Chok full of goodness!

Apparently, there is a campaign to have a meat free Monday to encourage general carnivores to abstain from meat once a week as it is assumed non-veggies consume animals seven days a week, thereby using up the world's resources. 

I'd rather eat whatever we fancied on the basis it's produced locally (preferably the UK) using locally produced fertilisers/feeds and in season. This alone would significantly reduce energy consumption and support the local economy. No more green beans from Kenya!

Comments welcome!

Anyway, in support of my veggie friends, a meat-free Monday and my own momentary foray into the world of vegetarianism during a particularly dark period, this week's food of the week is a vegetable, of the most interesting kind!

Food of the Week: Artichoke

The common or garden artichoke is really quite special as it's actually a member of the thistle family. Here are a few facts and a few old wives tales...

No one knows from where the artichoke hails although it's generally believed to somewhere in North Africa.

Why the weird name?
The various European names of the artichoke all ultimately come from Arabic al-kharshuf but names have evolved from kaktos (Ancient Greeks) to carduus (Romans) to carchofas (SW France - from Italian carciofo - pronounced carchofo). The english word 'artichoke' seems to come from a Northern Italian dialect of articiocco (pronounced artichocko). I met some people from Ferrara once who endorsed this last fact.

Where did it come from?

Cultivation passed from Naples to Florence in 1466, to Venice in 1480 and then to Avignon and environs from 1532. Somehow the Dutch got in on the game and brought them to Henry VIII's garden in England in 1530. But the Americans weren't sure about eating thistles until the 19th century. Now they are mainly grown in the Mediterranean basin (although we have a few here in Blighty too!)

Things you should know!

According to the Turks you should eat an artichoke a week to keep your liver healthy. According to other nutritionists, it's good for liver, gallbladder and bladder functionality so we should eat more of them.

The artichoke genus is Cynara cardunculus. That's where the Italian artichoke liqueur gets its name

The 'choke' is the fuzzy bit that's inedible - I don't know what the arti bit is.

The Jerusalem Artichoke is an imposter - nothing to do with the artichoke at all.

How to eat

Whole, boiled and served with hollandaise, butter or aioli
Just the hearts, chopped up on a 4 seasons pizza, in pasta or pan fried with lemon and pepper

Where to eat

The Anchor & Hope in Waterloo has amazing globe artichokes when they are season. Union Market in Fulham has beautiful stuffed artichokes in their deli. Otherwise experiment with your own!


Perfect for a Meat Free Monday in July!

A return ticket to the classroom

Hot news! I'm succumbed to pressure and am now on Twitter so if you follow me, I can let you know as soon as I've written a new post. Just click on the Twitter button at the top left.

Not only that but after a June of football and tennis, I've been out to a couple of very cool new places - one of which is open for a limited period only - so the blog takes a slightly different format this week.

1) Penny University, Redchurch Street, Shoreditch (nearest tube Liverpool Street

Apparently Penny University is a term originating from the eighteenth century coffeehouses in London, England. Instead of paying for drinks, people were charged a penny to enter a coffee house. Once inside, the patron had access to coffee, the company of others, various discussions, pamphlets, bulletins, newspapers, and the latest news and gossip. So everyone frequented them and had intellectual conversation.

Spending a penny at Penny University in Shoreditch doesn't get you very far (don't try it!) and it's not a big place either which makes it very special. No sugar, no milk, no espresso, no latte - just pure filter coffee and just three varieties (matched to William Curley chocolates if you prefer).

If you're lucky, Gwillym Davies (2009 World Barista Champion) will impart some of his extensive and fascinating coffee knowledge to you whilst he prepares the best coffee ever from something that you would normally expect to find in a chemistry lab.

If you're really lucky, you might get James Hoffmann (2010 World Barista Champion and the man behind Square Mile Coffee).

Things you should know!

- Three beautiful single estate coffees on the menu originating from Kenya, Ethiopia and Colombia costing from £3 to £4 per cup.
- Beans ground to order using a very special grinder that varies the grind quality (apparently one of the most important variables in coffee).
- A state of the art water boiler and three very cool preparation vessels.

Yes it sounds very nerdy but actually it's not - it's an enlightening and enjoyable way to drink coffee that everyone should try. It's only open until 31 July so hurry up and go!

2) Union Market, Fulham Broadway (Fulham Broadway tube)

Someone has done a stunning job of converting the old Fulham Broadway ticket hall into a food market. A beautiful space that has maintained some of the quirkiness of the old station with ticket desks and signage clearly visible. Even the old ticket office has been converted into a kitchen.

It's all about traceability, sustainability, seasonal and local. A farmers market that's open daily from 8am until 8pm (but you can get an early morning tea or coffee from 7am). From fruit and veg to wine and cider to cheese, charcuterie, bakery and general provisions, you can get everything here, even organic cola bottle gums. In addition, there's a [very] small tapas area and a few tables for something more substantial.

It's a warm and welcoming place to shop and the staff were very helpful and friendly. It's not cheap but the Fulham mummies will love it and I wish it all the best.

Another endangered species

Quick blog this week so I can get an extra one in for June

A dismal week on the footballing front. I'm betting on a Brazil Argentina final myself but there's everything to play for at Wimbledon with both Venus and Roger out. Just think, if Murray gets through to the final, he might even crack a smile...

Away from the sport, it's been a good couple of weeks for weather and for flowers. Yes, flowers are a tenuous link as I thought Chelsea Flower Show was next week (it actually took place in May) and the flower show was going to be the link to this week's blog !

Anyway, this week I'm featuring something that's slightly unusual and possibly not everyone's number one concern but it's has bothering me for some time...

This week's Food of the Week is Chelsea Buns (and I don't mean footballers' bottoms)

I have been on a hunt for Chelsea buns for sometime now. Looking in both new and traditional bakeries to find the elusive bun has come to no avail. Unfortunately, artisan bakers can't seem to crack the CB, with a stodgy, heavy dough and too many currants being the order of the day. They all look nice but fail on the delivery.

According to Wikipedia, 'the Chelsea bun is a type of currant bun that was first created in the eighteenth century at the Bun House in Chelsea, an establishment favoured by Hanoverian royalty and demolished in 1839. The bun is made of a rich yeast dough flavoured with lemon peel, cinnamon or a sweet spice mixture. Prior to being rolled into a square spiral shape the dough is spread with a mixture of currants, brown sugar and butter.'

Traditional bakers don't appear to make them anymore, focusing instead on Danish pastries (that aren't really Danish) or hot cross buns (which I had always thought had the same lifespan as a Creme Egg and shouldn't be seen after Easter) amongst other pink iced treats.

I found one in Harrods that was prepacked from the 'Munch' takeaway sandwich chain which looked really quite revolting. It appears that even Harrods can't be bothered to make things properly anymore.

Chelsea buns in my mind should be soft and light, covered in crunchy sugar and containing a good (but not too much) quantity of dried fruit. You should be able to unravel them like a good Cuban cigar into a flat rectangle of sweet indulgence. You shouldn't eat a Chelsea bun and then spend the rest of the day feeling like a cannon ball has lodged in your stomach.

The only place that I have had a decent Chelsea bun in the last few years is Ludlow, but that's a bit of a trek for a bun so if anyone knows where to find a good example please let me know.


How much should you spend?

Under a pound.

Where can I find a good Chelsea Bun?Answers on a postcard please.

Restaurant of the Week

No restaurant of the week this week. It's still World Cup and Wimbledon so everyone's staying in and I'm on an economy drive!

From black gold to golden goodness!

I WON TIME OUT LETTER OF THE WEEK THIS WEEK!!!

And midsummer's day came and went, as ever in sub zero gloomy weather and prompting the predictable comment 'can you believe it's midsummer?'

And in the same way as England's footballers each get paid the same amount as the GDP of the smaller nations that beat them and in the same way there's a near first round coup at Wimbledon and in the same way we're all going to be stung by huge tax rises at today's budget, 'yes, we can believe that it's midsummer!

n.b. why didn't we set a deal with the England team that for every World Cup match they fail to win, they pay back some of their extortionate unjustified earnings to refill the nation's empty coffers...

Midsummer also marks the end of the British asparagus season so...

This week's Food of the Week is Oil (...and not the BP variety)

Did you know 95% of the world's olive trees are found in the mediterranean region and Spain accounts for over one third of the world's olive oil production?

If you ever travel to Andalucia, drive through the area close to Baena and you'll be blown away by a polka dot frenzy of olive trees as far as the eye can see in every direction. Alternatively, the best olive trees I've ever seen were in Puglia (the heel of Italy and biggest region for italian olive oil production) where the trees are ancient and gnarly, looking as though they're about to come to life!

Extra Virgin Olive Oil doesn't make you fat

True or false?! I don't have clinical evidence to prove this but I was once told by a very slim Sicilian Mamma who was merrily sloshing oil over every foodtype possible that I shouldn't worry as good oil goes straight through you and doesn't make you fat. Fast food and processed food make you fat.

I'll leave the math to you!

There are huge numbers of olive oil varieties - from different olive types to different methods of extraction to just basic industrialised olive oil made up of any old olive. The million dollar question always remains...

How much should you spend and is it worth it?

...and as always the answer is 'depends'

For day to day use in cooking, I think it's fine to have a good quality cheap-ish oil that's not specialist

For salads, or dishes where you will really taste the oil, I think you should spend a bit more and have an oil which adds to the dish rather than takes a supporting role

How much you spend is up to you but £12-15 for one litre of excellent olive oil is a good investment as you'll only use a little at a time.

Where can I find good olive oil?

Taste is subjective so you need to try different oils. Personally, I like Brindisa's choice of Nunez de Prado oil (helped by the fact my big sister helped the old men put the labels on the bottles) but my favourite by a long way is Giuseppe at Borough Market's Calabrian extra virgin olive oil.

Beautiful oil, beautiful flavours from varieties that I've never seen anywhere else and oil that is clear in warm temperatures and cloudy and thick in midwinter. Put this oil on anything and you'll love it AND it's about £12/£13 a bottle!

Giuseppe has funny hair and a strong Italian accent. He is passionate about the food from his home town selling all sorts of beautiful produce from n'duja to wild oregano to jars of olives so jampacked with herbs they ooze the wild aromas of Southern Italy.

Sometimes Giuseppe disappears for a siesta but you'll probably find him under the counter of his stall!

Normally, you can find him in the Jubilee section of Borough Market on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Note to tree huggers
If you want to reduce your food miles, try RAPESEED oil that is produced in Britain. Great for frying anything as it has a really high smoke point (better than olive oil) with lots of health benefits and now becoming more widely available. I haven't found one that is as tasty as Giuseppe's for use in salads yet but I'm sure it won't be long

Note to gourmets

Walnut oil (France) or Pumpkin seed oil (Austria) are beautiful oils with amazing flavours that make something really really special. They're expensive though but you can find walnut oil off the side of the road in Dordogne (see pic) or pumpkin seed oil cheap as chips from the supermarkets in Austria if you have holidays planned!!!




Restaurant of the Week

No restaurant of the week this week. It's World Cup and Wimbledon so everyone's staying in!

GOOD LUCK CLAIRE AND FEDERICO WHO ARE GETTING MARRIED THIS SATURDAY!!!

Just one Cornetto...

I'm so disappointed that I missed out on Tyrrells Chips political potato chip flavours for the General Election.

Amazingly, rhubarb and waffle flavour wasn't on the list but a competition between Cameron’s Crunchies (Eton Mess), Gordon’s Gourmet (Scotch egg and brown sauce) and Clegg’s Cocktail (hummous and roasted veg) would probably NOT have resulted in a coalition government!


This week's Food of the Week is Ice Cream

so being topical, I'll guess appropriate favourite flavours for the aforesaid three musketeers

Gordon would go for golden butterscotch flavour (if he doesn't sell it off cheap first!)
Dave probably wouldn't get any as Mrs C will scoff his true blueberry scoops during a pregnant craving
Nick Clegg will struggle to choose between Gordon's and David's and then add in some Seville Orange sorbet (to keep his Mrs C happy) with Dave's true blueberry 

Who first had the idea to make ice cream?

According to the ice cream website, the Chinese got in there first again somewhere between 618 and 950 A.D.  It didn't get to Europe until 1503 where it was seen as a chemist's party trick (eat your heart out Heston!) and didn't get used as a sweet delicacy until 1660 when it hit Naples, Florence and Paris. Us Brits were close behind with it being first recorded at a Royal Feast in 1671. And the Americans were last, not tasting the stuff until 1800!
So the Italians started singing ice cream songs early on and travelled in their gondolas to Northern Europe where there was a lot of ice to be had. Huge ice house pits were built to store Norwegian ice near Kings Cross and you can still see them at The London Canal Museum. And at some point, the Cornetto was born.

Where can I find good ice cream?

Tricky. My favourite ice cream in the world is Chocolate Extra Noir and Pistachio from GROM based in Turin and I've never found anything to match it.

Closer to home, good places to go include Marine Ices - a legend in ice cream parlours that has been at its current location in Chalk Farm since 1947; Amorino on Old Compton Street is pretty good too but the coolest (!) is Freggo on Swallow Street (just off Regent Street, Piccadilly end) an Argentinian style late night gelateria where you can make yourself sick on very sweet dulce de leche ice creams or malbec and red fruit sorbets in a very swish environment

On the move, look out for Jude's ice cream with great flavours and the Choc Star van that travels the country laden with frozen treats.

Restaurant of the Week

Bincho Yakitori on Old Compton Street, Soho
http://www.bincho.co.uk/

Despite feeling I was in an episode of Tenko as I walked through yet another pair of Japanese curtains, Bincho is a very cool, modern and simple Japanese eatery. Bincho is a Japanese word for the finest charcoal to be used on a barbecue - apt given that it specialises in grilled skewers! It's a great place to pick lots of small sharing dishes ranging from the seven samurai of 7 types of mini kebab through to more substantial offers of tofu (I was forced to try it by a veggie friend and grudgingly admit that it was actually very nice!), all accompanied by a great range of sake. And perfectly located in central Soho! What more could you want?
Nearest tube is Leicester Square - expect to pay £20 per head although the pre theatre menu is a steal at just £10

Election Fever and a lot of Rhubarb

It just so happens that our General Election hits at the same time as this very British plant comes into season.

Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb. Am I referring to the fruit or to the quality of the debates between our three potential leaders?

Would a stick of rhubarb be better at running the country than any of the three key candidates?

Would a stick of rhubarb keep its mouth shut when the microphone is still on?

Answers on a polling card.

So this week's Food of the Week is rhubarb!

There seems to be very few interesting facts about rhubarb. It doesn't make your pee smell in the same way as asparagus, it's very bitter and its leaves are poisonous. It has been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years and used to command prices several times those of opium or saffron in medieval times as it was so expensive to transport. It also grows wild along the banks of the river Volga in Russia.

In the UK the first rhubarb of the year is harvested by candlelight in dark sheds dotted around the noted "Rhubarb Triangle" of Wakefield, Leeds and Morley
All a bit dull really when rhubarb has a really distinctive flavour that deserves a much more interesting heritage. I love the fact it's as seasonal as daffodils and creme eggs and that we can't air freight it from Kenya. I also love the fact that it's very adaptable and goes with so many other flavours so well, from almonds to ginger to oily fish.

Where can I find good British rhubarb?

Like most fruit and veg, you can get British rhubarb everywhere. For really good stuff, (as ever) the biodynamic stall at Borough is a good bet and you'll get weird and wonderful shapes too

What can I do with rhubarb?

My favourite recipe for rhubarb is Giorgio Locatelli's rhubarb and amaretto tart - a great mix of flavours although most people wouldn't appreciate having to prepare the rhubarb a day in advance.

Otherwise, stew the rhubarb with a fair amount of sugar and concentrate it so it's not too liquid. Once it's cooled down you can stir it into natural yogurt (with some amaretti crumbled on top) or even use the strained liquid to make your own rhubarb cordial. The mushed rhubarb can be used to stuff oily fish like mackerel or even as a sauce for cod.
Restaurant of the Week

One to splash out in this week... (or just go for a drink at the bar!)

Hix, Soho, London

Mark Hix is a quasi celebrity chef who continues to champion British produce. Go to his restaurant in Soho and you'll find everything from the cocktail list in the bar right through to the menu in the slightly noisy but celebrity studded restaurant based on seasonal British food.

Lovely bar and great food although a little bit pricey - if you don't find rhubarb somewhere on the menu I'll eat my polling card!
Nearest tube is Piccadilly - expect to pay £60 per head

Muskets and Spears

It's my birthday! Well it was on Saturday actually and I spent it climbing up two beacons in Brecon without a cloud in the sky - a rare experience. I also had a conversation with someone who does Civil War re-enactments and had just bought a new musket. Always wondered who does those things.

So this week's Food of the Week ISN'T cheese!!!

The weather has finally warmed up and everything green is sprouting which means that the first of the English asparagus is now appearing in the shops n.b. make sure you buy British and not the inferior Spanish or Peruvian options!

So this week's Food of the Week IS asparagus!!!

Supposedly the highlight of the foodie calendar, the asparagus season usually lasts from St Georges Day through to midsummer but I've given you a week's notice to start preparing. In England, we eat the green asparagus but in continental Europe (particularly France, Germany and Netherlands) they eat the thicker white asparagus (n.b. ours is nicer). They eat it with tons of hollandaise sauce, pancakes, hard boiled eggs and ham. For those countries, sales of hollandaise sauce go crazy for two months - just because of the asparagus season or 'Spargelgala' .

Back in Blighty, we treat our asparagus spears like precious jewels and tend to eat them with parma ham or with butter and parmesan. Maybe even in a risotto with fresh summer peas as they come into season.

However you eat your asparagus, two things are certain.

1) it's very good for you as it's low in calories and has lots of vitamins
2) it's a diuretic and within 15-30 minutes of consumption, it makes your pee smell. Now some people say that this only affects some of the population BUT I HAVE CHECKED with Wikipedia and apparently this phenomenon affects EVERYONE but only 22% of the population have the ability to smell the  'odorous compounds'. Now you know!

Where can I find good British asparagus?

The home of British asparagus is in the Vale of Evesham. That's just round the corner from Broadway in the Cotswolds. The asparagus festival kicks off on 23 April with lots of events in May and June. You can be involved in everything from an asparagus auction to an asparagus run to a trip on an asparabus. You can even have your fortune predicted by an asparagancer and I expect there will be plenty of Morris Dancing too

See http://www.britishasparagusfestival.org/ for more details and if you need a good B&B then go to my big sister's place just down the road at http://www.oldstationhousebroadway.co.uk/

n.b. If you want to get asparagus in London, I suggest you visit the biodynamic stall at Borough and Maltby Street markets where you'll find excellent produce that hasn't seen a chemical but has been cultivated in harmony with the cycle of the moon and natural fertilisers.

And to go with your asparagus, get delicious parma ham from the affable and informative Philip in Borough and now Covent Garden market on a Saturday, and excellent parmesan from Alison in the Jubilee Market section of Borough

Restaurant of the Week

One place you are always guaranteed good seasonal British produce and who will definitely have loads of asparagus is...

The Anchor & Hope, The Cut, Waterloo

The Anchor & Hope is a sister pub to The Eagle in Farringdon and Great Queen Street in Covent Garden, all of which are great places to go.

The Anchor & Hope is different from the others as it isn't a beautiful pub from the outside. When you enter, you find two sections; the drinking area and the eating area. You can't book so to get a table in the eating area, you have to run in at 6pm and put your name down on the list with all the other pre theatre eaters. Alternatively, you can put your name down for around 7.30/8pm when the theatre crowd all disappear off but whatever you do, expect to wait a little bit. It's worth it as the food is very fresh, reasonably priced and very well prepared in a casual and unpretentious environment

You can also eat in the bar area if you can find a space. They also have lots of good wines in carafes which means you can have a bit of good white wine to start followed by a bit of good red wine without having a bottle of each. Very clever.

Anchor & Hope is very close to Waterloo tube/station and will probably set you back around £35 per head