Tuesday 30 April 2013

Living Below The Line - Day Two - Dinner

I'm a bit concerned. I seem to be doing ok at this which makes me feel that I'm not getting the most out of it. Aside from my really poor breakfasts, I'm enjoying most of the food and I'm not feeling hungry (peckish, yes, hungry, no). Of course there are things that I'm missing dearly (yes, I know we're only on day two, but some things are very dear to me). I would love to pop out for a quick pint, snaffle down a chunk of cheese or gorge on some bread smothered in butter, but I know that my time will come. And, with that in mind, I think I'll get through the week.

I'm quite surprised at how many people reckon that taking on this challenge means that you have to go veggie for a week and, as a meat lover, there was no way I was gonna let that happen to me! In fact, when I first thought about taking this on I immediately thought of offal. I had ham hock risottos, pork cheek stews (with the jowl being used for home made bacon) and beef cheek curries in mind. Sadly these meats do take an age to cook and I had to settle on chicken livers. 

At 90p a pound at Castle Market chicken livers are perfect for this challenge as I managed to get about 300g for 49p. Using them in a casserole meant that I could put a load of veg, and potatoes, in there making for a filling one pot meal. Once again I was reminded of how lucky I am as I didn't have to worry about my costings in terms of electricity and gas and I used both the hob and the oven to make this dish.

Here's what I did for two portions....

  • I heated up a large casserole dish on the hob and warmed up some of the oil I had drained from the sild (God bless that sild). 
  • I then cooked a sliced onion, a diced carrot and three sliced sticks of celery until soft.
  • In the meantime I started browning the 300g of trimmed chicken livers in a non stick frying pan.
  • Next in was a handful of wild garlic which I stirred into the mix and cooked until it had wilted.
  • Then I added a couple of sprigs of thyme and rosemary and I poured in my home made veg stock (made from all the trimmings of all the veg I'd bought this week). In went the browned chicken livers too.
  • Last, but not least, I tipped in a tin of potatoes (I never thought I'd see the day that these things would enter my kitchen), brought everything to a boil and shoved it in the oven for 40 minutes or so (at 160C).



I managed to get a decent bowlful for my dinner and I know there's plenty enough left for another day. It was pretty good too, nothing mind blowing (obviously), but it was filling and satisfying. I probably couldn't go as far as calling it tasty, but it did what it said on the tin and that was all I needed. 

In future pearl barley and bacon would be good additions. In fact, just a sprinkling of salt would have been nice...

***

Day Two - Round up - 93.47p - on target
Breakfast - Pitta (6.66p) and Lemon curd (1.6p) 8.26p
Lunch - one portion of pasta (6p) with sild (24.5p), 2 tomatoes (9.08p) and thyme (free) 39.58p
Dinner - portion of Chicken Liver Casserole with chicken livers (24.5), 1.5 sticks of celery (4.99p), half carrot (4.65p), veg stock (free), tinned potatoes (7.5p), half onion (4p), wild garlic (free), thyme (free) and rosemary (free) 45.63p

Living Below The Line - Day Two - Lunch

Today a colleague told me that he though this challenge was easy. He reckoned he'd just buy a few tins of value beans and a loaf of bread. Hmmm. That's way too easy for my liking and as well as boring, cheap beans on toast day in day out would be pretty low in nutritional value.

Anyway... cheap beans on toast wasn't on the menu today. Instead it was a repeat of yesterday's lunch; sild with tomatoes, pasta and thyme. Again it was tasty and filling.


Living Below The Line - Day Two - Breakfast

WHOOP.
I'm starting to wish I'd bought some oats for porridge. Even plain porridge without milk would probably be better than this. Not that pittas and lemon curd is horrible as such, just void of any real nutritional content.
And... Where can I get some nettles? Nettle tea has got to be better than plain water!

Monday 29 April 2013

Living Below The Line - Day One - Dinner

Aside from feeling a bit peckish this afternoon (don't worry I resisted temptation) I've been fine. That pasta really did fill me up and I'm looking forward to having it again tomorrow. I'll admit that I did fancy grabbing a piece of toast when I got in from work, but I just kept myself busy and got on with cooking tea.

And so... tea was bean casserole, which is actually a bit of a favourite in our house. I just had to hold back a bit on the ingredients and I used celery, carrot and onion rather than the likes of aubergine, pepper and courgette. The idea behind this dish was getting a decent amount of veg down me along with some low fat protein. And beans are the most magical form of protein ever as they're a good source of vitamin C and carbohydrate. I stuck some wild garlic in too which has a few of its own benefits.




Here's what I did to make up two portions...

  • Heated up some oil that I'd drained from the tin of sild in a small pan and added 3/4 of a finely sliced onion (don't worry the fishy smell of the oil subdued once the onions went in!).
  • Sliced 3 sticks of celery and added them to the pan.
  • Let this cook until the veg was soft then added a sliced carrot.
  • Once the carrot had softened a little I added a spring of thyme, a bay leaf and a handful of wild garlic. 
  • I then mixed everything up and let it all cook for a minute or two, until the garlic had wilted.
  • A 400g tin of chopped tomatoes went in next with 1/2 tsp of paprika and 1/2 tsp of dried chilli flakes.
  • I let that simmer for 10 minutes before adding a 400g tin of kidney beans and let that simmer for a further 10 minutes.
  • Served.

Well, I think I'm onto another winner. It was really tasty thanks to the paprika and chilli and filling thanks to the beans. The only thing it was noticeably missing was the huge scattering of Cheddar that I usually have with this meal. Oh well.

One thing I have to point out is that, despite the restrictions on the ingredients I can buy, I'm free to use as much power as I like and I can use whatever gadgets I have to hand. I'm guessing that this wouldn't actually be the case should I truly be living below the line... So, please don't forget to sponsor me! I'm doing this to help fight poverty and your donations will go to Oxfam. We have already hit the original target, but it would be great if we could totally blast it! Click here for the link.

Cheers


***

Day One - Round up - 88.98p - on target
Breakfast - Pitta (6.66p) and Lemon curd (1.6p) 8.26p
Lunch - Pasta (6p) with sild (24.5p), 2 tomatoes tomatoes (9.08p) and thyme (free) 39.58p
Dinner - Bean Casserole with half a tin of kidney beans (10.5p), half onion (4p), 1.5 sticks of celery (4.99p), half carrot (4.65p), half tin tomatoes (14.5p), handful of wild garlic (free), thyme (free), bay leaves (free), paprika (1.25p), 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes (1.25p) 41.14p



Living Below The Line - Day One - Lunch

Ok. So I have survived thus far.

I don't think I'm any hungrier than usual (I'm generally hungry all day on a Monday as I pig out at the weekend), but I do have a headache. I don't know whether that's thanks to all the calculations I've been doing over the weekend (to work out food costs), or whether it's down to that sickly sweet lemon curd I had this morning...

Anyhow... onto lunch. Half a tin of sild, 100g pasta, two tomatoes with a little bit of thyme. I'll admit that I wasn't sure whether this one would work. Sometimes I have to be in the mood for tinned fish and I'd never had sild before. I did, however, know that it would fill me. It's actually larger, in terms of calories, than most of the lunches I have as I've been sticking to soup recently. It also provides a nice source of protein and as it's an oily fish, I'm getting a dose of omega 3 too. The two tomatoes give me a bit of vitamin C, but I'm pretty sure that I'll struggle to hit my five a day with lunches like this.

Despite a costing of just 39.58p I am pleased to say that this was actually an enjoyable lunch. The thyme worked well with the fish, much better than I thought it would and thanks to the oiliness of the fish, the pasta wasn't too dry. I'm also pleased to report that, although my cheap Tesco pasta wasn't in the same league as some posh Italian pasta, it was fine. In terms of improvements I would make in the future (when I'm not working to such a tight budget) I'd add a bit of chilli and some extra tomatoes.

Living Below The Line - Day One - Breakfast

Breakfast is normally a small bowl of museli with skimmed milk. Or, if I'm feeling naughty, two slices of seeded bread, toasted, with butter. Whatever it is, there is always a cuppa tea.

Not today. Cheap pittas breads have been toasted and served with sickly sweet, cheap as, lemon curd.
And there's no cuppa. Just a pint of water.

What was my thinking behind this meal? Well I could have made my own bread, but flour costs more than a pack of pittas! I simply couldn't fit butter into my budget so I looked for the cheapest spread possible.

Of all my meals this week, breakfast is the worst. My body doesn't enjoy white bread and I reckon that the lemon curd will be playing absolute havoc with my sugar levels... And don't even get me started on the lack of a cuppa.

So, my only hope is that, despite the total lack of nutrients, this breakfast will get me through to lunch. And at 8.26p a serving, I'll be impressed if it does!

Sunday 28 April 2013

Living Below The Line - Eating and drinking for less than £1 a day!

When Oxfam in the North got in touch regarding the Live Below the Line campaign I really wasn't sure what to think. I kind of fancied the challenge, but the thought of eating badly for a week really didn't appeal. But then I started thinking... about ham hocks, pig cheeks, other bits of offal and the bargains I can get hold of down at Castle Market. I also wondered just how healthy a diet on £1 a day could be. And... before I knew it, I was replying back to say that I would take up the challenge and I was asking people to sponsor me.

For me, there's quite a lot that I can take from this kind of challenge. Firstly, a bit of an understanding of what 1.4 billiion people worldwide go through every day, and I do say a bit, coz, well, let's face it, I still have a roof over my head. I just cannot begin to comprehend what some people go through day in, day out, just to survive.Secondly, I want to know if it's actually possible to live on £1 a day and I want to challenge myself into making my week as healthy as possible. Thirdly, I could do with revisiting a few of my budgeting tips and making sure I try and shop to a budget (admittedly, a bit more than £1 a day) in future.

Being a bit OCD I knew that I needed to plan my menus before starting the week. I know some people doing this challenge just buy produce as and when and decide what they're going to eat as they go along. This wouldn't work for me; I'd blow it all in the first day. And as I've gone public with this challenge there's no way that I want to fail!

So, using Tesco's online shopping site, I set about planning my meals, ensuring that I included a good range of carbs and protein whilst getting in as much veg as I could. I didn't even look at fruit or dairy products and my diet will be seriously lacking in those areas next week. Once I'd sorted out what I was going to eat, I went shopping. Working on the basis that I could buy anything I saw as long as it was either the same price as, or less than, Tesco I bought some items from the B&M store and Castle Market. Sadly, the rest is from Tesco.

Once the staples were sorted I started thinking about how I could save money on herbs, fat and stocks. I sent the husband out to forage for wild garlic, thyme and bay leaves (admittedly the last two did come from a friend's garden). I couldn't afford any oil or fat so I'll be using the fat from cooking the bacon and the oil that the sild is packed in. For stock I decided to peel and trim all my veg today so that I could use the scraps of veg to make a one. It's not brilliant, for a start there's no seasoning in there, but it's saved me 15p on a pack of Tesco value stuff.

So, here's what I've bought along with a meal planner for the week. I'm going to try and blog each day to let you know what I've eaten, how I'm feeling and the decision process behind each meal. Wish me luck, better still click here and sponsor me!


2 400g cans kidney beans 42p (4 portions, 10.5p each)
120g pack savoury rice 26p (2 portons, 13p each)
500g bag Pasta 30p (5 portions, 6p each)
6 pitta breads 40p (6 portions, 6.66p each)
Tinned potatoes 15p (2 portions, 7.5p each)
411g jar lemon curd 22p (13.7 portions, 1.6p each)
400g can chopped tomatoes 29p (2 portions, 14.5p each)
110g tin sild 49p (2 portions, 24.5p each)
2 medium onions 16p (8p each)
3 carrots 28p (9.33p each)
11 small tomatoes 50p (4.54p each)
15 sticks celery 50p (3.33 each stick)
1 rasher of bacon 38p
250g chicken livers 50p (2 portions 25p each)
1 tsp paprika 5p
1.25 tsp dried chilli flakes 6.25p (5 portions, 1.25p each)
Wild garlic - foraged (free)
Fresh thyme - foraged (free)
Bay Leaves - foraged (free)
Veg stock - made up from all the trimmings of the veg (free)
Water for drinks
£4.96

Monday 90.23p
Breakfast - Pitta (6.66p) and Lemon curd (1.6p) 8.26p
Lunch - one portion of pasta (6p) with sild (24.5p), 2 tomatoes tomatoes (9.08p) and thyme (free) 39.58p
NOTE - SAVE THE OIL FROM SILD
Dinner - one portion of Bean Casserole with kidney beans (10.5p), half onion (4p), 1.5 sticks of celery (4.99p), half carrot (4.65p), tinned tomatoes (14.5p), wild garlic (free), thyme (free), bay leaves (free), paprika (2.5p), 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes (1.25p) 42.39p

Tuesday 91.47p
Breakfast - Pitta (6.66p) and Lemon curd (1.6p) 8.26p
Lunch - one portion of pasta (6p) with sild (24.5p), 2 tomatoes (9.08p) and thyme (free) 39.58p
Dinner - portion of Chicken Liver Casserole with chicken livers (22.5), 1.5 sticks of celery (4.99p), half carrot (4.65p), veg stock (free), tinned potatoes (7.5p), half onion (4p), wild garlic (free), thyme (free) NOTE COOK THE BACON FOR WEDS LUNCH FIRST AND USE THE FAT FOR THE CASSEROLE. 43.63p

Wednesday 99.19p
Breakfast - Pitta (6.66p) and Lemon curd (1.6p) 8.26p
Lunch - pasta (6p) with bacon (38p) and 1 tomato (4.54p) 48.54p
Dinner - one portion of Bean Casserole with kidney beans (10.5p), half onion (4p), 1.5 sticks of celery (4.99p), half carrot (4.65), tinned tomatoes (14.5p), wild garlic (free), thyme (free), bay leaves (free), paprika (2.5p) , 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes (1.25p) 42.39p

Thursday 95.36p
Breakfast - Pitta (6.66p) and Lemon curd (1.6p) 8.26p
Lunch - Beans and rice with half can kidney beans (10.5p), half packet of savoury rice (13p) 2 tomatoes (9.08p), 1.5 sticks of celery (4.99p), half carrot (4.65p), 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes (1.25p) 43.47p
Dinner - portion of Chicken Liver Casserole with chicken livers (22.5), 1.5 sticks of celery (4.99p), one carrot (4.65p), veg stock (free), tinned potatoes (7.5p), half onion (4p), wild garlic (free), thyme (free) 43.63p

Friday 68.06p
Breakfast - Pitta (6.66p) and Lemon curd (1.6p) 8.26p
Lunch - Beans and rice with half can kidney beans (10.5p), half packet of savoury rice (13p) 2 tomatoes (9.08p), 1.5 sticks of celery (4.99p), half carrot (4.65p), 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes (1.25p) 43.47p
Dinner - pasta (6p) with 1/4 tsp chilli (1.25p) 2 tomatoes (9.08p) and wild garlic (use some of the oil from the sild) 16.33p

If anyone wants to read about the whys behind this campaign click here. If you want to know more about my chosen charity (Oxfam) click here.

Maveli, Sheffield

South Indian food has well and truly hit Sheffield. East & West and Dhanista's were the first on the scene, with Urban Choola and Maveli opening their doors within the last couple of months. If you haven't tried this style of food before, it's completely different to the British style curries that we've been used to. Don't be scared by the menu though. Just pick a few things, go for it and keep an open mind.

As is the way in Sheffield, most of the more 'interesting' food establishments are located on London Road and Abbeydale Road, but Maveli has set up shop on Glossop Road (town end - next to Hui Wei and in the old Tamarind venue). And as I live in town this pleases me very much!

After a few beers we headed over to Maveli for about 8.30 on a Friday night. It was busy and we had a short wait before being seated, which didn't bother me as we hadn't booked and a busy restaurant is always a good sign. There were quite a few Indian customers in too, which was an even better sign.

For starters we decided to share 3 dishes on the basis that Gav was 'starving' and I was eager to try as many things as I could. I picked Sundal which was described as a 'warm salad made up of cooked mixed pulses and lentils and grated coconut' (£2.50). This was a healthy and filling starter with a good level of spice.



Gav chose Cauliflower Varuval, or 'florets of cauliflower marinated and fried in a light batter' (£3.50) which was fresh and well cooked cauliflower florets (with bite and free of grease) with a couple of dips.




We fancied Sambar Vada because we recognised the dish from East and West. Here the vada (a savoury doughnut) was chopped up and served in the samba sauce. It was good, but I do prefer the way it is served at East and West; i.e. separately as this allows for a crunchy texture of the vada. This is just my personal preference though.


Onto mains and the Maveli Egg Masala really appealed; 'boiled quail eggs cooked in spicy gravy' (£5.50) and I'm so glad that we went for it. Quail eggs had soft, but not runny yolks, which meant that they didn't get lost in the delicious gravy. I could have eaten this dish 26 times over and I can't wait until I can try it again.


Kovalam Meen Kolambu was 'fisherman's style fish curry from coastal Tamil Nadu' (£6.50) and it didn't disappoint. The fish was soft and moist; there's nothing worse than dry and overcooked fish.


All this with chappathis, rice and two Kingfishers came to the grand sum of £34.50 which is in line with the other South Indian restaurants in Sheffield and it was worth every penny. The decor is smart (or at least it's smarter than East & West and Dhanista's) and the staff were very friendly and welcoming. I've a feeling that we may become regulars here...

Like Maveli on Facebook and follow them on Twitter for updates and info.

Thyme After Thyme - Richard Smith and Adrian Cooling

Thyme After Thyme was published just under 10 years ago, but as it promises to reveal 'The secrets of consistent good cooking' it's not one that's going to go out of date. So when I spotted it at a market stall going for the bargain price of £1, I really couldn't resist it. With recipes from Thyme Cafe and Thyme (which is now Artisan) the book is full of homely tea time meals, Asian style dishes and gastro-pub-grub stuff.

The book opens with a quote from Elbert Hubbard inviting the reader to just have a go; 'The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one'. It's very apt, I feel, as I live by trial and error, especially in the kitchen. After all making a mess of tea on a Wednesday night is hardly the be all and end all, is it?

Onto the book itself and the recipes are split into 6 chapters. Cafe Culture is full of European dishes including Pasta Genovese, Red Pepper Risotto and Spicy Portuguese Pork whereas Classics does what it says on the tin with Fish and Chips, Roast Beef and Yorkshire Puddings and a true Sheffield special; Meat and Potato Pie with Henderson's Relish. Moving onto A World of Flavours and there's Hot and Sour Soup, Bang Bang Chicken and Salmon Miso.

For afters there's a Desserts chapter which is packed full of classic desserts including Raspberry Jelly and Rice Pudding, and a few that have been given a bit of a twist, such as Rhubarb Spring Rolls. Perhaps the most useful chapter is the last; Extra Thyme. This is dedicated to the basics such as Chicken Stock and Yorkshire Pudding but it also has some nice side dishes such as Battered Courgettes and Aubergine Crushed Potatoes. Wanting to cover all basis, the book is rounded off with a chapter on Wine With Food which gives some simple guidance to wine and food pairing.


I decided to kick off with Pasta Genovese. This Italian dish is essentially a bowlful of carbs (pasta and potatoes) with green beans, Parmesan and pesto; perfect comfort food! The recipe was easy to follow, the ingredients were easy to source and it was quick to knock up which made it perfect for a midweek tea. The fact that it produced at least five portions was a big help as it meant there was enough for lunch as well as tea the next day.


The next recipe was simple, maybe a little too simple for any real test of a recipe book, but Seared Tuna with Mango-Jalapeno salsa appealed. I'll admit that I couldn't really be bothered to find some jalapeno chillies so we just used whatever we had in the fridge which resulted in a salsa similar to the one I usually make, just with mango rather than tomato. It was good and we enjoyed the opportunity to have tuna again as it's a fish we rarely have now.


I think we'd saved the best for last though. Salmon and Prawn Curry is a good old curry made from scratch with mustard seeds, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds and more. The sauce has both coconut milk and tinned tomatoes in it which is a combination that really works as the tomatoes cuts through the rich coconut a little. The salmon and prawns went well with the sauce and I reckon that most fish would, as would beef. Maybe next time we'd put more chilli in there too (and I'd like to think there will be a next time). Once again the recipe produced more than we thought and even though we'd halved the ingredients we still had leftovers for another tea.

I like this one - it's great for homely cooking as well as the odd Asian and European dish. And I have to agree with both Richard and Adrian who introduce the book saying it's perfect for 'ordinary people who love cooking and would like to do it better'.

Sunday 14 April 2013

Three Good Things ... On a Plate (a taster of HFW's latest book)

On searching through some old magazines and papers I came across this little booklet that I'd managed to get free through The Guardian some time ago. With 25 recipes from Hugh's Three Good Things, it's a nice little taster and I'm very tempted to buy the full book so that I can get hold of the other 150.

I must admit that I was very sceptical about this book when I first heard of it. After all, a dish with just three ingredients sounds quite dull, yeah? Of course, it soon became clear that although there are three main components to each dish, there are additional ingredients used. Having said that these are not fussy recipes and each dish we made was pretty simple; great for midweek teas.

We kicked off with what must be our favourite of the lot; Chicken, Plums, Soy. Chicken thighs are cooked with chilli, ginger, garlic, plums and soy and the end result is stunning! The chilli and ginger works well with the plums and the saltiness of the soy helps to accentuate the flavours. It's dead easy too as the cooking all takes place in one roasting dish. This is definitely going to be done again in the future!


Next up was Pork, Potatoes, Apples which was a bit of a let down to be honest. I guess it was because I've done similar a few times before but this recipe seemed a bit more faffy with potatoes to roast and the pork to be pan fried separately from everything else.


Things picked up with a salad of Trout, Watercress, Spelt where the trout is gently poached creating a fish stock which is then used to cook the spelt (or in our case pearl barley). Both are then served up with watercress (my favourite leaf) and a lemon and mustard yoghurt dressing. It was light, but filling thanks to the pearl barley and the dressing is something I may try and remember to use for other salads.


Gav cooked the next one; Squash, Coconut and Chilli. Essentially a butternut squash curry with coconut milk, it was good and tasty and I do love a curry with coconut milk in it once in a while. Hugh tells us to keep the curry paste mild, which Gav did, but we won't do next time. I know Hugh doesn't want to blow everyone's head off but I do at least like a little lip tingling! We did approve of Hugh's tip of using green beans though; as he says, they did add good colour and texture. We will do this one again.


Last, but not least, was Barley, Onions and Tomatoes; another one that Gav cooked. Sadly, due to the lack of time, he had to skip making the roasted tomato purée used here and use passata as suggested by Hugh. Looking at the ingredients that the tomatoes were to be roasted with in order to make the purée  Gav included some garlic, thyme and bay in the mix. Using the passata made this an incredibly easy dish and the end result was a good thick and hearty soup thanks to the barley. Tonight I had some leftovers out of the freezer and it had thickened up on reheating so I served it as a risotto with some cheese stirred through (another suggestion from Hugh) and it was gorgeous!


Even in this little taster booklet there are a few dishes that I would like to try; Apricots, Tea, Mascarpone; Parsnips, Shallots, Puff Pastry and Beetroot, Mozzarella, Balsamic Vinegar are just a few. How I haven't bought the full book yet is a little beyond me...

Sunday 7 April 2013

Street Food - NOSH - Sheffield and a few words about Amazing Graze


Street Food is huge at the moment; whether it's steak burgers, Mexican burritos or a pulled pork sandwiches Britain has gone a little insane with the concept of taking our dining table to the street. But then I guess that the current economic disaster will have had a hand in this. After all, spending a fiver on a quality burger to enjoy on your way back to the office means that you can have a treat but you don't also have to fork out for sides or drinks.

Sadly, aside from the amazing Street Food Chef, there isn't much of a street food scene here in Sheffield (although we do have Fanoush Falafel and Flurt and it would be good to see them involved in a few things too) but it looks as though things are set to change now that NOSH has come to town.


NOSH is the brainchild of Ben Smith (owner of The Hop Box), Andrew Critchett (organiser of Northern Streats) and Louise Anderson (owner of The Nichols Building).Their first event took place on the 28 March (5pm - 10.30pm) and I headed down after work with a friend to check it out. I'd been given the heads up on the stalls beforehand and I was looking forward to trying a few new places. 

The food stalls were all set up in the courtyard, round the back of the Nichols Building and although it was a cold and breezy night there were a few people who had come out to NOSH. Having said that, I was glad to find that the vintage fair at Nichols was still open as this meant we could nip inside for 'a warm' every now and then. There was also a craft fair on the ground floor of the building.

There was a good selection of food stalls there; enough to keep my taste buds satisfied without leaving me feeling inundated. Fish& had brought their hut and were cooking up a taster dish of fish, cooked in a variety of batters, and chips. Pizza Pod had their pizza oven fired up and were dishing out whole thin crust pizzas. 


Sheffield favourites Street Food Chef had brought a menu of tacos.

Manjit's Kitchen were dishing up vegetarian Indian food. I had a Bunny Chow, which was a bread bun stuffed with chickpea curry served with a side salad. This was spectacular; the flavours were fresh and tasty and I loved every mouthful. The dish has an interesting history too.


The Hop Box was on hand for all our beer needs and I enjoyed a couple of pints of Bradfield Brewery's Brown Cow.


For anyone wanting to drink something a bit warming, Tamper Coffee was also on hand.

With music provided by Spit & Strings, Selekta Chestar and KOG and the opportunity to shop NOSH kept me occupied for a couple of hours. Sadly the cold and the need to get back home to prepare for a dinner party the next day meant that I had to cut my evening short and I hear that the party continued long after we left with an after party at The Riverside.

NOSH will return on 25 April at Nichols Building so head down from 5-10.30. I'm thinking that the weather will have improved by then so it will be another good night. It'll also be interesting to see whether the food stalls will change at all - I hope so - a bit of variety is good and it'll be a great way try new food. To keep updated with all things NOSH follow them on Twitter and Facebook

***

I also wanted to just say a couple of words about the Amazing Graze event (organised by Manjit's Kitchen) that took place in Leeds this weekend. Gav and I popped over on the Saturday to meet friends, eat, drink and bask in the sun! Yes! The sun had arrived and it was fabulous to sit out in what must have been the hottest day of the year so far. 

BLUE SKY!
I enjoyed a few London Porters thanks to Castleford based Revolutions Brewing Company (who knew that good beer could be found so close to my home town of Pontefract?). Food wise I was looked after by The Courtyard Dairy who were serving up Raclette which is a traditional French dish of melted cheese served with potatoes and pickles. I'm a serious cheese fan so this dish was always going to work for me. 


I also couldn't resist a sourdough bun stuffed with pulled pork from El Kantina.


Gav managed to eat much more including a selection of Persian food, with an amazing candy floss for dessert, from Afsaneh's Persian Kitchen, a hot dog from Diamond Dogs, Ice cream from Ginger's Comfort Emporium, fish and chips from Fish& and Bunny Chow from Manjit's Kitchen!


Persian Candy Floss

Ginger's Comfort Emporium
It was a great day and well worth the trip from Sheffield - in fact we spotted a couple of Sheffield friends there too. I don't know if there are any plans to hold another Amazing Graze, but it wouldn't surprise me if there are. Follow them on Twitter for more information.

The Wick At Both Ends - New Menu - Spring 2013

Ok, this is just gonna be a quick one.

I think we all know that I love The Wick at Both Ends, don't we? I must eat here at least once a month and it's my 'go to' place when meeting friends for dinner. See, it's pub grub, but some of the best pub grub I have had.  Yes there are fish and chips on the menu along with bangers and mash. But there's also carpaccio of duck and those bangers and mash are actually wild boar sausages with black pudding mash. Not bad for pub grub eh? It's always really well priced too. With three tapas style dishes (or starters) for a tenner and most mains priced at £7/£8 eating here is an affordable luxury.

It's also a great little bar. With eclectic furniture and décor, chilled out music and a good selection of cocktails it's a good place to be. The staff are lovely too; friendly, attentive and knowledgeable which will explain how they won Eat Sheffield's Best Bar Team award last year.

Since the launch of the spring menu I've eaten here a couple of times and I thought I'd share what I ate.
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Gav and I went for the tapas style dishes. Picking three each and sharing them meant that we could try a lot of the menu and we could both eat for £20.


We had carpaccio of duck which came with a port and cherry reduction, a locally sourced pork pie with a piccalilli and a mackerel pate served with some handmade oat cakes. All were quickly scoffed. The duck was tender, the mackerel pate was creamy and slightly zesty and the pork pie was, er, a pork pie ... which is always good!

Welsh cockle pies were two little dishes of cockles in a creamy sauce topped off with puff pastry. And although I often find casseroles with lids insanely disappointing, the size of these little pies meant there was a good filling to pastry ratio so I was happy.


Confit tomato salad was a bit of an unusual choice for me and one I probably wouldn't go for again, but asparagus soldiers and dipping egg were spot on and a lovely way for us to get some vitamin C down us.


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A trip with friends meant that I could sample the main meals and I couldn't resist the lamb rump (£10.95). It was beautifully pink and came served with a stack of potato slices and a leek and bacon cream sauce. I really enjoyed the meal, as did my friends. One had the beef stew which came with chicken liver dumplings and the other had a selection of the tapas dishes.
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Fans of the Wick will notice that Ham & Eggs is lacking from the menu as is the mini pie and the calamari. But I think there's enough on the new menu to keep us happy, and it wouldn't surprise me if these dishes made a return at some point!

Go. Take your mates. Take your colleagues. Take your other half. Just go. Eat. Drink. And be merry.

Thursday 4 April 2013

The Old Queen's Head, Sheffield (and a bit of a foodie update)

I first visited The Old Queen's Head about a year ago. Situated by the bottom of the bus station it wasn't somewhere I'd ever fancied trying, but my colleagues had suggested a trip and I saw no harm in tagging along. Sadly I was wrong as the food was below average. The prices were cheap and cheerful and the drinks were fair enough, but I wasn't keen on a return visit ... until I spotted them on Twitter and I gathered that new owners were in place (this, I gather from the Sheffield Telegraph, is not actually true. Same owners, but the pub has been relaunched).

Things got even more exciting when I heard that they were going to start doing Czech food. Now, my experience of Czech food is neither wide nor particularly good. A break in Prague 4 years back taught me that the food was pretty heavy as we mostly ate meat and carbs with little, or no, veg or salad, but I do like the idea of being able to try more of this (in fact any) cuisine here in Sheffield.

And although they're still in the early stages of developing the Czech menu, The Old Queen's Head has put a couple of Czech specials on, including goulash. Served with bread dumplings the portion was a good size at a decent price of £6.95. Tender chunks of meat were served in a lightly spiced, warming, gravy and the dumplings were unlike any I have tried before, lighter than the dumplings we're used to, but good for mopping up juices.


To be honest a bit of greenery (some kale or cabbage) would have been a good addition to the plate, but the lacking veg wasn't exactly a deal-breaker. Sadly my colleague and I did have an issue with the warmth of the dish as it was a little cool, but this was rectified swiftly and without any fuss.

Beer fans will need to know that this is a Thwaits pub, and although that doesn't mean a great deal to me, it did mean that I could try a half of Crow Black which is an easy drinking dark beer. Readers who have visited the pub in the past will be glad to know that it's been refurbished and it's looking good. The new side of the building is quite contemporary whilst the original features of the old side have been cleaned up and are on show.

Make sure you give this one a go. It's great to see somebody trying something a bit different and I encourage them all the way!

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In other food news ... fans of South Indian food will be glad to hear that Maveli restaurant has opened in the premises of Tamarind (previously Saffron Club) next to Hui Wei. I had a very brief nosey at the menu tonight (there weren't any take away menus) and it looks interesting so ... watch this space!

And talking about South Indian food, Urban Choola on London Road has finally opened its doors. With links to the guys behind Amigo's it promises Indian street food. Check out some of the reviews on the Sheffield Forum here.

Mamas Grill on Exchange Street, next to the old Market Tavern, was short lived (sadly; the food was good and the staff were friendly) and it closed a few months back. However there is hope as a new set of owners have moved in. Opening as Frehiwet Habesha, the restaurant will be open 9am - 11pm Mon-Thurs, 9am - 5pm Fri and Sat 9am - 5pm and Sunday 9am - 11pm. A poster on the window also claims that there will be a DJ and Live Concert every Fri and Sat night. I'm not too sure on the nature of the cuisine, but a Google of the restaurant's name suggests links to Eritrea. Go. And tell me what it's all about!



FOOD’S GOT PROPER! BOH, Sheffield


News of a new restaurant always pleases me. News of a tasty sounding restaurant really pleases me. And news of BOH., a new addition to Ecclesall Road, has made me a little excited... and here's why...!

The brainchild of Thomas Robjohns (world class bartender), Jaye Taylor (PR specialist) and Richard Bucklow (head chef with a past in Toms Kitchen & RAC Club), BOH promises to create fine British food that delivers not only on taste, but on experience too.

Situated at 762 Ecclesall Road (where Kitchen used to be) and with the strapline of “Food’s Got Proper” diners can expect delicious cuisine delivered perfectly, without any pretence. Aiming to deliver a top food experience and an education,  head chef, Richard Bucklow, will be giving regular talks on seasonality and menu choices whilst Thomas Robjohns will be serving local ales, artisan wines & fresh fruit cocktails. And, as you would expect, the focus will be on locally sourced and seasonal produce as BOH believes in supporting local farmers and producers.

BOH will be taking public bookings for the 17th of May onwards. To keep up to date or to register interest email info@bohsheffield.co.uk or follow them on Twitter.