Cafe spice namaste

A few weeks ago I won tickets to Cafe Spice Namaste's Khaadraas Club Dinner. A Parsee Wedding Feast. This was to celebrate Cyrus  and Pervin Todiwala's flagship restaurant being open for 19 years.We arrived and were asked to choose a seat at one of the long tables.I liked the seating arrangements as we were not individually seated but were sat near to people that we hadn't met before but went on to have some enjoyable conversation with. This is a great way to chat away to folks you wouldn't normally meet. On the table already were popaddoms along with 2 types of Mr Todiwala's chutneys.One quite spicy and the other slightly more sweeter.Both just right to get the taste buds going.

Before we went onto the 'feast' Cyrus went on to explain exactly who the Parsees were and how they fled Persia and came to live in India.We found this very interesting. He also told us how their food integrated into Indian cuisine.

We started the meal with Patra No Machchi-Haddock wrapped in fresh green coconut chutney ,rolled in a banana leaf and steamed .Served with Bheenda Purr Eeda -Eggs steamed on a base of diced okra cooked simply with garlic and fresh coriander. Light and delicious.This was a lovely way to serve eggs which I intend to cook at home. The second course Sali Murghi Nay Rotli -Chicken in a tomato based sauce flavoured with whole spices,finished with apricots and served sprinkled with fine straw potato and a chapatti. The sauce in this dish was rich with a hint of sweetness from the apricots once again so good.
The main course Gos No Palav Taraela Masala Na Papaeta ,Masala Ni Daar and Cachumber-Lamb Pulao with spiced lentils and red onion salad with chunks of fried spiced potato. The lamb 'hidden' underneath the rice beautiful,tasty and tender .One of my real favourites, the lentils were like no others I've had before .Simply fantastic!!! Not like the dhansak that you get from Indian takeaways these were cooked down into a delicious sauce actually tasting of the spices that were in it. Probably my favourite.
Last but not least came the Pista Kulfi.the beautiful silky ice cream typical of India,this time flavoured with Iranian pistachios.
The Khaadraas Club dinners are held regularly usually with some sort of theme. The next one being paired with glengoyne whiskies. The one after that a celebration of Burn's night.If you can make one I can highly recommend it.
 One final point, on leaving the restaurant there is an area that has awards and newspaper reports of Cyrus and Pervin's achievements and shows how passionate they are in supporting local and British suppliers providing their restaurants with excellent quality produce.

Cafe Spice Namaste

Mixed Game Suet Pudding and Frontera wine

I was recently asked by Andy Hunting of Andy's Kitchen to review and develop a recipe using Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon wine.After some thought of what I would make I opted for a suet pudding to go with the colder weather.This is an easy recipe that I cooked in 2 stages.The addition of the wine made a rich flavoursome sauce.Try it and see what you think.

Mixed Game and Suet Pudding

300g mixed diced game(I used a mix of pheasant,venison,partridge and mallard)
1 medium red onion,chopped
2 medium carrots ,chopped
3-4 mushrooms ,chopped
1 pint chicken stock
1 bay leaf
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
250 ml  Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon red wine
1 tablespoon mushroom ketchup (optional)
225 g Self Raising flour
115g suet
140 ml water
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon cornflour
2 tablespoons Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon

For the first stage I used my slow cooker but you could use a low oven and slow cook this way.Add the game, onion, carrots, mushrooms, chicken stock, bay leaf, thyme, red wine and mushroom ketchup if using .Cook until tender depending on your slow cooker this is usually about 4 hours on low setting. (About 2-3 hours in a low oven but cover tightly so it doesn't dry up).When cooked set aside the game and vegetables and put the remaining stock/wine into a saucepan. Season to taste.Mix the cornflour with the 2 tbsp wine and slowly mix into the saucepan and then bring gently to the boil, stirring until thickened.Leave to cool.

Next mix the self raising flour,suet, salt and pepper in a bowl.Add the water a little at a time until a soft dough is formed.Divide 2/3 of it and roll out to fit a lightly greased 1 pint pudding basin.Add the cooked game,vegetables and then top up with the gravy leaving a 1/2 inch gap at the top. Reserve any left over gravy for serving.Roll out the remaining  pastry to make a lid and secure with a little water and then crimp ensuring a tight seal with no gaps. Next take a large piece of greaseproof paper enough to cover the pudding and make a pleat down the middle and  cover the pudding .(this allows the pastry to rise).Secure with string. Next put the pudding into either a steamer over a saucepan of boiling water or into a deep saucepan on an upturned saucer at the bottom. Simmer for about 1 1/2 hours topping up water as necessary . If using a pressure cooker to cook refer to the manual as the cooking times will be a lot less.
After 1 1/2 hours carefully remove the pudding from the saucepan and remove the greaseproof paper taking care as the steam is released.Turn out onto an upturned plate and serve.

Serving suggestion :serve with mashed potato,carrots and roasted parsnips.
Serves 4




Just a quick note on the wine .I found the Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon not only wonderful to cook with but also an easy drinking wine.With a dark ruby colour and a fruity taste I found that it complimented the game in the pudding reall well.

Sol y Lunas Northampton

I recently visited Sol y Luna with my family for a night out to celebrate my birthday.It was the second visit for some of us and for the rest it was their first time.We opted for a late table as we wanted a leisurely meal rather than knowing we had to be finished by a certain time for the earlier sitting.The reason for this being that it is not an overly large restaurant but is extremely popular and therefore very busy at times.We were asked to wait in the new outdoor seating area at the back which is very pleasant and will be lovely extra seating to eat in the summer,whilst they cleared the table .We ordered our drinks and had a good look at the menu whilst we waited.One point that I will make is that one of our party doesn't drink and unfortunately like an enormous amount of other establishments the only drinks on offer are orange juice (and J2o type drinks) and the normal fizzy coke and lemonade.There are so many fantastic alternatives out there now why not use them? We did point this out and were told that the possibility of home made lemonade is on the cards....a much better offering.
This visit we decided to once again go for the majority of the menu but decided against the pinchos this time (sliced bread served with various toppings) opting for something from the specials board instead.As the dishes were cooked they were served to us.Beautiful small plates of well cooked tapas.On the vegetable side we went for the well known Patatas Bravas served with a generous dollop of garlicky alioli (a wonderfully garlic mayonnaise),Patatas Camperas con Salsa Verde - potatoes with a herby sauce and Padron Peppers simply fried and sprinkled with salt.It is said that eating them is liking playing russian roulette with spicy heat.Only the odd one is hot whilst the others are mild.We had no overly spicy ones on our dish but they were still very tasty.The Champignones de la Granja (flat mushrooms stuffed with melted cheese and tomato) were still juicy,the cheese just melted right.

On the cheese front we also opted for Queso de Cabra baked goat's cheese with caramelised onion and redcurrant rather like a baked camembert all melted and oozing.
The fish options we chose were all time Spanish holiday favourite Calamares a la Romano.However these were not the chewy,bouncy rings of package holidays but cooked to perfection and rather nice dipped into the alioli.We also had 2 other squid dishes and were glad we did as these were also not the chewy squid that everyone imagines but were once again cooked to perfection being perfectly tender (chewy squid can put people off for life.You must try these if you visit).Chipirones en Salsa Tomate was squid simply cooked in a tangy tomato sauce.Simple but nevertheless delicious.The other one from the specials board was perhaps a braver choice for those of us that had never had squid ink before. Chiperones en Su Tinta - Baby Squid cooked in Cuttlefish Ink.Apart from the ardent non fish eater amongst us we all agreed that this dish was absolutely delicious and we would choose that one again with no problem.Along with large juicy prawns cooked in olive oil,chilli and garlic (delicious) we also had the chilled mixed seafood salad with olives ,pepper and onion in a vinagrette.Although this was a nice dish I personally wouldn't choose this next time.I didn't find it as appealing as most of the other dishes.We also had the deep fried whitebait in breadcrumbs which although not to my taste were devoured and declared fantastic!!

The meat dishes had to include the old favourite of albondigas the little meatballs in a rich tomato sauce that most of us associate with tapas.There were however dishes that i hadn't tried before and that I found very good indeed Carcamusas,a rich stew of tomato,peas and tender pork shoulder...tender being the word.Pollo Limonero lightly seared chicken with lemon ,rosemary and white wine,a light dish with a delicate flavour .We also had another mushroom dish,this time with melted cheese and salty serrano ham,a perfect combination. of course a tapas meal wouldn't be complete without  a chorizo dish.....or two! The first one being Chorizo del Inferno,spiced chorizo chunks ,fire roasted red peppers and chilli oil.A lovely kick .The second dish being Chorizo slices cooked in a cider sauce .Once again a lovely dish.Great with bread to dip up the lovely juices.Finally from the specials board we went for our only pincho of the night,Pincho de Morcilla con Queso Azul y de Tomate or Rustic Bread with Spanish Black Pudding ,Blue cheese and tomato jam.A nice little bite on  a plate with an unusual combination.

For the dessert I was quite disappointed that they had run out of the Crema Caramelo (they also earlier run out of the tortilla) as this is one of my favourites and one of only 3 dessert dishes on the menu.I consoled myself with Sorbete de Frambuesa .Fruity Raspberry sorbet with fresh berries and
berry sauce. This was indeed also very good.The others went for the Hebdo de Caramelo y Nueces
Salted Caramel Ice Cream, drizzled with Moscatel sauce and finished with walnuts which they also said was equally as good.
All in all this was a fantastic meal ,the food and atmosphere of Sol y Luna is very good and makes for a great evening when socialising .They are also have the tables outside (at the front as well ) and welcome people popping by just for a drink.A highly recommended evening out.

Sol y Lunas

The Dairy Clapham

The Dairy Clapham

We recently spent a few days in London and decided to try out The Dairy.I'd seen some fantastic pictures of food on twitter and had read also how much effort they go into ensuring that their staff are well fed on food from the restaurant. This made me want to try it all the more. After getting off the tube you find yourself on a rather pleasant high street on which The Dairy is situated. On the day we went we arrived to find Mary Berry sitting in the window after just having filmed something for the BBC there. We were seated at a high table with old school science lab chairs.Looking around it has that feel of somewhere really relaxed and informal (there were even bar stools made from milk crates fixed together).Definitely an eclectic mix of furnishings but very pleasant.There were large doors at the front which they later opened as the weather was so sunny and warm.





We looked at the 2 menus that we were given and decided to go for the £25 special 4 course lunch. This meant choosing one from each section of  Snack - Garden -Sea or Land and a Dessert. Although the menu was not an extensive one we still had trouble choosing as the combinations sounded so good we had the dilemma of which one to choose. As we were waiting we were bought out some little canapes which we devoured before I  could even snap a photo.We were then bought out a little warm hessian type bag with a small  bread in accompanied by absolutely wonderful hay smoked marrowbone butter served on a pebble.Then came our 'snack' my hubby chose the Truffled Brie de Meaux on a fig &walnut toast with rooftop honey ( their own).The truffle sprinkled on top unsparingly. I opted for the Galician octopus,fresh coco beans and Sicilian tomatoes. The octopus in this dish was so well cooked it was so tender and not at all chewy.The octopus as tender as the beans.  
Next course was the 'Garden' course.This time hubby had Soft Bantam egg with wild mushrooms.The combination of the earthy mushrooms with the eggs simple but delicious!

My choice was the Hay smoked curd,Jerusalem artichokes,roasted onions and chanterelles. The Jerusalem artichoke is a vegetable which many people turn their nose up at.This was a dish which you wouldn't be able to do this with. The artichoke was cooked in different ways which gave the dish many textures, the smokiness adding another aspect which finished it off.Another very good dish.

We both chose the same dish for the 'Land' selection. This was a really difficult choice for myself as I found it really difficult to choose.I think I could have had all 3 very easily!! We opted for the Yorkshire venison,celeriac,game sausage and blackberries. a rather pretty dish with a good balance of the fruit with the game.The venison cooked pink and the little nuggets of sausage had  a nice gamey spiciness.



For dessert hubby had the Roasted pears ,hay milk pannacotta and brown butter.An unusual dessert but pronounced delicious as it was demolished! I had the Salted caramel,cacao and malted barley ice cream.I very rarely  go for anything chocolate related for dessert but as the other 2 had pears and apples in (not my favourites) I tried this.I'm so glad I did.Because it was cacao instead of chocolate this was not overly sweet but was full of flavour,the ice cream perfectly complimenting it.
Feeling a bit naughty we also decided to add the cheese course in to the end of our meal.Again we were so glad we did .36 month aged Comte with strawberry grapes and homemade maple and thyme crackers. The right amount of a good cheese makes up for masses of bland cheese.
The final surprise came as we were waiting for our bill a couple of lovely Petit fours served in a little old  fashioned tin.A perfect end to a perfect meal.
We would highly recommend The Dairy.The food is not the normal run of the mill but very cleverly put together ingredients that really work well.An all round very enjoyable experience.This is somewhere we would definitely return.

The Red Lion -Yardley Hastings .A review from our visit in June

The Red lion Yardley Hastings

Late one Sunday lunchtime we decided we wanted to go out for our lunch.We were wondering where we could go that we could guarantee good food without spending the earth (we had eaten out in London the previous day for our son's birthday).After trying to rack my brains on various places that i'd seen on twitter and facebook i remembered that i had been given a card at Hart Breweries by a vintage stall who had a little retail outlet in an outbuilding at The Red Lion pub.So I rang to see if they could fit us in .They informed us that the kitchen would be closing at 3 but if we could get there before it would be no problem and they would be glad to see us.

Well we certainly made the right choice.We were greeted by the landlady and were made to feel extremely welcome.We were led to our table and offered a drink from the extensive list.We were impressed by the the menu which had a good choice and was very reasonably priced.

We both opted for the Crab&Crayfish Ravioli and lobster caviar for our starter .This was absolutely amazing.Just the right sized portion and so full of flavour.Highly recommended.Creamy and subtly tasting.It did what a starter should do..left us wanting more.

For the main course i went for the Chicken Supreme with Porcini Cream.This is really an unusual choice for me as i rarely choose chicken or steak as i think they are easy options to cook at home.Good choice.This was a beautiful piece of chicken which was served with an extremely tasty porcini sauce.I was quite happy to see that is they had not skimped on the sauce as can sometimes happen.My husband opted for the Steak and Director's Pie which came out on a plate in its own pie dish.It was a very generous portion.The beef in the pie was cooked until very tender and had a balanced taste of the beer .Not too bitter but still being able to taste it.

They came with an extremely generous portion of

very well cooked fresh vegetables along with delicious roast potatoes.

We were asked if we could manage desserts which we readily agreed on.It was explained to us that they were homemade .They were displayed on a board and all sounded quite delicious.I went for the Orange Drizzle and my husband decided on the Lemon Posset.Oh what good choices they were.The Lemon Posset being just the right sharpness and very lemony to help the dinner go down.As for the orange drizzle I felt it was a delightful end to a really fantastic meal.

The Red Lion is an extremely friendly pub .It was taken over by a couple who wanted to provide great food to people who wanted it at not overinflated prices.The service was great ,the food wasgreat.Ihave already recommended it to others and we'll definitely return to eat again.Highly recommended.

Hart Brewery Green Hop Hoe Down

Hart Breweries Green Hop Hoedown 4th October

Hart's latest open brewery day was to celebrate the launch of their new beer 'Green Hop'. On the morning the weather looked less than promising with heavy downpours forecast but as we were promised undercover seating and the fact that previous open days have been extremely good fun we ventured out. A good decision because even though we got there at the same time as the aforementioned downpours we were greeted by some lovely food stalls and the Hart Brewery gazebo with plenty of inside and outside (undercover)seating.There was also live music going on all day from local bands playing in the actual brewery itself.
First stop the amazing Buffins and cupcakes of The Blakesley Hill Cakes Company.What a cheery sight in all that rain .A Buffin for those of you who don't know is a beer flavoured muffin filled with a variety of goodies .
On offer today was one specially created in homage to Hart's Green Hop.The One Legged Buffin had wild rabbit,apple,thyme and of course Green Hops in it. This was alongside some of the old favourites such as Hart No3 Buffin and Hart No9 Buffin each beer based with delicious fillings. They also had their beautiful cupcakes with them.All totally hard to resist...so we
didn't and duly bought plenty for later.

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Another food stall that caught my eye was the newly formed Devine Betty's.They too were selling beer flavoured treats.These also we couldn't resist as the smell emanating from the tent was delicious. We tried each one of the hot delights they had on offer and were suitably pleased with all of them. The Hart's Porter and Cheese Soup was absolutely amazing. The beer not overpowering and the cheese plentiful. We also tried the Pork Belly and Beans with Opal Wheat Beer Bread and The No8 Slow Cooked Beef Brisket in Brioche Bun with Dill Slaw. All extremely tasty and just right for this chilly wet day.
There were also stalls selling hot sausages and The Garden Deli with delights they had brought along from their deli just around the corner.

 The Beer .Well as  a fan already of Hart Beer I was looking forward to trying the Green Hop.I was a little worried that it might not be to my taste as I don't usually like over hoppy beers but I wasn't disappointed. It has a quite refreshing taste without the bitter after taste that some hoppy beers have and also wasn't too high in alcohol content.
All in all despite the bad weather start (it brightened up later) it was again a very enjoyable day out.This is the third time I've been to one of the open days and each one has had a buzzing atmosphere with good food ,good music and of course fantastic local beer!!

The First Blog... An Introduction

Hi my name is Sarah or @anglesey42 as I am known on twitter and instagram, and simply I love food.
I am a married mum of 3 grown up boys and was bought up eating good homemade food.  My mum was quite adventurous and that rubbed off on me. This inspiration in turn has influenced my sons, who enjoy cooking and love to try new food experiences.We all started to cook at a young age and our love of good food progressed from there.My husband came late into cooking but enjoys trying out new recipes and has recently began in attempting to make bread.
As you will see if you follow my posts I not only like to cook but I love to eat out and also I love to buy and try new ingredients or products.I also like to visit food festivals and other food related events.
I will post about some of the recipes I have tried and also share with you some of the fantastic products that I have found from the great producers that we have all around the country.Last but not least if I find some great places to eat I will share them with you.
Hopefully you will find my posts interesting and want to revisit my blog.

                        See you soon.Sarahx