All That I'm Eating

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

Mini Bubble and Squeak

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Cabbage for bubble and squeak
As one of those people who would rather sit down and pick at fifteen different dishes instead of a complete meal a BBQ is perfect for me. I wish I had the energy to create authentic Tapas on a regular basis but until then I am finding all sorts of little things to throw into the standard BBQ line up.  Potatoes will always crop up in some form or other at a BBQ. Chips, baked, in salads, boiled and any other form you can find. I wanted something that hit the potato spot but that was also a little different; mini bubble and squeak. As usual, this dish is made from ingredients I get from my local farmers’ market. I call these mini bubble and squeak but call them potato cakes or what you will. They have potato, a hint of onion, a bit of earthy cabbage with a golden, crispy, salty outside and delicate white fluffy middle…what more could you want?

Ingredients

You will need (for 6-8 small potato cakes):
  • 500g potatoes
  • Small bunch spring onions
  • Handful spring cabbage
  • Small handful chives
  • Salt and pepper
  • Butter for frying

Method

Start by peeling and then boiling the potatoes until soft. Drain the potatoes and leave them to cool. While they cool, chop the spring onions, cabbage (as much or as little as you like) and chives. I like to put the chive flowers in too if not just for the colour. Mash the potato, mix in all the other ingredients and season. Take small handfuls of the mixture, form into balls and then squash to make them flatter. 

Heat some butter in a pan until foaming. If you want the outside golden and with the slight saltiness you must use butter, it’s just not the same with oil. I do add a little oil to stop the butter burning but not much. These little cakes like to soak the butter up so have some spare to dot around the pan. Place the cakes in the pan, you may have to do more than one batch, and wait until they are golden until you turn them over. Turn them too early and you might end up with a right mess. 

They are done when they are golden brown enough for you. Keep the heat low/medium as you don’t want any burning before browning. A treat for a BBQ but great with anything else too.   

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Forbury’s Restaurant and Wine Bar at Reading

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I have spent much time wandering around Reading trying to find somewhere half decent to eat that wasn’t the London Street Brasserie. I feel like I exhausted the Brasserie a long time ago and if you’re wondering, they do fantastically good puddings. I wanted good food at a reasonable price and I found exactly that.

Forbury’s looks a bit pretentious from a distance but when you read the blackboard outside you’ll find you can have 3 courses for £14. For that price, you can’t complain! It’s a really airy, modern, light space with all these newfangled flower arrangements and the like but what they are truly about is wine. What I am truly not about is the waiter being so obviously uninterested in us when we declare that despite being in a wine bar we’d rather not have a glass of wine. He looked like he was about to vomit each time we raised our offensive soft drinks to our mouths. 

There were so many tempting things on the menu I couldn’t decide what to have. I decided to start with Gazpacho. I’ve never had it before and thought that this would be the perfect place and time to do so. I was fully aware that it was a cold soup but despite this knowledge it was still a complete and utter surprise. It looks like tomato soup, it smells like tomato soup, they’ve given you a soup spoon but none of this prepares you for the first mouthful. It’s a strange and wonderful sensation and was lovely. Vibrant, fresh, clean and delicate Gazpacho is definitely something I will have again. 

The main course was Spring vegetable risotto. I was craving asparagus, courgettes and peas and the risotto did not disappoint. It was exactly what I wanted although a bit more generosity with the Parmesan would have made it a little better. There was what looked like turf planted on top of the risotto but it turned out to be tarragon. Fortunately there wasn’t an abundance of it as too much aniseed can ruin a meal. 

By this point I had consumed tomatoes, various green vegetables and a little rice. I was feeling a little bit well behaved, threw caution to the wind and ordered dessert. It was a bright mango parfait. Two very generous slabs were consumed with gusto. It seemed to have little pieces of toffee or honeycomb along with pistachio embedded in the parfait. This was surrounded by mango and raspberry coulis and raspberries themselves. 

Things got a little weird at the end of the meal. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and tea and coffee was being enjoyed amidst much merriment. Suddenly this bubble was burst as, without warning, the bill was put on the side of the table. The bill had not been asked for. There are restaurants where I wish the bill would turn up as I’m so bored of waiting and trying my hardest to get the attention of the waiter. On this occasion, we were the only people in the restaurant and they couldn’t have made it more obvious they wanted us out.

I am very confused about this meal. Considering the meal was £14 for 3 courses I was pretty impressed and I’d love to go back and sample some of their A La Carte menu it all sounded incredible. However, the service did not match up to the food. If you’re in Reading and bored of the restaurants on the riverside, venture out a little. You’ll be surprised what you might find.

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Baked Asparagus with Bacon and Cheese

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As asparagus is only around for a short time, it’s a good thing it’s so versatile. This is another recipe combining classic ingredients in a really easy, quick way.   You will need a bunch of asparagus, 4 or 5 rashers of bacon and a good handful of strong cheese.  

Start by placing the asparagus stem down in a pan of boiling water for 4-5 minutes. By placing them stem down the thicker, woodier stems are boiled while the fragile tops steam. While the asparagus boils, cut the bacon into pieces and fry. read more

Recipes – where do you keep yours?

By 17 Comments

A dear friend of mine bought me a blank recipe book for my birthday 4 years ago. She must have had foreknowledge of what was to come! It is a place for favourite recipes, creating new combinations and exploring ideas. Now, I have probably 4 pages that have not been written on but I’ll never buy a new one, I’ll just keep adding pages to this one. The book is severely thumbed but I think this makes it look well loved.

So where do we all keep our recipes? My recipe book has been written in by me, my Granny has filled in her favourite baking recipes and I have leaflets and clippings from so many places. Because of the various additions over the years and the different people who have contributed to it, this recipe book is inexplicably treasured. I also have many old cookery books, late 1890’s and onwards and things have not changed much. These old recipe books are full of newspaper cut outs and notes from the previous owner. I have one book from 1936 which belonged to a lady called Eileen. She has written in many recipes including lemon pie and ham soup. Some of the recipes have notes on top of the originals where amounts or methods have been changed. 
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Classic Asparagus and Hollandaise Sauce

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I had been waiting and waiting until the asparagus turned up at the Farmers’ Market and last weekend it finally did. I had heard whispers and rumours that this fine vegetable had pushed its purple head through the soil but didn’t want to get my hopes up until I saw it with my own eyes. read more

Easter Biscuits

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Biscuit mix

A good biscuit is an excellent thing. Golden brown, buttery and crisp makes a good biscuit for me. I discovered this recipe when rifling through recipes with my Nana. It seems fitting to make Easter biscuits at this time of year! They are so easy to make, wonderfully simple and have lovely subtle flavours.

Ingredients

To make your own Easter biscuits you will need:
  • 75g margarine
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 150g self raising flour
  • 1 egg split into yolk and white
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • 25g currants

Method

Cream the margarine and sugar together in a bowl until smooth and then mix in the egg yolk. Sift the flour and cinnamon into the margarine mix and stir in.

Add the currants and lemon zest and bring the biscuit mix together into a ball. You might need your hands for this bit! Dust a surface with flour and roll the biscuit mix out until about 1/2 a centimetre thick. Cut the biscuits out with a fluted biscuit cutter (Nana says they must not be plain edged!) and put each one onto a greased baking tray. read more

Chicken and Vegetable Pie

By 10 Comments

Chicken and Vegetable Pie mix

This is a perfect recipe for the long Easter weekend break. It’s a celebration of Spring vegetables in the best wrapping of all…pastry. This chicken and vegetable pie is extremely versatile as you can change the vegetables depending on what is in season. It is also great for using up leftovers.

Ingredients

You will need (for one large pie to serve 4-6):

  • 1 whole chicken
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 leek, sliced
  • Knob of butter
  • 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • Handful kale, stalks removed and leaves sliced
  • 1 small glass white wine
  • 300ml double cream
  • 1/2 chicken stock cube
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Salt and pepper
  • Readymade shortcrust pastry
  • 1 egg, for brushing

First of all, roast the chicken at 180C for an hour and a half or until cooked through. If you like, you can stuff half a lemon and half an onion inside the chicken before you cook it to give it extra flavour.  When the chicken is done and cooled down a little remove all the meat and set aside. I had never de-boned a chicken before and I can tell you that once you’ve done it, you’ll never look back. From now on I will always buy a whole chicken and divide it up – it’s so much cheaper. The meat just fell off and I was left with a clean pile of bones and a huge pile of chicken. Chop up the vegetables as the chicken is cooling. 

Start by frying the onion and leek in some butter until softened in a large pan. Add the chicken and fry for a few more minutes. Add the glass of wine and cook until almost completely gone and then add the cream and the chicken stock cube. Add the carrots, kale and bay leaves and season. If it is looking a little dry add some water. Leave the mixture simmering for 10 minutes or until it is as thin or thick as you like it. read more

Granny’s Millionaires Shortbread

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Melting chocolate for shortbread
When I was younger and there was a school holiday I would be with my Granny in her kitchen. We made everything together and it was almost always successful. We still make things together now and my Grandad still sits in the lounge wondering what on earth we will come out of the kitchen with next. He seems happy to be taste tester! We had decided to make millionaires shortbread because I loved it so much and still do. The shortbread went in the oven and the waiting game began as the house filled with delicious smells. We were all licking our lips. The caramel was made all golden and creamy and got spread on top of the shortbread like a blanket. We waited some more. The chocolate was melted and spooned generously out over the top. Some more waiting took place.

With the chocolate set, the kettle was on. The tea was in the pot and the milk in the cups. My Granny had had the foresight to cut the shortbread into pieces before the caramel and chocolate had set and three glorious pieces were put on a plate. 

It is a good thing that neither of my grandparents have false teeth. The hardness of that caramel would have ensured we were finding bits of false enamel in the lounge for months to come. I was at the age where loose teeth were commonplace and I’m surprised I didn’t lose them all with the first bite. We all looked at each other, somewhat relieved at the lack of shattering teeth noises and decided we would give our best efforts to the birds. Who knows how many beaks got broken.  As far as I’m concerned, if my Granny had had a caramel failure then there was no way I could be successful. She has culinary bravery that I know not. However, despite all my concerns I tried it again. 

Ingredients

You will need (for 8 pieces of Millionaire’s Shortbread):
  • 125g margarine or butter
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 50g cornflour
  • 150g plain flour

For the caramel

  • 100g margarine or butter
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp golden syrup
  • 1/4 small can evaporated milk

For the topping

  • 150g dark chocolate

Method 

If you want to play toffee roulette, then here’s how.  You’ll need to beat together the margarine with the caster sugar. When fluffy, sieve in the cornflour and plain flour. Bring it together how you want your shortbread to be. I like mine crumbly so I leave it like big breadcrumbs. Press into a greased tin and bake at 150C for 30-40 minutes. For the dreaded caramel, put the margarine, sugar, golden syrup and evaporated milk into a pan and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the mixture to the boil, (it smells like everything good is happening in the pan) boil it for 10 minutes and do not abandon it. Stir it continuously. It doesn’t matter if the doorbell rings or the dog wants to go out because you’ll feel far worse regret from abandoning your caramel. Be careful as the mixture tends to gain volume with alarming ferociousness. After 7-8 minutes it will darken in colour and you really need to make sure it doesn’t catch at the bottom. 

Perhaps I’m taking the caramel part a little seriously but I wasn’t risking losing my precious gnashers. Spoon the caramel out onto the shortbread base and spread out with the back of the spoon.

Melt yourself some chocolate in a small bowl over some gently simmering water; I went for dark but whatever is your favourite, and pour this on top of the caramel.  read more

Smoked Trout and Potato Salad

By 12 Comments

Local smoked trout
I have been doing many things recently that I have not done before. I recently de-boned a chicken, which I was pretty apprehensive about because it was new to me, but I am pleased to confirm it couldn’t have gone better. This recipe is another example of trying to do something I was thoroughly convinced was complicated and time consuming.  I had never previously bought a whole fish and so I bought two strikingly golden smoked trout from the farmers’ market. I wanted something light and filling and so I made a potato salad where the dressing (I suppose you’d call it) was more trout orientated. 

Ingredients

You will need (for one large bowl of salad):
  • 2 smoked trout
  • 500g potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 250g crème fraîche
  • Wholegrain mustard
  • Fresh tarragon, dill and parsley
  • 1 lemon
  • Salt and pepper

Method

I got home and I unwrapped the trout. I looked at it somewhat diffidently and with remarkable concentration. I lopped the heads off and was relieved that it was at least half complete. How do I take the skin off? By now there was a faint glisten of moisture about my brow. Due to its being gutted my life was made awfully easy. I took the bottom fin and gave it a pull. It was like peeling an orange.

I can’t tell you how simple it was. What I thought would be a right kerfuffle turned out to be one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever done. Once the skin was off, the meat just fell off the bone and I was left with a pile of meat and a complete pile of bones. There were a few strays that I found amidst the pile but I got the blighters. 

During my adventures with the trout, a pan full of potatoes had been merrily bubbling away in the background. Once cooked they were drained and left to cool while the dressing was made.  read more

Venison Burgers, Chips and Purple Sprouting

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It was a picturesque morning when I hopped on the bicycle and cycled to the farmers’ market. On setting off I was very pleased with myself for saving the planet and burning calories at the same time. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and I was thoroughly convinced I was the modern day Snow White. It wasn’t particularly far or mountainous but to say I arrived less than glamorous and somewhat flustered would be an understatement. Let’s just say there was a bumble bee that seemed certain its hive was my nostril.  read more

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