All That I'm Eating

Recipe ideas for budget meals, everyday cooking and a little indulgence. Travel inspiration and restaurant reviews too.

Maple Salted Popcorn

By 22 Comments

Popcorn ready to pop
Nothing gets stuck in your teeth like popcorn. Every time I eat it I am optimistic about the forthcoming pearly white issues thinking, “No, it won’t be like last time. I’ll be extra cautious”, but yet I’m forever picking bits out of my teeth in the popcorn aftermath. This is never a good look. Why do we do it to ourselves? I know I’m not the only one. I can think of one very good reason: because it’s damn delicious, there’s nothing else like it and when you make your own you can truly make it your own.

Ingredients

You will need (for a big bowl for two):

  • 75g popping corn
  • 1-2 tbsp flavourless oil
  • 1 tsp nice sea salt
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup

Method

Get a large pan with a lid on a medium/high heat.

Drizzle on a little oil and swirl it around so it covers the base of the pan.

Put the popcorn into the pan and put the lid on (it helps if it’s a clear lid).

Keep the pan swirling around so that the popcorn doesn’t catch and wait for the corn to start popping.

Keep the pan moving until you can’t hear (or see) any more pops.

Remove the pan from the heat and take the lid off to let any steam escape. read more

Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Bacon and Cheese Pasta Bake

By 14 Comments

It’s a bit weird here at the moment. The days are warm but the nights are surprisingly cold; light lunches but also still comfort food dinner season. The purple sprouting broccoli season is upon us and as much as I like it cooked simply, maybe with a butter sauce, I am craving carbohydrates and big warming meals at the moment. My bacon, purple sprouting and cheese pasta bake is ideal. read more

A spring Saturday picnic

By 11 Comments

I hope that I am safe to say spring has finally sprung. Knowing my luck next week will be full of hail storms and icy conditions but if that is the case then at least I enjoyed the sun while it lasted. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’ll know I am a big fan of dining al fresco and there’s not a season that I haven’t attempted to make the most of cooking or eating outdoors. Picnics, barbeques and even making gravy outside when there’s not enough room on the hob; any excuse.  read more

Review: Bio Green Lassis

By 7 Comments

bio green lassis
Kulfi, lassis and other eastern sweet treats fascinate me. I’ve never attempted to make my own but any excuse to eat a pistachio kulfi is fine by me! For some reason I like lassis (as long as they are super cold) but I really can’t abide milkshakes. Bio Green Dairy got in touch and sent me one of their lychee, mango and passion fruit lassi to try.  

I like that these aren’t too sweet and have a good creaminess but are in fact labelled as low fat. I think the passion fruit one was my favourite and I actually ended up mixing my cereal into them rather than drinking them because they were lovely and thick. read more

Review: Laimon Fresh

By 9 Comments

Laimon Fresh
Cocktails are something that I like very much. I do attempt to make my own, invariably without the suave moves of a professional mixologist but with the same level of enthusiasm. One issue that I have with making my own is that it always involves planning. It’s not a case of me fancying a mojito and happening to have mint, lime, ice and sugar all available at the same time. I can’t simply think of pouring myself a Cosmopolitan as I know I won’t even have cranberry juice. Have no fear though, Laimon Fresh could be just the thing.

Laimon Fresh is a natural sparkling drink made with lemon, lime and mint. I tried it first on its own and liked the balance of flavours; a bit more lemon or lime wouldn’t hurt though. I have also tried it with gin and vodka and it worked very well with both as a mixer. Because of the distinct flavour of this I can see myself happily drinking it throughout the Summer as it is or mixed with all sorts of things. Having a few cans of this in the fridge ready to go means that I can add a bit of flavour when the mood takes me. read more

Review: Nife is Life – Online Italian Deli

By 7 Comments

nife is life cured meats

Picky and sharing food is my favourite kind. To have a table covered in all sorts of plates and bowls offering a different flavour or texture is a sight for sore eyes. It’s something I like to take time over shopping for too but sometimes I don’t have the time I’d like to have to go to the deli and pick bits out. Enter Nife is Life the Italian online deli.

We were sent a range of products to try from their online shop including:
Tomato Sfilati (breadsticks)
Olive Sfoglie (crackers)
Grana Padano DOP
Prosciutto Riserva
Speck Alto Adige IGP
Mortadella from Bologna IGP
Bresaola Punta d’Anca della Valtellina IGP
Burrata from Puglia
Nonno Nanni Stracchino
Mixed Olives with Herbs
Sundried Tomatoes with Grana Padano
Grilled Artichokes in oil
(IGP meaning Protected Geographical Indication (which in Italian is Indicazione Geografica Protetta hence the rearrangement of the acronym) and DOP meaning Protected Designation of Origin (or in Italian, Denominazione di Origine Protetta). read more

Leek, Cheese and Potato Pie

By 16 Comments

cheese potato and leek pie ready to serve
I like pastry. I also like cheese and I would happily barge anyone out of the way to get my hands on a cheese, onion and potato pasty. The perfect combination of cheese, potato, onion and pastry can be hard to find and I like chunks of potato and onion not a mush; so I thought I’d best go about making my own version so I can make it just right. It’s also British Pie Week next week so the timing of my pie baking is ideal.

Ingredients

 You will need (for a pie for four):
1 medium potato, peeled and in small cubes
 £0.20
1 large leek, finely sliced
 £0.50
1 tbsp plain flour
 £0.02
75ml milk
 £0.05
125g strong cheddar cheese, grated
 £1.00
Small handful chopped chives
 £0.20
Salt and pepper
 £0.02
Small knob of butter plus extra for greasing
 £0.10
Milk for brushing
 £0.02
Readymade and rolled shortcrust pastry
 £1.50
Total
 £3.61

Method

Boil the potatoes and cook for 7-10 minutes or until tender then drain and put to one side. Fry the leeks on a medium heat in a little butter for around 10 minutes, until softened, then add the flour. Cook for a minute then add the milk and stir well while heating to make a thick sauce. Add the potato, cheese, chives and salt and pepper to the cooked leeks. Preheat oven to 180C and lightly grease a pie dish with butter. Take two thirds of the pastry and line the pie dish. Trim any excess pastry, prick the base with a fork, line with greaseproof paper then fill with baking beans or rice and bake for 12-15 minutes then remove the beans and greaseproof and return to the oven for 2 more minutes. Pour the filling into the pastry case. Brush the edge of the pastry base with milk and roll out the remaining pastry. Top the pie with the pastry and press the pastry well onto the pastry base. Trim any excess and brush the top with milk.

Cut a slit in the top of the pastry then put back into the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

The leeks and chives in this give a brilliant green colour to the pie so it’s not all beige. I liked that the filling wasn’t too wet and stodgy but you could clearly see and feel the potato and leek. Comfort food is always welcome, particularly when it’s mostly carbohydrate based and this was my perfect dinner on a rainy evening this week. Not only exactly what I wanted but also a bargain for four people. You could of course make your own pastry but when I’m as busy as I am now, readymade and rolled is my best friend. read more

Victoria Sponge with Rhubarb and Vanilla Compote

By 20 Comments

It’s always nice to see some bright pink rhubarb poking its head out at the market but as it’s the first of the season it can be quite pricey. So when you have only £1.80, what can you do with two rhubarb sticks? Make a lovely, vibrant rhubarb compote/jam to sandwich in the middle of two fat slices of cake of course. Other things that you can do with two sticks of rhubarb include: jousting, a spot of relay running or making a parasol (if you have the leaves left on) but none of those would be anywhere near as good as this cake. read more

The Walmesley at Audley Inglewood, Kintbury

By 10 Comments

pumpkin espuma
This was a gifted meal. I remember hearing a while ago on the grape vine that Audley Inglewood would have a restaurant as part of the retirement complex so it was great when I was invited to try their new restaurant The Walmesley. They sent me a sneaky peak of their tasting menu and were more than happy to amend their plans to eliminate any fish and shellfish and I couldn’t wait to try it.

As you drive up to the building it’s very impressive and welcoming and it’s rather luxurious throughout the bar, restaurant and everywhere else we saw. I like that the restaurant is laid out in such a way that it feels busy but you can’t hear anyone else’s conversation and that a two person table is large enough to fit everything on comfortably without fear of dunking your elbow in your dinner.

I was very surprised at the wine list; the wines started at around £16 a bottle and there was a good selection over varied prices. Considering this is a fine dining restaurant the wines are much more varied and reasonable than some of the pubs around here. read more

Review: Norwegian Skrei Cod in a simple Butter and Parsley Sauce

By 21 Comments

Skrei Cod in Butter and Parsley
I don’t get to eat much fish at home as the OH isn’t a fan of anything with gills and I certainly can’t be bothered to make something different for both of us! Now I’m working from home I can have all sorts of things for lunch. The mind boggles. In reality it’s almost always toast but I was offered some Skrei cod to try and I thought it would make my midday meal much more exciting.

Skrei is a much loved Norwegian delicacy. Skrei must be caught fully grown and meet the strict quality standards to be labelled as such. This source of cod is a sustainable one and most of the Skrei are line caught. You can read more about Hugh’s Fish Fight here.
I didn’t want to mess around and over complicate this delicate fish so I cooked it very simply. I fried a piece in a little olive oil and butter only flipping it once to prevent it breaking up.
When the cod was almost ready I added a little extra butter, some salt and pepper and a small handful of parsley to make a quick sauce. read more

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