ICookYouLamb!

"You are a vegetarian?" "Ah it's okay, its okay I cook you lamb!" A great line from the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The reason it is so great is because it is actually quite true. I think it was inspiration for my wonderfully weird fatherspinikopita to create his culinary wonder. Staying true to his roots he got very excited when we said we would be up for trying one of his Cypriot specialities - the Kouzi! Similar to the principle of a tagine the meat, potatoes and whatever else you can find from the land is bunged into a big clay pot and sealed with clay. He slaved and slaved away in order to make us this wonderful pot of deliciousness. The best part was after the meal when he realised that the plates he had served on were too large for the dishwasher so he had to get his marigolds on. Tough life.

However, due to his focus on the pot he could not deal with creating an accompaniment so we were recruited to step up to the job! Below is our greek inspired fantastical fan salad. Visually appealing, it really isn't difficult to create. We started with a base of gem lettuce, with spinach and rocket on top. It was then bombarded with mint, parsley, tomatoes and spring onions, before the final garnish of the perfectly sliced avo and grilled halloumi. Finally dressed by a simple lemon and olive oil emulsion. I have to hand it to the Kretin because he slaved over the under-ripened avo in order to try and make it edible. But taste wise this was no success so my only advice is, don't eat an under ripe avo. 

 The creation unleashed.....A proud moment for the fatherspinikoptia.....

NotSoNaughtyCarrotCake

This recipe was a very lucky find for me from a blog I recently stumbled upon that seems absolutely fantastic! This is the link: http://www.thisrawsomeveganlife.com She has some absolutely fabulous recipes for alternates of your favourite foods. Although a vegan site you don't have to be vegan to enjoy her creations, they are so delicious everyone should try! 

I had a big sweet tooth today, so carrot cake was definitely on my list! At first, I was a little reluctant to try raw carrot cake, how could it be better than the real thing. But I stand corrected. I LOVED the raw version. It is quite sweet so be aware! I find it fascinating that you can create the same flavours from completely different ingredients. It has really opened my mind to trying a variety of different old favourites in this way! 

Ingredients:

- 2 carrots, peeled

- 3/4 cup oats

- 1 cup of dates

- 1/4 cup dried coconut

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1/2 tsp nutmeg

- sprinkle of cloves

- a little fresh ginger, although ground ginger is preferable

Frosting:

- 1/2 cup of cashews

- 1/2 cup macadamias

- 1 tbsp lemon juice

- 1 tbsp liquid coconut oil

- 1/3 cup maple syrup, or honey

- water if needed

- orange zest

Method:

1) Frosting: Blend all the ingredients in a processor and put in a bowl aside. Easy peasy.

2) Cake: Cut the carrots into chunks, then throw everything into a processor and pulse until it sticks together

3) Spoon a heaped tbsp into cupcake cases and freeze for about 10-15 mins before putting the frosting on top.

4) Once frosted, leave to freeze for a couple of hours and then serve, it is kind of like having ice cream cake, so you may want to let it thaw a little before eating!

This is uber, uber yummy and tastes like christmas :) It also gives you a massive energy boost for when you are feeling down, so its great all round! Enjoy!!!!

Vegobulous

With summer in the air and the wonderful array of fruits and vegetables on offer, I thought I better do it justice by whizzing up some fantastical bites to entertain my stomach. Following my last post I decided to stick with the Honestly Healthy recipe book as a basis, and I tailored the recipes to what I had available.

To the left is an image of my 'gourmet falafels' (in the words of Uncle Christo). These are definitely my favourite thing I have made so far and I shall definitely be experimenting with these! When you read how simple the recipe is you shall realise how easy it is to mix and match as many ingredients as you like!

So....

Ingredients wise you shall need...
- 50g raw flax seed
- 50g raw sesame seed
- 1 red pepper, finely diced
- 5-6 chestnut mushrooms OR 2 portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1/2 small onion finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- a drizzle of tamari, or salt (if you prefer)
- 125g raw almonds
- 150g chickpeas
- 150g pistachios or sunflower seeds
- 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 3/4 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- black pepper
- sprinkle of lemon pepper (optional)

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 110C
2) Combine the flax and sesame in a bowl and set aside
3) Combine the peppers, mushrooms, onion, garlic and 2 tbsp olive oil in a separate bowl
4) Add a drizzle of tamari or a pinch of salt and mix well
5) Place the nuts and chickpeas in a processor and blend to a crumbly texture
6) Add the nut mix to the veggie mix as well as the parsley, cumin and lemon juice. Mix thoroughly and season to taste.
7) Form the mixture into palm sized balls.
8) Roll in the flax and sesame seed and place on a baking tray for 30-40 mins, until crisp on the outside but still moist.

Served with: Tomato Salsa (see below), and mixed salad or Iceberg lettuce

Ingredients:

- 200g tomatoes, diced
- 1 red onion
- 1 small cucumber, diced
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and diced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- juice of 1/2 lemon

Mix all this and put in a bowl :) SIMPLE!

The next day I found a recipe that complemented the falafels very, very nicely! Chilli Pesto Dip....yummmmmmmmmmmmmm

Ingredients:

- 40g rocket
- 5g dill
- 50g raw cashews
- 30g feta
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 small red chilli
- 15g raw sunflower seeds
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp water

Method: whizz, blend and pulverise it all in a blender woooooo, nice and easy :)

For my next delight, I was lucky enough to have our dear uncle Christo staying with us for a night. He came all the way from Nigeria, which is in Africa! Far I know. He says he made this trip for meetings or something, but really I know it was because he wanted to sample some culinary wonders :p And what a wonder it was. These aubergines were absolutely fantastic. I have to admit, when I first read the recipe I was not too excited about them, they looked rather bland and boring. But I hold my hands high and say I misjudged. This was one of the best if not my favourite aubergine dishes I have had! Super easy to make and very, very yummy.

Ingredients:

- 2 aubergines or 4 small ones, sliced horizontally
- Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
- chopped parsley
- seeds from 1/2 pomegranate
- black pepper
- drizzle of tamari

Dressing:
- 40g tahini
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp hot water
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tsp cumin or sumac (if you have, which I didn't!)

Method:

1) Make the dressing by whizzing up all the ingredients listed (It can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days!)
2) Mix the sliced aubergine with some olive oil, tamari and black pepper and place in the oven for about 15 mins on 220C
3) To serve, arrange the aubergines on a serving dish, drizzle the dressing and sprinkle with pine nuts, pomegranate seeds and parsley and voila! A culinary treat to accompany any meal :D

Today I was not feeling wildly crazy but I did try two new recipes that I thought would be nice. However, my tastebuds were not satisfied, so I shall spare you the recipes. Unless you really want them of course! Above is portobello mushroom with fennel salad and below are my broad bean and sweetcorn fritters with greek inspired salad. The pictures were nice so I thought I'd put them as food porn. But I want to experiment a bit more with combinations before giving a recipe as they were so bland I emptied our household of its chocolate and cheese stocks :) - Living up to my blog name.

HonestlyHealthy

Today I rediscovered one of my favourite "healthy eating" cook books. I remember when I first bought this I did not like the sound of about 90% of the recipes. Most vegetables were to my dislike and I hated goats cheese. But a year has passed since then and I was pleasantly surprised that this time I felt spoilt for choice and did not know which one to choose because they all looked so delicious!!! Honestly Healthy is a great little book with AMAZING tasting recipes that when you eat them you forget how much goodness there is in the ingredients you use. 

http://www.honestlyhealthyfood.com

The lunch I made today was adapted from their recipe for watercress, roasted onion and pistachio salad.  It was so good that I could not contain my excitement. I was instagraming photos of it, telling everyone I could think of about it and had to calm myself with a cup of tea as my heart rate was racing so much. It literally tasted like an asian stir fry (without the noodles)form my favourite Chinese restaurant. The best part is it is SO simple to make!

So here is what I did...

Ingredients:

- 1 small red onion, cut into fine chunks
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 30g (though I used way more, more like 100g) of canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- 2 inches of cucumber, finely chopped
- some mixed seeds and pine nuts (they say to use pistachios and pumpkin seeds, 15g of each, but I did not have any to hand!)
- 70g watercress (Though I had mixed leaf salad)
- 1 spring onion, finely sliced length ways

Dressing:

- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- 1 tbsp tamari
- 1 tsp honey (though they use agave syrup - I like honey more ;))

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 170C
2) Place the chopped onion in a baking dish and drizzle with the olive oil (and balsamic to caramelise them!) and bake for 30 mins or until soft. (The finer you chop them, the less time they need!)
3) Place the chickpeas in a bowl and toss with the roasted onion, garlic, chilli, cucumber and nuts and seeds.
4) Whisk the dressing ingredients with a fork
5) To serve, scatter the salad on a plate, top with the chickpea mixture, spring onion and then drizzle the dressing on top
6) Eat it. And then you will die and go to heaven.

Just looking at this makes me want to digest everything now so I can eat it all over again.

I finished it off with a cup of loooooovvvveeeeee tea. Literally, it is called love tea (but all it is is little rose buds floating around in your cup). I really, really like this tea. I got mine from InsideOut in Richmond, but if you type "Rose Bud Tea" into google there are loads of sellers! A really nice, relaxing and calming way to end a meal after the excitement of the burst of flavours and my subsequent adrenaline rush!

BirthdayBashes

The last couple of months have been filled with birthday's, parties and smiles :) (Yes, I am trying to be cheesy). As a result, it has given me the opportunity to bake, a lot, as well as sample some other people's wonderful creations! So I thought I'd share some with you...

OREOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

This first one I did for my sister's 17th birthday. I came up with the idea for it on the day, with no recipe and no idea if it would turn out well! I am pleased to say that presentation wise I was very happy with the turn out, but there are some alterations I would make to the actual recipe next time I make this as the flavour balance was not quite right!

For the main cake I followed this recipe:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/easy_chocolate_cake_31070

It is a fantastic recipe and works every time and is really quick to make, especially when you are in a rush! The other great thing about it is that it is easy to adapt to however you may want to fancy it up!

Now in order to turn this into an oreo cake I made a white chocolate cream cheese filling, also made with the middles of the oreos, so when the cake was cut it looked like an oreo sandwich. I have not yet perfected the balance of ingredients, so I shall post a reference for this later on. But otherwise it is fairly simple. Once the cake is done you just layer the oreo halves all over and make it look pretty. If you wanted to be really creative you could crumble the oreo halves and make one big oreo. But who really has time for that!

Patisserie FatAthy

The next birthday to attack was my mothers. For this I went for chocolate, again, of course, why would you go for anything else, and I again had absolutely no idea how I was going to put the cake together. But by good fortune it turned out alright. At least in the pictures! 

For the main cake I followed Nigella's Chocolate Olive Oil Cake Recipe: 

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/CHOCOLATE-OLIVE-OIL-CAKE-5551

I LOVE using oil in cakes. I think it is far nicer than butter as you get a much moister cake and it lasts longer. Well, that is if you don't eat it in 24 hours. And its healthier too! All the more reason to eat more of it ;) 

As for decor what I did was actually very simple! I melted some green and blacks dark chocolate and poured it over a baking tray. I then placed it in the fridge to cool until it was solid again. Using a knife I then sliced a variety of geometric shapes before putting the shards in the freezer to solidify a bit more! Now, I tried to do this with milk and while chocolate but it did not work as well! However, I did get the delight of making accidental chocolate roses from the milk chocolate as the consistency was so much gooier than the dark chocolate. To make the roses all I did was again melt the chocolate and pour over a baking tray and leave to cool. I then used a tea spoon and scraped the chocolate off, to mold it into the rose shapes seen. 

I used icing, any will do, to stick this all together and then finished it off with frozen berries on the top. However, I would recommend that instead of frozen berries try dusting a bowl of berries with a little icing sugar and then leaving them in the fridge to form a glaze. It goes much nicer with the cake than the frozen ones do!

 The day followed with a beautiful picnic in the Isabella Plantations in Richmond Park. I provided a simple spread of cheeses, meats, fruit, quinoa and chicken salad and various other goodies. But to stick with the baking theme I wanted to tell you about the muffins I made. They were banana and brazil nut muffins, recipe taken from the hummingbird bakery cookbook. OMG SO GOOD! They were so moist and gooey and luscious and oh my, my mouth is salivating as I type this!

I shall provide the recipe as soon as I am back in London and have the book in my hands!

STANZILICIOUS

The next delight I get to talk about sadly is not one of my creations, but one of an actual patisserie. The famous Patisserie Valerie! I am sure many of you have walked past their windows and seen the delightful towers of chocolate mayhem! I always stop and stare when I walk past!

A couple of weeks ago was the beautiful Stanzi's 21st birthday, and to my excitement she let me know in advance that her cake was going to be patisserie valerie. I could not contain how excited I was for this. Prior to this my sister and I had tried to give up sugar, but within 24 hours we looked at eachother and knew that this was not a realistic goal. And am I glad we revoked that one! The picture alone does not demonstrate how great it was. Don't get me wrong, the cake was not the only great thing, the party was a phenomenal array of glamour, taste and class. But, if you are ever pondering over cake decisions, Patisserie Valerie will always be waiting with open arms. 

How she could sit and smile I don't know, I would've dived straight into the middle of this!

THE MAD FATTIE'S TEA PARTY

The Birthday Girl admiring herself before deathbyateaparty

Almost a month ago was my dear flatmate, Smelena's birthday. So the other three of us put whatever brains we had together and threw her a delightful tea party. We filled her heart with miniature scones, pink and blue clotted cream, sandwiches, cakes and so much more. 

 Afternoon tea can be a great event, and very satisfying to the belly!

Our menu consisted of:

- Sandwiches:
    - Egg Mayo
    - Beef
    - Cucumber and Cream Cheese (Of course!)
- Scones:
    - Fruit
    - Savoury, served with preserves, and coloured creams
- Carrot Cake
- Red Velvet Cake


 Recipes to follow shortly!

NorthernDelights

Apologies for not writing for a while now! I went into hibernation after overeating and have only just digested enough to start writing again! This week I was up in Edinburgh and due to my culinary interests, as well as general laziness,  I sampled what the North has on offer. I can assure you that it is not worth skipping!

Nile Valley ("The African Place") 

This little cafe is just opposite the UK's third ugliest building, Appleton Tower, but I can assure you that the food does not mirror this! My flatmates had been going on about this place all year, but I never got the chance to try it. So this time I was determined to attack it, and was I in for a treat! It is run by an African couple who have beautifully decorated the walls with African art and maps. The food is simple but so delicious. I had a wrap with chicken, feta, hummus, aubergines and salad. Very, very nice, but I forgot to add the hot sauce which I definitely recommend! I have to admit though next time I would add the falafels to this mix. I tried my boyfriend's wrap and I got food jealousy. The falafels here are hands down the best I have had in a long time! The price is fair at about £4 a meal, which is not bad at all in the centre of Edinburgh! If you get the chance to go up this is a must try!!!

6 Chapel St  Edinburgh, Midlothian EH8 9AY 0131 667 8200

L'escargot Bleu

http://www.lescargotbleu.co.uk

I had read about this restaurant a lot before finally getting to sample the food! Lucky for me my father came up to visit me in Edinburgh, meaning I got a good meal out of it! Located in Edinburgh's New Town, I was really excited to try this place. It has beautiful rustic decor and very friendly and attentive staff. If you go for lunch (like we did) you can pay reasonable prices of about £12.95 for 2 courses, and it is definitely worth it! The food is beautifully cooked and I enjoyed every morsel of it. For starter I had steamed mussels and seafood salad, and for main a pearl barley risotto with summer vegetables and comté cheese. All I could think is where was my Frenchy Flatmate! I melted away in the cheese delight of deliciousness. I can imagine this restaurant to be very atmospheric at dinner, so if you get the chance to try I definitely would!

56 Broughton Street
EH1 3SA Edinburgh

The Grain Store

This next place is one of my favourite restaurants in Edinburgh. It is situated in the Grassmarket, which is always buzzing with life! All that is visible from the street is a little door and it does not look like much when you stand outside. Upon entering it just looks like the staircase at school, but the magic is uncovered as soon as the door at the top of the stairs is opened. If you are after atmosphere and good food then this is the place to try! It has a beautiful wooden interior, similar to the Witchery, but a much more casual atmosphere that is not 'in your face'. The nice thing about this place is the tables are nicely spread so you feel like you are there by yourself. From friendly staff to fantastic food you can't go wrong. Pictured to the right is a mushroom, chestnut, hazelnut and leek ballotine with pasta. I admit I was not hungry when I came to the restaurant, but after eating this delight all I wanted to do was feast for the whole night. Absolutely gorgeous! It is a bit on the pricey side, so it's not an everyday dining facility, but great for a special occasion or any serious foodies!

 http://www.grainstore-restaurant.co.uk/about/

30 Victoria St (1st Floor) 

Edinburgh, Scotland 

La Garrigue

This place has been recommended as one of Gordon Ramsay's favourite restaurants, in fact, top in Scotland. So I was very excited to get to try this place out! It is a French restaurant, but no matter what your food tastes are they have a delightful menu that can suit anyones tastes! It is situated opposite Edinburgh's picturesque Carlton Hill, a couple of minutes from Waverley Station. The decor is just what you want from a restaurant. It feels as if you are somewhere in the heart of Europe, with French waiters, rustic design and a real family feel. It is a real gem! The food is simple, but fantastic. You could not ask for much more. One thing I would caution is that if you are not vegetarian I would definitely recommend choosing one of the meat dishes. My boyfriend had the duck, which was to die for - perfectly cooked, tender with crispy skin! I got food jealousy, again! I had ordered the catch of the day - monkfish, but I was not as impressed by it as I was by the meat. I'm sure this is not true of all the seafood dishes, but from what I saw, the meat was definitely their forté!

http://www.lagarrigue.co.uk

31 Jeffrey Street
Edinburgh
EH1 1DH

Urban Angel

As it was my last day in Edinburgh today, I could not be bothered to make breakfast! So we went on a hunt for a good brunch in Edinburgh's New Town. Located on Hanover Street, Urban Angel is a must try! It is on the expensive side, costing about £10 pp for breakfast, so be warned! But, if you want to treat yourself this is a great place! I have never seen such beautiful eggs benedict and perfectly poached eggs! They offer a variety of egg dishes, oatmeal, smoothies and juices, salads and lots more! If you ar trying to get healthy this summer, this is a great place to start, they have lots of great smoothies and salads that may inspire you! I took note of the raw chocolate smoothie (that was soooooo good! - meaning a lot coming from a chocaholic!) and is definitely something I want to make at home and experiment with! Just for reference, they made it with cacao, agave syrup, banana and vanilla. So simple, so delicious and so nutritious! But it was the eggs that stole the show! I have included a number of photos, because I think they deserve the appreciation. If you are looking for somewhere low key, friendly and yummy, this is a must try!

http://www.urban-angel.co.uk

121 Hanover St  Edinburgh, Midlothian EH2 1DJ 0131 225 6215

121 Hanover St  Edinburgh, Midlothian EH2 1DJ
0131 225 6215

Chocolover

Hands down this is my favourite thing in the whole wide world, and everyone who knows me knows that. My friend recently sent me a seductive link of a chocolate roulade being made that I just had to share for any other chocolovers out there. Nothing like good food porn on the weekend.

http://vimeo.com/30482523

Due to my obsession, I wrote a little piece about it and how I sometimes (well most of the time) get carried away. Do excuse the obvious connotations, but it was definitely a laugh writing this. 

Chocolate.

Ah how this word bears the baron of my soul. I am obsessed with chocolate and everything about it. Every sense is tantalised. From the wrapper that cradles it to the ingredients that worm their way through your body. I can never resist it  and never know why. The idea of it completely encapsulates and overpowers my conscience. Maybe this is due to the temptation of the pristine packaging, the glistening foil within, or the dark (sometimes light) shiny surface reflecting the light. I don't know. But, every thought of it begins clockworks in my brain. Thoughts are produced too triumphant for me to resist. I know I am close. So close that I cannot wait any longer. I break the seal. As the cocoa begins to run wild, the array of flavors waft  towards me and my mind prepares to take the first bite. It prepares to let go and get lost in the magic. Snap. My ear twitches as I break that first piece, knowing that there is no turning back. As the chocolate begins to melt between my finger tips my tastebuds start to salivate, the idea of eating it makes time slow down. I feel uncertain. What will encompass me? What will be unlocked? The anticipation is too much, I take one last look and... BITE IT! The first crunch sends shockwaves contracting every muscle in my body. But as the wonders are released I suddenly relax and feel somewhat comforted and alive. As it swirls and coats its cave the rest of my body sinks. I forget where I am, what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. All that matters is the sweet bliss being created. The 600 potential flavours start to reveal their infinite possibilities, as my rationality is engulfed. I no longer feel like my physical self, but a spirit exploring a whirlwind of sensations. But it doesn't last long. It starts to fade. The only thought that enters my brain is to recreate, prolong, this moment. Do it again. So I do. The second time being better than the first. The trance is enhanced and brings new levels of satisfaction. Being human all I want is more. So I keep going, keep elongating the moment. But there comes a point where the love unlocked turns to hatred. Suddenly I don't feel so invincible, but rather broken down. My stomach starts to scream as I continue to force the sugary sensation upon it, “It’s too much, too much!” But I don't listen, I don't care because the memory of that moment is too powerful. The moment where I know what I am about to do. But that's just it. It's only a moment and no more. After that point my body is no longer innocent and pure. It just delves deeper and deeper into the unknown, as it gets swallowed by the deep dark mass of the bean. 

I hope you enjoyed my romantic love story with a bar of chocolate. Despite the bad ending, as with every fairy tale there is a happy one waiting to be told. So have no fear I shall be posting some fantastic things on chocolates I love and recommend, as well as recipes involving it. Over and out :)