Week 3 of my Abel & Cole challenge and right from the start I was not feeling very creative or adventurous. Finn had a sickness bug all week, so comfort fodder was the order of the day for the grown-ups to bolster us and give us the strength to get through it all. Poor Finn couldn’t eat anything. Not a particularly inspiring week, but we ate well and were satisfied.
Before you ask, yes I did order the orange juice (x2) in my next delivery. I need to stop being so easily influenced!
Filed under Food diaries, General, The life and times of Becci
Flying high after week one of my organic adventure, I was excited to see what would arrive in my second Abel and Cole delivery. So excited in fact that I forgot to take a picture before I unpacked it. Stooopid. I was a little disappointed to see that they sent exactly the same potatoes and carrots again, but then I appreciate that carrots are a staple and most people will find a way to use them every week. This week, in addition to my small veg box, I was sent a free gift of a loaf of wholemeal bread made by the Authentic Bread Company, so that was nice. Who doesn’t love a free gift. (Yes, I’ve ordered a loaf of bread in my next delivery… see, I told you I’m a marketer’s dream).
Filed under Food diaries, General, The life and times of Becci
After long flirting with the idea, this week I finally bit the biscuit and signed up for an Abel & Cole box. Before you say it, don’t. I already feel about as middle class as you could possibly get.
The benefits of a weekly veg box delivery are obvious – lovely organic veggies delivered to your door; being forced to branch out and be creative; plus the lure of the other sundries (fruit, eggs, milk, bread, and even meat) that you can order alongside your green stuff, all ethically produced, with a fair price to the farmer, etc, etc.
Filed under Food diaries, General, The life and times of Becci
Every year as the days get shorter and colder, I always find myself craving hearty comforting food. Unfortunately that usually means heavy, carb-loaded, fatty food. Sure, it makes evolutionary sense to bulk for the winter, but considering the temperature in my flat is practically equatorial I think my biological urges can and should be repressed. So, I’ve been pondering ways to trick my body into thinking that it’s getting stodge, and this is one of my current favourites.
Filed under Italy, Main courses, Recipes, Weekday dinners
Not too long ago I received a mysterious email from a wine brand calling themselves “The Label Project”. The subject line offered a challenge, Do you judge a book by its cover? Intrigued by the invitation to explore how we judge wine, and further compelled by the very distinct possibility of FREE WINE*, I joined up and awaited the promised deliveries. When the first delivery arrived, I could clearly see the envelope contained no wine, not even a sample sized bottle. I was perturbed. However, upon opening it I found a copy of The Hunger Games and a further demand to know whether I judge books by their covers. Having read, nay, devoured and unapologetically adored the Hunger Games trilogy, I didn’t quite know whether to feel proud that ‘no, I did not judge this book by its admittedly pretty shit cover’, or slightly embarrassed that I should have judged better. What were they trying to say? Luckily, a second delivery followed hot upon the heels of this mind-boggler. And this one did have wine, yay!
Filed under Food events, Fun, General
I know it’s been a little slow at F&G recently, but that doesn’t mean that behind the scenes I haven’t been continuing to explore and celebrate food. There is an overwhelming backlog of culinary delights that I would love to shower you with, but there just ain’t time with an active toddler to actually sit my exhausted butt down and blog. Or more accurately, whenever there is time, it is spent prone on the sofa mindlessly staring at the tele-box. And what?
Anyway, a recent gastronomic high I just had to share with you. A couple of weeks ago, as part of the Brighton and Hove Food Festival the Brighton Food Society – of which I’m a founding member – hosted an evening of seaside-based fun, food and frolics for the culinary-enlighted of the Brighton scene. This is the second such event that the BFS has put on, but the first that I have been able to get involved with.
Filed under Food events, Fun, The life and times of Becci
As much as grand dinners and extravagant dishes are nice, and a fantastic treat, sometimes there just ain’t nothing better than the simple pleasures. Peanut butter fingers, bread covered with a thick spread of butter, a cheeky slice of cheese cut straight from the fridge, the perfect cup of milky sweet builders’ tea. These little gratifications are the things that perk up the humdrum of daily life.
Filed under Baking, Bread, Prosciutto, Recipes, Snacks
I’m so excited. In just three teeny tiny little sleeps I’m off to Italy on holiday (whoop, whoop!) and it goes without saying that the thing that’s at the forefront of my mind is the food. As I mentioned in my recent PDO post, in Italy produce quality is paramount and celebrated. The very best Italian meals, the ones that really stay with you, are the simplest, where the finest quality ingredients are prepared humbly, allowing the flavours to shine. Two such ingredients, which I’m lucky enough to be ambassador for, are the distinctive and historic products, Grana Padano Cheese and Prosciutto di San Daniele.
On Friday night Sven and I were lucky enough to go to Delicious by DS5 – a pop-up restaurant hosted by Citroen for their new car, the DS5. The five-course tasting menu was created by 2011 Masterchef winner, Tim Anderson, and was inspired by the five senses. According to Tim, “this project really allowed me to stretch my creativity and try some new gastronomic approaches… we’re creating a dining experience that will surprise and delight on a multi-sensory level.” I was really excited to be invited, and the event didn’t disappoint at all. When we arrived, we were impressed by the venue, Hoxton Art Gallery, which had been redressed as a very swanky restaurant, complete with Eames chairs and trendy exposed filament light bulbs. After a couple of glasses of prosecco we were all (around 50 guests) seated at once. And before too long the food started rolling out.
Filed under F&G Eats...: Restaurant Reviews, Food events
Anyone who watches Masterchef will no doubt remember Tim Anderson. He was last year’s Champion (Masterchef 2011) and in my opinion has caused Masterchef a bit of a problem. You see, he was so creative, so talented, so ‘out there’… simply put, so good, that anyone following him just seems a bit, well, meh! Thanks to Tim, and the relative blandness of the contestants, I simply forgot to watch this year’s finals, and although I tried to get cross when my Dad revealed the winner on Facebook before I’d caught up, I didn’t really care. So, aside from to tell you that he ruined, perhaps forever, one of my once favourite TV shows (Thanks Tim!), why am I talking about Tim Anderson?
Filed under Food events
Feed & Gastro 