Foraging, fishmongers and sandwich baskets

Spring has definitely sprung here in London. Along any feral pathway you'll find nettles ready to sting and borage ripe for the clipping. I plan on doing a harvest next week or on the weekend and making a bit of nettle sauce for pasta. If I'm feeling super adventurous, I may even make some Jerusalem Artichoke Gnocchi for the sauce and get a bit of Sheepdrove Farm beef for the fresh horseradish I've spotted at the green grocer in Hampstead.

One of the most amazing things about our new flat is nothing to do with the brick and mortar. It has do with someone who comes to visit weekly to pawn his wares from the back of his van. His name is Glenn and he drives down from the port of Grimsby every Tuesday right to our front door, van loaded with refrigerated, freshly caught (and some smoked!) fish. In only one try, we have the drill down: Glenn arives, rings my doorbell, I run down with cash in hand and he pulls, filets or cuts anything for me. Weighs it on his scale, wraps it up and I return home upstairs with fresh sea critters for dinner for one or two days (and even some lunch). The best part about it is he comes during Eamon's morning nap, so I can have a leisurely look and chat. I believe that as we get more familiar I'll be able to ask for special things, like oysters and urchins and cockles and things. Yesterday we got two fresh mackerel, fileted beautifully, which I seared and broiled, topped with cilantro+hot pepper+basil+lime and Maldon Sea Salt. Mmmmm. Tonight it'll be salmon. A whole guy.

Last week I discovered a gorgeous butcher shop in Maida Vale called Sheepdrove Organic Farm. Everything in their shop they raise, butcher and make into charcuterie themselves. We had lovely spicy Merguez, a brisket which I slow cooked with prune, apricot and shallot and I plan to go back for their pork roasts which are said to have wonderful cracklings. When I think of how much I love this shop I am a little bit shocked that I was ever a vegetarian. My 20 year old self would cringe!

The most wonderful opportunity is created by moving to a country that has a completely different electrical grid. It means you have to buy all new kitchen appliances. I have yet to see if I fall in love with my slices/dices/does the laundry kitchen machine by Kenwood, but no matter! I am absolutely over the moon about my Dualit toaster. Sandwich cages! What a revelation, to pop a bit of leftovers in between some bread, into the cage, cage into the toaster. Cary on with my "work" and then return to a gorgeous sandwich. Hot, no less. I am hoping the US starts to carry this model by 2012 or whenever it is we return...

One more discovery in Hamsptead has been the crepe stand that lures me in every time I "pass" by, in spite of its ridiculously long line. Shortest wait time yet was 35 minutes. Longest was 1 hour, note to self, don't go just when school lets out. Teenagers come in droves to get sugar and butter crepes. Okay, salivating just writing this. I should be embarrased that I took this picture of their trash, but you have to commend them on their quality ingredients. That is my favorite creme de marron, and they use only free range eggs, plus the flour is high grade. Now the butter... they literally use about a half stick for one savory crepe, so I wonder how the quality is on that. Still, this is England and therefore the EU and therefore a bit more consciencious about the provenance of foods.

Battenberg Cake, Sausage Rolls and Ploughman's Pickle

There have been many walks around London, some resulting in great little bites, some starving and settling on just a quick bite of my new found love, Sausage Rolls. They come in many forms, freshly made at small boutique style food shops like A. Gold near Spitalfields Market, maybe pre-packed and warmed at a kebab shop or just after a quick pop into Marks and Spencer... No matter what form, I love them!
While on a walk with a good friend covering the Southbank of the Thames we found ourselves at the Borough Market. Unfortunately it was a day that the market was not open, so instead of seeing how the market functions, loading up on fruits and veggies and gorgeous charcuterie, we saw the inner workings. The smell was lovely by the way, so I am looking forward to another visit with great anticipation.
Another place that we found, which I have coveted for so very very long was Neal's Yard Dairy. Of course, it was Sunday, so the only day of the week they are closed! Also on the walk was Gabriel's Wharf, a giant open air courtyard poised in between print shops, food shops and some small galleries. We had a mediocre crepe that was in no way french (filled with gooey cheese, bacon, egg and frankfurter!) but kind of hit the spot! The really great part about Gabriel's Wharf is the common area in between all of these shops- there are enormous carved benches and tables and strange scultpures that kids crawl all over. Some rock. Fun.






Our friends Dave and Wayne joined us recently for a simple homemade dinner and brought this gorgeous red wine. I have to start studying up on my European wines... the studying is so fun, I don't mind the task at all!.


There was another food discovery on yet another walk through Chalk Farm/Primrose Hill/Camden along the canal that takes you through these areas and to the zoo... Battenberg Cake! This one was from Melrose and Morgan, a place which is fast becoming very dear to me. Eating a Battenberg Cake is a treat but also a little slice of history, knowing that Ernest Shackleton loaded up his Antarctic expedition ship with a great stock of them. It makes you feel well fortified for walking around the mucky streets of London, which they were on this rainy day. Also on the walk was a great looking place Sean and I will have to visit called Belgo Noord, a gastropub which seems to specialize in Belgian Ale, Moules Frites, etc etc. We'll have to go soon, since the just the mention of it makes me crave what they have to offer.

Now there are two more places I would like to try. One will probably happen sooner: Everyman Theatre in Hampstead. It seems like an upscale version of The Parkway in Lake Merritt back in Oakland, California.
Last but not least, there is the crazy Chinese Restaurant, Feng Shang Princess, which I saw with our friend Wayne on the canal that leads into The London Zoo. It's a funny little floating pagoda. We'll see if it's ptomaine on water or something special.

Things I've been eating in London

Well, things have been pretty hectic since we arrived. My photography has been spotty and a lot of our eating has been uninspired, like warm up stuff from

The gallery at the Liverpool Tube Station has a Marks and Spencer and encased in glass. Haven't been yet, but imagine it'll come in handy one day

Marks and Spencer. But I realized that it's been over a month since I posted last.

Parsnip Soup and Melt Chocolate were a couple of things I took away this time from Melrose and Morgan. A 2 mile walk from our flat, worth every single step every time!

Here's a few pictures of what I've been having.
Things I didn't get pictures of were a lamb pie with pea and potato mash and gravy from Square Pie,

What tea cupboard would be complete without teas from your favorite places. When my Pac NW stash runs out I'll have to find some replacements. Of course there'e Taylor's of Harrogate, but what about the smaller ones? Will have to keep my eyes out at Borough Market.

Banbury Cakes from A. Gold and then there was a nice tasting at Oliviers and Co which resulted in lovely oil harvested late in the season from Aix en Provence and a very potent balsamic vinegar.

I love this old ghost of a sign on the wall above a non descript corner shop by Abbey Road. Classy.

Frijoles de Olla, Treacle Tart with Clotted Cream and Fig Balls

Easy beans.
A couple of years ago, my cousin Nesteren, who is a talented ceramist made me three beautiful earthenware pots- great for a hearty portion of dinner or lunch. I could fit in a confit duck leg on leftover lentils, a spot of pork shoulder, stew, cozidos, you name it, all in a tidy little package. About a year ago I decided to cook more beans for use during the week and these pots were the perfect piece of equipment for my technique. They are literally pint sized (14-16 oz each), and if you don't have a gifted cousin who can whip up some earthenware pots for you, an alternative is using a small bean pot, Staub or Le Creuset's smallest tight sealing casseroles.
Here's the recipe:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Pick through 1 cup of dry beans (cannelinis, garbanzos, pintos, black turtles, christmas limas, limas... etc, just not lentils). Add to pot, throw in a fresh or dried bay leaf, cover with water to the brim and place it in the oven. After about 2 hours, check the beans for tenderness. If they have softened, add 1t kosher salt (or more if you like your beans salty) and 1T olive oil. Return pot to oven for 20-30 minutes. The beans are now ready to eat!
So, you can add in other seasonings at the start of the process: whole black peppercorns, thyme, sage, a small cinnamon stick, a piece of allspice... just no salt until the end.

Treacle Tart
After I made this tart, I read that it's a favorite of Harry Potter. Still not sure if that makes me feel excited or a little silly. On our recent visit to London, we sought out a gorgeous and very British fancy food deli called Melrose and Morgan. We had a delicious Beet and Kohlrabi Gratin as well as Sausage Rolls, Cornish Pasties and some nice Lentil Salad.
Of course I've been obsessed with their menus since we left, so today they had Treacle Tart listed, so I had to make it. I found a recipe on BBC online and after a couple of hours, mmmm, Treacle Tart.
It's ridiculously simple to make and very, very nice. At the end of making it I needed clotted cream, which also turned out to be quite simple. I imagine I'll continue to make clotted cream at home, although I'm moving to the Land of Clotted Cream.
Here's the recipe:
Cook 1 pint of heavy cream (raw is best) in a bowl over simmering water until it's reduced my half. It will thicken and form a golden crust. Cover the bowl and let stand at room temp for 2 hours, then refrigerate at least 12 hours. Stir the crust into the cream before serving. The cream will keep for up to 4 days.

Fig Balls
I have my good friend Sara to thank for my most recent obsession... Palloni di Fichi (Fig Balls).
The Cosentinan recipe is fairly simple but quite specific- Calabrian figs are slightly roasted, tossed with honey and molasses, then 20-25 are shaped into a ball, wrapped in a fig leaf, tied in straw, then roasted again. The flavors are earthy and slightly smoky. The consistency is chewy and sticky and they are an impressive companion of soft ripe cheeses, fresh pecorino, drippy gorgonzola. I bought mine from D'Italia.

quince parfait, seattle snow job and more

I have neglected you little blog, through the holidays, but I've been busy cooking and eating. Time for catch up in list form:

1) I returned home from a trip with over 6# or quince, so after they scented my fridge with the most mouthwatering smell (I do suggest using a quince over baking soda!), I peeled, cored and cooked them to soft perfection in sugar syrup (1:1, water:sugar or honey), strained that off and reserved it for later, cooked the quince down to mush and pureed it. Then there sits the quince paste in the fridge, waiting to be spread on rosemary toast and made into QUINCE PARFAIT. To be fair it's bastardized version of a dessert in a Gerard Hirigoyen cookbook- The Basque Kitchen.

Dunk ladyfingers in the quince syrup very briefly (you could add a little dessert white wine to the syrup to give the dish kick) and put down a single layer in a ramekin, layer on quince paste, repeat and then top with a mixture of barely sweetened goat cheese and heavy cream (it should be the consistency of think oatmeal), Then top that with caramelized pinenuts. To pretty it up when you serve it, sprinkle a little powdered sugar.

2) That leftover quince syrup is delicious mixed with Rye Whiskey and serve on the rocks in a highball... start at 1:1 and then let the booze and the sweet duke it out according to your palate. We found the ptcher of the stuff jelled up, so I cut the drinks with a tad of citrus to thin. I used orange, lemon and lime juice all separately with equally delicious results.

3) Speaking of drinks, I invented another one- THE SEATTLE SNOW JOB, in honor of our recent, brief Ice Age. It sounds very much like we're about to move overseas, can't take our booze with us and are getting very creative with our cocktails... well, that's how it happens isn't it?
Seattle Snow Job
1 oz Orange Rhum or Brandy
1 oz Plum Eau de Vie (Clear Creek Distillery Mirabelle is what I used)
1 oz Benedictine
.5 oz Almond Syrup
1.25 oz heavy cream

Shake copiously with ice and serve up. Garnish with fresh grated nutmeg or grated, toasted almond. Repeat for extra cheer.

4) Remember that Lamb I had to butcher in our sink? Well, with Sean gone to London last week, and him being the primary lamb vetoer, I decided to defrost that neck and make some stew, which became Lamb Tagine due to the excessive amount of prune, date and onion I had in the pantry. Plus it didn't hurt that I have homemade Ras al Hanout on the spice rack and I don't plan to move my spices either. So Lamb Tagine over cous cous was on the menu for Emily and I for a delicious lunch the day after my brilliant idea. It was delicious. My only regret was taht I didn't add any pepper to make it more spanky. Of well, there are many lambs in my future.

5) We had an excellent grass fed, Oregon beef standing rib roast for Christmas. I would go out on a limb and say it was the best standing rib roast I have ever had. Not the beef from Whole Foods we had last year which made me frown and shae my fist at those Whole Foods bastards; this was tender and flavorful and the crust was amazing (a mixture of rosemary, fresh black pepper and Maldon Sea Salt, all mixed up with dijon mustard and slathered on think just before searing in a super hot oven). Maybe the new stove made a difference, too.

6) Of course the best part of prime rib is the sandwiches made from the leftovers. Okay, maybe we don't have to say what the best part is, but if I made a prime rib and didn't have leftovers like this, I would be reduced to tears...
I took a roasted garlic loaf from La Brea Bakery, cut it in half horizontally, cored out he soft stuff and filled it with Eggplant braised with Tomato and Chili Pepper, mayo and thin slices of the prime rib. Ate them a few hours later on the road. Perfection.

7) Holiday baking and Holiday Bacon! Mustard Seed and Cheddar Crackers in abundance chez nous, Cornmeal Thumbprint Cookies filled with Ginger Jam, Gingerbread Reindeer, Cinnamon Chocolate Eggnog and of course, some bacon from Monteillet!

Okay, gotta go out there and eat some more food, we're in Portland after all! At the vey least I'm having some canelles from Ken's Artisan Bakery.
Eat well!

Department of Food and delicious quince

I just got an email from a good chef friend in SF linking me to a very good Op-Ed piece in the NY Times, which had me whooping along in agreement by the end:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/11/opinion/11kristof.html?_r=1&em

Please read it and if you agree think about signing that petition...

Not since Carter did I feel so hopeful (okay, I was only 10 by the time his presidency ended, but he is the only Prez to get the nobel peace prize after all) about a president and therefore about our ability to be involved in what goes on in Washington.

Wouldn't it be great to see less money going to the production of high fructose corn syrup and other things on labels that make me put foods back on the shelves and make it myself (not that you could stop me from cooking).

Just one fun note/suggestion: maybe they could call this person the Food Czar?

Okay, now off my soap box and onto the food.

I spoke with my friend Matthew last night about a delicious cocktail he made using poaching syrup he had cooked some quince in. What he made the quince into is a whole other mouthwatering topic... I just happened to have a 6 pound bag of quince in the fridge, brought back fresh from Dayton after Thanksgiving. So now I have my own quart of poaching syrup, ready for the bottle of Rye and some curious drinkers at the ready. Perhaps Matthew, you could send me some more specifics on the drink.

One more thing I'm eating these days- Cuban Roast sandwich and corn from Paseo. I will miss these in London.

That's all for today. I'll post the skinny on that quince again soon.

what I've been eating

Well, all that frenzy at first and then just no posts for almost a month. But what a month. Confirmation we'll be moving to London for a few years (more on that later), colds all around for everyone, a trip out to Waitsburg/Walla Walla/Dayton/Milton Freewater for Thanksgiving... So now in the spirit of catching up, and en homage to Nick Hornby's regular "What I'm Reading" column in the Believer, here's an overview of what's been in our fridge, cooked in our oven, seared on our stovetop, purchased in restaurants and on the street, etc etc etc.

1. Freshest of the fresh lamb. From our friend's farm out in Dayton- Monteillet. Sure they make the best cheese I've ever had in the US, but they also raise animals for meat. And what wonderful meat. Joan called me on a Monday and by that night I had a group of us putting in a very hefty order. One whole lamb, 4 pork shoulders, 5 chickens, some eggs and pounds and pounds of cheese later, I'm out in front of Tilth in Wallingford transferring food from cooler to cooler, money changing hands under the cover of night. Such a wholesome activity, but something felt very sneaky about it all, like we were in on some kind of secret no one else was to know. Of course, that small group of us got in on some things you can only get in some of the nicer restaurants in Seattle get, the ones who are committed to local eating. Final page in this story comes with a picture. I got home and pulled out the lamb for divying and lo and behold it was in only 3 pieces. So I had to polish up on butchering 101, using my sterilized sink as a prep area and very happily carving with my boning knife. I managed to make sense of it all, the ribs, the saddle, the shanks, etc...
2. Handmade Buckwheat Noodles with Preserved Gourd and soft Tofu. Topped with that lovely bright red Korean Hot Pepper paste or Ponzu or those crazy msg laden nori/bonito/sesame seed packets they make in Japan.
3. Well, it's a drink, but Presbyterians.
4. Petit Noirs confections, far more caffeine and sugar than I should have at night. I should curse Lan for being so dang talented but instead I praise her highly. Best toffee I've ever had in my life.
www.petitsnoirs.com Go there. Buy things. Don't worry about the shipping charges, they're worth it. Buy lots, because it goes so fast!
5. Monteillet cheese. I'm out of Larzac and craving more. Soon we'll be living just 2 hours from Paris and loads of this great cheese, minutes from Neal's Yard, just a few hours from Roquefort... but now, right now, I want some Larzac on a wheat cracker. Mmmm...
6. Squash. Acorn, butternut, delicata, kabocha. Tis the season. I think my fingertips are beginning to go orange.
7. Hibiscus Tea. I know, it's a drink.
8. This lovely citrus salad. With Cara Cara Oranges, Grapefruit, Lime, Cucumber, Fennel, Capers and copious Olive Oil. Winter olive oil is best. And a liberal sprinkling of fleur de sel. Slice all hard things very, very thin, wafer thin. Section the citrus so it is pulp only, arrange and drizzle oil and salt. A crank of pepper et le voila! Perfect.
9. Nuts. Holiday time, you have to have a bowl of unshelled ones out, don't you?
10. Vanilla confiture. Left by our friend Anne who has moved to London ahead of us. Wonderful on complex cheeses. Then again it could be delightful on Petit Basque. Mmmm...
11. Duck legs on Yellow Eyed peas.
12. Homemade Blueberry preserves sweetened with honey from our friends at Monteillet again.
13. And I will be eating soon- a gratin of dried Matsutakes (foraged by a friend's folks) and cauliflower.
I'll leave it at 13. My lucky number. I'm not totally caught up, and I'll try to be better about my posts. Aaah, life.