I have another cold (boo hiss).  This means I need comfort food , something from childhood like fishfingers and mash or tomatoe soup.

With perfect forward planning or premoniton this Saturday,  I made some salt fish croquettes ready to heat through today.  I have been looking for something to do with the salt fish and with a free Saturday cookings I love making fishcakes you can make large batches and freeze for later , it meditatively messy making them and they always come out looking so picture perfect.

Once heated through in the  to re-crisp I ate these crunchy salty spicy bits were  ate them with mushy peas and tartar sauce, but I think that mashed potatoes,  ketchup or a spicy chilli sauce would also work well.

This is really a store cupboard meal, with a bit of forward planning . Even the peas are dried in the same aisle as the peas and also requiring steeping overnight like the fish, the tartar sauce is made with gerkins and capers.

Salt Fish Croquettes in Tartar Sauce

Makes 10 big croquettes

100g of salt white fish soaked for 12 hours in water , and chopped into small pieces
200g of potatoes peeled
2 tbsp of paprika
1 tbsp of chopped parsley
2 slices of bread
2 eggs

1. Boil the potatoes until soft
2. Meanwhile toast the bread and process into breadcrumbs
3. The mash with the cod, one egg,  parsley & 1 tbsp of  paprika
4. Leave to cool , then form into two heaped tablespoons sized croquettes
5. Beat the egg on a plate , on another plate mix the  breadcrumbs with the remaining tablespoon of paprika
6. First place the croquette in the egg then the breadcrumbs
7. Bake in the oven at 200degC for 15 minutes, these can be eaten immediately  left to cool and re-fridgerated or frozen to be re-heated later

Tartar Sauce

3 large gerkins finely chopped
1 tbsp of capers finely chopped
1/2 tbsp of fresh parsley chopped
1 tbsp of mayonnaise
Squeeze of lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix together the ingredients and refridgerate

Dried Peas
150g of dried peas
2 pints of vegetable stock

Soaked overnight ,  simmered in vegetable stock until soft approx 1 hour

People say that there are a lot of chillies used in south indian not according to my taste buds there aint. Me being a South African Indian our cooking is spicy and hot. Me I put a lot of chilli powder in my cooking. So much so I developed an immunity to cooked chilli powder. During my recent travels into south India. i felt weird I couldn’t put my finger on it was like a dark cloud was floating around my head.

Sitting fo lunch at a restaurant I made a brave order for pepper mutton. The first bit was a horror. MY GOD!!! I never had something that hot ever. i put on a brave face and took the dish on. Sweat dripped down my face my mouth felt like it was full of hot coals but I soldiered on. then my face went numb for a second followed my face starting to feel like it’s buzzing. I took like a man I went on. then suddenly it hit me. A high 10X better than any high I got drinking I haven’t felt that good in ages. after that dish I felt alive then realised that I was suffering from chilli withdrawal  in india. it made me appreciate the spicy Durban masala which we I took for granted before that.

I LOVE Soba noodles, Marty HATES them, sigh. Last night I was sick so I wanted an asianish soupy dish. This is not that, I got distracted when I started cooking and started cooking something different, but this dressing is quite nice.

Soba noodles

Salmon – seasoned

Corriander – chopped.

Julienne of mixed veges eg capsicum, shallot, asparagus, cucumber, diakon radish

Asian Dressing:

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 chillies

2 cloves of garlic

1/3 cup sesame oil

2 tbs palm sugar

1 lemon juiced

Cook the noodles. Drizzle with vege oil and set aside.

Sear salmon (I like rare).

Assemble straight away with noodles on the bottom of plate, then handful of vegies, then the salmon.

Top with asian dressing and coriander.

I sometimes like to heat up the dressing and water it down a bit so it is soup like. If I do this I also lightly saute the vegies.

‘Cooking is not about being the best or most perfect cook, but rather it is about sharing the table with family and friends’

The quote above, which I completely agree with, comes from Skye Gyngell’s latest offering, ‘My Favourite Ingredients’. The book was released in hardback last year; however, it has just been released in paperback. I have been very lucky and have received a copy to review from Quadrille Publishing.

My first impressions when I received the book were excellent. The layout and the photography are beautiful and it is well written, with simple and clear recipes. The quote above struck a chord with me, as that is how I feel about cooking. Cooking does not need to be complicated or turned into a work of art; cooking is simply about sharing food with your family and friends and having a good time.

The book has lots of sections in it. Each one dedicated to one of Skye’s favourite ingredients, which include; garlic, olive oil, cheese, fish and shellfish, and nuts. Recipe highlights from the book include; monkfish and coconut with curry leaves and lime, fried egg with sage, chilli and garlicky yoghurt, and chocolate and hazelnut cake. 

I believe the only way you can review a cookbook properly is by actually cooking a recipe from it. I could just tell you about how beautiful the book is, but if it’s not going to help you in the kitchen, then there is not much point. You need to know if the recipes actually work and I can now tell you, that the one I tried, does.

I decided to cook chicken with fennel and garlic, as it looked quite simple and all the ingredients are in season at the moment.  I adapted the recipe slightly as it was designed for 4 people and it was only the two of us. Instead of a whole chicken, I used boned chicken thighs and halved the quantities of everything else. I also added a small bit of water in to make more stock to cook the chicken in. I cooked mine in the oven and make it a bit thicker than the book suggests in the picture.

The original recipe (reproduced in full with permission from Quadrille Publishing) is below. Overall, it is a very simple and straightforward dish to make. It is excellent dish to make at this time of the year, with the continuing cold and wet weather. Stuart described it as ‘excellent winter grub to warm you up on cold day’.  Please have a go at making the dish and let me know how you get on and if the recipe works for you, as well as it did for me.

If you would like to purchase the book, you can get it from Amazon here.

Many thanks to Mark at Quadrille Publishing for sending me the review copy. It is much appreciated.

Chicken with Garlic and Fennel

Ingredients

• 1 organic free range chicken, about 1.4kg, jointed into 8 pieces
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 dried red chilli
• 1 tsp saffron threads
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 2 fennel bulbs, trimmed and fibrous outer layer removed
• 250ml white wine
• 2 x 340g jars (or tins) good quality peeled plum tomatoes
• Pared zest of 1 orange
• 3 bay leaves
• 5 thyme sprigs
• 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (optional)

Method

Season the chicken well all over with salt and pepper. Put the olive oil into a flameproof casserole (large enough to hold all the ingredients comfortably) and place over a medium heat. When hot, brown the chicken in batches, turning to colour them all over- they should look really golden and pleasing to the eye. Once browned, remove the pieces and set aside. Pour off any excess fat from the casserole, leaving around 1 tbsp or so.

In a separate pan, gently warm the fennel and coriander seeds until they release their fragrance, then tip into a mortar and pound with the pestle to grind finely.

Add the onions to the casserole and cook over a low heat until sweet and translucent, about 5 minutes. Crumble over the chilli and add the ground spices, saffron and garlic. Season with a good pinch of salt and a little pepper, and stir well to combine. Cut the fennel bulb into quarters and add to the pan.

Pour in the wine, turn up the heat a little and let it bubble and reduce for a minute or so, then add the tomatoes. Return the chicken to the pan and add the orange zest and herbs. Turn the heat down and put the lid on the casserole. Cook very gently for 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and started to fall off the bone.

Taste and adjust the seasoning. If you’re like me, you’ll want to add a splash of extra virgin olive oil to bring the whole dish together. Serve with bread – or something else to mop up the delicious juices.

Until next time,

Happy Cooking!

I am so tired, I feel like I’ve been going, going, going since I left earlier today to workout. I ran 3 miles and walked one on the track at the gym then came home and made a big salad for lunch because I was starving! It was made of a spinach/romaine mix, green peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, carrot sticks, a scoop of supremely spicy hummus, and some balsamic vinegar. It was delicious, and I actually got a picture of it today before I devoured it. Then I finished it all off with an orange (no picture, sorry) but you can imagine what it looked like!

then I was off for a coffee date with my old roommate, whom I hadn’t seen in so long. It was great to finally catch up with her, but while I was on my way to meet her at the coffee shop she called and suggested we just hang out at her house instead which worked out just fine for me because it meant I got to lounge on one of her couches for 2 hours…awesome! After leaving I went straight home to cook dinner for the roommate and myself before we went out for our friends birthday dinner. (I know, I know cooking a meal before going to dinner but we’re cheap and didn’t wanna pay to eat out) I made a delicious turkey chili with a half pound of honeysuckle white ground turkey breast,half a bag frozen onion and pepper blend, a can of chunky rotel diced tomatoes, and a can of hunts tomato sauce.  I seasoned it all with a heaping amount of chili powder and it came out great with just enough spice. I didn’t get a picture because we had to pack it up and take it on the road with us to eat over at our friends house. Then we went with the boys out to Mexican where of course I had to indulge in some chips and salsa. We can just call that dessert for tonight.

Now I’m back home, extremely exhausted and ready for bed…so see you tomorrow!

Tonight we had dinner at Abu and Gna’s. Abu made his, by now classic, Mexican vegan chilli. Gna complemented the meal with roasted sweet and regular potatoes and fennel salad. Good times!

Orale, cabron! Pinches vegetales, carnal!

Me enchile la lengua, pinche guey!

Tonight we had dinner at Abu and Gna’s. Abu made his, by now classic, Mexican vegan chilli. Gna complemented the meal with roasted sweet and regular potatoes and fennel salad. Good times!

Orale, cabron! Pinches vegetales, carnal!

I have been keeping a close eye recently on Chillimena (my chilli plant!) as she has been showing signs of re-growth! Very exciting for me as I grew her from seed. She produced a great crop last year and I hope she manages to do the same this year.

She was living outdoors until the winter months and since then she has just been sitting on my window sill. I really wasn’t sure if she would crop again this year but fingers crossed all is looking well! I am planning to keep her indoors for a few more months until the chance of frost has completely gone.

To give her a better chance of growing I have cut back her old branches to make sure that all the water and light give energy to the new sprouts!

My chocolate mint is also showing signs of re-growth! I had read that mint will take over any soil it is given and keep on growing. This didn’t really happen last year, even though I did get a good crop, the mint didn’t really take to the ground. That is not the case now! I think she has about 14 baby mint shoots in total!!

Ever seen a dog eat fiery hot chillies? Yeah… me neither, they gulp them so quick you don’t actually see them eat anything. Two large chillies disappeared from the bowl I had been putting them into whilst picking them from my plants. Missy licked my face. “Why on earth do you smell like… Ohmahgawd! Hey, Jay, JAY! Missy ate two Jalapeno’s! Is that bad for dogs?” Guess not, cos she’s doing just fine. When I cleaned up her business this morning I found the remnants of my chillies in there. For a dog that likes to chew through tin, wood, plastic and the edge of the shovel I really shouldn’t worry if she eats a few chillies. Missy is officially nine weeks old today, she’s grown a lot since I got her at six weeks, she’s learnt a lot too. In the last day she’s really picked up on how Jay and I don’t like her chasing Spikey. She stops as soon as we say so. I’m pretty pleased with her for restraining herself, its made a difference with Spikey and he’s more likely to stick around. Bloody wuss cat. She’s getting into the swing of going for “walkies”, following my lead rather than insisting on hanging around for ages sniffing at a leaf or inspecting a drain. Treats really help, I’ve taken to stuffing the bag in my pocket and crunching it for motivation and if she’s really interested in sniffing that pole, I’ll coax her away with a tasty liver snack. She’s a big hit with the renovators and painters, they love her. Personally I think she’s an attention seeker and loves young men giving her a pat. Being a brindle Staffy she tends to scare little children and older people because she looks rough and tough.

I picked up a metre of red chip mulch from Fulton’s today. $70 bucks for a ute load is a great price, much cheaper than buying it bagged. I’m not looking forward to spreading it all. Its bad when its a warm day, but spreading mulch on a cold day is a pain in the rear, it means I have to kneel down in the mud. The weather has been unseasonably cool, its rained on and off since yesterday and whilst I’m glad for the rain it makes gardening with a curious dog a very muddy business. My secret courtyard is looking really good. As soon as Jay has finished leveling out the area he’s going to pave I can move the bbq out of the courtyard and to the patio. As the plants grow I’ll have my own hidden area where I can take the laptop outside, play wow, read and sun-bake. Bright Chillies in pots, Brugmansia’s providing shade, the scent of herbs on the wind and me reclining in a chair with a cool drink and Missy at my feet. Its a nice daydream, a good motivator to get the garden finished.

Last night I raided 25man ICC content with my guild. I picked up a new pair of pants and enough badges to grab a second piece of tier gear , haven’t decided what to get yet. I’ve got my 261 chest and will probably grab the helm 258 helm (why, oh why did blizz think rogues would like a sack over their heads? Cos dude, they knew we were going to hang ourselves when we got hit with the nerf stick again). Since I haven’t played other than to raid I’m flat broke and need to do some quests to get enough gold to buy gems and chants for my gear IMO blizz needs to reward raids in more gold for downing bosses. 8g a boss and all the gold I earn in a run is spent on repairs. Ergh, I need to stop qqing about how rogues got nerfed again. Its annoying for me at the moment because my gear level is lower than Nith and I hate being 8th or 9th on recount when I was previously 1st or 2nd, dps and damage are so dependent on having top gear in ICC. I still love the game, I wish to hell rogues had more utility.

Still, it is interesting playing a muti spec rogue after years of combat spec. I still go combat for the first three fights in ICC and for the trash pulls up to Festergut and Rotface. The rogue nerfage really gets me down, the only time I can hit top of the dmg meters is in static fights with Nith and I tricking each other on each cd. I often feel less of a player as the blizz forums are constantly filled with drivel about how OP rogues are. Its not a faceroll class, yet its nearly impossible to pull good numbers in average gear. This smacks of BC-ism, where a class was solely dependent on their gear rather than player ability. Bah, enough of that. I had a good night raiding last night. We nearly got down the blood council, there were a few people that hadn’t done it yet so our coordination wasn’t top shit. I’m only a thousand or so off getting exalted with The Ashen Verdict. Taking three weeks off raiding was a good lifestyle option, but not a good raiding option. I sincerely hate being beaten on dps and will have to put up with it until I can get more gear.

Jay’s got a surprise when he comes home, I planted out his mini veggie patch with strawberries, lettuce and marigolds to keep the bugs at bay. I hope he likes it. (Oh and I decided to mix the vermiculite in with the soil mix rather than creating a layer of it, its water retention properties are probably better served mixed in the soil where they can release it to shallow rooted vegetables rather than a layer deep in the box.)

I think it’s nice when you haven’t seen certain friends for a while just to go and hang out doing normal kinds of things.  Since I’ve left college I’ve not seen much of Julie or Dave and the other day we met up to go buy accessories for the Cobra Starship gig on Sunday, yay!

I was meeting them in Central, but I arrived a bit early and decided I was hungry and in the mood for a burger, naturally I had to go to burger king   My throat’s been a bit sore again so I ordered a bottle of water with my burger and discovered I got free fries with them but I was served as a take out customer so couldn’t sit inside but instead out in the cold station…Which was fine as I ate my piping hot burger with steam rising from it but when I started on the fries I got hounded by two bloody annoying pigeons one on each seat either side of me.  They looked at me and looked at the bag with the fries, waiting to pounce when I made the slightest movement to open the bag.  I think they eventually just got bored and found a guy with a bag of chippy chips and attacked him instead, but as they left one swiped near my face…damn vermin!

So I met J&D and I took them to that new cheapy shop on Union Street, I’m not sure if it has a name other than “Closing Down Sale” but they have DVD’s, Games and CD’s and it’s all 5 for £10, obviously if I had any money it would all go into purchasing stuff I want but don’t necessarily need.  After that we went to Claire’s and yes I’m twenty one, no I haven’t officially shopped in the place since I was about eight but I had a gift voucher, which turned out to be less than I thought and I couldn’t get the belt I wanted…. oh well to Osiris methinks.  I got a yellow hairband, some headbands and a WAND!!!  It’s silver and has a star on top… I’m officially a fucking princess

From there we took to wandering around the newly renovated St Enoch’s Centre and since I’m slow and hadn’t been to Hamley’s yet we ventured inside and I can say that my inner-kid stirred, jumped, threw a tantrum and ran straight towards the tamagotchi’s.  It is quite expensive for most things, but I guess that’s to be expected from a shop which originated from London.  They have board games which seem to be their own ‘make’ and are cheaper and probably as good quality as you could hope for.  They really do have just about everything, they have plushies of almost every animal imaginable except a black kitten (there’s a whole other story to that) but they’re so purdy… me wants.  There’s a game and RED5 the gadget shop installed inside Hamley’s also, presumably for the adults to gander at while their kids run riot at the hair stall, the princess stage or the water bath with immersible toys.  To be honest though, if I were six, I’d probably never want to leave

After all that it was time for an adult moment in Costa, which failed as soon as I asked for walnut cake instead of the carrot cake, which was rubbish, I should have just bought the lemon drizzle cake like J&D but the hot chocolate made up for it with the cream, but Costa are kind of stingy with their marshmallows, only two   We made some interesting and crazy plans for J&D’s inevitable wedding, someday.  I’m liking the pirate dress, or the pj’s because at least you would be comfortable when you hit the dancefloor

Just before five we headed up to the train station to wait for Chris where Dave and I yakked on and on at Julie to give over studying for a night and to stay out an extra hour or two to have dinner since I don’t see them as much and it’s fun to group hang (OC reference) she finally agreed and was in awe at how easy-going Chris was about dinner plans already having been made and agreeing to them.  So we went to Ichiban because I’ve been CRAVING their Sake Maki, which is Salmon sushi.  I swear if I were a millionaire I could happily spend it all on sushi and still want more.  I also got my plain Yakisoba which is noodles and I almost threw a fit because none of the regular waiters were there so no one knew to bring me my chilli powder.  I coat the noodles in the powder until the plate is red… I add more as necessary   Chris was shocked.

All in all thenight was what on paper could be called a regular night, but I just really enjoyed hanging out

Now yesterday was an interesting day as it was the first time Chris had been to Maggie May’s in town…seriously if you haven’t been you MUST go and get a hamburger!  My dad and I totally had a plan to work our way through the burger menu by ordering a different one each time but the plain flame grilled one is the first on the menu and I just can’t resist it to move on… so I didn’t and got it again, oh heaven in a bun!  And they give you big wedge chips which are made piping hot and to perfection.  They also do Nutella pancakes in MM’s but I was waaaay too full to eat anything else, which is strange for me as apparently I never say no to food.  I can’t think of a time off the top of my head other than today of when I have turned down food… but hey, I like to eat!

From there it was to Asda to buy the fooditude because Chris was making his legendary chilli tonight.  I’ve never been much into grocery shopping and big supermarkets give me headaches with the too-bright lighting and the invariably tantruming children at the sweets but with Chris it tends to pass in a serious of quick-fire sarcastic comments, his marvelling at me not thinking XX amount of chocolate is wrong or in anyway unhealthy/bad and that even with said chocolate I’m up for having chocolate gateau for desert though I sneered when it said it serves eight

Our DVD serials have ended recently, we’ve finished all four series of the OC (about the eighth time for me) and the whole first season of The Big Bang Theory so tonight we watched the first disc of Gilmore Girls and the first Mock the Week DVD and HIM vs BAM since it’s awesome and ages since either of us watched it

Oh yeh the chilli was amazing, it was warming and the first time I’ve had tacos…. I’m hooked   Though I still love my chilli fries heeheehee

Upon coming home I’ve had some much needed coffee, sent some emails out listened to a lot of Tiziano Ferro and I’m now listening to Laura Pausini and very very close to passing out as I’m tired but also tried to explain the concept of blogging to my mother

The plan for tomorrow is sleeping as long as I can then dragging myself to one of the gazillion hairdressers around the corner from me (I have a phobia of hairdressers and opted to go with my friend to the college before but I ain’t travelling all the way to clydebank again) So hopefully this time tomorrow I will have my snazzy new hair cut for the cobra gig possibly a colour too.  I also hope to catch up on more writing for my book called Guilty and do some MUCH NEEDED studying for Italian….while still trying to find a job and oh yes, redo my website and blog, and breath…and of course eat!

A presto!

Eliza xo

It’s rumored that one of my favorite couples from back in the day Usher and Chilli are back together!! If Usher got hit in the head and finally came to his senses I would be proud of him lol. How do you let CHILLI go??!! Well we’ll see in the weeks or days to come how true or false this rumor is. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping its true.

traduction de mon article sur Bridport a simonseeks.com:

http://www.simonseeks.com/travel-guides/bridport-river-cottage-riverside-dorsets-coast__164376

Bridport est devenu connu en Angleterre grâce au chef Hugh Fearley-Whittinstall (et son programme télé River Cottage). Provenance et produit du terroir sont des mots qui chantent dans sa bouche et font rêver les gourmets britanniques qui se réveillent d’une longue hibernation culinaire.

Qui aime bien manger aimera le West Dorset

Je ne vous dirai pas qu’il faut aussi beau dans le West Dorset que sur la Côte d’Azur mais si temps Anglais il y a, la région est une des plus clémentes. Donc, les produits du terroir sont superbes et les locaux n’ont pas attendu nos chefs ‘people’ pour cuisiner avec. Prenez le restaurant Riverside à West Bay, le port de Bridport. Imaginez un chalet en bois planté au milieu d’un port sans prétention sur la rive du petit fleuve Brit. Difficile de trouver un meilleur poisson. On ne peut plus frais, direct de la baie de Lyme. Si le restaurant attire les gens du coin depuis 45 ans sans faille, il doit bien y avoir une bonne raison.

A quelques kilomètres se trouve un autre restaurant sans prétention -sinon de vous servir un poisson excellent ou des crèmes glacées bien crémeuses. Sur la plage de Burton Bradstock, le Hive Beach Café et son auvent vert ne paye pas de mine. Ne vous fiez pas aux apparences, les patrons sont très engagés sur le nouvel engouement anglais pour les produits du terroirs viables. De leur ‘Fish and chips’ poisson du jour à leurs sandwichs, tous les budgets trouvent leur bonheur. Quant à la plage avec ses falaises rouges, elle a une vue superbe vers la presqu’île de Portland (où seront les Jeux Olympiques de voile en 2012).

La Côte Jurassique

Bien que la France ait le pendant avec la côte aux dinosaures vers Villers sur Mer, la côte du Dorset est listée par l’Unesco comme Héritage Naturel Mondial. Tout comme le Grand Canyon ou le Golfe de Porto, la côte est reconnue d’intérêt mondial et doit être préservée pour les générations futures. Tout comme en Normandie, les chercheurs d’os de dinosaures et autres vestiges préhistoriques ont de quoi faire, bien qu’il soit bien sur interdit d’attaquer les falaises au risque de se retrouver avec un trou dans la tête…

Où d’autre peut on manger à Bridport?

Bridport ce n’est pas que la plage, au contraire. La ville est un mix intéressant d’artistes dans des vieilles usines à corde (St Michael’s Trading Estate), de classes sociales mélangées se retrouvant sur le marché hebdomadaire, de magasins un peu vieillots et un bon choix d’endroits où on peut manger à prix raisonnable. Bref, un endroit où il fait bon vivre et passer un moment. Pour ma tasse de thé -OK, café – avec une copine, j’aime bien le Beach and Barnicott. Pour des pizzas et une atmosphère sympa -grandes tables où on peut parler aux voisins- le Stables Bar -derrière l’Hôtel Bull dans la rue principale est super pour les petits budgets et les amateurs de cidre. Pour un défi exotique tout en restant régional, le restaurant Taj Mahal propose un curry avec un piment qui est si fort que l’échelle de Scoville (qui mesure la capsaïcine) ne peut le mesurer. Le piment Naga du Dorset est en fait cultivé à West Bexington, près de la plage de Chesil à quelques kilomètres à peine. Sinon, on peut tenter un curry de lapin, chose extrêmement rare chez les Anglais -et les Indiens qui proposent leur cuisine aux Anglais.

Où dormir?

Pour dormir, ce n’est pas le choix qui manque. Pour un hôtel plutôt classique avec des chambres confortables, je peux recommander le Bridge House (chambres doubles à partir de £98) des amis y ont passé un weekend et ont apprécié l’atmosphère sympa et le personnel bienveillant. La brasserie et le restaurant offrent des repas simples et bien anglais. Si vous êtes plutôt du genre papiers peints à gros motifs et baignoires sur pied, l’Hôtel Bull (double avec douche à partir de £70, avec bain £120) vous ira comme un gant. Pour une expérience du vrai Dorset plus campagne, les chambres d’hôte chez Pauline à Highway Farm ne manqueront pas de vous plaire. Pauline connait la région dans tous ses recoins, l’adore et sait faire passer sa passion. Elle organise également des cours d’artisanat d’art à prix très raisonnables, un excellent moyen de rencontrer des gens et parler anglais dans une atmosphère sympa. La ferme a également un cottage pour 4 personnes (à partir de £350 par semaine).

Et quoi d’autre autour de Bridport?

Les randonneurs adorent la région. Le GR South West Coastal Path qui longe la côte leur est bien connu pour ses grimpées et descentes le long des falaises et des plages. Panoramas superbes, notamment au cap doré (Golden Cap) qui tient son nom de son ‘chapeau’ couleur rouge or et qui est le point culminant de la côte du Dorset; excellent point de vue vers la presqu’île de Portland et l’immense plage de sable de Chesil. A l’intérieur des terres, les vues imprenables du bocage anglais et de la Manche ne manquent pas avec entre autres les collines de Lewisdon et Pilsdon Pen.

Si on se veut un peu éco-guerrier et laisser sa voiture, on peut prendre un bateau de West Bay pour admirer les falaises vieilles de 180 millions d’années, particulièrement belles au coucher du soleil. On peut également prendre le car, une expérience pas si traumatisante que ça, même pour ceux qui n’aiment pas les transports en commun. On trouve toujours à s’assoir et on peut admirer la vue au lieu de regarder la route…

Pour les artistes en herbe, pourquoi ne pas sculpter un totem ou plus simplement un bol avec Guy Mallinson? N’oubliez pas d’apporter vos bottes en caoutchouc car la pluie ne l’arrêtera pas. Les cours de Guy sont très en vogue et vont le devenir encore plus car la BBC a fait un programme basé sur l’expérience de passer une semaine dans la forêt. Le retour aux sources est très prisé et Monkton Wyld Court offre d’autres expériences dans la même veine. Le ‘bushcraft’ est à la mode même s’il est difficile a traduire (artisanat de la vie en plein air?). Une bonne façon d’améliorer son anglais tout en acquérant des connaissances dans une atmosphère sympa et constructive, good idea non?

http://www.bridgehousebridport.co.uk/

http://www.highwayfarm.co.uk/

http://www.thebullhotel.co.uk/

http://thefishrestaurant-westbay.co.uk/index.htm

http://tajmahalbridport.com/

http://www.mallinson.co.uk/

My taller half strikes again with the Asian flavours, this time with a fantastic marinated tofu and vietnamese noodle salad.

Chúc ngon miệng

I made corn wraps (due to lack of tortillas) on Saturday night again. Practising the mexicano is tres awesome.

Marinated chicken breast (lime juice, chilli, garlic, coriander)
Coriander
Sliced avocado
Spanish onion, tomato and chilli salsa
White mozzerella

Simple and divine. I think the use of the really white mozzeralla was a much better result than the feta used in the previous attempt.

Buen apetito!

Beef and oodles of noodles.

Asian food is so freaking good. The months I spent travelling in Vietnam, India, Cambodia and Thailand were some of the tastiest ever and I never ever got bored of the eating. And somehow it didn’t make my jeans strain – a result!  So fresh, hot and fragrant. This dinner – from a goodfood recipe - is spicy, sticky and quite a treat. A bit naughty, it would be perfect for a hot hot date!

To buy:

*Wok Oil   *300g thinly sliced sirloin beef tossed in lots of cornflour   *broccoli florets from a small head, sliced   *2 garlic cloves thinly sliced   *large chunk of ginger thinly chopped   *1 tsp chilli flakes   *small bunch spring onions, sliced diagonally   *4tbsp soy sauce sweetened with 5 tbsp brown sugar   *juice of 1 large lime   *egg noodles   *sesame seeds   *handful of coriander

To make:

1. In a hot wok, warm a big shake of oil until it’s really hot.  Fry the beef in batches until it’s really crispy, drain and place on kitchen-roll. Rest the beef for a few minutes.

2. Heat your plates or bowls in the oven and add 2 nests of noodles to boiling salted water. Boil for about 5 minutes and drain in cold water, fry the noodles with coriander and sesame seeds. Split, pop on the plates and keep hot in the oven.

3. Now, pour away most of the used oil from the wok and fry the broccoli, ginger, garlic and chilli for about a minute. Then chuck in the sweet soy sauce and lime juice. Cook for another two minutes.

4. Add the crispy beef and spring onions and toss in the wok. Serve with the noodles and an ice cold beer. Nom nom nom.

Tasty tasty scoffs.

OMG, Eric Gremm, a lumber truck driver, claims the reason he accidentally drove his truck into a Massachusetts home was because…wait for it…he choked on chili from Wendy’s and was knocked unconscious. Geez mister, are you suppose to eat while  driving? Mr Gremm said he began choking after he drove over a bump and the chili got caught in his throat . Brilliant.

Rozonda Thomas AKA Chilli from TLC is coming to a screen near you. Chilli’s show, “What Chilli Wants” will be premiering on VH1, March 28th. The show is another “Of Love” show. Tune-in to see who Chilli picks to be her new main squeeze.

In case you missed it: There are rumors buzzing that Chilli is currently see Usher once again. Maybe things will work this time around. ..maybe

Another trip to Geldhof meant that I returned with an awesome little bag of goodies, picked purely for their novelty value. I’d previously enjoyed the Orange Chocolate bars that Geldhof makes, but this was a relatively new addition to the stable and one that I couldn’t resist.

This is one of the most fantastic and interesting chilli chocolates I’ve tasted since I first tasted Lindt’s Chilli Slab. Although the packaging is quite plain, this five block chocolate bar is glossy and breaks cleanly. This bar doesn’t tell you how much it weighs, but it looks around 40g, and those 40g pack a punch. The chocolate itself is lovely quality, and the fact that it is not too smooth compliments the taste of the chilli. It is not so dark as to cease being sweet and the slight crumbliness of the chocolate makes it taste a little more creamy. Somehow, a very smooth chocolate would make this bar too hot.

Because it is hot. Make no mistake, this is not a messing around “I think I’d like a bit of heat” chocolate bar to grab on the go. There are real chilli seeds in here, as you can see, and you can feel them crunching between your teeth. The addition of chilli as not only flavour but texture as well is incredible and really lends itself to reminding you that you are eating chilli, and as a consequence, making you feel pretty powerful.  Definitely a lovely idea that I’ve not yet seen executed in any other brands’ chilli chocolates, but one that could do with a bit of popularisation.

It is fantastic as a follow up to any meal, and the fact that you need so little to be satisfied means that a little goes a long way. I tried it with some good vanilla ice cream, which was a wonderful dessert, but don’t let this chocolate get too cold or the flavours will be ruined. Although this chocolate is really top-notch, make sure you keep a glass of milk handy, and even then (unless you are a hothead) I doubt that you will be able to eat this whole bar in one go.