ms-havachat explores the Borough Markets

A few weeks ago, I spent the best part of the day with friends exploring the incredibly interesting and famous foodie haunt of the Borough Market. It was my third or 4th time there, but the first with an experience guide, so was rather excited to see what we would learn.

Ed from Secret Food Tours London was our guide for the morning. With a background in cooking (including a stint in posh foodie heaven of Wolloomloo Bay in Sydney, an old haunt of mine) Ed shared the history of the markets, as well as interesting information about the stallholders businesses, and the food tastings he'd organised for us as well as highlighting the odd streetscape where movies like Bridget Jones was filmed.

Our lovely guide, Ed at the beginning of our tour.
Sadly no vodka or gin, but the bottles of water
he gave us were appreciated.

We met across the road from London Bridge tube station and walked across London Bridge (didn't realise we were crossing the famous bridge until Ed told us cos it' doesn't look like a bridge these days). We paused for a few minutes and listened to the history of the markets (and if you click here, you'll be able to read all about it as there were so much to remember!) before walking down a flight of stairs into the Borough Markets.

Our first food stop was Scotchtails for Scotch Eggs. Having absolutely nothing to do with Scotland, the first Scotch egg was created by Fortum and Mason in 1738 as a healthy snack to eat on the way home after work. They are just as popular today, tho the flavours of Scotcheggs has changed over the years and you can try some really posh ones at the Markets.

(Frustratingly I have lost several photos from the tour - we had incredible fish and chips, donuts, pork sausage rolls on the tour. Ed is happy to personalise the tour based on dietary requirements, allergies or personal likes/dislikes, so don't be shy when asking)

Look for the blue and white sign towards the back of the Markets.

See the huge round loaf in the front row?
Best rye bread!

Bread Ahead is famous for, you guessed it, bread
AND their baking courses!
We stopped and watched a group kneading their dough
while salivating at the international selection of bread in the window.
Check out the website for details on their baking courses. 

What a butcher!
The choice was amazing, and the counter
for take away cooked food was incredible.
Perfect for dinner parties.

You want to know anything about olives, ask these people.
From oils, to pate, to tea, to creams it's all here.
Check out their website here 

The seafood!!
Fresh! Delicious!
The hot fish'n'chips out of paper were scrumptious!

Mrs D's favourite cheese is found here, at the
Drunk Cheese stall. You simply tell him how much to cut and
he expertly slices it off the round. YUM!

Just look at the date!!!!!!!!!!

We finished our Tour here, at the MUG HOUSE, under the
last surviving original arch of London Bridge.
The place is charming and quirky.
We enjoyed a British cheese platter and some wine
before saying thank you to Ed and heading
back to school to pick up kids.

The other interesting aspect of the Markets is it's use in films. Stony Street (between Park and Southwark) was where parts of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was filmed; while Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was filmed on Stony Street too. Paddington, Salmon Fishing in the Yemon, The Golden Compass, and several BBC shows to name a few. The buildings and alley ways, the ol' fashioned style of markets just lends itself to this kind of thing. 

Recognise Bridget Jones' apartment block?
It's a pub on the edge of the Markets.

There's so much to experience at the Borough Markets (and surrounding area) that it really is a great day out in one part of historical London. If you have a flexible itinerary, maybe think about going mid-week to avoid the weekend crowds. It's when the 'locals' do their weekly shop and tourists visit too on their City Breaks. Of course, this lends to the atmosphere, but it's also crazy busy. 

It's a great place to remember to visit and shop at when having dinner parties. Take your shopping bags and a freezer bag, just in case. I'd also recommend a wheelie-style bag or trolley as the shopping can get heavy (wink, wink).

If you're interested, I usually come home with:

A round of rye bread.

A round of grain bread.

Olive paste and other yummy antipasto delights (Borough Olives)

Olive Tea and specialist oils (Oliveology)

Cupcakes (whichever takes my fancy on the day)

Various cheeses (sorry, don't have a favourite)

Sausage rolls (Ginger Pig)

MrsD loves Spice Mountain, Drunk Cheese, Oliveology and Borough Olives.

If I remember the freezer bag with ice bricks (for the train ride home) - fish and meat (again, it just depends on what I'm wanting, so no favourite stall)

For more information about the Borough Markets, click here to go to their website.

If you go to the Markets, please pop onto ms-havachat on Facebook and let me know what you thought. 

With friendship

x

ms-havachat rediscovers shopping at Costco

Have you ever been to Costco?

What did you think?

For expats, Costco, like Ikea is exactly the same the world over, and because of that, memories of past homes and friendships flood back just by seeing the signage. On my drive with MrsC yesterday I bored her with stories of mornings that started at Starbucks, where one mention of "anyone need anything at Costco' resulted in a convoy of cars filled with friends going shopping for the day.

This American retail giant is now a global juggernaut with 674 warehouses (they don't even call them shops) in several countries.

I first experienced Costco when I was in Atlanta many many years ago, staying with friends.

I remember the hugeness of the hanger space this 'supermarket' was housed in; the volume of product; rather than shelves, items were on pallets that were easily moved when emptied and replaced by full ones in a matter of seconds; the range of products from diamond rings to soap; the enormous size things came in.

Why did my girlfriend and her husband need to buy 50 packs of toilet paper at once? Pounds of meat or chicken? Why do you buy a watch or diamond ring from a supermarket and not a jeweller? It was so new and fascinating I still remember it all these years later.

It was too much!

Move forward a few decades and Costco Japan was a saviour for all the US expats (bless Kirkland brand) and westerners alike who preferred certain foods over what was available in the local supermarkets, or because of larger families needed to buy larger sizes than traditional Japanese offerings.

My buddy-family-mum took me to Costco a few weeks after we arrived. The visit was hilarious and it's one shopping experience I will remember f-o-r-e-v-e-r.

We needed a multitude of electrical products (sold everything in Ireland), as well as starting over with fridge/freeze/pantry/laundry products.

I filled two trolleys (see my photo below of the trolley bay and you'll realise just what two Costco trolley worth shopping means) and as it was going thru the checkout out I realised it wasn't fair to try to stuff it all into my new friends car, so separated what could be home delivered and what I needed to take with us (frozen/fridge items)

Well, my new friend forgot to tell me they only took cash ..... I had very little on me and was planning to pay by card which is why I went bonkers p'n'down the isles.

When the total was rung up, I handed my credit card to the cashier who shook her head NO.

It took a few minutes of charades before I understood they didn't take cards, only cash.

I had very little can on me.

Once I made myself understood, the cashier was very understanding and started to put back the more expensive electrical items to reduce the bill to meet my cash; I however, wanted to keep these items and put back the food. We were living in Chinatown so food was not a priority.

She would remove/debit the electrical appliances, and I would put them back and swapped them with food. Eventually someone who spoke English came over to help translate what was happening and why. The cashier laughed with me and allowed me to remove most of the food, pay by cash and we went home .... and ate out for a few more nights til I went again with another friend, this time with cash in hand.

I continued to shop at Costco while living in Japan, and having it home delivered simply because we didn't have a car and it was actually easier to buy things in bulk and leave only fresh food items for the daily/weekly local shop. I honestly haven't missed it at all since leaving.

But I digress .................. and went yesterday with MrsC.

Now, this is NOT an advertisement for Costco, merely a chat about a shopping experience in a few countries and how it is very de javu in experience.

While you can definitely shop in the UK very easily, and supermarkets are competitive, shopping in bulk does save you money and time, and heck, who am I kidding? Costco is just pure retail fun!

Like Ikea, it's amazing what you think you need when you see it.

Here's a pictorial visit to Costco UK - see if you can spot any differences to Costco where you are. I could not find one difference (layout was a bit different, but all-in-all, not much)

MASSIVE shopping carts and
LOTS of them. This was but one area of
carts waiting to be pushed around the store. 

On entering the warehouse I smiled and remembered.
Everything is HUGE! The isles are wider than wide; the products
are stacked high, and there's so much of everything!

Ribbons! I really wanted to buy some, but
I don't need any so I didn't but
WOW, just look at the colours and how pretty they are.

Top Left: One section of Cheese.
Top Right: One section of frozen food.
Bottom Left: Preparing fresh salads and sushi
Bottom Right: Supersize pizza's

Gotta love the stationery isle. I remembered fondly the
packs of coloured paper, and sticker sets and pen sets
I bought for MissM to do craft in Japan.

Not a fan of the lunch menu, but many are as the tables were full
of lunch time noshers.

The famous pallet loads of
paper towel and loo paper.
Small retailers would buy these and decanter them
and sell the packs of 4 individually. 

Yes, we have a slab worth of loo paper and a slab worth of paper towel in the garage; 6 rolls of Scotch tape; totally filled the freezer with food (decantered each slab of meat/chicken into 'meal size' freezer bags - a very good suggestion from MrsP in Japan) amongst other enormous quantities of stuff.

I came home with a whiteboard set for our home office and left behind a plastic floor mat for the chairs to glide on; also decided we didn't need new fry pans, or a tiny pan for the perfect fried egg (at least til next shop)

I thought shopping at Costco was fun cos it was a novelty in Japan but I was mistaken.

It's just pure fun because it's so over the top, expansive, enormous and completely unnecessary on so many levels.

Are you a member of Costco?

What's the craziest thing you've bought there?

Do you buy the loo paper and paper towel?

Any tricks to share?

With friendship
x

ms-havachat travel blog 10: Algarve, Portugal Part II - Food

Wish I'd taken this photo - it shows off Vilamoura Marina so well.

This summer, we spent 10 nights in Vilamoura on the Algarve coast in Portugal. We opted for a two bedroom apartment in the Hilton Vilamoura Golf and Spa Resort so that we could avail ourselves an easy, relaxing breakfast and lunch routine in between sitting/swimming in the pool.

The Hilton provided a courtesy shuttle bus to the Marina from 7pm with 15 minute intervals. Not knowing what was there, but thinking must be good if the hotel is offering this service, off we went.

Vilamoura Marina has the capacity to berth over 1,000 boats. The marina is a C-shape, with hotels, apartments and restaurants completing the area.  There are a few tourist shops selling quality items, and several 'High Street' retailers, and several tour operators selling tickets for everything from cruises, to para-flying, swimming with dolphins, deep sea fishing, golf and more.

As were were there in June, before the annual high season of tourists we probably didn't experience the area at it's best, but I have to say, I'm pleased. I think this place would absolutely heave in summer.

Our first impression as we walked down the stairs, past Haagen-daz ice cream (haven't seen that for years!) was WOW - the boats are super cruisers, majestic in their size and power. The berth areas are locked for security so you can't wander by the boats but merely stand and admire them.

To your left, and to your right, there is restaurant after restaurant after restaurant. We quickly realised every restaurant has an 'inside' seating option and a 'outside' seating option (overlooking marina) which in reality cuts down the number of restaurants we thought there were by half.

The waiting staff, and food runners go back and forth across the crowds as the kitchens are in the 'inside' restaurants - can only imagine what this must be like peak tourist season!

All the restaurants have their menus on display in Portuguese and English. We noticed one or two had French and German menus. Maybe if you asked for other languages you might be offered but as we are mono-lingual we were fine.

The prices are not-so-touristy, but higher than other areas for obvious reasons. We didn't feel once that we had an expensive meal as the service, quality of food, atmosphere etc was great. There was one meal, where MissM ordered chicken and chips and it was clearly from a frozen box and not prepared by Chef.

Here are our highlights, and therefore, our recommendations if you are ever dining here.

Primo Steakhouse. We sat outside, and as soon as the sunset, we realised (a) we need to bring a light wrap or cardigan cos it gets real cool real quick, or (b) sit inside next time. The service was fun. The wait staff were cheeky with MissM who loved the attention. MissMs chicken was so succulent, she ordered a second helping (they were small); G's surf'n'turf was yummy (for some reasons prawns are very expensive, but having them with the lamb not-so), and my beef was cooked to perfection.

As we had burned off heaps of energy in the pool, NO WE DIDN'T - we spent the morning at the medical centre because MissM had hurt her foot in the pool and couldn't walk!!!!!!!!!!! She was fine, thank goodness. The x-rays showed inflammation, so a bandage, medicine and rest and she was good as new.

Getting back to dinner - we had desert. It was, well, look at the photos!

Primo Steakhouse. 

Desert @ Primo

Dinner at La Frigate was nice, it was probably the least favourite of the one's we ate at. Just our opinion. See what I mean about the chicken - those square pieces of food on the bottom left pic. My prawn salad was nice as was the salmon (not sure where G's main meal pic is)

The driver who collected us from the airport recommended a few places for dinner, and this Thai place  was one. It's set back off the marina, out of the rujja-bujja (aka crowds), and the outdoor dining area is set in a courtyard within an apartment complex. All the doors to the apartments overlook the courtyard so I'm not sure eating there in the height of the tourist season would be fun .... might be wrong.  The food was delicious and the only reason there's one food photo is simply because it got very dark very quickly (we ate late this night cos G returned from golf late). The service was quiet and polite, the food was authentic and tasty.

The best meal of ALL was here at TAKU Japanese - wow wow wow.

Best sushi and sashimi we have had since leaving Japan (other than Sakura in Winchester, UK which was pretty awesome). The Chef had trained for 12 years in Germany and was so precise with his placement of the food on the platters it was like watching a dancer perform. His 4 assistant Chefs were masters of their skills too, slicing and placing delicate morsels of food onto beds of rice, or creating a tortoise from strawberries for MissM, complimentary of course. She knows how to milk our time in Japan very well when required.

Had we eaten here first, we'd have not eaten anywhere else for sure. It was absolutely delicious and very reasonably priced.

I can't find the photos of the two meals we had at Mayflower - the grilled sardines for entree were out of this world, as was my monkfish. G didn't need a knife with his steak, it was so soft and buttery; MissM's chicken (she is starting to cluck as she enters puberty) was yummy.

Our second meal there, we opted to sit outside, and G and I shared the Cataplana of mixed fish and shellfish for our main. It was brought to the table in a silver bowl with a dome lid. As soon as the waiter lifted the lid, the most amazing aroma's filled the air, so much so, several diners near us turned to look to see what it was - two tables of diners asked to change their orders!

Not 'our' Cataplana, but you get the idea. 

As always, there are several Irish themed pubs scattered around the Marina, and one or two set back from it.

A few suggestions, if I may if you are ever in this part of the world for dinner. This list was put together by G and I:

• If you are in a group of 6 or more, make a reservation ahead of time, or be prepared to wait. The restaurants are set for tables of 2's, 4's and 6's and work to a high number of covers per evening. I'm sure for later dining you could sit and ponder, but in the high season, it's doubtful.
• Walk around the entire Marina and compete your research of what's on offer, price ranges etc. There are several Indian restaurants for example, and numerous Italian/pizza places, so make sure you choose the one to suit you.
• The restaurants along the 'back' of the Marina, near the hotel tended to be less busy and the atmosphere was completely different. 
• From our observation, kids of all ages are welcome at all restaurants. They are well equipped with high chairs. It's difficult to get the prams/strollers into the 'outside' dining areas as you are pretty squashed in so indoor dining would be your best option tho we did see the staff take a couple of prams from parents and put them inside for safe-keeping.
• Talking of safe keeping we felt very safe on the Marina, and didn't hear anything negative about it, but again, best keep your wits, especially in high tourist season. 
• Take something to wrap around shoulders as once the sun sets, it's very cool.

We thoroughly enjoyed our evening stroll along the Marina before and after our meals.

Hope you do too.

With friendship
x

What? NO NUTS????????????

A couple of friends have recently posted questions and comments onto FB about how to deal with their little ones starting school and keeping them safe in terms of their food allergies.

The kids know they are allergic, and to ask questions and not share food, or eat someone else's lunch.

But still - we want to keep our kids safe especially when the consequences can be so harmful, life threatening in some cases.

My cousin, who is in his early 30's has a serious allergy to nuts. He's been hospitalized several times AS AN ADULT when a waiter in a restaurant has assured him 'no nuts' and they were wrong.

Mum is allergic to kiwi fruit - even the knife that's cut the kiwi fruit if it touches other fruit will set her off. My brother, to oats. Cheese used to make me sneeze but thank goodness I grew out of that one.

MrsH is allergic to strawberries and frangapani's. She won't have either in the house. We don't serve strawberry anything while she visits with us.

I can't drink red wine (shame, eh?) but port is fine (yeah). Friends are welcome to drink as much red wine as they like, and I'm very happy with my white or Prosecco.

MissM's friend is allergic to dairy. We simply made sure when she visited, we had non dairy foods for EVERYONE to eat, not just her. In fact, for MissM's birthday party, the birthday cake was non dairy, as was all the party food. MissG said it was the first party besides her own that she could eat all the food with the kids, and not have a 'special plate' waiting for her.

It was easy to organize.

Another buddy has an epipen and her mum gave me a quick lesson in how to use it. OK. Probably won't ever have to, but hey just in case now I know.

Easy.

Another friend of ours is allergic to Fish - so guess what? When they come over, we don't eat fish.

I hosted a coffee morning for the IWCD, and one lady mentioned she'd love to come but needed gluten free food. So, I bought a couple of packs of gluten free cookies which we all shared, served a platter of fruit, and cheese'n'crackers. No one knew any differently.

We've had house guests who are vegetarian, pescatarian - doesn't matter so long as we know, we'll shop and cook accordingly.

It's really easy to be considerate of friends needs without it impacting on you.

We eat all the fish we want when our friend's not with us.

MissM has lashings of strawberry jam on her toast, when her godmother isn't visiting.

We eat dairy, just not when MissG visits.

It's easy and the right thing to do.

MissM's schools have all been nut free zones.

In fact, her school in UK had photos of the kids with allergies, and their specific one/s hanging on the walls of the kitchen and dining rooms at school so that EVERYONE was aware. All meals were prepared and served by school, for everyone. Even the kids with allergies did not have dispensation. School was a nut free zone, but dairy and gluten etc were omitted from specific kids meals.

MissM's current school is a nut free zone, and has also banned crisps, popcorn, sweet drinks, soda pops, lollies, chocolate and breakfast bars from home made lunches. They have a canteen that serves hot food and it's a healthy kitchen. The only thing that we've had to stop putting into MissM's home made lunches are the odd serving of popcorn (organic of course) and the handy snack bar. But apparently some parents went bonkers!

It astounds me that 'some' people find it shocking that THEY should pack a different lunch when it's not their kid who has the allergy?

What are we teaching our kids?

We are the role models here - by showing consideration of others, by thinking of our friends needs, by being a good friend, caring for others and yes, sometimes even putting ourselves last is way more important than a nut.

With friendship
x

School Lunches AAAAAGHHHHHHHHHH

School lunches.

The bane of most mums (and some dads) daily routines.

Just before the end of every school term, friends start talking about how they will not miss the rush in the mornings, of nagging 'eat your breakfast' or 'pack your bag' and the biggest of all - thinking what healthy, enticing lunch to pack.

A few weeks later, it's reversed, parents start to chat about 'early mornings' and 'hope homework is better this term' or 'what after school activities are your kids doing' and the big one 'what lunch ideas do you have, I'm so bored with what I'm giving the kids'

Now, to be fair, I haven't had to make MissM's lunch for most of her school career, so far.

At Montessori, she had meals and snack provided, and most days she hardly ate anything cos it was all healthy home made stuff on the premises, full of vegetables and meat. I still have some of the daily sheets the pre-schools complete so I know how little she ate at lunch time. She ate at morning and afternoon tea break time!

For the three years in Japan, MissM loved having Kapa maki (cucumber nori), edamame (soy beans), a vegimite sandwich, nori sheets, fruit for lunch, as well as the occasional chicken in honey'n'soy with rice in a food thermos, or spag bol. For some reason, home made lunches were easy to prepare, healthy and there was seldom a problem other than maybe being repetitive (but MissM never complained)

UK, we experienced Dinner Ladies. They heated up lunches prepared by the Chefs at Winchester College, and cut up fruit and biscuits for morning snack. If the kids didn't want the hot lunch (which MissM seldom did) there was a salad, cold meat, cheese and a bread roll. I think MissM lived on ham'n'cheese on a roll for the best part of her time at school there. They stopped her eating tomatoes cos she only sucked the juice out, leaving the skin behind. They said that was wasteful (which I guess it is, but she was eating tomatoes so I didn't care). She did learn to like their curry and apparently their spaghetti cabonarra was better than mine.

We're back to home made lunches again and like most of us, try to make it healthy and interesting on a daily basis.

MissM has the fanciest of lunch boxes, in various sizes and compartment combinations. They are color co ordinated, with a small knife'n'fork set, and a chopstick set. They get carried in a cute pink with white polka dots lunch bag; there's even flat ice packs to keep things cool.

Like most of us, I know WHAT constitutes a healthy lunch but getting MissM to EAT IT is another story altogether.

Here's a few links to the latest blogs, links and websites to healthy school lunches.

We're Not to Over Carb the kids lunch boxes says Susie Burrell, and we all agree.

Natural New Age Mum blogger gives us no less than 30 Ideas for the kids lunch boxes which means we can repeat and mix up the combo's all term and never repeat one!

The Organised Housewife has tips for e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g, some are very cool for organisational freaks like me, while some are 'Really? People don't know that?' (She's clearly doing something brilliantly cos she's an amazing following.) Her lunch box ideas are worth a peek.

I LOVE this recipe from The Organized Housewife. Will be making them for next week's lunches.

I'm sure there's many more helpful blogs and books out there.

MissM's current school bans nuts, oats, breakfast cereal bars, chocolate, sweet biscuits, crisps, popcorn, and a few other things from school lunches in the junior school. There's a canteen/cafeteria which provides a hot lunch daily for Euro5, but MissM's not keen.

I'm quite satisfied that we'd pass the Healthy Lunch Box Inspectors with flying colours; not too sure about the Variety Inspectors, even tho MissM has input each morning into that inane question "what would you like for lunch today honey?"

My issue is not with WHAT to put into MissM's lunchbox every single day, but how to get her to EAT it! In Japan, I offered to come sit with her at lunchtime to help her, you can imagine how well that we received.

MissM is so honest! She brings home every uneaten piece of food she's given in the morning. Mandarins will come home in their unbroken skin; rockmelon (cantaloupe) slices will be sticky by the time they come out of the bag in the afternoon; cheese sticks are slimy ....... half eaten bread rolls or wraps are well, half eaten. It all goes in the bin; we talk about wasting food and money ...... she says sorry, but I just wasn't hungry or I ran out of time.

She loved her Kapa Maki left overs on Monday!

Putting this all into perspective for a minute, she seldom comes home ravenous (even when her lunch boxes are still full), and snacks on cream cheese'n'crackers. If lunch isn't eaten there's no crisps for afternoon tea. She has a sweet tooth like G, but we manage it.

She pretty much always has a good dinner, til I see what her friends eat when they come over and even they can't believe her lack of vegie intake. She sits there like a wise old lady and says 'my dad doesn't eat them either and he's fine'

Any tips (beyond the obvious) on how to actually get the fresh, home made, healthy, beautifully presented lunch box meals into her mouth while at school would be most helpful.

With friendship
x

Cooking Brings Back Memories

I'm not a great cook, tho I do enjoy cooking.

I have to follow a recipe. I'm useless 'creating' something from nothing.

I don't cook like I used to, unless we are having a dinner party as G doesn't eat vegetables or salad.

I'll wait while you process that.

(waiting)

(waiting)

(waiting)

He eats everything else.

When I make lamb shanks or lamb shoulder casserole in the slow cooker (which I do often in winter), I still pop in all the vegetables - we just serve his thru a sieve to remove the vegies. He has a bowl of mash (he makes THE BEST mash) and meat'n'sauce. I get all the vegies :)

If we stir fry, which we can't do now we have an induction hob (which I don't like at all); we'd cook up the meat or chicken or prawns .... he'd set his serving aside and toss my vegies .... then regroup them in the wok for a few seconds and serve my bowl.

His plate is always the plainest.

When we're out it can be difficult for him to eat, but I figure he's a grown man, a father, holds a very senior position at work - man up!

All this means is our day-to-day cooking is simple and repetitive. I have oodles of lovely cookbooks which don't get used because there is ALWAYS a vegetable ingrediant of some sort in the recipe.

YES I KNOW I could cheat .... and I did once. And it backfired on me big time. So no more.

The sort of cooking I relish is that of recipes friends have shared with me.

I've just cooked MrsS chocolate roulade which I do every Christmas since she showed a group of us in MrsP's kitchen in Yokohama how. It's an easy cake to make, and delicious but what I love about it more than that is every year I get to relive that afternoon amongst friends in Yokohama.

We also cook MrsS pancakes for breakfast when we have guests.

I cook MrsP scones too often as they are quick'n'easy and delicious with cream and jam when guests pop over for a cuppa.

MrsA's artichoke dip is a winner every time I make it, tho the ingredients make a HUGE bowl, I don't make it often. I'm not that good a cook I can work out how to make a smaller batch.

Mum makes a scrumptious, thick lemon chicken which was originally lemon veal in a cookbooks many many years ago. We love it over mash, or with rice (and it's even better the next day once the sauce thickens naturally).

My SIL's rum balls are the best and I've yet to master the art of making them, but each Christmas I try (tho not this year. G doesn't like them, and as we've not been invited out I didn't even make them as gifts as I've done in previous years)

My cooking folder is full of friends salad ideas, dips, Japanese meals and more.

Funnily enough I have quite a few friends who are chefs, or cooking teachers, or worked in food. I just discovered MrsH who I met just before we both left Winchester (she for Istanbul) is a foodie with a blog. Check it out.

There were lots of cooking demonstrations of different cultures both in Dublin and Yokohama which were always fascinating - the tastes, colours, flavors. I did a few cooking lessons while living in Winchester and really enjoyed them, tho don't cook a lot from them as G won't eat what I learnt.

Monday Morning Cooking Club is purely based on this idea of cooking bringing back memories, and that most recipe's handed down come with their own story.

The Kugelhopf cake in the book reminds me of afternoon teas at my great aunts house in Sydney when I was a little girl.

French Palmier biscuits, remind me of lazy Sunday afternoons at friends of mum and dads, but their pool with the French community.

MrsR is cooking her traditional Christmas lunch the way she's always done it. She makes her own stuffing and asks the butcher to do whatever he does with the turkey WITH her stuffing. She doesn't cook it any other time of the year (much like me and the roulade) which makes it extra special.

I guess it's like chicken soup with matzo balls, you could have it any time, but you don't.

We all have food memories.

What are yours?

With friendship
x

Secrets of Fiibs?

It all started this morning when I made MissM a smoothie for breakfast.

None of us are breakfast eaters, tho of course we all know it is the most important meal of the day. I struggle to be a breakfast role model, sitting with MissM while she eats as I am just no in the mood for food five minutes after I've woken up. Let me wait an hour or so, and take me to a cafe and I'll thoroughly enjoy a cooked breakfast, or give me a buffet in a hotel and I'm suddenly starving.

MissM doesn't do too badly; her breakfast selection ranges from cereal (Crunchy Nut like G), or French Toast (one way to get egg into her as she thinks fried eggs are for dinner and scrambled go with bacon), toast with either smoked salmon, or cheese and tomato or strawberry jam (we love the St Dalfour brand, if you haven't tried it, you must) or a couple of pots of yoghurt.

She's a 'bit bored' with these and asked me to think of new things for breakfast. Gotta love the faith she has in my culinary skills.

Yesterday I remembered we had a blender - so I offered to make a smoothie.

I thought, here's my chance to sneak in a few good things without her knowing. Foods that will give her energy and sustainence til her 11.15am break at school. I dropped in a raw egg, a packet of probiotics (which she used to drink with juice but now reckons tastes yukky), Greek Style yoghurt, a banana, milk and orange juice.

She gulped it down!

Mama this is the best smoothie ever. What's your secret ingredient?

OH NO!?  What do I do.

If I tell her the truth she'll never drink another home made smoothie again and if I lie .... well, what's a white lie between mother and daughter when it comes to nutrition.

So, I did what any mum would do and fibbed. I told MissM a tiny weeny little white lie. Afterall it's for her own good - "it's a secret honey"to which she responded, I know one is love, but what's the other?

AWWWWWWW my heart melted. One is love. How sweet is that?

When MissM left to go upstairs to get ready for school G, who was sitting at the kitchen table finishing off a report asked me what my secret ingredient was.

Now here is where it became tricky. You see, a few years ago, all in the name of encouraging a healthier diet at home, I added secret ingredients to G's schnitzel one dinner.

Jessica Seinfeild, Jerry's wife, published a cook book that was making headlines at all the playgroups, and Montessori's across the world - even Oprah raved about  it.

Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets To Get Your Kids Eating Well.

It had all sorts of mummy-sneaky recipes to get vegetables and 'grown up' foods into little bodies.

So like every other first time mum who home cooked practically everything for her first born, I bought the book with a vision of being as organic and wholesome as possible.

Things like beetroot chocolate cake, banana and linseed muffins, home made muesli's and breads and so much more. I thought, if I could sneak, or rather add Deceptively Delicious things to the food we ate, it would get vegetables and salads into my two (G does not eat either .... never has, never will. End of story)

There was a recipe for schnitzel with a few extra ingredients which I thought Id' try ..... pureed spinach, organic plain yoghurt and linseed.

The coating was a little bit greener than usual, but I thought I'd pretend I spilt LOADS of Italian herbs into the mixture and rather than wasting it continued cooking.

No way was I going to fool G. He ate it. Said it didn't taste as delicious as my usual schnitzel (there and then I knew I was busted)  and asked me what was different about it. I gave him the rehearsed Italian Herb story. He said I should have thrown it away and started again as it was only herbs and flour.

While we were clearing up together, he hugged me and thanked me for dinner. I'll never EVER forget what he said next. He whispered in my ear that he loved me and that I was to never ever lie to him about what's in his food ever again.

Now it sounds way more serious than it was, but it cut me to the core. Soon enough we both laughed as I knew I'd been busted, and he knew his whisper and accusation was rather  dramatic. I remember crying and laughing as he accused me of lying to him, which I guess I did was awful.

This morning the story came back to haunt me as G smiled at me and said, so now you're lying to our daughter about her food just like you did to me with the schnitzel all those years ago.

NO WAY did he remember!

NO WAY was I being accused of that again ..... I am merely looking out for their well being, ensuring as often as possible they are eating as well as I can afford to provide for them.

I didn't lie to her at all ..... I simply didn't tell her what was in it, cos she'd never drink it again if she knew.

When he saw how devastated I was with his joke he apologised but it made me think - is it OK as a mum (or dad) to fib/lie/bend the truth/omit the facts for the good of our kids?

I think it is, tho what happens when/if they ever find out? Do we loose their trust?

How old are you before you understand their are different kids of lies, and some are way more acceptable than others?

For now a little white lie over breakfast won't hurt anyone other than me as G teases me.

With friendship
x

School Lunches

While all school aged kids need a school lunch, it seems there are many ways of actually getting one.

We've experienced school lunches since Montessori.

In Japan, it was lunch from home, with the option to buy food and drinks at the cafeteria. Each student was issued with a 'card' which had money added to it and each purchase was then debited. Parents could go online and manage what the kids spent on a daily basis, or nominate they could only access food to a min amount each day/week; you could note allergies, or stipulate vegies or fruit with every meal.

In UK, lunch ladies provided a hot and cold option every day in the dining room.

So, the generic term school lunches means different things to different people depending on where you're from. Then you have WHAT people have for lunch. One friend in Yokohama shares the daily bento box she lovingly creates for her daughter. The creativity is amazing!

Not one of my friends, but close enough!

It's been a while since I've made a school lunch and to be honest, the thought wasn't very attractive. Coming up with different ideas for dinner every night is stressful enough at times, but to think of lunches too, OY!

MissM's enjoyed school lunches for the past two years - as have I. With positive peer pressure, she's tried lots of foods, liked some (curry, spaghetti cabonarra), not liked others (casseroles, lasagna), but the importance was she tried them. Each week was different, tho there were meals often repeated so favorites would turn up. There was also a salad bar, and a bread roll waiting for those kids who didn't want a hot meal and this was MissM's preferred option most of the time.

One of her criteria for school selection in moving to Dublin was 'home made lunches' and so with that in mind, I started reminding myself of the things I used to make for lunch, remembering of course, the last time I had to make school lunches we was in Yokohama so a packet of Nori was brilliant for snack/recess/morning tea; and lunch was anything from a Vegemite sandwich to sushi to noodles to schnitzel.

Her 'new' school provides hot lunches in a cafeteria style setting. You pre-purchase 'tickets' and present the ticket at the cafeteria; or you can bring lunch from home and everyone eats together.

The supermarkets here, as I'm sure elsewhere promote HEALTHY LUNCHBOX IDEAS in a lot of the isles, tho the amount of unhealthy, sugar filled options have me wondering the Healthy bit.

A friends posted a link to healthy lunches on her FB page, and as I read it, I remembered all the easy ways to keep school lunches as healthy as ones at home, so there's really no big deal about them.

With a new set of lunch plastic ware with easy clip-lock sides; and a pink polka dotted lunch bag MissM was ready!

We sat down and discussed ideas for snack time, and lunch. I figured if she has input, there's a greater chance it'll be eaten! When I was her age I was making my lunch and my brothers! Guess with no siblings, this won't be happening but soon enough she can start making her own.

Trust me, we didn't come up with anything extra special or unique, but it's a good healthy list of a variety of foods that are easily packed into a lunch box.

We found Nori.
We have Vegemite.
I made schnitzel.
There's rice crackers, sultana's, croissants, fresh fruit.
A choice of bagel, wrap, crackers or bread.
Cheese sticks, yoghurt tubes, fruiche, and smoothie drinks.

Come winter time, and we can add soup, or soy chicken and noodles in a thermos to the list (so says MissM)

MissM won't starve, and soon enough she can start making her own lunch and let me off the hook.

Now, what to have for dinner ......................

With friendship
x

Food Heaven and a Little Bit of Home

Some days are simply memorable for nothing more than it was shared with a friend doing something lovely.

Today was one of those days.

Some days you do something, or eat a food, or smell a smell, or hear a song that resonates so deeply it reminds you of home (or MrsP in Yokohama)

Today was one of those days.

MrsW has always wanted to eat at Otteolenghi. She cooks from his books all the time, and wanted to try his dishes for herself. It was so lovely to share this experience, especially as it's one of the last times we'll be together here.

We made good use of the hour and a half it took to get there by public transport and walking but it was so worth it.

MrsW is one of the few friends here who I can really laugh with - belly laugh out loud laughs.

When we saw the window display at Ottolenghi we both gasped. What food!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The meringues were HUGE.

The flourless chocolate cakes looked decadent.

The mini pavlova's were not mini.

The salads were so colorful.

We were seated at the long communal table by a very handsome waiter with a twinkle in his eye and the most gorgeous smile.

MrsW said 'that's very pretty' and I said 'yes, he is' however she was referring to the pattern the barista had created with the foam on my cappuccino, not the waiter. We laughed out loud, too loud we think from some of the looks we got from other diners.

I've never liked communal tables in restaurants/cafes, and today confirmed it again. We were seated opposite one another, second in from the end. Next to us was a mother/daughter/baby in a buggy; on the other side was a couple sharing a quick lunch between meetings. We were all chatting across the table to our respective friend, yet the conversations mingled.

When our meals came, we simply stopped talking!

I enjoyed a semi dried tomato, olive, fetta cheese tart with a potato salad with dill, lemon juice and samphire and aubergine with curry yoghurt.

MrsW had a curried piece of chicken, the aubergine salad and pumpkin, pine nuts and yoghurt.

The fresh food selection for eat-in
and take away

MrsW's pumpkin salad

I'm not sure which bits kicked off the memories of dining out'n'about in Sydney; was it the potato salad with pickled cucumbers, or the pumpkin and yoghurt salad? The selection of incredible cakes, akin to the cake shop in Plumber Road, Rose Bay .... or simply the fact that Ottolenghi presents fresh, Mediterranean foods that ooze goodness like the cafes up from Bondi Beach? 

THere wasn't a bagel or smoked salmon in sight, but Ottolenghi also reminded me of family dinners, with Israeli influences (not that my family is Israeli) of tahini, cous cous, fritters and more.

I just had to buy one of his cook books!

With friendship

x