Carry on at your Convenience
Chloe Moore: Come on Fred, I'll get you something to eat.
Fred Moore: I could do with a bit.
Sid: Spoken like a true man!
Convenience food, what do you make of it? Not that any of us can afford it at the moment with the credit crunch (aren't you getting really sick of hearing that term now? It's everywhere.)
My personal favourite convenience food is a Chinese takeaway. However, that has to be a solitary indulgence seeing that Beth doesn't particularly care for it. Although I always find that I order far too much as piggy's eyes are far bigger than her stomach!
I tend to over indulge on the appetisers and so hence find the main event a bit of a let down. Just let me loose on ordering crispy Peking duck with pancakes, seaweed, capital spare ribs, sesame prawn toasts etc and I go quite doo lally!
Though I am quite partial to a pizza as well. But, it must have a thin crust and plenty of pepperoni. The best one I've had was in New York at John's Pizzeria in Greenwich Village. Lots of spicy Italian sausage to tickle my taste buds (and that's not a phrase you often hear a gay girl say!)
Tuesday 29 July 2008
What? No crumpet?
Carry on Behind:
Prof. Roland Crump: We can't share a caravan.
Prof. Anna Vrooshka: You thinking you getting crumpet, no?
Prof. Roland Crump: Certainly not, where on earth did you learn that expression?
Prof. Anna Vrooshka: Crumpet, is to squash it, it is in dictionary, crumpet is to squash it together.
Prof. Roland Crump: Oh! You mean cramped.
Prof. Anna Vrooshka: It's what I say crumpet.
Prof. Roland Crump: Crumpet, crumbit, crampit, well I'm not staying round here much longer, I'm going to the pub to see if they have rooms there.
Prof. Anna Vrooshka: Maybe you're getting crumpet in pub also?
##
Our friends had a party last Saturday to celebrate their seventh anniversary. It was a lovely event: well planned out with a delightful theme....but there was no crumpet!
You thought we were talking about tasty totty didn't you? Well, you'd be wrong. This was a very civilised afternoon tea dance with finger food (and we mean actual food!) - e.g. fairy cakes, cucumber sandwiches, rock cakes, Tunnocks tea cakes (with lovely gooey insides), tinned salmon sandwiches and lots and lots of tea. However, there was a lack of that other delicacy associated with English afternoon tea, i.e. the crumpet. But there was so much of all the other treats that perhaps it really didn't matter.
We love it with lashings of melting salted butter and jam, ideally strawberry. How do you like it (we're still talking about crumpet by the way)?
Prof. Roland Crump: We can't share a caravan.
Prof. Anna Vrooshka: You thinking you getting crumpet, no?
Prof. Roland Crump: Certainly not, where on earth did you learn that expression?
Prof. Anna Vrooshka: Crumpet, is to squash it, it is in dictionary, crumpet is to squash it together.
Prof. Roland Crump: Oh! You mean cramped.
Prof. Anna Vrooshka: It's what I say crumpet.
Prof. Roland Crump: Crumpet, crumbit, crampit, well I'm not staying round here much longer, I'm going to the pub to see if they have rooms there.
Prof. Anna Vrooshka: Maybe you're getting crumpet in pub also?
##
Our friends had a party last Saturday to celebrate their seventh anniversary. It was a lovely event: well planned out with a delightful theme....but there was no crumpet!
You thought we were talking about tasty totty didn't you? Well, you'd be wrong. This was a very civilised afternoon tea dance with finger food (and we mean actual food!) - e.g. fairy cakes, cucumber sandwiches, rock cakes, Tunnocks tea cakes (with lovely gooey insides), tinned salmon sandwiches and lots and lots of tea. However, there was a lack of that other delicacy associated with English afternoon tea, i.e. the crumpet. But there was so much of all the other treats that perhaps it really didn't matter.
We love it with lashings of melting salted butter and jam, ideally strawberry. How do you like it (we're still talking about crumpet by the way)?
Friday 25 July 2008
Seneca is well known throughout Rome as a truly great Sage
Seneca: "Yes…..and I know my onions!" (Carry on Cleo)
We have loads of sage growing in our garden. I only cut my bush back a few weeks ago. It's amazing how quickly it grows during the summer! The mad thing is that we Brits don't tend to eat much sage at this time of year. Casseroles, sage and onion stuffing, these are all winter foods, so what do I do with the abundance of this herb? I asked the sage of the kitchen (Charlotte) but this evening she's too busy drinking champagne and listening to Abba to impart her wisdom, so the question remains unanswered for now...
We have loads of sage growing in our garden. I only cut my bush back a few weeks ago. It's amazing how quickly it grows during the summer! The mad thing is that we Brits don't tend to eat much sage at this time of year. Casseroles, sage and onion stuffing, these are all winter foods, so what do I do with the abundance of this herb? I asked the sage of the kitchen (Charlotte) but this evening she's too busy drinking champagne and listening to Abba to impart her wisdom, so the question remains unanswered for now...
Thursday 24 July 2008
Stop Messing About
Eton Mess is basically what happens to a Pavlova once I have it in front of me. So, I think unless you're going to present this decadent dessert with a bit of comedy thrown in, as we have in the picture further down this page, then why bother wasting the time to balance your meringue nest on top of the carefully sculpted fruit and cream base - just mess it all up.
It couldn't be easier - fruit, cream and meringue nests mixed together and dolloped into a Martini glass. There's nothing to it and it's delicious.
I don't know what feels naughtier - eating Eton Mess or watching Nigella preparing it...
Wednesday 23 July 2008
Carry On Capers
People, it seems, either love of hate them. I'm talking about capers, not Carry On films, although the marmite rule probably applies there too.
Charlotte loves them and there's always a jar in the fridge, but I'm more fussy. I personally dislike their flavour if it's not balanced out with strong meats or cheeses. It's too sharp, or 'tart', as my Nana used to say.
Charlotte once made me a toasted bagel with cream cheese, topped with gherkins and capers for breakfast. It was the only meal she's ever made that I can remember feeling disappointed by. It was a rather jarring sensation to wake up to such an acidic taste. But what do you do in that situation, when your loved one has gone to the trouble of preparing something for you and it's not quite hit the right spot?
Carry on Eating that's what, and since UKTV Gold are currently promoting their Carry On extravaganza this weekend, I've been inspired to make Carry on Eating the theme of my blog posts over the next few days, so brace yourself for the double entendres.
In the meantime, I'd love to hear about your own Carry On Eating experiences. Fly in your soup, hair in your salad or just something you've been served up that you simply can't stand - have you ever forced something down just to be polite?
Now, you can't say I didn't warn you about the double entendres.
Monday 21 July 2008
MOOD FOOD: Solidarity Salsa
The mouthy blonde that works near my desk had been telling her colleagues about her weekend this morning and had just informed them that one of her female friends had voiced a preference for women rather than men.
"You'd better be careful you don't find yourself alone with her," the frumpy brunette on the end of the row commented loudly, "she might make a move on you!
Now, maybe I've been lucky in my life so far as I've never witnessed a comment like this first hand. I know enough people who have though. It's up there in the top ten lesbian -directed insults, along with "what do you do in bed?" and "but you don't look like a lesbian." Perhaps it was because it was a Monday morning, or perhaps it was because I was working pretty much on my own today with no close colleagues to talk to, but that comment hit me hard. It's funny what your mind does in these situations - it rages, it races, it plays out revenge scenarios or dreams up bitingly witty retorts, but rarely does it tell you to actually stand up and confront the person with the insults head on. No, I just sat there quietly fuming, feeling increasingly isolated in a workplace full of heterosexuals and that's when I found myself standing on a precipice, thinking about heading to the work cafe to fill my emotional void by filling my stomach. You know what I'm talking about - comfort eating.
What a dark tale this is turning out to be eh? Don't worry, I turned it around - it has a happy ending.
So there I was standing at the coffee bar, faced with an assortment of biscuits, brownies, flapjacks and scones, and maybe it was the strains of Abba's The Winner Takes it All coming from the cafe radio, or the sight of a gay business card in my purse, but in that moment I saw the light. That ignorant girl this morning hadn't been talking about me when she'd said her hurtful words, yet I'd felt it as though she had been - how's that for solidarity? Far from being isolated, does this not show that we gays and lesbians feel for each other, look out for each other, and identify with each other, even if we've never met? I would say so.
I'm so glad that I didn't end up shoving some sweet and stodgy cake down my throat earlier - I'd have only ended up feeling sick for the rest of the day. Instead, I'm now very peckish and hoping to persuade Charlotte to make some of her delicious hot and fiery salsa as a pre-dinner snack this evening. Hopefully the heat in the sauce will spur us on to get just a little bit heated as we discuss this topic, but that's great. What healthier antidote is there to office homophobia than sharing a tasty morsel with your loved one, while putting the world to rights.
Sunday 20 July 2008
A little bit of spice
How wonderful is curry? I just love, love, love it. It's one of my favourite meals to have out, especially in a social context with lots of friends.
There is nowt better that a group of friends chewing the fat over a heaving table of naans, pilau rice, steaming curries, dahl and Asian larger, as we did with our neighbour last Saturday.
We started the evening off with cocktails in our local posh brasserie, Joanna's. It's a great place to eat as well and their cocktails are sublime. Proper stuff, not all this nonsense with masses of fruit juice, which dilutes the alcohol. We opted for classic and simple - a mint julep, cosmopolitan and mojito.
And then for curry. Everyone has a local curry house they recommend, don't they? Our favourite local place is the Gurkha Cottage, which is actually Nepalese. We always order the same as well. Gurkha chicken, which is a variation on butter chicken, mixed kebab starter, momo balls, rice and sometimes a naan, plus lots of Gurkha beer. As our neighbour is vegan, we ventured into new territory and tried a few select veggie dishes, which were divine.
It's cheap, cheerful and you get a free sherry at the end. It's just the walk back on an incredibly full stomach that's the bugger!
There is nowt better that a group of friends chewing the fat over a heaving table of naans, pilau rice, steaming curries, dahl and Asian larger, as we did with our neighbour last Saturday.
We started the evening off with cocktails in our local posh brasserie, Joanna's. It's a great place to eat as well and their cocktails are sublime. Proper stuff, not all this nonsense with masses of fruit juice, which dilutes the alcohol. We opted for classic and simple - a mint julep, cosmopolitan and mojito.
And then for curry. Everyone has a local curry house they recommend, don't they? Our favourite local place is the Gurkha Cottage, which is actually Nepalese. We always order the same as well. Gurkha chicken, which is a variation on butter chicken, mixed kebab starter, momo balls, rice and sometimes a naan, plus lots of Gurkha beer. As our neighbour is vegan, we ventured into new territory and tried a few select veggie dishes, which were divine.
It's cheap, cheerful and you get a free sherry at the end. It's just the walk back on an incredibly full stomach that's the bugger!
Thursday 17 July 2008
Girl on Grill Action
I love a good barbecue. I jump at any opportunity to start creating inventive marinades or rubs, slathering them on fine cuts of meat and then whacking them on the grill. The smell of of the meat and sauce marrying together over hot coals gives me an immense sense of pleasure.
Am I the only person who gets excited perusing the vast array of barbecue sauces on the market today? There are so many to choose from! My personal favourite is Cattlemen's, which can be purchased in Sainsbury's or Waitrose. I get equally excited about salad dressings. Try Brianna's Rich Poppy Seed, if you can find it.
Of course, barbecues can also go woefully wrong. This can be the case if you use inferior cuts of meat or frozen burgers and sausages. They just lack the depth of flavour that comes with finer cuts, quality ground beef or speciality sausages.
There are a vast array of things you can cook on a grill, and not all meat based. You can make souvlaki, BBQ maple ribs, grilled sweetcorn with butter and chilli flakes, citrus monkfish, halloumi, blue cheese burgers...the list goes on.
One of my finest memories involves a barbecue. Beth, our friends and I had just arrived at the Moonshine Cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains at the start of our holiday to Dollywood and Nashville. As a pinky orange sun was setting over the horizon, we cracked open some ice cold bottles of local beer, got the hot tub going and struck up the grill. We ate our charcol grilled steaks with salad whilst the eagles flew in the distance and Johnny Cash played on the stereo. Can it get any better?
Am I the only person who gets excited perusing the vast array of barbecue sauces on the market today? There are so many to choose from! My personal favourite is Cattlemen's, which can be purchased in Sainsbury's or Waitrose. I get equally excited about salad dressings. Try Brianna's Rich Poppy Seed, if you can find it.
Of course, barbecues can also go woefully wrong. This can be the case if you use inferior cuts of meat or frozen burgers and sausages. They just lack the depth of flavour that comes with finer cuts, quality ground beef or speciality sausages.
There are a vast array of things you can cook on a grill, and not all meat based. You can make souvlaki, BBQ maple ribs, grilled sweetcorn with butter and chilli flakes, citrus monkfish, halloumi, blue cheese burgers...the list goes on.
One of my finest memories involves a barbecue. Beth, our friends and I had just arrived at the Moonshine Cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains at the start of our holiday to Dollywood and Nashville. As a pinky orange sun was setting over the horizon, we cracked open some ice cold bottles of local beer, got the hot tub going and struck up the grill. We ate our charcol grilled steaks with salad whilst the eagles flew in the distance and Johnny Cash played on the stereo. Can it get any better?
Monday 14 July 2008
Something Fishy
Can you recall the last time you had a meal that was so brazen in its simplicity but somehow managed to capture your epicurean senses in a way that far exceeds a five course gastronomic feast? We recently had the pleasure of experiencing this sensation at the Sole Bay Fish Company in Southwold Harbour, Suffolk.
The setting was rustic. A wooden fishmonger's hut with a wet fish bar, mismatched tables and chairs, checked table cloths and a distinct smell of the sea. The dish was equally uncomplicated. Just a large platter piled high with crab, lobster, whelks, cockles, crevettes, mussels and crayfish. Prior to this we consumed some Colchester native oysters with a few drops of Tabasco, and malt vinegar.
This fishy feast was accompanied by a bottle of sparkling Chardonnay and some crusty brown bread. Both of which were brought on to the premises by ourselves as recommended by the establishment. They provide the glasses, you provide the vino.
I've heard an equally rustic culinary experience can be had closer to London at the Company Shed in West Mersea, Essex. So, get yourself down there...there is definitely something fishy going on!
The setting was rustic. A wooden fishmonger's hut with a wet fish bar, mismatched tables and chairs, checked table cloths and a distinct smell of the sea. The dish was equally uncomplicated. Just a large platter piled high with crab, lobster, whelks, cockles, crevettes, mussels and crayfish. Prior to this we consumed some Colchester native oysters with a few drops of Tabasco, and malt vinegar.
This fishy feast was accompanied by a bottle of sparkling Chardonnay and some crusty brown bread. Both of which were brought on to the premises by ourselves as recommended by the establishment. They provide the glasses, you provide the vino.
I've heard an equally rustic culinary experience can be had closer to London at the Company Shed in West Mersea, Essex. So, get yourself down there...there is definitely something fishy going on!
Friday 11 July 2008
A Broad Appeal
The Norfolk Broads can be very appealing, especially on a sunny day after cycling 10 miles with the promise of an ice cold beer and rustic food in a riverbank hostelry awaiting you.
Well, that's what we had in mind when we approached the Reedham Ferry Inn. However, the truth was that we ended up in a very common trap. This was a place brazenly serving mediocre food in the knowledge that their transient tourist clientele are unlikely ever to complain or return(think theatreland restaurants in London).
There I was faced with a beef salad on iceberg lettuce, when the menu clearly stated char grilled steak salad on rocket. But what can you do when you are literally trapped as you have to take a small ferry boat to get to it? Do I take it back and risk having a nice dribble of spit in the dressing? My therapy was to cut my losses and then bitch it off on all available internet forums promoting the Broads.
Not only that, we got charged £4 to take our bikes over on the ferry, but those pedestrians who parked their very environmentally unfriendly cars on the other side got to go free!
We did, however, make up for it in the evening. We were taken for a meal at the Lavender House just outside Norwich. Here the food is lovingly prepared with panache, style and extreme enthusiasm. Amongst other things, we dined on crab cocktail with sweetcorn ice cream and cucumber jelly, fillet and shin of beef with smoked mashed potatoes, iced peanut butter parfait with banana marshmallow and the most delectable after dinner chocolates, especially the caramels with sea salt.
Alongside the main courses you also get pre-courses, such an amuse bouche of shellfish consume and a pre-dessert of butternut squash mousse topped with maple syrup and a coconut creme. Now this was a place worth travelling to, a place where they value the customers and food alike.
Well, that's what we had in mind when we approached the Reedham Ferry Inn. However, the truth was that we ended up in a very common trap. This was a place brazenly serving mediocre food in the knowledge that their transient tourist clientele are unlikely ever to complain or return(think theatreland restaurants in London).
There I was faced with a beef salad on iceberg lettuce, when the menu clearly stated char grilled steak salad on rocket. But what can you do when you are literally trapped as you have to take a small ferry boat to get to it? Do I take it back and risk having a nice dribble of spit in the dressing? My therapy was to cut my losses and then bitch it off on all available internet forums promoting the Broads.
Not only that, we got charged £4 to take our bikes over on the ferry, but those pedestrians who parked their very environmentally unfriendly cars on the other side got to go free!
We did, however, make up for it in the evening. We were taken for a meal at the Lavender House just outside Norwich. Here the food is lovingly prepared with panache, style and extreme enthusiasm. Amongst other things, we dined on crab cocktail with sweetcorn ice cream and cucumber jelly, fillet and shin of beef with smoked mashed potatoes, iced peanut butter parfait with banana marshmallow and the most delectable after dinner chocolates, especially the caramels with sea salt.
Alongside the main courses you also get pre-courses, such an amuse bouche of shellfish consume and a pre-dessert of butternut squash mousse topped with maple syrup and a coconut creme. Now this was a place worth travelling to, a place where they value the customers and food alike.
Tuesday 8 July 2008
Gimme, gimme, gimme...
...some Spam after midnight! Today we shall be marvelling at the comforting qualities of the naughty but nice Spam Fritters we ate last night as well looking forward to seeing Mamma Mia! later on this week.
On a comfort food note, we were pleased to hear about your own comfort faves and also interested to see that no one has specified a sweet treat as their perfect nurturing nosh. It seems chocolate addicts are not as common as we thought.
Anyway, back to the spam fritters. For those of you that may remember these from your childhood school dinners, Spam Fritters consist of a slice of spam, coated in a batter and deep fried. Healthy? No. Tasty? You betcha. Top your fritter with a little balsamic vinegar and ketchup (not Heinz) and consume. A sort of mix of retro chav and foodie finesse.
On the Abba note, do you like what we cooked up for the title of this post? What others can you think of?
Chicken pizza
Voulez-vent
I have ice cream
On a comfort food note, we were pleased to hear about your own comfort faves and also interested to see that no one has specified a sweet treat as their perfect nurturing nosh. It seems chocolate addicts are not as common as we thought.
Anyway, back to the spam fritters. For those of you that may remember these from your childhood school dinners, Spam Fritters consist of a slice of spam, coated in a batter and deep fried. Healthy? No. Tasty? You betcha. Top your fritter with a little balsamic vinegar and ketchup (not Heinz) and consume. A sort of mix of retro chav and foodie finesse.
On the Abba note, do you like what we cooked up for the title of this post? What others can you think of?
Chicken pizza
Voulez-vent
I have ice cream
Sunday 6 July 2008
Postparton Depression
As a child, did you ever get that wave of sadness come over you after Christmas day?
This is what it's like today after last night's Dolly Parton concert.
She was fantastic - beautiful, charming, witty and she sang beautifully. In addition to the tracks she performed from her Backwoods Barbie album, she also did the old favourites which had everybody up dancing. A surprising, and moving, choice was Shattered Image. This clever song is a clearly heartfelt plea to the media to think twice about some of the cruel remarks they churn out about her. "Stay out of my closet if your own's full of trash," she says.
This weekend the UK failure of Dolly's Imagination Library (launched in Rotherham last year) is plastered all over the news. It's so sad. Dolly, as the figurehead, is being portrayed as the failure when it should be the businesses and the parents in that Yorkshire town who get the blame for caring enough to get behind the scheme. She did mention the Imagination Library last night and every time she referred to its UK arm, the audience cheered and clapped. Clearly I'm not alone in my admiration of a scheme that encourages youngsters to love the English language.
Anyway, I could ramble on for ages about Dolly. If you've ever seen her perform live I'm sure you know what I mean. Talking to other people last night, it's clear that she has a bewitching quality. Once you've seen her, you're totally hooked on the Dolly drug, which is great, apart from the fact that you get horrible withdrawal symptoms, as I have today.
So I think today comfort food is the answer. What comfort food works best for you? Your suggestions will be very welcome.
Saturday 5 July 2008
Dolly Dinners: Applejack
I still have time to talk about the wonders of Applejack before seeing Dolly in the flesh. You see I hate cider, leaves a nasty aftertaste I find, but Applejack, although also made from apples doesn't taste of them. Some may disagree, but to me, it's more like whisky or bourbon, which incidentally I love - my favourite of all tipples. Tennessee bourbon is best.
Unfortunately the bottle of Applejack we had in our stocks has long gone so there's no chance of me downing a drop in honour of Dolly. It's probably just as well though - I want to be sober for later and it's strong stuff.
Is it on the trolley?
So asked Victoria Wood in her famous sketch. But, who actually remembers the sweet trolley?
I certainly do. Puts me in mind of all the holidays we spent in Trust House Forte hotels in Devon and Cornwall when I was a child. As I recall the menus always looked like this:
Starter
Chilled juice - orange, grapefruit or tomato
Soup of the day
Prawn cocktail
Farmhouse Pate
Egg Mayonnaise (with a little bit of paprika sprinkled on top!)
Main
Steak Diane
Rainbow Trout with almonds
Coq au vin
Rack of lamb (wearing those little fluffy chef's hats at the end of each bone)
Something veggie, but I never remember what it was.
And then the sweet trolley. This is where the meal really came into its own. There were trifles, profiteroles, black forest gateaux, a very sad looking fruit salad and pavlova. Cream was queen and you could finish off with a rather lacklustre cheeseboard.
Even today, my favourite meal consists of prawn cocktail, steak Diane and sherry trifle. Although today I use quality ingredients dahhhhling! What are your retro food memories?
I certainly do. Puts me in mind of all the holidays we spent in Trust House Forte hotels in Devon and Cornwall when I was a child. As I recall the menus always looked like this:
Starter
Chilled juice - orange, grapefruit or tomato
Soup of the day
Prawn cocktail
Farmhouse Pate
Egg Mayonnaise (with a little bit of paprika sprinkled on top!)
Main
Steak Diane
Rainbow Trout with almonds
Coq au vin
Rack of lamb (wearing those little fluffy chef's hats at the end of each bone)
Something veggie, but I never remember what it was.
And then the sweet trolley. This is where the meal really came into its own. There were trifles, profiteroles, black forest gateaux, a very sad looking fruit salad and pavlova. Cream was queen and you could finish off with a rather lacklustre cheeseboard.
Even today, my favourite meal consists of prawn cocktail, steak Diane and sherry trifle. Although today I use quality ingredients dahhhhling! What are your retro food memories?
Friday 4 July 2008
Dolly Dinners: You Choose
We have so many Dolly Dinners up our sleeves, so we're inviting you to choose from our top ten list:
Why D'ya Come in here Cookin' Like That?
Let us know which Dolly Dinners you'd like to hear about. Believe it or not, we have a story for each and every one.
A fool for cheese
Well firstly, yes I am a fool for cheese and secondly, that's the deal I have struck with Beth today. She must buy me cheese from Neal's Yard Dairy on her way home from work and I will make a blueberry fool with our homegrown blueberries and the excess yogurt we have in the fridge.
Now the cheese must be honking! By that I mean its aroma must be incredibly pungent. An Époisses de Bourgogne or Stinking Bishop should do the trick. Am I alone in my adoration of cheese that quite frankly smells like manure? Maybe, but it tastes wonderful.
Here's how to make the fool:
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoons water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 pint whipping cream
1/4 pint plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place the berries in a medium saucepan and stir in the water and sugar. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until the berries are soft and have released their juices. Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside to cool.
Meanwhile, whisk the cream for about one minute until soft peaks form and then mix in the yogurt and vanilla extract.
Pour the cooled blueberry sauce over the whipped cream/yogurt mix and gently fold the mixture until the blueberries and the cream are well combined. Refrigerate for at least two hours, then spoon the dessert into serving dishes.
Now the cheese must be honking! By that I mean its aroma must be incredibly pungent. An Époisses de Bourgogne or Stinking Bishop should do the trick. Am I alone in my adoration of cheese that quite frankly smells like manure? Maybe, but it tastes wonderful.
Here's how to make the fool:
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoons water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 pint whipping cream
1/4 pint plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place the berries in a medium saucepan and stir in the water and sugar. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until the berries are soft and have released their juices. Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside to cool.
Meanwhile, whisk the cream for about one minute until soft peaks form and then mix in the yogurt and vanilla extract.
Pour the cooled blueberry sauce over the whipped cream/yogurt mix and gently fold the mixture until the blueberries and the cream are well combined. Refrigerate for at least two hours, then spoon the dessert into serving dishes.
Thursday 3 July 2008
Dolly Dinners: Beth's Cup of Ambition
Every morning during the working week I do jump out of bed, stumble to the kitchen and pour myself a cup. Dolly describes my morning ritual perfectly.
Unless I've got a hangover, my cup of ambition is always coffee - it's one of the few things I have every single day. I'm very particular about it too. You see it has to be black (unless it's the weekend) and it has to be proper coffee (no decaf or instant thank you very much). Am I alone or are others as precious about their morning cup as I am?
Anyway, enough about coffee and on to my ambitions. I have to say that my biggest ambition in life has been to find love and happiness and I'm overjoyed to say that I've certainly achieved that. If I never achieve any of my other ambitions in my lifetime it really doesn't matter.
Nevertheless, there's nothing wrong with having dreams, so here they are (in no particular order):
1) See homophobia wiped out totally throughout the world.
2) Help counteract the ever-plummeting levels of illiteracy that I witness every day. You won't believe how wound up I get when I see a rogue apostrophe, or lack of one. I could really get on my high horse but I'm restraining myself. Does anyone else out there feel as passionately as I do? Get in touch, let's form a vigilante group. If you care its you're duty to do something to help secure the English languages surival. AGGGGHHHHH. I'm going to have a sleepless night now that I've written that sentence. Don't be surprised if it's edited out by the morning.
3) Meet Dolly Parton. She is indeed a goddess, and in addition to all the wonderful songs that she sings and writes, I have so much respect for her because she is actually doing something actively to deal with the concerns I've just ranted about above. See here to find out about her Imagination Library.
4) Finish the book I've been writing for the past three years by the end of this year.
5) Get a hairdresser that will always cut my hair the way I want it. Maybe I should follow Dolly's example and start wearing wigs. She's got sense. There's no chance of a bad hair day then.
What do you reckon, will I achieve any of the above, or should I wake up now and smell the coffee?
Unless I've got a hangover, my cup of ambition is always coffee - it's one of the few things I have every single day. I'm very particular about it too. You see it has to be black (unless it's the weekend) and it has to be proper coffee (no decaf or instant thank you very much). Am I alone or are others as precious about their morning cup as I am?
Anyway, enough about coffee and on to my ambitions. I have to say that my biggest ambition in life has been to find love and happiness and I'm overjoyed to say that I've certainly achieved that. If I never achieve any of my other ambitions in my lifetime it really doesn't matter.
Nevertheless, there's nothing wrong with having dreams, so here they are (in no particular order):
1) See homophobia wiped out totally throughout the world.
2) Help counteract the ever-plummeting levels of illiteracy that I witness every day. You won't believe how wound up I get when I see a rogue apostrophe, or lack of one. I could really get on my high horse but I'm restraining myself. Does anyone else out there feel as passionately as I do? Get in touch, let's form a vigilante group. If you care its you're duty to do something to help secure the English languages surival. AGGGGHHHHH. I'm going to have a sleepless night now that I've written that sentence. Don't be surprised if it's edited out by the morning.
3) Meet Dolly Parton. She is indeed a goddess, and in addition to all the wonderful songs that she sings and writes, I have so much respect for her because she is actually doing something actively to deal with the concerns I've just ranted about above. See here to find out about her Imagination Library.
4) Finish the book I've been writing for the past three years by the end of this year.
5) Get a hairdresser that will always cut my hair the way I want it. Maybe I should follow Dolly's example and start wearing wigs. She's got sense. There's no chance of a bad hair day then.
What do you reckon, will I achieve any of the above, or should I wake up now and smell the coffee?
If you want the rainbow...
Just look outside the window. There is a glorious one over South London right now.
But as Dolly says "if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain". Keep this in mind on Saturday if you're going to Gay Pride. It's a way of remembering those people that put up with a hell of a lot of rain, fighting for equality, so that we, our supporters, family and friends can march with dignity and pride and enjoy a day filled with gay celebration!
But tonight I have to admit that I am feeling a little moody. Is it the rain or the fact that Beth is working late? Who knows? But to break this spell I am going to have a lovely large glass of red wine and make a mood lifting moussaka. The recipe comes from Falling Cloudberries: A World of Family Recipes by Tessa Kiros, which is quite simply my favourite cookbook in the world.
I can then imagine that I am sitting on a tranquil Greek island watching the sun go down whilst I gently sip my wine, which reminds me, the film of Mamma Mia opens next week and I must book tickets. As well as Dolly, I am also a total fool for Abba. How camp and predictable!
But as Dolly says "if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain". Keep this in mind on Saturday if you're going to Gay Pride. It's a way of remembering those people that put up with a hell of a lot of rain, fighting for equality, so that we, our supporters, family and friends can march with dignity and pride and enjoy a day filled with gay celebration!
But tonight I have to admit that I am feeling a little moody. Is it the rain or the fact that Beth is working late? Who knows? But to break this spell I am going to have a lovely large glass of red wine and make a mood lifting moussaka. The recipe comes from Falling Cloudberries: A World of Family Recipes by Tessa Kiros, which is quite simply my favourite cookbook in the world.
I can then imagine that I am sitting on a tranquil Greek island watching the sun go down whilst I gently sip my wine, which reminds me, the film of Mamma Mia opens next week and I must book tickets. As well as Dolly, I am also a total fool for Abba. How camp and predictable!
Sticky fingers
Here's the recipe for those glazed maple ribs.
Ingredients
2 1/2 lbs pork spareribs
6 fluid ounces maple syrup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup (not Heinz...we don't like them and are boycotting all products after pulling their "gay deli" ad after a mere 200 complaints from homophobic bigots!)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
Salt
2 teaspoons mustard (Swedish or German style is best)
A glug of Bourbon (Jack Daniels or Jim Beam)
Place ribs in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for one hour. Drain and place in a shallow dish. In a small saucepan, combine the maple syrup, brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt, mustard and Bourbon.
Bring to a boil, stirring, and then remove from the heat and pour over the ribs. Toss the ribs to coat well, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours. Transfer ribs to a pre-heated oven and cook for about 20 minutes, or until tender and glazed. Serve hot.
Ingredients
2 1/2 lbs pork spareribs
6 fluid ounces maple syrup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup (not Heinz...we don't like them and are boycotting all products after pulling their "gay deli" ad after a mere 200 complaints from homophobic bigots!)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
Salt
2 teaspoons mustard (Swedish or German style is best)
A glug of Bourbon (Jack Daniels or Jim Beam)
Place ribs in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for one hour. Drain and place in a shallow dish. In a small saucepan, combine the maple syrup, brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt, mustard and Bourbon.
Bring to a boil, stirring, and then remove from the heat and pour over the ribs. Toss the ribs to coat well, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours. Transfer ribs to a pre-heated oven and cook for about 20 minutes, or until tender and glazed. Serve hot.
Wednesday 2 July 2008
Dolly Dinners: Charred Candy Crispness
(Hard Candy Christmas from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas)
I had some delicious glazed ribs this evening. If it had been yesterday (very hot and very sunny) maybe we'd have cooked them outside in the garden and eaten al fresco with the birds and the trees out back as dining companions. However, today is a rainy old day so no chance of a backwoods barbie (please feel free to groan at my very laboured attempt to weave in the name of Dolly's latest album and accompanying tour...did we mention we were going to see her on Saturday?)
Anyway, the ribs. Juicy, sweet and salty deliciousness combined with a slight crispness round the edges. Charlotte has promised to reveal her secret recipe for these shortly, so come back soon.
I had some delicious glazed ribs this evening. If it had been yesterday (very hot and very sunny) maybe we'd have cooked them outside in the garden and eaten al fresco with the birds and the trees out back as dining companions. However, today is a rainy old day so no chance of a backwoods barbie (please feel free to groan at my very laboured attempt to weave in the name of Dolly's latest album and accompanying tour...did we mention we were going to see her on Saturday?)
Anyway, the ribs. Juicy, sweet and salty deliciousness combined with a slight crispness round the edges. Charlotte has promised to reveal her secret recipe for these shortly, so come back soon.
A little bit of what you fancy does you good
I watched a dramatisation of the life of East End lass Marie Lloyd last night. Marie Lloyd, if you don't know, was one of the greatest English music hall singers of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, whose songs were rife with double entendre, e.g. "she'd never had her ticket punched before" wink, wink!
As one of her most famous songs states "a little bit of fancy does you good", a view that I hold very true to my heart, certainly when it comes to food. And, if the recent Victorian episode of the excellent The Supersizers Go... (featuring our superb Sapphic sister Sue Perkins and honorary heterosexual hottie, Giles Coran) was anything to go by, then those Victorians certainly had a lot of what they fancied. To find out more about the era, read Tipping the Velvet, it's fabulous and
adds another dimension to eating oysters!
So I thought I would share my very fanciable recipe for roast potatoes with you, guaranteed to make you fancy more that just a little bit.
Heat up some goose or duck fat in a roasting tin in a pre-heated oven. Cut some King Edward or Heritage potatoes three ways (so each potato has three edges) and then par-boil for five minutes in hot salted water. Drain and then add a little cornmeal or dried polenta to the saucepan (1 teaspoon) along with salt and pepper and some rosemary and then shake the pan as so to loosen the edges of the potatoes. Place the potatoes one by one in the hot fat, making sure there is good space between each of them and cook for 30 - 35 minutes.
Your tatties should come out crisp and golden on the outside and delectably fluffy on the inside. Fancy that?
On another note and another era, check out the Supersizers Go Seventies. A time when we worshipped at the altar of Angel Delight and had an uncharacteristic, but definite fear of Fanny (Fanny Cradock that is)!
As one of her most famous songs states "a little bit of fancy does you good", a view that I hold very true to my heart, certainly when it comes to food. And, if the recent Victorian episode of the excellent The Supersizers Go... (featuring our superb Sapphic sister Sue Perkins and honorary heterosexual hottie, Giles Coran) was anything to go by, then those Victorians certainly had a lot of what they fancied. To find out more about the era, read Tipping the Velvet, it's fabulous and
adds another dimension to eating oysters!
So I thought I would share my very fanciable recipe for roast potatoes with you, guaranteed to make you fancy more that just a little bit.
Heat up some goose or duck fat in a roasting tin in a pre-heated oven. Cut some King Edward or Heritage potatoes three ways (so each potato has three edges) and then par-boil for five minutes in hot salted water. Drain and then add a little cornmeal or dried polenta to the saucepan (1 teaspoon) along with salt and pepper and some rosemary and then shake the pan as so to loosen the edges of the potatoes. Place the potatoes one by one in the hot fat, making sure there is good space between each of them and cook for 30 - 35 minutes.
Your tatties should come out crisp and golden on the outside and delectably fluffy on the inside. Fancy that?
On another note and another era, check out the Supersizers Go Seventies. A time when we worshipped at the altar of Angel Delight and had an uncharacteristic, but definite fear of Fanny (Fanny Cradock that is)!
Dolly Dinners: A cup of ambition
Nine to five
Now I'm not stuck in the rigours of a nine to five routine, my ambition for today was to take myself into town, sample some more culinary delights and spend some time at Mediatheque on the Southbank. Here you can view the BFI's film archives for free and it's great place to spend some spare time, as the archive has over 1000 titles right at your fingertips, including such gems as Abigail's Party, the Wicker Man (original version naturally) and a whole host of gay films and TV programmes.
However, my plans have been thrown into disarray as I have pulled what seems like a nerve in my back, and so am housebound. So, I will throw my energy into consuming the tasty breakfast muffins I made the other day, along with my cup of ambition (pictured) and catching up on viewing my DVD collection.
Speaking of ambition, what are yours? Here's just a few of mine:
1. To take a road trip from Santa Fe to San Francisco, taking in the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, LA and Highway 1 on the way - My ambition was further quenched by the advertising launch we attended the other day, hosted by Amro Holidays, the gay owned travel company. They've launched a new US campaign on the tube network, specifically at Leicester Sq and Covent Garden stations. Take a look the next time you go up the escalator and maybe do a bit of cruising to see who else is checking it out! We will do the trip in time...just need to stock up on Valium to cope with the flights!
2. Wipe out homophobia - we live in hope, but doesn't it seem to be getting worse?
3. Run my own deli or become a food writer - a long term ambition, but it would be great. All that fine food and being able to talk about it as my job.
4. Write a book - either something set in the Studio 54 days or a wartime lesbian love story.
5. Meet Dolly Parton - What else can I say....she is a goddess!
Now I'm not stuck in the rigours of a nine to five routine, my ambition for today was to take myself into town, sample some more culinary delights and spend some time at Mediatheque on the Southbank. Here you can view the BFI's film archives for free and it's great place to spend some spare time, as the archive has over 1000 titles right at your fingertips, including such gems as Abigail's Party, the Wicker Man (original version naturally) and a whole host of gay films and TV programmes.
However, my plans have been thrown into disarray as I have pulled what seems like a nerve in my back, and so am housebound. So, I will throw my energy into consuming the tasty breakfast muffins I made the other day, along with my cup of ambition (pictured) and catching up on viewing my DVD collection.
Speaking of ambition, what are yours? Here's just a few of mine:
1. To take a road trip from Santa Fe to San Francisco, taking in the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, LA and Highway 1 on the way - My ambition was further quenched by the advertising launch we attended the other day, hosted by Amro Holidays, the gay owned travel company. They've launched a new US campaign on the tube network, specifically at Leicester Sq and Covent Garden stations. Take a look the next time you go up the escalator and maybe do a bit of cruising to see who else is checking it out! We will do the trip in time...just need to stock up on Valium to cope with the flights!
2. Wipe out homophobia - we live in hope, but doesn't it seem to be getting worse?
3. Run my own deli or become a food writer - a long term ambition, but it would be great. All that fine food and being able to talk about it as my job.
4. Write a book - either something set in the Studio 54 days or a wartime lesbian love story.
5. Meet Dolly Parton - What else can I say....she is a goddess!
Tuesday 1 July 2008
Dolly Dinners: Touch Your Woman Tuna Sandwich
Touch Your Woman, Dolly Parton
We had a delicious lunch last Sunday after our Sainsbury's shopping spree, which involved making a very special tuna sandwich.
Take two slices of brown or granary bread. It must be brown or granary, white bread just doesn't cut it with a tuna sandwich, unless it's a toasted tuna melt. Actually, I'm a bit anal about which bread goes with what food, i.e. toast with marmite has to be on white bread, but toast with peanut butter has to be on brown. I'm the same with the container from which I drink my tea. It must be a bone china cup. Mugs are only good for soup and coffee.
Anyway....Take two slices of brown bread and do not butter the bread (another thing I am anal about, butter only suits toast). In a bowl mix one tin of tuna with a little mayo, chopped celery, chopped red pepper, gherkin and spring onion. Bind with a little Tabasco sauce and spread over the bread. Slice down the middle and consume.
It certainly has a little bit of bite and a definite kick, guaranteed to touch your woman's taste buds!
We had a delicious lunch last Sunday after our Sainsbury's shopping spree, which involved making a very special tuna sandwich.
Take two slices of brown or granary bread. It must be brown or granary, white bread just doesn't cut it with a tuna sandwich, unless it's a toasted tuna melt. Actually, I'm a bit anal about which bread goes with what food, i.e. toast with marmite has to be on white bread, but toast with peanut butter has to be on brown. I'm the same with the container from which I drink my tea. It must be a bone china cup. Mugs are only good for soup and coffee.
Anyway....Take two slices of brown bread and do not butter the bread (another thing I am anal about, butter only suits toast). In a bowl mix one tin of tuna with a little mayo, chopped celery, chopped red pepper, gherkin and spring onion. Bind with a little Tabasco sauce and spread over the bread. Slice down the middle and consume.
It certainly has a little bit of bite and a definite kick, guaranteed to touch your woman's taste buds!
Dolly Dinners: Front Porch Punch
My Tennessee Mountain Home, Dolly Parton
Sittin' on the front porch on a summer afternoon...
Chance would be a fine thing. Our front garden is a building site at the moment and since there's a ten foot drop from our front door, we can't enter our home, unless we go round the back.
Hopefully this will explain why we broke our promise to begin talking about our week of Dolly Dinners on Sunday, leaving you with just a couple of pavlova puppies as a teaser. Sometimes, when your home is in upheaval, your life feels that way too, don't you agree? That's why this evening I asked Charlotte to transpose her kitchen creativity onto the TV-stand-cum-drinks-trolley we keep in our dining room and mix me up a cocktail to distract me from the mess outside.
So now I've got a tall glass of red sunset coloured crushed ice. Apparently my drink contains strawberries and mangoes, but I've not been told what spirit. It's rum probably and it's deceptively strong and already doing the trick. I'd better be careful not to enjoy this too much or I might forget and decide to pop out the front door for something later and have a nasty accident.
I look forward to drinking this again when our front porch is finally built and I can sit there on a summer afternoon, imagining that I'm in Dolly's famous song. But do we get junebugs or fireflies in South London?
Sittin' on the front porch on a summer afternoon...
Chance would be a fine thing. Our front garden is a building site at the moment and since there's a ten foot drop from our front door, we can't enter our home, unless we go round the back.
Hopefully this will explain why we broke our promise to begin talking about our week of Dolly Dinners on Sunday, leaving you with just a couple of pavlova puppies as a teaser. Sometimes, when your home is in upheaval, your life feels that way too, don't you agree? That's why this evening I asked Charlotte to transpose her kitchen creativity onto the TV-stand-cum-drinks-trolley we keep in our dining room and mix me up a cocktail to distract me from the mess outside.
So now I've got a tall glass of red sunset coloured crushed ice. Apparently my drink contains strawberries and mangoes, but I've not been told what spirit. It's rum probably and it's deceptively strong and already doing the trick. I'd better be careful not to enjoy this too much or I might forget and decide to pop out the front door for something later and have a nasty accident.
I look forward to drinking this again when our front porch is finally built and I can sit there on a summer afternoon, imagining that I'm in Dolly's famous song. But do we get junebugs or fireflies in South London?
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