food, reviews and of course coffee
I do like calamari, these from Bottelino’s was okay, certainly not the best I have ever had, but also not the worse. Would be nice if they were a little more authentic.
Though do compare this portion with this one.
Looks different. For me that’s a positive thing, means that this is not processed system cooking.
Sometimes speed and ease is what is needed in the kitchen. I do use tinned pulses and beans a fair bit in my cooking. Though I know I can buy dried, soak and cook them myself, I do find that using tinned is quick and easy. It also allows for last minute changes to recipes or what I am going to cook for dinner.
One problem I do have is that sometimes a regular sized tin of pulses or beans is too big. So I was pleased to find these small tins at my local Waitrose of Cannellini and Borlotti Beans.
What is also nice about these is that the beans are not in brine, so less salty.
So how did I make the salad?
Well it was literally thrown together very quickly. I cooked off the pancetta in a frying pan and then mixed it with the drained beans and sweetcorn. I then dressed the salad with olive oil, white wine vinegar and freshly ground black pepper.
I made some toffee nut slices that were really tasty, so tasty that I forgot to take a photograph.
However all is not lost as you can see a picture on the recipe that I used. I did alter the recipe slightly in that I added fruit and nuts from a fruit and nut mix. My “slices” were also much thicker than the ones in the picture.
First time I had ever used Carnation Caramel and thought it wasn’t that bad and quite easy to use.
Another nice memory of summer…
I have tried to cook Parmentier Potatoes myself, but I can’t quite get the taste and texture that I find with the version from Marks and Spencers.
It’s probably some kind of additive they use compared the fresh ingredients I use!
Or salt!
There is something very tasty and somewhat healthy about a freshly cooked vegetable stir fry.
It’s also so simple to do too.
Prepare the vegetables using whatever you have in the fridge. Fry in a wok or as I do in a large frying pan.
You can add sauce if you want, sometimes all I use is a little chinese five spice. I also sometimes add cashew nuts for added crunch.
Great on it’s own, but also nice with some spicy pork.
I am not a great fan of Spaghetti Bolognaise but other members of my family like it.
So when we were at Bottelino’s recently they ordered a dish of it.
They really enjoyed it and would order it again. I always think there is a little too much pasta sauce and not enough pasta.
Sometimes speed and ease is what is needed in the kitchen. I do use tinned pulses and beans a fair bit in my cooking. Though I know I can buy dried, soak and cook them myself, I do find that using tinned is quick and easy. It also allows for last minute changes to recipes or what I am going to cook for dinner.
One problem I do have is that sometimes a regular sized tin of pulses or beans is too big. So I was pleased to find these small tins at my local Waitrose of Cannellini Beans.
I have used these for salads and for cooking.
What is also nice about these is that the beans are not in brine, so less salty.
When I stay at most hotels I am faced in my hotel room with instant coffee.
I don’t do instant coffee.
So when I stayed at a hotel in Plymouth recently I was pleased to see in my hotel room “fresh ground coffee in a bag”.
Okay so it wasn’t fantastic, but was at least drinkable compared to a cup of instant coffee.
I do quite like fish and chips, but rarely eat them when I am out to eat, unless I am buying a take away. Down in Plymouth in the Watering Hole down on the quay I made an exception for these.
The batter was good, the mushy peas were good. I took fries in preference to the chunky chips on the menu. I didn’t though think much of the tartar sauce. Though that may be because I don’t like tartar sauce!