if you can't eat it, it's not love

This is out of my blog-league, and completely irrelevant to food, but i am so in love with this blogger, her wonderful style and way of talking - i mean writing - that i have to give her a mention:
http://www.thesmallobject.com/stenopad/wordpress/

I had been thinking recently that it would be good to have somewhere to store information about anything crafty I undertake, but was quite decided that it wouldn't be another blog as I am already so badly disciplined with this food one. I am so entirely sporadic and un-dedicated that it would be massively infrequent: something else to start, neglect and feel bad about.

In addition, being an irritating purist over cataloguing means I can't bring myself to add craft posts to this food blog. Messy, messy! Currently i jot notes and drawings in a book and take photographs to keep track, but - and you knew there would be a but - inspiration has been creeping up on me in waves. First the cheap fabric at Shepherd's Bush market... next the subscription to Vogue... threading up my beautiful Singer sewing machine ... reading up on how to expand a trouser dart ... scribbling down how to make a circle skirt to go Lindy hop dancing in, from here:
http://www.burdastyle.com/

...it all adds up to a bit of an infatuation. I am certain it won't overtake the food though: let's face it, you can't exactly eat sewing. It's just useful to be able to expand a trouser dart when you've eaten too much.

love-ly food

I chide myself that I don't seem to have made a note of the superb, if dodgily named, 'Food lab' by 'Mood for food'. I fell in love with it incrementally: first the coffee, then the people, the chilled out music. Then I had a savoury muffin with Rose, which we envisaged as a sweet muffin but stuffed with glorious savoury cheese and bacon and herbs... but which was an ENGLISH muffin filled with bacon and egg. And top notch.

Next I was seduced by the cakes: properly, deliciously home made and the prices not so N1 that I couldn't go back again. But this all felt like dipping one's toe, so the last couple of times I went the whole breakfast hog and had eggs florentine - fast turning into my benchmark breakfast of choice.

And what eggs! Interestingly, on the first occasion the spinach had chilli flakes mixed through which, though not an upfront flavour, gave a delicious background note. The second time, the flakes came as a wide, sprinkled smile under the muffin/egg eyes. Disconcerting and it didn't taste as well, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

The eggs benny, breakfast of choice for the gent, deserve a mention too: a democratic exchange meant we tasted both. And, I suspect, both enjoyed our own the most.


http://www.moodforfood.co.uk/

cold comfort

I have said it before and I'll say it again: if you have a cold you need some comfort and some spice. And if it's swine flu then you'll need even more comfort, to get rid of the taste of tamiflu.

See how topical I am? I was aching all over and decidedly grumpy by lunchtime today so I cold-shouldered my stilton leftovers feast and headed to Peyton and Byrne to pretend I'm a lady what lunches. I think I ate carrot soup - I guessed from the colour - but having taste buds in a state of hibernation I wasn't sure of anything but the salt. Textures however are the taste-disabled person's friend: the bread was crispy outside, chewy within; the butter a fat sheet over this, the soup very thick, very pureed.

Recalling the gent, I delicately pushed rather than pulled the spoon. And it was a good portion too! The only disappointment of the hour was that I couldn't get the last crossword clue. If someone knows 'beat' in 6 with letters something like _E_E_T then please tell me, and in return I'll tell you the best thing to do with a carrot mountain.

Time for a honey and lemon, I think...


http://www.peytonandbyrne.com/

Christian festival, pagan weekend

Mayday bank holiday and the christening of my ginger neph.

On Sunday morning I took break from filling vol-au-vents with my aunt, sister and Mrs I., to slip away into the garden. The month of May can transform anywhere: pink-white apple blossom confetti-ed the lawn, wild strawberries flowered, and that bright green blanket of spring was everywhere. Which is a rather florid way of saying the whole garden seemed to be waiting for the party to begin.

Catering for 70 must be daunting, but aunts and uncles appeared with plates of sandwiches, someone manned a bar, Rose conjured up a beach bucket to fill with bags of children's snacks and Mrs I's tray bakes of cake filled borrowed plates.

The meringues especially remind me of family weddings more than 20 years ago.

Whilst not being strictly necessary at 4pm, the food drew people outside, gave strangers a talking point and helped rescue more than one stilted conversation. It was all madly appreciated and I hope Mrs I. was not too tired from all the organising... Liz and Mark's champagne 'for when everyone has gone' was perfectly pitched!

And the left over brie and stilton was a great lunch with olives and salad today.

Aus: reprise

I am one lucky Roy. After a long and lovely holiday in Australia, and after having completed the hat trick of visiting all three of Bill Granger’s restaurants, I found myself only a week after my return being retreated to a repeat delight.

Tipped off by melly bo, the gent had secured us two tickets… actually, scrap that, maybe it would be best to walk you through this? Yes, I think so.

So please imagine you are unbreakfasted, tripping through the streets of Marylebone early on a Sunday morning; the kind of spring morning that causes deep excitement and hope, even without certain good times ahead of you.

Your gentleman friend leads you to La Fromagerie, where you and around 20 other folk squeeze around tables, are served coffee, juice, and a pumpkin cinnamon muffin… and in walks bill granger. To give you a cooking demonstration. And chat about his culinary begninnings, powdered gravy and ‘owning the morning’.

Obviously it doesn’t get much better, but here is what we ate:

Coffee, juice

Pumpkin cinnamon muffin

Banana bread

Strawberry and rhubarb crisp with yoghurt

Ham and egg Alsatian tart (the very best thing of the morning)

Bill-dressed salad (salad sourced from only 3 miles away) with fromagerie cheese

prosecco

I got to bashfully raise a hand as someone who had been to bills recently, AND he signed my book. AND he likes my name! Although that could be a book signing thing to say when you have nothing else to say, as Stephen Fry said that too.

I was on swinging on a cloud after all that so can't recall the name of the delicate pyramidal cheese the gent chose, and which we ate later with oat cakes.

Things to look up:

Bill liked a restaurant called Petersons (sp?) - run by a chap or chapess by the name of ‘sky’ or somesuch.

All the Bill Granger books I haven't read yet.

The oils / vinegars mentioned by the fearsome fromagerie lady, and which Bill used to dress the salad.

Join the Fromagerie email list.

pellegrinis

Pellegrinis, Melbourne, in pictures:


penne pellegrini, which was a cross between school dinner and made by mumma: hearty, huge, unsophisticated. i think i've blogged about this elsewhere, but i like the picture reminders. the melon granita was amazing and just what i wanted, but didn't know it.

sourdough

sourdough starter

150g strong white flour
50g spelt flour
1 tbsp good honey
150ml warm water

mix until a soft dough. cover with a split freezer bag, elastic band round. put in a warm place (30 degrees c) for 36-48 hours until dough loose and smells alcoholic. it will have darkened on top and bubbles begin to appear.

Feeding the yeast: day 3
30g spelt flour
280g strong white flour
150ml warm water

take yeast starter, add spelt and strong flour with warm water. mix, cover with plastic again. set aside 24 hrs in warm place (less than 24c will stop fermentation) - until mix expands and smells sweet and lightly fermented.

Feeding the ferment : day 4
400g strong white flour
200ml warm water
200g mix from day 3

mix together until thick dough forms. cover and set aside as before for 12 hours, until dough rises.

Maturing the ferment: day 6-9

slow fermentation to ensure it matures gently. keep bowl on bottom shelf of fridge for 2-5 days, depending on how sour you would like it. ferment is ready when skin on top is pulled back and the dough beneath is 'buttery coloured and full of bubbles, like honeycomb'. should be sticky and smell alcoholic and slightly acidic.

the future of your ferment:

refresh every 2-3 days to keep alive. keep back 400g and ditch the rest. mix with 400g water and 800g strong white flour. mix, cover with freezer bag, secure and store in fridge.

making and baking

700g strong white flour
90g spelt flour
400g ferment
650ml water (body temperature)
1 tbsp salt
semolina and flour to dust

combine flours, add ferment, ripping it to pieces. add water, mix until a dough.
work the dough (place away form you, stretch, flip back on itself, stretch sideways - 10-15 mins) sprinkle with 1 tbsp salt, knead until elastic and smooth; finish it in a ball.
put in a tea-towel lined basket or bowl. cover with another towel and set in a warm place for 1 hr.

turn onto floured surface: fold outside edges in a few times, rotate as you go. return to rest for another hour.

divide into two: prove for 16-18 hrs in slightly warm place (17-18 c). dough should double in size and be springy to touch. coat top in flour.

oven 250 (230 fan): place in baking trays ready. remove trays, dust with semolina, turn dough onto tray, round (floured) side upwards: slash or score top. open oven, spray with water, chuck tray in (or place tin of water on bottom shelf of oven). Bake 5 mins. reduce heat to 220c (200c fan), bake 25 mins further until golden and bursting, and base hollow when tapped. if need to cook longer, reduce heat to 210 (190 fan) for another 10-15 mins.