Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes !

Don't you just love Shrove Tuesday. It's the epic excuse to get away with not eating a 'sensible' tea and instead enjoy the pleasure of scoffing your face with the loveable dough like substance.

As i have mentioned before in previous blogs, my love of pancakes is probably borderline weird. There is always a hassle of making the mixture eggs, flour & milk making sure the consistency is just enough to be stringy and not a huge fail upon pouring it into the pan and watching it take the crumbling/broken effect before your very eyes. However, i find once the texture is mixed correctly the procedure becomes slightly addictive and the process cannot be stopped. Before you know it you've eaten your weight in the damn things.

When you are sat there at work describing the excitement that the another celebration has come around again, the discussion always turns to toppings. So which one are you ?

Are you the American dream - Maple syrup with crispy pancetta.
The hippy naturalist - All the fruits, lets have some berries with some Greek yoghurt.
The naughty but nice - Some chopped banana's with a dollop of ice cream with some chopped nuts and drizzled in either chocolate sauce or Nutella.
Or the traditionalist - Lemon juice and sugar, speaks for itself really.

I happen to be all of the above ! But it's definitely food for thought.

Following Shrove Tuesday came Valentines day. Another celebrated holiday no doubt invented by the card companies. I happen to like valentines day because it comes hand in hand with my fiance's birthday.

The reason i enjoy this celebration each year is because there are always meals out in nice restaurants.

For us this year it was the delightful Loch Fyne restaurant in Woburn. I favour this fantastic chain of restaurants since we first went to one about 5 years ago. We started with style and went to the restaurant on Loch Fyne. A quirky little place by the side of the road. We asked for a table and we were given an hour to wait. We did, and looked round a rather strange garden centre also on the side of the road. That day we enjoyed smoked kippers and a seafood platter of crab, langoustines, shell fish and grilled fish. This fish was so fresh i wouldn't be surprised if that's where the hour wait came from - i bet they went and caught it on the loch. It was so delicious and also the day i first tried oysters (loved them).

This week wasn't quite so far out and as mentioned we went over to the beautiful village of Woburn. We decided to have our favourable olives as an appetizer, followed by Thai Fishcakes with Sweet Chilli Jam for Luke and Moules Marinières Pan-fried Scottish rope-grown mussels, cream, white wine and shallot sauce and a crusty bloomer for me. With a role reversal for the main Luke went for the mussles and i decided on the Taglioline Provençale with King prawns and squid. This was finally followed a sweet creme brulee. Perfect.

Everything was simple delicious and mussles really do qualify as a top 10 food heaven. I always question the beloved creme brulee 3/4's of the way through when i think of how sweet it really is. Saying that nine times out of 10 i will still choose it. The Taglioline Provencale was a slight disappointment though, i must emphasise only slight! The squid and king prawns were cooked beautifully but that tomato sauce was slightly missing it's zha zha zu and i always feel a bit down hearted when i have to reach for the seasoning.

Another birthday tradition came on Friday evening with SUSHI ! Our plan was to have this Thursday night but after such a large meal this didn't happen and a slice of Tesco's half and half cake sufficed.

So on Friday we made our loveable smoked salmon and crab stick sushi. The rice was slightly overcooked but with the soy sauce and followed by green tea it's a fabulous meal. Followed slightly later by cherry sour cocktails.

What are these i hear you say? Try this out cherry brandy, Disaronno, a juice from one lemon and a spoonful of sugar. Shake it all up and pour over some crushed ice, and there is your weekend sorted. ENJOY!

http://www.lochfyne-restaurants.com/restaurants/woburn

Sunday morning breakfast

Do you ever get frustrated that on your weekend, most of the day can disappear quite quickly after you have had a lie-in, got up had some breakfast, showered, got ready. By the time you look at your watch it's almost 12ish and you debate with yourself should you go out now knowing in the next hour your going to want lunch. Do you have lunch out? Or do you save some pennies wait another 30mins have lunch and hey presto it's 1.30pm. How does this happen every weekend?

Well we have solved this problem ! Sunday morning breakfasts. A new favourite epic way to claw back a little bit of time whilst enjoying a some wonderful breakfast/brunch treats.

Each Sunday we decide to eat a large breakfast, so that a lunch isn't needed and we can begin our day earlier than 1.30pm.

So what types of things do we have i hear you ask? Today we began with coffee and some cereal, followed by a pains au chocolate and finished by a boiled egg and dippy soldiers. Now doesn't that sound an amazing way to start a day - i assure you it is. When you consider that it's now 4.30pm and we haven't eaten since this morning we've done well.

The beauty of this new tradition for us is that we get to rekindle the love of that supposed 'most important meal of the day'. We get to have muffins, waffles, crumpets, eggs in every way you can possibly imagine (boiled,scrambled,poached,fried - even gypsy toast). We have toast and cereal, fresh fruit, smoothies and my all time favourite PANCAKES!

As pancake day is fast approaching i imagine we shall be having these on more than one occasion this week. The beauty of pancakes is that they go well with everything. A drizzle of maple syrup with some crispy bacon (or even better pancetta) brings that amazing balance of sweet and salty. This even became our 'send off' food when me and some friends went to China back in October. Once mentioned we hunted down anywhere at Heathrow airport that could meet our cravings, thank goodness for Garfunkles.

I know many people don't favour this American way of sweet and savoury products and my mother would be saying "No we need orange juice and sugar" I agree this combination is just as delicious.

We can now enjoy breakfast even if it is that one day a week, but what an enjoyable day that is.

If you can suggest any breakfast ideas for me to explore please leave a comment.

Week 4 - Comfort Food

This week the snow came and with it cold blustery weather. When natures elements are a battling it out, there's nothing better than enjoying wholesome food and keeping warm.

 It's those enjoyable moments when you sit on your sofa and drink a Galaxy hot chocolate that hasn't been completely mixed so you have gooey chocolatey bits.

 This week it's been all about warming home cooked food in this house. We began the week with a homemade fish pie. Fish really is one of my food loves, i support Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls 'Fish Fight' campaign and the fish discards ban. It makes me so angry to see the waste that society creates when there are others starving in the world and a natural source is getting pillaged. This week there has also been news about mackerel getting over fished. Mackerel is my favourite fish and something we had this week. A light dish of smoked mackerel, couscous and roasted sweet potato, a definite food heaven. It's daunting that over fishing may one day remove these beautiful cuts of fish from restaurants menu's and supermarkets. But any way back to the fish pie.

 The fish pie was a quick and easy version. We boiled and mashed the potatoes poached the Tesco frozen bag of fish mix and created the cheese sauce. I was trying out the fish mix for the first time and i was pleasantly surprised. A mixture of Cod, Smoked Haddock, Salmon and normal Haddock. You poach the frozen fish for 15mins and hey presto it's there and ready. Once the ingredients were combined we popped them in the oven with some extra Red Leicester and grilled the lot. Hearty and warming.

 We also had another first this week and it was the great Mexican fight. Fajita versus Enchilada's! We are serious fans of Fajita's, and combine them with refried beans, a blend of rice and peas and cheese covered nacho's and you have yourself and decent meal. So this week we decided to check out Enchilada's for the first time. Same concept however we then wrapped them up and poured the creamy sauce over the top and added cheese. (We had a lot cheese this week)

And the final result .......................... Fajitas still win! A gracious contender but the creamy sauce was coriander heavy (a herb that both me and my fiance detest) which really let them down. Fajita's are lighter and there's nothing better than picking up the soft floury tortilla and biting into it and having that crunch of perfectly stir fried vegetables.

 So which one are you, a Fajita or an Enchilada ?

Week 3 - A full up week.

Last night, i decided on a recipe from the Wagamama's cook book. Duck with chestnuts, peas and noodles with a soy and sake sauce. Delicious. However with a trip out yesterday this recipe developed slightly. Me and Luke decided to take a trip to the oriental store and wow i was in heaven. Talk about a step back to China, they sold green tea sets, gowns and all sorts of sauces. I will certainly be going back.

I was unable to purchase the mirin needed for my duck recipe i decided to settle with a bottle of sake. Sake is the Japanese drink that is similar to mirin, although less sweet. I may have also gone slightly crazy in store purchasing some bamboo steamers, no idea how to use them but i'm sure i will learn. I also managed to buy some pancakes, so as mentioned the recipe changed.

I cooked the duck legs separately roasting them and shredding once cooked. We then ate them and the noodles on the side. I thoroughly enjoyed it myself, the aroma of the sake was strong and mixed with the soy was quite tart (i understand why mirin was often preferred as it is sweeter.) Luke prefers the normal ginger, garlic base. I am finding the book a delight and over the past year have been cooking my way through it.

This week i have also rekindled my love of home-made soup. At Christmas i received a gift of a soups & stews book. With the snow falling outside what better way to decide on a vegetable and bean soup. However, recipe's change and i used what i had in the fridge. Frying a onion, leek, carrots and some cauliflower until browned i added the chicken stock to cook the vegetables until soft. Then with my amazing hand blender i whizzed it all up to a thick soup. Served with a baked baguette it was delicious.

I think i might make soup more often.

The bake of the week was a coconut and cherry blondie. For some reason my baking is never perfect and i always find things that i need to improve. The dough was very thick, so it was always going to be a sturdy cake. There was not quite enough cherries but the coconut made up for it. When cooking with cherries i always favour a splash of almond essence however, slip of the hand meant slightly too much went in.

As i knew the cake would be quite dry i added an ameretto icing and toasted coconut to finish. The icing was just a little too sweet but after a day it was delicious. It certainly needs improvement, i'm not partial to a drier cake but with each recipe comes a new method to discover. Maybe next time i will transfer it to a cupcake.

Week 2 - It's something about the smell of a cooked chicken

Well i must begin with today, another visit to Milton Keynes. This time a trip to Jamie's Italian. The food was delicious. I have left with the opinion that i must return again soon, so they have done a good job.

To start the 'World's Best Olives' served on ice with a garlic dip and crispy tortilla's. The main the 'SOUTH-COAST FRITTO MISTO' was fresh seafood of scallops, mussels, prawns and white fish served with a tarter sauce and then an order of 'FUNKY CHIPS' (chips with garlic and parsley). This was a calorific dish which left a small person like myself uncomfortably full. However, the sight of the plate with the breaded seafood lit up my eyes and caused a friend from a table of six people to say 'Tori - your's is the dish i'm jealous of' - Good choice me!

I have done well this week, Saturday a trip to Jimmy's grill. What is Jimmy's ? The epitome' of easy eating. A buffet of around the world foods. Thai, Indian,Chinese, Italian,  Japanese. The food is good and the choice is fantastic but after popadom's, sushi and some thai food you get ever so full. It's definitely a quantity over quality place. Although that might be unfair as i did enjoy my food and was very fresh. A place that's fun to attend with family and friends, although if your choice of flavour is a curry, then go to an Indian. If your choice is for all of your favourites, then head to Jimmy's.

The skill i need to learn this year is to eat well, eat healthy and cook my way through some of my cook books.

Less carbs would be a good start. So a chicken pesto pasta with the a drizzle of basil infused olive oil and some succulent mushrooms will be delicious. I need to keep my portion small and not eat any extra's whilst cooking. That's a bad habit of mine.

Keep you posted.

What's it all about - food!

Every part of me loves food. Not all food, everyone has those nasties that they would rather avoid, but none the less, most food.

The impact that food has in today's society is immeasurable. We cook it at home, we watch it on our television and we use it as a tool to see our friends. This is to create an experience such as popcorn at a cinema, or to share a meal over a glass of wine with friends. It is crucial.

My love of food continues to grow and remains an enjoyable hobby.

So i have decided in this new year to begin writing my weekly thoughts interests and experience of food during the week.

Maybe i will try new things each week, or read other food blogs. I do not know, but i am keen to see how this will develop.

I believe the week after New Years is often a strange time to have a relationship with food. Most people are so stuffed from the Christmas spread they welcome bland foods and lack of effort. I'm afraid i am one of these people.

But that's ok, yesterday i bought myself a new folder and sleeves and began organising all of those recipes i cut out of Good Food magazines. There are hundreds!

My thought process is that if they are organised then i might get round to cooking them all up.

So this is the start, and today i went to Carlucio's in Milton Keynes. A slice of beautiful bread smothered in olive oil gently toasted with two perfectly fried eggs resting on top and a side of crispy pancetta was mouthwatering.

Great start to my Sunday and to this blog.