484_4143.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2r_pVFH7A2IFCLN4Omd4NRv8X65tWxFTFM-4ItJZbJoa85gcgtnsmc6Yk94y1kHvBrDfl7sTPw1dD4WTBEVxfws1u22vNabZ5W7N9osbXwxGjMiEkveH2qvLKsgZtdtWX4PMytd7QXQ/s320/n594785290_1593484_4143.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530574530317783314" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />For the last 5+ years I have hosted <span style="font-size:180%;">Halloween Parties </span>(in the loosest sense as they are really an excuse to gorge on gourds and have people with me so I don't get too scared at the horror films on telly). </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">All guests are asked to bring a pumpkin and perhaps a bottle. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">They are then put to work carving the pumpkins into scary effigies of ghastly ghouls, monsters, past course tutors, or generally given artistic free reign. The carved flesh goes into one pot and once all the lanterns are throwing out an eerie orange glow with the effective addition of a tea light the sculptors are finally permitted to sit down and nurse their sore hands and watch <span style="font-size:180%;">old horror films</span> whilst I turn their hard work into roast pumpkin and feta pasta or risotto and a pumpkin pie - all washed down with mulled wine (although I am told by Tom that my mulled wine is technically hot Sangria and he doesn't actually care for the stuff - I forget this every year and he still drinks it!)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Not everyone brings a pumpkin to the party because around Halloween they are often oddly difficult to find if you leave it a bit late - this year my local green grocer has them piled high already, which is just my luck because this is the one year when I am unlikely to be throwing a party as I am catching up with friends and family in London.<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">My parents popped in at the weekend for a quick bit of tea and cake and presented me with their first <span style="font-size:180%;">homegrown pumpkin</span> which is sitting proudly on the shelf in the kitchen. Having just discovered that the condensed milk market is now not dominated by one brand I think a guilt free pumpkin pie ought to be on the cards this week.<br />In an attempt to impress the WI committee I set to work making a pie for them, the meeting got canceled but the pumpkin had already been carved and the flesh was on the boil. I went ahead anyway and there was even enough to make 2 - I gave 1 to Neil, Glenn and Tom who popped in for dinner and took the other one down the pub for Duncan to take back to Bristol.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">Pumpkin Pie</span><br /><br />250g plain flour<br />125g butter<br />1 tablespoon of icing sugar<br />1 egg yolk<br />Cold water<br /><br />Rub the butter into the flour and sugar until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the yolk and gradually add the water until you have a smooth ball of dough. Wrap in plastic and put in the fridge for 10-15 mins or the freezer for 5 mins<br /><br />Roll out the pastry and line 1 large or 2 small pie tins which have been well buttered<br /><br />Prick with a fork and cut off any excess pastry. Bake at about gas 4-5 for 15 mins until opaque then use the egg whites from the separated egg to plug up the holes in the pastry. Stick the cases back in the oven for 5 more minutes.<br /><br />For the filling simply blend the following ingredients together:<br /><br />450g of cooked pumpkin (boil it til it's soft - about 10 mins)<br />150ml condensed milk or cream<br />1 whole egg<br />1 egg yolk<br />1 tsp black treacle<br />50g brown sugar<br />1 tsp cinnamon<br />1/2 tsp ground ginger<br />1/4 tsp ground cloves<br />1/2 tsp allspice<br />1/4 tsp ground nutmeg<br /><br />Blend until smooth and carefully pour into the prepared pastry cases and bake for about 35-40 mins so that it is set but still a little bit wobbly.<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjaT9ceOmr2O-xfKcC1fzNMq_JY4mOl7gaFdogiwZlL_ma2Fg9Kqq7rpJWqpnFUy868bjYG3chXS7Ec7nTmzG_UEeUdYv4fX6BCfwnFjn8h1H7YTWHBkZxPAruhRsUiJSEqsRoXNzqCJQ/s1600/photo.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjaT9ceOmr2O-xfKcC1fzNMq_JY4mOl7gaFdogiwZlL_ma2Fg9Kqq7rpJWqpnFUy868bjYG3chXS7Ec7nTmzG_UEeUdYv4fX6BCfwnFjn8h1H7YTWHBkZxPAruhRsUiJSEqsRoXNzqCJQ/s320/photo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532720077510033714" border="0" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Serve with cream and hot Sangria!<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div></div>Miriam Nicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12349908409000392623noreply@blogger.com0